Eternal Immortal Dynasty: Starting as a Petty Official

The next morning, the sun rose in the east.

Zhao Xian, along with his father Zhao Yi and others, led by the village head Zhao Zhong, headed towards the pavilion.

The formation was arranged yesterday, and today is the first official training session.

The drills for preparing against the enemy were held every five days, with each drill lasting half a day and consisting of two parts: infantry combat and archery.

This has been the case every year, but this year is different.

"Once every two days?"

"Then I won't accept the summons; I still have chores to finish at home."

"Absolutely! Absolutely!"

As soon as the training rules were announced this year, complaints immediately arose within the team.

Zhao Xian also looked surprised. This village head looked quite composed, so how could he be so ignorant of the rules!

"Gentlemen, please listen to what I have to say!"

The pavilion chief, Chen Yuancheng, spoke with a smile, attempting to reassure the crowd.

Unexpectedly, the people did not listen at all and continued to discuss the matter.

Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, the Thief King Jia immediately shouted, "Those who demonstrate the highest skill in this year's training will be rewarded!"

"What will you reward me with?"

"Rewards include talisman coins, fine rice, and spirit rice!"

As soon as the word "reward" was uttered, the crowd gradually quieted down.

"Ting-kun, please!"

Upon seeing this, Wang Jia bowed to Chen Yuancheng and then stepped aside.

In Zhao Xian's view, this move showed a good understanding of how to be an official.

"Gentlemen, listen to me. This year, our military drills for defending against the enemy will be held every two days, with breakfast and lunch provided!"

"There are also competitions in hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, and archery; those with the highest skill levels will receive rewards!"

Chen Yuancheng looked around at everyone and shouted loudly.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions softened somewhat; being able to provide two meals was already quite good!

"Ting-kun, is this really true?"

One of the men in the group asked loudly. Zhao Xian looked up and saw that it was his fifth uncle, Zhao Zhong, the head of Yangping Village.

"really!"

Upon hearing Zhao Zhong speak, Chen Yuancheng was overjoyed and replied solemnly.

"In that case, we will obey Lord Ting's orders!"

Zhao Zhongli immediately shouted loudly, and even though the others wanted to refute him, they dared not continue to speak.

Seeing that the people had stopped making a fuss, Chen Yuancheng nodded slightly, already understanding the situation.

"It now seems that if we want the people to obey us, we still need to entice them with benefits."

Thinking of this, Chen Yuancheng immediately laughed loudly, "Gentlemen, today is the day of formal training."

"You may choose one of the three skills—hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, or archery—and have a contest!"

"The winner will be rewarded with coins!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian finally showed a happy expression. Although his family had enough to eat and drink, earning some talisman money could help supplement their income!

A moment later, four targets were already standing fifty paces away, their bullseyes a striking crimson.

Fifty steps, each step six feet, a distance of thirty zhang.

"Those who hit the bullseye will be rewarded with one coin; those who hit the center of the bullseye will be rewarded with five coins."

Chen Yuancheng looked around at the people in the group and said with a smile.

Behind them, a thoughtful soldier immediately presented a bamboo basket to the crowd. Everyone looked over and saw that the basket was filled with bright yellow talisman coins.

The talisman coins of this world are no different from the copper coins of the previous world. They are round on the outside and square on the inside, about one inch in size, and are engraved with two Taoist characters, "Yunlan".

Yunlan refers to the Yunlan Sect, and these are talisman coins made by the Yunlan Sect.

"So many, how many must there be?"

One of the Taoist priests exclaimed in a low voice, while another asked loudly, "Chief, are all these being given to us as a reward?"

"Anyone who hits the target will be rewarded!"

Chen Yuancheng looked at the man with a smile, then invited, "Want to come up and give it a try?"

"good!"

The man immediately responded and stepped out of the group. Several others followed, their faces filled with excitement and eagerness to try.

"Four targets, three more!"

Without him having to go to the trouble of inviting them, the Daoists were eager to try, which pleased Chen Yuancheng greatly. He immediately shouted loudly again.

Immediately, three more people stepped out of the ranks and stood in a row with the first man, holding bows and arrows, ready to go.

"One man, three arrows, fire!"

At Chen Yuancheng's command, the sound of arrows piercing the air suddenly rang out, and arrows flew out one after another.

"Snapped!"

One arrow struck the target squarely, and the person who hit it cheered, while the other three missed.

A few breaths later, several more arrows flew out, but none hit the target.

After all three arrows were fired, only one person hit the target with one arrow.

Seeing this, the four of them were all somewhat dejected. Even the Taoist priest who had been hit was not very happy and only received one talisman coin.

"Those who hit the target, collect your money!"

Upon hearing this, the man quickly walked up to Chen Yuancheng and respectfully bowed.

In this world, one shi (a unit of dry measure) of fine rice costs one hundred talisman coins. One talisman coin can buy one jin (a unit of weight) of fine rice, enough to feed an adult for a day.

"You were the first to step forward, which is commendable. I hereby grant you double the talisman money!"

Chen Yuancheng smiled slightly at the man, then took out two talisman coins and handed them to him.

"Ah, thank you so much, Ting-kun!"

The man was surprised by the suddenness of the surprise. He immediately bowed, clutched the talisman, and returned to the group with unbridled joy.

This scene is the envy of many.

"Who else wants to step forward and give it a try?"

Chen Yuancheng looked at the people in the group and laughed loudly.

"I'll do it!"

"Ting-kun, it's me!"

In an instant, many Taoist followers stepped out of the procession and shouted loudly.

"Tingjun, Jiulang's archery skills are the best, he should go on stage!"

At this moment, the village chief, Zhao Zhong, also shouted loudly.

As the squad leader, he was standing at the very front of the line, and his loud voice drowned out the voices of the others.

Chen Yuancheng naturally recognized Zhao Zhong and, wanting to curry favor, immediately asked without hesitation, "Where is Jiulang?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian glanced at his father, Zhao Yi, and quickly stepped out of the ranks.

"Zhao Xian pays his respects to Lord Ting!"

Zhao Xian bowed respectfully.

"Jiulang's archery skills are quite excellent; it seems he'll be the one earning all the talisman money!"

"Ninth Brother, you've been hit by three arrows in a row! Let Tingjun see!"

As the Daoist followers stepped out of the ranks, some of them smiled and said something.

Zhao Xian smiled sheepishly and bowed to everyone.

Chen Yuancheng was quite surprised to see this.

I thought Zhao Zhong was just showing off, but I didn't expect that this young man actually had a reputation for archery skills among the Daoist people.

"Kuro should give it a try!"

With a slight smile, Chen Yuancheng immediately spoke in a gentle voice.

"Tingjun, the bow made of mulberry wood lacks power; I'm afraid it won't hit the target!"

Zhao Xian blushed and said awkwardly.

"Get the horn bow from the pavilion!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuancheng immediately turned around and gave instructions to a guard behind him.

A moment later, Zhao Xian and the other three each drew their bows and arrows, ready to go.

"shoot!"

At a command.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

The sound of arrows piercing the air rang out one after another. In just a few breaths, Zhao Xian had fired ten arrows in quick succession.

On the distant target, ten arrows were clustered together, their fletchings trembling slightly.

Everyone looked over at the same time and saw that all ten arrows hit the bullseye.

"Excellent archery!"

A cheer came from behind.

"Ku-lang's archery skills are truly superb!"

Behind him came Chen Yuancheng's praise, but at this moment Zhao Xian was sensing the message transmitted through his mind.

"Basic archery proficiency +1!"

"Basic Archery (Mastery: 1/10000)!"

In that instant, a sense of realization welled up in my heart.