Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

Although Jiang Ni was a princess of the fallen Western Chu, she was taken back to the Northern Liang royal palace by Xu Xiao when she was young. With the Northern Liang king as her protector, she did not live a life of poverty like other princes and nobles, nor did she suffer too much hardship in her life.

Therefore, she did not harbor any deep-seated national or personal hatred, and always maintained her kind nature, unwilling to let others sacrifice their lives because of her.

"Your Highness, you mustn't say such things again, or you'll discourage those who are willing to help you restore your kingdom," Cao Changqing hurriedly said. Then, seeing Jiang Ni's confused expression, he sighed and said, "Your Highness's kindness and respect for life are commendable, but our restoration of Western Chu is ultimately for the benefit of the common people. Your Highness didn't grow up in Guangling Road and doesn't know the suffering of the people there. You must know that Jiangnan has always been a prosperous and fertile land, but under Zhao Yi's oppressive rule, even with bountiful harvests year after year, people still starve to death. Someone once wrote the indignant lines, 'There is no idle land under heaven, yet farmers still starve to death.' And this is just the bare minimum. Besides the exorbitant taxes and corvée labor, everyone in Guangling Road lives in constant fear under Zhao Yi's rule; anyone who dares to utter a single dissenting word will be executed." The entire family was wiped out. Furthermore, Zhao Yi and his son were greedy and lustful; what the superiors desire, the inferiors will surely follow. If any family in Guangling Road had a beautiful woman, it would be a great calamity. Such incidents were countless.

Cao Changqing paused for a moment and continued, "Your Highness, do you know that when the Western Chu Kingdom was destroyed, Guangling Road still had a population of over 400 million? However, during the more than ten years of Zhao Yi's rule, the population dropped from over 400 million to less than 200 million. It can be said that every inch of Guangling Road is imbued with the sins of King Zhao Yi of Guangling. Therefore, the restoration of our Great Chu Kingdom is to save those people who have been forced to live by Zhao Yi."

"Uncle Cao, I was ignorant and didn't know the reason. I promise I won't say those things again. After we defeat Zhao Yi, we will let the people live a good life." Under Cao Changqing's words, Jiang Ni became ashamed. She had never thought that the people of Guangling Road lived such a miserable life, and she also knew why so many people were willing to sacrifice their lives for the restoration of the country.

"Your Highness has the people at heart. I believe that you will surely become a legendary figure like Empress Murong of Northern Mang in the future," Cao Changqing said with satisfaction.

Empress Murong became the first female emperor in the world, and Cao Changqing also hoped that after the restoration of Western Chu, Jiang Ni would become a figure comparable to the Empress of Northern Mang.

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In Kuaiji Prefecture, four days passed in the blink of an eye, and the first round of the martial arts examination was successfully completed. A total of 1100 people passed the preliminary round, of which about 60 were women, causing quite a stir in the martial arts world.

"Congratulations to everyone for passing the preliminary test. This means you have obtained the qualification of a martial arts student and are now eligible to serve in the army," Shen Qing said loudly from the high platform, looking at the group of martial artists who had been selected in the preliminary test below.

"You may not be familiar with the ranks in the military, so I will briefly introduce them below. Five men form a squad, with one squad leader, totaling 6 men. Two squads form a platoon, with one platoon leader, totaling 13 men. Three platoons form a team, with one team leader, totaling 40 men. Three teams form a squad, with one squad leader, one deputy squad leader, one supply platoon of 11 men, one mess platoon of 11 men, and one scout squad of 6 men, totaling 150 men. Three squads form a battalion, with one captain, two deputy captains, and a supply platoon, mess platoon, scout platoon, etc., totaling 500 men. After you obtain the qualification of a military student, you can directly serve as a team leader upon entering the army, exempting you from the promotion process of squad leader and platoon leader after new recruits enlist."

"Lord Shen, what would happen if we continued with the exam?" Shen Qing asked curiously, a knowing smile on his face. He had just given that introduction to pique the curiosity of the crowd below, and now he had achieved his goal.

"If you continue to participate in the martial arts examination, the pass rate will be 10:1. The 110 martial artists who successfully advance will obtain the status of Martial Scholar and can serve as squad leaders. Similarly, after advancing from Martial Scholar, 11 people will obtain the status of Martial Examination Graduate and can serve as captains. If they wish to continue taking the exam, 3 Martial Examination Graduates will be selected from the 11 people, namely the top scholar and the second-place scholar. We martial artists do not have the same distinctions as scholars; we have always believed that there is no first place in literature, but there is no second place in martial arts. I have other plans for the Martial Examination Graduates, so I will not go into details here. The opportunity is right in front of you, and I hope you can seize it." Shen Qing spoke eloquently, explaining the rules in detail to everyone present, striving to make them understand the meaning.

"Lord Shen, if I may ask a question, is the next exam for the Martial Arts Scholar still a martial arts contest?" Suddenly, a victor asked. Shen Qing looked up and immediately recognized the man as Wen Hua, the Wooden Swordsman.

At this moment, Wen Hua has broken free from his original fate and become full of vigor. He is full of confidence and admiration for Li Baishi. He vows to pass the martial arts exam and win the heart of his goddess. Standing with him is Wu Liuding from the Wu Family Sword Tomb.

As Wen Hua asked the question, everyone's attention was drawn to Shen Qing.

Shen Qing laughed and said, "Of course not. This is a martial arts examination, which is different from the selection of the leader of the martial arts alliance in the Jianghu. Since everyone is curious, I will tell you directly."

After piquing everyone's curiosity, Shen Qing continued, "Through the selection of martial arts students, everyone proved that they are not weak. Therefore, the selection of martial arts scholars is completely different from that in the martial arts world. Besides wearing armor and carrying heavy loads, martial arts scholars are also tested on archery and horsemanship. Martial arts candidates, in addition to archery and horsemanship, are also tested on military strategy and tactics. The examination for martial arts graduates is even more rigorous. So, if you don't know how to ride, then I regret to inform you that you can only obtain the status of martial arts students for now. If you want to be promoted to martial arts scholars, you need to practice your riding skills diligently this year and can continue to participate after the martial arts examination begins next year."

"Testing riding skills? I've never even touched a horse in my life. This isn't fair, Lord Shen. Is riding skills really the only requirement?" Some of the martial artists who passed the test, who couldn't ride horses, protested.

Horses were very precious in the snowy world, especially further south, where their prices rose. For ordinary people, a horse could cost more than a car in later times. As a result, even many martial artists had little contact with horses and relied on their own two feet to travel. Some martial artists who knew light-footed skills could travel much faster, while those who did not could only walk steadily, one step at a time.

Therefore, when someone spoke up, it immediately resonated with many people, who felt that Shen Qing's demands were too harsh.

"Fellow candidates," Shen Qing said, "listen to me. Put yourselves in my shoes. Since you've chosen to join the army, horsemanship is an unavoidable hurdle. Imagine if you were to become a general commanding an army; would you really want to walk all day? Aside from the impact on marching speed, it wouldn't look good on you. Furthermore, as Yuezhou develops and grows stronger, it will inevitably build a powerful cavalry force. Are you all willing to give up the opportunity to lead an army of cavalry? If any of you are truly determined never to ride a horse again, then come to me, and I guarantee I'll make other arrangements." With Shen Qing's words, the dissent gradually subsided.

After thinking about it, everyone agreed that it made sense. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to become the commander-in-chief while his men rode horses and he stood on the ground; that would seem rather incongruous.

With the equestrian skill requirement, 600 out of 1100 people voluntarily gave up advancing, demonstrating the rarity of the horses. It's worth noting that martial artists generally have better conditions than ordinary people, and even so, only half of them knew how to ride, highlighting the value of the horses. However, of these 600 martial artists who gave up the exam, only 56 chose to join the army directly; the rest planned to return to practice their equestrian skills and study military strategy, hoping to try their luck at becoming a scholar or a provincial graduate the following year.

Everyone has a tendency to overestimate themselves. When faced with choices, they always feel superior and are unwilling to seize the opportunities at hand, only wanting to obtain better options.

However, Shen Qing didn't say much about it. The first martial arts examination was held hastily, and many rules and conditions were completely relaxed. The most crucial point was that Yuezhou was currently lacking talent and urgently needed to build an army to control the region. In the future, as Yuezhou stabilized, the martial arts examination would gradually become more standardized, and the requirements would become more and more stringent. As for whether these people would regret their decision today, that was up to them.