Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

Gao Mingqian's private residence, study.

"Our eldest prince certainly has quite a few interests."

Gao Mingqian sat in his official hat chair, listening with great interest to Shen Xuan's report.

"First, he had his men hold a martial arts competition, and he personally watched each match up close."

"Now you want Qin Fang to collect information on notorious bandits for him?"

"Yes, Lord Chitoge."

Shen Xuan, the centurion, also chuckled softly.

"Shen Zhui told me that His Highness has also become fascinated with archery during this time, and is very talented at it!"

He saw it clearly on the day of the martial arts competition; at that time, His Highness was completely ignorant of archery, and probably had never even touched a bow and arrow before.

However, after only half a month of practice, His Highness's archery skills have already reached a high level.

With a short bow, I could hit the bullseye nine out of ten times when shooting at a target thirty paces away. Even when using the Kaiyuan War Bow with armor-piercing heavy arrows to shoot at a target fifty paces away, I could hit the bullseye two or three out of ten times.

Of the more than 1,100 people in our Linqing Thousand-Household Garrison, no more than 100 could achieve this score.

Moreover, these people have practiced for several years to achieve this.

In the past two days, His Highness has ordered the winners of that darts competition to teach him how to use darts, and has also sent people to find skilled craftsmen to make hundreds of these darts.

After saying that, Shen Xuan placed a dart about eight centimeters long, with a sharp head and a long conical body, in front of Gao Mingqian.

"Although some people do use these darts, they're not very common, and their accuracy isn't great."

Gao Mingqian picked up the dart and examined it.

"Why would Your Highness choose this?"

"Our prince is very dedicated to martial arts. After the competition that day, he asked for some of every kind of throwing darts used by the boys and tried them all before choosing this one."

Shen Xuan's tone also contained a hint of admiration.

"I must say, these darts are indeed very effective in Your Highness's hands."

Shen Zhui told me that His Highness's progress in darts was even faster than that in archery. In just two days, his accuracy within ten paces was already excellent, but his strength was still somewhat lacking.

For someone of royal lineage to achieve this level of accomplishment is truly beyond my expectations.

Before sending Qin Fang to gather intelligence on notorious bandits, His Highness had asked Qin Fang two questions: one about the legendary internal energy, and the other about a pair of notorious thieves, the male of whom was known as "Over-the-Mountain Wind."

"Internal strength has been a legend in the martial arts world for a long time; we've all heard of it to some extent, but who has actually witnessed it?"

Gao Mingqian thought for a moment,

I do have some impression of "Guoshanfeng," a notorious bandit with a certain reputation.

Several years ago, he robbed and killed a retired official from the capital in Southern Zhili. A bounty was placed on his head, and it seems he has not been caught yet.

How did Your Highness come to know this person?

"When His Highness inquired with Qin Fang, he was unaware of the bandit name 'Over-the-Mountain Wind.'"

Shen Xuan shook his head and said,

He described in detail the characteristics of a man and woman in their thirties to Qin Fang, and there was quite a lot of information.

Not only did they know that the woman was skilled with darts, but they also knew that the man was burly, claimed to be surnamed Xie, and was highly skilled in martial arts.

Qin Fang thought for a while before matching these two people with the wanted "Guo Shanfeng".

Qin Fang was also puzzled as to why His Highness would mention these two people, and asked His Highness about it.

But His Highness only said that he had heard it mentioned by chance, and obviously did not want to say more, so Qin Fang naturally did not dare to ask any further.

However, after thinking about it carefully, he felt that His Highness had most likely met the two men and might have even witnessed them fighting with someone!

Moreover, His Highness believes that "Guoshanfeng" is a master with internal strength.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have asked him about internal energy first, and then immediately inquired about the couple.

"What His Highness is truly interested in is not the 'Mountain Wind,' but internal energy!"

Gao Mingqian also understood the key point.

He sent Qin Fang to investigate notorious bandits on par with "Over the Mountain Wind" in order to find clues about other masters with internal strength.

"I never expected that our prince would be so interested in martial arts."

"Not only is His Highness interested, but he is also very talented in martial arts."

Shen Xuan nodded.

"Although the only skills I can currently offer are archery and dart throwing, I haven't even mastered fist and foot techniques or swordsmanship."

But I believe that Your Highness already possesses a certain level of insight into martial arts.

"The plan we initially agreed upon, although we have all the necessary personnel, I feel it's no longer feasible."

"You mean the plan to rescue His Highness the Crown Prince from danger?"

Gao Mingqian stood up and paced back and forth in the study.

"Indeed, we originally planned to have people impersonate notorious thieves. These people know it's a play, and if nothing unexpected happens, the rhythm can follow the script perfectly. But if something unexpected happens, it's very easy for them to be exposed."

Now that we know His Highness possesses a certain eye for martial arts, he may be able to discern some clues.

Moreover, His Highness is already quite skilled in archery and dart throwing, and may very well take action personally if danger arises.

Bows and arrows are fine, as long as the scene we arrange is not suitable for carrying bows and arrows. But what about darts?

His Highness has ordered so many darts to be made; he must be carrying some with him, and there's nothing we can do to stop him.

Once the actors playing the notorious bandits are attacked by His Highness's darts, their reactions will inevitably give them away!

No, this plan must be changed immediately!

"Lord Commander, that's exactly what I meant."

Seeing that Gao Mingqian had made his decision, Shen Xuan slowly spoke.

"Using fakes is definitely not going to work, so we can only take a small risk."

Of course, it wasn't His Highness the Crown Prince who needed to take the risk, but rather his men.

Gao Ruopu and Shen Zhui were among them; fortune favors the bold.

"Since sending the lads to rescue Your Majesty would easily expose our plan, we should do the opposite and have Your Majesty rescue them!"

"Commander Shen, that's a good idea!"

Gao Mingqian laughed.

"The bond of life and death forged among comrades in the army on the battlefield is not just about the gratitude of the rescued to the rescuer."

The person who saves another will also have great trust in the person they save.

In this way, since His Highness himself will not be in danger, we don't need to find someone to impersonate a notorious bandit.

"My lord, let's use a real notorious bandit!"

Shen Xuan gritted his teeth.

"Although it's a bit risky, it will definitely not give us away!"

The reason for arranging this was quite simple: His Highness had sent Qin Fang with men to investigate the whereabouts of the notorious bandits, so we decided to investigate for him.

Not only do we need to gather intelligence, but we also need to find a way to lure a notorious bandit with a long history to Linqing!

"That's excellent!"

Gao Mingqian already understood Shen Xuan's meaning.

"After we lure this notorious bandit to a certain place, we will first have Gao Ruopu and Shen Zhui lead men to secretly surround the place, and then send someone to inform His Highness."

On the way to His Highness's arrival with his men, they deliberately made a commotion to alert the notorious bandit.

Once this person realizes he's surrounded by the Imperial Guards, he'll definitely fight to the death to break through!