Chapter 131: The Warrior’s Triumph, Strategic Winning Over Hearts

The Prince of Anyang’s manor had always been a gathering place for noble youths in Beijing, and on this day, the archery competition held in the training ground behind the manor was particularly lively. Among the twenty or so participants, though there weren’t as many young marquises and lords as in Nanjing, most of the military officers accompanying Prince Zhao were distinguished heroes and meritorious officials. The oldest of these young nobles was around twenty-five or twenty-six, while the youngest was only twelve or thirteen. They grouped together in small circles, filling the area with lively chatter.

However, despite it being an archery competition, few of the nobles were truly skilled archers. Many were amateurs like Zhang Yue—bragging loudly from the sidelines but failing miserably once it was time to shoot. Zhang Yue had thought his skills were rather poor, but he still managed to hit the target with each shot, one of them even hitting the center ring. Seeing this, Meng Fan and Meng Tao cheered loudly, and even Prince Zhu Zhanhun of Anyang gave a nod of approval. Zhang Yue, however, felt ashamed.

If his elder brother Zhang Chao were here, wouldn’t the place be filled with praise?

After a round of shooting by the descendants of heroes, it was their personal retainers’ turn. Unlike the young nobles, these men had honed their skills on the battlefield, using powerful bows. Nine out of ten of their shots hit the center ring. Since they were competing to bring honor to their masters, they offered generous rewards, so everyone gave it their all.

Zhang Yue had been forced to come by Meng Fan and Meng Tao, so he didn’t bring any archery equipment. Prince Zhu Zhanhun generously lent him a complete set. When it was Peng Shisan’s turn, he casually picked up the bow and drew it back to form a full moon shape. With a snap, the bowstring broke.

After a moment of shock, Zhu Zhanhun immediately stood up and praised loudly, “What strength! Someone, go to the storage and bring a stronger bow!”

The previously indifferent noble youths now turned their attention as well. Those who didn’t know him began to inquire around. Since few recognized Zhang Yue, and seeing Zhu Zhanhun personally send someone over, most shook their heads, unsure who Peng Shisan was. After much questioning, one of the retainers finally recognized him.

“That must be one of the retainers from the Duke of Yingguo’s household.”

The mention of “Duke of Britain” immediately caused quite a stir. Everyone knew the Duke had been ill for a long time. Since it was the Duke’s personal guards who appeared now, couldn’t the master be the Duke’s nephews or cousins? A few well-informed people discussed it among themselves and quickly figured out who Zhang Yue was, so they gathered around him with smiles.

At Zhu Zhanhuan’s command, several powerful bows were brought forward. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Peng Shisan remained calm and composed. After testing each bow one by one, he picked up a three-stone strong bow and strode forward. Among the noble youths, many loved martial arts, but few were diligent enough to master them. Someone like Zhang Chao, who could draw a two-stone strong bow, was already considered extremely skilled, so everyone’s eyes shone with admiration. Even Meng Fan and Meng Tao stood up involuntarily, while Zhang Yue remained seated, calm and composed.

After all, he had trained in martial arts with Peng Shisan for three years, so he knew exactly how skilled his rival was. Drawing a three-stone strong bow required monstrous strength, but for Peng Shisan, it was no problem.

At this moment, even the servants around the training ground peered in curiosity, not to mention those noble youths who didn’t even blink. Under the gazes of countless people, Peng Shisan grabbed an arrow, nocked it on the bowstring, and then roared, “Fire!”

The area was already silent, so this thunderous shout stunned several servants nearby, leaving them dizzy. A few twelve- or thirteen-year-old boys quickly covered their ears. Yet no one missed the sight of the bow full like a moon and the arrow flying like a meteor. It seemed as soon as the arrow was released, it vanished instantly into the center of the distant target.

“Fire!”

Another shout, and Peng Shisan shot another arrow, followed by a third and fourth. In one go, he fired five arrows, all of which hit the target perfectly. Only then did he put down the strong bow, turn around, and bow before Zhang Yue, saying, “I’ve fulfilled my mission!”

Seeing Peng Shisan approach, Zhang Yue stood up and smiled. “Old Peng, your archery skills are still as excellent as before! Using up half a bag of arrows without breaking a sweat—truly divine strength and aim!”

It wasn’t until Zhang Yue spoke that the crowd realized what had happened, and they all cheered loudly, ignoring any differences in status. The founding of the dynasty was not yet far away, the Jingnan Campaign had only been over a decade ago, and military campaigns in the north and south were frequent. Though these noble youths might not possess invincible courage, they still revered heroes.

Seeing this, Zhu Zhanhuan clapped his hands vigorously. A servant who had been prepared in advance quickly stepped forward, holding a brocade robe in both hands. He strode forward, took the robe, shook it, and personally draped it over Peng Shisan’s shoulders.
“A warrior like this truly deserves such a brocade robe!” he said with a kind expression on his face. After praising him highly, he sighed, “I’ve long heard that the Duke of Yingguo has eight great generals who fought alongside him during the Jingnan Campaign and later in the campaigns against Jiaozhi. Indeed, they are extraordinary! Some time ago, I heard that the Prince of Hengshan caused a ruckus at the Duke of Yingguo’s residence and injured one of the Peng family generals—presumably you! The prince is young and impulsive. Today, I’ll apologize on his behalf. Here, bring fifty taels of gold!”
Unexpectedly, Prince Anyang Zhu Zhanhuan brought up those old events. Zhang Yue was stunned for a moment before sneering inwardly. As expected, even with the tempting reward of fifty taels of gold, Peng Shisan remained respectful but showed little joy. On the contrary, the noble youths around him started to make noise, and those who were close to Zhu Zhanhuan asked about those past events. Upon hearing that the Prince of Hengshan had been flogged twenty times, everyone exchanged glances, growing even more uneasy.
With Peng Shisan’s extraordinary archery skills as a benchmark, the subsequent archery competition was hardly impressive. Even if other generals could hit their targets every time, it wasn’t very remarkable. After all, such precision in archery would make someone at least a thousandth-in-command in the army—a talent no ordinary military officer could afford. So, when the event ended, many people approached Zhang Yue to strike up conversations, though their eyes were all fixed on Peng Shisan.
Meng Fan and Meng Tao, however, lacked such ulterior motives. They had overheard their father and uncle’s conversation one day and already considered Zhang Yue part of the family. Having just witnessed Peng Shisan’s amazing skills, they were genuinely happy for their future brother-in-law. Now, standing flanking Zhang Yue, they acted like his right-hand men.
With so many chatterers around, Zhu Zhanhuan didn’t say much when it was time to leave. He simply smiled and invited Zhang Yue to visit often in the future. It wasn’t until all the guests had left and the servants began cleaning the training ground that he summoned two strong servants and ordered in a deep voice, “Bring over the targets Peng Shisan shot at. I want to take a close look!”

Having received Zhu Zhanhuan’s earlier signal, the targets used in that previous shooting session had already been set aside. Hearing their master speak, the two strong servants immediately retrieved the targets and carefully carried them forward. After glancing at their master’s expression, they quietly stepped back. Meanwhile, a middle-aged man in a green robe rushed over to Zhu Zhanhuan’s side.

Zhu Zhanhuan examined the targets closely. Not only were all the arrows aimed straight at the center, but they were also packed tightly together, with the last arrow, especially powerful, pressing firmly among the other four—truly a masterful feat. He was highly impressed. If it were anyone else, he could surely find a way to obtain such things, but since they belonged to Zhang Fu, the Duke of Ying, he could only envy them. Moreover, it was a time of peace; although warriors were useful, those who did not lead troops were still the most valuable.

“Have you found out what I asked you to investigate?”

“Your Highness, I went to great lengths and finally managed to get some information from a thousandth officer in the Jinyiwei’s Beizhenfu Department. It seems there are some leads regarding the person who first reported Zhang Yue. The Jinyiwei commander, Yuan Fang, went to see the emperor once, and after that, the matter was dropped, as if they gave up on it. That officer also said that once, when visiting Commander Yuan, he faintly heard the word ‘Han’ outside.”

“Han?” Zhu Zhanhuan curled his lips slightly before sneering, “Those Jinyiwei really know how to investigate randomly. They even traced such a trivial matter back to the Prince of Han. Ignore them. After all, this Beijing has been under my father’s management for many years. Even the Jinyiwei aren’t as well-informed as us. My father is busy flattering the emperor, and my elder brother is not in good health. I’ll take care of the rest of these matters for them. Give orders that no one, under any circumstances, should act recklessly during the emperor’s northern tour in Beijing. Otherwise, I’ll skin them!”

The middle-aged man in green hurriedly agreed and then cautiously asked, “When I came here just now, Lady Liu asked if there were any vacant positions in your household, saying her relative was currently in dire straits and wanted to find a job. I thought since the servants in the prince’s household are under lifelong contracts, it would be difficult to make a decision, so I thought I’d ask Your Highness for guidance.”

Mentioning his wet nurse Liu’s relative made Zhu Zhanhuan think of Zhang Yue and Meng Min’s earlier actions, and he couldn’t help but laugh. Judging from Meng Min’s behavior, it seemed she had a deep understanding with Zhang Yue—perhaps their marriage was already almost certain.

Calming himself down, he waved his hand nonchalantly and said, “Since she’s a relative of Mother Liu, just assign her any easy task—there’s no need to stick strictly to formal contracts. By the way, send someone to check later whether the fourth daughter from the Princess’s household has left. If not, ask her to stay a while longer; I still have questions for her.”

He certainly didn’t care about the wet nurse’s poor relatives. He simply thought Zhang Yue wasn’t being overly kind-hearted—both sides must know each other. If they did, he might be able to gather some information, which could prove useful in the future. Whether to compete or not was a decision for those around the king; it shouldn’t concern him, especially since he was different from Prince Hengshan, Zhu Zhanqi.

He did have a crown prince above him, but his crown prince was his elder brother by blood, and he was in poor health. It was possible that he would inherit the title of Prince Zhao in the future. While it might be too conservative to aim only for avoiding mistakes rather than achieving success, being reckless and hasty like Zhu Zhanqi was pointless. Yet some matters, when explored in detail, seemed to hold a bit of interest—the Jinyiwei wasn’t omnipotent either; sometimes they too made mistakes.