The Feather Forest Army Commandery Office.

Building after building of the *Longlong* camp formed a “door” shape enclosing the training field. The left vertical section was the stable, housing the Feather Forest Army’s warhorses. The right section contained the yamen and the weapons store.

Above the entrance to the yamen hung a gold-lettered plaque that read, “Loyal, Diligent, Military Preparation.” The couplet on the doorposts read, “Planning in the tent with a three-foot sword” and “Repaying the monarch with a single heart.” Who wrote it was unknown, likely a flatterer, but the calligraphy wasn’t bad.

Inside the yamen, Chen Ji sat behind a desk, holding a brush and recording: “Many Leopard, fifteen taels for training; Zhou Chong, eight taels for training; Zhou Li, five taels for training!”

*Pa*! Qi Shenke slapped Zhou Li on the back of the head. “Zhou Chong has strict family management, but you? What’s your reason for paying only five taels for real skills?”

Zhou Li replied helplessly, “Sir, my Zhou family can’t compare to your Qi family. My monthly allowance is only ten taels!”

“You certainly don’t go to the Eight Great Alleys any less,” Qi Shenke said to Chen Ji. “Master, record ten taels for him.”

Chen Ji smiled warmly and said, “No need. If everyone had to pay for training with all their silver, how would they live?” After saying this, he wrote in the ledger: “Zhou Li, nine taels!”

Chen Ji flipped through the ledger, silently calculating. Including himself, there were thirty-seven people who returned from Gansu to the Feather Forest Army. They were collecting a total of five hundred and seventy taels in training fees each month!

At this rate, they could save enough for one *stripes* in two years, and reach the Seek Dao Realm in another eight years!

A twenty-six-year-old high official in the Seek Dao Realm would be enough to establish himself!

But Chen Ji couldn’t wait that long. Qi Shenke saw him frown without speaking and thought he was unhappy with the small amount. He explained in a low voice, “Master, those sent to the Feather Forest Army by their families are generally not highly favored. They just want a stable position and avoid trouble. They don’t have much silver on hand. Those with true skills and family favor are all sent to academies to study! Now, everyone is back from Gansu, like they’ve suddenly awakened, all determined to achieve merit and establish their careers. If you feel this silver is too little, we can greed some military pay later when we become generals to honor you.”

Li Xuan angrily said, “What nonsense are you talking about? If you plan to greed military pay later, just don’t learn skills now, to avoid harming people later!”

Qi Shenke quickly explained, “I was just joking!”

Chen Ji stood up. “I’m not unhappy about the small amount; I’m thinking about what to teach!”

Qi Shenke saw Chen Ji close the ledger and asked with interest, “Master, should you teach us your hundred-steps-piercing-willow arrow technique, or your horse-shaped boxing skills?”

Chen Ji leaned on the desk, pondering, his fingers tapping the surface one by one! Qi Shenke saw him silent for a long time and anxiously waved his hand in front of Chen Ji!

Chen Ji suddenly said, “First, learn formations!”

Qi Shenke raised an eyebrow. “Why learn formations? We already know formations! We drill the Three Talents Formation and the Plum Blossom Formation daily. Master, you never used formations before either!”

Li Xuan glanced at him. “Still talking back? Haven’t you learned your lesson!”

Qi Shenke shrank his neck. “I just feel learning formations isn’t impressive enough. How about using a hundred-steps-piercing-willow arrow technique during the autumn hunt to show off! Okay, okay, learn formations then, I’ll learn whatever Master teaches!”

Chen Ji stood up and walked outside. “Martial arts require tempering. If you want to pierce a willow at a hundred steps, first shoot ten thousand arrows! I won’t teach flashy things. Since I’ve received your training fees, I must teach you some life-saving skills! Officer Li, get two pairs of shields, four horse spears, one long pole spear, two tridents, and a pair of sturdy bows! And two pieces of bamboo one zhang long!”

Qi Shenke was stunned. “Bamboo?”

Even Li Xuan was doubtful this time. “We can find everything else, but what do you need bamboo for? One-zhang-six bamboo is hard to find in the north; we’ll have to try our luck at the Qi family bamboo grove!”

Chen Ji hummed. “Go find it. We’ll talk when you find it!”

Qi Shenke asked curiously, “Master, what kind of formation is so strange that it even needs bamboo? What’s this formation called?”

Chen Ji answered casually, “Mandarin Duck Formation!”

The Feather Forest Army soldiers looked at each other in confusion!

A formation they had never heard of!

Qi Shenke muttered in a low voice, “This name is so strange, not at all imposing!”

Chen Ji didn’t explain. This formation with a seemingly unimposing name represented the last glory of infantry formations in the cold weapon era. The Qi family army, with the Mandarin Duck Formation as their ultimate secret, created a myth of nine battles and nine victories!

He waved his hand. “Go find the bamboo then!”

Qi Shenke rode off on his horse and only returned in the evening!

He was carrying two pieces of bamboo of unequal length on his shoulder, one one zhang two, the other one zhang one!

He dismounted with the bamboo and handed the reins to a Feather Forest Army soldier!

Li Xuan looked at the bamboo. “Not long enough!”

Qi Shenke looked at Li Xuan with difficulty and said, “Brother-in-law, you haven’t been to our family’s bamboo grove again! I searched the entire Qi family bamboo grove, and these two were the longest. I chopped them myself. Father and Old Master like that bamboo grove the most. They say the bamboo grove represents the backbone of the Qi family scholars. If they find out I chopped the two tallest pieces of bamboo, they might chop me!”

Li Xuan’s face became serious. “Did you chop the bamboo without being seen?”

Qi Shenke chuckled. “Don’t worry, I avoided everyone. Otherwise, why would I be delayed until now? Where’s my master?”

Li Xuan explained, “He left just after *shen* hour, said he was going to Tianqiao to watch wrestling styles!”

Qi Shenke was puzzled. “What’s there to see? A bunch of rough men twisting together, it’s hideous!”

At this time, not far away, Chen Wenren, who was chatting in the cool shade under the stables, stopped talking and turned his head to look at Qi Shenke carrying the bamboo. He simply handed the two pieces of bamboo to Many Leopard and Li Cen!

Someone muttered in a low voice, “What are they doing? Playing house with bamboo?”

Chen Wenren then raised his eyebrows. “Our Feather Forest Army is the imperial guard, how can we play such nonsense?”

Someone beside him mocked loudly, “Qi Shenke, are you volunteering to clean the training field today, sweeping dust? Your training master is interesting, didn’t even give you a proper weapon!”

Many Leopard and Li Cen exchanged glances, a little awkwardly turning their heads. “Officer Li, can’t we switch to other weapons? We’re both quite good with spears. In Gansu, we both used Tiance Army’s long spears, cooperating left and right, killing over ten people in battle!”

Li Xuan took a deep breath. “Everyone returned from Gansu together. When we left, there were five hundred people; when we returned, only thirty-seven remained. As long as we can survive and kill the enemy, who cares about losing face or not! Look at the foppish soldiers resting in the shade under the stable; that’s how you all used to be. Living like them is what you call losing face!” At this point, even louder mockery came from under the stable. Someone held a bamboo broom, imitating the mannerisms of Many Leopard and Li Cen, like clowns on a stage!

Li Xuan gave a cold glance. “Ignore them. You all know Chen Ji’s skill. He wouldn’t joke around about something like this with you all! Follow him and practice well. If you can really master a skill, I’ll lead you to join the Wansui Army. That’s a place for real men!”

Entering the capital from the south, one must pass through Yongding Gate!

After entering Yongding Gate, there is the Temple of Heaven and the Altar of Mountains and Rivers. The daily temple fairs are held here, making it one of the liveliest places in the capital!

But any respectable family’s elder who heard their child went to Tianqiao would definitely scold them thoroughly!

“Proper families don’t go to places like that!”

Chen Ji walked among the flow of carriages and horses, with the smell of cow dung and hawking sounds filling the air!

A man held a red-tasseled spear, surrounded by onlookers. He watched as the man put the spear tip to his throat and forcefully bent the spear shaft! Then, a little boy beside him beat a gong and walked around, shouting, “Grandpas and grandmas, those with money, a field of money; those with people, a field of people. One *wen* is not too little, a hundred *wen* is not too much!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the onlookers scattered, and the gong received only two or three copper coins!

An old man laughed and said, “This one looks like an honest man who just came to the capital to sell his skills. Next time, he must be smarter. Didn’t you hear what they call ‘all talk and no action’?”

The honest man put away his red-tasseled spear and humbly asked, “Dare I ask, old sir, what is ‘all talk and no action’?”

The old man continued to mock, “You should collect money before putting the spear tip to your throat, when the onlookers are itching with anticipation! Who would give you money after you’re finished? Look at Fatty Wang next door, who plays with flying knives. Every day he says he’s going to blindfold himself and stab the red fruit on his daughter’s head with a flying knife, but he starts collecting money before throwing the knife. After collecting the money, he just performs the act again from the beginning. I’ve lived in Tianqiao for so many years and have never seen him truly let his daughter put the red fruit on her head!”

The man asked doubtfully, “So does he know how or not?”

The old man laughed and cursed, “Even if he knows, he wouldn’t stab her! That’s his own daughter.”

Chen Ji passed by the red-tasseled spear stall, seeing performers with flying knives, breaking large stones on their chests, and balancing large jars. The roadside was filled with the fragrance of *bao du*. Old Shi’s *bao du* was already in its eighth pot, and the crowd in front of the pot was still continuous!

As he walked, a peddler with a shoulder pole passed by, shouting loudly, “Ai nest nest, just out of the pot, Ai nest nest.”

Chen Ji stepped aside to avoid him and turned his head to see the liveliest area, surrounded by people three layers deep, inside and out. He didn’t know what they were surrounding!

He looked around, then turned and went up to a wine house on the street. He stood on the second floor, leaning on the railing to watch!

Within that crowd were suddenly two bare-chested men. One had a full back tattoo, green color spreading from his neck to his wrists, his body covered in bright oil, reflecting light in the sunset!

The other was clean-skinned, without tattoos or oil, his body full of muscular tendons that looked like they could be pulled like silk!

In the center of the field, someone shouted to the clean-skinned man, “Brother Robe, mess him up.”

Chen Ji observed without changing his expression. The people surrounding the two on the outside were all rough types. On one side, everyone had an iron ruler or axe at their waist; on the other side, everyone had a one-chi-long dagger tucked in, clearly divided!

A skinny old man, wearing a pair of black cloth shoes, slowly walked into the field!

Several young men under him held knives, guns, and sticks, placing them at the four corners of the field!

This was to secure the field. Only wrestlers were allowed to enter. Anyone who dared to enter would face three knives and six holes!

The old man stood in the center and calmly said, “Today, Mr. He of Rui Fu Xiang has invited lords to preside over justice, fixing the matter of ‘Li Simao Hutong’. No matter which side wins and which loses, they will accept the gamble and not let the old and young lords laugh. Enough nonsense, let’s begin!”

After he walked out of the field, he still hadn’t turned back when he heard a burst of cheers from the Rui Fu Xiang side: “Good!”

Chen Ji silently watched as Brother Robe suddenly made his move, circling directly behind his opponent and applying a naked choke!

He saw Brother Robe press his forearm against the opponent’s carotid artery, his right hand covering his left wrist and locking it tightly. No matter how the opponent struggled, he couldn’t break free!

In just a few breaths, he made the opponent faint from lack of oxygen!

Chen Ji felt he didn’t need to watch anymore. Brother Robe had given him the answer he wanted!

From ancient times to the present, wrestling skills have always included back control moves, largely similar but with minor differences!

However, before the nineteenth century, judo and wrestling skills were all based on “control techniques”!

It wasn’t until the appearance of “suffocation techniques” that judo became a new art form!

Brother Robe, they meet again!