Across the Water Margin: Officials of Ximen

Ximenqing was overjoyed and received Yue Fei grandly. He took him to visit the mountains and rivers in Yunzhou for several days, and then he prepared a few generous gifts, and asked Qiao Yun to follow Yue Fei back to Tangyin County on his behalf, and give back to his sworn brother Zhou Tong and all my friends.

During Yue Fei's few days in Yanggu County, he heard about Ximen Qing's defeat of the Liangshan bandits in Zhujiazhuang. He was really excited and yearning for it.

When parting, Yue Fei begged Ximen Qing that next time he fought against the bandits, he would definitely send someone to fly to report to him, and he would definitely go all the way to join the battle on flying cavalry.

Xiao Yuefei was willing to get on his chariot, of course Ximen Qing couldn't wish for it, and immediately readily agreed.

Yue Fei received Ximen Qing's promise, and left Yanggu with Brother Qiao Yun with a happy smile.

Three days after Yue Fei left, another stranger who came from afar appeared outside Ximen Fort, and came to visit Ximen Qing specially.

3Chapter 17 in Makok, Lower Terengganu

Dengzhou Makuo?This person has never dealt with me before, how could he make a special trip to visit me?He came from Dengzhou, could it be related to Sun Li and others?

Ximen Qing was holding a greeting card in his hand, but he couldn't remember who Ma Kuo was.Could it be that my reputation as a senior official in Ximen has spread to Dengzhou by the sea, and there are heroes there to vote?Ximen Qing walked out of Ximen Fort with doubts, and personally greeted the guest who came from afar.

After meeting Ma Kuo, Ximen Qing knew that the visitor was a handsome young man in his twenties.Although this person was not as handsome as Ximen Qing, he was born with regular facial features and was quite energetic.

Ma Kuo saw that Ximen Qing came out to welcome him in person, he was also a good-looking talent, with an extraordinary bearing, he was also secretly convinced in his heart, Xin Dao was able to defeat many bandits in Liangshan and capture Sun Li, it was really extraordinary.

Ma Kuo and Ximen Qing finished their greetings, and immediately asked the servant to present the gift to Ximen Qing.This gift is a Japanese knife Karasuma and a cedar Koryo folding fan painted on blue crow paper.

Japanese knives are of high quality, and were favorites of warriors to collect and use, while Koryo folding fans were favorites of literati in the Song Dynasty.These two gifts, one piece of paper and one weapon, are both of great value, which shows Ma Kuo's intentions.

Ximen Qing invited the distinguished guests into the castle, served the famous tea Long Tuan Shengxue, and then chatted with Ma Kuo.

After Ma Kuopin finished his tea, he explained his intentions to Ximen Qing.

It turned out that Ma Kuo was the son of Ma Zheng, a soldier of Dengzhou, who was in command of Ma Qian. This time, he was going to Tokyo to take the martial arts exam. He passed by Yanggu County, and came to visit Ximen Qing, the hero who defeated the Liangshan bandits.

When Sun Li and others rebelled and killed people in Dengzhou, Ma Kuo briefly fought against Zou Yuan and Zou Run's uncle and nephew in the government office of the state government, and protected Zhou Quan, the two ministers of the state and Tongjuan.

When Ma Kuo's father, Ma Zheng, led troops to rescue and suppress the repression, Ma Kuo helped his father hunt down Sun Li and other rebels.It's a pity that Sun Li and others ran too fast. Ma Kuo chased him outside Mao Taigong's village but failed to catch up with Sun Li and his party, allowing them to escape from Dengzhou.

Sun Li, the commander of the army and Ma Zheng, was Ma Zheng's general. He suddenly rebelled and killed Kong Mu, Jie Ji, and a group of old villains in Dengzhou, making Ma Zheng feel ashamed among his colleagues. Feel the pressure.

When Ma Zhengzheng was at a loss as to how to arrest Sun Li and had an explanation to the court, good news suddenly came from Yunzhou, saying that Sun Li and his gang had all been wiped out.

Soon, the heads of the eight bandit leaders, including Sun Li, were sent back to Dengzhou, and hung on the top of the east gate to show the public, announcing to the world that the rebels who had rebelled against the imperial court and rebelled in Dengzhou had been wiped out by the imperial court.

The death of Sun Li and others relieved all the top and bottom officials of Dengzhou prefect, Tong San and Jin Ju.

The official document handed to Dengzhou by Chen Wenzhao, the prefect of Dongping Prefecture in Yunzhou, explained the ins and outs of the capture of Sun Li and others.Inform everyone that this time, Ximen Qing, a martyr from Yanggu County, and others organized volunteer soldiers to resist the Liangshanpo bandits, and joined forces with Dong Ping, the military governor, to defeat the Liangshan army.During this period, the captives beheaded many bandit leaders, and it happened that Sun Li and other Dengzhou rebels were among them.

Ma Zheng knew that his subordinate Sun Li was highly skilled in martial arts, so he was really difficult to deal with.He admired the martyr Ximen Qing and others who defeated Sun Li very much, and he was full of praise in front of the Dengzhou prefect and the general judge.

Ma Kuo was beside his father at that time, listening to the deeds of Ximen Qing and others.Skilled in bowing and horses, he has admired and liked to make friends with heroes in the world since he was a child, so he deliberately came to know Ximen Qing and other heroes.

This time the imperial court held a martial arts exam, and Ma Kuo was ordered by his father to go to Tokyo to take the exam.He specially brought generous gifts and passed by Yanggu County, just to pay a visit to Ximen Qing and other heroes.

When he came to Yanggu County, Ma Kuo inquired about the history of the First World War in Zhujiazhuang. The people were all talking about Ximen Qing's various righteous deeds and good deeds, which made him appreciate Ximen Qing even more, and he wished he hadn't met such a hero earlier. hero.

While Ma Kuo was talking eloquently and explaining his intentions for coming, Ximen Qing was also scratching his head to recall what kind of figure this young talent from the general family in front of him was in history.

As Ma Kuo mentioned his father Ma Zheng many times, Ximen Qing seemed to remember something.This Ma Kuo has never appeared in the Water Margin that I am familiar with, but I saw in an article in my previous life that his father and son seemed to have participated in the Song Jin Haihai Alliance?

Ximen Qing finally had a little impression of this man named Ma Kuo, and vaguely remembered that he was a man of great importance in history who had participated in Song-Jin diplomacy, and later led the rebel army to fight against Jin.

Hehehe, it seems that I, Ximen Qing, is developing the domineering spirit of a high-ranking official, such as Ma Kuo, who has a reputation in history, has also begun to take the initiative to befriend me!Ximen Qing was secretly proud.

Remembering that Ma Kuo is also a historical celebrity, Ximen Qing became more enthusiastic about him, and held a large banquet in Ximen Fort, inviting Luan Tingyu and other brothers to attend, and together clean up the dust for Ma Kuo.

Ma Kuo was very happy to see so many heroes, and exchanged cups with everyone, talking freely.This Ma Kuo young man is heroic, good at learning guns and sticks, and shares the same interests with all the heroes.

At the banquet, Ximen Qing and others told Ma Kuo about the Battle of Dulonggang in detail, and he was dumbfounded, admiring Ximen Qing's resourcefulness and Luan Tingyu's invincible bravery.

Knowing that Luan Tingyu is Sun Li's senior brother and that his martial arts is better than Sun Li's, Ma Kuo also drank too much wine and asked Ximen Qing and Luan Tingyu drunkenly that the imperial court was about to hold a martial arts exam to select generals. Are you not interested in going to Bianliang, Tokyo, to take the exam with him, and fight for the fame of being a wife?

Ximen Qing had decided not to be an official in the Song Dynasty since the time he crossed over, so as not to be buried with him as a scapegoat. Hearing Ma Kuo's words, he naturally refused with a smile.He told Ma Kuo that he only wanted to be a wealthy official, and that he could protect the environment and the people in Yanggu County.

Luan Tingyu also told Ma Kuo with a smile that he and Ximen Qing were advancing and retreating together. If Ximen Qing didn't take the exam to become an official, of course he would just be a wandering wild crane here.

When Ma Kuo saw that Ximenqing and Luan Tingyu had great talents but did not want to share with the emperor's family, they were willing to live in seclusion in Linquan, a farmhouse, and he sighed for pity.After eating another bowl of wine, Ma Kuo directly praised Ximen Qing and Luan Tingyu as hermits and talents, and they were very attractive.He said that he was very envious of Ximen Qing, Luan Tingyu and others, and that if he had the opportunity in the future, he would also come to Ximen Fort to join Ximen Qing.

Seeing Ma Kuo's straightforward personality and congeniality with everyone, everyone laughed at his wine talk and didn't care.

Ximen Qing had a good impression of Ma Kuo, and when he learned that he was going to Tokyo to take the martial arts exam, he suggested that Ma Kuo stay in Ximenbao for a few days, let Luan Tingyu and others exchange ideas with Ma Kuo, and then help Ma Kuo improve a bit. martial arts skills.

Ma Kuo was overjoyed when he heard the words, and immediately decided to stay in Ximen Castle, and asked Luan Tingyu and other heroes to teach him martial arts.

They all met a new hero, and they all drank happily until late at night.

Chapter 348 My Teacher Is Zong Ze

After waking up on the second day, Ximenqing invited Ma Kuo to the training ground and asked him to meet with all the heroes and show off their abilities.Luan Tingyu's spear and stick skills, Jiao Ting's unarmed combat, sumo wrestling skills and Ximen Qing's sword skills all made Ma Kuo amazed.

On the sidelines of the military training ground, Ma Kuo also told Ximen Qing how the imperial court martial arts examination is now.

In the first year of Yuanfeng in the Northern Song Dynasty, the imperial court promulgated the "Law of Envoys and Envoys Trying Bow and Horse Skills to Become Officials".The law stipulates that the requirements for the first class in martial arts are: shooting a stone bow on foot, hitting three out of ten shots; being able to shoot seven bows at once, and mastering five kinds of martial arts on horseback.After passing these two tests, there will be an essay test, answering the questions on "Sun Wu's Art of War" and writing "Current Affairs and Frontier Defense Strategies", from which the best ones will be selected for admission.

In the fourth year of Song Huizong Daguan, it was stipulated that only ten people should be selected for each martial arts exam. Therefore, if you want to win the exam, you must not only be proficient in horseback martial arts, but also have to be familiar with military books and war strategies.

After Ximen Qing heard this, he thought that the foot shooting, riding shooting and horse fighting in this martial arts could not be difficult for himself and Luan Tingyu.But the literary test is quite difficult for me who has never read ancient military books and strategies, and there is almost no chance of winning.Luan Tingyu had learned the art of war before, so this martial art should not be too difficult for him.

This Ma Kuo dared to participate in martial arts, and he is also a talent capable of writing and martial arts!You need to win over him more, and use it for me in the future!

Ximenqing asked Ma Kuo what kind of martial arts he was best at, and Ma Kuo said that he was originally a Di Daoren and was good at riding and shooting.Ximen Qing's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he invited Ma Kuo to play.

Ma Kuo got on the horse, rode the horse and galloped, drew the bow like a full moon, and shot five arrows at the target, all of which were hit, showing his superb archery skills to everyone.

Ximen Qing saw it, and got on the horse for a while, and demonstrated the lianju archery that he had learned from Zhou Tong.

Luan Tingyu, Jiao Ting and others applauded Ximen Qing's Lianzhu arrows, and Ma Kuo was dazzled by seeing them, making Ma Kuo admire Ximen Qing's riding and shooting skills.

Ximen Qing wanted to win over Ma Kuo, and after returning to the mansion from the training ground, he lent Ma Kuo the secret book "The Essentials of Archery" given to him by Zhou Tong. After thinking about it all night, Ma Kuo learned from Zhou Tong's experience, It was as if he had been enlightened, and his archery skills improved a little.

Ma Kuo is impressed by Ximen Qing's unreserved attitude, and wants to repay Ximen Qing first.Knowing that Ximenqing was training volunteer soldiers to defend against Liangshan bandits, he took the "Seven Books of Martial Arts" he had studied day and night to Ximenqing, and communicated with Ximenqing, Luan Tingyu and others to help Ximenqing train soldiers in the future. Array.

"The Seven Books of Martial Arts" is a series of books on the art of war promulgated by the court of the Northern Song Dynasty as official books. ", "Li Weigong Questions and Answers" is a compilation of seven famous military books, which can be said to be the culmination of ancient Chinese military art.This book is very useful for improving the army's cold weapon combat capability.

Of course, for today's Ximen Qing, it is not difficult to find a copy of "The Seven Books of Martial Arts".Ma Kuo gave Ximenqing the "Seven Books of the Classic of Martial Arts", which is precious because it contains many notes of Ma Kuo's reading and his teacher's explanations and pointers to the book.

Ximen Qing roughly read the "Seven Books of Martial Arts" given to him by Ma Kuo, and found that his teacher's comments recorded by Ma Kuo were quite insightful, so he asked Ma Kuo who the teacher who taught him the art of war was.

Ma Kuo told Ximen Qing that he learned the method of battle from Dengzhou Tongpan Zongze.

Zongze?Ximen Qing was taken aback when he heard the name, and almost thought he heard it wrong.After confirming with Ma Kuo again, he realized that he had heard correctly. Ma Kuo's teacher in Dengzhou was Zong Ze, who was then the general judge of Dengzhou.