Pan Shaowei asked politely: "I see that Mr. Zhao seems to have spare strength with a two-stone bow, I don't know how many stones Mr. can open at most?" ”

Zhao Xingde didn't have him, and replied casually: "I can barely use a three-stone bow." ”

As soon as these words came out, Pan Shaowei and Fu Zhiren glanced at each other, and they both saw a look of surprise in each other's eyes. Even in the Xia Army, there are very few people who shoot three-stone bows. Zhao Xingde was nothing, just because Taixue didn't take it seriously, and many people even secretly said, "You have a lot of strength, but you can win a lot." It seems that in the Xia Kingdom, if you can memorize the Four Books and Five Classics upside down, the neighbors will praise at most: "This kid has a good memory." ”

Pan Shao smiled slightly: "It turns out that Mr. Zhao is not a real person." He turned his head to Fu Zhiren and said: "The strongest bow in the Inspector's Mansion is only two stones, I asked people to go to the Iron Bone Army to borrow a bow, and today Mr. Zhao will definitely let me wait to open my eyes." ”

Fu Zhiren was slightly stunned, hesitated for a moment, and nodded in agreement. So Pan Shaowei asked people to go to the Iron Bone Army to borrow a three-stone bow, and personally accompanied Zhao Xingde back to the main hall. In addition to the three priests just now, there were four or five more people with Kanto accents in the hall, who warmly greeted the newcomers.

"Hey, you're also a native of Jinju, when did you come over? The hometown is okay. ”

"You're going to the river? It's too far, and I can't go for a year and a half, let alone Shishan Xiaohai, so I have to have a life to get it. ”

"The weaving house of the nobles of Zhou is recruiting people, taking care of food and housing, and there is a net income of 20 yuan a year." A person said to Guo Hong mysteriously, "Don't tell others, you won't have a chance if it's late." ”

Seeing that several Kanto refugees were already a little tempted, Fu Zhiren sighed and didn't say anything, Pan Shaowei smiled coldly, and whispered to Zhao Xingde: "When you see a fellow countryman, stab him in the back." Zhao Xingde nodded, gently took Li Ruoxue's hand, and asked her to stay away from those idle people.

"The decree of the Zhuguo Mansion, in order to put an end to fraud for personal gain, if it is not a matter of secrecy, the yamen is open to do things, and the people are not allowed to come and go. The same is true when the state pastor is elevated. Fu Zhiren explained to Zhao Xingde that sometimes the Yamen, the inspector of the West River, also had a headache with these flies and mosquitoes, but the law is the law. If these displaced people were recruited by the Guanzhong Workshop here, they would earn less money, but it would also save them a lot of trouble in arranging for them to travel long distances.

After waiting for a while, the clerk who went out to borrow the three-stone bow came back, and Ma Rui, the centurion of the hussar battalion of the Iron Bone Army, came with him, and when he saw Fu Zhiren, he shouted loudly: "Old Fu, I heard that someone can actually shoot a three-stone bow, and I will also come to see it with my own eyes." "The three-stone bow is the limit of the hard bow used in the army, and Ma Rui is behind the gate, and he can open two stones and five bucket bows, which is already outstanding.

Pan Shaowei let Zhao Xingde out and said with a smile: "It's this Mr. Zhao from Kanto, who is both civil and military." ”

Zhao Xingde also bowed to Ma Rui, and the four of them came to the archery range again, Zhao Xingde tried to pull the bow, fortunately, it was not much different from the three-stone bow commonly used in Taixue, just when he used his strength and pulled the three-stone hard bow like a full moon, Ma Rui and the other three opened their mouths in surprise. Then, Zhao Xingde shot ten arrows like just now, and still hit the bull's-eye, because the trajectory of the arrows shot by the three-stone bow was more like a straight line, and the arrows were only concentrated in the center of the red heart, and there was a jagged red punch around it.

"Brother Fierce General!" When Zhao Xingde put down his bow, Ma Rui couldn't wait to grab his arm and squeeze it, "How did you practice it?" "He is the second son of the Houmen family, and after he came out to join the army, he still can't change his gag temperament.

Zhao Xingde couldn't cry or laugh, and turned his head to look at Fu Zhiren and Pan Shaowei.

Pan Shaowei's face was slightly gloomy, and he said to Fu Zhiren: "Use a three-stone bow to shoot ten shots and ten hits, Inspector Fu, forgive me for worrying, without the company of the sergeant, Mr. Zhao can't go on the road alone, and I won't give him a road guide." ”

Although Fu Zhiren had long been suspicious that Pan Shaowei was so enthusiastic about seeing Zhao De use the three-stone bow, he couldn't help but blurt out, "Why?" Ma Rui also fell silent and stared at Pan Shaowei. Zhao Xingde didn't know why.

Pan Shaowei's face remained unchanged, and he said slowly: "The three-stone bow arrow can penetrate the heavy armor, and ten shots and ten hits are a hundred steps away. Mr. Zhao is a native of the Kanto region, and I am derelict in my duty to let him go back and forth in the country on his own. After he finished speaking, he also bowed his hand to Zhao Xingde and said: "The duties of the subordinate officials are limited, Mr. Zhao is not to blame." ”

Fu Zhiren's face changed slightly, whether it was a horse thief or an extreme sect, they were all keen on ambushes and assassinations. The Kanto people have a peaceful temperament, pay attention to etiquette and convince people, and are dignified, but it cannot be denied that Pan Shaowei's reasons are sufficient. He pondered for a moment, nodded his head, and said with a smile: "Brother Zhao, then please stay in the Xihe Patrol Yamen for a while, and when the captain is rotated to go to the Dunhuang Protectorate Mansion to discuss matters, you will go with you, and it will save you a lot of trouble." ”

Zhao Xingde was dumbfounded, the so-called husband was not guilty, and he was guilty. However, he secretly helped Han Shizhong shoot the leader of the Keree Department not long ago, which is enough to prove that Pan Shaowei's worries are not unreasonable.

Fu Zhiren is a warm-hearted man, he thinks that if he hadn't asked Zhao De to show off his skills with Pan Shaowei because of curiosity, maybe Zhao De would have been on the way to Dunhuang smoothly. In order to apologize, he specially invited Zhao De and his wife to live in his home. Fu Zhiren's wife, Xiang, soon after meeting Li Ruoxue, talked about the popular clothing in Chang'an, Bianjing, and Luoyang. And Ma Rui often came to talk to Zhao Xingde, asking him for advice on how to practice strength, and also talked about Zhao Xingde following the Iron Bone Military Captain to Dunhuang.

The Protectorate Mansion of the Xia State was composed of more than 400 captains, who discussed and decided on military affairs. The captains took turns to go to Dunhuang for deliberations. Ma Rui's immediate boss, Lieutenant Qiu Shiliang, will also rush to Dunhuang in September and will not return until September next year.

Lieutenant is the only way to be promoted to general, and when Qiu Shiliang was in Dunhuang, he never missed various lectures in the General's Mansion. It is a pity that there has been no major battle in Guanzhong for decades, and every time a general is promoted, when it comes to military merits, the captains of the various armies in Guanzhong have to suffer a lot of losses; in the past 10 years, I have only seen foreign generals leading the army in Guanzhong, and there are not many military captains stationed in Guanzhong who have been promoted to generals. The five armies directly under the General's Mansion still have the opportunity to rush to other battlefields, and the five armies belonging to the Andong Military Division have almost no major military merits. Now there are great opinions within the Anton Military Division, and the bottom is either sighing or gritting their teeth. However, military merit is the first consideration for promotion to general, and no one can say what is wrong.

During Qiu Shiliang's absence, the affairs of the battalion were signed by the oldest centurion Ling Hudu. However, Linghu Du's power is limited to the daily affairs of Xiao Gui Cao Sui, and major matters still have to be reported to Qiu Shiliang with military pigeons, and urgent matters are subject to the military department, and the four marching horses can generally handle things properly. When Qiu Shiliang was discussing matters in Dunhuang, he often used the pigeon post to exchange opinions with Ma Rui and them, and even notified the retired sergeants to discuss together, so as to ensure that the opinions of all the sergeants under the battalion were understood by the Protectorate. The decision of the Protectorate to decide on every major national policy is often the result of repeated discussions between the lieutenants and sergeants in various places and repeated debates and revisions in the government.

Only in this way can we achieve a situation of unity of mind, such as mobilizing millions of manpower in Guanzhong to build canals and roads, promoting such things as replacing firewood with charcoal, replacing high-quality wheat seeds, and experimenting with no-tillage methods to conserve water and soil. In the process of discussing and making decisions, the sergeants were also able to understand the various policies of the Prime Minister's Mansion thoroughly, for example, in order to encourage the rotation of grain and grass to maintain the soil fertility, all the land that rotates crops, and the Prime Minister's Mansion issued 50 yuan per mu, which was applied to the county government and distributed to the subordinate households. The laws and decrees of the Xia Kingdom became more and more complicated, and without the guidance of the sergeants, many shaders would not be able to figure it out at all.

Fu Zhiren used to be a sergeant, but after he retired, he did not stay in northern Xinjiang, but returned to Guanzhong, and it was impossible for the residents of northern Xinjiang to come all the way to find him, so there was no shade below. On the contrary, he was not used to it, and went home every day after taking care of affairs in the house, and boasted to Zhao Xingde when he had nothing to do, if he followed the laws and regulations, how to farm, how to buy and sell, and how to solve disputes, it was just like a jack of all trades. During this time, Zhao Xingde's friendship with Fu Zhiren and Ma Rui also became deeper and deeper.