History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 89 The Bow Never Misses its Mark
"Ah—" Yuan Zhen was furious.

Zhao Zhi's eyes flashed with a cold light, her five fingers forming a hook.

Yuan Zhen, clutching the food tray, spat out bloody saliva and urged, "You little brat! Don't say a word, brave warrior, hurry up! Yuan Zhi!! If you dare to block my way, you'll be in deep trouble. Huff, huff, huff..." Oh my god, my face hurts, but my stomach hurts even more!
"Since General Yuanzhen has spoken..."

Zhao Zhi couldn't wait for the governor to finish his rambling, so she clasped her hands in a fist salute to Confucius and strode out of the tent.

Clang! The food tray rolled over, and Yuan Zhen weakly reached out his hand: "Quick, help me up! Where did you get such a fierce warrior? You almost made me lose my manhood!"

In the camp area where the various tribes were located, some people had gone to sleep early, some were chatting quietly, and some were walking around, occasionally greeting and laughing with acquaintances. They were completely unaware that a hundred paces away in the darkness, there were even more layers of darker human walls.

This position marks the boundary; military exercises are ready!
Those disguised as Rouran barbarians were soldiers from Wuchuan Town, and their weapons were bows and arrows and wooden clubs.

The defending side consisted of soldiers from five counties in Dai Commandery (Pingcheng, Wuzhou, Gaoliu, Yonggu, and Gucheng), whose weapons were bows and arrows and spears.

All the weapons were discarded items from years of fighting by frontier soldiers.

The battlefield where the war is about to begin: the rest camp of the various tribes.

Inside an open-top oxcart, Wei Yao suddenly sat up and asked Guo Yun in confusion, "Don't you feel the wind has changed?"

"Huh? I... didn't notice."

"There were occasional bird calls just now, but they've stopped."

"Is it because it's late at night, and they're going to sleep too?" But Guo Yun was already nervous because of what her companion said, so she sat up as well.

In fact, there were many people who were even more alert than Wei Yao.

Leaving aside those who have participated in long-distance hunting trips, let's just talk about those who are close to her age.

Wei Mao knew something was wrong. Many people stood up around him, all looking around suspiciously. Some even called out to those who had already slept in their tents. Wei Mao first rolled his torch on the ground to extinguish it. The growing unease made him quicken his pace, repeatedly calling out in a low voice, "Wei Yao? Wei Yao, where are you? Wei Yao—Wei Yao!"

In another direction, Xi Jiao and Yuan Zizhi stopped almost simultaneously.

“Something’s not right.” Xi Jiao picked up a long piece of firewood from the nearest brazier and handed it to Zhou Tai, who was empty-handed.

From within the crowd, about two zhang away from them, someone shouted, "Put out the fire basin! Quick, put out the fire basin!"

"Put out all the fires."

"listen!"

Something's not right!

woo-

The bugle sounds.

Woo——woo——

"Attack the camp! The Rouran army is attacking the camp! Everyone, get into the camp... Ah!" The roar in the darkness came to an abrupt halt.

The sounds of arrows and charging into the camp took their place!
"kill--"

"kill!"

The massive human wall finally emerged from the field of vision, and they ran towards the camp with the speed of wolves and tigers, with the one at the front being particularly large and terrifying.

Screams, cries of fleeing, and shouts of fierce fighting instantly filled the area around Wei Yao and the others. The familiar environment of the daytime turned into a strange place. Guo Yun jumped off the car with her and fell down.

Wei Yao half-supported and half-carried her trembling companion to her feet.

"Why did the Rouran army raid our camp? Ayao, where can we escape to?" Guo Yun cried out in fear. She had heard from her elders that if you were killed by the Rouran, it would be lucky; the worst thing would be to die a horrible death or live a miserable life.

Wei Yao wasn't much better; she was reborn as a human, not a god! However, she still had her senses and kept pressing Guo Yun down to prevent him from standing up and becoming a target for arrows. She had just pointed to the nearest tent when several flaming arrows shot into it.

"Guo Yun, Wei Yao!" It was Kong Mi, who was being dragged away by two members of the Cui clan.

Wei Yao quickly pulled Guo Yun to chase after the other party. "Quick, let's catch up with our fellow disciple Kong." Everyone ran haphazardly, heading in all directions. Fire basins were kicked and turned over at people's feet. Many tents caught fire not because of rockets, but because of the fire basins.

The soldiers from Hengzhou had already rushed into the rest area and intercepted the first wave of the Rouran soldiers' charge.

Kong Mi was dragged back by the two Cui clansmen. Wei Yao and Guo Yun didn't have time to ask questions and turned around to run after him.

"kill!"

A dozen or so Rouran soldiers poured out of the tent passage they had just fled through. The leading officer grinned maliciously at the retreating figures of the two young women and ordered, "Capture those two!"

Bang! A Hengzhou soldier was violently thrown to the ground in Wei Yao's sight.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" The sound of wooden sticks clashing with spears echoed everywhere, each strike painful to the ears, the force enough to break bones.

Far from Wei Yao, Wei Mao was tackled to the ground by a Rouran soldier. He was still young, and nearly fainted the moment he was pinned down.

"You little brat, try running again!"

According to the rules of the military exercise, he should have taken Wei Mao into the nearest tent, informed him of the exercise, and then Wei Mao, as a "prisoner of war," should have waited in the tent for the exercise to end.

But the soldier, already harboring evil intentions, grabbed the boy's hands with one hand and slapped him with the other after each sarcastic remark: "Trying to run again? Why aren't you running anymore?"

Xi Jiao and his group are in an even worse situation than Wei Mao.

The soldiers of Wuchuan Garrison, since the time of Emperor Gaozong, largely consisted of criminals who had been pardoned from death. This resulted in their descendants, forced to become garrison soldiers, harboring deep hatred for the powerful and wealthy. Xi Jiao and Yuan Zizhi, these imperial sons, dressed in bright and clean attire, clearly displayed the traits of纨绔子弟 (spoiled brats).

Having finally managed to impersonate a Rouran bandit's garrison soldier, how could they possibly pass up the opportunity to torment this spoiled brat? They struck wherever it hurt, pulled at wherever it was most humiliating, accompanied by even more outrageous insults.

"There's no one in those yurts, should we drag them inside?"

Being dragged into the felt tent would be the end of him! Xi Jiao tried to reach for his waist, but the soldiers who were holding him back were already waiting, and the small knife he had hidden was snatched away by the soldiers.

According to the military exercise rules issued by Yuanzhen, when faced with desperate moves, the town's soldiers are allowed to over-defend and retaliate in any way they wish, as long as they do not kill anyone.

Therefore, a group of soldiers and bandits laughed triumphantly.

"I've seen through your tricks long ago, I'm just waiting for you to kill me."

Some things shouldn't be said carelessly.

Whoosh!
An arrow whistled through the air and struck the soldier in the face. The force of the arrow was so great that his neck also broke backward when he was hit.

Whoosh!
Another soldier fell.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The bow never misses its mark; thunder roars and flames arrive.

Wearing a fur coat and a hood, Zhao Zhi, carrying a large bow, rescued Xi Jiao, Yuan Zizhi, and three other boys. Behind her followed Er Zhu Rong, a boy who dragged two bows and held several long arrows, panting but full of spirit.

Zhao Zhi told the boys, "Tonight's military exercise is not with Rouran soldiers, but with garrison troops. Go to the main camp immediately."

She was saving people along the way, so why waste any more time? Erzhu Rong jogged to catch up with her, and soon, another town soldier who violated the military drill was shot dead by her. The tall and short figures disappeared into the darkness.

Xi Jiao said to his companions, "You guys go to the main camp."

Zhou Tai panicked: "Ah Jiao, what are you trying to do? This isn't a fight over pride; it almost turned into..."

“There are people weaker than me, and more humiliated than I just experienced,” Xi Jiao explained simply. After taking a few steps to bolster his spirits, he bid farewell to his companions. “Saving one is a win, saving two is a bonus. If I die, please tell my father to bury me in Pingcheng!”

Yuan Zi spat out a mouthful of blood: "I'll go with you!"

Zhou Tai cursed loudly, "You're a bastard! You son of a bitch, I made a bad choice in my friends!" He rushed forward and grabbed Xi Jiao.

I have nothing more to say. My good friend, we'll stick together through thick and thin!
(End of this chapter)