Original Text
Before General Huang Degong of Jingnan had achieved fame, he once traveled to the capital with two provincial graduates and encountered bandits on the road. The two graduates were terrified, kneeling on the ground and offering up their money. Huang Degong was furious; at that moment, unarmed, he seized the hind legs of a mule with both hands, lifted it, and hurled it at the bandits. The bandits, caught off guard, had their horses toppled and were thrown from their mounts. Huang Degong rushed forward, striking fiercely with his fists, breaking a bandit's arm, and retrieved the stolen goods, returning them to the two graduates. The graduates admired his valor and strength, so they provided funds to persuade him to join the army. Later, Huang Degong achieved repeated military exploits, eventually becoming a high-ranking official adorned with a python robe and a jade belt.
There was a man from Shanxi, bold and strong, who throughout his life scorned the study of martial arts techniques and combat methods, yet whenever martial artists competed with him, none failed to be defeated. Once, while passing through Henan, he humiliated a disciple of the Shaolin Temple, who angrily reported this to his master. The monks of Shaolin gathered together and arranged a banquet to invite him, intending to make him suffer a loss. When he arrived, they first served tea and fruits. Among the fruits were walnuts still in their shells, so hard that they could not be broken by hand. The man from Shanxi placed a walnut on the edge of the table, extended his index finger, and struck it; the walnut split open at the touch. The Shaolin crowd was greatly astonished, treated the man from Shanxi with utmost respect, and parted from him with great courtesy.
Commentary
In the era of cold weapons, what mattered most was strength. Greater strength meant greater combat effectiveness, making it easier to defeat enemies, achieve merit, and gain promotion. Thus, in this tale, the two filial and incorrupt scholars rescued by Huang Degong advised him to make full use of his strengths, and indeed Huang Degong "repeatedly accomplished remarkable feats, eventually donning the embroidered python robe and jade belt." In terms of "urging him to join the army," this story is identical to the tale of "The Mighty General" in Volume Six, where Zha Yihuang advised Wu Liuyi to "enlist in the military."