Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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On the archery range, the three archers who were competing with the cub also leaped onto their horses.
Three horses neighed simultaneously, circling rapidly around the field, their hooves making a “clattering” sound.
The sound of horses’ hooves was like the beating of drums, and Su Xi was immediately drawn to it. She looked over there nervously.
The first of the three to step forward was the third-rank commander of the Central Army, whose black robe was embroidered with a leopard. This man was burly and had eyes like stars. Not only was he the highest-ranking of the three archers, but he also seemed to be the most skilled of them.
The fact that they sent out their strongest fighter first showed that these three were still somewhat wary of the child.
The man was stern and glanced at the boy. He then squeezed his legs against the horse’s belly and leaped off the horse with a shout. He landed easily and steadily on the horse’s back.
Su Xi off-screen: …
Did ancient generals use so many fancy archery techniques?!
The third-rank officer led the army horse back and galloped away.
At the same time, he stood on horseback, squinted one eye, stared intently at the bullseye a hundred meters away, and drew his bow.
The arrow whistled sharply through the air.
Unsurprisingly, it hit the bullseye.
Some soldiers and lowly men who had gathered outside the archery range suddenly erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
It must be said that to be able to hit a bullseye from a hundred paces away while the horse was moving at high speed and the rider was standing on the back with an unstable center of gravity, was truly impressive. Even though Su Xi was on the cub’s side, one had to admit that this commander was quite capable.
However, without ability, it would have been impossible to become a third-rank military officer in the army.
After the commander’s arrow hit the bullseye, he immediately turned his horse around and looked back at the boy.
The other two archers also looked at the little one, their eyes filled with undisguised mockery.
In this situation, Su Xi was completely unable to help.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she couldn’t possibly fly the arrow to the target; otherwise, the entire military camp would witness something supernatural, and it would also bring bad consequences to the child.
She watched as the little boy calmly spurred the horse’s flanks, causing the snow-white horse to slowly approach, and then drew his bow—
Everyone held their breath and watched this scene.
Su Xi’s heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to jump out of her throat.
Seeing that her son’s expression was calm and his dark eyes were serene, as if he were confident, she felt a little relieved.
But the next second, the arrow that flew from the child’s longbow, less than fifty meters away, swayed in the air and then “whoosh—” it crashed to the ground, top-heavy.
“…………”
Su Xi: …???
Wait a minute, kid, weren’t you confident you have everything planned out?
Knowing the arrow would fall to the ground, what was with that unhurried, aloof, and domineering manner just now? Was it all just for Mother’s benefit?!
There was a moment of stunned silence on the archery range, followed by a burst of sarcastic laughter.
The four generals glanced at the boy, their lips curling into a contemptuous smile. The soldiers and officers outside the archery range, who normally wouldn’t dare to mock a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of War, couldn’t help but cover their mouths and burst into laughter because the disparity in their performance in the first competition was too great.
Could it be that this young man was completely weak, and his victory in the Qiushan Mountain hunt was merely due to taking advantage of an opening? Does he actually lack any real skill?!
Su Xi’s face turned red, but the cub remained expressionless.
Su Xi couldn’t help but look at the arrow lying on the ground. She saw that the arrow her son had just used was a broken arrow with an extremely blunt and heavy arrowhead. No matter how strong an archer was, even one who could draw a bow and shoot an eagle, this arrow couldn’t possibly travel very far. It was arguably the worst of the three arrows, the one with the least chance of winning.
Su Xi originally thought that the cub would use the sharpest arrow to compete with the third-rank mid-level general, the second-best arrow without a feathered tail to compete with the fourth-rank military guard, and the blunt arrow to compete with the sixth-rank guard. But unexpectedly, the cub did the opposite.
Su Xi immediately realized what her son meant: !
Isn’t this just like the story of Tian Ji’s horse racing strategy[1]?
This period of history was not found in the history of the Yan state, and these military generals in the army probably couldn’t even read many characters, so they certainly didn’t expect it.
It seems that during those days of hard study, the little one really wore out the Records of the Grand Historian and mastered many of the best strategies for winning battles.
Su Xi was extremely worried just now, but now she immediately felt that her son had the upper hand.
Meanwhile, on a distant high-rise building, behind a screen, General Zhenyuan’s face turned ashen. He angrily shouted at the Minister of War beside him, “This is the person you thought was suitable?! He doesn’t even have the strength to draw a bow, how can he lead troops into battle?!”
The Minister of War, after being yelled at by General Zhenyuan, wiped the spittle off his face and helplessly sat a little further away.
He glanced at Lu Huan again from afar, shook his head, and sighed, “General, if your subordinates hadn’t deliberately made things difficult for him, giving him three useless arrows, he might not have lost.”
General Zhenyuan angrily said, “Of the three arrows, one was clearly intact, yet he was defeated in the very first round!”
Although the Minister of War couldn’t see which arrow Lu Huan used at the archery range in the distance, he saw that while the other generals were being surrounded and praised by the soldiers and officials next to the archery range, the young man was still quietly fiddling with the remaining two arrows on his horse. For some reason, he felt that the young man would definitely not lose today.
He couldn’t help but refute General Zhenyuan, saying, “General, I’ll make a bet with you today. If this Ministry of War official wins, you’ll have to take my advice.”
“What if you lose?!” General Zhenyuan sneered. “I’ve heard that this young man has managed your Ministry of War and its second department very well. He certainly has some schemes, but he’s probably only suited to stay in the court and play political games. On the battlefield, swords have no eyes; it’s not something someone from the Ning Wang’s mansion can pull off with petty tricks. I don’t understand why you value this third son of the Ning Wang’s mansion so much, even summoning Han Yue here today!”
Han Yue, the youngest daughter of the Minister of War, sat in the back, looking at the archery range with slight disappointment, and did not hear her father’s conversation with General Zhenyuan.
The Minister of War pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, “If I lose the bet today, the General can choose any calligraphy and painting in the study. But if the General loses the bet, he must keep his word.”
The conversation behind the screen on the distant high-rise building was naturally inaudible on the archery range, but it all popped up on the screen in front of Su Xi.
She was already very nervous, and the thought that the outcome of this battle would determine whether Mission Seven could be completed made her even more nervous.
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[1] Tian Ji’s Horse Racing Strategy originated from a well-known ancient Chinese story from The Records of the Grand Historian. Tian Ji was a military general of the Qi state during the early Warring States period of Chinese history. The story is about a horse riding game between Tian Ji and the king of the Qi Kingdom, and how Tian Ji won the horse racing game under the guidance of a military strategist, Sun Bin, with all his horses less competitive than the king. In the original story, Tian Ji was aware of the king’s strategy and changed the sequence of his horse to win the game. However, in the later edition, where the original story was developed into a game theory strategy, players are not aware of other players’ decisions in advance when they are making decisions, which add more randomness and fairness to the game. Our game description and solution are based on the later edition.