The Martial Arts Academy was located in the center of Xuanwu Street. The street to the right of the main gate was already packed with people, bustling with students preparing to enter for the examination. The left side of the gate was slightly quieter, with officials and nobles entering Xuanwu Street from the left to observe the ceremony.
Fang Jie, leading his crimson horse and Zhang Kuang Mo Xidao, squeezed his way through, receiving no small amount of disdain. The tall crimson horse pushed many people aside. Especially the young masters in fine clothes, who all avoided it, afraid the horse would dirty their clothes. Most of the sons of wealthy families arrived in their family carriages, but they stopped properly on the side of the road before entering Xuanwu Street. Only Fang Jie was leading a horse towards the Martial Arts Academy gate.
Just as he reached the gate, a commotion suddenly reached Fang Jie's ears. He looked in the direction of the sound and realized that the noise was because of him. He thought to himself, "Just as I expected, some people are already getting restless and want to do something even before I've entered the Martial Arts Academy."
A young man in brocade robes approached a professor greeting guests at the academy's main gate and loudly complained, pointing at Fang Jie, "How can there be such an ill-mannered person? Everyone else walks to the Martial Arts Academy to take the exam as a sign of respect. But that person over there is leading an animal, blocking the way for the students! What kind of decorum is that? First, this is disrespectful to the Martial Arts Academy! Second, this is disrespectful to you, sir! Sir, I beg you to punish that person!"
Although there were many people, his voice still clearly reached Fang Jie's ears. Zhang Kuang looked at him, somewhat worried, and said, "I advised you to leave your horse behind at the street corner and have someone look after it. But you wouldn't listen and insisted on leading it all the way in. Now look what's happened; if that teacher really comes to reprimand you, it'll be hard to explain. My biggest worry is leaving a bad impression. What if that teacher remembers you and targets you during the exam…"
"It's alright."
Fang Jie smiled and continued walking, leading his crimson horse.
Because of the shout from the young man in brocade robes ahead, hundreds of eyes turned to look. Most of the young men in brocade robes cast angry or contemptuous glances at Fang Jie, while the students from the military seemed unmoved. The border soldiers, drawn by the noise, saw Fang Jie and came over to greet him.
Fang Jie returned their greetings with clasped hands, calling them "brother" affectionately. The border soldiers were mostly rough men, and once they established a relationship, they spoke more casually. The accusations, interspersed with vulgarities like "damn it" and "grandma," only fueled the disgust of the wealthy young men.
A large group of border soldiers surrounded him, and Fang Jie appeared to be their leader.
The professor standing at the entrance of the martial arts academy, greeting guests, squinted at Fang Jie, his expression unchanged. He nodded to the accusing young man and said, "Go and verify your identity; I'll handle it." The young man sneered at Fang Jie but didn't leave, instead standing aside to wait and see.
The professor, dressed in a moon-white robe, waited for Fang Jie to approach, glanced at him indifferently, and asked, "I am Professor Yan Qing of the martial arts academy. Why did you bring a horse? Someone said your beast is blocking the path for people; that's not good."
Fang Jie stopped and bowed to the professor.
"Student Fang Jie greets you, sir."
"Hmm."
Yan Qing returned the bow with the respect due to an elder, then waited for Fang Jie's reply.
Fang Jie straightened up, pointed to the crimson horse beside him, and said earnestly, "Let me answer your second question first. If you were referring to this animal as the beast I was leading, I disagree. I don't know how others view warhorses, but in the border region, warhorses are like brothers to me. Every patrol of the frontier, every pursuit of remaining bandits, every reconnaissance of enemy positions, every transmission of military intelligence—all are inseparable from warhorses. Not just me, but all the brothers in the border army feel the same way about their warhorses as they feel about their comrades. During battles, a steamed bun is broken in two, one for the man, one for the horse."
"Perhaps those who call warhorses beasts, in their eyes, are indeed just four-legged animals, vastly different from humans. They eat grass, are ridden…" "Born inferior to others, yet in the eyes of our border troops, every warhorse is a brother, sharing life and death, supporting and protecting each other through thick and thin. Without warhorses, I might have died in some battle long ago."
Fang Jie looked at Yan Qing and said, word by word, "If others feel resentful because my brother is taking the right path, I apologize on his behalf. My brother always walked the same path with us on the battlefield, wherever we went. He doesn't understand the rules of the capital, he doesn't know that after leaving the border battlefield, he's just an animal, no longer qualified to walk the same path as two-legged people."
Yan Qing looked at Fang Jie meaningfully upon hearing this. Then he turned to the young man in brocade robes, whose face was somewhat pale, and asked, "What do you think of his explanation? Can you accept his apology?"
"I..."
The young man in brocade robes opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. Zhang Kuang glanced at the man, then whispered in Fang Jie's ear, "This man's name is Bi Yuntao, from Jiangnan. He's quite close to Wang Ding and his group. He wasn't at Keshengju that day, but he definitely knows what happened. I reckon he's deliberately targeting you."
Fang Jie nodded and smiled, "That's a nice name."
Zhang Kuang was taken aback; he didn't find anything particularly remarkable about the name. Bi Yuntao's face flushed slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he said to Yan Qing, "This matter can be left unsaid, but disrespect for the Martial Arts Academy, the Imperial Court, and our teacher is something I must address and demand answers to!"
Yan Qing nodded and looked at Fang Jie, asking, "Now you should answer my first question: why did you bring your warhorse?"
Fang Jie replied, "I heard that the Martial Arts Academy's martial arts exam includes a horsemanship and archery competition, so I brought my horse. Sir, does the Martial Arts Academy have a rule that only horses from the Academy can be used for horsemanship and archery, and not one's own?"
"Nonsense!"
Bi Yuntao exclaimed loudly, "After entering the Martial Arts Academy, you'll live here. The house belongs to the Academy. Are you going to bring your own house here and then ask the teacher if you can't live in your own house?"
...
...
Fang Jie glanced at Bi Yuntao indifferently, seemingly too lazy to even answer. He clasped his hands in a fist and bowed deeply to Yan Qing, saying, "Please enlighten me, sir."
Yan Qing smiled and said, "According to custom, students who come to the Martial Arts Academy for the examinations use the academy's horses for the riding and archery competitions. No one has ever brought their own warhorse before, and no one has ever asked me such a question. Firstly, because warhorses are scarce in our Great Sui Dynasty; secondly… the warhorses raised by the Martial Arts Academy seem to be of better quality than those of soldiers in the army."
Hearing this, Bi Yuntao couldn't help but sneer.
Yan Qing paused and continued, "However, the Martial Arts Academy doesn't have a written rule that candidates cannot ride their own horses for the riding and archery competitions. If a candidate wishes, even riding an ox seems acceptable. The Martial Arts Academy is a place that values rules above all else; rules must be followed. But since it's not written in the regulations… it should be permissible, right?"
"Thank you!"
Fang Jie bowed deeply.
Bi Yuntao's face instantly turned ugly, his fists clenched, veins bulging. He dared not target the professor of the Martial Arts Academy, so he could only glare fiercely at Fang Jie. Yan Qing waved his hand and continued, "No need to thank me, I was just following the rules of the Martial Arts Academy. However… some people said that you bringing a horse was disrespectful to the Martial Arts Academy. As a professor at the Martial Arts Academy, I feel it's necessary to ask you: do you truly feel disrespect for the Martial Arts Academy?"
Fang Jie straightened up and said loudly, "I have achieved twenty-one military exploits in the border city, firstly because of my loyalty to His Majesty and the Great Sui Dynasty. Secondly, it is because of my yearning and respect for the Martial Arts Academy. If it weren't for these two beliefs supporting me, I wouldn't have fought so hard, and naturally, I wouldn't have traveled thousands of miles from the border."
Upon hearing this, the border soldiers present couldn't help but clap their hands: "Well said!"
Fang Jie said earnestly, "Respect lies in the heart, not in words." "Tongue, there are people in this world who speak of reverence while harboring venomous curses in their hearts."
Bi Yuntao's face paled, and he pointed at Fang Jie, shouting, "Who are you talking about!"
Fang Jie smiled and said, "I have no obligation to tell you who I'm talking about. I'll say it when I'm in a good mood, and I won't when I'm not. Is that any of your business? Besides... you're blocking the way in. Isn't that disrespectful to the Martial Arts Academy? Just now, the master told you to go in first to verify your identity, but you stood here and didn't move. Isn't that disrespectful to the master? Besides... you should be glad you're a citizen of the Great Sui. Because in the border city, any enemy who dares to point at our border troops' noses has been chopped into mincemeat."
Bi Yuntao trembled violently with anger. Lowering his hand from Fang Jie would seem cowardly, but continuing to point would also lose its momentum.
Yan Qing glanced at Fang Jie with a smile and said, "Go in, everyone. There are professors inside who verify identities. If you keep blocking the door, the students behind won't be able to get in and will miss their exams. You can't afford that."
"Yes, sir."
Fang Jie bowed and responded, then led his horse forward. Reaching the entrance, he looked at Bi Yuntao, whose face was already red, and politely asked, "Could you please make way? My horse and I need to go in."
Bi Yuntao's hands trembled with anger. He glared at Fang Jie resentfully and stormed off. Zhang Kuang followed Fang Jie, laughing as he said, "Aren't you afraid of getting yourself into trouble?"
Fang Jie shook his head helplessly and said, "Even if I kneel down and beg for forgiveness, even lick his boots and say I was wrong, then go around confessing to everyone, do you think I'd have less trouble today?"
...
...
Left side of the Martial Arts Academy gate.
Several people stood beside a carriage, chatting and laughing. Their attention was drawn to the commotion across the way, and as the noise subsided, one of them, a man in a purple official robe and a six-beamed crown, couldn't help but ask curiously, "Who is that young border guard? What a sharp tongue!"
"That little fellow is quite the hot commodity now. Grand Secretary Niu Huilun of the Wenyuan Pavilion and Grand Secretary Zhuang Chuyu of the Shuhua Pavilion have been fighting tooth and nail over him. Yesterday, when His Majesty invited us old folks to dine with him at Changchun Garden, those two were still arguing over him. But Dean Zhou silenced them with a single sentence. Dean Zhou said… If that kid gets into the Martial Arts Academy, you can fight him all you want; if he doesn't, then you can argue, even arrange a fight somewhere, and nobody will care."
The one who answered the question was an elderly man with white hair and beard, also dressed in a purple official robe and wearing a six-beamed crown. Standing in the crowd, he seemed to be treated with great respect by everyone.
"Oh?"
The person who asked the question paused for a moment before asking, "Could it be Fang Jie, the deputy commander of the border army who presented His Majesty with the phonetic notation method and the arithmetic method?"
The old man was none other than Huai Qiugong, the Minister of Rites, a veteran of three reigns, holding a high position in the court. He and Zhou Banchuan were known as the two elders of the court, and His Majesty respected them greatly.
"Lord Mou, you must remember this young fellow. He comes from the border army, and you are the newly appointed Minister of War… In any case, he has brought a lot of honor to the Ministry of War. That day at the Changchun Garden yurt, I personally witnessed this young fellow's abilities. Those old fellows, Niu Huilun and Zhuang Chuyu, were all stunned. Even His Majesty… praised him highly."
"This student will remember."
The one who asked the question was the newly appointed Minister of War, Mou Liangbi. After hearing Huai Qiugong's words, he couldn't help but glance at Fang Jie a few more times.
Not only him, but also the newly appointed Vice Minister of War, Zong Lianghu, standing beside him, did the same.
Just then, someone approached from afar, saying, "Even with talent, shouldn't one be humble and polite? To rely on words to show off is ultimately an insult to scholarship. Such arrogance, in my opinion, even with talent, is too impetuous and needs further refinement."
Everyone looked in that direction and saw that the newcomer was Prince Yi, Yang Yin.
Huai Qiugong and the others bowed in greeting, and Yang Yin quickly stepped forward to help Huai Qiugong. After exchanging greetings, Minister of War Mou Liangbi couldn't help but shake his head and say, "Soldiers defending the land and expanding the territory, how can they lack pride? I dare not agree with Your Highness… If all the soldiers of the Great Sui were humble and polite, all refined… how could they be called a fierce and powerful army?"
Yang Yin paused, gave Mou Liangbi a deep look, smiled, and said nothing more. He gestured for them to enter and led the way into the martial arts academy. Huai Qiugong also glanced at Mou Liangbi, his eyes holding a meaningful look. Mou Liangbi didn't understand, but he didn't regret what he said.
In his view:
A soldier should be proud!