My name is Wei Qing, and I want to fight the Xiongnu.

Just now, Wei Qing's kick appeared to have landed on Xiahou Ci's lower abdomen, but it actually landed directly on his face.

We've completely lost face, and the ink still hasn't dried.

He doesn't have the ability to swallow insults!

Xiahou Ci took a deep breath. "Since you want to talk about rules, fine, I'll talk about rules with you."

He said, "I still won't give you Wei Qing's letter of recommendation. I, Xiahou Ci, represent the military strategists. What the military strategists need are not just brutes who know how to wield spears and fight, but great generals who can lead troops into battle and conquer battlefields!"

The other recommended candidates, though never having served on the battlefield, all came from military families and had such a lineage. Even if their abilities were not yet apparent, once they entered the Imperial Academy and received careful instruction from their teachers, they would surely become great talents.

As for you, Wei Qing, in terms of martial prowess... you are indeed not weak, but you were born a slave and lack this kind of inheritance, which does not meet the requirements of military strategists. Perhaps you could try to find other channels to recommend you; among the various schools of thought in the Hundred Schools of Thought, there were many that valued individual martial skill, such as the assassin school.”

Xiahou Ci, after all, had worked his way up in the officialdom for many years. At first, he was just angry and did say some thoughtless things, but now that he had come to his senses, he found an excuse for what happened in just a few seconds. Not only was it reasonable, but it was also watertight.

What good is Wei Qing's fighting talent?

I am a military strategist!

Military strategists may give some preferential treatment to geniuses with strong combat talent, but that doesn't mean that combat talent determines everything in the military sphere.

So don't say I'm targeting you; I, Xiahou Ci, am simply following the rules.

With your exceptional combat talent, you could ask a wandering knight or assassin organization for a letter of recommendation; they're qualified to do so.

In any case, Xiahou Ci didn't need to block Wei Qing from entering the Imperial Academy. As long as the letter of recommendation wasn't obtained from him, he was fine with it, so as not to become a laughing stock in the future.

Wei Qing turned his head and looked at the sons of the nobles. These sons of nobles were finally able to raise their heads.

Old Master Xiahou is right. We come from a family of generals, the kind who lead troops into battle, strategizing and winning from afar, not the kind of reckless men who only know how to fight.

I am proud!

With a playful smile, Wei Qing looked at Xiahou Ci and said, "I've been with Uncle Cao for nine years. How do you know that Uncle Cao didn't teach me how to lead troops into battle? Or do you think that Uncle Cao's level is not good enough?"

Xiahou Ci: "..."

Holy crap, how could I forget about that?

If Wei Qing truly inherits the legacy of Chancellor Cao, then we must provide a letter of recommendation no matter what, otherwise it would be truly unreasonable.

Just when Xiahou Ci was once again in a dilemma, Wei Qing's words saved him: "But you guessed right, Uncle Cao really didn't teach me how to lead troops into battle."

Cao Shen did not teach Wei Qing these things. Instead, Wei Qing would always tell him some of the insights he had gained from his dreams.

Cao Shen didn't offer any advice after listening, as if he didn't know much about this matter. Instead, he always liked to chat with Wei Qing about everything under the sun, and even gossip about the pretty widows in the county town.

Whether it was because his own insights were too foolish or because Uncle Cao had some taboos about this, Cao Can taught Wei Qing many ways of dealing with people and situations, but rarely taught Wei Qing how to lead troops into battle or how to practice martial arts.

Wei Qing's words finally put Xiahou Ci at ease.

You scared me to death! Can you please not breathe so heavily next time you speak?

Unfortunately, Wei Qing clearly had no intention of giving up. He chose the military school because he valued their lenient attitude towards students; otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to stick with just one school.

"Uncle Cao didn't teach me, but I want to give it a try."

Wei Qing looked at Xiahou Ci and said solemnly, "I want to try, I've always wanted to try."

He dreamed more than once of leading a large army onto the battlefield and crushing his enemies, and more than once of facing danger but managing to turn the tide and win against overwhelming odds.

He wanted to try it.

Try to see if what you call a dream is really just a fleeting illusion.

Xiahou Ci didn't expect Wei Qing to still be so persistent at this point: "Try? Are you sure?"

Wei Qing nodded affirmatively and said, "I'm sure. Uncle Cao said there's a kind of tool called 'Yanwu' that can be used to discuss military strategy. Do you have it?"

Xiahou Ci said expressionlessly, "Yes, of course, but this is not as simple as just talking about it on paper."

These "martial arts" equipment were created by the Mohists and the Gongshu School.

It is said that in ancient times, the Chu region was going to attack the Song region, and the ancestor of the Gongshu family designed siege mechanical beasts for the Chu region. The ancestor of the Mo family learned of this and dared to come to the Chu region to try to dissuade the King of Chu.

This proved that Chu could not conquer Song. The Mohists and the Gongshu School joined forces to create "Martial Arts Exercises" and used these exercises to predict the course of the war. In the end, the Gongshu School was no match for the Mohists, and the King of Chu therefore chose to abandon his preparations to attack Song.

Through thousands of years of continuous optimization, "martial arts practice" has become increasingly closer to the real battlefield.

Although there are still differences between the two, as long as one can shine in the "martial arts demonstration", it can at least prove that one has talent in this area.

In fact, when the Imperial Academy selects geniuses with the talent to lead troops, it often tests them through "martial arts demonstrations".

There were a total of fifteen "martial arts drills" in Chang'an. Three were in the imperial palace, five were in the Imperial Academy, and of the remaining seven, the Lü family occupied two, the Liu family occupied three, Marquis Jiang Zhou Yafu had one in his mansion, and the last one was in the mansion of Marquis Ruyin.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Xiahou Ci's Frustration

After all, the Marquis of Ruyin was responsible for recommending talents to the court, so there must have been "martial arts drills" in his residence to facilitate testing.

However, as the court paid less and less attention to military strategists, Xiahou Ying's descendants began to abuse their power of recommendation. At first, they pretended to do it, but later they stopped pretending altogether.

This also means that the "martial arts demonstration" in the Marquis of Ruyin's mansion has not been used for nearly a hundred years.

However, probably no one could have imagined what kind of surprises "martial arts practice" would bring when it was used again a hundred years later.

"Give it a try?" Xiahou Ci glanced at the persistent Wei Qing. If possible, he still hoped to end this farce as soon as possible.

But Wei Qing is still hesitant to agree, showing no sign of backing down until he hits a brick wall, leaving the other party with no choice but to nod in agreement.

What if they don't agree? Wei Qing was recommended by Liu Yangxin.

If Wei Qing were expelled with a hardline attitude, not only would it alienate Liu Yangxin, but it would also leave people with grounds to accuse him of abusing his power for personal gain and being jealous of talent.

Don't say that Xiahou Ying was highly trusted by the Empress. Xiahou Ying is Xiahou Ying, and Xiahou Ci is Xiahou Ci. The two cannot be compared.

Secondly, there are many people within the Xiahou family who dislike Xiahou Ci. If Xiahou Ci is eliminated, they may have a chance to rise to power.

Fine, let him lose convincingly!

Don't say that I, Xiahou Ci, am targeting you. You brought this upon yourself by being incompetent and making a fool of yourself.

"Martial arts demonstration? Sure, come with me!"

Xiahou Ci led Wei Qing toward the training ground, while the nobles who had been watching the spectacle followed behind, whispering among themselves.

I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to see what kind of tricks this young man from a slave background could pull off.

As for those who believe Wei Qing can pass the assessment smoothly, very few people would believe that.

If Wei Qing had studied under Cao Can, people might have had more confidence in him, and there might not even have been a need for an assessment. Unfortunately, Wei Qing flatly denied this.

Deploying troops and leading them into battle are not about brute force. Even if the latter doesn't know martial arts, they might still be able to dominate the battlefield with their innate strength. But the former, without systematic learning or military experience, cannot shoulder great responsibilities based solely on talent.

Before long, Wei Qing followed Xiahou Ci into an inner room. The inner room was very large. Apart from a metal object with a special shape, there were only soft couches. There were rows and rows of soft couches, roughly estimated to be fifty or sixty in number.

Xiahou Ci glanced at Wei Qing, who had followed him, and seeing the curiosity in Wei Qing's eyes, he felt even more contemptuous. As expected of a country bumpkin from a remote village: "This is the martial arts training ground, currently the smallest one in the entire Han Dynasty. But even so, it can still provide for fifty people to use at the same time."

After saying that, he took a mask from the device, walked over and handed it to Wei Qing, saying, "Put this on and find a soft couch to lie down on. You can then directly enter the martial arts world."

Wei Qing looked at the mask in his hand, which depicted a bear... a black and white bear, or more accurately, a panda, with an adorable appearance that would probably be very popular with young girls.

This is... a login device?

Cao Can had previously told Wei Qing about the situation of "martial arts practice". At first, "martial arts practice" could only be conducted one-on-one. Later, as it became more widespread, it was discovered that whether it was students after graduation or generals in the army, they did not serve as commanders of an army, but rather led an army, or even hundreds of people.

Warfare often involves cooperation among multiple people, with each person fulfilling their specific role. One-on-one drills, like those used before, might be more helpful to the commander, but they are perhaps setting the bar too high for cultivating outstanding generals and students.

It's like starting to practice the 110-meter hurdles before you've even learned to walk.

Therefore, the Mohists and the Gongshu School made many modifications and improvements, gradually evolving into what it is today.

A small "martial arts training" can accommodate dozens or even hundreds of people to conduct martial arts training together.

The largest "martial arts exercise" in the Imperial Academy is the Five Platforms, which are located in the four directions of the Imperial Academy plus the central Tianyuan, and can provide multiple martial arts exercises for tens of thousands of students at the same time.

Wei Qing took the mask and walked to the soft couch not far away. He looked at the mask in his hand suspiciously, and then looked at Xiahou Ci.

What if this guy tries to attack me while I'm practicing martial arts?

Uncle Cao said that one's perception of the outside world decreases when practicing martial arts. I just kicked him, and there's no guarantee that he won't take revenge.

Xiahou Ci felt his dignity had been insulted, and he said with a dark face, "I am not that despicable!"

"Really? I'm not well-educated, don't lie to me. Cao Xiangguo is my uncle. If you take revenge for personal reasons, I'll never forgive you."

Wei Qing was still somewhat skeptical, always believing that Xiahou Ci was no good.

Xiahou Ci was furious. If Wei Qing were the kind of person who liked to be sarcastic and sarcastic, he wouldn't be so annoyed. The problem was that Wei Qing acted like an honest man from beginning to end. Being teased by an honest man like him left him with no outlet for his anger, which was very frustrating.

The sons of nobles who arrived later all had their eyes light up and were very interested when they saw the "martial arts demonstration".

This thing is much more interesting than hunting, animal fighting, or playing chess, but unfortunately there are too few of them. There are only fifteen in the entire Chang'an royal city, and ordinary people have no chance to come into contact with them. Even noble sons like them only have the occasional opportunity to touch one or two.

However, it is said that once you enter the Imperial Academy and are assigned to a relevant department, you will have the opportunity to play every day.

Xiahou Ci looked at the eager sons of nobles and couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

Fun?

When you actually enter the Imperial Academy, and you are required to perform a certain number of martial arts demonstrations every day—no, to be precise—you will know what despair is.

Losing is not terrible;

Losing every day isn't so bad;

It's not so scary to lose all your money every day from morning till night;

What's terrifying is that in the process of losing, you find that the gap between you and those geniuses is widening, to the point of despair and suffocation.

When the tactics and strategies that one has painstakingly devised and practiced over days or even months are easily deciphered by geniuses who are more than ten years younger than oneself, or even just entered the Imperial Academy, during the course of fighting against their opponents, even the strongest mental fortitude can find it hard to bear such a disparity.

What's even more terrifying is that if you want to improve your abilities, you can't shut yourself away and study in isolation; you can only struggle forward by being repeatedly challenged.

Xiahou Ci also harbored a dream and aspired to become the second Zhou Yafu. However, he spent twelve years in the Imperial Academy, enduring hardship and suffering every day in a cycle of learning and failure.

Mockery and ridicule permeated almost the entire golden period from adolescence to youth.

What's even more ridiculous is that even with such a concerted effort, in the end, nothing was achieved.

If it weren't for his grandfather being named Xiahou Ying, Xiahou Ci would probably still be living a miserable life in some obscure corner.

In peacetime, even heroes have no place to use their talents, let alone an ordinary person like him.

However, Xiahou Ci was still very grateful that he lived in a peaceful era, because in a peaceful era, an ordinary person could at least get a minor official position and steal a few days of leisure.