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

After Wang Tiezhu finished speaking, he took down the third bamboo arrow.

Just as he was about to draw the strings, the middle-aged clerk waved his hand and said, "Stop."

Wang Tiezhu quickly said, "Sir, please give me another chance. I'm sure I can do it five out of ten times."

The middle-aged clerk rolled his eyes and coughed lightly. "It's windy today, which will affect the exam results."

"Alright, I'll shorten the distance by ten zhang, no, twenty zhang. Of the remaining eight arrows, you only need to hit the target twice to pass."

The tall sergeant standing nearby couldn't help but twitch his lips upon hearing these words.

Wang Tiezhu, however, showed a look of surprise and delight, and repeatedly clasped his hands in gratitude.

He then strode forward to a spot twenty feet in front of the wooden target and continued to draw his bow and shoot arrows.

Of the eight bamboo arrows, two were narrowly hit. One of them, which only grazed the edge of the wooden target, was still counted as a hit by the middle-aged clerk.

"Wang Tiezhu, congratulations! You have passed the recruitment test. Go back and prepare, say goodbye to your family, and come to the military camp to report for duty in six days with this token." The middle-aged clerk handed Wang Tiezhu a bamboo token that was larger at the top and smaller at the bottom, with the word "recruitment" engraved in the middle.

Wang Tiezhu was overjoyed. He took the bamboo plaque and said in a trembling voice, "Thank you for your care, sir."

The middle-aged man smiled slightly and said, "I hope that after you go to the front line, you will be able to make great achievements and accomplish great things, so as not to let down my support."

Wang Tiezhu nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, sir. If I achieve great things, I will never forget your great kindness."

The middle-aged clerk's smile remained unchanged as he waved, signaling Wang Tiezhu to leave.

Wang Tiezhu carefully tucked the bamboo plaque into his bosom, bowed repeatedly to the middle-aged Manjushri, and then turned and left the examination hall, his face beaming with joy.

The tall sergeant whispered, "When recruits go to the front lines, they are given missions with a slim chance of survival."

This kid is way off the recruitment standards; if he goes to the front lines, he'll only be dead.

The middle-aged clerk chuckled, "Didn't you see? This kid really wants to go, so of course I'll grant his wish."

Besides, we haven't recruited a single soldier for two days. If the garrison commander questions us, it won't be easy to handle."

The tall sergeant shook his head and said nothing more.

…………

Does this work too?

Lu Fengnian saw the situation in the examination hall clearly and felt that the recruitment of soldiers in Liuzhou was like a makeshift troupe.

The standards for recruiting soldiers were merely a formality.

He could pass this kind of test with his eyes closed.

However, given the current situation, simply passing the recruitment assessment is certainly far from enough to atone for the crime.

After a moment's thought, he got up, walked out of the tea stall, and slowly headed toward the examination hall in front of the military camp.

The middle-aged clerk had just sat back down at his desk when he saw Lu Fengnian walk in, and he was slightly surprised.

In the past few days, they have sometimes sat there all day without encountering a single person who came to take the assessment.

Today, two came in a row.

Before Lu Fengnian could even get close, he asked, "Name, age, place of origin, occupation?"

Lu Fengnian stopped three steps away from the desk, gave a slight bow, and said, "Your Honor, my name is Lu Fengnian. I come from Mao'er Village in Qinghe County. I am nineteen years old and a hunter."

Upon hearing the word "hunter," the middle-aged clerk and the two soldiers in charge of the assessment all brightened up.

The main target of the recruitment was hunters in the mountains.

Most of these hunters are skilled archers and have strong survival skills in the wild. With just a little training, they can become qualified soldiers.

A smile appeared on the middle-aged clerk's face. "Lu Fengnian, as long as you can lift a 100-jin stone and shoot a wooden target five times from 40 zhang away, you will pass the test and can become a recruit."

Lu Fengnian glanced back at the square stone not far away, and the wooden target further away, and said in a deep voice, "Sir, I'm not here today to participate in the assessment just to be an ordinary recruit; I want to be a centurion!"

One hundred households?

The middle-aged clerk and the two soldiers were all stunned for a moment.

The military officer stationed in Qinghe County was only at the level of a hundred households.

Lu Fengnian came to participate in the recruitment assessment, and immediately asked to become a centurion.

It could be described as commendable courage, or it could be described as utter arrogance.

Every time Liuzhou recruits soldiers, it does indeed select outstanding talents from among the recruits to serve as junior non-commissioned officers.

However, most of them were squad leaders and platoon leaders.

Corporals and squad leaders have no official rank and are not considered on-staff military officers; they are merely grassroots team leaders.

Typically, these positions are filled by brave and obedient soldiers selected directly from the ranks by senior officers, without the need for official appointment by the imperial court.

Centurions, on the other hand, were lower-ranking military officers with official ranks, requiring official appointment from the imperial court.

Lu Fengnian was naturally aware of this, and he spoke in this way on purpose.

"I've seen plenty of arrogant people who come to participate in the recruitment assessment, but I've never seen anyone as arrogant as you before."

The middle-aged clerk snapped out of his daze and looked at Lu Fengnian with a mocking expression. "Kid, do you even know what a centurion is? Yet you spout nonsense here."

Your garrison commander in Qinghe County is only a centurion.

You, a mere hunter from the mountains, want to be a centurion right away? You really don't know your place.

Why didn't you say you wanted to be the General of the Cavalry?

Lu Fengnian slightly raised his eyelids. "The recruitment notice clearly states that as long as you are capable enough, you can become any officer. It's not too much for me to become a centurion, is it?"

The middle-aged clerk chuckled coldly, "You're quite arrogant, kid. If you want to be a centurion, you should at least know your own limitations."

"Get through these two hurdles first, then we can talk about the centurion's position."

Lu Fengnian smiled slightly, strode to the square stone, and without pausing, bent down, lifted it above his head, and easily changed from holding it with both hands to supporting it with one hand. He asked casually, "Just this one stone? Don't you have anything heavier?"

Upon seeing this scene, the middle-aged clerk and the two soldiers were all stunned.

They recruited soldiers many times and met at least several hundred, if not several thousand.

Among these people, those who were able to lift a hundred-pound stone through the test had mostly exerted all their strength, struggling until their faces were red and their necks were bulging.

There are very few people like Lu Fengnian who can handle heavy tasks with such ease and composure.

Even if there were, they would definitely be big and burly, with broad shoulders and a strong waist, clearly born with great strength.

Lu Fengnian, on the other hand, was handsome and somewhat thin.

Such an image, effortlessly supporting a hundred-pound stone on one's head with one hand, seems completely out of place.

It took the middle-aged clerk a full three breaths to come to his senses. He said in a deep voice, "You kid do have some brute strength, but don't get too cocky. Brute strength alone isn't enough."

If you miss the target, you're not even qualified to become a recruit.