When they arrived at the training ground, the soldiers were
demonstrating the hand cannons.
A row of targets was
placed in front of them. The soldiers held up their hand cannons, aimed, and fired
them. The stone bullets in the cylinder shot out. Some of the targets were
pierced right through, while some were hit at the sides, and then fell into
pieces, which were quite powerful.
Feng Jianping said to
Feng Ye, "The effective distance of this hand cannon is less than 100 meters. It is better to be within 66.6 meters. The farther it is, the less
accurate it is."
When the crowd saw
Feng Jianping coming, they saluted.
Yuan Mao was about to
kneel, but Feng Jianping waved his hand to stop him, "Yuan Mao, you
have physical constraints. Please excuse yourself."
"Thank you, Your
Highness." Yuan Mao bowed while looking with questioning eyes at Yuan
Sikong, who revealed his teeth with a smile.
"Lord Li,
General Han." Feng Jianping returned his saluted back at Li Boyun and Han
Zhaoxing.
"Why did Your
Highness return?"
"My son was
clamoring to see the hand cannons, so I brought him here to see ..." Feng
Jianping said, "Let’s see it one more time.”
The soldiers received
the order, filled them up with gunpowder, ignited it, and fired again at the
newly erected targets.
This time they were
close, and the hand cannon made a loud banging sound, which made their eardrums
vibrate. Even their feet vibrated slightly. The stone bullets made holes in the
targets, making one think of a flesh and blood body that would have been
crippled by such a painful blow.
Feng Jianping's big
hand shook Feng Ye's thin shoulders and laughed, "Lang'er, are you
afraid?"
Feng Ye asked in
return, "What is there to be afraid of?"
Li Boyun stroked his
beard and complimented him, "Little Highness is worthy of being a capable
young man from a distinguished family. You have such courage and natural talent
at such a young age."
Feng Jianping laughed
loudly, "Lord Li has overpraised. He is just a child. He still doesn't
know what fear is."
"Fearlessness is
good." Han Zhaoxing hurriedly took over the conversation, "A brave
man has no fear."
Feng Jianping lowered
his head and looked down at the ignorant Feng Ye and said with a light smile,
"A brave man can be fearless, but a general cannot be fearless."
Han Zhaoxing smiled
sardonically and felt a little embarrassed.
Yuan Sikong looked at
Han Zhaoxing quietly and his heart was filled with disdain. This was the man in
front of him, who had lost Qingzhou, which was the gateway of Liaobei. His bootlicking
was not even on point. Sure enough, he was as unreliable as he thought.
Feng Ye tugged at
Feng Jianping's sleeve: "Father, can I try the hand cannon?"
"No, it will
hurt you."
Feng Ye let out an
"Oh" with a little disappointment.
"Let them demonstrate
again. If the Liaodong soldiers learn how to use the hand cannon, they can stop
the Jin's cavalry."
The soldiers
demonstrated once more.
Feng Jianping's
subordinates were explaining to the Liaodong generals at one side.
Yuan Sikong was
watching intently when he suddenly interjected, "It took too long to
change the gunpowder."
The crowd froze, and
Yuan Mao scolded in a low voice, "No manners."
Yuan Sikong knelt hurriedly,
"I was crude and impetuous."
Feng Jianping
laughed, "No worries, it's a cold day. Don't kneel every time. Get
up."
Only then did Yuan
Sikong stood up.
Feng Jianping said,
"Sikong, go on."
"I saw that it
took the soldiers half a minute to fill the gunpowder. Even if they were fast,
they could only be faster by 10 seconds. The effective range of the hand cannon
is 100 meters, and the soldiers could only shoot twice at most before the
horses' hooves were in front of them."
"Not bad, you
saw the disadvantages of the hand cannon at a glance." Feng Jianping
nodded in satisfaction, "That's why when using the hand cannon, soldiers
should be trained to fill the gunpowder quickly. The hand cannon can withstand
the first wave of cavalry and must be flexibly deployed on the battlefield in
order to defend against the enemy."
Yuan Sikong looked at
the fallen targets and was lost in thought. Perhaps there might be a more
ingenious way to maximize the power of the hand cannon.
Compared to the brave
and warlike cavalry of the nomads, most of the Chinese people grew up in the
plains. The main force was infantry, and infantry against cavalry was like throwing
an egg against a rock. So, defending against the barbarians' cavalry had been
the primary obstacle to the Central Plains regime's foreign war for thousands
of years.
It was for this
reason that the abandonment of the seven states of Liaobei would bring disaster
for thousands of years, as the defenseless Liaodong soldiers had to face the
onslaught of the Jurchen* cavalry on the thousand-mile plain.
Feng Ye quietly
approached Yuan Sikong and whispered, "You really took the child exam when you
were nine years old?"
Yuan Sikong nodded
his head. That year, his father had made a bet with a scholar recommended by the
local government from his hometown, which was supposed to be a joke during the
banquet, but no one expected him to pass. At one time, the threshold of his
house was about to be broken by those who came to pay their respects for
various purposes. Only then did his father seriously asked him not to take the provincial
examination for the next ten years.
"Then you will
be a government officer in the future."
Yuan Sikong nodded
again. His beautiful eyes were deep and quick-witted, which showed his great
ambition clearly.
Feng Ye bit his lips
with his small white teeth and smiled, "One in literature and one in
martial arts, won't we be able to do something great?"
Yuan Sikong also
smiled. He knew that he was too talented, but since he was living under someone
else’s roof, he did not dare to be arrogant in the slightest, but Feng Ye dared
to. Feng Ye's noble background made him dare to think, speak, and do. He was
very envious.
-----
After that day, the
two of them became much closer. Feng Jianping's phrase "between children''
was extremely true. They have long since put that fight in the mud and dung
behind the back of their heads.
Yuan Sikong had to
work in the horse farm and Feng Ye liked the horse farm too, so the two of them
played in the horse farm every day, but of course, Yuan Sikong knew very well
that playing with Feng Ye was more important than evaluating horses.
On this day, Yuan
Sikong took Feng Ye to a stable and said mysteriously, "There is something
interesting today."
Feng Ye's eyes lit
up: "What's so interesting?"
"A mare is going
to give birth to a pony. Do you want to watch?" Yuan Sikong had an excited
look on his face.
"Yes!" Feng
Ye said joyfully, "How does it give birth?"
"How shall I say
this? You will know at first sight." Yuan Sikong pulled Feng Ye into the
stable.
He saw a mare lying
on the ground. Soft hums kept coming out of her nose. Her limbs were pushing
the haystack lightly and restlessly. Two people from the horse farm gathered
around the mare to deliver her child.
The two of them went
over, and Feng Ye was a little nervous.
Yuan Sikong looked
closely, "The mare's gestation duration is similar to that of a human
being, usually only one child per year, so it's not easy to come across
one."
As he was saying
this, one of the midwives helped, and the other started to pull out the baby.
Feng Ye was suddenly
reminded of the things Yuan Sikong did that day when he was treating his horse,
and he frowned in disgust, "Does it have to come out of that place too?
That's disgusting."
Yuan Sikong froze for
a moment and then burst out laughing.
Feng Ye was a little
embarrassed and annoyed: "Yuan Sikong, what are you laughing at!?"
Yuan Sikong dragged
Feng Ye aside: "That place, it's not the same as this place."
Feng Ye didn't
understand: "What's the difference?"
"A stallion is
different from a mare."
Feng Ye frowned:
"What exactly is different?"
Yuan Sikong didn't
expect Feng Ye to pursue him relentlessly and became embarrassed at that
moment. He was still young and ashamed to talk about the difference between men
and women, even though he was talking about horses.
The midwife naturally
understood and could not help but stifle a laugh, and Feng Ye said angrily,
"No laughing!"
Yuan Sikong blushed:
"A mare can give birth to a pony, but a stallion can't, so it's not the
same."
Feng Ye seemed to understand:
"That's why you have to marry a woman when marrying a wife."
One of the midwives was
very vulgar and bold. Seeing that Feng Ye was young and did not have any guards
around, she teased, "Your Little Highness, although men cannot give birth,
it is not impossible to ..." She chuckled after speaking.
Feng Ye was confused
and a little angry: "I'll ask my big brother."
"Don’t."
Yuan Sikong said in a hurry, "You must not ask."
"Why?"
"Anyway, just
don’t ask. If you do, I won't play with you again."
Feng Ye pursed his
lips, "I’ll not ask then."
Yuan Sikong did not
dare to show Feng Ye any further for fear of being asked more questions that
would be difficult for him to answer, so he took Feng Ye for a horse ride.
After horse riding
for one round, Feng Ye had forgotten all about the mare's delivery and happened
to bump into Feng Lie, who had come to the horse farm to train.
Feng Lie led several
of his own soldiers in a sparring match on the horse. Each of them was armed
with a spear and battling on a horse. The clatter of the horses' hooves, the
low growl of the men, and the clash of blades created a small battle scene.
Yuan Sikong and Feng
Ye squatted on one side and were unable to take their eyes off from watching.
When Feng Lie took a
break, he sat down next to Feng Ye. He was sipping yellow wine to drive away
from the cold while laughing, "Ye'er, how was big brother's fight?"
"Big brother is
so powerful." Feng Ye said from the bottom of his heart.
"When I return
home this time, father will let me lead my own army." The young man's eyes
were full of vigor. His posture was glowing, and his tone was full of ambition
and pride.
Feng Ye was simply
more excited than Feng Lie: "Really? Big brother can lead the army by yourself!"
"Yes." Feng
Lie nodded his head vigorously.
Feng Ye blinked and
said enviously, "Big brother, when will I be able to go into battle and
kill the enemy like you?"
Feng Lie smiled,
"When you ... are taller than this horse." He dotingly rubbed Feng
Ye's head.
"When will I be
taller than this horse?"
"Firstly, don't
be a picky eater. Eat more vegetables."
Feng Ye was not
pleased. He jumped up, puffed out his small chest, and exclaimed, "A great
man should eat the flesh of the northern barbarians and drink the blood of the Xiongnu*. Only rabbits eat vegetables!"
Yuan Sikong couldn't
hold back a snort of laughter.
Feng Ye became angry
from embarrassment, "How dare you!"
Yuan Sikong had already
called Feng Ye by his first name and was not afraid of him at all now.
Feng Lie also laughed
out loud.
"Big brother also
mocks me!" Feng Ye was really angry, "Won't Ye'er grow up? Won't Ye'er grow up and be able to lead troops to kill the enemy!?"
Feng Lie pulled Feng
Ye into his arms and let him sit on his lap. He said while smiling, "Of
course Ye'er will grow up. When you grow up, you will definitely be like father
and big brother, leading the army to kill the enemy, and becoming a famous
general. But for now, you must grow up well. Read the art of war and practice
your martial arts diligently, alright?"
Feng Ye nodded
vigorously, "Yes!"
Yuan Sikong was
deeply moved when he saw that although Feng Ye was young, he was peerless and
firm. The two sons of the King of Jingyuan were both so righteous and open-minded. It
was indeed a blessing to all the people to have the Feng family army.
----
eat the flesh
of the northern barbarians and drink the blood of the Xiongnu* [当餐胡虏肉，饮匈奴血] or [壮志饥餐胡虏肉，笑谈渴饮匈奴血]---- With the ambition of destroying the Jin soldiers, when
they were hungry, they were dying to eat their flesh; when they were thirsty
from chatting and laughing, they were dying to drink their blood. It is used to
express the overwhelming hatred for the enemy and the desire to kill the enemy
soldiers. http://tinyurl.com/vfdx2phv
Jurchen*[女真]--- also known as the Jin, or Nǚzhēn
Edited on 2 Apr. 21 (Emzie)
Edited on 1 Jul.
21 (Ari)
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