Chapter 548: Nobles Compete in Skills, Civil Officials Battle Wits

The multitude of warriors is truly magnificent—gales sweep miles, scattering dust. Arrows shoot geese, which fall from the clouds; armored arms wield eagles as riders charge forward. Layered cliffs encircle the hunting ground, while flags flutter atop high peaks. Ministers with pens in hand stand at a distance; I, humble and lacking talent, feel ashamed of having nothing to offer in poetry.

Although Jin Youzi’s poem “Poem on Hunting” was not particularly grandiose and could hardly compare to the famous frontier poems of past and present, Zhu Di, who never placed much emphasis on poetry, was quite satisfied with its atmosphere. At that moment, seeing that the dozen or so nobles accompanying him had already entered the shooting range, he called Yang Rong and Jin Youzi forward while sitting on his horse. After glancing around, he summoned Zhang Yue as well.

Since the massive army of 300,000 troops arrived in Kaiping, Zhang Yue had only met the emperor once, along with Marquis Cheng’an Guo Liang and Marquis Xing’an Xu Heng, before being set aside. Fortunately, he enjoyed a leisurely life and took the opportunity during the marches, when no one paid attention to him, to jot down some casual thoughts on horseback, intending to show them to Du Zhen upon returning to the capital for amusement. Thus, he never expected that, though he had been hidden among the crowd unnoticed, the emperor, who seemed to have forgotten about him, would actually see him and call him over in front of so many people.

“Among the generals competing now, who do you think can outshine the others?”

Even though Yang Rong was skilled in military affairs and Jin Youzi proficient in governance, they were stunned by such an absurd question. Zhang Yue could not hide his shock either; he quickly scanned the competitors and began to ponder.

Previously, soldiers competed with three arrows each—those who hit the target all three times received one ox, one sheep, two silver bowls, and two silver ingots. Though the rewards were generous, the open grasslands, with frequent strong winds, made it difficult to shoot accurately. Moreover, since it was mounted archery rather than stationary shooting, only five out of the 30 elite soldiers received rewards. Now, however, the limit was ten arrows, with those hitting more winning. The nobles competing included Duke of Yingguo Zhang Fu, Marquis Anyuan Liu Sheng, Marquis Ningyang Chen Mao, Earl Gongshun Wu Kezhong, Marquis Wu’an Zheng Heng, Marquis Xing’an Xu Heng… a total of over a dozen people. From afar, they all seemed eager and determined to win, but who could guarantee that any one of them would indeed succeed?

Yang Rong knew the emperor must have asked casually on a whim, but he still carefully observed the group of nobles getting ready before speaking, “These generals are all the emperor’s key pillars, and only the emperor knows best their skills in archery. I dare not rashly claim who will win in the end. However, just by looking at their mounts, I think Marquis Anyuan and Marquis Wu’an have the upper hand. One must remember that in archery on horseback, controlling the horse is paramount. Since their mounts remain as steady as a mountain at such times, it shows that their riders are exceptionally skilled in horseback riding.”

Zhang Yue beside him was instantly impressed, thinking that Yang Rong would observe such a trivial matter so carefully—no wonder he was so trusted by Zhu Di. Before he could decide how to respond, Jin Youzi spoke up.

“Your Majesty, although Mianren’s point makes sense, these generals are all experienced warriors, and horseback riding skills are the most fundamental. With the strong wind now, the arrows released will surely waver. Moreover, the ten small flags serving as targets are over eighty steps away and fluttering in the wind. Besides riding skills, accuracy and strength are also crucial. From the previous hunt, Marquis Ningyang’s arrows could pierce through a wild goat. In this archery competition, he is likely to perform excellently.”

At this point, Zhang Yue was completely convinced. Even over such a minor matter, these two scholars of the cabinet would compete to show off their skills—truly astonishing. Seeing Zhu Di’s gaze turn to him, he bowed respectfully and said, “Your Majesty, I believe the Duke of Yingguo will not disappoint you.”

Zhu Di was used to Yang Rong and Jin Youzi scheming against each other, so he merely smiled at their earlier remarks. But when he heard Zhang Yue speak, he raised an eyebrow. “Oh, aren’t you afraid I’ll accuse you of favoring your own side?”

“I am only speaking the truth. I have never seen other dukes or marquises practice martial arts, so I dare not make unfounded judgments about them. But when I stayed at the Duke of Yingguo’s residence before, I saw him practicing in the early morning. There were targets set up in the training ground, and he would shoot from a distance of a hundred steps. He would shoot three bags of arrows before resting, hitting at least nine out of ten times. Although there is strong wind now, skill comes from practice. As a seasoned general, the Duke of Yingguo certainly won’t perform poorly in front of Your Majesty.”

After hearing this explanation, Zhu Di couldn’t help but burst into laughter. He then pointed at Zhang Yue with his riding whip and said, “What honesty! What consistency! You truly have courage! I thought you would try to play tricks, claiming that everyone under my command is a brave warrior, and that any differences in performance were due to excitement in front of the emperor. Well, I’ve noted it—Youzi favors Marquis Anyuan, Mianren favors Marquis Ningyang, and you, Zhang Yue, favor Duke of Yingguo. Come, let’s all step forward to watch how well my generals shoot!”

Since the emperor had come up with various ways to test their skills along the way, the generals all had their own thoughts about this archery competition. Only a small portion remained calm, while some even secretly worried. As they prepared themselves, the imperial carriage suddenly appeared from afar. Even these experienced generals, who were used to leading troops, grew nervous—some checked their bows and arrows, others their mounts. Added to this was the heat, leaving everyone’s faces red.

Peng Shisan, who had taken a different route, was not separated from the others. At that moment, he was right behind Zhang Yue. Seeing Xue Bin, the Marquis of Yongshun, already galloping forward and the competition underway, he stepped closer and whispered, “I once trained in archery with my master, so I know this very well. Young master, just wait and see—my master will surely hit all his targets.”

Zhang Yue had no intention of showing off in such trivial matters, so he simply nodded and smiled slightly. Yet as he watched the young, old, and middle-aged generals draw their bows and shoot, he couldn’t help but think of Zhang Chao and Zhang Qi. Even though he, a civil official, could accompany them on this northern expedition, these two men devoted to martial arts could only stay at home. It was truly as if fate was playing a joke.

Just then, Yang Rong at the front suddenly turned around and said with a smile, “Yuanjie, you’ve been focusing on others just now. Don’t forget about your own master’s remarkable archery skills. Previously, when the Oirats sent envoys, they specifically mentioned someone in Xinghe who killed Arutai’s son, Shiniegan, with a single arrow and brought down the Tartar flag, expressing their fear through that.”

As Zhu Di watched the generals on the field, he suddenly remembered this matter. A smile reappeared on his previously solemn face. “The accounts of what happened earlier vary in everyone’s reports. You did better—simply attributing all the credit to the soldiers’ bravery. Now is a good opportunity; I want to hear the truth, without any concealment. I had forgotten—those warriors from the capital who went with you to Xinghe are also here in the main camp. We can have them confront each other.”

Faced with Yang Rong suddenly bringing up an incident from half a year ago, with such a tone as if speaking in his defense, Zhang Yue felt extremely suspicious. But since the emperor had already asked, he had no choice but to explain everything in detail. When he mentioned that he had aimed his spear at the flag bearer but accidentally hit the Tartar banner, Zhu Di burst into laughter again.

“Good, good! That coincidence is quite clever! It seems that sending you to the Armory Department was indeed the right decision. If not for your frequent visits to the Armaments Bureau, how would you have gained experience using firearms?”

Seeing Yang Rong smiling nearby, Jin Youzi immediately frowned and calmly interjected, “Your Majesty is right. While luck played a role, if the Armory Department hadn’t secretly provided newly made weapons, the Mongols wouldn’t have known that our Ming Dynasty possessed such powerful weapons that could reach four hundred steps away. They surely would have been more cautious.”

Despite being in high spirits, Zhu Di was a shrewd man. Hearing this, he frowned. At that moment, Liu Yongcheng, a eunuch from the Imperial Horse Supervision Bureau, stepped forward and explained with a smile, “I’ve heard about this. When Lord Zhang went to Xuanfu by order of the emperor, wasn’t Lord Lu from the Eastern Depot accompanying him? Well, that young guy from the Armaments Bureau, in an attempt to curry favor, gave Lord Lu two extra boxes of new weapons. Who would have thought it would lead to such remarkable results?”

Was Lu Feng that bold?

Zhu Di instinctively glanced to the side before recalling that, due to certain rumors and to ensure he could keep an eye on everything in the capital at any time, he had ordered Lu Feng to return to the capital to head the Eastern Depot. Although he managed to suppress the matter, much of his good mood vanished. Then Yang Rong changed the topic by mentioning Arutai’s family fleeing north, prompting Zhu Di to sneer coldly.

“Thieves and invaders are masters of deception. Such words cannot be believed. Zhang Yue, your plans with Marquis Wu’an were tolerable before, and I suppressed the censors’ accusations on your behalf. If not for Marquis Wu’an’s reminder, you would have used such a scheme just to catch a few spies. It’s really overreacting—Marquis Wu’an thinks further ahead…”

When Zhang Yue heard Liu Yongcheng complaining, his heart tightened. After all, it had been he who instructed Lu Feng to ask the fat eunuch in the Armaments Department for new firearms. While he pretended to bow his head and listen obediently to the emperor’s orders, feeling somewhat impatient inside, suddenly loud cheers filled the air around him. Startled, he quickly raised his head, only to remember that this might be disrespectful. Fortunately, Zhu Di had already turned around, and everyone else also looked in that direction, so no one paid attention to his minor offense. However, with the emperor and his entourage blocking his view, he could see nothing and could only stand there anxiously. But after a short while, even louder cheers came from that direction, and an official carrying a flag stepped forward to report loudly, allowing him to hear clearly. “Your Majesty, the Duke of Yingguo, Marquis of Anyuan, and Marquis of Ningyang hit all ten targets; Marquis of Wu’an Zheng Heng hit eight out of ten; Lord Yongshun hit seven out of ten; Lord Xing’an Xu Heng also hit seven out of ten… Lord Yingcheng missed all targets, while Marquis of Longping claimed illness and did not participate.” As over a dozen names were read out, Zhu Di’s expression started cheerful but gradually darkened. Upon hearing the last two names, he flew into a rage and snapped, “Though this is just a shooting game, commanding troops relies on archery skills. If they treat it as a child’s play, how can they lead troops? Lord Yingcheng Sun Heng is temporarily removed from command, and Marquis of Longping Zhang Xin is dismissed from his position as governor and must serve in the army!” Zhang Yue, who was behind, had been relieved, but upon hearing Zhu Di’s words, he quickly erased the smile from his face. This emperor was truly capricious—instead of rewarding the winners, he first punished the two unlucky ones… Wait, Lord Yingcheng Sun Heng—wasn’t that Sun Han’s father? Fortunately, after his outburst, Zhu Di remembered that this was a competition with rewards and punishments. He ordered that the Duke of Yingguo Zhang Fu, Marquis of Anyuan Liu Sheng, and Marquis of Ningyang Chen Mao each receive two cattle and sheep, ten pieces of silver, and a pair of gold bowls. Most of these were spoils from battles against the Tatar tribes along the way. The three thanked him one after another. After giving them their rewards, Zhu Di turned to look at Yang Rong, Jin Youzi, and Zhang Yue. “Each of you guessed one person correctly—your eyesight is quite good. Each of you will receive a fine horse as a reward.”

The three of them dismounted together to express their gratitude, and someone then explained to the group of nobles the emperor’s earlier question. The generals suddenly understood, but some were unconvinced, some laughed, and some whispered among themselves. Zhang Fu couldn’t help but smile at Liu Sheng and Chen Mao, who had also received rewards, and said, “Academicians Yang and Jin truly have sharp eyesight, while my nephew relies solely on his past impressions. If I were to fail today by accident, he would also suffer embarrassment along with me.”

Chen Mao, who was already quiet, simply said that the Duke of Ying was humble. Liu Sheng, on the other hand, shrugged nonchalantly and said, “Yang Rong and Jin Youzi are just using us to test their own judgment. But Zhang Yue truly believes in you as his elder—that’s genuine sincerity. After all, as a son or nephew, how could one claim that someone else is better?”

It was nearly evening, time to set up camp. After discussing things for a while, the generals dispersed. Since Yang Rong and Jin Youzi had only brought two attendants on this northern expedition, Zhang Yue didn’t dare to bypass them, so he originally planned to take only Peng Shisan with him, leaving the rest in Kaiping. In the end, Peng Shisan went and talked to Zhang Fu, deciding to leave Lian Sheng and Lian Hu in Kaiping. Thus, most of them became the Duke of Ying’s personal soldiers. Although he was a civil official, since he was appointed by the emperor, his tent was located in the central camp, not far from the imperial tent surrounded by stars. Yet, this was the first time he had been summoned to that imperial tent in so many days.

From the outside, the imperial tent didn’t seem luxurious, but inside it was exquisitely arranged, with tables, chairs, beds, and everything else needed. The floor was covered with thick brown woolen carpets, extremely soft underfoot. It was Zhu Di’s meal time. The eunuchs who accompanied him brought in a small table laden with a variety of dishes—roasted mutton, steamed chicken, goose in pepper vinegar sauce, braised mutton, mutton soup… In short, nothing but meat, along with steamed buns. Zhang Yue, who had been hungry, lost his appetite at the sight of these dishes, as he had eaten too much of them over the past few months.

Zhu Di didn’t have the habit of talking while eating, so after the eunuchs arranged the food, he instructed Zhang Yue, “There are few civil officials in the army. It’s too noticeable for you to live alone. Move over and live with Yang Rong and Jin Youzi.”