The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 251 Divine Arrow Stabilizes the Border (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Three days later, with colorful flags waving and armor gleaming, the army set off in a grand procession, heading straight for the place where they had met that day.

Yelü Duanqing had been waiting there with his men for a long time. When he saw many colorful flags on the opposite side with words like "The King of Yan will surely win," his soldiers were dumbfounded and indignant.

The officer beside him said, "General, I find this Prince Yan, Zhao Ti, to be quite a bookish fellow. He has no idea what martial arts are. It's quite laughable."

"Scholarly spirit..." Yelü Duanqing nodded: "But his poetry is truly excellent, far surpassing my own. I sincerely admire it. As for archery and horsemanship, I'm afraid I only have a superficial understanding."

The officer said, "The commander-in-chief previously mentioned to His Majesty the autumn hunt, but this man got nothing. He only managed to find that eagle by luck, and perhaps he didn't even get its pelt?"

A person next to him chimed in, "I think so too. Otherwise, why wouldn't he have come to lead the troops to accomplish such a major feat as the conquest of Western Xia, instead of waiting until the war was over to take charge of everything?"

Yelü Duanqing shook his head: "That's not entirely true. The Song Dynasty is different from our Liao Dynasty. Leading troops does not necessarily require being a seasoned warrior or having superb swordsmanship. As long as he has both literary and military talents, that's enough. It's just that he gained the trust of the Song emperor and was left to guard Tokyo at that time."

The officer said, "In my opinion, they don't have much skill. They've actually made a flag. If we lose the hunt, wouldn't we become a laughing stock?"

Yelü Duanqing said, "That's good. Losing the hunt will already demoralize the army. If we have to deal with this kind of nonsense, we'll lose all face."

The two armies were now not far apart. Zhao Ti and Yelü Duanqing each led their men forward on horseback.

At this moment, the soldiers behind Zhao Ti shouted in unison: "The King of Yan will surely win! The King of Yan will surely win! His precious bow can capture the sun and moon, and his divine arrow can shoot down the stars."

Upon hearing this, the generals around him lowered their heads in shame. If they had won the hunt, all would have been fine, but if they had lost, not only would their military prestige have been severely diminished, but they would have lost all face.

Zhao Ti laughed heartily, gestured with his hand, and looked at Yelü Duanqing in front of him: "General Yelü, it's not too late to back out now. Otherwise, if I win, I'm afraid General Yelü will have a hard time explaining to your emperor."

Yelü Duanqing remained unmoved: "Your Highness Yan's words are utterly wrong. How can Your Highness say that you are certain to win? How can I be certain to lose?"

Zhao Ti squinted at him for a few moments: "Are you really not going to back out?"

Yelü Duanqing said, "Tens of thousands of soldiers are here listening. If I go back on my word now, I'm afraid I'll never be able to hold my head high again in my Great Liao Kingdom. Besides, the signed document has already been sent to the capital. Even if I wanted to go back on my word, I couldn't."

A slight smile appeared on Zhao Ti's lips: "General Yelü, then you have lost!"

Yelü Duanqing looked puzzled, then heard Zhao Ti say, "Bring me the bow!"

Zhou Tong immediately took out a carved longbow from the pear wood box. Zhao Ti took it and shook it in the wind. The bow was covered with gems of various sizes, which shone brightly.

The bow handle is wide and long, covered with mottled patterns, exuding an ancient and solemn aura. It is decorated with strange animal bones, and the bow tip is sharp like a twisted spearhead. The gilded elegance reveals a ferocity, making it a magnificent and brutal weapon.

Yelü Duanqing's expression changed slightly. This bow was different from the ordinary one, and its material was very special at first glance. It looked like a heavy bow.

He himself could draw a three-stone bow, but he usually only used bows between two and three stones. However, the bow in Zhao Ti's hand seemed to be more than three stones.

Zhao Ti's voice rang out: "The bow I use is a five-stone bow. How many men in the army can draw such a heavy bow? General Yelü, are you not going to surrender?"

"What? A five-stone bow!"

"The King of Song can actually draw a bow with a five-stone draw weight?"

"How is that possible? Only legendary heroes have drawn five-stone bows throughout history!"

"I don't believe it. It must be less than five shi (a unit of dry measure). This King Yan of Song is definitely exaggerating..."

There was much discussion among the Liao army. Yelü Duanqing looked suspicious and stared intently at the longbow in Zhao Ti's hand, remaining motionless.

Whispers rippled through the Song army. Zhang Jie stared blankly at Zhao Ti's hand, his mouth agape. Not only him, but all the generals were shocked.

A bow with a weight of five stones—could it be that the King of Yan was actually capable of drawing a bow with a weight of five stones?
Yelü Duanqing slowly said, "Can the Prince of Yan really draw a five-stone bow? However, even if such a heavy bow can be drawn, it is difficult to shoot accurately. Moreover, shooting birds in the sky with a heavy bow does not seem very suitable."

When hunting with a heavy bow, it is generally used to shoot wild beasts; it is difficult to control the force when shooting birds in the sky.

Moreover, birds are often faster than wild animals. Wild animals, whether fleeing or attacking, almost always travel in a straight line, making them easy to hit. Birds, on the other hand, require much more precise prediction, several times more accurate than wild animals, making them much more difficult to shoot.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ti couldn't help but laugh and said, "If you can draw a five-stone bow, how can you not shoot down flying birds? Not to mention ordinary birds, even phoenixes and luan birds can be shot down!"

Yelü Duanqing remained silent, his expression grim. Since the other party dared to reveal the Five Stone Bow, it must be usable; otherwise, wouldn't it be exposed in the blink of an eye?
Regardless of the opponent's archery skills, being able to draw such a strong bow is already an astonishing feat. Whether it's due to internal energy cultivation or honed external skills, they can be considered highly skilled in martial arts.

"Your Majesty..." Zhang Jie asked cautiously, a hint of joy in his eyes, "Can Your Majesty truly use this bow?"

The generals were all looking on with anticipation. Even if they lost the contest, the fact that they could draw the five-stone bow would not weaken their military prestige.

Zhao Ti smiled, facing the Liao army, without inhaling, he lowered his shoulders and elbows, held the bow level in his left hand, and hooked the string with three fingers of his right hand, exerting force directly. A "creaking" sound rang out as the precious carved bow was slowly drawn back, the bowstring taut like a full moon, and the bow tip like a sword edge.

The Song army immediately erupted in deafening cheers, their voices soaring into the sky.

A strange light appeared on Liu Zhongwu's face as he stood to the side. He couldn't help but wonder to himself, "Could it be that the target that day was shot by the king? If so, then there is no doubt that we have won the competition."

The Liao army on the other side was silent. Although the Liao Kingdom had been emphasizing literature in recent years and the country was filled with the sounds of Buddhist scriptures, they still greatly admired the soldiers who were skilled in martial arts and were brave warriors. The one who could draw a five-stone bow was truly worthy of the title of "Husi"!
In the Khitan language, "Husi" means "powerful," "strong," and also "hero." At the beginning of the Liao Dynasty, during the Tianxian era, Yelü Lang, the Sixth Prince, was known as "Husi" because of his bravery and strength, and his repeated victories in battle.

Zhao Ti laughed heartily, drew his bow to its fullest extent, and swung it halfway across the enemy lines, reciting: "Looking northwest, I aim for the Heavenly Wolf. Can General Yelü withstand this arrow from me?"

He maintained a fully drawn bow and was still able to move around. His strength left the Liao army dumbfounded and speechless.

Yelü Duanqing forced a smile and said, "Your Highness, the Prince of Yan, possesses astonishing strength. An arrow from a five-stone bow can cut a human body in two, let alone a tiger or leopard. But I'm afraid Your Highness... might not be able to aim accurately."

Zhao Ti slowly drew back the bowstring. The bow cannot be released empty. Even in martial arts competitions, where the bow is stretched and tested, it must be drawn back slowly, otherwise it will damage the bow and arrow.

"General Yelü, do not be quick to judge." Zhao Ti smiled slightly. Drawing his five-stone bow in front of the enemy lines was enough to intimidate the Liao army and make them tremble with fear.

As for winning the hunt, it is also necessary to destroy the enemy's military prestige, so that the enemy's army, from top to bottom, will be timid and dare not make any small moves or act rashly on the Hetao Plain.

He could not stay in Wulahai City for long, and now was not the best time to start a war with the Khitan. His current priority was to consolidate the Western Xia territory he had gained.

At this moment, the Liao Kingdom had no intention of fighting. The wars in recent years had been mostly minor skirmishes to quell rebellions in the north. With peace restored in recent years, the country had embraced Confucianism and Buddhism. Yelü Hongji was extravagant and decadent, indulging in pleasures, and the entire court had no intention of starting a war.

As for this, it's simply because Western Xia has a close relationship with them, making it difficult to save face, and they also covet Western Xia's vast territory.

However, having already captured Mie River, and having wagered a year for peace with the enemy, if they could further intimidate them in front of the army and win, maintaining peace for a short period of time should not be a problem.

He said, "Today the sky is clear and the weather is bright, perfect for hunting. General Yelü, are you ready?"

Yelü Duanqing's eyes were gleaming. At this point, there was no turning back. Moreover, even if the opponent could use a five-stone bow, possess superhuman strength, or have superb internal and external skills, it did not mean that the arrow would necessarily be accurate.

"Of course everything is ready, Your Highness, please!"

Zhao Ti nodded, and then the two of them each led a portion of their troops and headed straight northeast.

Hunting birds differs from hunting beasts in one key way. When hunting wild animals, you can surround them from a distance and drive them towards the center to encircle them, but this is not the case with birds.

Birds cannot be driven away in the air. If you startle them with a bow and arrow, they will only run further away. They will certainly not follow human intentions and be driven to a certain place.

At this time, the Song and Liao armies advanced side by side, mostly led by generals. Since there was no need for encirclement, the number of soldiers was only about a hundred in both cities.

Although the Hetao Plain is fertile, it is not all fertile land. There are rivers, lakes, grasslands, wetlands, and foothill terraces on the edges, and there are also large deserts to the southwest.

It's the beginning of summer, the scenery is incredibly beautiful, and a gentle breeze is blowing, making it very pleasant.

The group headed towards the area where the plains met the grasslands. After about half an hour, they could already see beasts running and rabbits darting about in the wilderness, their shadows flashing.

Zhao Ti suddenly asked, "What's that ahead?"

His voice was slightly louder, buzzing and ringing, which made the Liao generals on the side change color, thinking to themselves that the King of Song had a strong voice.

Yelü Duanqing was furious. Since their previous meeting, Zhao Ti had been bringing up various matters, and he naturally guessed what the other party was thinking, but he could not stop him. At this moment, he said in a deep voice, "It is probably just a lone wolf from the grasslands. Why is the Prince of Yan making such a fuss?"

Zhao Ti laughed and said, "Now that we've seen it, how can we not take it?"

Yelü Duanqing frowned: "Has the Prince of Yan forgotten the content of the competition? It is to hunt birds in the air, not to hunt beasts on the ground."

Zhao Ti said calmly, "How could I not take it when I encountered it? It's just something I did on a whim. General Yelü, I'm going to take my first prey of the day!"

After he finished speaking, he spurred his horse slightly, and Black Rose immediately darted out.

Yelü Duanqing was immediately alarmed. This was another tactic by the other side, trying to boost morale by using something other than the competition. Their scheme was truly profound. He immediately spurred his horse to give chase.

Just then, the beast's shadow disappeared into the grass, the blades of grass trembling slightly as it ran away into the distance. Zhao Ti smiled, nocked an arrow, and shot it like a shooting star. A howl came from the grass, the blades of grass trembled violently a few times, and then stopped moving.

Yelü Duanqing's expression was grim, and the hand that had been holding the bow and arrow slowly fell.

The two Song cavalrymen behind them rushed forward, dismounted, and pulled a wolf out of the grass. The wolf was already dead, its throat pierced by an arrow, and blood was still gushing out.

Zhao Ti laughed and said, "I have captured the first prey of this hunt. General Yelü still has a long way to go."

Yelü Duanqing said with a gloomy face, "Your Highness Yan is wrong. This is not a hunting contest at all. If Your Highness Yan is willing to hunt animals, I will naturally not compete with you."

Zhao Ti shook his head and said, "Is it that you don't want to compete, or that you can't compete?"

After he finished speaking, Black Rose leaped forward and galloped across the grassland. At that moment, she saw a few rustling grasses in the distance, indicating the presence of wild animals, and immediately rushed over.

Yelü Duanqing gritted his teeth, his expression somewhat uncertain, and hurriedly followed.

Zhao Ti continued firing arrows without pause, and in the blink of an eye, he had shot down two more rabbits, which the soldiers retrieved. Seeing this, Yelü Duanqing no longer cared about the earlier argument and grabbed his bow and arrows, unleashing a flurry of arrows.

This place is teeming with wild animals, but because of the tall grass, it is often difficult to distinguish what they are. Larger animals can be guessed based on experience, but it is impossible to tell whether the smaller ones are badgers, rabbits, or something else.

He did not come away empty-handed; after shooting one, a Liao soldier ran over to retrieve it, but upon looking at it, his face twitched and his expression turned even paler.

This arrow killed a marmot, also known as a groundhog.

This thing is edible, but it doesn't taste very good. On the grasslands, people only eat this when there is a natural disaster, when cattle and sheep are damaged, and they rely on hunting to get through the difficulties.

Generally, after skinning the animal, salt is sprinkled on it, it is wrapped in the skin, and then thrown directly into the fire to roast. Once it's almost roasted, the charred parts of the outer fur are torn off, and it's ready to eat. The taste is strange and even worse than wolf meat.

At least wolves can yield some materials, but this thing is completely useless. Not to mention Yelü Duanqing, even ordinary Liao soldiers don't eat this stuff.

Yelü Duanqing was about to tell them to throw it away, but then he thought that it was still prey, so he felt a bit like he had to swallow his pride and said in a low voice, "Put it away."

At this moment, the two teams ran further and further across the grassland, catching quite a few prey of all sizes, but most of them were shot by Zhao Ti. Yelü Duanqing only caught a few rabbits and mice, and didn't catch a single large fox.

Sometimes, even when they spotted their prey at the same time, he couldn't outrun Zhao Ti. Zhao Ti's arrows were always a fraction faster, which surprised him and made him feel uneasy.

Just then, a cry suddenly came from the sky, and eagles appeared.

Yelü Duanqing hurriedly looked up and saw a grass hawk flying over from a distance. This kind of hawk is not big, but it can be considered a bird of prey. It can catch ordinary birds, and it can even catch small rabbits.

He hurriedly raised his bow and aimed. The eagle was not yet overhead and was still quite far away. He secretly predicted its flight trajectory and waited until it entered a suitable range before shooting it down.

But just then, there was a loud "bang" as the bowstring snapped, and then an arrow shot into the sky as fast as lightning.

Yelü Duanqing was taken aback. The arrow was not only incredibly fast, but also had great endurance. Its judgment was so precise that it hit the grass eagle flying from afar.

The eagle fell to the ground almost without any struggle in the air.

He immediately looked at Zhao Ti, who raised his longbow and laughed, "General Yelü, a five-stone bow has a much longer range than a three-stone bow."

Yelü Duanqing's face turned ashen. The longer range wasn't a problem, but he hadn't expected the opponent's prediction to be so accurate. This was different from shooting wild animals on the ground; the judgment needed to be much more precise.

At this moment, the entire Song army cheered, and all the generals were excited. They originally thought that Zhao Ti accepted the competition for the sake of face, but they did not expect that he could not only draw a bow with a strength of five stones, but also shoot down birds from such a distance. It was simply unbelievable.

Zhang Jie bowed from his horse and said, "Your Majesty's skill is truly divine; I am filled with admiration!"

Lu Huiqing clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is skilled in both literature and martial arts. It is truly rare for you to shoot down a flying eagle from such a distance with an arrow. I should compose a poem to commemorate this achievement."

The generals all said in unison, "Your Majesty is skilled in both literature and martial arts; we admire you wholeheartedly!"

Zhao Ti waved his hand and said modestly, "It's just a little eagle, nothing special. Let's not spread it around, lest it seem like I'm showing off too much. By the way, General Yelü..."

Yelü Duanqing took a deep breath and forced a smile: "What is it, Prince Yan?"

Zhao Ti said, "Don't let anyone spread the word about General Yelü. It's just a mere eagle, nothing to brag about."

Upon hearing this, Yelü Duanqing's shoulders trembled uncontrollably, and it took him a long time to say, "Your Majesty, rest assured, the men of Liao will not spread rumors about Song."

Zhao Ti nodded, his eyes sweeping over the Liao generals and soldiers, and said with a smile, "A small eagle is nothing to mention. If I shoot an eagle next, I will still have to say something. On the grasslands, isn't it said that those who can shoot eagles are heroes?"

The Liao people were so angry that they gritted their teeth, but when they glanced at the longbow in his hand, their eyes flickered with fear. It was a five-stone bow, and even if someone was wearing armor, a single arrow could probably kill them.

Zhao Ti said, "It's still early. General Yelü, continue. You might have a chance to shoot some birds."

Yelü Duanqing said, "Of course, this place is vast and open, how could the Prince of Yan be the only one to stand out?"

With that, he spurred his horse forward, and the two teams galloped across the grassland.

At this time, there were more birds in the sky, but most of them were common birds and no eagles or hawks were seen. Yelü Duanqing couldn't help but feel anxious. Those doves, sandgrouse, and crows were useless to kill. What needed to be compared were birds of prey.

Just as noon was approaching, a vulture suddenly flew in from the northwest. The vulture is also known as the mountain eagle.

These kinds of eagles usually live in groups, so it's unclear why this one was alone. The vulture is very large and extremely conspicuous in the air, far superior to the grass eagle from before.

Yelü Duanqing was overjoyed upon seeing this. This kind of eagle is large, so it is easier to judge its direction even if it is far away. Although the bow of the three stone is quite different from that of the five stone, in reality there may not be much difference when shooting into the air, unless it is too far away. But at this moment it is obviously not high in the clouds, so he hurriedly raised his bow and shot.

At the same time, he heard the sound of a bowstring being drawn from Zhao Ti's side. He quickly looked over and his eyes widened in surprise.

His arrow was fired first, but the opponent's arrow followed closely behind, and thanks to the faster speed of the five-stone bow, it actually knocked his arrow down.

That wasn't all; Zhao Ti actually fired two arrows at once. One arrow deflected his arrow, while the other continued straight into the sky.

Then Zhao Ti said, "Firing two arrows at once, is that all there is to it?"

Yelü Duanqing hurriedly grabbed his bow to fire another arrow, but then heard a mournful cry from the sky, and the vulture had already fallen from mid-air.

He immediately asked, "Prince of Yan, what is the meaning of this?"

Zhao Ti said calmly, "Since it's a competition, of course we can intercept the opponent's arrows."

Yelü Duanqing snorted, feeling anxious. It was already noon, and the other side had hunted down two birds of prey. If he didn't catch up soon, he feared he would lose the hunt by the end of the night.

He immediately spurred his horse to search elsewhere, and Zhao Ti smiled slightly, then led his men to follow.

Just moments later, several steppe eagles flew in from the horizon. These eagles were large, but very agile, knowing how to avoid attacks from below, and were not usually easy to hunt.

Yelü Duanqing also nocked two arrows at this moment, and he could also fire two arrows at the same time, but his accuracy was somewhat poor. However, he couldn't care less about that at the moment. Firstly, he was afraid that Zhao Ti would intercept him, and secondly, there were many eagles in the sky, and he thought he could shoot one down no matter what.

Just after he fired his two arrows, three silver lights followed. With two "crack" sounds, the two arrows he had just fired were knocked to the ground, and the two arrows that had caught up with him also fell down. Only one silver light shot into the sky and hit a steppe eagle, bringing it down.

Yelü Duanqing stared in disbelief at Zhao Ti, who laughed and said, "General Yelü, have you forgotten that besides firing two arrows at once, we also have a bow with three arrows!"

Yelü Duanqing's face had turned somewhat dark. The Liao soldiers behind him whispered among themselves. They had only heard of the archery skill of shooting three arrows with one bow, but had never seen it before. At this moment, they were all extremely shocked.

"One bow, three arrows! Your Majesty is truly a divine archer!" Zhang Jie exclaimed from the side.

“Indeed, it is the Divine Arrow. With such superb archery skills, there are probably few in the world who can match him,” Lü Huiqing also said.

All the generals blushed, especially Liu Zhongwu, who looked at Zhao Ti with utmost admiration. He was skilled in archery and always considered himself an expert, but at this moment he couldn't help but feel ashamed, thinking to himself that his own archery was worlds apart from the king's, like a firefly compared to the bright moon.

Yelü Duanqing remained silent, his anxiety growing. He had guaranteed Yelü Hongji his victory in the contest, and he didn't know how he would explain himself to him if he lost.

However, the thought of Zhao Ti's initial intention to gamble on two military commanderies and the territory of Western Xia sent a chill down his spine. He certainly didn't have that much power, but if he did, he probably would have dared to gamble on the military commandery of Miechuan. If he lost, he would truly die without a burial place, and his whole family would suffer as well.

He felt a little panicked and spurred his horse to continue searching. It was already afternoon, and the warm breeze on the grassland was pleasant, with few birds in the sky.

But the more anxious he became, the more he realized that his opponent had already hunted three, while he hadn't caught up with any. If he couldn't catch up with his opponent before sunset, he would lose the competition.

At this point, hoping to shoot down four or five more is unrealistic. The best hope is that a stronger eagle will come, so that one can overpower the other three, or at least one will be shot down, so that the defeat won't be too humiliating.

No matter how hard they searched, there were no birds in the sky. The two groups of people circled around the grassland, seemingly without any further gains.

But just as the sun was setting in the west, a shadow suddenly flew in from the horizon. This shadow was also enormous; it was a golden eagle, its wings gleaming with brilliant golden light in the setting sun.

Yelü Duanqing was overjoyed. The golden eagle was fierce. Even if he still couldn't win after shooting it down, he could at least hope to get a draw. Even if he lost, it wouldn't be too embarrassing.

He hurriedly grabbed a handful of arrows and fired them in rapid succession, not caring about anything else. He used this rapid-fire technique to prevent Zhao Ti from intercepting him, but this technique is actually very difficult to be accurate.

After all, the eagle was flying in the sky, and after the second arrow, the rapid-fire arrows were almost not aimed at, but shot entirely by feel. But the golden eagle was not an easy opponent. Upon hearing the sound of the bowstring, it swerved to the side, and the subsequent arrows did not even touch a feather of the eagle.

By this time, the eagle had flown far away, and suddenly a silver light shot out and followed, as fast as a streak of fire. A high-pitched and tragic cry of the eagle rang out, and the shadow in the distance of the sky fell downwards.

Yelü Duanqing's face turned ashen; there was no turning back now.

Zhao Ti smiled slightly and said, "General Yelü, are you still not going to admit defeat?"

Yelü Duanqing stared blankly at the setting sun for a moment, then closed his eyes slightly and slowly said, "Your Highness, the Prince of Yan, is quite cunning. Back then, you concealed your abilities during the hunt in Shangjing, keeping the people of our Great Liao from noticing..."

Zhao Ti said, "What do you mean by hiding? Didn't I capture the giant eagle? That's equivalent to winning first place in that autumn hunt. It's just that you didn't see how I captured the giant eagle..."

Yelü Duanqing smiled bitterly and said, "So that's how it is. I didn't expect this to be the key point. I have indeed lost this time. If the Prince of Yan can advance twenty miles, my Great Liao will definitely not make any move."

Zhao Ti nodded: "That's good. It's only twenty li of land. I don't think the Liao Kingdom will go back on its word and break the agreement."

Yelü Duanqing said, "I have already sent the official seal and contract to the capital. His Majesty should have seen them by now. How can you go back on your word? I... also need to return to the capital to apologize."

Zhao Ti looked at him for a few moments and then smiled, "General Yelü, take care. I don't think the Liao Emperor will blame you for a mere twenty li."

Yelü Duanqing shook his head, said he hoped so, then turned his mount around and led the listless Liao soldiers and generals back to Mi'e River.

After watching the enemy's group disappear, Zhao Ti ordered a return to Wulahai City.

He stayed in Wulahai City for another seven days, issued military orders, and dispatched personnel to settle matters on all sides.

After seven days, once everything was settled, Zhao Ti mustered a portion of his men and, along with Zhou Tong and the other three, headed straight for Xingzhou in Xingqing Prefecture.

(End of this chapter)