Chapter 112: Peace and Silk
"Brother Su, you-you-you..." Xu Zifeng was so surprised that he couldn't even speak.
Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "I learned a little bit at the county school."
Meng Ting was also stunned and said, "Is this something you can learn in the county school? You are so strong?"
This guy was holding a bow and still able to chat with them easily, which showed that he really had strength.
Su Fengzhang smiled but said nothing. Instead, Su Arong said proudly, "My Erlang has been very strong since he was young. When he was in the county school, he always ranked first in riding and archery. The teacher at that time even wanted him to take the military examination."
Xu Zifeng laughed heartily: "Brother Su, we underestimated you."
"But He Jun comes from a family with a rich history of archery and horse riding. I'm afraid your chances of winning the competition are slim."
Su Arong said unhappily, "Erlang practices all the time, going up the mountain to shoot arrows every morning. Maybe He Jun is no match for him."
This statement was a bit exaggerated. Su Fengzhang did get up every morning for a run and practice archery on the hilltop, but the daily practice time was not too long.
Just now he encouraged He Jun to increase the distance, which required using a heavy bow, taking the distance into consideration, and hitting the flag on the mast. This tested more than just archery talent.
At this time, they also need to compete in strength, eyesight, and even luck.
Su Fengzhang relied not only on the half-baked skills he learned in the county school, but also on his body which had been strengthened by the spiritual spring water over the years.
As far as vision is concerned, Su Fengzhang has an absolute advantage. After all, ordinary human eyes cannot see the flag on the opposite mast clearly and accurately from a hundred meters away.
On the surface, it seems that He Jun has the advantage in this competition, but in fact, Su Fengzhang is the one with the advantage. This is because he has the golden finger accumulated over time.
Here, Xu Zifeng and Meng Ting regained their spirits and even hoped that Su Fengzhang would make a decisive move.
On the other side, He Jun also looked very interested: "Tsk, do you think that pretty boy can draw a bow?"
The person standing next to him raised an eyebrow and said bluntly, "I think you will be careless and lose the battle."
He Jun didn't expect to hear this, and subconsciously turned to look at the people around him, and asked: "Hey, what do you mean, do you think the guy opposite is better than me? Just look at that little chicken's figure, do you believe that I can beat him with one hand?"
The person next to him laughed and said, "You can't draw a bow with one hand."
"I'm just giving you an example. Do you understand?" He Jun said angrily.
Suddenly he glanced at the person next to him and asked curiously, "Cousin, do you know that guy? Otherwise, with your personality, you would never easily take a fancy to someone."
The person standing next to him looked into the distance. Even though the distance between the two ships was more than a hundred meters, he felt that Su Fengzhang opposite seemed to recognize him.
The Fifth Prince, who had dealt with Su Fengzhang in Qingzhou Prefecture before, raised his eyebrows slightly and said something meaningful: "I do know him. I don't know much else, but this Su Fengzhang is a man of his own plans and not the reckless type."
"Now that you say that, I'm even more interested." He Jun laughed.
The Fifth Prince responded by patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Keep going, or you'll be the one to be embarrassed."
He Jun said nonchalantly, "What's there to be afraid of when it comes to embarrassment? I'm used to it."
The Fifth Prince didn't understand him and asked, "I understand that you hate the Xu family, but why go looking for trouble with Xu Zifeng? Winning is useless, and losing is even more embarrassing. It's a thankless task no matter how you look at it."
He Jun said, "Of course you don't understand. I'm happy when I can make the Xu family uncomfortable, and I feel bad when I see them happy."
The Fifth Prince also knew the grudges between He Jun and the Xu family, and said calmly: "Forget it, whatever you like."
No matter how big a mess he gets into, his good father, the emperor, will always take sides. Why are those people in the capital afraid of He Jun? Isn't it because this guy acts so domineeringly and has the emperor standing behind him?
When He Jun saw that they were almost close, he glanced at his subordinates, and someone struck the gongs and drums on the boat to signal them.
Su Fengzhang stood at the bow of the ship and got into position.
He Jun took a look from a distance and said, "Oh, it's really him. I thought Xu Zifeng would cheat and replace him with another guard to compete with me. That way he would have a better chance of winning."
At the last drum beat, He Jun quickly released the bow in his hand, and an arrow flew out, heading towards the opponent's mast. However, unexpectedly, the arrow was only halfway there before it was hit by another arrow and broke into two pieces.
The arrow came through the air, and after piercing He Jun's, it continued to move forward and hit their mast at an angle. It was still quite a distance away from the original target flag, but it still hit!
At this time, the arrow that He Jun had just shot had fallen on the water between the two boats. The arrow head sank into the water, while the other half with the tail feathers was floating in the water.
He Jun's expression suddenly changed, and he was unable to recover for a moment before pulling out the second time.
At this time, Su Fengzhang's second and third arrows had arrived in succession. It could be seen that his archery skills were actually average. Although they all hit the mast, they did not hit the flag. The third arrow, which was the closest, was still a hand's distance away from the flag.
After the quick shooting, perhaps seeing that there was no movement on this side, there was a gong banging on the other side to urge them on.
The fifth prince reached out and patted his cousin, reminding him, "Go on."
He Jun took a deep breath, picked up the bow and shot two arrows. His archery was extremely accurate. The two arrows hit the flag one after the other, and the distance between the two arrows was only a few millimeters.
Even so, He Jun's expression did not ease, but became even gloomier.
Seeing the enemy ship approaching, the Fifth Prince patted him on the shoulder and walked back to the cabin, obviously not intending to let Xu Zifeng and others discover his presence.
When Xu Zifeng's boat approached here, He Jun's face was gloomy and his eyes were extremely fierce, which made people feel uneasy.
Xu Zifeng, who was approaching, felt uneasy, fearing that he would explode, but he still summoned up the courage to shout, "Prince Xi, how about we settle the score?"
He Jun threw the bow and arrow in his hand to the servant, without even looking at Xu Zifeng, but instead stared at Su Fengzhang.
At this time, Su Fengzhang was still holding the bow and arrow in his hand. He usually looked a little weak, but now he stood upright with the bow and arrow in his hand, which made him look more heroic.
Xu Zifeng was afraid that He Jun would get angry after losing, so he shouted loudly, "What do you think, Prince Xi?"
He Jun suddenly smiled, sweeping away the gloom from before. He said with a smile, "You're quite good. This is the first time someone dared to break my arrow."
Su Fengzhang replied: "It's just a coincidence."
It was indeed a coincidence. He initially shot at the arrow hoping to influence the progress of the bow and arrow and increase his chances of winning. Who would have expected that the power of this heavy bow was so great that it directly broke the arrow.
"This kind of coincidence isn't something that ordinary people can have." He Jun raised his eyebrows and said, "Alright, there's no need to let people see the distance. You hit three arrows, and I only hit two. Naturally, you win and I lose."
He admitted defeat so cleanly and neatly that Xu Zifeng on the opposite side was a little uncomfortable. He even whispered, "Why did he admit defeat so quickly? Is there any other trick up his sleeve?"
Unexpectedly, He Jun on the opposite side said calmly: "In that case, this matter ends here. It was my rashness to greet Master Xu by shooting an arrow at the beginning. Master Xu, please don't take it to heart. If you complain to others, I will be very distressed."
The corner of Xu Zifeng's mouth twitched. Was this an apology? It sounded more like a provocation.
However, after a series of events, Xu Zifeng didn't want to continue to argue. He knew that if he continued to argue, he would definitely be the loser. He could only say angrily, "It's good that Prince Xi knows."
He Jun raised his eyebrows, not paying attention to his sarcasm, but smiling at Su Fengzhang: "You are the first scholar I have ever seen who can exert his strength. You are quite like Taizu."
This refers to the period of Taizu T, when military power was emphasized over civil officials. At that time, everyone in the court was a soldier, and both civil officials and military generals were capable. There were countless civil officials who were good at riding and shooting, and fights between civil officials and military generals in the court also occurred from time to time.
But now, a hundred years have passed, and the Zhou Dynasty has become more and more focused on culture than military affairs. The current emperor is a man of elegance and refinement. The literati in the court, forgot about riding and shooting, and they all want to put on rouge and makeup to please the emperor.
He Jun hated the kind of scholars who were weak and powerless the most. When he saw Su Fengzhang for the first time, he thought he was the same. Especially since this man was extremely handsome and beautiful, exactly the type favored by the emperor, he disliked him even more.
Now, after comparing them, he found that this one only looked thin, but was actually a very strong man. He Jun liked him a little more in his heart, thinking that one cannot judge a person by his appearance.
Su Fengzhang just laughed and said, "I was born in a farming family, so I only have strength."
He Jun raised his eyebrows, glanced at Xu Zifeng beside him, and suddenly suggested: "If you are sure you want to follow the Xu family, why not come to my boat, and we can spar from time to time."
Xu Zifeng's face darkened again. He grabbed Su Fengzhang and said, "Don't go. He Jun is a moody person. Who knows what's going on with him?"
Meng Ting also said: "Yes, Brother Su, that guy is even more arrogant than me. Wouldn't he be wronged if he went there?"
Su Fengzhang said helplessly: "What are you thinking? I'm not taking the military examination, so of course I won't go."
After saying this, he also refused loudly: "Thank you for your kindness, Prince Xi, but I am here to discuss poetry with a few friends, so I don't want to disturb you."
"Have you thought it through?" He Jun pointedly reminded, "If you come over and make me happy, it's not impossible for you to see the emperor. It's much better than studying hard."
This was somewhat insulting, so Su Fengzhang simply smiled and replied, "I still find poetry more interesting."
"That's all fine, but I advise you to read less pedantic books, so as not to become a blockhead and annoying others." After saying this, He Jun ignored them and turned around to go to the cabin.
Su Fengzhang didn't think much of it, but Xu Zifeng and Meng Ting were extremely angry. In the following itinerary, sitting and scolding He Jun became a daily compulsory course for the two of them, and it appeared more often than the Four Books and Five Classics.
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