xymnovel Chapter 1105: Mounted Archery
Chapter 1105: Mounted Archery
The Duke has always trained the cavalry this way.After all, during battles, cavalrymen are constantly moving, and the enemy is also constantly moving.
This is much harder than standing still and shooting at fixed targets.
In the past, the Liao people from the grasslands, skilled in archery, could shoot geese in the sky while riding on horseback.
The founding emperor of Great Chu couldn’t defeat the Liao cavalry, which is why he never captured the Youyun Sixteen Prefectures.
Though Great Chu’s cavalry were few, the Duke has put in great effort to train them.
Soon, soldiers led the horses out onto the parade ground.
There were several horses, fully armored, with no riders on them, only a straw dummy fixed on the saddles.
The dummy, dressed in armor like a soldier, swayed in the saddle.
The Emperor asked the Duke again, "How many are competing in mounted archery?"
The Duke replied, "Only the cavalry are competing in mounted archery, each hundred-man unit selects one outstanding individual to compete."
Just as they were speaking, the first batch of ten cavalrymen entered the field.
All ten cavalrymen had quivers on their backs, and the arrows inside their quivers were already wrapped in various colored threads for distinction.
Seeing that the men and horses were in place, the commanding officer fiercely waved the flag, and the soldiers leading the horses whipped the horses’ rumps, and several horses started running in the parade ground.
The eager cavalrymen then spurred their horses into the field, one by one bending bows and nocking arrows.
Feathers and arrows flew chaotically across the field.
The Emperor watched with excitement as well as concern, "Will they not shoot their own men?"
The Duke smiled wryly, "Your Majesty, the battlefield is only more chaotic than here. It doesn’t mean they won’t shoot their own men. If that happens, it’s just bad luck."
The Emperor suddenly pointed at a cavalryman below, "This young man is good, not only is his riding excellent, but I just saw he’s already hit several arrows."
The Duke looked over, the cavalryman turned his horse to run in that direction, but it was unclear who he was.
His gaze followed the person, focused for a while, recognized the horse under the cavalryman; though the horse was armored, its four light-golden legs were quite noticeable.
He whispered to the Emperor, "That was Lin Ziqi, General Lin’s son."
The Emperor raised an eyebrow, "No wonder this young man is so outstanding, indeed the tiger father and no dog son!"
He laughed heartily, "Very good, very good! Our Great Chu has successors!"
Qi Er rode the perspiring blood horse galloping in the field, the horse was very intelligent, he only needed to slightly brush his toes against the horse’s belly for it to go in the direction he wanted.
From a young age, Qi Er practiced with iron horses, which made his lower body stable and his hands steady.
He shot an arrow, hitting the center between the dummy’s eyes.
At this moment, Qi Er was close to the platform, the Emperor saw the arrow hit the dummy’s face clearly, unable to resist clapping, "Good!"
Qi Er, undistracted, rode the horse in a circle, fired another arrow from his hand.
Soon, the time for half an incense stick had passed, and the first round of the competition was over.
The soldiers pulled out the arrows from the horses, and the secretary began tallying nearby.
Though there were ten people on the field, the time was short, and the dummies were armored, so not many arrows hit them.
After the first round was tallied, the second round quickly began.
The Emperor sat on the platform, his body couldn’t help but lean slightly forward.
The third round, You Er came out.
The black horse wore only a layer of leather armor, without heavy armor, which was because You Er felt sorry for the horse and spent his own money to have it made.
The weight on the horse being lighter, the speed advantage of the perspiring blood horse was fully utilized; You Er rode the horse in the parade field, like a black lightning bolt, very eye-catching.