PFC Chapter 55 Competition
Chapter 55 Competition
Li Zili was stunned.
He had seen a lot of things at Tingyi, including traveling travelers, government troops escorting grain supplies, and retainers of powerful families.
But the training those people had was far inferior to what was happening before their eyes.
The movements of these local militiamen weren't particularly skillful, but their imposing presence, their perfect unity and focus as one, were something he had never seen before.
Wang Fu and the six young men from Xiangyang Village were completely dumbfounded.
"These...these are all local militia from Dongping Village?"
Wang Fu's voice was somewhat dry.
Li Feng appeared beside them without them noticing.
"They were all selected from our Dongping area. They've been training for over a month, and they're only just starting to look decent."
Wang Fu swallowed.
He remembered this brother; he was the one who had been by his benefactor's side that day.
Is this what you call "barely presentable"?
Compared to this, the local militia in Xiangyang Village were simply a disorganized mess.
Just then, Liu Wu strode out from the formation and headed straight for Li Sheng. He reached him, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and bowed, his voice booming.
"Captain, the local militia have assembled. Shall we begin today's selections? Please advise!"
Today was a formal occasion, and there were outsiders present, so Liu Wu sensibly addressed Li Sheng as "Captain".
Li Sheng nodded slightly, his expression calm.
"Let's begin."
Liu Wu accepted the order, turned around and ran back to the field, pulled a small flag from his waist and raised it high.
"here we go."
Li Shi rarely spoke, but he did.
"Hasn't it started yet?"
Everyone was shocked.
They looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the formation had suddenly dispersed, revealing an open space in the middle.
Liu Wu stood in the center of the field, holding a small flag in his hand. He raised it high and then suddenly swung it down.
"The first item, the spear!"
More than a hundred local militiamen responded to the call and quickly formed a tight square formation.
The front-row swordsmen and shield bearers knelt on the ground, their shields pressed together to form a shield wall.
The second row of spearmen rested their spears on their shields, with the spear tips pointing diagonally forward.
The third and fourth rows were also spearmen, with their spear shafts advancing in succession, layer upon layer.
"Hey—ha!"
The spear shafts thrust out simultaneously, the movements so synchronized that one could almost hear the sound of something cutting through the air.
"Hey—ha!"
Retract, then stab again.
A hundred or so spears thrust out and retracted simultaneously, as if by one person.
Li Zili's pupils suddenly contracted.
He's seen the world.
The government troops escorting grain and fodder at the post station also carried spears. But those men were loose and disorganized; ten spearmen could produce ten different rhythms.
The people in front of us thrust their spears out at the same height, retracted them at the same speed, and even moved the same distance with their feet.
This is not a local militia.
This is... an army that is countless times stronger than the soldiers of a county or prefecture.
"Hey—ha!"
Another round of thrusts followed, but the shield wall remained unmoved, and the spear tips steadily pointed in the same direction.
Wang Fu stared, his mouth slightly agape, unable to close it.
The local militia in Xiangyang Village couldn't even line up neatly, let alone perform this kind of... this kind of movement that looked like it was carved from the same piece of wood.
Liu Wu waved his small flag again.
"Stop! Scatter!"
He sheathed the spear and brought it close to his side.
The formation quickly dispersed, revealing an open space in the center of the field.
"Second item, archery!"
Liu Wu waved his small flag again.
However, this time, only eight people stepped forward.
Eight men, each holding a hunting bow, stood fifty paces away. The target was a straw figure, placed thirty paces away.
Li Zili was slightly taken aback.
Eight people?
Just now, the spear formation was a mighty force of over a hundred men, but now that it's time for archery, why are there only a handful left?
Li Feng seemed to sense his confusion and said in a low voice.
"Dongping Village is poor, and they only have these few bows. Some were passed down through hunters' families, some were traded with neighbors in exchange for grain, and the arrowheads were modified from farm tools by Liu the blacksmith... There are only these eight."
He paused, then added a sentence.
"There weren't many arrows; each person only received twelve, and after they were all shot, they had to be collected and reused."
Everyone nodded in understanding.
"Those who can wield a bow and go into battle are the best among our brothers."
Li Feng's voice carried a hint of pride.
"After practicing for more than a month, your accuracy should be pretty good."
As they were talking, Liu Wu had already waved his small flag.
"put!"
Eight arrows were fired simultaneously.
The hit rate was quite impressive, with most of the arrows hitting the straw man, including three that struck him squarely in the chest.
Li Zili's fingers clenched slightly.
Thirty steps.
To have such accuracy, one must have put in a lot of hard work.
After the eight archers finished firing their round, they did not continue. Instead, they quickly stepped forward, pulled the arrows from the straw man, and returned to their original positions to await the next round of instructions.
There aren't many arrows, so each one has to be used sparingly.
"The third item, lifting stones!"
On one side of the site were stones of varying sizes, the smallest of which weighed about 20 kilograms.
The villagers stepped forward one by one, picked up the stones with both hands, raised them above their heads, and then circled the field once.
Those with great strength can lift stones weighing fifty or sixty pounds without breaking a sweat. Those with less strength can lift stones weighing twenty or thirty pounds without difficulty, but their movements are still precise.
Among them, the eight archers performed exceptionally well.
After all, reality is not like a game; archers are not "fragile" but rather a powerful unit with excellent stamina.
Wang Fu's eyelids twitched as he read it.
Among the village militia selected by them, many could lift stones weighing twenty or thirty pounds, but few could carry them for a hundred steps without them falling to the ground.
Then there are other competitions, including physical fitness tests, formation drills, and group practice sessions...
The competition lasted for nearly an hour, and twenty people were finally selected.
Among these people were old comrades like Zhao Hu, as well as many other local militia brothers.
They are all strong, quick-witted, and hardworking talents.
Liu Wu walked up to Li Sheng, clasped his hands in greeting, and reported.
"Captain, the selection of twenty soldiers for the outpost has been finalized. Please provide further instructions."
Li Sheng looked at the selected candidates and nodded to Liu Wu.
"Thanks a lot."
"It's all thanks to everyone's joint efforts."
Liu Wu did not take credit for the achievement.
Li Sheng then turned to face the hundred or so local militiamen and spoke loudly to ensure that more people could hear him clearly.
"I have seen your hard work over the past month. From today onwards, the twenty selected will become garrison soldiers, and I will personally train them. Those who were not selected should not be discouraged. Training cannot stop; the foundation of Dongping Village still depends on you to defend it."
The threshing floor was quiet.
Then, someone shouted first.
"I'm willing to follow the captain!"
Immediately afterwards, a hundred or so people shouted in unison, the sound so loud that the leaves on the trees fell down in a rustling sound.
"I'm willing to follow the captain!"
"I'm willing to follow the captain!!"
Li Zili, standing on the periphery of the crowd, was so startled by the scene that he took a half-step back.
He turned his head and glanced at Wang Fu.
Wang Fu's eyes were red, his lips were trembling, and he was actually shouting along.
"I'm willing to follow the captain..."
Li Zili took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to the figure surrounded by the crowd in the center of the room.
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from outside the courtyard.
The sound grew louder as it approached, and soon it was right in front of them.
The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a horse stop at the edge of the threshing ground. A middle-aged man dressed in black jumped off the horse.
Li Sheng recognized the person at a glance.
Youjiao, Zhou An.
Zhou An dismounted, his gaze sweeping over the young men filling the courtyard, and he paused for a moment.
His expression was subtle, a mixture of surprise and disbelief.
"Chief Li, what you've done..."