Chapter 112 Jiang Qin
I never expected that a "recruitment order" could have such great power.

From July to August.

Within a month, visitors from various counties and prefectures of Yangzhou came in an endless stream.

Not only craftsmen, doctors, and scholars, but also some people from the Hundred Schools of Thought whose traditions were about to be cut off appeared.

The Agriculturalists, Mohists, Legalists, etc., all came.

There are even people applying to be military generals!

For this reason, Jin Mao had to hold a competition in Nanchang County, with officers at all levels serving as examiners. As long as they could pass three levels and defeat any of the final bosses Dong Xi, He Qi, and Gong Lei, they could become the reserve force of the Royal Guards.

It is also very easy to become a regular member. Just stay in the recruit camp for a quarter and pass the competition, and you can become a member of the Royal Guard.

It just so happened that the military was about to start a new round of promotion matches, so I could do two things at once.

...

Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin were originally pirates on the Yangtze River. They got to know each other when they were robbing the rich and helping the poor.

Last time, when Jinmao passed by the Yangtze River waterway and was clearing out bandits along the way, the two of them happened to avoid him and did not become the targets of the crackdown.

This time, upon learning about Jinmao’s recruitment order, Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin came together to sign up immediately.

"Youping, do you think the county governor can really tolerate us?" Jiang Qin was very worried: "What if we are recognized?"

Zhou Tai looked at Jiang Qin helplessly. It was Jiang Qin who wanted to come, and it was also Jiang Qin who was backing down.

It can’t be said that the two are very close, but as colleagues they often see each other and become familiar with each other over time.

As the only survivors last time, the two of them secretly felt lucky, and at the same time, their common experience brought them closer together.

Ordinary people may not know how famous Jinmao is now, but for those who live nearby and live on the edge of danger all year round, it is absolutely well-known.

Conquer the Baiyue in Kuaiji, capture half of Wujun, annihilate the heroic commander Yan Baihu, and defeat the "general" Qu Xing...

One by one, for Zhou Tai and the other two, no one under Jin Mao's sword was an unknown person.

If you can follow a person like this, who would want to be a pirate?
In fact, Zhou Tai felt a little guilty, but he had good eyesight and had already seen that the leader of another group of pirates on the Yangtze River waterway also came to participate in the selection and passed the first round.

He was full of life and there was nothing wrong with him.

"Gong Yi, don't worry." Zhou Tai comforted him, "Didn't the prefect say that he would not pursue the past? It's okay, don't worry."

Jiang Qin was still very uneasy and asked, "What does the last sentence, 'The most important thing is the future', mean?"

Zhou Tai rolled his eyes. There was nothing he could do since Jiang Qin was illiterate. He explained, "It's very simple. It means that you have to be a good person who abides by the law in the future."

Jiang Qin suddenly realized and exclaimed: "Youping, you are really cultured!"

Zhou Tai didn't want to talk. He couldn't understand such colloquial language and really suspected that Jiang Qin was pretending.

Soon, someone on the stage held up a bamboo slip and shouted, "Jiang Qin! Who is Jiang Qin?"

"Hey! Here it is! Here it comes, here it comes!"

Jiang Qin entered the arena swiftly, and when he heard the other party explaining the rules, he couldn't help but exclaim: "You are really well-educated!"

This person is Gong Lei, who is boredly serving as the supervisor of this assessment. So far, no one has been able to pass the three levels he set.

"Both sides can only use wooden swords and shields." Gong Lei ignored Jiang Qin's praise and said, "That's enough."

Jiang Qin asked curiously again: "Sir, what does it mean to stop at the right time?"

There were many people queuing up behind him. Gong Lei didn't want to explain and said casually, "You'll know when you defeat him."

"Hey, that's good."

Jiang Qin was very excited to go on the court. Opposite him were the Baiyue soldiers who were newly recruited at the beginning of the year.

Because of Bai Shi, most of the Baiyue soldiers admired him and appeared to be ruthless.

Although this new recruit could already be considered a veteran, Jiang Qin still knocked him down within ten rounds.

Just when Jiang Qin was about to kill him with the final blow, Gong Lei stepped in and blocked the attack.

"The winner is decided! The winner, step back!"

Jiang Qin did as he was told and exclaimed in surprise, "So this is what it means to stop at the right time!"

Gong Lei felt that Jiang Qin looked down upon him, so he called his second round opponent and told him, "Don't hold back."

This person happened to be an elite member of Gong Lei's main camp. He nodded fiercely and looked at Jiang Qin with a fierce look.

"This person must be an elite!" Jiang Qin couldn't help but become more serious.

After thirty rounds, Jiang Qin put away his sword, clasped his fists and said, "That's enough."

Gong Lei's face twitched wildly, feeling humiliated. He hadn't even said a word yet, but why did Jiang Qin look so confident of winning?

However, Gong Lei still stopped the veteran and let Jiang Qin advance to the third round. "Take a break?" Gong Lei pointed to the food next to him and said, "After you pass the second round, you can eat some cakes and drink some salty oil soup before fighting again."

Jiang Qin saw that Zhou Tai next to him had also passed the second round and directly challenged the third round. He was unwilling to fall behind and said, "Let's start."

Gong Lei nodded.

The third round was between the elite imperial guards. After fifty rounds, the sweaty Jiang Qin narrowly won.

At this time, without Gong Lei saying anything, Jiang Qin went to get the bread and drink the soup, as he really couldn't hold on any longer.

Gong Lei introduced himself first: "My name is Gong Lei, and I am currently the commander of the first battalion."

"You are the first person among me to pass the three rounds of assessment. What is your name?"

Jiang Qin put down his food, looked at Gong Lei excitedly and said, "You are the sinister and cunning Captain Gong! I have heard of your name for a long time!"

Gong Lei's head was full of black lines. What kind of title is this? It doesn't sound like a good thing.

"Jiang Qin's name is Gong Yi." Jiang Qin straightened up and said, "Nice to meet you."

Gong Lei knew that he could not compare with He Qi and others, so he kept trying to broaden his horizons and patiently asked, "Jiang Qin, what did you do before? Would you like to join my main battalion?"

Jiang Qin's face was full of confusion. Didn't he say he wouldn't ask about the past?

Just then, a scream came from the side.

It turned out that Zhou Tai also passed three rounds, but he challenged He Qi directly without taking a rest, which caused exclamations.

"Do you know that person?" Gong Lei said, "I saw you two walking together just now."

Jiang Qin thought his identity had been seen through, so he confessed honestly: "Zhou Tai and I were both Yangtze River pirates, and we did know each other before."

Gong Lei nodded, not paying attention to the identities of the two pirates, and asked: "Do you want to continue the challenge?"

"Fight!" Jiang Qin did not hesitate, with a flame of war burning in his eyes.

Gong Lei nodded: "I'll wait for you for half an hour."

After saying that, he went to organize the next competition.

Jiang Qin didn't try to take the lead either. He was very similar to Gong Lei, very self-aware and eager to rest for a while.

Jiang Qin was so bored that he came over to cheer Zhou Tai up.

"Youping, come on!"

"Youping, watch out for your lower plate. The old man is cunning and always takes the lower three routes."

"Well done, Youping! The old man doesn't have enough strength, hit him! Yes! Hit him!"

With Jiang Qin's support, Zhou Tai fought with He Qi for sixty rounds, but there was no clear winner.

After another forty rounds, Zhou Tai relied on his superior physical strength to drag He Qi to the point where he revealed a flaw and won the battle.

"You are really amazing, Youping!" Jiang Qin praised sincerely: "You can actually defeat the "traitor Sima" He Qi!"

One sentence complimented two people.

He Qi stood up cheerfully and asked, "You defeated Gong Lei so quickly? It seems that you are also a brave general."

Jiang Qin scratched his head and said, "Seeing that you are so powerful, I will not challenge Captain Gong."

"Gong Lei is the weakest among the three illiterate people. Are you sure you don't want to challenge him?"

Facing He Qi's provocation, Gong Lei jumped up and said, "He Gongmiao, come down and practice?!"

"Haha!" He Qi laughed and said, "Just practice, why would I be afraid of a weakling like you?"

"Wait for me!"

Jiang Qin looked around, and finally couldn't help but come to Zhou Tai and asked, "Youping, do you think I should challenge you?"

Zhou Tai was drinking soup and eating bread to restore his strength and was too lazy to answer.

"Then let's challenge!"

Zhou Tai: “…”

Soon, the battle between Jiang Qin and Gong Lei began.

Gong Lei was not known for his martial arts skills, and was only slightly better than the elite imperial guards.

Jiang Qin fought repeatedly and consumed too much physical strength, so the two fought for fifty rounds. In the end, Gong Lei won by one move.

However, Gong Lei still assured Jiang Qin: "Thank you for giving me some face. I will definitely recommend you to the lord!"

Jiang Qin was overjoyed. He had tried his best and didn't expect that something good would happen even after losing.

(End of this chapter)