My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 79 Convinced
"A few days ago, I caught a glimpse of Gao Lang on the pagoda of Jingyue Temple. His heroic figure, holding a bow and shouting to repel the central army, captivated me."

"Today, taking advantage of the King's banquet, I have the opportunity to meet Gao Lang. I humbly suggest archery to enhance the drinking experience!"

"There are also many brave warriors from the grasslands in the King's Palace. I have heard since childhood that the Rouran warriors are amazing archers, and I would like to learn a thing or two from them."

After Yang Kan finished speaking eloquently, he stood up, looked at Anagui, clasped his hands in a salute, and said...

"I acted on impulse, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive my abruptness and presumption."

Everyone looked at Anagui, who was the one who hosted the banquet and was the true master of the house.

Anagui toyed with the wine glass, a playful smile on his face.

"I had long heard of the young master of the Yang family. He had followed his father into battle at a young age and had made many meritorious contributions. It is only natural that I would be itching to fight when I saw such a brave man as Gao Lang."

He addressed the guards beside him.

"Since Young Master Yang wishes to witness the brave archery skills of my Rouran, you may go and fetch a bow."

Then, he sent people to set up an archery target in the courtyard, about forty or fifty paces away from the banquet hall. This distance was not too far, as it was intended to add to the festivities. For a skilled archer, this distance would not result in a miss.

Yang Kan smiled and said, “You are all brave warriors. Using ordinary bows is not enough to satisfy you. I have a treasure bow that only a brave warrior can draw. Why don’t we use my treasure bow to compete?”

Yang Kan gestured to the servant standing behind him to go into the carriage and fetch the bow he had brought.

Gao Yu raised an eyebrow.

They came prepared.

I always felt that Yang Kan only attended the banquet for the archery competition. Did he really just make dumplings because of jealousy?

Anagui nodded, "Then we will do as Young Master Yang says."

soon.

Yang Kan's personal servant then brought out a large bow. The bow was painted red, and the bow was decorated with birds of prey outlined in gold thread. At a glance, it was clear that it was a fine bow!
The banquet was attended by people who had fought on the battlefield, all of whom were skilled archers and very familiar with bows.

Yang Kan's bow is extremely large, at least a two-stone or higher strong bow.

Anagui stood up and said, "Since I am in charge today, then my bravest men will be the first to shoot."

He gestured with his eyes.

Then a burly, strong-looking man from the grasslands, dressed in nomadic clothing and with a braided hairstyle, stood up.

"I'll wait and see!"

With a smile, Yang Kan handed the precious bow to the other party!

The man snorted coldly. In their eyes, Yang Kan was provoking them, so they naturally wouldn't give him a friendly look.

Immediately someone handed him an arrow. The man knew that the strong bow in his hand was difficult to draw, so he took a deep breath, nocked the arrow on the bowstring, and prepared to shoot.

Everyone looked over.

But the man's face turned bright red, and he could only barely pull the bowstring, unable to nock an arrow, let alone shoot it!

After struggling for a while, he was exhausted and could no longer pull.

"What kind of bow is this? It's so hard to draw."

The man looked shocked and extremely angry, increasingly convinced that Yang Kan had done it on purpose.

They came to embarrass them.

Anagui glanced at Yang Kan again, but raised his hand to stop his subordinate, "Step back, do not be rude. Why get angry at others when you are already weak?"

At his signal, an even more robust and muscular man arrived.

Just by looking into the man's eyes, one could tell he was a brave warrior who had crawled out of piles of corpses and seas of blood; an ordinary person probably wouldn't even have the courage to meet his gaze.

This man dared not be careless after his companion suffered a setback!
After holding his breath and concentrating, he managed to draw the bowstring with all his might, but...

His trembling hands showed that he was exerting himself greatly. He had no extra strength to adjust and could only barely shoot the arrow. Naturally, it was impossible for it to hit the target, but it was much better than the previous one.

"Wow! Truly valiant!"

Yang Kan's words came from the heart. To be able to draw this bow and barely shoot an arrow was something that even ordinary brave soldiers in the army could hardly do; it required someone who was brave enough to defeat ten thousand men and be the bravest in the entire army!

"How despicable! They're just pretending to be having fun, but actually they're playing us for fools?"

Anagui's men were naturally unhappy; they felt that Yang Kan was mocking them.

Anagui raised his hand to stop them, his eyes flashing with anger, but the anger vanished in an instant, and a smile appeared on his face as he said, "This bow belongs to the young master of the Yang family. Let the young master of the Yang family demonstrate to us how to use this precious bow."

After saying that, Anagui's gaze fell on Gao Yu.

"I've made a fool of myself."

Yang Kan did not refuse.

He immediately took the precious bow, and a servant beside him handed him arrows.

Boom!
Yang Kan gradually suppressed his smile, took a deep breath, and quickly and skillfully drew his bow, fully opened it, and then released the string and the arrow.

call out!
The sound of arrows piercing the air was clearly audible as everyone looked from afar.

Snapped!
The arrow hit the center of the target precisely.

"it is good!"

Yang Kan's personal servants cheered and encouraged their young master!
A smug smile appeared on Yang Kan's face. He glanced at Gao Yu out of the corner of his eye, then took the arrow again and repeated the action!

However... this time it's clear.

Like Anagui's personal guard who appeared second, Yang Kan's arm strength was failing, and he could only barely support himself, so he kept shaking.

But Yang Kan still forced himself to shoot the arrow, only... this time the arrow barely hit the target, and if it deviated even slightly, it would miss the target.

With a slight smile, Yang Kan clasped his hands in a respectful greeting.

"This bow is what I use to practice my strength. It has a power of three shi and three dou."

"what!"

Only then did everyone understand why Anagui's valiant personal guards couldn't even draw their bows.

Three stones and three bushels!
Yang Kan was able to fire two arrows in succession with such a powerful bow without missing the target. No wonder he was able to rise to such an important position as Shangshu Lang at such a young age based on his military achievements.

Anagui was also slightly taken aback; he had never imagined that Yang Kan, a son of a prominent Han family, could be so valiant.

Looking at the bewildered expressions on the faces of the Rouran people.

Yang Kan couldn't have been happier!

We, the sons of Han, should be so brave, and one Han man should be able to take on five barbarian tribes!

But when he saw Gao Yu's calm and composed expression, he couldn't help but feel angry.

What a bunch of Xianbei! How dare they look down on us like this?
Anagui also noticed this. Not wanting Yang Kan to be the only one to bask in the glory, he also wanted to test Gao Yu's skills. So he smiled and said, "Since it's just to enhance the drinking experience, it's rumored that Gao Lang is unparalleled in archery and horsemanship. Why don't we broaden our horizons?"

Gao Yu was helpless.

Why do these people insist on forcing him to show off?

He genuinely didn't want to compare himself to others or show off, mainly because he was afraid of encountering narrow-minded people who might arouse his jealousy.

He was unwilling to accept defeat and insisted on nagging at himself.

Yang Kan had been waiting for this opportunity, and he spoke up as well, "I hope you can enlighten me, esteemed sir."

Gao Yu couldn't refuse, so after a moment's thought, he immediately stood up and said, "I'd better comply."

Taking the bow and arrow from Yang Kan, the heavy weight told me that the claim of three shi and three dou was not an exaggeration.

Just as Gao Yu was about to turn around, he saw that Anagui had come to his side with arrows and handed them to him personally.

Gao Yu accepted the arrow without hesitation.

Draw the bow and shoot the arrow directly.

Flowing clouds and flowing water.

It seemed effortless.

Is this really the same powerful bow that weighed three dan and three dou?

call out!
The arrow hit the bullseye precisely!

He then took the arrow from Anagui's hand and shot it again, hitting the bullseye once more!
The crowd was overwhelmed by what they saw, and everyone was astonished!

Xiao Baoyin, who was sitting at the table enjoying the service of the Hu women, couldn't help but get up and come closer to take a look!

Yang Kan was also stunned.

Seeing that Gao Yu still had energy left, Anagui handed him another arrow.

Gao Yu took the arrow, hesitated for a moment, and then shot it. The arrow hit the target, but it 'missed' by a little bit.

Gao Yu then handed the bow back to Yang Kan, clasped his hands in a humble manner, and said, "I am too weak and numb to draw the bow. How about we call it a draw?"

"it is good!"

Anagui cheered loudly for him, and his personal guards also applauded!

The grasslands are a place where the strong prey on the weak, and the strong are respected!
They admired Gao Yu's bravery from the bottom of their hearts!

"As expected of Gao Lang!"

"Come on! The mood's right, let's have a drink together!"

Yang Kan stood there, holding the bow, stunned, his face slightly embarrassed.

He was a renowned warrior in Luoyang, with few rivals among the central army and the imperial guards, which is why he was so arrogant!
Unexpectedly, he suffered a major setback at Gao Yu's hands today.

He didn't believe Gao Yu's nonsense.

What about weakness and numbness? What about running out of strength? What about a draw...?

Anyone with eyes could see that Gao Yu hadn't used his full strength. The people before him had flushed red faces after shooting arrows, but Gao Yu seemed completely unaffected.

Apparently...

If Gao Yu wanted to, hitting the target with the third arrow wouldn't be difficult at all.

In the end, he underestimated the heroes of the world.

He turned around, picked up a wine glass from the table, solemnly toasted Gao Yu, and then drank it all in one gulp.

"It's not a draw; I've lost. There are countless heroes in the world, and I'm completely convinced of your skill, Gao Lang!"

P.S.: Chapter 2 will be released soon, and I hope everyone will interact with me in the comments section!

(End of this chapter)