11 is a disgrace to the Great Liang.
"Let the 100,000 Black Flag soldiers fight on empty stomachs."
Wei Xun snorted coldly and stood fifty paces away.
Everyone present was excited as they watched Wei Xun prepare to take action himself.
They knew Wei Xun's abilities and all thought Xu Youcai was bound to lose this time.
“Wait,” Xiao Pingchuan called out to the two again, “General Wei, as the commander of a battalion, starting from fifty paces would be beneath you. Let’s start from one hundred paces. As for the wager, how about ten thousand taels per round?”
Ten thousand per game, even in the Cangshuang Tower, is considered high.
But Wei Xun was certain he couldn't lose, so he nodded in agreement.
To everyone's surprise, Xiao Pingchuan immediately followed up with two words: "Gold, General, do you dare?"
One tael of gold can be exchanged for about ten taels of silver. Ten thousand taels of gold is equivalent to one hundred thousand taels of silver, which would solve the problem of a month's worth of military rations.
Wei Xun's face twitched, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Gold it is."
Xiao Pingchuan's expression softened for once. "Then let's begin."
These people, who had lived in a prosperous land for a long time, did not know that the banks of the Shule River in the north were covered in yellow sand all year round. Over the years, almost everyone in the army had mastered a unique skill: shooting arrows with their eyes closed.
So let alone a hundred steps, even fifty more steps wouldn't be a problem.
Of course, a stride of one hundred paces is already difficult for the average person, and the target is almost the size of an arrow tip. In this situation, most people can't even see the target clearly, let alone hit the bullseye.
Xu Youcai and Wei Xun stepped back and stood a hundred paces away.
At this moment, everyone held their breath.
Wei Xun fired first, drawing his bow, nocking the arrow, aiming, and charging...
With a "bang," the arrow hit the bullseye.
"Wow!" The crowd exclaimed in surprise, then cheered.
As expected of the general of the Jishe Battalion and the sharpshooter of the central army, everyone felt proud and looked at Xiao Pingchuan with provocation in their eyes.
"General Xiao, I advise you to stop while you're ahead. Ten thousand taels of gold is no small sum."
"That's right, even if you sold your dilapidated general's mansion, you might not be able to get ten thousand taels of gold."
Everyone laughed.
Xiao Pingchuan crossed his arms and gently flicked his finger at Xu Youcai.
With a "thud," Xu Youcai's arrow was easily shot out, hitting the bullseye and even piercing through the target.
Everyone fell silent instantly.
Then, Xu Youcai fired two arrows in quick succession, each one piercing the center of the target.
He then stepped aside and gestured for Wei Xun to shoot his two arrows.
Wei Xun swallowed hard, picked up his bow, stood behind the line, aimed intently for a long time, and finally shot the arrow, hitting the bullseye.
The score is now tied.
Xiao Pingchuan waved his hand and said, "Continue."
Xu Youcai chuckled and said to Wei Xun, "This round has 101 moves, and the bet is 20,000 taels of gold."
Without even aiming, he drew his bow and shot three arrows in quick succession. Then, smiling, he cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your patronage."
All three arrows hit the bullseye.
Wei Xun felt a chill run down his spine. He felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
He steeled himself, took a step back, and the target became smaller. He squinted, nocked the arrow, took a deep breath, and shot it, hitting the bullseye.
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
During military training, although we practiced the 100-step marching distance, it wasn't practiced very often.
He could only practice up to 103 steps at most; any further and the arrows would be difficult to control.
The second arrow hit the bullseye.
On his third arrow, his palms were slightly sweaty, but he still managed to hit the bullseye.
Xu Youcai started the third round with a grin, 102 moves.
“This time, General Wei, please go first,” he said.
Wei Xun gritted his teeth and took another step back, this time taking longer to aim than before.
Just as the arrow was about to be released, Xiao Pingchuan suddenly called out, "I have not yet experienced General Wei's archery skills. How about I spar with you later?"
Wei Xun breathed a sigh of relief. "General Xiao, please."
He only knew that Xiao Pingchuan was good at using a heavy sword, but he had never heard of his archery skills, so he thought he could get the better of him.
“Since we are both commanders of an army, a wager of only 30,000 gold coins is rather stingy,” Xiao Pingchuan said calmly. “Why not double it?”
Everyone present was now in an uproar. Sixty thousand gold coins for a single bet—this was a stake that Cang Shuang Lou had never seen before.
Wei Xun wasn't stupid; even a marquis's mansion would have a hard time coming up with 60,000 gold coins all at once.
Moreover, one hundred and two steps was already a stretch for him.
"Sixty thousand gold coins for a single round, General Xiao, you have quite the audacity," Wei Xun said. "Or perhaps," he suddenly realized, "you're using the arrow-betting as a pretext to raise funds for the army..."
Thinking of this, Wei Xun was even less willing to gamble with him.
“I give up,” he said immediately.
Xiao Pingchuan clicked his tongue lightly and said patiently, "Since I said I'd start the game, you have to gamble whether you want to or not."
Wei Xun frowned. "This is the capital, Xiao Pingchuan!"
“I know,” Xiao Pingchuan snapped his fingers at Xu Youcai, signaling him to come over. “Sixty thousand gold coins a game is indeed a bit expensive. How about this, sixty thousand gold coins for your life. General Wei’s life should be worth sixty thousand gold coins, right?”
These words caused an uproar in the building.
Wei Xun's face darkened, and he said unhappily, "I am a general of the Central Army and the young master of the Marquis of Anping. I advise you to consider your own weight before you speak."
Xiao Pingchuan made a shushing gesture, then gave Xu Youcai a gesture that no one else could understand.
Xu Youcai let out a strange laugh, walked to the window, tore off the gauze curtain, twisted it into a rope, and approached Wei Xun step by step.
"What are you going to do!" Wei Xun retreated defensively.
Xu Youcai pounced on him forcefully, quickly tied his hands and feet, placed him on a chair, and then moved him and the chair behind the target.
Xiao Pingchuan, carrying a bow and arrow, stepped forward and said to Wei Xun through the target, "I will shoot three arrows blindfolded from 150 paces away. If the young master is lucky enough to survive without dying or being injured, then 60,000 gold coins will be mine; if the young master unfortunately dies, then I will compensate the Marquis of Anping's mansion with 60,000 gold coins."
The reason it is said to be 150 steps is because the widest part of the second floor of Cangshuang Tower is only about 160 steps.
"Xiao Pingchuan, you've gone mad!" Wei Xun struggled to get up.
If he had been hoping that Xiao Pingchuan wouldn't go too far, he now completely regretted it; the man in front of him was a madman.
“Wei Xun, your Wei family has repeatedly provoked me. Have you forgotten that I have no less than a thousand lives on my hands?” He lowered his eyes and turned the bone ring on his thumb, saying to Xu Youcai, “Keep an eye on him. If anyone dares to step forward and release him, break their hand.”
After speaking, he glanced around and saw that everyone was lowering their heads to avoid his gaze. He smiled with satisfaction and retreated step by step to a point of 150 paces.
At this moment, the entire second floor was silent, except for Wei Xun, who was tied behind the target and panting heavily.
Xiao Pingchuan stood still, holding a bow and arrow in one hand, and then bit open the wristband on his other hand, quickly blindfolding himself.
As he covered his eyes with a black cloth, his aura instantly became sharp, like a drawn sword.
Just then, the crowd suddenly parted in the middle, and Shen Suqin, who had been there for an unknown amount of time, walked towards Xiao Pingchuan.
If Xiao Pingchuan hadn't been blindfolded, he would have seen Shen Suqin, dressed in a plain white robe, standing out against the luxurious and decadent backdrop, as ethereal as a wisp of mist deep in an early winter forest.
Xu Youcai stared blankly as Miss Shen walked behind the general, tiptoed, and untied the wristband from the back of his head.
Xiao Pingchuan grabbed one of the mischievous hands with his other hand, but the smooth and soft touch startled him so much that he immediately let go.
The next moment, a plain white handkerchief was placed over her eyes, and a soft, cold voice slowly said from behind, "Husband, please don't hold back."
Xiao Pingchuan was terrified, and his fingers gripping the bow and arrow tightened suddenly.
He knew who it was!
After hesitating for a moment, he pulled off the handkerchief and turned to look.
Shen Suqin took a half step back. The person in front of her was a size bigger than her, with a burning gaze and an imposing aura that she found hard to bear.
"You shouldn't have come to this place."
Almost everyone on the field had their eyes glued to Shen Suqin, which made Xiao Pingchuan's tone lower.
Shen Suqin smiled and said to him in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "I know why the general came tonight. It is a disgrace to the Great Liang to make 100,000 Black Flag soldiers fight on an empty stomach."
In fact, after Xiao Pingchuan announced the exorbitant gambling amount, everyone present realized that he was there to raise funds for the military.
So after Wei Xun exposed him, no one stepped forward to stop him.
However, some people will inevitably look down on Xiao Pingchuan, thinking that it is somewhat shameful for a first-rank general to have to rely on such means to support his subordinates.
By now, the two were very close, so close that Xiao Pingchuan could touch the top of her head with just a slight tilt of his head. Her hair was smooth, black, and shiny, like the most expensive and finest silk, and it smelled wonderful.
He took a deep breath, and for some reason his eyes felt hot.
"you......"
He couldn't help but reach out to hug them. No one had ever said those words to him before. For so many years, hundreds of thousands of brothers had weighed on his shoulders, and he hadn't dared to stop for a moment. The Shatuo were watching him like tigers, and Jinzhou was littered with starving corpses. He himself was barely twenty years old.
Shen Suqin had no idea about any of this. She pushed him away two steps by pressing against his chest and raised her voice, saying, "I'm just here to tell you that 300,000 shi of millet as dowry will arrive at the Shule River soon. I will help you solve the problem of military provisions. Tonight, General, you just need to have fun and enjoy yourself."
Even Xiao Pingchuan, who was usually very composed, was so surprised that his eyes widened slightly at this moment.
"Trust me, I never lie." Shen Suqin smiled gently. "Go, let them see the abilities of the commander of 100,000 troops."
Xiao Pingchuan looked at her intently for a long time before replying with a single word: "Okay."
He handed the handkerchief back to Shen Suqin, turned around and bent over halfway, without saying a word, waiting for the person to blindfold him again.
Shen Suqin tiptoed and gently placed her fair fingers over his eyes. Through the veil, Xiao Pingchuan could feel the warmth of her fingers.
After blindfolding him, Shen Suqin grabbed one of his fingers and led him towards the target.
The finger on his hand was large and rough, covered in calluses, and didn't look like the hand of someone in their twenties at all.
With darkness before him, Xiao Pingchuan struggled to discern Wei Xun's rapid breathing amidst the cacophony of sounds.
But the soft, gentle breathing beside me always comes uninvited, like the morning breeze, brushing against my fingers and ears...
"Whoosh!"
The arrow was shot out, leaving only a blur in the air. In an instant, the arrow hit the target, the entire arrow disappearing into the bullseye, the tip stopping just in front of Wei Xun's nose.
Then came the second arrow, and the third arrow.
Every arrow hit the target, not a single one missed.
Wei Xun was so frightened that he slumped in his chair, leaning back as far as he could, his eyes tightly shut.
Originally, Shen Suqin just watched indifferently, as it was none of her business.
But after a few sharp arrows, she suddenly realized that the general who was rumored to be guarding the northern border of Daliang was the same person in front of her.
There are many stories about the Black Flag Army, and many stories about Xiao Pingchuan. Legends say he possessed the strength to lift a cauldron and shoot an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces away; that he killed without blinking an eye and promoted the virtuous without regard to kinship; that he was rude, vicious, and covered in poisonous sores...
The man standing here is clearly upright and has an extraordinary presence.
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