102 Talking about the disciples of Wutang
The people from Daxiangguo Temple came and went, which was not a suitable place to accommodate the two monks. Moreover, there were many noble people here, and Zhao Ji was neither relieved nor too much trouble, so he transferred the two monks to the martial arts hall under construction outside the city.
The martial arts lecture hall is located near Bianliang City, with sufficient manpower, material resources and financial resources. In addition, Zhou Tong tried his best to supervise it every day, so the construction speed was very fast. In just over a month, the general framework had been built, and some of the main buildings had been completed, and some disciples had even begun to start practicing martial arts.
Walking on the noisy construction site, Zhao Ji was feeling quite uneasy as he watched the buildings rising up. Although the establishment of the martial arts hall does not mean that he will be worry-free from now on, it marks that he is starting to influence the world and what will it develop in the future. Zhao Ji dared not assert that he could only focus on his mind and move forward.
When he learned that Zhao Ji was coming, Zhou Tong rushed to greet him and bowed from afar, saying, "Your Majesty, you are not presiding on the Taoist temple in Yuntai Mountain, how could you come back to Bianliang City?"
"Some private matters need to be dealt with, and I have to rush back after it is resolved."
Zhao Ji smiled and found that Zhou Tong looked tired and looked a little thinner. He obviously worked hard to build a martial arts lecture hall and did not dare to slack off. However, the depressed look on his face disappeared when he first met, and his spirit was very excited. It can be seen that whether he is as strong as a martial arts master or a small-minded person, he must be in a good position to live a fulfilling life.
Zhou Tong was very excited to talk to Zhao Ji about the progress of the construction of the martial arts hall, but did not notice the carriages that the two monks behind him were riding.
"According to the current progress, the foundation of the entire martial arts hall can be compacted and completed before the frost and snow comes, but some affiliated courtyards will not be completed until the beginning of spring next year. I asked the craftsmen to build the school hall and lecture hall first, and other projects will be put aside first, so that students can be recruited for professors before the beginning of the year."
Zhou Tong looked excited and sighed again: "It's just that the project is too tight, and the cost of manual materials will inevitably increase by about 20%..."
Zhao Ji waved his hand and said, "Money is a trivial matter. The most important thing is to be able to get on track as soon as possible. Teacher Zhou, you should keep this place safely. As for the rest, let Xiao Wang plan it." His words were extremely tough because the Taoist priests gathered in Yuntaishan have been frequently in contact with Liang Shicheng recently, hoping to use the benefits of building Taoist temples in Yuntaishan to fish and hunt. Zhao Ji himself was not very concerned about the affairs of gods and Buddhas, and naturally he would not be ruthless when he planned these disciples of the Three Pure Land.
Hearing this, Zhou Tong couldn't help but say gratefully: "If it weren't for Prince Duan's help, my long-cherished wish would never be fulfilled. Prince Duan, you are not careful of your reputation being damaged and are willing to be criticized for the establishment of a martial arts lecture hall. This is the true wisdom!"
"You're welcome to say nothing. I'm just a rich and idle person. My reputation is good or bad, and I can't harm me at all. Teacher Zhou, you still have a few teachers. In order to train the real-time elites of the Song Dynasty, you are willing to give up your official position and ignore fame and fortune. This kind of sincere heart for serving the country is truly admirable." Zhao Ji sighed.
The Song Dynasty has always treated officials extremely well. Even if it is a serious crime, it is just a demotion of officials and exiled to the barbarians, without the punishment of directly depriving them of their officials. It can be said that one day, he would be an official in the court, and he would have been a job for his whole life. Of course, this generous treatment is only for civil officials. If military officers like Zhou Tong want to make a living in the private world, they can only resign and become ordinary people from then on. Therefore, in order to open a martial arts lecture hall, Zhou Tong and others sacrificed the greatest.
"Being an official is also for the purpose of doing things. The court raises scholars and must be loyal to the country. If you just hold an official position and do nothing every day, spend the money, food and public funds of the court, that is a despicable crime."
Zhou Tong also said: "There are six teachers in the martial arts hall, except me, all of whom are the former teachers and students of the Imperial Boxing Hall. Several colleagues said that although they cannot stay in the martial arts hall, they will come here to teach their disciples when they are on holidays. In addition, some old friends from the official residence are also handling their affairs, and agreed to come to the martial arts hall after the beginning of next year. In this way, there are nearly twenty teachers in the martial arts hall, which is enough."
Hearing this, Zhao Ji couldn't help but smile, and at the same time he sighed about the simple feelings of ancient people towards love and the country. These people knew that once they entered the martial arts hall, they could no longer enjoy their official positions and power, but because of a letter from Zhou Tong, they abandoned everything they had and devoted themselves to this martial arts hall that was uncertain and had not even been built, just to do their own strength for this country and nation.
Although Zhao Ji was grateful in his heart, he couldn't speak out directly how to compensate these people in the future. He just said to Zhou Tong: "These loyal and courageous teachers must be more kind. Although the martial arts lecture hall is not an official institution and cannot give these teachers official ranks, then the salary and offerings must not be short. Teacher Zhou, you should make your own decisions on these things. If there is any urgency in money, I will find a way to supplement the cost."
Zhou Tong nodded to show that his old friends and colleagues were willing to give in to the martial arts hall, so naturally it was not for the sake of just wealth. However, no matter how sincerely he served the country, he always needed to support his family and eat. If the colleagues' family members were unable to see the meat, Zhou Tong himself would be dissatisfied. However, this inevitably increased the cost burden of the martial arts hall. Although Prince Duan raised hundreds of thousands of chunks of money in the early stage, it was not a long-term solution to eat the whole country. Therefore, Zhou Tong was also working hard to maintain the way to make money in the martial arts hall in the future. It was just that Zhao Ji was worried no matter how much he was worried, and these thoughts were only kept in his heart.
While talking, the two walked to the places where the disciples practiced. Zhao Ji stood by and watched for a while and saw that there were about thirty disciples on the field, some of whom were in their teens, some in their early twenties, and even a strong man in their thirties. These disciples did not practice the same routines as those in the military, but were scattered in this open flat square to practice some tricks of weapons and fists, and there were teachers walking around or giving some guidance.
Among these disciples, the most outstanding ones were Lin Chong and Xu Ning. These two young men withdrew from the imperial guards as early as the beginning of the martial arts lecture hall and came to the martial arts lecture hall to become the first disciples. A famous teacher taught and a family-leading background, and his skills were obviously better than other disciples. They each stood in a corner and were the most dazzling existences on the field. There were many disciples watching from the side, and even the teachers looked at them.
Zhou Tong followed Zhao Ji's eyes, looked at Lin Chong and Xu Ning's body movements, and smiled and said, "These two boys have good foundations and good understanding. The external skills are already very solid, so now they can teach them some methods to polish and forge their inner breath, and their progress is also good. If they judge according to the perspective of the world, and practice for more than a year, they can already travel and travel in the mountains and do not embarrass the master."
While listening, Zhao Ji observed the shooting skills practiced by the two teenagers, which were less intense and stern, but more of a quiet and ancient taste. One shot was no longer a clear landing point that was to take human life. The entire gun body was trembling rhythmically, as if it could change its moves and force at any time to cover the opponent in the sky. It was indeed a threshold of turning from external skills to internal strength. Although it was just a slight change, it was a different two realms from "skill" to "skill".
In addition, there was another boy on the field who performed very eye-catchingly. The boy used a bamboo stick, which was swung and swung, and the stick was swaying and the sound was so loud that no one even dared to approach the boy several feet.
Zhou Tong said again: "The young man who used the stick is also good among this disciple. The young man is named Lu Junyi, a native of Daming Mansion in Hebei. He was introduced by an old friend of mine. Lu Junyi's understanding of martial arts is even higher than that of the little disciple Lin Chong. However, when he was young, he learned a lot of kung fu with his home guard. His foundation was not very solid, and he learned a fancy way. Now he first taught him a few ways of washing sticks. After Zhou corrected his fault, he would start from the internal skills of meditation and breathing."
When Zhou Tongzheng was explaining, a teacher approached Lu Junyi and took off the stick from Lu Junyi's hand with a palm, and then scolded him severely. Lu Junyi learned the lesson and then picked up the stick and became slow and serious when he practiced. However, after practicing for a while, his moves gradually became erratic again.
After seeing this, Zhou Tong couldn't help but sigh. The boy laid the wrong foundation and wanted to reverse it, but it would not be possible to make it work overnight. Then he said to Zhao Ji: "Among this group of disciples, the three boys with the best talent and talent, are they the princess who see the disciple who lifts the stone lock in the east?"
Zhao Ji looked in the sound and saw that Zhou Tong was referring to the oldest man in his thirties in the field. Unlike other teenagers who practice martial arts routines, the strong man held a stone lock in each hand and stood on the sidelines. Although it was late October, he exposed his upper body, revealing his strong muscles, and sweat gathered on his chest and back, sweating profusely. Next to him was a teacher, holding a stick with a copper ball in his front end, and occasionally knocking on the acupoints all over the man. Once hit, the strong man couldn't help but frown in pain and his body trembled.
Zhao Ji looked at it for a moment, but he didn't see any mystery in this strong man.
Zhou Tong explained: "This man is born with great power and his roots are surprisingly good. The only flaw is that he is older and his meridians and internal breath have stabilized. If he practices according to the usual methods, he will be like a cool iron embryo. Even if he breaks it, it will be difficult to forge any sharpness. The Zheng Xuexi next to him is unwilling to waste such excellent uncensored jade and material, so he devotes his whole life to break up the solid foundation of this man and reshape his qi. If he can do it, the future of this man is limitless!"
Hearing Zhou Tong's comment, Zhao Ji couldn't help but pay attention to the strong man, and asked, "What is this man's name? What is his origin?"
"This man's name is Yu Shou. He was originally a thug outside the city. The reason why he came to the martial arts lecture hall was that a tortuous and interesting thing happened. Yu Shou's mother was seriously ill. In order to raise money to treat the disease, she sneaked to the construction site at night to steal some materials to sell. She injured the craftsman who was watching the night and was caught by the teachers. This was how amazing his talents were seen."
Zhou Tong smiled and said, "He is the most valued disciple in the martial arts hall. If he can reshape his foundation, he can learn all the profound external martial arts in the Imperial Boxing Hall, such as the Dragon Subduing Palm of the Beggars' Sect and some of the unique skills of Shaolin."
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Chapter completed!