Chapter 88

Emperor Zhao Gou did not return to Lin'an City that night but instead set up his imperial camp on a reserved open space in the middle of the military camp.

It was already very late, but Zhao Gou had not yet gone to sleep. He walked back and forth in the large tent with his hands behind his back.

At this moment, a guard reported from outside the tent, "Your Majesty, Chancellor Lu requests an audience!"

"Let him in!"

A moment later, Chancellor Lu Yihao hurried in.

"So late, Chancellor Lu, you haven't slept yet?" Zhao Gou asked with a smile.

"I am still deliberating on Your Majesty's reward plan and have some ideas," Lu Yihao replied.

Zhao Gou smiled slightly and said, "Having ideas is normal. I only have a preliminary concept, which is not yet complete. Tell me, where do you think it needs to be revised?"

"Your Majesty, using land as a reward is not impossible, but there is limited official land around Lin'an. I believe land should be used to reward military achievements, while monetary rewards are more suitable for this competition."

Zhao Gou nodded, "Chancellor, you are right. I also feel it is inappropriate. Land should be used to reward military achievements. What about official positions as rewards?"

"Your Majesty, this is the first new soldier and new general competition. It will definitely be held again in the future. The rules set in the first competition will be followed in the future. Therefore, I suggest a principle: promotion in rank but not in position."

"Discuss it with the other chancellors! If everyone agrees, this principle can be adopted. Additionally, I am considering adding a special excellence award as a personal reward from me."

Lu Yihao understood the emperor's intention. He wanted to reward outstanding generals personally to win their loyalty.

"Since it is a personal reward from Your Majesty, it should not be included in the plan to avoid it becoming a tradition."

"Agreed!"

Zhao Gou continued, "I have considered it. Yang Xizhong will be appointed as the commander of the Imperial Camp Army. The two thousand new soldiers he leads will be reorganized into the Imperial Camp Army. Chen Qing will return to the Western Army, but his troops will also be reorganized into the Imperial Camp Army."

Although Zhao Gou greatly admired Chen Qing, he did not intend to keep him by his side. Chen Qing was more suitable for fighting against the Jin. This was a decision Zhao Gou had made long ago, to send Chen Qing to govern Qin Prefecture.

However, most of Chen Qing's soldiers were from Lin'an, making them very suitable for the Imperial Camp Army.

Despite Han Shizhong's interest in Chen Qing's troops, he could not compete with Emperor Zhao Gou. This excellent army was taken by the emperor.

That night, Chen Qing also received a visitor in his tent. It was a messenger from Chengdu who delivered a personal letter from Yang Yuanqing.

After reading the letter, Chen Qing's face turned very grim. He put away the letter and said to the messenger, "Thank you for the long journey to deliver this letter!"

"The general is too kind. I have delivered hundreds of letters, and yours is just one of them. It is my duty."

Chen Qing ordered someone to give the messenger ten strings of cash. The messenger thanked him repeatedly and left.

As soon as the messenger left, Chen Qing slammed his fist on the table in anger, "A high-ranking official like him, how could he do this! I trusted him so much!"

Outside, the sound of hurried footsteps approached. Zheng Ping and Zhao Xiaoyi ran in, "Commander, we heard that Yang Yuanqing sent a letter?"

Chen Qing suppressed his anger and smiled faintly, "He asked me to send him a letter home when I have the chance."

He handed another letter to Zheng Ping, "There's the address. I won't have time tomorrow, so you can deliver it for me."

"No problem, I'll go with Xiaoyi. What did Yang Yuanqing say in the letter?"

"Nothing much. By the way, he mentioned that your rewards have been approved. You can collect them from him when you return."

Zheng Ping and Zhao Xiaoyi were overjoyed. After the competition, they would also return.

After they left, Chen Qing walked back and forth in the tent, feeling tormented. The compensation for the 1,300 fallen soldiers! How could this be settled so easily? Absolutely not! Otherwise, how could he face those who died for the country?

...

The next morning, the martial arts grand arena was packed with people. Tens of thousands of new soldiers filled the east, south, and west sides, creating a noisy and lively atmosphere. The new soldier competition had ended, with the Western Army winning first place, Yue Fei's army second, and Han Shizhong's army third. Today was the last day of the competition, and the final event was the new general archery competition.

Although it was called a new general competition, the criteria were quite broad. Any commander below the rank of a general could participate, regardless of whether they were new or old, as long as they had participated in the new soldier competition.

Currently, 94 commanders had registered. The competition content was only one event: archery on horseback.

Archery on horseback is a basic skill for commanders, known as being proficient in archery and horsemanship.

At this moment, Zhao Gou, along with civil and military officials, walked onto the northern viewing stand. Zhao Gou looked at the list and asked with a smile, "Is one day enough for 90 people to compete in archery on horseback?"

Li Hui, the chief of the Military Council, hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, the competition is simple. They must gallop 150 steps and shoot three arrows. The one with the highest score wins. Commanders compete in groups of ten, and the competition is actually very fast, so it can be completed in the morning."

Lu Yihao asked with a smile, "What is the highest score?"

"The base score is 30 points, which means all three arrows hit vital areas above the neck. An additional 5 points are awarded for shooting with both hands, and 5 points for hitting a moving target. There is also a full score bonus of 5 points if all three arrows hit the same spot, but only if the third arrow hits a moving target. The highest score is 45 points, but it is almost impossible to achieve."

Zhao Gou nodded, "Let's start as soon as possible!"

...

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

The drums on the arena sounded, and the atmosphere among the tens of thousands of soldiers became even more intense, like boiling water, almost making the entire arena boil.

The archery track was two zhang wide and about 200 steps long. The first 50 steps were for preparation, and the next 150 steps were the timed shooting area. The commanders must gallop out of the shooting area and shoot three arrows before the drumming stopped.

On both the north and south sides, about 80 steps away, there were three wooden man targets. Additionally, about 120 steps to the south, there was a trench about ten steps long where soldiers would run with small wooden man targets, which were the moving targets.

The 90-plus commanders had already drawn lots. Chen Qing drew the sixth spot in the eighth group and was waiting on the east side of the arena.

At this moment, the first group of ten commanders had already ridden into the arena. The leader was a commander under Liu Guangshi named Wang Miao. He rode a black horse, held a five-dou bow, and had only three white-feathered arrows in his quiver.

As the official waved the red flag, the commander galloped out, and the competition began. Everyone's attention was on this commander.

Chen Qing also watched the commander's archery, needing to understand some undisclosed information through his shooting.

Wang Miao galloped 50 steps and instantly crossed the archery line. The drumming intensified, *Bang! Bang! Bang!* The arena fell silent, and everyone's heart was on edge.

Wang Miao's hands were slightly trembling. He controlled the horse with his legs, drew an arrow, and shot at the wooden man target to the south.

The arrow grazed the shoulder of the wooden man target, and a chorus of boos arose from the crowd.

After galloping another 50 steps, Wang Miao drew the second arrow and shot. The arrow hit the wooden man target's chest, but unexpectedly, it bounced off and did not stick to the target, causing more boos from the crowd.

The commanders preparing for the competition looked at each other, unsure what had happened.

Cao De said to the others in a low voice, "I heard that the targets are made of jujube wood. I didn't believe it before, but it seems to be true now."

The waiting area became noisy. Huyan Tong whispered to Chen Qing, "Jujube wood targets are very hard. Only an eight-dou bow can penetrate them. Those using a five-dou bow are in trouble."

Chen Qing understood. A five-dou bow was almost useless in battle, unable to penetrate the armor of Jurchen soldiers. Using jujube wood targets was essentially a test of strength.

At this moment, Wang Miao shot his last arrow, which also failed to stick to the wooden man target. He scored zero points and was the first to be eliminated, leaving the arena dejectedly.

The subsequent commanders went up one after another to shoot, with most scores ranging from a few to a dozen points. The highest score in the first group was 16 points.

The second group came up, and the sixth person in the second group was Zhang Xian, the main commander of Yue Fei's army. He changed to a white horse with silver armor, tall and imposing, holding a hawk-shooting bow, looking especially heroic and graceful.

Amidst the intense drumming, Zhang Xian galloped past the archery line, drew his bow, and shot an arrow. He used a one-stone bow, which was powerful, and the arrow hit the wooden man target's throat, a vital area worth ten points.

He then switched to his left hand, drew another arrow, and shot, hitting the wooden man target's throat again.

Having completed shooting with both hands, Zhang Xian took a deep breath and focused on the moving target 120 steps away. The target was a small wooden man held high by a soldier running in the trench, moving in the opposite direction.

Without waiting for the moving target to disappear, Zhang Xian shot an arrow while galloping, hitting the moving target. The crowd erupted in cheers, and even Emperor Zhao Gou could not help but clap.

Zhang Xian shook his head in disappointment. He had not hit the throat of the moving target, missing the full score bonus of five points.

The horse galloped past the finish line, and the drumming stopped.

Zhang Xian scored three tens for the base, five points for shooting with both hands, and five points for hitting the moving target, totaling 40 points, leading the archery scoreboard.

Zhang Xian looked back at Chen Qing from a distance, wondering if he could surpass him this time.