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Text: Yanyan
Edited by Yeon-yeon
Preface
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, an era was about to come to an end, but in this chaotic time, there was a mysterious master of Ouchi who attracted the attention of countless people.
How strong is his martial arts? He is said to be lightning fast and powerful, even able to fight against a dozen enemies with his bare hands.
However, what is the true ability of such a legend? Did he get to this level by natural talent, or did he go through extraordinary training?
The counterattack of a poor teenager: martial arts enlightenment
Gong Baotian was born in a poor rural family in Shandong. With a large number of children in the family, it is difficult for parents to make ends meet. In order to reduce the burden on the family, the young Gong Baotian was forced to go out to earn a living.
With his literacy skills, he was fortunate enough to work as an apprentice in a rice shop. The owner of this rice shop is a banner man of the Zhenghuang Banner, so he often has the opportunity to deliver rice to dignitaries.
The gears of fate quietly turned in the process of an ordinary rice delivery. When Gong Baotian delivered rice to a palace, he was favored by Yin Fu, the palace guard. Yin Fu has a unique vision, and he can see at a glance that Gong Baotian is a good seedling for practicing martial arts.
He took the initiative to invite Gong Baotian to learn art, and the young and vigorous Gong Baotian readily agreed. With this apprenticeship, Gong Baotian knew how lucky he had gone.
It turned out that Yin Fu was the personal disciple of Dong Haichuan, the head of the inner hall and the founder of Baguazhang. In the martial arts, the opportunity to worship under Dong Haichuan's door is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Since then, Gong Baotian has begun a hard career of martial arts. Yin Fu is extremely strict with him, every move and style must be accurate, and he often needs to practice thousands of times to pass the level.
The intensity of the daily training is even more amazing, Yin Fu gave Gong Baotian a wooden bowl, and asked him to train every day until the sweat fills the entire wooden bowl before stopping.
This kind of training is undoubtedly torture for ordinary people, but Gong Baotian gritted his teeth and persevered. He knew he had no choice and that this was his only chance to change his fate.
Gong Baotian's diligence and perseverance impressed Dong Haichuan, and the Baguazhang Grandmaster made an exception to teach Gong Baotian his unique skills. In the five-year cold window, Gong Baotian's martial arts have improved by leaps and bounds.
He put all his energy into martial arts training, and the amount of training in one day was equivalent to three days of ordinary people. In this way, in just five years, Gong Baotian has reached a level that others can only reach in fifteen years.
Fame: The birth of Ouchi masters
Gong Baotian, who has achieved great martial arts, began to experience in the rivers and lakes. His skills quickly caused a sensation, and even some of the long-established masters were defeated by him. Gong Baotian's fame spread more and more, and even alarmed the Empress Dowager Cixi.
The Empress Dowager Cixi personally observed several competitions in Gong Baotian and was full of praise for this young master. She immediately made a decision to recruit Gong Baotian into the palace and named him Siping with a sword, which is often referred to as the Ouchi guard.
Emperor Guangxu was also very happy to learn of this. Most of the guards in the palace were from prominent backgrounds, either children of the Eight Banners or children of princes and ministers. These people are strict in their manners, and they are always uninteresting in getting along with them.
Gong Baotian is different, he was born in the people, a little less restrained, and a little more natural. Emperor Guangxu and Gong Baotian quickly became acquainted, and even asked Gong Baotian for gossip.
In this way, Gong Baotian became the last Ouchi master of the late Qing Dynasty. His martial arts were strong and won the trust of the Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor. However, Gong Baotian did not become complacent because of this, he always maintained the humility and diligence when practicing martial arts, and constantly refined his martial arts.
Escort in troubled times: The Eight-Nation Coalition is coming
In 1900, the Eight-Nation Coalition invaded China, and Beijing was in an emergency. Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu had to flee in a hurry. At this life-and-death moment, Gong Baotian's ability was fully demonstrated.
The way to escape was full of dangers, and Gong Baotian was like a moving iron wall, firmly protecting the Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu behind him.
His light skills are so good that he can walk on the roof as if he were on the ground; He is agile and able to subdue potential threats in an instant; His eyesight is amazing, and he can detect possible danger from a distance.
Once, a mob heard of the emperor's flight and attempted to intercept the procession. Gong Baotian rushed into the crowd alone and subdued the mob one by one with amazing skill. The height of his martial arts is breathtaking.
On another occasion, a group of foreign soldiers pursued very close to the emperor's ranks. Gong Baotian relied on his supernatural light skills, shuttling back and forth in the woods, creating the illusion that there seemed to be a large number of people and horses, successfully confusing the pursuers and buying precious escape time for the emperor.
It was with the protection of Gong Baotian that the Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu were able to survive this crisis. The Empress Dowager Cixi deeply felt Gong Baotian's loyalty and ability, and specially gave him a yellow coat to show her favor. This honor was a very high honor in the Qing Dynasty at that time.
Frustrated: Return to the rivers and lakes
However, as time passed, Gong Baotian became increasingly disillusioned with the rule of the Qing Dynasty. His original intention of practicing martial arts was to serve the country, but the court in front of him was corrupt and incompetent, and he was helpless in the face of foreign invasion.
Although the Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu treated him well, and even made him, a man from a humble background, the head of the internal guard, Gong Baotian still decided to leave.
After leaving the palace, Gong Baotian returned to his hometown and opened a martial arts hall. He taught the martial arts he had learned to the people around him, which not only strengthened their bodies, but also taught them some self-defense skills.
However, Miya's peaceful life did not last long. Seventeen years later, a group of uninvited guests broke into his life. These people claimed to be subordinates of the Northeast warlord Zhang Zuolin, and were ordered to ask Gong Baotian to be Zhang Zuolin's bodyguards.
Gong Baotian thought about it again and again and decided to go out of the mountain again. He hopes that his martial arts will be effective in these turbulent times. So, he followed Zhang Zuolin's men and embarked on a journey to the Northeast.
Legend reappears: a master who is hard to reach with bullets
Zhang Zuolin was overjoyed when he learned that Gong Baotian had agreed to his invitation. However, when he first met Gong Baotian, he was disappointed. The short and thin man in front of him, where does he have the appearance of a martial arts master?
Gong Baotian saw Zhang Zuolin's doubts and offered to compete with Zhang Zuolin. He said: "Dashuai, I heard that your marksmanship is good, why don't we compare and see, is your bullet faster, or my leg faster." "
Although Zhang Zuolin was a little hesitant, he still agreed. And so, a thrilling competition began. Gong Baotian stood 20 meters away, and Zhang Zuolin raised his gun to aim. At the moment when Zhang Zuolin pulled the trigger, Gong Baotian's figure suddenly disappeared.
Zhang Zuolin fired three shots in a row, but they were easily avoided by Gong Baotian. What surprised Zhang Zuolin even more was that when he was about to fire the fourth shot, he suddenly felt an extra hand on his shoulder.
It turned out that Gong Baotian had quietly come behind him. "Dashuai, you lost." Gong Baotian said calmly, "If I wanted your life, then you are dead by now. This scene completely conquered Zhang Zuolin. Since then, Gong Baotian has become Zhang Zuolin's most trusted bodyguard.
In the following days, Gong Baotian saved Zhang Zuolin's life many times, especially during the period of tension between Zhang Zuolin and the Japanese, and the existence of Gong Baotian made the Japanese assassination plan fail repeatedly.
However, fate tricked people. Later, Zhang Zuolin was worried about the safety of his son Zhang Xueliang and asked Gong Baotian to protect Zhang Xueliang. It was this decision that gave the Japanese an opportunity.
In 1928, Zhang Zuolin was killed in a bomb attack in Huanggutun. If Gong Baotian had been present at the time, perhaps the ending would have been different. Upon learning the news of Zhang Zuolin's murder, Gong Baotian was grief-stricken.
He has always regarded Zhang Zuolin as a confidant and friend, and now that his friend is dead, Gong Baotian feels deep self-blame. Disheartened, he returned to his hometown and was determined to dedicate the rest of his life to the legacy of martial arts.
epilogue
Gong Baotian's legendary life, from a poor boy to a master in the Ouchi, to Zhang Zuolin's personal bodyguard, and finally became a generation of martial arts masters, showing the tenacity, loyalty and sense of responsibility of a martial artist.
His story is not only a personal legend, but also a martial arts history spanning the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China. Gong Baotian has made great contributions to the inheritance and development of Chinese martial arts, and his spirit and martial arts continue to inspire future generations.