History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Kou Meng now had a good grasp of Zhao Zhi's martial arts skills.

He was born into the Kou family of Shanggu. He read military books from a young age and knew that a general named Deng Zhan at the end of the Han Dynasty was skilled in the hand-to-hand combat technique of "catching a blade with bare hands". This martial skill was recorded by Cao Pi, the emperor of Cao Wei, in his book "Dian Lun".

Being able to disarm someone bare-handed doesn't necessarily mean you have to be strong. It means you need to be agile in both arms and body, coordinate your movements, and have keen eyesight and hearing. Only then can you find your opponent's weaknesses in a close-quarters fight, and then decisively close in to attack when the weaknesses appear, disarm them, or strike their face, neck, or other vital points.

Kou Meng was more interested in Zhao Zhi, but still did not think this woman was worthy of being his opponent.

Because the only record in "Dian Lun" praising Deng Zhan's martial arts skills is a single sentence, followed by a detailed account of how to break the "empty-handed entry into a white blade" technique.

It's very simple, deliberately expose a false flaw!
Kou Meng imagined how he and Zhao Zhi would spar, how he would lure Zhao Zhi into a trap, how she would try to win by strangling him, but he would instead twist her arm and restrain her firmly.

"Quickly, all Imperial Guards, proceed to the arena!"

The military officer's call interrupted Kou Meng's imagination of his ultimate victory.

Several banquets had been set up in the open space in front of the large felt tent, with the emperor sitting at the head of the table and princes and important officials sitting on either side.

The arena for the duel was spacious, and the moonlight was bright enough to illuminate it clearly. The 216 soldiers participating in the duel stood in neat rows at one end of the arena, looking at the holy face in front of the large felt tent from a distance.

Kou Meng was still standing in the last row next to Zhao Zhi.

The Imperial Guard Commander shouted, "Everyone, listen up! Starting from the front and back of the line, stand in pairs facing each other. The person you are facing is your opponent!"

"Listen carefully to the assessment rules... Hand-to-hand combat, that is, unarmed fighting, and no weapons are allowed! Hand-to-hand combat includes all the rules of wrestling, including punching, kicking, shouldering, and throwing, but you cannot use external objects as weapons, such as hairpins, belts, stones, or dirt. Violators will be expelled from the Imperial Guard!"

"The arena is divided into four smaller areas: east, south, west, and north. The first four groups to enter the arena will lose if they are knocked out of the white and gray lines around their area and are not allowed to continue fighting."

"Fighting must cease immediately upon the opponent's surrender, and must also stop if one party faints. Violators will be expelled from the Imperial Guard!"

"As soon as someone is eliminated, clear a small area, and the next group will immediately take the field according to my command."

"The first round of the Warriors Assessment begins! The first two groups at the front of the team and the last two groups at the back of the team, step forward immediately and await the command."

Kou Meng never expected that he would become Zhao Zhi's opponent in the first round of the competition because of his team position. It was not easy for a woman to participate in such a competition, and he really did not want to eliminate her in the first round.

But there is no way.

All he could do was prevent her from losing too badly.

Zhao Zhi walked ahead of Kou Meng, and the two groups at the head of the procession headed towards the north and east fields near the large felt tent, eager to display their martial prowess before the emperor.

It didn't matter which side she stood on, the west or south field behind her. Zhao Zhi thought that the battle would be over in one or two moves anyway, so she chose the nearest west field.

In each small arena, a member of the Imperial Guard served as the examiner. After they all blew their bamboo whistles, the Lieutenant General commanded, "Begin!"

All eight soldiers charged toward the enemy as soon as the word "begin" was written.

What is "courage"? It is the surge of strength that makes one fearless in the face of death!
Kou Meng lived up to his reputation as a fierce warrior. His fists flew with the wind, and his leap covered a great distance in the air! Like a giant eagle swooping down on a rabbit, he smashed into Zhao Zhi's head and shoulders with a roar that could pierce through the clouds and split rocks.

The two groups of martial arts experts in front are standing so far forward.

Emperor Yuan Ke's gaze was immediately drawn to the roar.

As for the Grand Commandant, the Prince of Rencheng, and the Prince of Guangling, they focused their attention on Zhao Zhi as soon as she left the group.

"Kill!" Zhao Zhi roared in response, her feet touching the ground as she leaped forward, twisting her body to avoid Kou Meng's iron fist. Her opponent hadn't even bothered to protect his chest; he really was just an ordinary soldier. Afraid of killing him, she only mustered two-tenths of her strength to strike with her left fist.

Despite Kou Meng's ferocious appearance, he was secretly delighted. The woman had indeed fallen for his trick, and her first move was to attack his "weakness."

Little did he know that his chest possessed a natural shield-like strength, which, coupled with his special training, meant that if Zhao Zhi attacked him with even a fraction of her strength, she would suffer double the damage!

boom!
Kou Meng flew backwards out of bounds.

He was the most bewildered and fastest eliminated of the four rounds, and his defeat was so swift that it could only be described as "lightning fast".

The Prince of Rencheng was relieved.

The Prince of Guangling clapped his hands, deliberately bringing up the very thing he didn't want to talk about. He beckoned to Yu Deng, a guard in the imperial bedchamber, and asked, "That burly man who scrambled across the ground and then slammed his fist down, doesn't he look like Kou Meng?"

Yu Deng looked embarrassed: "My eyes were filled with dirt, so I couldn't see clearly."

The Prince of Guangling said, “The more I look at him, the more it resembles him. Who gave him this terrible idea to shave off his fine beard?”

Yu Deng stretched his neck and swallowed hard. Yes, it was the idea he had given Kou Meng.

After the examiner helped Kou Meng up, the numbness in his chest subsided, but the pain returned. The examiner recognized him and whispered a reminder: "Guard Kou, you've lost."

"Huh? Huh." Kou Meng pushed away the other person's help, otherwise it would be even more embarrassing.

He gritted his teeth and watched the woman's figure return to the group, feeling both frustrated and unwilling! If he hadn't been so arrogant and set himself up, he would never have lost so humiliatingly!
He also returned to the team, determined to watch Zhao Zhi's second round match and see how she fought against the other Imperial Guards. This would allow him to assess her true fighting strength and determine whether he was indeed inferior in skill or had lost due to arrogance.

Sympathy is not a good thing to offer help when someone is in dire need.

A soldier asked Kou Meng with concern, "If you're badly injured, sit down. I remember you; you're an ordinary soldier, so it's normal that you lost to Zhao Zhi. Think about it, even though she's a woman, if she didn't have some real ability, could she have served as a military advisor in the Sizhou government? And a cavalry officer at that."

"roll."

"How can you talk like that? Consider yourself lucky, it's my turn to go on stage, I won't hold it against you."

Zhao Zhi went straight to the Imperial Guard soldier Ji Ding, who was still arrogant and said sarcastically, "What, you think you can compete with me, the captain, just because you defeated an ordinary soldier?"

Kou Meng heard this, and the blood he had swallowed back surged up again at the words "ordinary soldier"! So his surname is Ji, huh? Fine, he'll remember that!

Zhao Zhi: "If you're in the second round, don't be afraid to accept the challenge!"

Ji Ding scoffed, raising his voice slightly so that the nearby Imperial Guards could hear: "What an eye-opener! A shameless woman who's practically begging to be beaten—I've never seen anything like it before! And you? Have you ever seen such a slut?"

Zhao Zhi sat down in the shade of a tree and replied coldly, "Remember, my first punch will be in your mouth, then I'll break your shoulder."

Ji Ding's companion, Ke Bo, said with disgust, "Alright, stop bragging. He wouldn't have to curse you!"

Zhao Zhi pointed at the other person: "You go through the second test first, then talk nonsense to me."

At this moment, someone criticized Kou Meng: "You, even an ordinary soldier shouldn't be this cowardly. You were knocked away in one move, and by a woman no less. You're really tarnishing the reputation of the Imperial Guards."

Kou Meng asked the man, "Which general do you serve under? What is your surname and name?"

"What are you doing? Widow, open the door! You think you have connections? I'm not telling you! Hey? You don't need to tell me your name. I'll give you a nickname, 'Knocking-the-Ground Fierce,' how about that?" (End of Chapter)