Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 372 The Battle for Shenchi
After returning to Linzi, it was just the beginning of autumn.

Autumn is the busiest time of year for the entire Han Dynasty.

From the emperor down to the tenant farmer, everyone had endless work to do.

On the day of the Beginning of Autumn, there is a ceremony to offer sacrifices to the wealthy and powerful.

This was a military ritual and exercise, intended to align with the somber and desolate nature of autumn and to practice military tactics.

The emperor would personally lead the imperial guards in hunting drills, shooting animals and offering the hunted prey to the ancestral temple to show that he had not forgotten military preparedness.

The Han Dynasty has always been martial, and hunting the Chu Liu was an important sacrificial activity, not for entertainment.

After the Chu Liu ceremony, the common people would celebrate the autumn harvest, taste the new crops, and offer sacrifices to their ancestors... Then came the harvesting of grain, the selection of seeds, the allocation of grain reserves, and the preparation of various supplies...

After the harvest, the dry land needs to be burned to remove straw and silt, and the paddy fields need to be filled with water to retain fertilizer... We'll be busy until October.

Linzi had a royal garden with a very long history. It was the forest garden of the ancient Qi state and was located not far from the west gate of Linzi. It was called Shenchi.

The west gate of Linzi was called Shenmen. Shenchi and the surrounding forests and gardens were located in the upper reaches of the Nanyang River valley. There were mountains, streams, and bamboo forests everywhere, and there were many wild animals, making it an ideal hunting ground.

Liu Bei had just pacified the counties of Yanzhou on behalf of the imperial court, and Qingzhou had just been purged. At this time, it was indeed necessary for Liu Xie to hold the "Chu Liu Ceremony" to demonstrate his military prowess.

This also indicates that everything was in accordance with the court's wishes, so as to prevent outsiders from saying that Zuo Yuan massacred the gentry in Qingzhou.

This hunting activity was not a real hunt. Instead, soldiers would drive the prey from all directions to a suitable location, and then officials would escort the emperor to shoot targets.

This is essentially a military parade, and it does indeed test the combat capabilities of the soldiers in each unit.

Military officers such as Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Tian Yu would each lead their valiant subordinates to search for and hunt wild beasts. This was both to protect the emperor's safety and to foster competition among the various units.

Liu Xie was already eleven years old and had practiced archery, but to ask him to kill a deer with his own hands... was indeed asking too much. He was not strong enough to kill a deer with an arrow.

Therefore, during the hunt, Liu Bei gave Liu Xie a newly made lever crossbow.

This is a small, light crossbow, less than three feet long, which is completely inconsistent with the Han Dynasty's tradition of pursuing great power. Its structure is more like a modern crossbow, and it can be cocked with the aid of a lever.

The force was about two stones, the crossbow bolts were relatively short, and the effective range was less than one hundred paces.

However, the advantage is that this light crossbow can be operated on horseback, and it is easy to cock. The power of two stones is already at the medium killing standard, and three stones is considered a medium-power crossbow.

This is the lever principle that Zhuge Liang is learning and practicing.

Most of the lessons Liu Bei taught Zhuge Liang involved learning through experimentation. For example, when learning about levers, he would have Zhuge Liang make a lever that saved effort; only when he could do it himself could he be considered to have truly learned it.

Zhuge Liang sought the Big Dipper to make this thing. He wanted to make a crossbow that an eleven-year-old child like himself could wind up by himself. However, because he had not yet mastered the knowledge of pulley systems, he could only rely on levers, so he had to reduce the power.

Liu Bei also had a similar light crossbow. Bows and arrows were never Liu Bei's forte, but crossbows were passable.

Liu Xie's horsemanship was passable; he could ride, but he dared not ride too fast, always walking slowly ahead, with Liu Bei following half a horse length behind, to show respect for the emperor.

Officials followed behind.

As I walked into a thicket of bushes near a grove of trees, a rabbit hopped out.

The rabbit was not Liu Xie's target. Liu Bei raised his crossbow and shot, and with good luck, hit the target with one arrow.

"Young Master, you are truly skilled!"

Liu Xie turned around and cheered.

The officials all offered the expected flattery, and no one complained that Liu Bei had cheated by using a crossbow...

Liu Bei didn't speak, but instead cocked the crossbow again. He knew that killing a rabbit with a crossbow wasn't a real skill.

After turning the earthen slope, soldiers drove a rather large male deer out of the woods.

This is the best offering.

Liu Xie quickly picked up his crossbow, but the deer was running extremely fast, and he missed with his first arrow.

Liu Bei immediately handed his crossbow to Liu Xie, took the empty crossbow, and became the loader himself.

But Liu Xie missed all three arrows he fired...

This is a bit embarrassing.

Seeing that the deer was about to run away, Liu Xie quickly called to Liu Bei, "Young Master, shoot it!"

Liu Bei had just cocked the crossbow, raised it, and fired, hitting the deer squarely in the body.

Perhaps the power was insufficient, for the deer did not fall, but instead ran even faster with the crossbow bolts still in its grip.

By the time Liu Bei reloaded, the deer was no longer within range.

"Chase them! Chase them!"

Liu Xie's horsemanship was mediocre, but hunting was certainly appealing to a boy of his age. He enthusiastically spurred his horse to chase after the deer, running in a wide arc following its tracks. Cao Ang, Yang Xiu, and others nearby were alarmed and quickly rushed forward to protect him.

Actually, the deer can't escape. The soldiers have already surrounded it from all sides, and it won't be long before the deer collapses from exhaustion.

On the contrary, Liu Xie's mediocre horsemanship at high speed was even more frightening...

Liu Bei had no choice but to spur his horse and gallop after him.

Surrounded by soldiers, the stag suddenly turned and changed direction, charging towards Liu Xie halfway through its run.

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. Although deer are not ferocious beasts, large male deer can be quite wild when fighting for their lives.

Moreover, compared to the murderous soldiers around them, Liu Xie's side was clearly less intimidating, and the deer was very perceptive.

When Liu Xie saw the huge deer antlers rushing towards him, he hurriedly tried to cock the crossbow, but he was not skilled at it and his hand slipped, causing him to drop the crossbow on the ground.

Upon seeing the crossbow fall, Liu Xie instinctively bent down to try and retrieve it.

But the horse was galloping at that moment... Liu Xie's riding skills were not up to the level of "flying horse to catch sheep," and he suddenly veered to the right side of the horse.

Fortunately, he was wearing a high saddle, so he didn't fall off the horse directly. However, Liu Xie's right foot slipped into the stirrup and got caught. He tried to pull it out but couldn't get any leverage, and instead completely lost his balance.

He could only hold onto the saddle bridge with both hands and put his left foot on the horse's back to try his best to stay upright.

This scene is really dangerous...

Liu Xie was still small, and only his left calf could barely touch the saddle; his knee was bent and could not reach the horse's back, so he could not exert any strength.

His right foot had already slipped into the air, and with his ankle caught in the stirrup, he couldn't get any leverage.

If Liu Xie loses his grip and falls, he will be dragged along by the stirrups.

In his panic, Liu Xie instinctively screamed a few times, which only made the horse run even faster.

Cao Ang shouted "Whoa!" from behind, trying to stop his horse, but Liu Xie's shout drowned out his voice and instead stopped Cao Ang's own horse.

Liu Bei's horse was faster, and he managed to catch up.

At that moment, the frantically fighting stag came charging towards them, and Liu Bei quickly raised his crossbow and fired an arrow.

At high speed and close range, the crossbow, which was not particularly powerful to begin with, became extremely powerful under these circumstances, and the stag fell to the ground.

But at the same time, Liu Xie suddenly exclaimed.

To avoid a fallen deer, the horse swerved sharply to the left, and Liu Xie was thrown from his grasp by the centrifugal force...

Liu Bei had already arrived at full speed. Liu Xie's horse turned and closed the distance, but Liu Xie was thrown to the right while Liu Bei was on the left. He had no choice but to grab the reins and pull the horses back to a sudden stop.

Both horses reared up at the same time.

Liu Xie was both unfortunate and fortunate.

He was unfortunately thrown off his horse and even flipped over due to being dragged by the stirrups.

The stirrups were still on his ankles, and his right foot was dangling sideways over the horse's belly.

Fortunately, he was thrown onto the deer carcass, which cushioned his fall and prevented the horse from trampling him or hitting his head.

As Liu Xie fell from his horse, Liu Bei pulled it to a sudden stop. He wasn't dragged along, but was pulled a step because the horse was standing upright. Fortunately, there was a deer carcass to cushion his fall; otherwise, given Liu Xie's height, with his ankle caught in the stirrup, his head would have hit the ground when the horse was standing upright.

This is considered a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune; it's the least damaging possible outcome.

Liu Xie didn't hit his head, but he fractured his lower leg, suffered a minor neck sprain, and had some abrasions all over his body.

With a medical school nearby, this injury isn't serious.

Liu Xie felt a little disappointed, but didn't say anything. It was indeed just an accident, the kind of accident most boys might experience, caused by Liu Xie chasing the deer himself.

But for a festival to turn into this is clearly not a good omen.

The emperor's injury during the ritual of offering sacrifices to the emperor signifies an imbalance of Yin and Yang, a weak ruler and a strong minister, and also implies that treacherous and wicked people have caused the emperor to be in danger.

The emperor and a deer lying in the same place is not a good omen.

This implies that the monarch is like prey, signifying chaos in the court and a fierce competition among tigers and wolves.

Moreover, the deer was not shot by the emperor, but by Liu Bei.

Yang Xiu muttered to himself from behind: "The ruler is no longer a ruler, the minister is no longer a minister, the laws are tyrannical and the government is chaotic, cruel women are slaughtering people, noble families are being massacred, slaves are being promoted, this is a sign of the collapse of the social order..."

Diao Chan, who was lagging behind, seemed to have heard this and turned to look at Yang Xiu.

Cao Ang seemed to have noticed Diao Chan's gaze, so he pulled Yang Xiu aside and made him shut up.

(End of this chapter)