Chapter 92

Zhan Xian only needed one glance to know that this former battalion commander was quite popular among the soldiers. In this situation, only those with sufficiently strong strength and methods could possibly win their respect and trust.

Zhan Xian ignored the empty formalities and headed straight for the archery range.

Mounted archery is no ordinary skill. If you don't touch a bow for a day, you'll become rusty when drawing the string. If you don't practice for a few days, you'll lose most of your accuracy when aiming. So even when marching, the soldiers in the mounted archery battalion have to find every spare moment to practice.

The place where they set up camp naturally had a shooting range specifically for practice—although it wasn't as well-equipped as the training grounds in the city, as long as they found an open space near the camp, set up a few targets, and practiced in a spacious and enjoyable manner.

Zhan Xian casually picked up a bow and arrow from the rack, held it in her hand, lifted her eyelids, and looked calmly at Shu Lang: "Bibi?"

This surprised Shulang somewhat. His archery skills, if not among the best in the entire army, were at least among the best in this camp; otherwise, he wouldn't have been in this position. He understood that this young lady was eager to establish her authority in the army, but she had chosen the wrong opponent. If she lost too badly, it would defeat the purpose of her initial goal.

Shu Lang smiled and advised, "The commander-in-chief personally appoints the battalion commander, so everyone naturally trusts your abilities. There's no need to prove anything through a competition."

Zhan Xian seemed not to hear, and without an arrow, she drew her bow, aimed at the bullseye a hundred paces away, and pulled the string taut. The bowstring was pulled taut, making a series of "humming" sounds. Then she released the tension, making a crisp "clang" sound. Without turning her head, Zhan Xian said, "Let's have a go, so I know how good the former battalion commander is."

These words carried a hint of provocation. Shu Lang frowned slightly, and behind him, the soldiers who usually liked to grumble about battalion commanders and lieutenants even louder and louder mocked him.

"You've got quite the nerve. Brother Lang, why don't you have a good match with our new battalion commander and make her admit defeat wholeheartedly!"

"Exactly, she's just a little brat, what are we afraid of her for!"

...

Shulang frowned even more deeply and asked her, "Are you really going to compete?"

A hint of impatience flashed across Zhan Xian's face, and her eyes turned cold: "Isn't the usual training enough? Enough with the nonsense."

Shulang took a deep breath and asked her, "How do you want to compete?"

"Let's follow the rules you usually use when you spar."

“Alright, ten arrows each, three targets, from a hundred paces away, the one who hits the bullseye the most times wins.” Shulang paused, “You are a woman, so I’ll give you a three-arrow handicap.”

Zhan Xian chuckled, "No need."

The conventional way to play is to use one arrow for one target, but resources are limited on the march, so everything is kept simple. Arrows and targets are reused, and it is already a luxury for each person to use three targets.

Zhan Xian drew an arrow from the quiver, but instead of nocking it, she ran her hand over it from end to end, carefully feeling the weight of the arrowhead and the flow of the feathers.

Seeing that she hesitated to fire her arrow, the soldiers assumed she was afraid and began to sneer and whistle.

"If you can't hold an arrow, you might as well go home and be a good wife and mother, hahahahaha..."

Laughter continued, and Zhan Xian didn't even flinch. After a long while, she finally released an arrow. The arrow shot out like a rainbow, piercing the air and hitting the bullseye!

The man stopped laughing.

Zhan Xian's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly as she turned to Shu Lang and said, "This kind of competition isn't difficult for either of us. Since we're soldiers from the mounted archery battalion, it's meaningless to just shoot without riding, don't you think?"

The arrow was incredibly swift, with not a single superfluous movement from its initiation to its conclusion—clean and crisp. Shulang's surprised expression hadn't fully faded when he heard her words; he simply opened his mouth and uttered a sound of agreement.

Soon someone brought the horse over. Zhan Xian gently stroked the horse's mane twice, then stepped into the stirrup with one foot, lifted the other leg lightly, the reins twirling between her fingers. With a single, fluid motion, she dismounted gracefully. Her action of mounting the horse made Shu Lang momentarily dazed, as if he were seeing an old figure galloping back from the battlefield—a bloody reality he himself had never experienced. Strangely, it was clearly a light and skillful movement, yet it seemed to have witnessed countless clashes of swords, stirring a strange sense of tragic grandeur and bittersweetness within him.

Zhan Xian smiled and said, "Thank you for letting me go first." Then she tightened the reins and turned the horse around. The horse started to trot gently, and after two laps, its speed was beyond human reach.

It is very difficult to hit a fixed bullseye while riding a fast-moving horse.

Zhan Xian loosened the reins with both hands, squeezed the horse's belly with her legs, hooked the bowstring with her left hand, and held it horizontally with her right hand. The bowstring was pulled taut to the limit, making a crisp humming sound, and then an arrow pierced the air and hit the bullseye!

Someone scoffed, "Just a coincidence." But before that "just a coincidence" could even land, Zhan Xian immediately drew her bow again and fired another arrow!

The galloping horse had carried her too far from her original position. Normally, the rider would adjust the angle and wait for the best moment to shoot. But Zhan Xian fired five arrows at the same target in quick succession, each hitting the bullseye. When the bullseye was no longer big enough, the last arrow struck the first one, piercing it from tip to tip!

The horse had already carried her around once, and there was no more empty space in the bullseye of the target. Zhan Xian finally turned her attention to another target next to it.

Five more arrows were fired in quick succession, each hitting its mark.

She used only two targets to shoot ten arrows!

Zhan Xian dismounted and casually tossed the bow to Shu Lang's loudest and most dumbfounded follower, who was completely unsurprised by his own stunning feat. He said softly, "We should be more frugal when we're on the march."

She walked up to Shulang, and because of the height difference, she had to slightly raise her chin to look him in the eye. "Your turn."

Shulang lowered his head and smiled, "I lost. The battalion commander is skilled in both horsemanship and archery. I can't do that."

Zhan Xian didn't care whether he was genuinely unable to do it or was just being modest. She simply nodded in agreement, glanced lightly at the soldiers watching, and asked, "Who else wants to compete with me?"

At this point, no one spoke. Those who had been shouting the loudest just now, even though they were still unwilling, knew that they were no match for Zhan Xian, and that they might never be able to defeat her in their lifetime.

Shulang spoke up at the right moment: "The Commandant of the Battle Camp is asking you a question. What else do you have to say? Stand up now! If not, from now on you will follow me and obey the Commandant of the Battle Camp's orders!"

In the military, strength is paramount. His intention was to establish Zhan Xian's authority, to warn everyone that she was the most capable person to hold that position, and that anyone without the ability to surpass her should obediently follow orders. However, he underestimated the jealousy and malice inherent in human nature. The greater the difference in strength, the more rampant the malice grows. Unable to compete fairly, they resort to baseless slander and attempts to drag the other down from their pedestal.

"So what if she's good at riding and archery? She's just the daughter of a disgraced official. What right does she have to run around the military camp and boss people around!"

These words stirred up restless thoughts in the crowd, which had just begun to calm down.

Yes, this person is right. Zhan Xian is the daughter of a disgraced official. Everyone in the world knows that Zhan Qihong deliberately lost the battle against Xili and defected to the enemy. And this time, their weapons are aimed at Xili!

How ironic that they appointed Zhan Xian as their battalion commander; they're probably going to repeat the same mistakes!

If these soldiers had any doubts about her abilities or even her gender, Zhan Xian could silence them with her overwhelming strength. This was the only point on which Zhan Xian, even if wronged, had no way to refute. Until the truth was revealed in the court and announced to the world, whatever she said would be futile and pale.

Her silence, in the eyes of others, seemed to indicate a guilty conscience, which emboldened her to become even more reckless and arrogant.

Seeing that the cacophony of voices and accusations threatened to overwhelm everyone, the situation was spiraling out of control. At that moment, a cold voice, laced with anger, clearly reached everyone's ears, even startling Zhan Xian.

"What happened back then was a misjudgment. The Zhan family is innocent, so how can you say she is the daughter of a criminal!"

Everyone turned around at the sound and saw the Crown Prince, their commander, standing at the entrance of the shooting range, having been watching and listening for an unknown amount of time.

"The Zhan family is innocent"—these four words, so light and airy, were not spoken by anyone in Anguo in public. To utter them now would be like putting cold water into a pot of boiling oil.

Did Gu Shuan really find clues to overturn the case, or did he think that the emperor wouldn't hear anything he said while the army was on the march? A dark and complicated look flashed across Zhan Xian's eyes.

Gu Shuan took a few steps forward, and everyone put down their weapons and bowed their heads in salute.

"I personally appointed the battalion commander. Do you have any objections to my military orders?"

No one dared to speak. Shu Lang observed his expression and suddenly said, "The commander-in-chief is wise and decisive, and the battalion commander is exceptionally skilled in martial arts. No one dares to disagree."

Gu Shuan glanced at him briefly, but said nothing.

He turned to Zhan Xian, a smile finally appearing on his face, and praised, "Your archery skills have improved again."

His tone was familiar, as if he were an old friend he had known for a long time.

Some people then realized that Zhan Xian was the person the Crown Prince was rumored to cherish! The Qiu family's daughter had pursued him for over ten years but couldn't even get a kind look from him. All that blatant support and favoritism was given to this newly arrived battalion commander. If anyone dared to complain in the future, they would have to consider her importance in the Crown Prince's heart first!

Zhan Xian twitched the corners of her mouth, but Gu Shu'an raised his hand to stop her from saying "Commander-in-Chief is too kind."

His gaze swept over the bowing crowd, like a lion surveying its territory, and he uttered, "Those who started this trouble, step forward and face military law." Then he turned to leave.

He was too busy to spend more time and energy dealing with gossip in the military.

Before leaving, he glanced at Zhan Xian one last time. When his eyes met her stubborn and unyielding gaze, he was the first to give in. With a hint of gentleness mixed with helplessness, he said, "The cookhouse has prepared ginger soup. Go and have some."