Chapter 432: Drawing the Bow

Autumn colors fill the riverbank, the water is wide and the sky is wide.

The west wind blows the old green reed beach.

Thousands of sails point north to the Yongzhou road,

Countless green mountains send off the expedition ships.

Wang Yang stands at the bow of the ship, in a bright blue tight suit, his waist tied with military leather, and his cuffs tied.

His brows are sparse and bright, with the intention of soaring to the sky;

His eyes are divine and sharp, with the coldness of reflecting water.

The river wind blows, making his robe corners flutter, but he doesn't care, just holding the bow intently, standing sideways, his eyes looking far away.

Li Zaifu stands beside Wang Yang, carefully guiding Wang Yang on the essentials of his movements.

The Five Guards stand not far away, protecting on one side and monitoring on the other.

There is one guard missing, who was sent by Wang Yang to notify the kitchen to add a dish of egg soup, which is steamed egg, for lunch.

"Army Supervisor, your shoulders cannot be shrugged. If your shoulders shrug, your arms will be low. If your arms are low, your bones will not be straight. This is using muscles to shoot arrows. Practicing the bow is different from practicing boxing. The Army Supervisor's boxing is deep and heroic, which is a proper method of practicing boxing, emphasizing the movement of qi with intention and muscle strength. But archery is different. It requires both power and accuracy, emphasizing the condensation of qi into a line and bone strength. If you use muscle strength, your hands will easily shake, especially when pulling a full bow, it will not be stable, which is not a superior archery technique. But if you are good at using bone strength, you can shoot a strong bow for a long time without moving in the eight winds..."

Whoosh!

An arrow flew out diagonally and plunged into the river before flying far.

Li Zaifu searched his intestines to praise:

"Army Supervisor, practicing the bow for the first time, you can... shoot quite well. It can be considered... very good."

Li Zaifu's face was not thick enough, and his face was red after praising.

Wang Yang practiced holding the bow while saying:

"To be honest, how is my talent?"

Li Zaifu sweated. He really wanted to be worldly to please Wang Yang, but he couldn't do it if it was too flattering. But he was afraid of making Wang Yang unhappy if he said it directly, losing the opportunity for progress that he had finally obtained. He held back for a long time before squeezing out a sentence:

"Pretty good..."

Wang Yang shot another sloppy arrow and looked at Li Zaifu with a smile:

"Is it really that bad?"

Li Zaifu hurriedly waved his hands:

"No, no, no! Actually, it can be considered okay! Archery only talks about talent when it reaches the very top; otherwise, it depends on practice. If you practice more, it doesn't matter if you have talent or not. My talent is not good, and I practiced it hard. The Army Supervisor opened the bow for the first time and didn't have the feel. When you practice the feel, with the Army Supervisor's intelligence, it is not completely impossible to become an archery master..."

Wang Yang smiled:

"Understood, not completely impossible, which means almost impossible."

Li Zaifu was panicked:

"No, no! The sentence just now is true! Some people start slowly, but have great stamina and high ceilings..."

Wang Yang continued to open the bow:

"The sentence just now is true, which one is false?"

Li Zaifu sweated repeatedly on the side:

"No, nothing is false..."

Wang Yang put down the bow and patted Li Zaifu with a smile:

"I'm joking."

Li Zaifu breathed a sigh of relief and laughed twice.

Wang Yang raised the bow and buckled the string again:

"I really want to learn the bow. Tell me the truth, how long does it take for a mediocre person like me to succeed?"

"The bow is actually not difficult. Regardless of talent, you can get started in a month. If you want to improve, three to five months of diligent practice is enough, and at the slowest, a year will come out. As for going further, it's hard to say. Archery skills are getting deeper and deeper, and there are many types of shooting methods. Some people practice for ten years and can't practice continuous arrows; some people can use left and right bows as soon as they come up; some specialize in strong bows, called main skin arrows and featherless arrows; some practice hundred-step piercing, not reaching the moment; there are also meteor chasing the moon, hanging needles shooting holes, returning horses spinning, one arrow three stacks, etc. There are many tricks! It mainly depends on which one the Army Supervisor wants to practice?"

Wang Yang thought for a while and said:

"Shooting eagles, for example, one arrow three eagles, is there such a thing?"

Li Zaifu:...

Just as they were talking, Xue Shao hurried over, his face looking not very good, first bowing to Wang Yang:

"See the Army Supervisor."

Wang Yang opened the bow as usual, his voice laughing and self-contained:

"Supervisor Xue is here."

Li Zaifu saluted Xue Shao in a low voice.

Xue Shao glanced at Li Zaifu and said indifferently:

"You go down first, I have important military matters to discuss with the Army Supervisor."

"Yes."

Li Zaifu responded very quickly, but stood still.

Xue Shao frowned and was about to scold, only to hear Wang Yang say:

"Practice to here today, General, go busy."

"The end general retires."

Li Zaifu bowed and retired.

Xue Shao: Grass...

Wang Yang waved his hands back, and three guards stepped forward, one moving the horse stool, one presenting a wet towel, and one handing water.

Wang Yang sat down, wiped his sweat, and asked casually:

"What's the matter, Supervisor Xue?"

Xue Shao was angry in his heart, but didn't dare to send it, so he could only stand and reply:

"Dare to ask the Army Supervisor, does the army set off today?"

"Not setting off, who said setting off? Practice as usual today, and station at Chan Kou at night."

Xue Shao was worried:

"I don't dare to doubt the Army Supervisor's deployment, but the army stops and doesn't advance, wasting grain and grass. Originally, the military storage was insufficient, and if this continues—"

"It is precisely because the military storage is insufficient that we stop."

Xue Shao was anxious:

"Army Supervisor, you—"

"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious, sit down and listen to me. Come! Move a folding bed for Supervisor Xue! And wash two pears!"

Xue Shao had to sit beside Wang Yang.

Wang Yang stuffed a pear to Xue Shao:

"It's not that I don't advance, but there is a hard battle ahead. If we prepare one more point, the chance of winning will be one more point. South of Chan Kou is Yundu, and north is Xiao City. Yundu is the ancient Chi Pavilion. The "Zuo Zhuan" says that the Chu monarch married a wife in Chi. The "Yu Gong" says 'Tuo and Qian have been guided, and the Yun soil dream has been governed', and governance means governance and farming. This is farmland since ancient times. As for Xiao City, it is also a wealthy place. When Emperor Wu of Liu Song launched the northern expedition, Zhao Lunzhi, one of the founding heroes, defeated Yao Hong at Lantian and was enfeoffed as a marquis for his meritorious service, and his fief was in Xiao City. Both these north and south places are grain sources. If we can collect them, the distress of military grain will be solved. As for Xiao City, I have already sent a scout team to explore. If the city is not strong and the defense is unprepared, I will take it with a flip of my hand, without delaying the northward advance; if the city is strong and prepared, then collect the wheat outside the city to transport to the army..."

Xue Shao felt a little relieved after listening, but hearing that Wang Yang had sent people to explore Xiao City without notifying himself, he felt a little uneasy, and weighed his tone, trying not to be offensive:

"The Army Supervisor is talented and learned, and his plans are thorough. The subordinate admires him. But just now, hearing what the Army Supervisor said, he has sent people to Xiao City to explore. I don't know when this happened?"

"Last night."

Xue Shao was silent for a moment, stood up and bowed to Wang Yang:

"The Army Supervisor's strategy is far beyond the subordinate, how dare the subordinate make any comments? I only hope that the Army Supervisor will show a little bit of any military order in the future, so that the subordinate can know about it. The subordinate absolutely dare not interfere with the Army Supervisor's disposal! It is just that the responsibility is involved, and I cannot help but do my duty! I think the Army Supervisor is smart and clear, and will definitely be able to understand the subordinate..."

Xue Shao didn't want to be so on the line, but he had no choice. First, he had already bet his family wealth. If the Prince of Badong failed, he would only have a dead end. So he must try his best to urge Wang Yang to take Yong and turn to Jing. Secondly, the Prince of Badong gave him a death order before departure, and asked him to report small matters every three days and big matters every six days. Once he failed to supervise, he would only be beheaded.

He knew that this job of supervisor was as unpleasant as a Dianqian, and he could only try his best to make his words sound better, but words are words, and things are things. He must ask about military affairs, especially like transferring troops and generals. Wang Yang didn't know that the supervisor had issued an order himself, which committed a great taboo and could not open this head.

Wang Yang smiled: "Supervisor Xue, your words are heavy. Last night was a temporary disposal, I saw you were asleep, so I didn't call you. Next time there is something, I will definitely inform you in advance."

Xue Shao was afraid that Wang Yang didn't take it seriously, and wanted to say a deterrent word, but was worried about angering Wang Yang. Besides, there was no need to make the relationship so stiff, so he thanked Wang Yang and didn't say anything else. He thought to himself to give Wang Yang another chance. If he had signs of not being supervised again, don't blame himself.

Another movement happened that night.

The small team sent to explore Xiao City actually brought back a large team of grain carts!

It turned out that the eight major surnames in Xiao City were frightened after discovering the scouts, fearing that the army would come to attack, so they joined forces to offer grain to support the military! At the same time, they expressed their willingness to be inside agents to help the army take Xiao City!

Each of the eight families sent a representative to see the commander. Wang Yang and Xue Shao were both overjoyed. After verifying the grain and searching their bodies, they immediately summoned them.

As soon as the eight people saw Wang Yang, they offered a hundred gold as a meeting gift! (More than 600,000)

Xue Shao felt a little uncomfortable looking at it! But there was no way, who let himself not be the commander?

Wang Yang was very happy, and immediately ordered the two guards to pick two good horses from the horse trough to give to the eight people as a return gift.

Then he listened to the eight people report the situation in the city in detail.

After listening, Wang Yang didn't say to take Xiao City, nor did he say not to take Xiao City, just let the eight people stay first, and decide how to do it after he discussed it.

When the eight people were leaving, they hesitated, and one of them hesitated and said:

"There is one thing, I don't know if I should report it..."

Wang Yang asked:

"What is it?"

"Four days ago, I heard that a troop came to Xinyang and hasn't left yet..."

Xinyang is north of Xiao City, not far away. Wang Yang and Xue Shao were a little alert when they heard it.

Xue Shao asked: "What troop? Where did they come from? How many people? What are they doing?"

"I don't know. The number of people should not be many, but they have a kind of bow, which is very powerful. The range is twice that of a normal bow."

Wang and Xue were both shocked!

Not only Wang Yang and Xue Shao, but even the four guards were shocked!

"Impossible, you are talking about a crossbow, right?!"

Xue Shao asked the question everyone had.

"It's not a crossbow, it's a bow, but some changes have been made to the bow..."

Wang Yang hurriedly asked:

"What changes?"

"Uh... is there a bow? Just the normal kind, I'll point it out to the lord..."

Wang Yang is practicing the bow, and there

"It's the thing in the middle of the bow, what do you call it, something added on top of it, long-shaped, some made of wood and some of iron, and then the two ends, the two ends of the bow... each covered with a..."

The man clearly did not understand bows and could not name the parts; he could not express himself clearly even with gestures.

Wang Yang looked solemn:

"Speak carefully, make it clear, what exactly is the modification?"

"Uh... is there a bow? Just a normal one, let me point it out to you, my lord..."

Wang Yang was practicing archery, and four bows of different styles and sizes hung in the commander's tent.

He took down a short bow and handed it to the man. Just as the man was about to point and explain, Wang Yang suddenly hissed, his face showing pain as he clutched his abdomen and bent over.

The eyes of Xue Shao and the four death-sworn guards turned toward Wang Yang in unison—

At this very instant!

The eyes of the man who had taken the bow changed abruptly!

The previous cowering and awkward demeanor vanished in an instant!

His right hand suddenly pulled two specially made iron hairpins from his bun, his left arm flipped, the short bow was held horizontally, and he quickly hooked the bowstring with both hairpins!

The bow was drawn only halfway, yet it was terrifyingly fast!

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Two black streaks left the string!

One hairpin pierced Xue Shao's throat directly!

The other hairpin shot toward a guard!

Although that guard was a death-sworn of the Wang Fu and a proper expert, he fared no better than Xue Shao against this man's arrow; he only managed to raise half a hand before being shot in the face!

The remaining seven men also erupted at the same moment the man pulled his hairpins!

Hairpins were pulled from their heads in unison, their robes flipped violently, and their figures, like hawks, lunged straight at the remaining three death-sworn guards!

In an instant, cold light flashed in the tent, and lines of blood flew...