My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 26 Small Spear Slinger

Another month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Gao Yu has gradually adapted to life in the military camp.

Besides Mulan, Liu Taozhi, and three other slaves, three more adult men were recruited from the soldiers conscripted this time, making a group of ten.

Slaves like Liu Taozhi were of low social status and could not be registered as military households.

However, it is not impossible to join the army; one can become a servant in the army.

Cangtou Nu was responsible for carrying and doing odd jobs on a daily basis. During battles, they were cannon fodder who could wear down the enemy's morale. Of course, their main job was to handle logistical transportation and other physical labor.

Although Liu Taozhi and the others were servants, Gao Yu still allowed them to train alongside Gao Huan's soldiers.

Military drills are divided into individual drills and group drills.

Solo training primarily focuses on individual skills, including formations, martial arts, and flag-raising, and is conducted very frequently.

The frequency of drills is lower because it requires soldiers to gather together to train in various military formations.

Gao Yu only managed a group of people, mainly focusing on individual practice, that is, improving personal martial arts skills, and more specifically, archery and horsemanship.

The focus of training differs from that of military camps in the Central Plains.

the reason is simple.

Huai Shuo is located on the frontier. Its main enemies are the Rouran, who replaced the Northern Wei Xianbei after they entered the Central Plains and became the new generation of grassland overlords, as well as the Eastern and Western Tiele (Gaoche) who replaced the Rouran's ecological niche.

As nomadic peoples of the grasslands, no one knew better than the Xianbei how to fight grassland tribes.

A well-trained and organized infantry phalanx can indeed withstand a cavalry charge, but the cavalry of the steppe tribes simply don't engage in charges.

Grassland tribes employ a 'wolf pack tactic,' first harassing you with arrows from a distance, and then swarming you when you show signs of fatigue.

To counter this harassment tactic of high mobility, grabbing a piece and running away.

Either build the Great Wall to restrict the movement range of the steppe cavalry as much as possible, so that their high mobility cannot be utilized.

Either use cavalry to counter cavalry, or use mobility to counter mobility. For example, Emperor Wu of Han mobilized the entire nation and sold everything he owned to build a cavalry legion for Huo Qubing, which directly crushed the Xiongnu royal court.

The Northern Wei chose the latter.

After so many years of migration and immigration, the Six Garrisons have become a mix of Han and non-Han people, but the majority are still Xianbei. The Xianbei who remained in the Six Garrisons did not go to Luoyang and other places to be assimilated, and they still retain the habit of practicing riding and archery from childhood.

The Han people who were migrated there were assimilated, and everyone became skilled in riding and archery.

Therefore, the military camps of the Six Garrisons were mainly composed of cavalry supplemented by some infantry soldiers, and the military training focused on mounted archery with infantry combat as a secondary activity. As for military formation drills, they were rarely conducted.

"Hold the bow firmly, tighten your waist and abdomen to strengthen your core, and when shooting, hold your breath, concentrate, and aim at the target!"

Gao Yu held his bow, having now abandoned his original archery stance.

When he first learned archery from Hou Jing, he stood upright with his body turned to the side, just like the archery posture of those athletes in the Olympics.

But once he joined the army, experienced archers taught him a more advantageous shooting posture.

That means leaning your upper body forward, arching your back, and sticking out your buttocks. This can effectively prevent skewing and greatly improve the hit rate.

Say it!

Gao Yu looked at the target in the distance and shot the arrow!
call out!
The arrow hit the bullseye precisely, earning cheers from the crowd!
"it is good!"

"The platoon leader is a true archer!"

"Even my father couldn't do it."

Gao Yu was about forty or fifty paces away from the target. For a top archer in the army, this distance was nothing, but for his peers, it was a devastating blow!
Mulan was also completely convinced of Gao Yu's talent.

He possessed extraordinary strength, able to draw a two-stone bow at a young age, but great strength does not equate to accurate shooting.

At the same distance, he could only barely hit the target; he was still far from being able to hit the bullseye as accurately as Gao Yu.

…Gao Huan watched with great interest from a short distance away.

"The slaves that Erlang bought are quite strong."

"Hey, those guys were able to hold their own against me for a long time; they're really no ordinary people."

Hou Jing was also standing nearby, somewhat envious...

He had also been to the military market, but he didn't have Gao Yu's luck.

Just as the two were chatting, Bilugu strode over and reported, "Captain, my sister-in-law sent a servant with a strong bow and some arrows, saying she wants to give them to you."

Upon hearing this, Gao Huan nodded and then instructed, "Wan Jing, go and call Erlang here. Bi Lugu, bring the strong bow and arrows."

Soon after, Hou Jing brought Gao Yu to Gao Huan's side.

"Team leader, what do you need me for?"

In the workplace, Gao Yu usually addresses Gao Huan by his official title in order to establish his authority in front of others.

"The powerful bow you had the craftsmen make for you has been completed."

"Oh? Let me see it."

Bilugu quickly brought out a longbow, which was slightly different in shape from the bow and arrow that Gao Yu had just used. Although both were recurve composite bows, the bow in Gao Yu's hand had extremely long bow tips on both sides and a slight recurve.

This design is known as the 'Qing Bow', a small spear projectile.

Gao Yu didn't know how to make bows and arrows, but he had seen similar content when watching videos while eating before he transmigrated, and he had some impression of the shape of the Qing bow.

He then found the craftsmen of the Lou family, drew a rough design, gave a brief description, and had the craftsmen make a copy. The copy produced in the first two years was much less powerful, so Gao Yu offered suggestions for improvement.

I wonder if the third version of the Qing bow, a replica, can perfectly replicate the power of the historical Qing bow!

"Mohedu, how powerful is this bow after the improvements?"

"It can wear armor!"

"Even ordinary arrows can penetrate armor."

Hou Jing disagreed, even scoffing.

Gao Yu laughed as well, “This armor is not the same as that armor.”

Hou Jing thought it was just ordinary armor penetration, but Gao Yu expressed that it could penetrate armor. That's why the Qing bow is said to be the ultimate weapon developed in the era of cold weapons!

"Brother, could you please bring me a suit of armor?"

Leather armor and cloth armor can only be called cloaks; only pure iron armor can be called armor.

Then Gao Yu had Bilu Gu bring two pieces of armor to put on the straw man, while he went to the side to fetch a horse, then took a bow and mounted the horse, while Hou Jing handed him a specially made arrow.

It was much heavier than ordinary arrows, and Gao Yu had it specially made by craftsmen. It weighed about three or four ounces, and the arrowhead was a size larger than that of ordinary arrows!
Gao Yu turned his horse around, created some distance, then squeezed his legs together and slapped the horse's rump with his right hand, urging his steed to gallop forward at full speed!

The double stirrups allowed him to use the momentum of the swaying horse's back to stabilize his core. He maintained the same posture as when he was shooting arrows, but instead of sitting upright, he bent over and leaned forward.

He drew back the bowstring and aimed in advance!
When he was within ten paces of the straw man, Gao Yu held his breath and launched the Qing army's most famous 'five-step face shot'!
call out!
The arrow shot out through the air.

What happened next left everyone stunned!
An arrow was shot out.

It pierced straight through the armored straw man, with the arrowhead and part of the shaft exposed on the back of the straw man, essentially piercing through two layers of armor!

Even Gao Huan, who was always calm and composed, was surprised.

Faced with such a scene, they were completely stunned.

If this arrow were to hit a person, wouldn't they be pinned to the ground?

Looking at everyone's expressions, Gao Yu couldn't help but feel smug!
Do you even know what a miniature spear thrower is?
PS: Dear readers, if you have any thoughts, please feel free to leave a book review and interact. This is my first time writing a historical novel, so there may be some oversights. If there are any, please feel free to point them out.

(End of this chapter)