Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 125 Let the Divine Crossbow See Blood?

Inside Chang'an City.

The day was unusually quiet.

Zhuque Avenue was cleared out early in the morning.

Cheng Zhijie led the soldiers of the Left Weiwei and Left Wuwei Guards to guard the city walls and both sides of the streets.

The wide-open Mingde Gate, Anhua Gate, and Qixia Gate resembled three gaping maws of ferocious beasts, awaiting the arrival of their prey.

Before long, as dawn broke, a procession of over a hundred people slowly approached from outside Chang'an City.

At the very front of the delegation stood a burly man with broad shoulders and a thick waist, gazing at the distant city of Chang'an.

"I sensed a murderous aura, like the dangerous signal of a wolf pack about to launch an attack on the grassland."

“Aibal, we are the wolves, they are just a herd of antelopes with gleaming horns.” A man with dark tan skin and wearing black armor clad in wolf skin looked disdainful.

“Bolu, don’t underestimate the people of the Central Plains, or we will suffer a great loss. Even the fiercest wolf must be wary of the horns of an antelope,” the Turkic man named Aibar warned.

Looking at the young man named Bolu in front of him, he couldn't help but frown.

The young people in the Turkic Khaganate nowadays are too arrogant.

They seemed to be blinded by the apparent cowardice of the people of the Central Plains.

Having faced the Tang army before, he knew very well that the present Tang Dynasty was no different from the former Sui Dynasty.

Do not!
To be precise, they are even more ruthless.

However, this ferocious beast temporarily withdrew its claws and teeth.

And that is precisely what he fears most.

"Elba, you're getting old. Don't forget, I'm the chief envoy this time." Boru snorted disdainfully, tugged at the reins, and urged his horse to speed up.

His sudden overreach forced the Turkic delegation behind him to speed up.

at the same time.

On the city wall of Chang'an.

Cheng Zhijie was holding binoculars, watching their every move.

"These barbarians have actually quickened their pace. I think they're not here to pay homage, but rather to attack the city!"

He was instantly enraged.

Seeing this, Tang Jian quickly advised, "Duke Su, please don't be angry. After all, they are guests. Their rudeness is due to their lack of manners. Please don't hold it against them."

"I don't think it's because they're ignorant; on the contrary, they're trying to intimidate us."

A lazy voice suddenly came from the side.

"Wenxianzi, don't stir up trouble. The overall situation is more important."

Tang Jian looked helpless.

He didn't know why His Highness the Crown Prince would send someone with such a fiery temper like Cheng Zhijie and a little kid like Wen He to handle the reception.

"Hehe, I think Wen He is right. Since they want to give us a hard time, let's not hold back. Wen kid, your crossbow hasn't drawn any blood yet, has it? How about we give it a try today?"

A murderous intent flashed in Cheng Zhijie's eyes.

He knew that the Ministry of Works had researched new crossbows, and that he had brought them with him today.

I've only heard about it, but I haven't actually tried it yet.

Now that so many Turks have been delivered to us, what excellent targets! Perfect for testing the new crossbow.

"No business, no business! Wenxianzi, you should try to persuade them. I even spoke up for you when you beat up the Japanese."

Tang Jian was genuinely frightened.

He certainly wouldn't be this nervous if it were anyone else.

Who is Cheng Zhijie?
That troublemaker is reckless and doesn't care about anything.

Back when he was in Wagang Village, he almost killed Li Mi over a single argument.

He is absolutely a man of his word.

Upon hearing this, Wen He shrugged and said, "Okay."

He got up from the homemade recliner and walked to Cheng Zhijie's side.

“Duke Su, that crossbow is our secret weapon. We can’t let the Turks know about it yet. Why don’t you try that composite bow? The Ministry of Works has only made twenty of these.”

Wen He raised an eyebrow at him.

Tang Jian initially thought Wen He was advising Cheng Zhijie, and felt relieved, but he didn't expect him to suddenly change the subject.

"Very well, someone bring the new bow!"

Cheng Zhijie was overjoyed. Seeing that he couldn't persuade him anymore, Tang Jian suddenly felt dizzy, but just then, he heard Wen He say, "Duke Su, if you kill the Turk, it's nothing. They'll just think we're afraid of them. I think you should force that Turk to stop. Then, do you see the one with the banner behind him?"

Wen He pointed ahead.

The banners that the Turks had hung high were clearly visible from this distance, even without binoculars.

The straight-line distance is no more than one hundred steps.

"These barbarians actually hang up their banners like this. It's a ridiculous imitation, utterly laughable."

Upon seeing this, Cheng Zhijie immediately understood Wen He's meaning and laughed, "No wonder His Highness likes you so much. You're full of tricks, kid. Alright, watch me shoot one for you!"

By then, someone had arrived with a compound bow.

Cheng Zhijie glanced at it and found it novel, so he immediately picked up the bow and tried it out.

I couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

This bow is heavy to hold, yet very light.

Unbeknownst to him, Wen He had also made some improvements to make the composite bow compatible with the bows and arrows of the Tang Dynasty.

If we were to use a composite bow from later generations, its lethality and portability would be even better than the one we have now.

Unfortunately, due to limitations in industrial capabilities, he couldn't manufacture it even if he wanted to.

He immediately took two arrows from the soldier's quiver.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow flew out.

Bolu, who was galloping towards them, clearly heard the sound of arrows slicing through the air. He was startled and his face changed drastically. He quickly pulled on the reins.

Less than three steps away from him, an arrow was firmly planted in the ground.

His warhorse was suddenly startled, and its front hooves reared up high.

Just then, another arrow flew in.

He thought the arrow was aimed at him, so he quickly drew his knife, but the arrow whizzed past him from above.

He immediately sensed something was wrong and turned around abruptly, only to see that the rope on the banner of the delegation had suddenly broken, and the banner was falling to the ground in the wind.

The delegation was immediately thrown into chaos.

"Damn Han Chinese!"

"Hahaha, that's great, that's great! If only there were a jug of strong liquor right now, that would be even better."

On the city wall, Cheng Zhijie laughed loudly, his gaze intentionally or unintentionally glancing at Wen He.

Wen He immediately realized that this brute was after his alcohol.

Pretending not to hear, she turned to Tang Jian and asked, "Does Minister Tang think this is appropriate?"

He was asking about what Cheng Zhijie had done earlier.

Tang Jian was still in a daze when he heard Wen He's words and came back to his senses. He couldn't help but nod and say, "It's very appropriate. No wonder His Highness insisted that the young master accompany him."

"I'm in a bind."

He couldn't help but laugh.

But Wen He knew that it wasn't that Tang Jian couldn't think of these things, but rather that he was afraid Cheng Zhijie would make a big fuss.

His Highness the Crown Prince said that the Turks and the Tang Dynasty must not go to war before the ninth day of the eighth month.

If we kill the delegation now, wouldn't that give the Turks an excuse to start a war?

"What are you afraid of? Let's go and meet those bastards."

Cheng Zhijie snorted coldly, tossed the composite bow to the guard beside him, and said, "This bow is so-so, it's pretty useless. I'll take it back and take a look at it for you, so you can improve it in the future."

After saying that, he left without looking back.

The group was left there in a state of astonishment.

'Well, so they've got their eye on it and want to keep it for themselves.'

Wen He gave a helpless laugh.

He really is a reckless scoundrel.

But I guess this can be considered true nature.

"Alright, now it's time to deal with those barbarians. All you riders, get your spirits up!"

That's right, Wen He brought his Hundred Riders with him today.

This was all to give the Turks a warning!

(End of this chapter)