Chapter 42: Being Friends, Being Brothers

  Gudong, Hu Shan swallowed hard, and the big cow's eyes stared blankly at Gu Zhenhua. He really couldn't figure out how this gentle and refined guy could have such great strength.

  He gritted his teeth, steeled himself and walked to the front of the stone lock, imitating Gu Zhenhua's stance, grasping the stone lock with his right hand.

  "Get up!"

  The stone lock was lifted off the ground, and the crowd couldn't help but cheer. However, Yue Pozhu on the side curled his lips in disdain, not impressed by the sight. Although Hu Shan had managed to lift the stone lock, his speed was clearly much slower than Gu Zhenhua's, relying solely on brute force, still far from Gu Zhenhua's effortless ease.

  Hú Shān raised the stone lock to his chest, then steeled himself and slowly lowered his arm. At this moment, everyone involuntarily held their breath and stared at Hú Shān with wide eyes.

  If it succeeds once, the rest will be easy, so whether it can be lifted again becomes the key. Hu Shan slowly put down the stone lock, but at this time, the muscles on his arm had already begun to tremble unconsciously.

  The stone lock was at the bottom, Hu Shan's arm exerted force and wanted to lift it up again. The muscles on his arm trembled even more obviously, and his hand also started to go numb.

  "Ah!"

  A loud roar, the stone lock did not rise again, but instead slammed to the ground. Hu Shan also involuntarily retreated a few steps, and sat down on the ground with a thud, panting heavily, his right arm seemingly broken, without any strength left.

  "Hushan, you've lost this round, are you going to admit defeat or accept the penalty?"

  "Lord Gu, I admit defeat. Whatever you say, goes!" Hu Shan was a rascal, but in front of so many people, he didn't dare to be dishonest and could only grit his teeth and say this.

  "Haha, I'm quite lenient. If you admit to the crime, according to military law, disrespecting a superior and disrupting military discipline will get you 1,000 lashes!"

  One thousand!

  At the mention of this number, the soldiers present almost fell over. If they really let loose, one hundred military sticks could beat a person to death. One thousand military sticks would turn someone into minced meat, and it could be used as filling for pastries!

  Hushan was also startled and hastily said: "I admit defeat!"

  "All right, you carry the wooden stake and run fifty laps around the playground."

  "What's this?" Hu Shan originally thought that Gu Zhenhua would severely punish him, killing one to warn a hundred, but unexpectedly the punishment was so light.

  "Haha, Lord Gu, how about a hundred laps? I grew up in the mountains since I was young, running is simply a piece of cake."

  "No nonsense, I'll let Yueba watch you, if it takes more than a quarter of an hour, add another 50 circles as punishment."

  Hu Shan didn't know the severity, got up from the ground, carried 50-60 kilograms of wooden stakes, and ran away without hesitation. Gu Zhenhua looked at this guy, secretly sneered, and waited for a while to taste the bitter fruit!

  "Is there anyone else who wants to challenge? This young master will play with his brothers."

  These soldiers were also stirred up, and a tall and thin man walked out. His most distinctive feature was his long arms, which seemed to be like an ape's, and his eyes seemed to be one big and one small. As soon as he came out, he said loudly: "Master Gu, I want to ask for your instruction on archery, do you dare or not?"

  "Adult, his name is Hou Sanhuai, he's quite skilled at archery, and not a few Tartars have died at his hands." Yue Poyu reminded.

  Gu Zhenhua smiled and nodded: "Good, I'll take a lesson from you!"

  "Lord Gu, three arrows will decide victory or defeat, what do you think?"

  "Good."

  Gu Zhenhua agreed without hesitation, and the crowd surrounded Gu Zhenhua and Hou Sanhuai, arriving at the archery range, where three targets were set up one hundred and twenty paces away.

  Gu Zhenhua didn't bring a bow and arrow, so for fairness, the soldiers prepared new bows and arrows for both of them.

  "My lord, I'll shoot the first arrow, if there's anything wrong with it, please point it out!"

  Hou Sanwai spoke politely, but as soon as he grasped the bow and arrow, his entire being exuded strong self-confidence. After many years on the battlefield, it was his archery skills that had kept him alive, and the bow had almost become his lifeblood.

  He grasped the bow tightly, nocked the arrow, and with a burst of strength, drew the string back to his ear, like a full moon. Almost without looking, he swiftly released his hand, and the arrow flew through the air, hitting the bullseye at a distance of over 120 paces. Instantly, the people present erupted into cheers and applause, with shouts of approval ringing in his ears.

  Gu Zhenhua also nodded secretly, Hou Sanhuai was indeed a master of the Guanning Army, his archery skills were more brilliant and ruthless than his elder brother Sun Cheng, only such archery skills could engage in a bloody battle with the Tartars.

  Gu Zhenhua took a deep breath, grasped the bow and arrow, drew it back, narrowed his eyes, aimed at the target, released his hand, and an arrow also drew a beautiful arc, hitting the bullseye.

  This arrow also won applause, but Hou Sanwai was somewhat disdainful, and it was clear that he had seen Gu Zhenhua's weakness. This lord had not fought on the battlefield, and his archery skills were clearly not as proficient as his own.

  Hou Sanhuai didn't stop at all, drew out the second arrow and shot it out in a flash, also hitting the bullseye. Gu Zhenhua had to follow his rhythm, but was still slightly slower, and the second arrow was off by one point.

  Hou Sanhuai had already revealed a hint of complacency, victory was beckoning to him, and the third arrow shot out without any courtesy. The people in the arena cheered thunderously. Hou Sanhuai even stared at Gu Zhenhua with a provocative gaze.

  At this time, Gu Zhenhua had already nocked the third arrow on his hand, but when he picked up the third arrow, he clearly felt that something was wrong. This arrow was much heavier than the first two, and according to estimates, it would not be able to shoot more than 120 steps away.

  Just as Gu Zhenhua was stunned, a burst of laughter erupted around him, with an obvious tone of mockery. This also stirred up Gu Zhenhua's fighting spirit, and he forcefully pulled the bow open with both arms, adjusting the upward angle by a lot.

  Gu Zhenhua put all his strength into his arms, and the sturdy composite bow also made a creaking sound. Suddenly, he loosened his hand, and this heavy arrow shot towards the target.

  Just as Gu Zhenhua let go, the bow made a cracking sound and broke into two pieces, with only the outer layer of silk still wrapped around.

  The bow suddenly broke!

  What a powerful force, the people in the field all stared with their eyes wide open. And what made them even more unbelievable was that the arrow also hit the target, but it didn't penetrate, instead, it shattered the target into powder.

  That's a hardwood target!

  Even with a knife and sword, it's not necessarily possible to cut off, yet it was shot to pieces. What kind of power did this arrow have? And what would happen if it were shot at a person? It's simply unimaginable. The crowd looked at Gu Zhenhua with eyes that seemed like they were looking at a monster.

  But at this moment, the most surprised one was Hou Sanhuai. He simply didn't dare to believe it and ran three steps forward to the front of the target, searching among a pile of broken wood, finally finding the arrow. He grasped it in his hand, and suddenly his face turned pale.

  "Lord Gu, I am ignorant and worthless, please severely punish me!"

  Hou Sanwai suddenly knelt down in front of Gu Zhenhua, holding the arrow with both hands and raising it high above his head. At this moment, the soldiers also focused their attention on the arrow, and they were all shocked.

  It turned out that this arrow was a heavy armor-piercing arrow, not an ordinary carved feather arrow. The Qing dynasty archers were used to using such arrows, and generally within sixty steps, once they hit the target, they would either die or be injured.

  In the impression of Guanning Army, no one has ever used this kind of arrow to shoot beyond 120 steps, and even more exaggerated is that they also shattered the target. Especially when they gathered closer to watch, they found that the arrowhead was damaged, and everyone's mouth was wide open, forgetting to close it!

  After a while, someone finally came to their senses and shouted loudly: "Who is it? Come out! Who gave this arrow to Lord Guo, trying to tarnish the reputation of the Kuan Ning army?"

  "Alright, who is it? Come out! Winning or losing doesn't matter, we just can't stand those who resort to trickery!"

  The soldiers all clamored, and finally a young soldier came out from the crowd, knelt in front of Gu Zhenhua, and cried: "Sir, I am Zou Tong. It was I who put this arrow in your quiver. Please punish me!"

  Gu Zhenhua took a look at this young soldier and then looked at Hou Sanwa, it's delivered to the door, should I kill the chicken to scare the monkey?!

  As soon as this idea emerged, Gu Zhenhua shook his head. The Gengning Army didn't belong to him at all, and it was destined that he would cooperate with Wu Sangui for a short time. Making friends with these soldiers was much better than putting himself in the position of a manager. After all, there were less than a month's time, how could he possibly replace Wu Sangui's position?

  "Haha, Zou Tong, you're so clever that you've been misled by your own cleverness! Hou Sanhuai's archery skills are even more impressive than yours. How about this: he'll also be implicated and you two can carry the wooden board together for 50 laps. What do you think?"

  "Thank you, sir, for your generosity!"

  "Thank you, sir!"

  Comparing with the superior is a serious offense, and cheating on top of that deserves a good thrashing. But unexpectedly, Gu Zhenhua didn't mete out severe punishment, only making them run laps like Hu Shan, which was an incredibly lenient treatment. Everyone present couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

  Two people were extremely lucky, carrying wooden stakes and running away with their legs, even faster than rabbits!

  "Everyone, on the battlefield, we are all brothers who can entrust our backs to each other. Don't be so formal with me, is there anyone else who wants to try their hand against me?"

  "Here!" Four burly men rushed out, and the leader said in a loud voice: "Master Gu, we four are Mongolians, and we know how to wrestle!"

  Gu Zhenhua burst out laughing: "Alright then, all of you come on up!"