Abandoning literature for martial arts, starting by unleashing the beauty's bow.

"Lu Fengnian, you broke your promise! You said you'd shoot my right hand twice, but you shot my left hand and then my right leg! You're despicable and shameless!"

The sallow-faced man struggled to sit up and spoke angrily.

At the same time, his eyes revealed an unconcealable fear; Lu Fengnian's archery skills shocked and amazed him.

Lu Fengnian looked down at him with a smile on his lips. "I'm really sorry, the distance was a little far and it was too dark, so I couldn't see clearly and couldn't tell the difference between hands and feet."

At this distance, I can guarantee that this time, I'll definitely hit your right hand.

After saying that, he made a move to reach for the hunting bow on his back.

The sallow-faced man turned pale and hurriedly said, "The ambush was secretly ordered by Magistrate Wu; Ye Zhengtang was unaware of it."

Lu Fengnian responded with an "Oh," and then asked, "What orders did Magistrate Wu give you?"

The sallow-faced man swallowed hard. "If I tell you everything, will you kill me?"

Lu Fengnian's lips curled slightly. "That depends on whether you told the truth or not."

The sallow-faced man quickly responded, "I'm sure I'm telling the truth. Magistrate Wu's orders to us were to kill your entire family without leaving any survivors."

As for the reason, you don't need to ask me; I don't know either. We were just following orders.

Upon hearing this, Lu Fengnian frowned, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

He knew very well that Huang Sansheng was doing this to silence him.

Now, the state has dispatched officials to Qinghe County to personally try Lu Fengnian's case.

In order to use Lu Fengnian to bring down Ma Hui, Ye Zhengtang and Wu Sansheng secretly harbored Liu Yunjuan and Lu Xiaoyu.

If this matter is discovered by the state officials, Wu Sansheng will be in big trouble.

Therefore, Wu Sansheng wanted to wipe out Lu Fengnian's family to completely eliminate the hidden danger.

Lu Fengnian was glad that he had chosen to escape from prison.

Otherwise, Wu Sansheng would definitely use other means to harm him and his family.

The sallow-faced man continued, "Lu Fengnian, I've told you everything I know. Can I leave now?"

Lu Fengnian nodded. "Of course, if you don't leave now, how will you catch up with your three brothers?"

The sallow-faced man's expression changed drastically. "Lu Fengnian, you are despicable, shameless, and untrustworthy..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Fengnian flashed forward, and the short knife at his waist was instantly drawn.

A flash of cold light appeared, and the yellow-faced man's voice came to an abrupt halt. A red line appeared on his throat, and blood spurted out.

Then, with a thud, the yellow-faced man fell backward to the ground, already dead.

Lu Fengnian sheathed his short sword and said calmly, "I only said I'd see if you told the truth, but I didn't promise. If you tell the truth, I'll spare your life."

He then spent some time choosing a natural depression, threw all four corpses into it, and buried them along with their bows, arrows, and waist knives.

Although the bows and arrows the four men carried were superior to Lu Fengnian's hunting bows, they were forged in government workshops and were too conspicuous to carry.

However, Lu Fengnian showed no courtesy whatsoever when it came to the money they carried.

They found more than ten taels of silver, a considerable profit.

A horse won't get fat without night grass, and a person won't get rich without unexpected wealth.

That makes perfect sense.

After doing all this, Lu Fengnian erased all the bloodstains and other traces in the forest.

This area is already under the jurisdiction of a neighboring county. If the bodies of these people are discovered, it will inevitably involve the neighboring county and cause further complications.

Then he walked out of the woods and saw four tall horses tethered outside.

After carefully observing the four horses, Lu Fengnian chose a black horse with a small, delicate head, a broad forehead, long limbs, and prominent tendons.

He climbed on top and rode it toward the main road, while the other three horses were led behind him by ropes.

After traveling about three or four miles on the official road, Lu Fengnian untied the reins of the three horses behind him and let them go their separate ways.

He rode his big black horse at full speed along the official road, heading straight for the city.

It was already the hour of Hai (9-11 PM), the night was deep, there were no pedestrians on the official road, and they had acquired a good horse with good stamina.

Lu Fengnian traveled unimpeded, galloping at full speed.

…………

The city of Liuzhou is more than 200 li away from Qinghe County, separated by two counties.

Lu Fengnian only stopped to rest his horse or pass through checkpoints; otherwise, he spent almost all his time traveling.

Two days later, at dusk, he finally arrived in the state capital.

I found a guesthouse and checked in.

After a hearty meal, a hot shower, and a good night's sleep, I finally got some rest.

The next day, after shaking off his fatigue, Lu Fengnian put his bow and arrows and waist knife in his room, ate breakfast, and then left the inn.

I didn't go anywhere else, just wandered around some teahouses and restaurants, listening to the news.

This was his first time in the city, and he was unfamiliar with the place. If he wanted to get the information he needed as quickly as possible, these teahouses and restaurants were the best places to go.

After spending the entire day in several large teahouses and restaurants in the city, Lu Fengnian finally got the information he wanted.

The current conscription period in Liuzhou will end in ten days.

Soldiers from all counties of Liuzhou have gathered in the city and will set off for the front lines in ten days.

However, before setting off, there was one more thing to finish: recruiting soldiers.

Recruiting soldiers is different from conscription.

Conscription is military service that civilians are forced to perform, while recruitment is for those who voluntarily join the army.

The Liuzhou government offered rations and monthly wages to recruit voluntarily from the entire city, giving priority to hunters, mountain strongmen, salt workers, river bandits, and other people with fighting skills to join the army.

These men were formidable fighters, far superior to the temporarily conscripted farm laborers.

In addition to generous rations and monthly allowances, family members were exempted from corvée labor, the wounded received pensions, and the dead received funeral expenses, among other benefits.

Why would there be recruitment?

The war between Daqing and Dazhou has lasted for three years, and both sides have suffered heavy losses and are on the verge of collapse.

However, in terms of the overall battlefield situation, Daqing was at a disadvantage.

The Daqing Dynasty urgently needs elite troops and capable generals to turn the tide.

Therefore, an order was issued to each state that the merits of the soldiers recruited by each state on the battlefield would be linked to the state and counted as part of the performance record of the state's recruitment officials.

Under such a decree, Liuzhou naturally had to exert its efforts, which is why it established a recruitment system on the basis of conscription.

However, as the battle intensified, the casualties on the front lines increased.

Although the recruitment offers generous compensation, its effectiveness has gradually diminished, and fewer and fewer people are willing to enlist.

With the army in the prefecture about to set off, Liuzhou originally planned to recruit 300 soldiers, but so far, it has only recruited more than 200.

Furthermore, many of the more than two hundred people recruited did not meet the recruitment criteria.

In order to gather enough men, Zhao Rulong, the garrison commander of Liuzhou, had to lower the standards.

Nevertheless, we are still quite far from the goal of 300.