Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 137 Sparring
The morning light is dim and the breeze is blowing gently.

On the large bed with scattered brocade quilt, Zheng Li's exquisite figure was faintly visible, and her slender arms exposed from the quilt revealed a touch of coveted snow-white skin.

Zheng Guohui woke up from a deep sleep, feeling refreshed. He bent down and kissed his wife's delicate cheek, then stood up and walked out resolutely.

Dongmei, who was sleeping on the outer couch, got up in a hurry and busied herself with helping the master change his clothes, put on his shoes, and fasten his belt. Dongmei was only wearing a thin undergarment, and her beauty was revealed in the process.

Zheng Guohui was in sage time now, and he actually put on his clothes and went to the outer room of the dormitory without looking around.

Here, Siqi and Miaohua have already brought warm water and are helping the master wash, clean his face, and apply perfume. They are like two busy little bees, serving the master with meticulous care.

After finishing, I opened the door and walked into the courtyard in the early morning, listening to the birds singing in the trees, the flowers in the courtyard were blooming, and the breeze mixed with the fragrance of flowers brushed past my nose, which was invigorating.

Everything is so beautiful in the early summer of May.

Zheng Guohui strode through the hall and courtyard and came to the side courtyard of the front yard.

Here is a group of shirtless strong men who get up before dawn to strengthen their bodies. Some practice swords, some practice sticks, and some are guards who practice boxing with their bare hands. Their strong muscles are covered with tiny beads of sweat, creating a lively scene of dragons and tigers leaping.

Seeing the general coming, they put down their weapons and came forward to pay their respects.

Zheng Guohui waved his hand and said loudly, "No need to be polite, everyone, please continue. I'll do some exercise."

"As you command," everyone responded in unison.

Zheng Sheng, his whole body as strong as iron, sweating from training, came over and saluted, saying, "Master, what do you want to practice today? I'll ask the brothers to get ready first."

The personal guards of this era were no different from household servants; they were a group of trusted men who were willing to risk their lives to protect their masters.

Calling someone "Master" in private makes it seem more intimate.

Zheng Guohui stretched his arms and legs and said, "Sure! Ah Sheng. I'll stretch my body first, and then practice fighting with the brothers. Prepare a few dozen wooden swords first. I'll also use that stick, which is more convenient for me."

When Zheng Sheng heard the master say "battle", a trace of fear appeared between his brows, but he quickly replied, "I understand, master, I will go and prepare now."

Zheng Guohui ignored him, stretched his muscles on the spot and did a set of punches, then picked up the big ring knife and played with it for a while.

Wait until your body becomes hot, you are covered in sweat, and all your muscles and bones are activated.

Looking back

Zheng Ding was already prepared. He was wearing a bamboo protective suit that covered his chest and crotch.

The other 30 or so brothers in the personal guard team did the same. Each of them held a wooden sword in his hand and wore bamboo armor, looking as if they were facing a powerful enemy.

Zheng Guohui couldn't help but grin when he saw this. These guys in the personal guard team were all unlucky guys who had psychological trauma caused by his beatings. They all knew how powerful he was.

"My general has the courage of ten thousand men. No one over a hundred can get close to him. If you stick to him you will die, and if you are touched you will be injured." These words were spread among the brothers of the imperial guards when they were discussing privately, and almost everyone in the court knew about it.

Without such fierce fighting power, when Zheng Guohui, a small garrison, fought back on the spot under the reprimand of Zeng Guoquan, the governor of Jiangnan, the Hunan Army soldiers did not dare to take action.

Once a fight breaks out, it is still unclear who will win.

He took the wooden stick that Zheng Sheng threw in the air. The stick was iron purple in color. After years of rubbing, the stick had become shiny.

The wooden stick is as thick as a goose egg and feels heavy in the hand. It is a branch of a thousand-year-old vine in the Minyue Mountains. It weighs about 9.8 jin and was originally a personal weapon of a long-haired bandit general.

The rattan stick is extremely dense, soft yet hard in texture, and has excellent toughness, making it impossible to break easily.

Zheng Guohui swung his staff in the air a few times, the blade splitting the air with a sharp "woooo" sound. He nodded with satisfaction, tucked the staff behind his armpit, and said to the crowd, "Everyone, be careful. This sparring is to see if you have improved. You can all use your full strength. If you can leave a single drop of white ash on this general, you will be rewarded with 10 taels of silver. If you leave two drops, the reward will be doubled, and if you leave three drops, the reward will be doubled again. I will reward you handsomely."

"As you command, General."

"As you command, please show mercy, General."

Those who answered before were all new members of the Royal Guards, recruited in the past six months. Their identities had been repeatedly verified and they were all from good families with children.

Those who answered later were all old men from the personal guards, who had suffered at the hands of the general and were still frightened.

On the field at this moment

More than 30 strong personal soldiers, armed with wooden swords and wearing bamboo armor, surrounded Zheng Guohui, who was holding a stick in one hand, creating a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

A basin of lime was brought to the field, and the guards inserted the sharpening sticks into the basin to stick the lime on them.

If you manage to touch the general's body during sparring, you will be rewarded with 10 taels of silver.

"start!"

After a loud shout

The wooden stick in Zheng Guohui's hand danced like a dragon. There were a few "crackling" sounds in the field, and the wooden swords in the hands of several personal soldiers flew high and flew out of their hands.

In Zheng Guohui's hand, this wooden stick seemed to have its own spirit. It could poke, knock, hit and whip with great agility. Any wooden sword in the hands of the personal soldiers would fly into the air as if electrocuted when it touched them, and could be lifted dozens of meters high.

"Brothers, go ahead!" Some young men shouted wildly and rushed in waving the wooden swords in their hands.

Then, a few muffled shouts were heard, and these fools flew backwards at an even faster speed, some of them being hit in the chest or under the armpits by the rattan sticks, or some of them being torn apart by the sticks, sending their huge bodies flying. They fell to the ground, unable to get up again.

Zheng Guohui swung his stick with heavy shadows, which came from his physical fitness which had doubled after his rebirth. He also had sharp ears and eyes, and could see things from all directions as if he was reading them in his palm, and his reactions were a beat faster.

He charged into the crowd like a ferocious beast, and all the personal soldiers were separated to both sides like waves. People were constantly hit by the sticks and fell to the ground screaming in pain.

It will take a while for me to get up.

The strong and powerful Zheng Sheng, Huo Chongshan, Fang Shiwei, Dong Jiasheng and other masters of the personal guard team all held rattan sticks. Seeing the general killing people everywhere, they had no choice but to go up.

So he let out a shout, rushed forward and smashed him on the head.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

The huge vibration that occurred instantly when the two sticks collided made Zheng Sheng's hands numb as if they were electrocuted. He also had a fierceness in his heart. He gritted his teeth, grabbed the tip of the stick, and pulled it in again with his backhand.

"Well done..."

Zheng Guohui roared, and the rattan stick in his hand collided briefly with seven rattan sticks, and three of them flew out of his hand.

There were also four rattan sticks held tightly in their hands, coming towards them from different directions.

Zheng Guohui originally reserved 40% of his strength, and the shadow of a flower appeared as the tip of the stick danced. He increased the strength by two points again, and with the huge inertia of turning sideways, he rushed forward again.

"Bang, bang, bang!" After a few muffled sounds

These masters could no longer hold on to their rattan sticks and all flew out with screams. Zheng Guohui's stick tip was like a spirit snake, poking at their chests and abdomens one by one.

As soon as the tip of the stick touched him, the strong man weighing more than 100 pounds flew backwards and fell heavily on the training ground.

Not long after

More than 30 strong men were lying on the ground, covering their injured parts and gasping for air. It was really painful!

Although protected by bamboo armor, the general's stick was so strong that it could penetrate the paper and instantly tear the bamboo armor apart, while also injuring the man behind it.

A sound of "whoosh"

The wooden stick in Zheng Guohui's hand spun around like a windmill and stood behind his armpit again. He was breathing slightly, his face was a little red, and his whole body was moving.

Looking at the soldiers lying on the ground, he said with a mixture of laughter and tears, "You have been training every day, but you haven't made much progress. It seems that I need to find you a master with real skills and knowledge."

Zheng Sheng untied the bamboo armor on his body and saw a red and swollen mark on his chest that was as long as a palm. The swelling had quickly healed and was now as high as one finger and as wide as three fingers.

Even a man of steel could not help but gasp in pain, saying with a bitter face, "Master, you are a warrior that has never been seen before. Even if we, the mediocre ones, train until we vomit blood, we are still far from being as good as you."

"Haha... you're the only one who knows how to make excuses." Zheng Guohui casually tossed his stick to the guard standing aside and said, "Everyone on the opposite side will be rewarded with two taels of silver. Those above the rank of squad leader will be rewarded with five taels of silver and can rest for two days."

"Thank you for your grace, General. We are deeply grateful."

A group of personal guards climbed up with grimaces, saluted and expressed their gratitude, while a few who could not get up simply lay on the ground and bowed.

After Zheng Guohui wreaked havoc for a while, he turned around and returned to the inner house in a good mood.

Now it seems that his kung fu skills have not been lost, and his physique is indeed amazing, far beyond that of ordinary people.

After having breakfast at the mansion, Zheng Guohui brought a few people with him and strolled to the East Yamen.

The General's Mansion now has two departments, the East Office and the West Office. The East Office is headed by Li Hezhang, who handles all external affairs and has more than one hundred staff members.

The Western Office is a newly established department that only manages the general's private property and does not touch other aspects.

When Zheng Guohui arrived, Li Hezhang was dealing with miscellaneous matters at hand. After seeing the general coming to pay his respects, he ordered his staff to do their own things and started to support them.

Zheng Guohui brewed a cup of tea and sipped it leisurely in the side room, looking extremely relaxed.

Nowadays, most of the trivial matters are handled very properly in the East Yamen, and he does not need to take care of them personally.

Just compile the final results into a book, list them in it, submit a copy every three days, and read it once.

If you have any objections, please make a note.

It will be returned to the East Yamen for further follow-up processing, but such opportunities are extremely rare and there is no need for it at all.

Zheng Guohui was amazed by Li Hezhang's sophisticated handling of the situation, and felt that he had learned a lot.

About an incense stick of time passed

Li Hezhang hurried over to pay his respects, then handed over a petition, saying with a serious expression, "General, the Franks attacked our immigrant fleet, and the losses this time were considerable."

Zheng Guohui's face changed suddenly when he heard this. He quickly put down the teacup in his hand, sat up straight, picked up the petition and read it carefully.

The more he looked, the uglier his face became.

(End of this chapter)