Chapter 5 Spring Dawn (Part 1)

  Upon hearing this, Wang Xun did not dare to delay and followed Ma Fang closely, almost running. When they arrived at the examination school's archery range, he also heard from Ma Fang about Yuwen Shi's situation of encountering an opponent in a trial by combat.

  Originally, many of the young masters who came to participate in the competition today were from good families, and there were some collateral branches of large families among them. Although these people did not have the right to inherit titles, they were usually treated as the elite by their families and received key training, so they took advantage of it at once.

  Yuwen Zhi's skills in hand-to-hand combat and equipment operation were quite ordinary. Seeing a few familiar faces on the scene, he knew that no matter what, he wouldn't be able to stand out in these two competitions. He casually went through the motions for a few rounds, barely scraping together an average score, before voluntarily withdrawing from contention for the top spots in both competitions.

  The horse racing competition is scheduled to move to a more distant wilderness tomorrow, so he focused his main energy on the archery field today. Who would have thought that today's archery field was also full of masters, after the first five rounds of competition, the target moved from 50 steps to 90 steps, and there were still five people whose arrows did not leave the red heart.

  "Maybe Zhang Da won't lose after all?" Wang Xuan heard this and anxiously furrowed his brow, interjecting a sentence.

  "Look for yourself, it's about to be a hundred steps and three arrows shot quickly!" Ma Fang glared at him with a bad temper, his eyes fixed on the target range. Wang Xun smiled and followed Ma Fang's gaze, only to see that most of the candidates had already withdrawn from the competition. Now, in front of the target, slowly adjusting their bows, except for Yuwen Zhi, there were only four people left: a tall and thin man, a yellow-faced man, a burly man, and a handsome young man with a face like jade. Among them, the handsome young man was the most nervous, with sweat beads on his forehead and nose tip, his fingers constantly wiping the bowstring, apparently already losing momentum before the game even started.

  The remaining three strangers, all of whom appear to be skilled archers. Their movements are elegant and their expressions relaxed, seemingly unfazed by the distance of one hundred paces. Especially that tall and thin individual, his gaze doesn't even glance in the direction of the target, occasionally lightly touching the bowstring with his fingers, instantly transforming his demeanor, subtly exuding an air of a seasoned veteran.

  "That skinny guy is probably a formidable opponent, and Zida can't compare to him!" It has to be said that Wang Xuan gained a lot from his military life over the past few days. At least he developed an eye for observing things, which he couldn't do before. When Ma Fang heard this evaluation, he became anxious and stomped his feet, "I was worried about him just now! In the previous rounds of competition, his archery speed was at least twice that of others, and not a single arrow missed its mark!"

  "Can't get the first place, but I estimate that being in the top three can also attract people's attention!" Wang Xuan thought for a moment and couldn't find any reason why Yuwen Zhi could be ranked first, so he had to settle for second best. "General Gao, I'm talking about Gao Lishi, has he come over here? I was at the main gate entrance an hour ago and saw his carriage. Did you notice where he went?"

  "It's right on the platform! The one holding the drumstick is it!" Ma Fang looked up at the platform and responded in a low voice.

  Wang Jun heard the words and turned his head, and indeed found a tall, white-faced, beardless old man among a group of people on the platform. He was personally holding a large drumstick in his hand, looking extremely enthusiastic. Feng Changqing, Zhou Xiaofeng, and a bunch of generals he couldn't name were surrounding this person like stars around the moon, for fear that something would go wrong and disturb his thoughts.

  "Let's start!" Gao Lishi, however, seemed somewhat nonchalant, smiled slightly, and raised his drumsticks high.

  "Boom, boom, boom!" With the swing of his arm, the cowhide drum began to beat rhythmically. Everyone in the arena held their breath and turned their eyes to the archer. The remaining five archers simultaneously raised their bows, drew the strings to their ears, released their fingers, and the arrows flew off the string. Immediately following, the distant target emitted a loud "bang", and the five arrows were embedded in it.

  Before the applause had even begun, the drumbeat suddenly accelerated to a high pitch, and the five archers drew their bows again, taking aim at the target. The white arrows flew out like shooting stars, and the feathers danced wildly on the target. Only then did the applause erupt, accompanied by the stirring drumbeats, making one's blood boil with excitement.

  What is meant by "rapid shooting" is that one drumbeat must be struck to completion, and the archer must shoot all three arrows. The number of arrows on the target determines the winner. Gao Lishi was well-versed in music, and a war drum was beaten with a rhythmic cadence. In the blink of an eye, more than half of the melody had already passed, and the rhythm had turned from its highest point, slowing down gradually.

  For everyone in the field, the relaxed rhythm at this moment is more breathtaking than before. Someone has pressed down and stomped their feet, reminding the archers to pay attention to the passage of time. The handsome young man was the first to lose his patience, and without waiting for the arrow to stabilize on the bow arm, he released his fingers. The carved feathered arrow flew out a hundred paces with a "whoosh", but the target it hit was far from the red heart.

  "Alas!" A low, long sigh spread through the audience. Many were disappointed by the handsome young man's poor performance. However, most people didn't have time to sympathize with him, their eyes fixed on the remaining four bows. The burly man and the yellow-faced boy slowly adjusted themselves, shooting out their third arrows. One hit the bullseye, while the other missed it by half an inch, clearly due to excessive pressure.

  At this rate, as long as Yuwen's last arrow lands within the red heart, he can stably occupy third place. Wang Xun's heart immediately surged with excitement. Looking at Ma Fang again, he had already jumped up and was waving his fist. At this moment, Yuwen in the arena did not dare to take his eyes off the scores of others, putting the arrow on the bow arm, still adjusting, adjusting and adjusting again. The tall and thin man saw that there was another person who was hesitant to shoot, and he also pulled the bowstring without letting go. It's like competing with Yuwen to see who can't hold his breath first.

  "Boom, boom, boom!" The drumbeat slowed down more and more, suddenly a dry land sprout burst forth, soaring high, then rapidly struck twice, transformed into a thunderclap, and abruptly stopped.

  "Bang!" At the same time as the last drumbeat, Yuwen Zhi and the tall, thin man simultaneously released their bowstrings. Two feathered arrows flew side by side, advancing in unison, sweeping across the silent campus, "slap" sound, landed right in the center of the red heart.

  "Good!" - The applause was like thunder, and whether it was new recruits or old soldiers, or the young masters who came to participate in the assessment, they all clapped their hands like hot irons.

  After a while, the applause slowly subsided under Feng Changqing's gesture. Zhou Xiaofeng personally led several veteran soldiers of the Anxi Army to run to the front of the target and loudly announced the final scores of the five people. "Target one, three arrows all hit the bullseye!" "Target two, two arrows hit the red heart, one arrow deviated by half an inch!" "Target three, three arrows all hit the bullseye." "Target four, two arrows hit the red heart, one arrow deviated by four and a half inches!" "Target five——" Zhou Xiaofeng suddenly stopped for a moment, then shouted loudly, "Target five, three arrows all hit the red heart. Each occupying a corner of the red heart, forming a character pattern!"

  "Ah!" Everyone in the field was stunned, and for an instant, the sunlight seemed to have stopped. After a few breaths, there was a burst of applause, like waves slowly rising from low to high, higher and higher, whistling across the fields.

  "Alright—"

  "Good——"

  Listening to the thunderous applause from below, Feng Changqing and Gao Lishi exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of relief in each other's eyes. The idea of selecting talented young men from good families into the Fei Long Imperial Guard through public martial arts competitions was jointly proposed by the two of them and approved by the Emperor. If the selection results were disappointing, it would mean that the two of them had acted rashly, wasting a lot of manpower and resources without finding any talent for the country. But now, the situation has clearly exceeded their prior expectations. The young men from good families in Chang'an City are not all useless waste. Among them, there are talented individuals who simply didn't have the opportunity to stand out before.

  "Bring up all three targets from the shooting range!" Feng Changqing nodded and ordered his personal guards on either side.

  Someone immediately understood his intention, ran to the target range, and carried three targets with feathered arrows. "Yuan Yigong, take a look!" Feng Changqing personally took over the arrow targets, lined them up one by one, and invited Gao Lishi to comment together.

  Gao Lishi was originally named Feng Yuan Yi, and was the son of Panzhou Governor Feng Jun Heng. Due to his family being implicated in a case and suffering from guilt by association, he was castrated and became a eunuch. After entering the palace, due to his young age, he suffered bullying from other eunuchs. It wasn't until he was adopted as a son by Gao Yan Fu that his situation greatly improved. In order to repay his adoptive father's kindness in teaching him, he changed his name to Gao Lishi. Even after achieving success and fame, he never used the emperor's trust to return to his original clan. However, deep down, he always remembered his original surname.

  At this moment, Feng Changqing called him Yuan Yigong, which not only expressed sufficient respect but also revealed intimacy beyond the respect. Gao Lishi was very pleased in his heart and, after a brief deliberation, said in a low voice: "Still, please let General Feng judge, after all, you have been on the battlefield, while our family just likes to play with bows and horses!"

  Yuan Yigong was polite. Who didn't know that you, sir, were once known as "Little Yuanchu"? Facing the emperor's trusted aide in front of him, Feng Changqing showed great respect, waving his hand and extending another invitation.

  "Please instruct us, General!" Zhou Xiao Feng was very good at guessing what his superiors were thinking, and he cupped his fists together loudly to help Fan Changqing.

  "Please, General, enlighten us!" The other high-ranking officers also begged in unison.

  The atmosphere was hard to refuse, and Gao Lishi hesitated for a moment before smiling and nodding. "In that case, we'll show our ugliness!" He said, walking back and forth around the three targets, picking one up and laughing as he said, "This person's archery skills should rank third. Although their accuracy is more than enough, they lack power. On the battlefield, even if they hit their opponent, it would be hard to penetrate their armor. It's equivalent to wasting arrows for nothing. However, if they're willing to train more in terms of strength, then they'd be a rare and precious jade!"

  Note 1: Among the grains of millet, it must come out of its husk.