Chapter 1154: The Masters

Shaolin Temple was one such example, and Cloud Mountain Temple in Xuzhou had originally been another. The other sects and clans might have been smaller in scale, but their conduct was much the same. It was precisely this kind of revenue, guaranteed by martial force, that allowed their disciples to eat their fill and have meat, to be equipped with weapons and armor, and to sustain the teaching of their traditions within the sect or clan. Maintaining this martial force, in turn, ensured that the sect's or clan's interests could expand continuously, or at the very least, suffer no losses.

"Learn the civil and martial arts, and sell them to the imperial house." Men who studied martial arts were naturally willing to use their skills to seek rank, fame, and fortune. Thus, the first-rate ones were in the government offices and the military. The second-rate were kept by powerful houses. The third-rate guarded family properties and businesses. Only the fourth-rate roamed the rivers and lakes and the greenwood, scraping by on irregular meals and doing unsavory deeds.

The previous two martial arts tournaments had mostly drawn figures of the fourth and third rate. They came merely to make a name for themselves, hoping to rise into the first two tiers. In the end, the champions were still the strong hands from powerful houses and the military. Moreover, those tournaments were not widely publicized, and the elite disciples among the third and fourth rates had their own pride and standing; they were unwilling to come and perform like street entertainers.

But this time was different. To make the event grand, to make it famous across the land, to get everyone to wager more, and to make the atmosphere more intense, strong fighters had to be invited. The wealthy merchants of Jianghuai and Jiangnan each displayed their abilities, either sending out the masters they kept in their own households or using their connections to invite those trained by martial artists. Furthermore, the tournaments of the past two years had already built up a sufficiently great reputation. Who among the martial artists of the world did not know of this place to compete and win fame? Who would not want to come and win glory through their skills?

No matter what sect or aristocratic family you came from, you had to bow your head before the wealthy merchants of Jianghuai and Jiangnan. To maintain your establishment, you needed money and had to do business, which inevitably meant dealing with the richest men under heaven. Naturally, you had to bow your head and do them this favor. As for the rest—the sons of military households and generals' families, the household troops and retainers of noble and powerful houses, the martial-trained men of wealthy families—practicing martial arts inevitably led to a desire to compete and prove one's superiority. With the Hero Invitations sent out so widely, who wouldn't want to come and see? What was more, this year Zhao Jin was going to attend in person to watch.

Zhao Jin and the few brothers at his side had long become legends among martial artists. Tales—nine parts false and one part true—like how Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng possessed the valor of ten thousand, Wang Zhaojing's sword skill was peerless, Shi Manqiang's strength was boundless, Ji Xiang was fierce and valiant, and Liu Yong was skilled with hidden weapons, had long been relished by all. Otherwise, it was hard for people to understand how a few ordinary youths from Xuzhou could have carved out such a vast domain. To have such mighty figures observing the contest was a mark of glory no matter what.

For all these reasons, once the news was released, the number of participants in the tournament suddenly swelled enormously, and figures with established reputations began to appear. The Qingjiangpu Chamber of Commerce sent over lists of names at regular intervals. Zhao Jin was quite interested in looking at them. He had no interest in listening to operas, and the storytelling and romances others enjoyed he found terribly dull. This list of names, however, Zhao Jin found intriguing; it bore a resemblance to certain things in his memory.

"... Wang Dadan of Cangzhou, Hejian Prefecture, Northern Zhili. He is a constable in the Cangzhou Department magistrate's office, thirty-one years old this year. He has trained in saber techniques since childhood and once single-handedly slew seven sea-faring bandits. He is known as the 'Saber King'..."

"... Chen Daochong of Shaanxi, twenty-seven years old. A son of a border army family, he has trained in the spear since childhood. At seventeen, he entered the capital as a guard for a powerful house and has never been defeated in a duel..."

"... Lei Song of Changqing County, Jinan Prefecture, thirty-five years old. He wields a pudao and is an excellent archer. In his youth, he guarded merchant goods traveling in all directions, fighting dozens of battles against bandits without defeat. He is called Lei One Slash. The goods he guards travel with a hung flag, and no one dares touch them..."

"... He Haitao of Luzhou Prefecture, Southern Zhili, twenty-six years old. He once studied at Shaolin and his staff technique is peerless. He is the Chief Instructor of the Luzhou Prefecture local militia. He openly set up a challenge platform seeking defeat; whoever defeats him would replace him as Chief Instructor, but he has remained undefeated in over twenty bouts..."

"... Ying Cang of Henan, a lay disciple of Shaolin Temple. He usually dresses as a monk and is acclaimed as the foremost among Shaolin's three thousand disciples. He is skilled with the monk's knife and iron staff..."

Each letter was an introduction, explaining these people's origins, ages, and martial skills, and also recounting their deeds. These deeds were mostly true, because they had been invited and offered rewards by the wealthy merchants through various connections. To some extent, they also represented the merchants' own face, so they naturally had to carry sufficient weight.

His companions all noticed one phenomenon: every time Zhao Jin read these letters, he was in an excellent mood, even wearing a smile. This reaction puzzled everyone greatly. When Wang Zhaojing, Liu Yong, and their subordinates read these letters, they were extremely cautious, able to discern many things from these people's backgrounds and identities—matters not to be taken lightly.

"Big Brother, those from the north are all people invited by the Qingjiangpu Chamber of Commerce, while those from the south are mostly household generals, guards, or sons of certain families. Many of these arrivals likely intend to discuss business and build connections with us," Wang Zhaojing analyzed.

The martial artists from Southern Zhili and Zhejiang had noticeably more wealthy and noble backgrounds. Two of them even held the rank of Licensed Scholar. From Nanjing, four more household generals from the Duke of Wei's estate were participating—it was unclear whether it was the Duke of Wei's sons, nephews, or brothers who wanted to come and display their might. It was said there were also sons of noble houses participating anonymously. Quite a few martial-trained sons of great and powerful Jiangnan families also came. Of the two who held Licensed Scholar rank, one had outstanding sword skill and also claimed to have no match, while the other had studied sword techniques from the Japanese and also had great local renown.

Beyond these, the guards brought by the arriving dandies and idle rich were no weaklings either. Some had even specially invited strong fighters for this tournament. Rumor had it that among them were Japanese warrior swordsmen. According to intelligence from the extremely busy Qingjiangpu Internal Guard, quite a few desperadoes and great bandits were participating in this tournament.

The desperadoes and bandits who dared to come and participate here were usually those who had run rampant and defied the law relying on their martial skills, yet were unwilling to simply fall into ruin. They dared not go to places where the king's law held sway, fearing arrest by the authorities, but they felt relatively more at ease in the territory of the Zhao Character Camp. Although they concealed their true identities furtively, everyone knew their intentions: they simply hoped to be noticed and recruited by Zhao Jin, to find a place to settle down and make a living in the future.

"The Li Family Great Gang has four disciples who want to participate, but they've asked us to help conceal their identities... Actually... Actually, Big Brother should know, quite a few people within our own camp want to go too, mainly in the Patrol Guards and the Internal Guard," Wang Zhaojing said, flipping through the list, and finally couldn't help but add this remark.

Although Zhao Jin was in a good mood when reading the list, he was rather annoyed when it came to participation. Shaking his head, he said, "Training in martial arts isn't of much use on the battlefield, but it gives people too many ideas. You may not know this, but Cheng Dahu of Pizhou wrote me a letter. On one hand, he wants to enter the contest himself, and on the other, he wants to ask Niu Jinbao and Dasheng to enter as well, saying that just participating in the tournament would bring glory to our Xuzhou."

As he said this, Zhao Jin looked quite bemused. Wang Zhaojing and Liu Yong also laughed involuntarily. Zhao Jin continued, "I replied with three words: 'Behave yourselves.' What wishful thinking. How bored would I have to be to actually want our Xuzhou men to win the championship at this tournament? What use would that be?"

After the others had left, Zhao Jin headed to his study. Niu Jinbao and Sun Dalin followed in silence. After walking a few steps, Zhao Jin turned back and said with a smile, "Deciding victory on the battlefield is one thing; warriors fighting to the death is another. Don't overthink it."

Niu Jinbao was first startled, then shook his head with a rueful smile and said, "What is the master saying? Didn't Grandpa Qi say it? All your skills—leaping, dodging, striking like the wind—are utterly useless on the battlefield. When thousands of blades and spears come hacking and thrusting at you, if you don't fight in formation, how can you possibly dodge them? There is only death. When this subordinate was at Shaolin, many fellow disciples, who rarely lost in duels on Mount Song, thought they could rampage across the world. Yet before they even reached a real battlefield, when they fought against local militia, they were attacked in formation by those country bumpkins who had never trained in martial arts. All their martial skill was of no use at all. Those who have been in battle all say much the same as the master."

Speaking of these things, anyone could see Niu Jinbao's heart was full of deep emotion. Qi Jiguang's several military texts did describe martial arts and battle formations, but reading about it and experiencing it personally were completely different.

Zhao Jin nodded, while Sun Dalin, standing on the other side, looked thoughtful. Niu Jinbao paused for a moment, then added, "The former Superintendent of Shaolin's lay surname was Ying. When this subordinate was in Henan, I heard of this Ying Cang's reputation. This man is, in all likelihood, the son of the former Superintendent. But since he is now a lay disciple, it probably means his faction lost in the internal struggle within the temple and can only come to participate in the tournament to seek something else."

Niu Jinbao was familiar with the situation at Shaolin Temple, and what he said was not unfamiliar to everyone. Cloud Mountain Temple had been in the same situation back then; the faction of Ruhui had also been the losers in the temple's internal strife.

Consider this: Mount Song, relying on the staves and spears of its monk and lay disciples, was the top power in the border region between Henan Prefecture and Kaifeng Prefecture, arguably second only to the imperial princes and the imperial clan. Such great power, such enormous profits—no wonder the various factions within the temple fought endlessly. For the losers, either finding a new path or seeking powerful external support, coming to Qingjiangpu for the tournament was a good choice.

Niu Jinbao, who followed at Zhao Jin's side, was usually taciturn. Today, since Zhao Jin had started the conversation, Niu Jinbao became more talkative. After saying this, he was silent for a while, then spoke again: "The poor pursue letters, the rich pursue arms. To train a body of good skill, you need a good foundation. When this subordinate was young, just eating a full meal was difficult, so my physical foundation was poorly laid. At my current age, I sometimes already feel my strength failing. Speaking words that beg the master's forgiveness, this small one can still hold on for now, but I fear the day I can no longer keep up, and then I will have caused a grave delay in important matters."

Seeing that Zhao Jin did not speak, Niu Jinbao bowed with some trepidation and said, "This subordinate is not concerned for his own worthless life. This life already belongs to the master. But this subordinate does not matter; the master's safety is a matter of great importance. This subordinate just fears, just fears..."

After stammering a few times, Niu Jinbao still dared not utter the words that followed "just fears." Sun Dalin, standing by, was full of worry and couldn't help but speak up: "Master Jin, my teacher's old injury flared up again last year, but he was afraid of delaying your affairs, so he endured it and never said a word. Teacher also said that now our Zhao Character Camp has many strong fighters, and it would be better to bring up a few more young men."

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