Volume 2 Clouds Chapter 23: The Dark Alliance is thinking about "Zhao Zilong"
"Swoosh!" With the sound of breaking through the air, the sharp arrow immediately turned into a black shadow and drilled into the dense thorn bush, disappearing without a trace.
Luo Youdu rode forward with some anticipation, searching carefully, hoping for a good start. However, the arrow did not hit the target, but instead penetrated the tree trunk two inches deep.
"It takes time to master the skills of horseback archery."
He jumped off his horse and struggled to retrieve the arrow.
Fengzhou is thousands of miles away from Kaifeng, and they conveyed the news to Kaifeng.
Then the Kaifeng court arranged personnel transfers, and finally the personnel arrived to take over the civil and military affairs of the four states. This took at least more than a month.
Luo Youdu took the opportunity to practice horse riding with Zhang Jianxiong, and his riding skills improved greatly.
Wang Jing and Han Lingkun initially worked on their own and did not interfere with each other.
Perhaps because he was too bored, Wang Jing suddenly invited Luo Youdu and Han Lingkun to go hunting at the foot of the Qinling Mountains that day.
Luo Youdu felt that his riding skills had improved, so he came out to verify it and try out his archery skills.
Unexpectedly, the first arrow I shot at the first prey I encountered missed the target.
"Brother Luo!"
Wang Jing rode up on his horse and laughed, "I can tell at a glance that you rarely go out hunting. The musk deer you shot is very timid. It will flee forward when it hears the sound of the bowstring. No matter how fast your arrow is, can it be faster than the sound of the bowstring? So, to hunt musk deer, you have to aim at it three feet in front of its chest, so that you can hit it with one shot..."
This was Luo Youdu’s first time hunting, and it was a wild hunt without any human interference. He really had no idea of the techniques involved.
"So that's it!" Luo Youdu suddenly realized, "I thought I aimed the arrow very well, how come I missed it?"
Wang Jing smiled and demonstrated his bow and arrow skills, as if he was teaching him horseback archery skills, but he unexpectedly said, "Brother, I have seen countless people, and I can see that you are someone who can do great things. You and I are about to go our separate ways, and I don't know if we will meet again. I hope you can help me with things in the capital. Although I am not as righteous as Master Guan, I will never let my friends down."
In the past, when they met for a drink, they usually had someone else accompany them. Although they called each other "brother" or "little brother", they never talked about any topics related to politics.
Wang Jing worked his way up from the bottom of society, and the political acumen he gained from his life experiences is no less than that of politicians working in government offices. Otherwise, he would not have immediately asked Han Lingkun to give gifts to Luo Youdu.
He didn't do it alone, but pulled Han Lingkun along, even going so far as to share half with him.
This behavior may seem simple, but it is full of politicians' sophistication.
This is even more true for Luo Youdu. As a Beijing official, he became friends with the warlord Wang Jing just to achieve his own goals.
The two had never had any private contact, let alone discussed national affairs.
Luo Youdu was a cautious person and had no intention of responding. However, as time was running out, he responded with a voice that said, "Okay!"
Smart people can understand each other without saying too much.
Wang Jing never mentioned this matter again. He continued to talk about his hunting experience and returned to the crowd with Luo Youdu.
"There are ways to shoot musk deer and serow. Serows are particularly fierce. Don't underestimate them. They are similar to donkeys and sheep. When they encounter an enemy, they will not run away. Instead, they will use their front hooves to knock their bellies, like beating a drum. If you want to scare the enemy away, just shoot them with an arrow. But be sure not to miss the target. When they see that intimidation is ineffective, they will charge at you like crazy. They can charge faster than a warhorse in an instant. If they really hit you, you will lose half your life if you don't die."
Luo Youdu said solemnly: "I am grateful for your advice. I never thought there is so much knowledge in hunting."
Han Lingkun knew that Luo Youdu had been practicing horse riding recently, and guessed that he wanted to practice horse archery, so he said, "Not only should you pay attention to the habits of the prey, but the postures of foot shooting and horse shooting are also different. Foot shooting has a wide field of view, while the person holding the arrow will be in a blind spot when shooting from a horse, so you need to pay more attention to the posture of the man and the horse. Facing the target sideways can expand the shooting field of view, rather than drawing the bow from the front. Of course, if you can draw the bow with both hands, you can avoid this disadvantage."
Luo Youdu accepted the instruction calmly and said, "In front of you two elder brothers, I am just showing off my skills."
Wang Jing's eyes lit up and he asked, "Brother Han, do you know this technique? This method of shooting from left to right sounds simple, but how many people can really do it? As far as I know, the ones who know this technique are the peerless cavalry generals, Li Guang of the Western Han Dynasty, Lü Bu of the late Han Dynasty, and Xue Rengui of the Tang Dynasty."
Han Lingkun shook his head and said, "Duke Bao, please don't tease me. But I was fortunate enough to see this magical skill. The person who knows this magical skill is in my Great Zhou. He is the commander of the right wing of the Iron Cavalry of my dynasty, named Gao Huaide. After the Battle of Gaoping, he and I were ordered to cooperate with the Zhe family of Fugu to harass the Khitan reinforcements. We encountered a Khitan patrol of 20 people, and he rushed up alone. He really shot every arrow, and every arrow cost a life. The Khitans have been skilled in archery and horse riding since childhood. They also know the blind spots of archers. They did not flee blindly, but rushed into the blind spots. Commander Gao changed his hand and shot them with a string of arrows. I was dumbfounded when I wanted to support them. I still find it incredible when I think about it now."
A glimmer of enlightenment flashed in Luo Youdu's eyes. It turned out to be him... Gao Huaide, the White Horse and Silver Spear from Zhending, Changshan!
Wang Jing said: "So he is the son of Qi Wang Gao Xingzhou. As expected, a good father will have a good son."
If Gao Xingzhou had not died, his status would have been the same as Fu Yanqing's. Both of them were iron-clad warlords who served in the Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou dynasties.
"Such a hero, living in the same capital, yet we have no chance to meet!"
Luo Youdu clapped his hands in regret.
Han Lingkun said, "How difficult is that? After returning to Beijing, I will introduce him to the governor. But Lao Gao has a strange temper and is difficult to get along with. He likes hunting, and when he gets angry, he will ride away regardless of the time or occasion. Once, a few of us were drinking at his house, and while we were drinking, the host disappeared. After asking, we found out that this guy suddenly got angry when he was urinating. He went out of the city to hunt directly, leaving a group of us at home..."
Luo Youdu smiled and said, "He is a wonderful person."
This military achievement has blurred the boundaries between civil and military affairs. I have to find ways to develop more friends and help each other.
Cao Bin is one of them, but Gao Huaide is the best candidate for the second one.
Having a weird temper means you don’t have many friends.
Not having many friends means that you are cautious in making friends, which also means you are not sociable.
This is not a sociable thing, so naturally there is an opportunity to take advantage of it.
Although they were thousands of miles apart, Luo Youdu had already thought of the Ten Kingdoms version of Zhao Zilong.
The group did not come here to hunt, they just came out for fun, and returned to Fengzhou at dusk.
They waited patiently for the court's appointment.
Before the Zhou court's appointment and dispatch were conveyed, the Shu Kingdom gave up first.
