My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 22 Mulan
The second year of the Divine Turtle (519 AD).

Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei changed the era name to Xiping after ascending the throne, and last year he changed it to Shengui again.

It was dawn again, and it was the same familiar caravan, led by Liu Gui.

Previously, he had dealt with Gao Huan.

The person in charge now is Gao Yu!

Under Gao Yu's leadership, another small Rouran tribe that had migrated south to graze their livestock was plundered, and herds of cattle, sheep and horses were driven into Liu Gui's caravan's encampment.

Everyone sat around the campfire enjoying a whole roasted lamb feast.

The servants filled everyone's cups with wine, and Gao Yu raised his earthenware bowl high in the firelight, shouting loudly.

"Brothers! Let us drink together from this bowl!"

Everyone drank the wine in one gulp, and Liu Gui praised, "Thanks to Erlang's bravery, we have gained a lot this time."

Gao Yu raised his hand and shook his head, saying, "This harvest is quite fruitful. Firstly, it is because you, my brother, are blessed with good fortune and deserve this harvest. Secondly, it is because all the brothers worked together and fought bravely against the enemy. What merit have I made?"

Hearing the same words spoken when we first met three years ago.

Liu Gui sighed inwardly.

A true hero!

On the day of Gao Huan's wedding, Liu Gui also attended the banquet and presented a precious gift worth tens of thousands of coins as a blessing.

He was well aware of the Gao family's situation over the past few years.

From a down-on-his-luck military household to climbing up to a powerful clan like the Lou family, it was a meteoric rise to power!
When a petty person gains power, they can easily become arrogant and conceited!

However, he continued to deal with the Gao brothers over the years, but he did not sense any change in them. This only strengthened his initial judgment!

The two Gao brothers are both heroes!
Forging a deep friendship with such a hero is a sure-fire way to make money!
After agreeing on the purchase price with Liu Gui, the group changed into their everyday clothes and returned to the city disguised as caravan followers.

Gao Yu also followed the rules set by Gao Huan.

The leader takes 20%, and the rest take 10%.

Logically speaking, Gao Huan should not have been short of money after receiving Lou Zhaojun's generous dowry, but Gao Yu was still engaged in the business of going out to "hunt".

The reason is also very simple.

Maintaining an army is very expensive, especially an elite army.

The soldiers in the team depended on Gao Huan for all their food, drink and supplies. If you want people to train hard, you have to give them enough benefits.

Although Lou Neigan agreed to Gao Huan and Lou Zhaojun's marriage, he did not invest all his wealth in Gao Huan. Lou Zhaojun was the rightful heir, and he would at most help Gao Huan out of respect for her. How could he possibly help Gao Huan raise an army?
With the need to support his army, Gao Huan certainly couldn't just sit around and do nothing; he had to find ways to increase his income.

Moreover, taking his men out to raid the Rouran tribes was also a way to train his troops.

Furthermore, Wei Jing, Hou Jing, and others also had daily expenses and needed extra income to support their families.

After leaving Liu Gui's place, Gao Yu did not go straight home. Instead, he led a fine brown horse he had left behind, hung a bow on it, and headed to the East Market.

The number of soldiers under Gao Huan's command has expanded from the initial full strength of 50 to nearly 100.

As Gao Yu had come of age and had successfully led his men on several raids, accumulating considerable prestige, Gao Huan had long ago told him this.

This year he will be appointed as a squad leader, and he will personally select the soldiers.

Huai Shuo Town was full of military households, so Gao Yu thought he might try his luck at the market and see if he could find some talented young men to recruit into his squad.

Once inside the market, Gao Yu found an open space, sat down on the ground, and didn't shout out his wares.

I will wait here for the destined one.

Soon after, a strong and muscular man came to ask.

"Is it about selling the horse?"

"Exactly."

"How much money or how much cloth do you want?"

"It depends on fate. If we are destined to be together, I will give you this horse for free."

"Such a good thing?"

After glancing at the muscular man, Gao Yu did not answer directly. Instead, he took the bow hanging on his horse and strung it.

"If you can draw this bow, then we are destined to meet, and this horse will be yours for free."

The strong man could tell from the sight of the large bow that it would be difficult to open!

But he was also a soldier by birth and quite strong, so he decided to give it a try.

Gao Yu asked another question.

Have you ever drawn a bow? Do you know how to use a bow?

"Hey, when I enlisted, you were probably still in your mother's womb."

Since he knew that Gao Yu had studied archery, he must know that arrows cannot be fired without being released, so Gao Yu said no more.

The strong man reached out and took the bow from Gao Yu's hand, feeling its heavy weight. He gripped the bow with his left hand, pinched the string with his right, took a deep breath, focused his energy in his dantian, and pulled back forcefully with his waist and abdomen and right arm!
The bowstring twitched slightly and was pulled back a little, but it was still far from being ready to actually draw the bow and shoot an arrow.

At this moment, the strong man was already red-faced from holding back his anger, and then he roared.

“Open it for me!!”

But he could no longer pull the bowstring even a fraction, and finally his strength gave out.

Seeing this, Gao Yu shook his head and said, "You do have some strength, but unfortunately... you couldn't pull us apart, which proves that you and I are not meant to be."

Gao Yu seemed to be expressing regret, but to the muscular man, it appeared as if he was being mocked.

The burly man, unable to save face, immediately started arguing loudly, "You brat, if you don't want to give me the horse, why make up this excuse to tease me?"

His shouting attracted a large crowd, and the excitement was like an instinct hidden in his DNA being activated.

No matter who's arguing, you have to step in and help them out!
Gao Yu glanced at the man and said, "I've made myself perfectly clear to you. If you can draw this bow, I will give you the horse. You are not strong enough to draw the bow, so why are you angry with me?"

Hearing the whispers of the onlookers, the burly man, feeling embarrassed, retorted, "This bow must weigh at least 1800 bushels; only a brave warrior could draw it. How could an ordinary person draw such a stiff bow? Aren't you just making a mockery of me under the guise of giving me a horse?!"

The onlookers then took a closer look and wholeheartedly agreed!
Huai Shuo is a military town, and even ordinary people there deal with horses and bows and arrows all year round, so they naturally know how terrifying a powerful bow with a stone of eight dou is.

Gao Yu sighed. He really didn't want to waste his breath on this person, so he stopped talking.

Instead, he snatched the bow from the strong man's hand.

The same method involves holding the bow with the left hand and pinching the string with the right. There's no need for any deep breathing or preparatory movements to build up power. You can simply pull the bowstring back to a point where you can shoot an arrow, just like eating or drinking.

The onlookers erupted in uproar.

What happened next made many people gasp in shock, as they stared at him as if he were a monster.

Gao Yu repeatedly drew the bow several times. On the later attempts, Gao Yu's breathing became rapid, and his facial expression was no longer as relaxed as at the beginning. He only stopped when his strength gave out and his muscles went numb.

"You're wrong. This bow isn't a 1.8-stone bow, but a 2-stone bow."

The strong man blushed and, in shame, turned and left, not daring to linger any longer.

Upon hearing this, everyone was even more amazed.

"How much? Two shi??" "My God! To have such strength at such a young age, he must be a reincarnation of Buddha or Arhat!"

"Even the fiercest generals in the army are no better than this, aren't they?"

Hearing the crowd's exclamations, Gao Yu simply smiled.

What's wrong with the two stones? This is the powerful bow he used for practice a couple of years ago.

Now he uses powerful bows with a strength of two stone and five dou to train his strength.

As more people gathered to watch the spectacle, the news spread, and more people learned that someone in the East Market was giving away horses for free. And even knowing that the bow was made of two stones of strong material, some people still gritted their teeth and came up to try.

None of them were able to draw the bowstring to the point where they could shoot an arrow.

About an hour later, there was no more excitement to see, and the crowd gradually dispersed.

Gao Yu was getting hungry, so he decided to go home and try his luck again tomorrow.

Just as he was about to get up.

Suddenly someone spoke.

"I heard they give away horses for free here?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Yu looked up and saw a fair-skinned, handsome young man standing in front of him. He looked to be about the same age as Gao Yu and had a rather androgynous appearance.

Gao Yu became interested!

He smiled and said, "Of course, but this horse is only given to those who are destined to receive it."

"Oh?"

The young man raised an eyebrow, intrigued, and immediately asked, "What makes someone a destined person?"

Gao Yu raised his powerful bow and said, "If you can draw this bow, then we are destined to meet."

If someone of similar age can draw this bow, it proves they have amazing physical strength.

Even with a minimum guarantee, one can become a sharpshooter in the army.

These young and promising soldiers were exactly the best targets in his mind!

"Let me give it a try!"

Upon seeing the bow, the boy did not back down; instead, he took the bow from Gao Yu's hands.

Hold the bow in your left hand and pinch the string in your right.

"Remember, never release the bow without firing it."

"Don't underestimate me, my father taught me the essentials of archery!"

Seeing that someone else had come to challenge them, many people came over to watch the spectacle and kept pointing and commenting.

"So young? I don't think they can pull it apart."

"Hey, this kid probably doesn't know how big this bow is?"

"How could someone with such delicate skin and tender flesh have any strength? They're probably still breastfeeding."

The young man was not affected by his surroundings. He took a deep breath, focused his energy in his dantian, and judging from his posture when he gripped the bow and exerted force, he was indeed a professionally trained person.

But it was a powerful bow with two stones, and he had to pull it with great difficulty.

"Open it for me!"

The boy roared angrily, his handsome face turning bright red, his teeth clenched, and his eyes glaring like copper bells!
Gao Yu was taken aback.

The boy actually drew the bow to a point where he could shoot an arrow!

Although she quickly became weak and numb, she was the only one today, and she was so young!

"it is good!"

Gao Yu couldn't help but cheer for him, "Truly divine power!"

The crowd, who had been watching the show, were all astonished when they saw that the young man had actually drawn the bow.

Although it took a lot of effort to pull ahead and it couldn't compare to Gao Yu's level, it was still a level that ordinary people could hardly reach.

The boy stood there for a long time, recovering before complaining, "Just how big is this bow? It's so hard to draw!"

Gao Yu said with a smile, "Not much, just a two-stone strong bow."

Upon hearing this, the boy's eyes widened. "No wonder, no wonder..."

Gao Yu immediately said, "Since you can draw this bow, it means we are destined to meet. This horse is yours."

After saying that, he handed the horse's reins to the other party.

Such a straightforward response left the boy bewildered. He stood there stunned for a long time before he came to his senses. "I still don't know your name?"

Gao Yu didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "Are you here to buy horses to go out and do business? Or are you going to serve in the army?"

“My father is too old to work, so I must take his place in the army.”

Gao Yu nodded.

The rule for military households was that each household had to send one male to serve in the military. Indeed, there were quite a few military households where, when a member of a military household was too old or injured to serve, their son would serve in their place.

Joining the army is great!

We want you to join the army!
Gao Yu said with a smile, "You can call me Mo Heduo or Gao Yu."

The young man murmured a few words to himself, then suddenly looked up sharply, "You are the second son of the Gao family?"

"That's right. May I ask your name?"

"Just call me Mulan."

Gao Yu almost laughed when he heard the name.

Why not call her Mulan? But I just thought to myself, after all, Mulan is a fictional character, who would take her seriously?

"Mulan, if you want to join the army, why not come to my brother's unit? I see you have amazing strength, and my brother will certainly not treat you badly."

He looked down at the reins in his hand.

How could Mulan possibly refuse?
He smiled and said, “If that is so, I will respectfully comply.”

“Very good, very good. When it’s time to serve, just give me my name at the military camp.”

Mulan nodded.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Mulan said she had to go buy other things and bid farewell to Gao Yu for the time being.

I never expected to be so lucky.

To think that I would encounter such a physically gifted young man.

Most importantly, they are young, making them easy to train!

This is the series I wanted!

(End of this chapter)