Chapter 6

（Great Alliance! Another Great Alliance! Astonishing moves! After five days of publication, we are delighted to welcome Phoenix Perch 626 and Fifteen Lang to join the battle again.）

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In the main tent, Gongsun Zan sat at the head, with four burly guards and a military clerk on either side. Below, two middle and lower-ranking officers stood: the cavalry general Zhao Yun and the squad leader Ma Han.

This was the second time Gongsun Zan had summoned this young squad leader in just two days. Normally, such a low-ranking officer would not even have the资格 to enter his tent, let alone be summoned consecutively. But whether it was due to good luck or real talent, Ma Han had killed a high-ranking officer from Ji Province's army within just two days of joining Gongsun Zan's forces. It would be unreasonable not to reward and promote him, and even personally summon him.

This time, Gongsun Zan also brought Zhao Yun, with a specific intention. Upon seeing the two, his first question was to Zhao Yun: "How about it, can he handle it?"

"Well..." Zhao Yun saluted Gongsun Zan, glanced at Ma Han, and hesitated.

Ma Han's eyes flickered, understanding Zhao Yun's true intention for dragging him to the training ground today—it was Gongsun Zan's instruction.

Gongsun Zan's thick, broom-like eyebrows furrowed, and his gaze turned stern: "What's the matter? Is there any inconvenience?"

"No, I'm just thinking about how to phrase it..." Zhao Yun organized his thoughts and said, "Squad Leader Ma is exceptionally brave, a rare sight in my life, but his horsemanship is lacking. With time and effort, he will surely meet the requirements of the White Horse Volunteers."

Gongsun Zan understood. Zhao Yun believed Ma Han was brave and a formidable warrior, but his horsemanship was not up to the standards of the White Horse Volunteers. This was somewhat disappointing to Gongsun Zan. After yesterday's crushing defeat, the White Horse Volunteers suffered heavy losses, severely affecting Gongsun Zan's personal guard. He urgently needed to replenish with fresh blood, and Ma Han, who had performed outstandingly, naturally caught his attention. Unfortunately...

Gongsun Zan sighed inwardly and had to change the reward for Ma Han's killing of the Ji Province army officer, Mei Yuanjin.

"Ma Jinglong."

"Your subordinate is here."

"Listen to your reward."

At this, the military clerk first bowed to Gongsun Zan, then opened the ledger and loudly read: "Squad Leader Ma Han of the scout unit, promoted to captain of the scout unit for his meritorious service. His rank is elevated by two levels, rewarded with ten thousand coins, three bolts of silk, twenty cattle and sheep, ten acres of land, and some wine and meat..."

After yesterday's generous reward, today's reward didn't impress Ma Han much. The only thing he found satisfactory was the two-level rank promotion, making him a captain, equal to Zhao Yun. However, Zhao Yun was the direct commander of the general's cavalry guard, while Ma Han's position as a scout captain was just a regular patrol officer, not comparable.

But Ma Han didn't mind. To become a captain in just two days was enough. Yes, since Gongsun Zan seemed to want him to join the White Horse Volunteers, he might as well make this request.

Ma Han immediately saluted and said, "Lord Jihou, I have a request."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Your subordinate lacks a suitable strong bow."

The White Horse Volunteers were famous archer cavalry in the Three Kingdoms period, with high requirements for horsemanship and archery. Originally, Zhao Yun's assessment of Ma Han should have included archery, but since Ma Han didn't pass the horsemanship test, there was no need to test his archery—after all, if one's horsemanship is poor, good archery skills are useless.

Gongsun Zan nodded. Since Zhao Yun praised Ma Han's bravery, he must be strong. The standard military bows might not suit him. He then asked with interest, "Captain Ma, how many stone bows can you draw?"

Ma Han: "The strongest bow in the army, I will use that one."

Not only Gongsun Zan and Zhao Yun, but even the four guards in the tent stared with wide eyes, then burst into laughter. If they weren't in the military tent, someone might have laughed out loud: This kid is too boastful, isn't he afraid of the wind hurting his tongue? Even if he wants to attract Lord Jihou's attention, this is a poor method! Doesn't he fear backfiring?

"Good! I admire warriors who have confidence in themselves." Gongsun Zan laughed heartily and ordered a guard to fetch his horn bow, handing it to Ma Han, "If you can draw this bow ten times within ten breaths, it will be yours."

Ma Han firmly declined: "Lord Jihou's precious bow, your subordinate dares not accept it."

Gongsun Zan waved his hand carelessly, "I have several good bows. If you can draw it, I will reward it to you."

But Ma Han's next words made Gongsun Zan furious.

Ma Han said, "Your subordinate dares not damage Lord Jihou's precious bow."

Gongsun Zan glared at this boastful young man, saying word by word, "If the bow is damaged, you will be pardoned. But if you cannot draw it twenty times within ten breaths, all previous rewards will be revoked!"

A strong guard presented a large bow in a leather bag to Ma Han.

Ma Han's words were actually to show off in front of Gongsun Zan, to avoid being looked down upon by this martial general. In the military, generals value military strategy, while soldiers value bravery. Not showing off would only invite contempt. Ma Han, who had fought in the West for many years, had a Western mindset and never considered hiding his skills a virtue. Strength is meant to be displayed.

When Ma Han's left hand touched the bow, he found it hard to pull. Looking up, he saw the mocking look in the guard's eyes.

Ma Han immediately placed his right hand on the bow, pretending to be humble, and with a sudden movement, pulled the bow and the guard together. If the guard hadn't realized the danger and let go in time, he would have been embarrassed.

Under the watchful eyes of Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun, and the guard, Ma Han calmly strung the bow, adjusted the string, held the bow with his left hand, and slowly drew it with his right hand, forming a full moon.

Gongsun Zan nodded slowly, his expression improving, but then his expression froze.

While drawing the bow, Ma Han nodded to Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun, and others. Then, with a tight pull of his right arm—snap! A three-stone hard bow was broken in two by him.

Ma Han looked "horrified" and presented the broken bow: "Your subordinate has sinned, damaging Lord Jihou's precious bow, and is willing to accept punishment."

Gongsun Zan, shocked, slapped the table in amazement: "What a powerful arm! Unmatched in the army. It seems that any bow under five stones is unsuitable for you. Clerk Gong, do we have any bows over five stones?"

The military clerk smiled bitterly and replied, "Lord Jihou, I have never heard of anyone in our army using a five-stone bow, so we have not made such a weapon."

Gongsun Zan said, "Oh," with a hint of regret, looking at Ma Han. Just as he was about to speak, Zhao Yun saluted and said, "Lord, I know of a six-stone strong bow, but it is a foot bow used for selecting crossbowmen."

"Foot bow?" Gongsun Zan looked Ma Han up and down, laughing, "This man is over eight feet tall. Even using a foot bow, it won't affect his horse archery. That six-stone bow is yours. I hope you will practice horse archery diligently and soon become one of my White Horse Volunteers."

"Thank you, Lord Jihou!"

...

This was a six-stone recurve composite bow, made from the best mulberry wood, with a clear yellow color, and the grip was polished bright by sweat and palm friction. Drawing this bow once required the strength of 360 pounds—using one hand. It was called a foot bow because its length was 1.6 meters, almost as tall as a person. Such a length made it inconvenient for horse archery, and it was difficult to generate power on horseback. Typically, the strength required to draw a bow on horseback was one-quarter less than on the ground. For example, if one could draw a two-stone bow on the ground, on horseback, it would be a one-and-a-half-stone bow.

For Ma Han, drawing a six-stone bow was no different from drawing a one-stone bow in terms of effort, but the range and penetration were vastly different. If he had had this six-stone bow yesterday, would Mei Yuanjin have been able to get so close?

This bow would be his primary weapon for survival and combat, and he needed to test it thoroughly.

The Youzhou military camp had several training grounds. The one where Ma Han and Zhao Yun had competed in the morning was the cavalry training ground. To the east and north were the infantry and archery training grounds.

With his new strong bow, Ma Han went directly to the archery training ground, followed by Little Stone, who was happily carrying two quivers of 24 arrows.

The archery training ground was a rectangular field about 200 paces wide and 300 paces long. To the northwest was a gentle, semi-circular hill that blocked the wind, ensuring stability and accuracy in shooting.

This place could accommodate a hundred archers at once. Gongsun Zan's army was half Han and half non-Han, with many Wuhuan and Xianbei people, so there were many skilled horse archers and even more skilled foot archers. It was the end of morning drills, and the archery training ground was filled with soldiers practicing. Due to the limited number of targets, most soldiers were waiting in small groups around the field.

When Ma Han entered, no one paid much attention at first, but soon, a sharp-eyed soldier recognized the large bow in his hand, which was the leopard bow used in the archery selection. The name "leopard bow" was given by the soldiers because they believed only the strength of a tiger or leopard could draw this strong bow.

Wasn't this leopard bow always kept by the military clerk and only brought out for strength tests? How did it end up in this man's hands?

One, two, three... more and more soldiers noticed the unusual large bow in Ma Han's hand, gradually forming a semi-circle around him, like a general with his attendants and a large group of followers heading to the archery training ground.

Ma Han came to the central shooting position, where a shooter was practicing, but seeing Ma Han's presence, the shooter quickly moved aside.

Ma Han ignored the growing murmurs behind him, focusing on the targets. The closest straw target was about 30 paces away, followed by 50 paces, 80 paces, and 100 paces. The maximum range of a bow was 100 paces, beyond which it had little killing power. The 100-paces target was just for show, as the strong archers who could shoot that far were already in the White Horse Volunteers or promoted to captains or officers, with their own dedicated target ranges (Ma Han was also a captain, but he didn't know this yet). There were also 120-paces, 150-paces, and 200-paces targets, which were for crossbows. The crossbows used by Gongsun Zan's army were mostly hand-drawn, with a maximum range of 200 paces.

Ma Han considered and decided to start with the 50-paces target, which was about 70 meters, suitable for a first test shot.

"Arrow, please." Ma Han extended his hand backward. Little Stone quickly drew an arrow and respectfully presented it.

The arrow was placed on the string, and the bow was drawn. The murmurs behind him stopped abruptly. Without turning around, he knew hundreds of eyes were fixed on his bow.

Creak, as the bowstring was fully drawn, the bow formed a full moon, and a series of gasps came from behind. Despite no one daring to speak, the sound of hundreds of people gasping created a deafening current in the air above the archery training ground.

Ma Han carefully experienced the differences between this bow and the military crossbows and compound bows he had used before, slowly regaining the feeling of capturing and locking onto distant targets... Yes, that's it, this feeling!

With a thought, the string was released, and the arrow flew.

Thud! Swish!

The arrow hit the bullseye, piercing through the thick wooden board tied with straw, and with remaining force, flew another 20 paces, barely skewering the 80-paces target.

The surrounding soldiers gasped in unison, and a group of Wuhuan and Xianbei people surrounded Ma Han, chattering and gesturing wildly, but unfortunately, Ma Han couldn't understand a word, only smiling and nodding.

Hitting the bullseye at 50 paces was impressive, but at least half of the soldiers present could do it. What the soldiers and the skilled non-Han archers admired was the power of Ma Han's shot. Imagine on the battlefield, when all the soldiers' arrows were blocked by enemy shields, this powerful and dominant arrow could pierce through leather shields, break through armor, and kill the enemy.

Being admired was enjoyable, but when these non-Han people went beyond verbal praise and started touching and feeling his arms, shoulders, and even his muscles, Ma Han felt a chill and waved his hands, shaking the bow, and shouted, "Little Stone, arrow!"

"Yes, yes... Master, here... it is..." Little Stone struggled to squeeze through the dense crowd and handed the arrow.

This time, Ma Han aimed for the 80-paces target, 100 meters away, his previous best record. With the first shot as a foundation, Ma Han was confident, as his previous best was 110 yards in clay pigeon shooting. Even without fully adapting to the leopard bow, the current target was a fixed one, which should be manageable.

Whoosh! The arrow flew, accurately hitting the 80-paces straw target.

Crack! The straw target shattered, and the arrow flew another 10 paces, landing diagonally.

"Ugh-huh!" The non-Han people, with their admiration for brave warriors, almost erupted in celebration.

Ma Han, after releasing the arrow, immediately moved out of the crowd, avoiding the congestion, and walked briskly to the crossbow range, shaking off the non-Han people. The 100-paces target at the archery range didn't need testing, as the 80-paces target missed the bullseye by two inches, indicating the need for more precision practice. Now, he most wanted to know the maximum and effective range of this bow. This required testing on the long-range target range for crossbows.

However, when Ma Han drew the bow and aimed again, he realized it wasn't that simple: 120 paces, equivalent to 150 meters, was a long distance. The bow in his hand was not a familiar military crossbow or a sniper rifle, but a newly acquired, ancient composite bow that he had only shot twice. Whether it would hit the target was uncertain. If he were practicing alone, missing and trying again wouldn't be a big deal. But in front of everyone, after just achieving a performance that earned their admiration, missing would be too embarrassing.

Should he shoot or not?

Ma Han was truly conflicted, but the bowstring could only be drawn inch by inch, with only a 50% chance of hitting the target. He had no choice but to take the risk.

Just as the arrow was about to be released, a melodious short horn sounded from afar, accompanied by the clear sound of a gong, echoing throughout the camp.

"Meal time! Meal time! Hurry up!"

The surrounding soldiers scattered.

Ma Han sighed in relief, loosened the string, and lowered the arrow—realizing for the first time how beautiful the sound of the meal horn could be.

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PS: The "stone" in the Han Dynasty was far less substantial than in the Tang and Song Dynasties, equivalent to only half of the latter. The six-stone bow in the text is equivalent to a three-stone bow in the Song Dynasty, the level of strength that figures like Yue Fei and Han Shizhong could draw.

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