Chapter 65 of 100

Chapter 65

12 min read2,995 words

Deng Shichang, upon arriving at his residence, took out various books related to the navy and began to read them. Shen Tao, who was only in his early twenties and had a strong sense of curiosity, suddenly noticed a group of people outside in the open area who did not have braids. He then asked Deng Shichang, "Sir Deng, why don't they have braids?"

Deng Shichang replied, "The hairstyle of our Great Qing represents the conquest of the four barbarians and the establishment of the capital in the Central Plains. These people are not subjects of our Great Qing, so it makes sense that they do not have braids."

Shen Tao asked, "Sir Deng, do you think we would look better without braids?"

Deng Shichang frowned and angrily rebuked, "Nonsense! How can the subjects of our Great Qing adopt the hairstyle of the barbarians! Besides, the sage said: 'Our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents, and we dare not damage them.' How can we cut off our braids!"

Shen Tao, after being scolded by Deng Shichang, sullenly remained silent but thought to himself, "If we shave the middle of our heads, isn't that in conflict with the idea that our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents and we dare not damage them?"

Suddenly, he saw that two of the people without braids were actually fighting! He quickly rushed out.

It turned out that this group of people were soldiers from the Beijing warship's fire brigade. The two fighting were Zhang Cheng, a platoon leader, and Su Zhe, a senior private. Zhang Cheng, who had just graduated from the military academy and been assigned to the Beijing warship, was determined to achieve something. Su Zhe, on the other hand, had joined the military under family pressure and wanted to leave as soon as possible. After two years of service, he was about to be discharged, but unexpectedly found himself in this situation, so he started to slack off and did not train seriously. During this training session organized by Zhang Cheng, Su Zhe complained a few times. Zhang Cheng overheard and the two began to argue, which escalated into a physical fight.

Seeing the two fighting, their comrades quickly rushed over to break it up. Zhang Cheng and Su Zhe were far away, so the comrades ran as fast as they could. Before they reached the spot, they saw a young man in Qing dynasty clothing with a braid come out of a nearby house, spread his arms, and block their path.

Needless to say, this person was Shen Tao.

The soldier running at the front was named Zhu Dong, the strongest in the unit. He ran very fast and was startled to see someone suddenly appear in front of him. Afraid of colliding with him, he couldn't stop in time. Just as they were about to collide, Shen Tao pushed his shoulder, and somehow Zhu Dong was turned and stopped on the spot.

Shen Tao's display of skill surprised everyone present. He then said with a smile, "Are you going to break up the fight? Don't! Let me see who has better skills."

Actually, fighting is very tiring. The reason why martial arts heroes in novels are so powerful is that they can fight for hundreds of rounds, even for days and nights. Even in boxing matches, the fighting time is only a few minutes. Zhang Cheng and Su Zhe were just ordinary soldiers, and after a few punches, their anger had subsided. They both felt that after nearly two years of training together, fighting over such a small matter was not worth it.

So the two stopped fighting. Seeing this, Shen Tao laughed and said, "Your skills are really not that great! It seems that the fighting techniques of the barbarians are not as refined as Chinese martial arts."

The soldiers on the Beijing warship were all patriotic young men. They were both amused and embarrassed to be called barbarians by a Qing dynasty person.

Zhang Cheng said, "What barbarians? We are all proper Chinese."

Shen Tao thought for a moment and then said, "I understand. You don't know martial arts at all; you're just two thugs fighting." With that, he turned and walked away.

Zhu Dong had attended a martial arts school and practiced sanda in his spare time. Seeing Shen Tao's arrogant attitude, he felt a bit annoyed and said, "From what you say, it seems you know a lot about martial arts. Why don't we spar?"

Shen Tao sized up Zhu Dong and then stood still, extending his hand in a gesture of invitation, saying, "Tai Chi, Shen Tao."

This was a common way for martial artists at the end of the Qing dynasty and the beginning of the Republic to introduce themselves, first stating their school and then their name. Zhu Dong, who had come from the 21st century, did not understand this. Hearing Shen Tao's name, he casually said, "I'm Zhu Dong!"

Then he charged forward, throwing a straight punch at Shen Tao's shoulder. Shen Tao was taken aback and said, "Why don't you follow the rules!" As he spoke, he reached out and pulled Zhu Dong's fist, causing him to fall to the ground with a thud.

Shen Tao smiled and said, "This is the 'Eighteen Falls' technique from my Tai Chi. I wonder what technique this brother used."

Zhu Dong, lying on the ground, saw a hand reach out to pull him up. It was Chen Fei. Zhu Dong then said to Shen Tao, "Brother Shen, look, a master has arrived."

Chen Fei had been busy training the newly recruited Ryukyu civilians recently. Today, he had taken some time off to visit this place and unexpectedly encountered them.

Shen Tao bowed to Chen Fei and said with a smile, "I am Shen Tao. May I ask for your name, sir?"

Chen Fei, seeing this person give him a bow that he had only seen on TV, was taken aback and said, "I'm Chen Fei."

Shen Tao then once again made the gesture of invitation and said, "Tai Chi, Shen Tao."

Chen Fei looked at him as if he were a monster and asked, puzzled, "What are you doing?"

Shen Tao smiled and said, "Sir, please make your move."

Chen Fei waved his hands and said with a smile, "I'm not here to fight. I'm just here to look around." Chen Fei was not worried about losing face if he couldn't beat Shen Tao. As a special forces soldier, the combat techniques he practiced were very different from those of martial artists. Special forces combat techniques focus on defeating the enemy in one move, targeting vital points. How could such techniques be used against a friend?

The soldiers around them were eager to see whether modern special forces or Qing dynasty martial artists were more skilled. They cheered and surrounded Chen Fei and Shen Tao, preventing them from leaving.

Chen Fei had an idea and said, "You don't know, but the captain's martial arts are profound. He just hasn't had the chance to show them. Now, I'll call him over to show you his skills. How about that?"

Shen Tao frowned and said, "Is it that person named Lin Yuan? Does he know martial arts? I haven't noticed. Could he really be hiding his skills?"

Chen Fei took out his communicator and handed it to Zhang Cheng, saying, "Tell the captain that I and Shen Tao are fighting and ask him to come quickly."

Chen Fei looked at Shen Tao and said with a smile, "Just wait and see. Lin Yuan is the greatest martial artist in the world!"

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