Chapter 354: Inferior to Others

Zhang Miaosan, Li Mu and Zhao Tong stood in the big tent, telling Ou Zanghua the beginning of the whole incident. On the other side stood three military officers from the Beijing camp.

After listening to this, Ou Zanghua looked at the three military officers of the Beijing Camp and asked, "Do you have anything to add?"

The three of them looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly, because the other party had described it in great detail, even repeating the words they had cursed at in the beginning, leaving them no room for exaggeration.

Ou Zanghua secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was just as Qiu Yue had investigated before. It was out of jealousy that he deliberately provoked and eventually the conflict escalated.

In this way, his students would be able to do nothing wrong.

What made Qiu Yue even more angry was that all the twelve military officers who died were from the Beijing camp.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Qiu Yue stared at the three military officers from the Beijing camp and said coldly, "Ask yourselves why I excluded you. Don't you have any self-awareness in your heart?!"

"Lord Qiu, my colleagues and I have served in the Beijing camp for many years, enduring wind, frost, rain or snow, and working diligently... Even if we haven't made outstanding achievements, we must have suffered some hardships, right?" One person tried to hide his embarrassment with a smile and asked tentatively.

Qiu Yue heard this without changing his expression, and said in a firm tone: "No, your existence has not only failed to bring any benefit to the Beijing Camp, but has caused it to decline day by day!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of the military officers in the Beijing camp changed suddenly, and for a moment they didn't know what to say.

Ou Zanghua said at this time: "The matter is clear. According to military law, you gathered a crowd to cause trouble and hurt people's lives, and you should be sentenced to death. However, His Majesty is merciful and gives you a chance to compete for the position. But before that, you must tell me who the leader is? Think clearly before answering, this is a serious crime that will implicate three clans!"

The three military officers were stunned. After weighing the matter in their minds, they replied, "Your Excellency, the leaders are Zheng Futian, Mao Daxiong, and Xu Ruoyu."

Ou Zanghua and Qiu Yue looked at each other, and then Qiu Yue nodded towards Sanhe.

Sanhe understood and immediately retreated.

Ou Zanghua looked at everyone and said calmly: "Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, a martial arts exam will be held in the military camp. The exam content is the three basics of strength, speed, and endurance. The top 500 can stay, and those who are below 500 will voluntarily withdraw!"

After saying that, Ou Zanghua waved his hand, signaling the six people to leave and asked them to take the message back.

Qiu Yue looked at Ou Zanghua and said with emotion: "I didn't expect that these Jiangxi military officers were actually Ou Keqing's disciples. No wonder they all know right from wrong and act prudently."

"Your Majesty, you are joking," Ou Zanghua sighed and said, "I didn't expect that His Majesty would actually recruit these Jiangxi military officers. I taught them at the beginning just to give them an extra choice in their future life."

"This is what we call an accidental planting of willows that eventually leads to a good harvest!" Qiu Yue asked curiously, "How many military officers did Ou Keqing teach?"

Ou Zanghua recalled for a moment and said slowly: "From small flags to centurions, there are a total of 800 people. Some of them joined the Poyang Lake Navy, and the rest should be scattered in Raozhou Prefecture and Jiujiang Prefecture in Jiangxi."

Qiu Yue's eyes lit up after hearing this. There were actually 300 such useful middle-level military officers. He had to find a way to get them all!
Afterwards, the two men organized the soldiers to clean up the parade ground and moved out a total of 120 stone blocks of various sizes from the warehouse, which were divided into 50 jin, 100 jin, 200 jin, and 300 jin from small to large.

On the second day, when Ou Zanghua and Qiu Yue arrived at the parade ground, they found that all 500 military officers from Jiangxi were present. Among them, many were injured and unable to go on the field, so they stood in a separate team to support their comrades in this way.

The military officers of the Beijing camp gathered in twos and threes, and bursts of laughter could be heard from time to time. The difference between them was visible to the naked eye.

The sound of a gong echoed in all directions.

This means that the martial arts exam has officially begun, and the first stage is weightlifting. Each side sends out 15 people, and they only need to lift the stone pillar for ten breaths. According to the weight, the scores are divided into A, B, C, and D, with A being the highest and D being the lowest. Each person has two chances, and the score will be invalid if they miss it.

The Jiangxi military attachés understood this simple rule immediately. They were very rational and most of them chose the 200-jin stone block. Only a few strong men or those with a martial arts background would challenge the 300-jin block.

The military officers of the Beijing Camp had an inexplicable self-confidence. They would always choose 300 kilograms when lifting something, but they would often lose strength and drop it after less than three breaths.

There were even a few people who were unlucky and were injured by the stone pillars.

Ou Zanghua was speechless for a while, feeling mixed emotions. He really couldn't understand where the confidence of these people came from.

A test of strength tore off the bright and beautiful outer garments of the military officers of the Beijing Camp.

Next is the speed test, which is simpler. Ou Zanghua arranged a 4x100m relay race, which not only tests speed but also teamwork.

Since both parties were participating in this event for the first time, the baton was dropped from time to time, which caused laughter from the people around, but made the atmosphere between the two sides inexplicably friendly.

It took only one day to test the strength and speed. After the results came out, Ou Zang Huaming created a large template and directly posted the results so that everyone could see them.

The endurance test on the second day was even simpler. Everyone moved to the twelve-acre horse farm in the Three Thousand Camp. Then everyone ran at the same time until the last hundred people were left. Those who pushed each other would have their scores disqualified.

With the sound of a gong, the race officially began, and nearly a thousand military officers began the Ming Dynasty version of the marathon.

The three thousand soldiers under Qiu Yue became the best supervisors. Each of them rode two horses and ran in the inner circle, staring at their targets like eagles.

Ou Zanghua and Qiu Yue sat on the stage and could see most of the scene below.

Qiu Yue suddenly said, "Yesterday, Sanhe led people to capture Mao Daxiong and Zhang Zongzhou, but Mao Daxiong fought desperately and was eventually killed on the spot. But Xu Ruoyu was a master and actually escaped from Sanhe's hands."

Ou Zanghua was stunned and asked, "Have you investigated Xu Ruoyu's background?"

"Not yet. My relationship with the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard is average." Qiu Yue shook his head. Ou Zanghua wrote down the name and prepared to check it through the Beggars' Sect.

The endurance contest lasted for a whole morning and ended at one quarter past noon. Among the hundred people left, seven were from the Beijing camp.

After statistics, Qiu Yue ordered people to post the results. Among the 500 people, Jiangxi military officers had an absolute advantage, totaling 403 people, of whom 39 were injured and did not take the test.

Qiu Yue stood under the list, scanning the scene with a sharp gaze:
"Strength, speed, and endurance are the cornerstones of a military commander's success!"

"Since ancient times, famous generals have been known for their strength, speed, and endurance. Strength is the spear that breaks the enemy's defenses, and it is invincible. Speed ​​is the opportunity to seize the enemy's advantage and gain the upper hand. Endurance is the shield that holds the enemy in battle, and it becomes stronger with time. The combination of these three is like adding wings to a tiger, and it is invincible."

"Look at you guys again. You can't carry anything on your shoulders, you can't lift anything with your hands, you don't have the energy to do anything, and you don't know how to use a weapon! How can you stay in the military camp with dignity?!"

Many military officers in the Beijing camp lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at Qiu Yue.

"Humph! Now that the result is clear, you guys should pack your bags and go home and wait for orders!"

(End of this chapter)