Top Scholar

Chapter 233 Liu Jin
On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, the north wind howled, and snow began to fall in Luzhou.

At the martial arts school, the year-end assessments were in full swing.

The last event was still a spear duel, and the last pair was still Su Tai and Qian Ning!
The two men stood facing each other, each wielding a long spear, the wooden spearheads wrapped in white linen soaked in quicklime. The white mist rising with their breath met the falling snowflakes, turning into water droplets that clung to their black cloth armor.

Over the past year, the two have sparred several times and are quite familiar with each other, so there's no need for further probing.

Qian Ning took the initiative, his spear moving in a triple-wave motion, feinting a thrust at Su Tai's face. As the spear tassel swayed, quicklime powder flew up, blurring Su Tai's vision.

Just as Su Tai was about to parry, Qian Ning suddenly changed his attack and swept his spear straight at Su Tai's waist with a whooshing sound. This move, which combined feints and real attacks, had defeated Su Tai before!
But Su Tai, having been tempered by various masters from the 'Luxury Prince's Mansion,' was no longer the same as before. He lowered his shoulders and elbows, his spear shaft like an iron chain blocking the sweeping attack! At the same time, he used the momentum to spin around, and the tip of his spear smoothly flicked towards Qian Ning's wrist holding the spear.

"What a brilliant move, 'Reversing the Waves'!" the spear instructor watching exclaimed in admiration. Most masters would have been decided in that single strike.

But Qian Ning was clearly no ordinary man. He quickly flipped his wrist, and the tip of his spear drew an arc to wrap around Su Tai's spear shaft. The two wooden spears twisted into a cross in mid-air!
"Su Tai, get him! Su Tai, get him!" Seeing the two begin to wrestle, She Yunlu shouted and cheered for Su Tai.

But most of his peers were just cheering him on, without showing any particular preference. They might not like Qian Ning, but they were afraid of him...

~~
At this moment, Su Tai took the initiative to break the deadlock!

Using the momentum of the twisting spear, he spun half a step, the spear shaft suddenly straightened, and he used the "Central Thrust" to thrust straight at Qian Ning's heart—this is the authentic spear technique. After a year of repeated practice, he can now "thrust the spear in a straight line and strike with lightning speed!"

Qian Ning neither dodged nor evaded, but lowered his spear tip, and with the spearhead close to the ground, he made a diagonal thrust at Su Tai's knee, a killing move specifically designed to break through the lower body of a flat thrust.

Instead of retreating, Su Tai advanced, leaping a foot into the air. His spear tip drew three silver rings in the air. The first ring forced Qian Ning's spear tip away, and the second ring went straight for his throat!
Qian Ning leaned back to dodge the first two shots, but the third was already at his chest. He quickly held his gun horizontally to his chest—

Unexpectedly, Su Tai's third shot was even more varied. He used the Nine-Turned Spiral Thrust that Qian Ning had used before. With a sudden jerk of his hands, the spear shaft turned into an arc, and the spearhead bypassed Qian Ning's spear shaft, striking him squarely in the chest!
Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, Qian Ning released his left hand in a flash, slid his right hand to the butt of the spear, and gripped the hilt with one hand, twisting it half a circle—the spear slashed out like a ceremonial sword, drawing a sharp arc, and swept across Su Tai's ribs!

This 'spear-to-sword' technique was originally a deadly move in mounted combat, something Su Tai had never seen before, and he too had no time to dodge it.

With a loud bang, Qian Ning was hit squarely by a bullet, and white lime exploded in his chest!

"Two points are valid, it's a tie!" Wu Xundao, the chief examiner, shouted loudly.

Su Tai looked down at his ribs, where Qian Ning had swept a long white mark with the tip of his spear.

Qian Ning, panting heavily, gave Su Tai a thumbs-up and said, "You've made rapid progress!"

"It's a pity I haven't beaten you yet." Su Tai also admired Qian Ning. He had a variety of exquisite moves that came out one after another, and he always managed to use them at the most appropriate time, making it impossible for people to defend against them and causing them to fall into his traps repeatedly!
But at least he could hold his own against him, and Su Tai's confidence soared. He said in a deep voice, "Next year, I will definitely beat you!"

"Haha, you've missed your chance!" Qian Ning finally caught his breath, then casually tossed the spear onto the gun rack, and the shaft landed perfectly in the gun hole.

"What?" Su Tai was taken aback.

"I'm leaving Luzhou tomorrow," Qian Ning said with a smile.

"Where to?" Su Tai asked reluctantly, not because she had feelings for him, but because she hadn't won a single round against him yet.

"Beijing. What, you want to chase after me and fight me?" Qian Ning laughed.

"Yes." Su Tai nodded. "After I pass the provincial martial arts examination, I will go to Beijing for the metropolitan examination. Then we'll have another match."

"You're really competitive, aren't you?" Qian Ning couldn't help but chuckle, looking him up and down for a moment before beckoning him closer and whispering in his ear:
"I'm going to be a centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Do you still dare to come?"

"Huh?" Su Tai was indeed startled. What ordinary person wouldn't be afraid of the Imperial Guard agents? But he quickly muttered, "I haven't done anything wrong, why should I be afraid of you?"

"Haha, okay. It's a deal then. We'll have another match when you get to Beijing!" Qian Ning laughed.

"Where am I supposed to find you?" Su Tai asked.

"Don't worry, I'll come find you once you arrive." Qian Ning hadn't even become a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard yet, but he was already starting to boast.

~~
As for Su Lu, it was already the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month when he finished Mr. Liu's pre-exam intensive training course.

The next day, Su Lu went to the Zhu residence again and finished his last lesson on the Book of Rites for the year. If all went well, this would also be the last lesson that Mr. Gangshan would teach him.

Over the course of a full year, Mr. Gangshan taught his two disciples all the knowledge points of the "Three Rites".

It wasn't until this final lesson that Mr. Gangshan told the truth: "You are the most talented students I have ever taught."

"Including me?!" Zhu Zihe pointed to his own nose in disbelief.

"Yes," Zhu Zhang nodded, "Among the disciples I have taught, you are second only to me."

"Huh?" Zhu Zihe was taken aback: "I always thought I was the worst..."

"What I'm teaching you this year was supposed to take three years to teach," Zhu Zhang said calmly. "Really?" Zhu Zihe exclaimed, dumbfounded. "Then why teach it all in one year? Are you kidding me?!"

"Because you will no longer be my students next year," Zhu Zhang said matter-of-factly. "Of course, I will impart all my knowledge to you during this year."

"Have you considered my feelings? Without my brother leading the way, I simply can't keep up!" Zhu Zihe was furious. He was such a proud person, but in the past year, he had humbled himself to the dust.

“Even with Hongzhi leading the way, it’s already quite an achievement that you can keep up,” Zhu Zhang said with a smile, comforting him. “Just consider it a lesson in resilience. There are always people more capable than you, and there’s always something beyond your understanding. You’ll get there eventually. It won’t hurt to get used to it sooner.”

"..." Zhu Zihe had a swear word he wasn't sure whether he should say. "Isn't this just messing with people?"

Zhu Zhang, however, had already put away his smile and said to the two of them seriously, "With your current level, you are more than capable of handling the preliminary examination. So do your best on the exam and try to pass it on the first try, so you can come back to see me in your official robes."

“Third Uncle, we have to meet during the New Year,” Zhu Zihe said.

"Shut up." Zhu Zhang glared at him. He hadn't expected that after defusing the guy's arrogance, he would end up being such a chatterbox.

Before leaving, the two thanked the gentleman again, and Su Lu also gave him a New Year's gift in advance - two jars of Erlang Winery's most high-end 20-year aged wine, which was also a New Year's edition.

Of course, it was taken from their own store.

In this respect, he is actually a bit like his uncle, only slightly more generous than Arima... What can you expect from someone who never treats you to a meal and doesn't even dare to buy you a token of love?
Unfortunately, Mr. Gangshan had a fondness for drinks and happily accepted the gift.

~~
On the 28th, Zhu Zihe accompanied Su Lu to the old headmaster's residence to say goodbye.

Pang Shanzhang recuperated at home for half a year, and his double chin turned into a triple chin...

And it seems like all the anger was released in that one incident, and now he's cheerful all the time, and he doesn't get angry no matter what news he hears.

"You've come at the perfect time! The last issue of the year's official records has arrived." Pang Shanzhang laughed. "Take a look, this is going to be hilarious."

"Yes." The two quickly picked up the official records with great anticipation. Since the new emperor ascended the throne, reading the official records had become much more enjoyable.

It is said that the young prince took advantage of the late emperor's death to launch a large-scale invasion of Xuanfu and defeat the general Zhang Jun.

Upon hearing the alarm, the imperial court appointed Shi Lin, the Left Censor-in-Chief, to oversee military affairs, and Zhu Hui, the Duke of Baoguo, to be the General Who Conquers the Barbarians and take over as commander-in-chief, leading a large army to Xuanfu to resist the young prince.

This happened at the end of June.

At the end of August, Shi Lin and Zhu Huifang led their army to Xuanfu, only to find that the little prince had already finished looting and was ready to return laden with spoils.

The two men led their troops in hot pursuit, killing over eighty bandits and rescuing more than 2,700 captives. The young prince then led his people back to the grasslands, and the two men reported their victory to the court.

This is where the fun begins—Zhu Hui listed over 20,000 meritorious soldiers to the court!

The Ministry of War and the Court of Judicial Review went to investigate and found that many of the reports were untrue. However, the supervising eunuch Miao Kui strongly supported Zhu Hui. At this time, Shi Lin, the military commander, died, and no one could stop the two. As a result, all 20,000 soldiers were rewarded, and Zhu Hui was also promoted to Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince.

However, Zhu Hui still submitted a memorial, complaining that the reward given by the court was too meager. The Ministry of War argued that the previous rewards were already excessive and could not be increased further.

However, the young emperor listened to Zhu Hui and promoted 1,563 people again, and Zhu Hui himself was also promoted to Grand Protector!
"Did you find it funny?" Pang Shanzhang, who had completely transformed into a master of amusement in the Ming Dynasty, asked with a smile.

"I can see that," Zhu Zihe nodded. "Ever since the Tumu Crisis, the Ministry of War has been the undisputed authority in the army. Moreover, the official in charge right now is the famous Liu Daxia, and this time he actually failed to win the title of Duke of Baoguo. It's really a slap in the face."

"Liu Daxia didn't fail to compete for the title of Duke of Baoguo, but he failed to compete with the eunuchs!" Pang Shanzhang said calmly.

"Miao Kui?" Zhu Zihe asked.

"No." Pang Shanzhang shook his head.

“Liu Jin,” Su Lu said softly.

“That’s right.” Pang Shanchang nodded and smiled. “This is a ruthless character. His original surname was Tan. During the Jingtai era, he castrated himself. Because he was able to enter the palace by attaching himself to a eunuch surnamed Liu, he took the surname Liu.”

“During the Chenghua era, he took charge of the Jiaofang (Imperial Music Bureau) and was favored by Emperor Xianzong.” Pang Shanzhang continued, “During the Hongzhi era, he committed a crime and was sentenced to death according to law, but was later pardoned and demoted to Maoling to manage incense offerings.”

"After that, he disappeared from the public eye, and I thought he was dead." Pang Shanchang continued, "Unexpectedly, he was selected to serve the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace again. I heard that he and eight other eunuchs, including Ma Yongcheng, Gu Dayong, Wei Bin, and Zhang Yong, were constantly trying to entice the Emperor to play games and present him with all sorts of treasures. They were deeply favored by the Emperor and were known as the Eight Factions or the 'Eight Tigers'."

Pang Shanzhang said with a hint of schadenfreude, "This time it's clear that the Emperor favors the Eight Tigers even more than the Ministry of War. Now it's up to the Cabinet. If they can't do anything to the Eight Tigers either, things will get really interesting!"

P.S. I made a mistake, today is the last day, so I still need to keep asking for monthly votes!!

(End of this chapter)