Chapter 28: One in Ten Thousand

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  The Qin family had a lively and warm New Year's celebration. Eldest son Qin Tong and second son Qin Bin both brought their wives and children back home to celebrate together, filling the house with joy and harmony.

  Qin Shubao had been out of the imperial court for many years and rarely socialized with anyone. During the New Year's period, there were few visitors to pay their respects, only a handful of people like Cheng Zhijie. In the Zhenguan era, the officialdom was clean and honest, and officials rarely gave each other expensive gifts when visiting each other. When someone as important as Cheng Zhijie came to pay his respects, he would just bring a package of local specialties from Puzhou, and the Qin family would host him with wine.

  Apart from enjoying family affection, Qin Mubai was busier than anyone else, as the Emperor's Recruitment Day on the 15th of the first month was approaching, and he had to seize every moment to practice his martial arts. Therefore, even on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, he would still practice for several hours, not daring to slack off.

  Seeing him work so hard, Qin Shubao and Cheng Zhijie were naturally satisfied. Even Qin Tong and Qin Bin, the two elder brothers, looked at Qin Mubai with new eyes and praised him without stopping.

  The Qin family, overall, is still very harmonious and warm. The relationships between the brothers are also quite close, with no major estrangement. Both older brothers have been in the imperial court for several years, one from a literary background and the other from a military background. Their experiences and insights are of great benefit to Qin Mu Bai. During the Chinese New Year, Qin Mu Bai's relationship with his two older brothers has also deepened. The three brothers often gather together to drink wine and chat, discussing everything under the sun.

  As the Lantern Festival approaches, Qin Mu Bai's anxiety grows. It's not because of the emperor's selection of soldiers that causes tension, but rather the prophecy of the great god Yuan Tian Gang about Qin Shu Bao's lifespan... In recent days, Qin Mu Bai has been paying attention to Qin Shu Bao's every move and found that he doesn't show any signs of his life force dwindling, instead, he becomes more spirited and his body gets better. One time, after drinking a little wine, Qin Shu Bao became excited and even asked the three Qin brothers to fight him together, and surprisingly, they couldn't defeat him!

  The whole family let out a sigh of relief, each secretly rejoicing in their hearts.

  On the evening of January 14th, Qin Shubao called Qin Mubai into his room and asked him questions.

  "Sanlang, tomorrow is the day of the Emperor's soldier selection. I think your martial arts skills are about right. If nothing unexpected happens, among the younger generation, there should be few who can beat you." Qin Shubao said, "However, as for Li Ke, how do you plan to deal with him? Even if leaving Wu Wangfu to serve the Emperor is a legitimate reason, you shouldn't offend him unnecessarily. After all, he has only good intentions towards our Qin family, no ill will."

  "Dad, this matter has actually been settled for a long time..." Qin Mu Bai then told Qin Shu Bao about the conversation he had with Li Ke on that day last year. Of course, he omitted the part related to Fourth Sister Xiang Er.

  "Li Ke is indeed a clever person, this point is simply like His Majesty the Emperor!" Qin Shubao shook his head in admiration after hearing it.

  "What did you say?" Qin Mu Bai asked.

  Qin Shubao stroked his beard and said calmly, "Third brother, although you are clever, you are still young and inexperienced in officialdom. Some things, when you are in the midst of them, you can't see clearly. Perhaps I'm being overly cautious, but don't you feel that Li Ke is trying to lure us into a trap?"

  "Is there?" Qin Mu Bai asked, slightly stunned.

  Qin Shubao smiled slightly and said, "All those in power have their own set of skills for ruling subordinates. The emperor is no exception, nor is the emperor's son Li Ke. Coincidentally, they both employed the most powerful weapon - emotions!"

  "Dad, I understand what you mean." Qin Mu Bai slightly furrowed his brow and said, "Your meaning is that Li Ke heard about me going to participate in the soldier selection and knew he couldn't keep me, so he's doing a favor by pretending to be willing to send me off, making me emotionally indebted to him, right?"

  "Yes, this is similar to how the Emperor handled Wu Zetian. However, only a superior with great talent and a broad mind can use such tactics. In the past when Your Majesty was still King of Qin, which of his ministers, including my father, did not feel grateful and devoted themselves to him? The reason is that the Emperor is skilled at conquering subordinates emotionally, 'restraining their bodies is not as good as executing their hearts', what a wonderful tactic!"

  "My father is right." Qin Mu Bai let out a light sigh and said, "Now, I feel a bit indebted to Li Ke. He helped me get into office, introduced me to my wife, promised to promote me, and treated me with courtesy, treating me like a brother, never as a subordinate or servant. Now, I'm going to jump ship and leave him to climb higher, emotionally speaking, I indeed owe him."

  "It's all right, just return the favor when you have a chance," said Qin Shubao. "Those who achieve great things do not get bogged down in trivial matters, especially this kind of petty kindness and sentimental thoughts. Li Ke has done so much for you, and one important reason is because of Si Ya? So he also has ulterior motives, and you don't need to carry any emotional burdens. Tomorrow, go to the emperor's army selection with a clear conscience and determination - you must win first place, otherwise you won't be able to come home!"

  "Yes, Father!"

  The eleventh year of Zhenguan, spring, January 15th, clear sky, gentle breeze.

  Inside the pass, early spring is still as cold as winter. The red walls and green tiles of the imperial city still have unfrozen icicles. Under the sunlight, the colorful light refracts, and a string of fine water droplets slowly flows down, splashing into small pits in the snowy ground below, gathering into thin streams.

  For the first time in the imperial city, Qin Mubai had a great visual feast. The grandeur of the palace complex of the Tang Dynasty was far more magnificent than the Qing dynasty's Forbidden City he had seen in his previous life, at least ten times stronger.

  The location of the emperor's selection of soldiers was set at the north side of the Taiji Palace in the Imperial City, a place with a great reputation - the Xuanwu Gate. At this time, it was already crowded with people, and thousands of imperial guards were strictly controlling the order on the scene. In an area with nearly 10,000 people, the order was very good and there was no chaos at all.

  In the previous year, Li Shimin carried out a reform of the military system of the Great Tang that had "epoch-making" significance for the Great Tang. That is, the imperial capital and the imperial city's garrison were divided into the Southern and Northern Imperial City Guards.

  In short, it is to concentrate more military power in the hands of the emperor and the imperial court.

  The Beiyue is the general term for the Imperial Palace Guard. Li Shimin, who personally directed the Xuanwu Gate Incident, understood the dangers of the palace guard better than anyone else. In the past, the imperial palace guards of the Great Tang Dynasty were like other fu soldiers, implementing a shift system, frequently changing different generals and fu soldiers to take turns guarding. Now it is fixed, the Imperial Guard defending the Imperial City, basically all selected from among the sons of aristocratic families, and their generals are also relatively fixed, appointed by the emperor himself to lead trusted generals.

  Nanyi refers to the garrison troops from various routes who take turns to come to the imperial capital, including the field armies stationed outside the imperial city walls and the troops guarding the nine gates of Chang'an.

  This time, Li Shimin once again carried out creative reforms on the military system - creating a elite guard unit that belonged to the Emperor's personal guards, did not belong to any of the Twelve Guards or Six Rates of the Great Tang, and only took orders from the Emperor himself, known as: The Hundred Riders!

  In fact, the Hundred Riders were the emperor's personal bodyguards, with a unique identity and status. As something new, everyone was interested and eager to try, wanting to enter this new army and serve by the emperor's side. Being able to appear frequently in front of the emperor, the opportunity for promotion was much greater than struggling in any other army, which was obvious.

  However, the emperor's selection criteria for the hundred riders were extremely strict, and the five major conditions presented at the beginning made most people sigh and give up.

  Article 1: Those who come to participate in the Hundred Riders selection must first be from a noble family of the Tang Dynasty, with priority given to sons of military families. The age range is between 18 and 40 years old. Commoners are not allowed, even if you are currently an officer in the army. The Tang Dynasty attaches great importance to family background, which cannot be helped.

  Article 2: Among the relatives of the candidate, there must be at least one person who is a current seventh-rank or higher official in the capital city, or the candidate himself/herself is a seventh-rank or higher official in the capital city. In other words, to participate in the selection for the Hundred Riders, someone needs to provide a guarantee, similar to applying for a loan with collateral.

  Article 3: The candidate must be of good conduct and have no criminal record, neither himself nor his immediate family members. The emperor cannot have any felons by his side, otherwise the emperor will not feel secure about the safety of his concubines and daughters in the harem and his property. This article seems easy to understand.

  Article 4, outstanding appearance. The Tang Dynasty has always attached importance to appearance, and it goes without saying that women who look good are naturally favored. If a man is tall and majestic, it's also an intangible asset. This time, the recruitment notice explicitly listed the physical standards: first, height above six feet (1.8 meters), with a straight body and symmetrical facial features. If you're hunchbacked, bow-legged, disabled, or have a crooked mouth and eyes, even if you're the son of a prime minister or general, it's best not to come - being beaten out would be unseemly.

  Article 5, Wen. As a child of an official family, if one is illiterate, it's unforgivable. It's said that the Emperor will personally test each candidate's cultural level in the end. If you dare to cheat, the consequences will be severe.

  This is probably the most difficult recruitment in the world. Fortunately, Qin Mu Bai meets all five criteria.

  On the first day, what most people considered to be the toughest part, "political review" and "physical examination", he passed with ease. Just this round alone eliminated thousands of people, and those who were deterred from participating in the selection process were countless.

  Then the emperor spoke out, this time selecting a hundred riders, he would personally take charge at the end. The number of soldiers was strictly controlled at six hundred people. In addition, the most attention-grabbing thing is that there are four high-ranking military officers in this hundred riders. With "Baiqi Shi" as the leader, the official position is Zheng Wu Pin Shang, and the state governor, twelve Wei Wei Fu Zhong Lang Jiang Ping Ji, equivalent to a regular team-level cadre. Moreover, the treatment of Baiqi Shi is higher than that of ordinary Zheng Wu Pin officials; under Baiqi Shi, there are three "Baiqi Deputy Envoys" as deputies, with official positions from Wu Pin Xia; followed by six traveling generals and twelve team leaders.

  All 22 military officers will be selected from this recruitment. Moreover, the conditions for candidates are even stricter - those who apply for the position of Baiqi Shi and Deputy Shi must be officials above the third rank or descendants of prominent families in Guanzhong. Other military officers must also have high-ranking officials in the capital as their backers.

  In short, it refers to the officers of the Hundred Riders, only the sons and nephews of ministers who are trusted by Li Shimin himself. Those who are far away as provincial officials or generals should not have any illusions. Moreover, those who apply for military officer positions must also undergo initial screening like other ordinary applicants, without special privileges.

  After a day of selection, nearly 10,000 people were eliminated, leaving less than 3,000. Tomorrow, these people will undergo martial arts competitions to select 600 soldiers and 22 military officers.

  Those who dare to come and sign up are not weaklings, among those who were eliminated by harsh conditions, there is no shortage of high-ranking military officers in the army. Whoever can be selected as one of the hundred riders can be called "one in a thousand". If they can emerge from the competition and become an officer, they will undoubtedly be "one in ten thousand".

  Qin Shubao's only requirement for Qin Mubai was to seize the title of Bai Qi Shi - to become the sole Hundred Riders Messenger!

  The first day after signing up, Qin Mubai saw a crowd of ten thousand people, countless young and talented individuals, and for a moment felt a great deal of pressure. There are always people outside who are better than you, it seems like I must do my best!

  Starting from the second day, it was a formal martial arts test, and "divide soldiers to try" was implemented. In other words, those who were qualified to participate in the military officer examination were separated from ordinary soldiers and held elimination matches at another venue.

  The martial arts examination includes: spear, archery and horse riding.

  Qiao Guan is equivalent to weightlifting. Qin Mu Bai, who has a soul that can traverse, originally had the strength of two people, and his power was boundless. He easily passed this level. When he lifted the giant stone lock, it was effortless, even more relaxed than those towering giants, causing a huge commotion.

  The archery test was even more impressive. Whether it was the fixed-point "step shooting", "long-distance shooting" or the challenging horseback riding, Qin Mubai emerged with first place results!

  After two rounds of testing, Qin Mubai's results were unparalleled, and he was indeed eye-catching.

  The third round of the horse riding test was relatively more complicated. The contestants rode their horses into a cluster of wooden puppets and had to spear small wooden blocks placed on the puppets while galloping. Whoever speared more blocks, used less time, and didn't knock down any puppets would win. In this round, Qin Mu Bai's test results were again excellent, drawing attention from all the contestants.

  The second day of the qualifying elimination ended. More than half of the candidate officers were eliminated, leaving less than forty people. The six hundred soldiers had already been determined, and it was a joy for some families and a worry for others. Next, there would be the most attention-grabbing officer selection - to be tested by the emperor himself!

  Qin Mubai had already made it into the final round of the officer selection, and by all accounts should have been overjoyed, but a faint shadow lingered in his heart, making it impossible for him to feel truly happy.

  Because today is the sixteenth day of the first month. By midnight, it will be the time of Qin Shubao's death as calculated by Da Shengu Tian Gang.

  Qin Mubai returned home to find his father no different from usual, and after hearing about his performance on the school grounds, he was quite pleased, and even drank a bit more wine that night.

  At night, Qin Mubai made an excuse to run into his father's room and chatted with him about everything under the sun. No matter how hard Qin Subao tried to shoo him away, he couldn't get rid of him. It wasn't until after midnight that Qin Subao finally fell asleep, and only then did Qin Mubai feel slightly at ease as he slipped out.

  "Nothing's wrong after all!"

  Listening to her father's even snores outside the house until the sky turned white, Qin Mubai finally let out a breath and thought to herself: Could it be that my transmigration brought about the butterfly effect, changing some predetermined numbers in the underworld, extending my father's lifespan?

  .??，！