The officer looked at the bow and said, "If you bring your own bow, you have to weigh it on the spot. May I ask, young master, how big is your bow?"
"Two stone and five dou." Gao Yanei answered quickly.
The officer opened his mouth in surprise, seemingly in disbelief.
Gao Yanei was even more proud and kicked him, "You thief, why are you opening your mouth so wide? Hurry up and take my brother over to be weighed."
"Oh!" The officer bowed slightly and said respectfully to Zhang Shixun, "Brave man, please follow me."
Zhang Shixun came to the front of the stage with him, holding a bow. The officer said, "Wait a moment," and went to the stage to report to the three examiners.
The noise was so loud that Zhang Shixun couldn't hear what he was saying.
After listening to the officer's report, the three examiners looked towards the stage together.
"Examiner, please come up to the stage for questioning." The officer ran off the stage and said to Zhang Shixun.
"Why do you ask my brother to go on stage?" Gao Yanei was worried and followed.
The officer smiled broadly, "The examiners heard that this prince wants to use a 2.5-stone bow, and they wanted to see it in person."
"Oh!" Gao Yanei looked towards the stage and said, "Let them watch. They've never seen a hero like my brother. It would be good to let them see for themselves."
Zhang Shixun followed the officer onto the stage, bowed with dignity, and said, "Greetings, officers."
This was his first time dealing with officials since arriving in the Song Dynasty, and he felt a little reserved.
"I heard that you plan to use a 2.5-stone bow today?" the civil servant in the middle asked gently.
"Sir, I'm using a 2.5-stone bow."
"Is that the bow you are holding in your hand now?" asked a military officer next to him.
"Yes." Zhang Shixun answered, holding the bow in both hands.
"Let me see it." said another military officer.
Zhang Shixun handed him the bow. The military officer looked at it carefully but didn't see anything special.
The button for adjusting the bow force is invisible and unlocked with a fingerprint. Only Zhang Shixun can open it. Of course, the military officer cannot see anything strange about it.
"According to the rules, bows for personal use must be weighed on the spot."
"Since there are rules, let's follow them." Zhang Shixun bowed slightly.
The bow was taken down to be weighed, and the weight was quickly completed, and it was indeed two stone and five dou.
"Zhang Shixun, go down and take the exam seriously, and strive to get the top spot." The civil servant encouraged.
Zhang Shixun bowed and saluted with a respectful attitude. There was no need to criticize his etiquette.
After stepping down from the stage, Gao Yanei asked, "What did they say to you?"
"Just curious, I'm measuring the bow's strength according to the rules." Zhang Shixun glanced at the stage and asked, "What kind of officials are these examiners?"
"The examiner in the middle seems to be surnamed Liu, but I can't remember his name. The two military officers are sent by the Ministry of War to supervise the exam. They are just insignificant officials, so don't pay any attention to them."
He Ji also came over and said, "I know the military officer on the left. He's a clerk in the Ministry of War. He used to be a military officer under my father. Later, I don't know through whom he got a job in the Ministry of War."
Gao Yanei didn't care. "Don't pay attention to these people. My father has already sent someone to inform them. They will obediently select my brother. This is how it works in the officialdom. You use people to your advantage. If they help you with this small favor this time, my father will take care of them in other matters."
He Ji said, "Even if there's no one to help, Master Zhang can still pass the test with his archery and horsemanship in front of everyone."
Gao Yanei squinted his eyes and said, "He Dalang, that's wrong. If there's no one to smooth things over, even if he can pass the martial arts test, he'll still be eliminated in the policy essay test. Do you believe it?"
He Ji was about to say something else when he was interrupted by a loud noise.
In the examination room, the bowstring in the hand of a candidate broke, and the broken string hit his nose, causing nosebleed.
The strong man covered his nose and cried loudly.
"How could this happen?" Zhang Shixun was puzzled. This was a bow prepared by the Ministry of War. It was totally unacceptable for such a thing to happen.
"The bows and arrows have been stored in the warehouse for too long, becoming damp and moldy, making them unusable. Furthermore, the craftsmen cut corners when making them. This kind of thing isn't uncommon at all," He Ji said angrily. "It's practically a common knowledge."
"Is there no one supervising them? This is a major military and national issue. Taking these inferior weapons to the battlefield will lead to major mistakes." Zhang Shixun was a little angry.
"The one supervising them is the Military Equipment Inspectorate. Those idiots are just sitting there doing nothing and don't take it seriously at all." He Ji said.
"So, if something like this happens, no one will be held responsible?"
He Ji nodded. "In the eyes of those court officials, this is nothing at all, so no one will be held responsible."
Zhang Shixun frowned. The fall of a dynasty was caused by many reasons, and corruption was one of the most important reasons. There were too many people and officials were corrupt, and they were complacent and unaware of the dangers.
Although it was an accident that such an incident occurred during the examination, it reflected how negligent the Song Dynasty was in its military preparations.
The injured candidate was helped down, and the remaining candidate also dropped the bow in his hand and withdrew from the exam.
The people watching on the wall booed.
The scene was in chaos and it took a long time before the test started again.
"Zhang Shixun!" an officer shouted loudly, holding a list.
Finally it was Zhang Shixun's turn to play.
"Brother, go ahead and show them what archery is." Gao Yanei began to get excited. He was a man who loved to show off. He thought it was a matter of face that Zhang Shixun could pull a bow weighing more than two stones.
Although Zhang Shixun was not nervous, he subconsciously stood up straight when he heard his name being called and answered loudly: "Here!"
He strode towards the target position.
He Ji looked at his posture of walking with his head held high and chest puffed out, and could not help but praise him: "Young Master Zhang's posture is more imposing than that of a veteran soldier with many years of experience."
Gao Yanei didn't bother to speak and looked at Zhang Shixun in the field with great interest.
He Ji continued, "Gao Yanei, after spending these days together, I still don't know his origins. Shouldn't you tell me a little about his origins?"
"Let's talk about it later. Let's watch him shoot the arrows."
The officer in the field checked Zhang Shixun's name and confirmed that it was correct. He then led him into the field and loudly announced his name, hometown, and the strength of the bow he was using.
When people heard "two stone and five dou", there was an uproar, and exclamations were heard inside and outside the venue.
"Oh my god, a 2 stone 5 dou bow, I've never heard of it before."
"I heard that General He can pull Sanshi's bow!"
“Today really opened my eyes.”
…
Not to mention the surprise of the spectators, the candidate who took the exam at the same time as Zhang Shixun also stopped shooting and stood there waiting to watch Zhang Shixun shoot arrows.
The whole audience was strangely silent, watching him with bated breath.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Zhang Shixun appeared calm and composed. He adjusted the scope, then drew the bow and aimed at the target.
After the cross in the sight is aligned with the target, there is a "beep" sound and the system locks the target.
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