Suddenly, the laughter cut off abruptly, and Cao Yiyan's expression froze.
Ten paces outside the blast radius, Su Ziji was completely unharmed, though his imperial robes rippled incessantly like water rings.
The wagon loaded to the brim with gunpowder had exploded, yet as though forewarned, it had left him entirely unscathed.
What other tricks do you have up your sleeve? Su Ziji smiled, though a slight start ran through his heart.
With lethal weapons in one's heart, the intent to kill arises of its own accord. No wonder Sun Ce in history repeatedly ignored advice and finally died at the assassin's hands, all because he was too skilled in martial arts!
Even Ming Wuzong Zhu Houzhao was said to have practiced riding and archery since youth, so he appointed himself Grand General and itched for a fight, fortunately avoiding the Tumu Fortress Incident.
I am not immune to this mindset either!
In truth, a scion of a thousand gold pieces does not sit beneath a tottering wall. In ancient China, the Six Arts—rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics—were originally used "as the way to nurture the state's sons."
Later on, in actual practice, "archery and charioteering" were excised, not merely to weaken subjects and commoners, but because once people learned "archery and charioteering," or even "military strategy," gentlemen in the strict sense—referring to the sons of princes—would itch to test their skills. The light consequence was death or crippling for themselves, while the heavy consequence involved dooming three armies.
The gentleman's refraining from practicing perilous skills became the core of successive eras of orthodox education.
Even statecraft and penal law were generally omitted from instruction, especially for emperors, for fear that the sovereign would "harbor lethal weapons and let the intent to kill arise."
The so-called modest and gentle