Chapter 7

(Thank you for the generous reward from the great alliance! I'm a bit excited. Thank you to the friend “Baise Bu De Qi Jie Wei You Yi Si Jie Tuo” for the reward, this ID is quite familiar, yes, it's the captain from the previous book, hahaha, welcome back.)

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After breakfast, most of the soldiers had returned to their units to carry out their tasks, and the archery training ground finally became quiet. Ma Han had not received any mission, as it was said that his unit had achieved great success by slaying an enemy general and capturing a flag the day before, and they were granted a day of rest.

This was perfect for Ma Han, who could now dominate the training ground and practice freely. However, the results were not entirely satisfactory: at 120 paces, he shot ten arrows in total. The first three missed the target, but from the fourth arrow onwards, he became more familiar with the bow, and every arrow hit the mark. Although less than half of the arrows hit the bullseye, at least none of them missed the target. The battlefield is not a competition; you don't need to hit the bullseye every time. As long as you hit the target and destroy it, it's fine. Whether it's the head, throat, heart, or limbs—just hitting it is good enough.

This time, the straw dummy was still pierced, but the arrows fell off the back of the target after passing through, indicating that their momentum was spent. This showed that the effective armor-piercing (shield-piercing) range of a six-stone bow was 120 paces. To put it bluntly, this was the ultimate distance for assassinating enemy generals.

At 150 paces, the arrows could penetrate the wood but not pass through, which was the ultimate distance for killing unarmored soldiers. However, the accuracy... Ma Han could forgive himself, after all, a distance of 200 meters was extremely long, and he had never tried shooting with a bow or crossbow at such a distance before. Hitting the target once or twice out of ten was already quite good.

As for 200 paces, it was out of reach!

Ma Han felt disheartened, but he didn't realize that the only spectator, Xiao Shizi, was looking at him with bright eyes, almost worshiping him as a god—using a leopard bow with the power of a crossbow, aiming for a long time, and firing twenty arrows in succession without any trouble. Such divine strength was something he had never even heard of, let alone seen with his own eyes!

Xiao Shizi happily picked up the arrows one by one, smacking his lips: "A total of eight arrows were damaged. If I go to the quartermaster to get replacements, I might be scolded. It's better to buy them myself, after all, the master has received so many rewards..."

Ma Han asked casually, "How much does one arrow cost?"

"Twelve coins. But I know a manager at the military equipment office, and I can negotiate the price down to ten coins," Xiao Shizi boasted about his connections.

Ma Han smiled, "Alright, leave this to you. Put down the quiver and go play for a while. I want to be alone for a bit."

Xiao Shizi agreed, slowly turning around, his steps hesitant, clearly reluctant to leave.

Ma Han shook his head with a smile, then had a thought and reached into his pocket to take out something. He was about to call Xiao Shizi back to give him a toy, but suddenly remembered something, froze, and stared intently at the object in his hand.

An infrared signal emitter! This device is found on some assault rifles and even sniper rifles, and its function is clear: to assist in aiming. What Ma Han lacked was not range but precision and aiming. If he could install this aiming aid on the bow...

He decided to act immediately. Ma Han first set the position for the sight on the bow handle, then took a spare bowstring, cut a piece, and attached the pen-shaped infrared signal emitter. He then held the bow in a shooting stance, repeatedly observing and adjusting the sight. Once everything was correct, he held the bow handle with his left hand, pressed the switch with his thumb, and conducted a test.

At 120 paces, a fingernail-sized red dot appeared clearly on the chest of the straw dummy. Unlike the pea-sized aiming point on a typical assault rifle, the aiming point of the infrared signal emitter was the size of a dime, three times larger, making it easier to see. With Ma Han's eagle-like sharp eyes, he could still faintly see the red dot at 120 paces.

Ma Han felt a surge of excitement. Of course, this didn't mean that aiming at the red dot would guarantee hitting the target. He still needed to calculate the angle, as the trajectory of the arrow over long distances is not a straight line but a curve. Short and medium distances are straight, but two parallel lines never intersect. Therefore, the arrow he shot would not hit the red dot but would hit above it. Whether it would hit one inch or two inches above the red dot depended on the angle of the arrowhead.

After repeated calculations, Ma Han moved the infrared aiming point down about an inch and released the string.

Buzz, the bowstring vibrated violently, and the arrow flew like lightning.

Thud! It hit the chest of the straw dummy.

Thus, on the quiet and empty archery training ground of the Youzhou army, a breathtaking scene unfolded:

A soldier holding a large bow and carrying a quiver ran continuously, shooting at the straw dummies while running: the 80-paces target shattered, the 100-paces target flipped, the 120-paces target hit the bullseye, the 150-paces target hit without fail, and the 200-paces target...

"All on target! Master, all on target!" Xiao Shizi jumped with joy, the arrows in his arms falling to the ground.

"Just that they didn't miss the target," Ma Han squinted, looking at the small straw dummy 200 paces away, and sighed softly, "Unfortunately, although the infrared aiming point can help with precise aiming, human eyes have their limits and can't see clearly at such a distance. However, in battle, with thousands of soldiers, you don't really need to aim; you just need a long enough range. Hmm, if I had a ten-stone bow, hehe..."

...

Another morning, the first rays of sunlight filtered through the tent flaps, and Ma Han was already dressed, lifting the curtain and stepping out, taking a deep breath of the air with a faint metallic scent. This was the fourth day since Ma Han arrived in the Three Kingdoms era. He didn't know what this day meant for him, for this local war, or even for the entire history of the Three Kingdoms. He only knew that from this moment on, he would no longer let anyone threaten his life.

Any danger must be eliminated from a distance of 100 paces.

In front of the tent, Xiao Shizi was carefully helping his master put on his armor, while Ma Han was inspecting the forty armor-piercing heavy arrows Xiao Shizi had bought from the military equipment office.

Each scout in the scout unit was equipped with two quivers containing 24 arrows, mostly ordinary flat-bladed arrows with average armor-piercing power. Ma Han's 24 arrows had been damaged by about half during yesterday's training, so he needed to replenish them. Considering that his main weapon in the future would be the bow, Ma Han had higher requirements for the arrows, not only in quantity but also in quality.

With the tens of thousands of coins and items rewarded by Gongsun Zan, there was no need to spend money on anything else in the camp. If not on improving his weapons to ensure his safety, what else could he spend it on?

Ma Han bought forty three-sided armor-piercing arrows and two quivers at the high price of 50 coins each. This way, while others only had two quivers on their saddles, he had four.

After the inspection, Ma Han was quite satisfied: the arrow shafts were straight and smooth, the paint was bright; the tail feathers were new and smooth; the three-sided arrowheads were polished and the edges were parallel, with almost no visible errors. Such good arrows were worth 50 coins.

Just as he was inspecting, he heard Xiao Shizi chuckle, "Master, the two female slaves have arrived."

Ma Han raised his gaze and saw two women, wearing pointed felt hats and single-layer jackets, bowing to him from a distance, occasionally stealing glances.

Seeing these two women, Ma Han couldn't help but smile bitterly. These two Wuhuan women were slaves given to him as a reward. Gongsun Zan only cared about the reward, but what Ma Han did with them was his own business.

As one of the leaders of the American Mafia, Ma Han had no shortage of women, of all skin colors, backgrounds, and styles. After seeing so many, his taste and standards had naturally become quite high, and it was hard for ordinary looks to impress him. However, when he first heard that two Wuhuan women had been given to him, he was somewhat excited and even a bit curious to see what women from this long-extinct ethnic group looked like.

The truth was disappointing. Ma Han could tolerate less attractive faces and various strange hairstyles, such as loose braids, short hair, flat heads, or even bald heads, but what was the point of a woman with a shaved head?

A shaved head, or "kun tou," is a hairstyle unique to the nomadic people, where the middle of the forehead is shaved, and a ring of hair is left around it, either braided or left loose. Both men and women of the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes in the northern desert had this hairstyle. While it was acceptable for men, it was quite revolting for women.

When Ma Han saw them, he immediately drove them out of his tent. Despite the military supply officer's repeated explanations that Wuhuan women would grow their hair after marriage, meaning these two were unmarried and a gift from the Marquis of Ji, Ma Han's appetite was already ruined. In the end, the two female slaves were set up in a separate tent to do chores like herding sheep, milking, and washing clothes, serving as ordinary slaves.

Ma Han avoided the hot gazes of the two women, whose faces were dark and red, and whose bodies were strong, mounted his horse, and galloped towards the western camp.

In the northwest corner of the western camp, there was a smoky and fiery area, the repair station of the Youzhou army. Here, hundreds of craftsmen were stationed, responsible for repairing weapons and armor, fixing saddles, sharpening blades, and repairing shields.

As Ma Han passed through the camp, the sound of hammering filled his ears, forcing him to raise his voice and shout at one of the tents, "Old Yu! Old Yu! Is the thing I asked for ready?"

A middle-aged, bearded man with a blackened face emerged from the tent, grinning and showing a mouth of yellowed teeth, "Ah, it's Captain Ma. The thing you asked for is ready. I, Old Yu, postponed several armor repairs to make this for you, and I'm afraid I'll be scolded by the soldiers..."

Ma Han dismounted, took out 3,000 wuzhu coins from his saddlebag, and threw them to Old Yu, "I won't short you a single coin. Give me the thing quickly."

Old Yu pretended to be reluctant but was actually hoping for more rewards. The 3,000 coins plus the 500 coins deposit from the previous day were 500 coins more than the agreed price, which was a nice windfall. He happily entered the tent and soon emerged with a heavy bundle.

Ma Han took the bundle, nodded, placed it on his horse, mounted, and rode away. As he passed Old Yu's forge, he picked up a small hammer and waved it at Old Yu, "Borrowing your hammer for a bit."

Old Yu cupped his hands and shouted at Ma Han's back, "Using my tools delays my work, you need to pay at least 10 coins for the delay!"

Ma Han waved without turning back and rode away.

On the cavalry training ground, Ma Han was riding his horse at a light gallop, occasionally performing some jaw-dropping maneuvers: like hiding behind the stirrup, lifting his buttocks off the saddle, and pressing his body against the horse's neck, similar to a modern equestrian, with half his body raised high, riding at full speed.

The reason he could do this was simple: he had installed stirrups—real stirrups, not just two leather straps or ropes.

After the battle with Zhao Yun the previous day, Ma Han realized the importance of this issue. Without stirrups, it would take at least half a year to ride as smoothly as the scouts, and to ride like the White Horse Volunteers would probably take a year or more. So he immediately found the repair station, drew the shape of the stirrups, and asked if they could be made quickly.

Stirrups are a simple device, and although Old Yu was greedy, his craftsmanship was excellent. He promised to have them ready the next day. Ma Han then asked for horseshoes, which left Old Yu stunned.

Ma Han was surprised; did this era not have horseshoes?

In fact, it didn't! According to the historical development of horse equipment, the earliest to appear were bits, followed by saddles, which had already developed quite well by the Three Kingdoms period, with high-bridged saddles already in use. Stirrups were invented around the Jin Dynasty, and horseshoes appeared the latest, with some believing they appeared in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and others in the Yuan Dynasty. Regardless of the view, horseshoes appeared after stirrups, and in the Three Kingdoms era, there were no stirrups at all.

So Ma Han also ordered six horseshoes (two as spares, like spare tires in a car). Old Yu couldn't understand the use of these strange iron lumps and didn't know their significance, but as long as he was paid, he would do the work, why bother with anything else?

With the stirrups, the effect was significant. Ma Han estimated that with his riding skills, after two to three months of intensive training, he could at least join the White Horse Volunteers, even if he couldn't match Zhao Yun.

Horseshoes were also crucial. Once a warhorse's hooves cracked, it was basically out of the battle, not even suitable as a pack horse. Warhorses were one of the most important war resources, and a small horseshoe could save many warhorses and pack horses.

Ma Han had experience shoeing his prized racehorse and planned to do it himself. But just as he took out the knife, hammer, and nails, a sudden, urgent assembly horn sounded throughout the camp, and the Youzhou camp came to life.

After a brief two-day lull, the Ji Province army broke the deadlock and launched an attack. The second phase of the Battle of Ji Bridge began.

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(Regarding high-bridged saddles, the earliest archaeological evidence found dates back to the Three Kingdoms period, specifically the Sun Wu era, and it already had all the characteristics of a high-bridged saddle. If even the Sun Wu, with the fewest warhorses, had such equipment, it's even more likely that the northern warlords, who relied heavily on cavalry, had it.)

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