A few days later. The Qingshan County martial arts examination in the twenty-fourth year of Qing'an has finally arrived. Unlike the civil examination, which has an examination booth set up in a market near the county government to take exams, the martial arts examination is held directly outdoors in the open air. The location is located in the square in front of the main temple of the Chenghuang Temple on West Street in the county. On the high platform in front of the main temple, a middle-aged official in a green robe sat in the middle, and on both sides sat the county captain, county magistrate, envoy and other county government officials of Qingshan County according to their official ranks. With different official positions, the materials of officials' official robes are also different, which is very easy to distinguish. Both sides of the square below the stage were filled with gentry and wealthy businessmen from Qingshan County wearing beautiful clothes. These people cast their eyes on the two to three hundred martial arts masters standing in the field, with expectant looks in their eyes. The poor in literature and the rich in military affairs have been like this since ancient times. It is easy for ordinary wealthy households to live frugally and support one or two retired scholars, but it is difficult to support a martial artist who has been practicing martial arts since childhood.
Therefore, more than 60% of the nearly 300 martial arts masters standing in the square at this moment are from gentry and wealthy merchant families. The remaining 20% are also inextricably connected with them, and most of them are their out-of-town nursing homes. Only the remaining 20% of martial arts masters were born in poor families. "What?" "He's here too?" In the corner of the square, a case was set up specifically to examine the birthplace and guarantee of the martial artist. Behind the cases, sitting the soap-robed official whom Wei Tu had seen last time in the county government office. After the official checked the guarantee documents piled up on the case one by one, he suddenly saw Wei Tu's name in them. With a look of surprise on his face, he turned to the last page of the household registration book in his hand, and after comparing Wei Tu's hometown registration and age, he couldn't help but be surprised. At this time, only half a year had passed since Wei Tu had deregistered his citizenship last year. Because Wei Tu was the first slave he had seen redeemed since he inherited his father's business as a subordinate, he had a deep impression of Wei Tu. . "It's not easy to change your life through martial arts. I hope he doesn't die on the martial arts stage..." The servant in soap robe thought silently. Every three years, the county government cleans out "hidden households". Newly registered people like Wei Tu are one of his achievements. He didn't want Wei Tu to die here. on the square. The person who recognized Wei Tu was not only the subordinate official in Zaopao, but also a beautiful woman sitting at the gentry's table. This beautiful woman was Wei Xing. She was sitting behind Mr. Huang, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, and she glanced at Wei Tu standing in the square. Although she had not seen her nephew for a long time after many years, she still recognized Wei Tu from this group of martial artists at a glance due to their blood relationship. "What is he doing here? Is he trying to take the martial arts exam? He is indeed much stronger than he was three years ago..."
"But among this group of martial artists, he is very ordinary. Maybe he is not as powerful as Yuan Shan..." Wei Xin was in a complicated mood. She hoped that Wei Tu would stand out among the martial arts masters and be able to help her as a family member in the future, but she also intuitively believed that Wei Tu was not good enough, and her own nephew was not good enough. In more than three years, Wei Tu only learned some superficial health-preserving skills. No matter what, he could not compare with martial arts masters from rich families. These martial arts masters, who come from wealthy families and have practiced martial arts since childhood, have meat every day, are taught by famous teachers, and have medicinal meals to nourish their bodies from time to time... How do Mudlegs compare with them? There's no comparison at all! … soon. Gongs and drums sounded. The martial arts examination begins. Wei Tu took the number plate marked "Bing Thirteen" and waited in the crowd. Compared with the government examination and the Taoist examination, the county martial arts examination is the simplest, with only five tests. They are skills and bravery, infantry shooting, horse shooting, competition, and the final military strategy. Among them, skills and bravery are subdivided into lifting stones, pulling hard bows, and dancing with swords. "Team C is in line." Suddenly, a gunshot was heard, and the military attache in charge of the assessment gave a loud shout. After hearing these words, Wei Tu calmed down and followed the martial arts masters in the front row to enter the room and stood in front of several stone locks of different sizes. Two hundred pounds. Three hundred pounds. Four hundred pounds. Five hundred pounds. Four stone locks in total. In the county martial arts test, the stone lifting test starts with a two hundred kilogram stone lock, which is a strength that is simply difficult for ordinary people to achieve. "Five hundred pounds of stone locks!" Wei Tu focused his attention on the heaviest and largest stone lock. His eyes were solemn, his energy dropped, and he staggered his feet and set up horse stances. then. He mobilized all his strength, placed his right hand on the stone lock, and raised it with all his strength.
The heavy stone lock immediately rose from the ground, first pausing for half a breath at Wei Tu's knees, then his elbows, and finally it was raised high above his head. After hanging above his head for four or five breaths, Wei Tu finally couldn't hold on anymore and slowly placed the five hundred kilogram stone lock on the ground with his right arm. As the five hundred kilograms of stone locks fell to the ground, a slight shaking of the ground could be heard in the entire square, as if an earth dragon turned over. The entire square fell into a quiet atmosphere, and everyone's eyes focused on Wei Tu at this moment, and they were all surprised. In the stone lifting test, there is only one person in Qingshan County who can lift a stone lock weighing 500 kilograms with one arm in decades. It has only appeared three times in a hundred years. The martial arts masters from the first three times, without exception, all ranked first in the county martial arts examination. And... this is the fourth time for Wei Tu. It also means that the person who will win the martial arts championship this year is already destined at this moment. if only…… "It's hard!" After seeing Wei Tu's clothes, the gentry smiled and immediately came to a conclusion. Wei Tu's clothes were shabby, and his single clothes were starched and turned white. It looked like he came from a poor family. Such martial arts masters often fail in the two subjects of horse shooting and military strategy, and thus fail the exam. Horse shooting requires good horses. Although horses are provided in the county examination, they are often inferior horses. If you ride a bad horse and shoot, your strength will not be consistent. No matter how good your shooting skills are, it will be difficult to hit the target. Another military strategy. This invisible threshold is also high. Without the help of a good teacher, it is not easy to write outstanding articles. "Bing Thirteen." "Lift up the stone armor." At this time, the examiner in charge of the Jushi Examination also announced Wei Tu’s results. According to the regulations, if you want to get a first-level stone lifting, you need to lift a stone lock of 300 kilograms with one arm, higher than the head, and pause for thirty breaths. He raised four hundred kilograms of stone locks with both arms and hung them above his head for twenty breaths. But Wei Tu was different at this time. He lifted a five hundred kilogram stone lock with one arm and hung it above his head for four breaths. This kind of strength was far beyond the strength of ordinary first-class martial arts masters. The difference between a single arm weighing 300 kilograms and 500 kilograms is like a chasm. Everyone knows this. With one arm weighing 500 pounds, he is expected to win the title of Juren in the provincial examination. In other words, Wei Tu at this moment has reached the strength of martial arts in lifting stones.
"Even if it is difficult to win the first place, if you lift the stone armor, you are still qualified to go to the imperial examination..." "Wei Tu is not old, only twenty years old? Twenty-two years old?" "If he hires a famous teacher, he should be able to make up for this shortcoming in horse shooting and military strategy in the next exam..." In the gentleman's table, after seeing Wei Tu's achievements, Wei Xun once again had a complex expression on his face and thought to himself.