Three Kingdoms: A wise grandson, Cao Wei can last for three generations!

The archery range was located to the east of the training ground, with dozens of targets lined up in a row, marked by white lines a hundred paces away. Wang Dubo stood by the line, holding a bow in his hand, his expression grim.

"Aman, you've arrived." He handed over the bow. "Shoot a few arrows and see. King Wei said all new recruits must be tested, and your results must be reported separately."

Cao Rui took the bow and pulled the string. It was a stone bow, which was considered hard for an ordinary soldier, but in his hands it was like a noodle, and he pulled it fully with a light touch.

"Lord Wang, do you have anything harder?"

Wang Dubo's lips twitched, and he ordered someone to fetch a two-stone bow. Cao Rui took it and tried it out, but it was still too light.

"Harder?"

Wang Dubo's face turned green, and he ordered someone to bring the strongest three-stone bow in the camp. That was Ma Chao's special training bow, and fewer than five people in the entire northern camp could draw it.

Cao Rui took the three-stone bow, weighed it in his hand, nocked an arrow, and drew the string—the bow was as full as a moon.

The arrow left the bowstring, soaring through the air and hitting the bullseye. The shaft was more than halfway into the target, the fletching still humming and vibrating.

The archery range fell silent.

Everyone stared at the target 120 paces away, then at Cao Rui, their mouths agape, wide enough to fit a steamed bun.

Cao Rui drew another arrow, nocked it, drew the string, and shot it—striking the fletching of the previous arrow, splitting it in two and embedding it in the same bullseye.

The third arrow, the fourth arrow, the fifth arrow—each arrow cleaved the previous one, striking the bullseye firmly.

Five arrows in quick succession, each piercing the heart.

Wang Dubo's lips trembled for a long time before he finally managed to stammer out, "You...you're really a pig butcher?"

"For killing wild boars." Cao Rui handed the bow back to him, chuckling, "Wild boars run fast; you can't hit them without practicing archery."

Looking at the three-stone bow in his hand and then at the target riddled with arrows in the distance, Wang Dubo suddenly felt that his twenty years as a soldier had been wasted.

When the news reached Ma Chao, he was looking at a map in the central command tent.

"What did you say? Cao Cao fired five arrows in a row, and he used a three-stone bow?"

"Yes, sir." The captain who came to deliver the message looked like he'd seen a ghost. "One hundred and twenty paces, all five arrows hit the bullseye, each one piercing the heart."

Ma Chao paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "This kid, he's putting on quite a show."

"Does the general know him?"

"I don't know him." Ma Chao's smile faded, his face hardening. "Keep training. Don't treat him differently just because he is—don't give him special treatment just because he's strong. He has to train everything he needs to train."

The captain accepted the order and left. Ma Chao sat in his tent, staring blankly at the map for a long time, then sighed.

What will this kid be like in the future?

That night, inside the tent.

Niu Jin sat on the bed, staring at Cao Rui for a long time, and suddenly said, "Aman, you're definitely not a pig butcher."

Cao Rui, who was lying on his bed, turned over upon hearing this: "Then tell me, what do I do?"

"You're a trained martial artist. The kind who's practiced since childhood." Niu Jin said with certainty. "I've seen pig butchers. They're strong, but not as accurate as you. Your archery skills aren't something you can develop in a day or two."

Liu An leaned closer, his eyes darting around: "Aman, stop pretending. Are you the son of some general, here in the Northern Camp to experience life?"

Cao Rui sat up, looked at the two curious children, then glanced at Deng Ai in the corner holding "The Art of War," and suddenly smiled.

"Okay, I won't pretend anymore. I'm definitely not a pig butcher."

Niu Jin and Liu An's eyes lit up, waiting for what would happen next.

"I'm a cow butcher."

Niu Jin: "..."

Liu An: "..."

Deng Ai didn't even look up, turned a page of his book, and his lips twitched slightly.

"Aman, be serious!" Niu Jin said anxiously.

"I'm very serious," Cao Rui said innocently. "My father was a butcher, and I helped slaughter cattle since I was a child. That's how I developed my strength. As for archery—I didn't use arrows to butcher cattle; I figured out my own archery skills."

Niu Jin was skeptical, but seeing Cao Rui's serious and nonsensical manner, he didn't know whether to believe him or not.

Liu An was shrewd; knowing he wouldn't get anything out of her by asking further, he simply stopped asking and went back to sleep.

Deng Ai didn't say a word from beginning to end, but Cao Rui noticed that his hand paused for a moment when turning the pages of the book, and then continued turning them.

This kid knows exactly what's going on.

As the days went by, Cao Rui's life in the Northern Camp gradually got back on track.

We would get up at dawn every day, first run five miles to warm up, then practice lifting stone weights, drawing bows, and using swords and spears. In the afternoon, we would have tactics lessons, learning formations, flags, and military law.

They also had to learn to read at night—this was added by Cao Rui himself. He made Deng Ai of the Bixie Sect learn to read. Although Deng Ai stuttered, he did not stutter when it came to reading and learned very quickly.

"Deng, Deng, Deng Ai, you, you, you teach me!" Niu Jin once came over and said in a simple and honest way.

Deng Ai glanced at him and nodded.

So every night a new lesson was added in the tent—Deng Ai taught Niu Jin and Liu An to read, while Cao Rui listened in and occasionally added a few words.

Bixie squatted at the door, listening, holding the booklet in his hand, occasionally jotting down a few notes.

"This character is pronounced 'liang'." Deng Ai wrote the character on the ground, stroke by stroke, neatly and carefully: "Liang, the 'liang' in 'grain and fodder'. Without grain, we can't fight."

Niu Jin repeated, "Grain."

Liu An repeated, "Grain."

Cao Rui, standing nearby, read aloud: "Grain—right, Deng Ai, you've taught him well."

Deng Ai blushed and stammered even more: "I...I...I just taught you casually."

Cao Rui looked at him and sighed inwardly. If Deng Ai hadn't stuttered, he would have distinguished himself in the army long ago.

Historically, he did indeed stand out—becoming a pillar of Cao Wei in its later years and a great contributor to the conquest of Shu Han.

But right now, he's just a nineteen-year-old recruit, teaching his fellow soldiers to read every night, his face still as red as a monkey's bottom.

"Deng Ai, what official position do you want to be in the future?" Cao Rui suddenly asked.

Deng Ai paused for a moment, thought for a long time, and then said slowly and deliberately, "I want to be an official who can make decisions."

Why?

"Only those who have the final say can do things. What's the use of being an official if you can't get things done?"

Cao Rui looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Okay. Study hard, and you'll definitely be able to become one in the future."

Deng Ai looked at him, her eyes a little red, but she didn't let the tears fall. He lowered his head and continued writing on the ground, stroke by stroke, very carefully.

In mid-July, Yecheng was as hot as a steamer.

Cao Rui trained in the northern camp all morning, covered in sweat, and squatted under the shade of a tree by the training ground to drink water. Bixie stood behind him, also covered in sweat, but his back was still straight.

"Hey, aren't you hot?"

"hot."

"Why don't you sit down if it's hot?"

"Sit down, what if someone comes?"

Cao Rui turned and glanced at him, then sighed, "When will you ever get rid of this habit of yours? This is a military camp, not a battlefield. Nobody wants to kill me."

Bixie didn't speak, but he didn't sit down either.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from outside the camp gate. Cao Rui looked up and saw a chestnut horse galloping from afar. The rider was dressed in red, with long hair tied up high, and looked dashing.

Cao Rui nearly dropped the water pouch in his hand.

Ma Yunlu?

Why is she here?

The chestnut horse stopped at the camp gate, where the captain guarding the gate stopped her: "Halt! This is a military camp, no unauthorized personnel allowed!"

Ma Yunlu pulled out a token from her pocket and flashed it. The captain's expression changed, and he quickly stepped aside.

That was the token of the King of Wei.