Taiheiki

Chapter 114 Giving Name
The target for the archery competition was placed at the end of the southern passageway of the arena, with the archers standing at the other end. The distance between the two ends was exactly one hundred paces (approximately 150 meters). The target was a wooden board six feet high and two feet wide. On the top of the board was a white circle one and a half feet in diameter with a red dot in the center. Archers approached in the order drawn by lot and took turns shooting three arrows. After each archer finished shooting, the referee came forward and announced their score.

The archers braced themselves and took turns shooting. Every time someone hit the white circle, the drummers would beat a rapid drumbeat, and the surrounding audience would cheer. If someone's arrow missed the target, the onlookers would jeer, forcing the archers to retreat in shame, which also made those who withdrew at the last minute feel fortunate. Half of the contestants would be eliminated in each round until the end.

After several rounds of elimination, only four remained. Two of these four were soldiers under Wei Cong, and the other two were renowned local marksmen. In their round, they had hit all twelve arrows on the target, with seven of them landing within the white circle—an excellent result. The best result was achieved by a soldier named Li Qun, who landed two arrows within the white circle and was declared first place by the referee.

Just as the four men were about to be led to the platform to receive Wei Cong's reward, they heard a rather shrill voice shouting, "I thought the archers serving the general would be more capable, but I didn't expect them to shoot at such a large target! They might as well have stood in the yard and shot arrows at the door!"

The sharp voice was particularly piercing amid the cheers. The archers participating in the competition were all very proud of their skills and could not bear such ridicule. They shouted for the speaker to come forward and compete. But when the speaker actually stepped forward, the archers showed contempt. It turned out that the person who had just mocked was a mountain slave with a tattoo on his cheek and wearing a short brown robe.

"How dare a mountain beast slave speak so rudely!"

"Get out of the way! Since today is a good day, I won't punish you. Otherwise, be careful of the whip!"

"That's right, get out of here now, or you'll get beaten!"

Facing the curses from all around, the mountain slave remained undaunted. He shouted, "On ordinary days, I am a slave, and you are soldiers and civilians. I am indeed unqualified to compete with you in archery. But today, I am a civilian just like you, so why can't I compete with you? You don't want to compete with me, are you afraid of losing to me and embarrassing yourself in front of the general?"

The archers' faces changed drastically when they heard this. Li Qun, who had won first place, stepped forward and said, "You can have a shooting competition, but we've all won round after round. Do you think it's fair to compete directly with us?"

"You're right. Then let me shoot at your target too, and then you can see for yourself if I'm qualified to compete with you. But I have a condition. If I hit your target, you must also shoot at mine! Is that fair?"

"Fair!" Li Qun nodded and gestured: "You can choose any bow you want!"

The mountain slave walked to the bow rack, tried several bows, and finally chose a longbow made of deer sinew and three layers of mulberry wood. Then he walked to the shooting area, looked at the target in the distance, raised the bow, nocked the arrow and strung it. He stepped forward, stretched his left arm, raised the bow slightly higher, bringing the handle almost to eye level, then pulled the bowstring to ear level and released his fingers. The arrow cut through the air, and everyone saw the white feathers finally land on the target, just a finger's length away from the white circle.

The cursing and jeers stopped, and everyone looked at the target in the distance, bewildered. Only those who hadn't seen it clearly were still muttering. Li Qun coughed and said nothing.

"This is such a good bow! I have never used such a good bow!" The mountain beast slave sighed twice, took out two arrows from the quiver, and shot two arrows in succession without seeming to aim seriously. Both arrows hit the white circle.

"Can I shoot my target now?" The mountain beast slave turned around and asked the referee.

The referee looked at Li Qun awkwardly, and when he saw Li Qun nod, he said, "Of course. Where is your target?"

"Please wait a moment!" The mountain slave walked to the edge of the field and casually broke off a straight branch, slightly thicker than a thumb. As he removed the branches and leaves from the branch, he smiled and said, "This target is commonly used by us mountain people. If anyone wants to show off his skills, I welcome him to take a shot!"

As he spoke, the mountain slave had already walked to the other end of the field and stuck the branch straight into the ground. Then he came back and said to everyone, "If anyone can hit that branch from here, he will be considered a true archer, worthy of wearing red clothes and serving the general!"

"How is that possible!" Li Qun squinted at the target and shook his head. "I've never shot at a target like this in my life. Well, if this savage can hit that branch, then I have to admit he's the world's unrivaled marksman. A person can only try to do what is possible. I'm not Yang Youji. How can I possibly hit a branch a hundred steps away?"

Faced with the challenge from this fang slave, all the contestants said they didn't want to try. Some even shouted at the fang slave, "Go ahead, you tattooed slave! If you can hit the target, we'll recognize you as the reincarnation of Yang Youji, an unrivaled archer. Otherwise, we'll strip you naked, whip your back, and kick you out of here. Stop screaming like a toad and show us what you can do!"

"Everyone, be quiet! Leave the field! Do not interfere with the match!" A commanding voice rang out from behind the referee. He turned and saw Wei Cong. He quickly bowed and repeated Wei Cong's order in a resounding voice. The entire audience retreated outside the fence, holding their breath as they waited for the mountain slave to demonstrate his skills.

The mountain slave had already spotted Wei Cong. He bowed deeply to the most senior figure in the room, then began carefully examining his weapon and requesting a new bowstring, as the previous one had been worn down by the previous owner. He then carefully observed the target and the wind, then nocked the arrow, drew the bow to full length, and aimed. Everyone in the area held their breath; even those who hoped he'd miss didn't dare to act rashly in front of Wei Cong. Finally, he released the string, and the arrow flew, cleaving the branch in two. The rapid beat of drums was followed by cheers. For a moment, the crowd seemed to forget the archer's humble status and applauded his vision, skill, and strength.

"This is the reward you deserve!" Wei Cong pointed to the table beside him. A bag containing ten thousand coins, a fine horn bow, a pot of white-feathered arrows, and a suit of chain mail were neatly laid out on it. "Besides that, I grant you your freedom. If you wish, you can serve me among my elite soldiers! Honestly, I used to think 'shooting an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces' was just a myth. I never expected to witness such a feat with my own eyes today. I can't imagine anyone being able to draw the bow so steadily as you do, and to hit the target with such keen eyesight!"

"Thank you for your kindness. I am willing to serve you. However, my wife, children and younger brother are still slaves. Please set them free as well." The mountain man fell to the ground and begged.

"That's easy!" Wei Cong was in a very good mood at the moment. He smiled and said, "If you and your family were here with me, you could recover now. If you were with someone else, I'd pay for your redemption! By the way, what's your name?"

"Thank you, General!" The mountain beast kowtowed and said, "My name is Alondo!"

"Alondo?" Wei Cong frowned. "Well, since you're such a good archer, why don't you change your name to Zhebie?" "Zhebie?" The mountain beast hurriedly bowed and thanked him. "Thank you, General, for the name!"

"The others are good shooters too!" Wei Cong said with a smile, "In the way of archery, one should look within oneself instead of seeking for oneself. Zhebie's archery skills are probably innate, but even mediocre ones can achieve mastery through diligent practice!"

"We will follow the general's instructions!" everyone responded in unison.

Wei Cong nodded and turned to head for the higher ground. Lu Ping, standing by, asked curiously, "Why did you give that guy the name Zhebie? What does that have to do with being a good archer?"

"This..." Wei Cong was stunned when he heard this. After a moment's thought, he replied, "Zhebie is a Xiongnu word, meaning arrow. That's why the Xiongnu called their sharpshooter Zhebie! So I gave him this name!"

"Oh!" Lu Ping responded meaningfully, "So you're from Taiyuan?"

"Taiyuan? Why do you say that?"

"That's where the Southern Xiongnu stayed after they migrated inland. You're not from Taiyuan, so how come you're so familiar with the Xiongnu?"

"Don't let your imagination run wild. These are what I heard when I was a student in Luoyang!" Wei Cong hurriedly made up a lie.

"Ah!" Lu Ping said, "Hearing you say that, going to Luoyang to become a Taixue student is really a good thing!" She suddenly sighed, "I'm leaving tomorrow, and I don't know if we'll have the chance to meet again in the future!"

"Of course there will be—" Wei Cong's words were cut off. He suddenly remembered that this woman was a rebel leader. If she went there, she would kill officials and rebel. Who could tell whether she would live or die? Thinking of this, his heart softened. "If things are hopeless, there's no need to be stubborn. Just escape to me. At least you can save your life!"

"Haha! General Wei is so arrogant!" Lu Ping laughed. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, her eyebrows raised slightly, and she spoke sarcastically, but her face was full of joy.

"It's just to save an old friend. I do have some ability to do that!" Wei Cong smiled. "Besides, in today's world, you are not the only one who can achieve great things!"

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Wuling, Hanshou County.

Zhao Yannian walked for two full days before finally reaching the edge of the camp under the command of the General of Chariots and Cavalry. The camp lay beside the burned-out ruins of a small town west of the former Hanshou City. Along the riverbank, numerous flags were planted on the walls of the Han camp. Although Zhao Yannian couldn't identify the armies they belonged to, he could smell the foul odor emanating from the camp. From the smell, Zhao Yannian concluded that the Feng Chariots had been stationed there for some time. The latrines outside the camp were overflowing, swarming with flies, and the stakes surrounding the camp were covered in a faint green fuzz.

"Captain Zhao, by the general's orders, your men will camp here!" an officer shouted to Zhao Yannian, "As for you, follow me now to see the general!"

"Yes! Please wait a moment, let me give you some instructions!" Zhao Yannian responded, turned around a few steps and said to Wen Sheng, "I'm going to see Feng Cheqi. I'll leave the camping matters to you!"

"No problem!" Wen Sheng responded, "I think the smell in the camp is a little off. You have to be careful!"

"You're smelling the stench of a manure pit!" Li He, standing nearby, sneered. "I bet the General has been camped here for at least a month. Tens of thousands of people have been eating and shitting here, so how can it not stink?"

"Yes! If you had your husband with us, we would have put down the rebellion long ago!" Chen Qi interjected, "Unlike this Feng Cheqi, he lets us fight and risk our lives in battle, while his own confidants hide behind the camp to eat and shit. Look at this guy, his butt is so fat, he probably just squatted here and never moved!"

Chen Qi's diatribe elicited laughter from the crowd. Ever since Wei Cong murdered County Lieutenant Wang Gui and fled, Feng Gun, while accepting Zhao Yannian's succession, had become much more critical of his recruits. They endured hardships and hardships, yet were ranked low in the list of meritorious service, a clear sign of a willingness to sacrifice merit for merit. Zhao Yannian could only grit his teeth and tread cautiously. Having just defeated a rebel group and returned from Changsha, he was summoned to meet Feng Gun, and a sense of foreboding welled up in his heart.

"All of you shut up! Have you forgotten what your husband said before he left? Do you think we don't have enough trouble now?" Zhao Yannian cursed in a low voice, "Get back to work!"

"Yes!" Wen Sheng and the other two responded. As they watched Zhao Yannian and the officer walk away, Chen Qi spat and cursed, "Thirty-five Deng and Liu Jiu, those two bastards, are so smart. They're enjoying themselves with the young master, but they've left us here to suffer. If I'd known this would happen, I would have followed the young master to Yuzhang!"

"Why are you talking such nonsense!" Li He sneered. "I just said that this Feng Gun is not a General of Chariots and Cavalry. I think he is a shitty General. When something happens, he lets us take the lead while he hides in the back and eats and shits with his shield barbarians. I heard about the reputation of these shield barbarians when I was in the army. Now it seems that they are not shield barbarians at all, but a bunch of dung beetles!"

(End of this chapter)