Spring comes to the desperate place

Chapter 264: Piercing Yang

Song Chunlin looked around. These people were all waiting for him to make a fool of himself. Song Chunlin would not let them do that. Wherever he looked, the noise became quieter. After everyone around him quieted down, he shouted to General Lin:

"Lao Lin, do you think I will never hit the target? But if I hit the target today, what will you do?"

The corner of General Lin's mouth twitched. What a ridiculous name "Old Lin" is. He is only twenty-four this year. How can he be old!

"How dare you, an ignorant boy, make such a boast. If you are really capable and can hit the bull's eye from twenty steps away, I, Lin, will be convinced and accept your title of Archer. If not, please resign from your post to His Majesty and stop using the title of Sharpshooter to deceive others."

Song Chunlin gritted his teeth and had the urge to beat up General Lin, but he held back because he wanted to see what would happen to the other party that would make him drop his jaw.

"Humph, you are really good at calculating. My title was originally bestowed by the emperor himself. It is there whether you recognize it or not. I am not satisfied with this bargaining chip."

The soldiers around laughed when they heard this, and General Lin also laughed out loud.

"Then what do you want?"

This is exactly what Song Chunlin wanted. He smiled brightly at General Lin and said, "I want you to call me Boss!"

"puff……"

General Lin could no longer hold back, and he jumped up and started to curse: "You little bastard, don't think I won't hit you just because you're my brother! Let go, don't stop me!"

The soldier next to him saw General Lin jumping up and down, and immediately grabbed the man with his quick eyes and hands. His movements were so skillful that it was heartbreaking.

Song Chunlin looked at the unconvinced General Lin and desperately stuck out his tongue at him: "Go ahead and hit me if you dare, lululu~~~"

Gu Fengyue felt a bit of a headache watching the two people quarreling. He didn't understand why the two of them, who were a generation apart in age, would start fighting over a disagreement?

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. If you keep arguing, it will be dark!" Gu Fengyue finally said something fair. Song Chunlin rolled his eyes at General Lin and stood obediently behind Gu Fengyue.

General Lin was furious, and he looked at the two men with a grim smile, "Okay, okay, you two really deserve to be a couple. I have changed my mind now. Didn't you claim to kill a barbarian within a hundred steps? I want to see if you can really hit the target within a hundred steps. I don't ask for much, you can hit anywhere, it doesn't have to be the bull's eye."

Song Chunlin raised his eyebrows: "What if I shoot you?"

"If you hit the target, I will be willing to admit defeat and call you elder brother, but if you miss the target, you must still follow what I just said and go and ask for your resignation from His Majesty."

"A word is settled!"

"High-five!"

With three crisp claps of high fives, the bet between the two officially came into effect. Gu Fengyue was not worried that Song Chunlin would lose. What he was worried about was what would happen if General Lin denied his mistake and started a fight with Song Chunlin again.

Song Chunlin gave Gu Fengyue a reassuring look, then walked confidently a hundred steps away, and then he took off the bow and arrow that he had been carrying on his back.

He pulled out a feather arrow from the quiver next to him. Seeing his action, the other soldiers also showed disdainful expressions.

"An archer with only a bow but no arrows is really ridiculous."

In fact, Song Chunlin was in such a hurry to take the bow that he forgot to take out the arrow. At that time, they were already on the road, and it would be inappropriate to take things out at this time, so he gave up.

Song Chunlin naturally heard the ridicule as well. He revealed a mysterious smile and stretched out his hand to draw the bow. When the bowstring was fully drawn, everyone present suddenly fell silent. Even General Lin finally had a serious look on his face. He thought that Song Chunlin would not be able to fully draw the bow. They also had compound bows in their camp, but due to the limitations of materials and technology, few people could fully draw the bows they made, and those who could do so needed a lot of strength.

General Lin walked up to Gu Fengyue and asked, "How is the bow in his hand different from ours?"

Gu Fengyue responded with four words: "It's a world of difference."

While the two were talking, Song Chunlin had already started to aim, and in just a moment, the arrow flew off the string and finally hit the bull's eye. However, this was not enough, and the next arrow was the second arrow, the third arrow, the fourth, the fifth...

A total of ten arrows were shot, all hitting the center of the bull's eye, densely packed together, and the time intervals between them were very short. Almost not long after the previous arrow was shot, the next one followed closely, without any pause in between. This showed that Song Chunlin spent almost no time aiming.

Everyone present was an archer, so they naturally understood how powerful Song Chunlinlu's skill was. Who would have thought that such a powerful archer was only a thirteen-year-old boy at this time?

After shooting ten arrows, Song Chunlin put away his bow and walked slowly towards General Lin. He stopped five steps away from General Lin. Although he was not as tall as General Lin, his momentum was not inferior to the other.

"How is it, General Lin?"

It took General Lin a long while to find his voice. He looked at the arrow that was still trembling slightly, and the shock in his heart was no less than the first time he saw a compound bow.

Looking at the young man in front of him who was not even as tall as his shoulders, General Lin didn't understand where such a weak-looking man with thin arms and legs got the strength to pull the bow and actually hit the bull's eye at a hundred steps away, and not just once, but ten times.

General Lin thought he couldn't do such terrifying accuracy and strength, so he was convinced at this moment.

"Boss!" General Lin called out "Boss" so loudly that the soldiers were so shocked that they almost jumped up. It was the first time they saw someone that General Lin was willing to call "Boss". He was not convinced by the Great Sima and would confront him every time he saw him. He had a bad temper and would jump up and down at any time. Actually, there would be such a day.

General Lin glared at the group of bastards who thought the matter was not big enough and waved his fist vigorously as a threat.

Under the threat of "force", these little guys left arm in arm, but they still kept talking non-stop. General Lin felt deeply desperate.

Turning around, he saw that Song Chunlin had put away the bow. General Lin, who always liked to collect bows and crossbows, slipped to Song Chunlin's side in a somewhat flattering manner and asked him earnestly if he was tired of carrying the bow all the time. If he was tired, he didn't mind taking the trouble for him.

Song Chunlin looked at the other party suspiciously. This guy was almost writing "touch the bow for me" on his face. Thinking that he called him boss, shouldn't he also give him a gift?

"Well, you can give it a try."

General Lin took the bow in a hurry. It was dark at this time and he could not see clearly. After lighting a torch, he could see the intricate and smooth lines on the bow with a little light, as well as the touch, weight and bowstring in his hand. No matter from which aspect, the bow in his hand was far superior to those in his own hands.

After looking at it over and over again, General Lin became more and more fond of it. He walked to the target, pulled out a feather arrow and tried to pull it. Unlike what he expected, the bowstring of the compound bow was obviously more elastic than the one in his hand, and it did not take a lot of strength to fully draw the bow as he imagined. For example, now he only used 70% of his usual strength to fully draw the bowstring. In addition, because the bow was light, aiming became easier.

General Lin was also an old hand. He hit the bull's eye easily. The moment the arrow was shot out, General Lin had the urge to take the bow for himself. Fortunately, reason told him that he was an adult after all, and he couldn't snatch things from a child.

Song Chunlin could see that he liked the bow very much, but he didn't say anything. He just took the bow back under General Lin's reluctant gaze.

"Well, Boss, I wonder if you have another bow like this? I won't take it for free. Can't I pay for it?"

Song Chunlin scratched his ears, not wanting to hear anything. He put his hands behind his back and planned to go back with Gu Fengyue to have dinner, if they could make it in time.

General Lin wanted to chase after them, but the next moment an object hit him on the head. General Lin subconsciously reached out to grab it, and it was the bow he had just received. He immediately knew that it was a gift from Song Chunlin to him, and he grinned like a fool and yelled at the two men as they left.

Song Chunlin thought he was being noisy, so he rode away at full speed, and Gu Fengyue naturally followed closely behind him.

When they were halfway there, Song Chunlin looked back and could no longer see the military camp. He used his mental power to check the surroundings and confirmed that there was no one around. Then he stopped the horse, and Gu Fengyue also stopped immediately.

"It's so late, there will be no food to eat if we go back, so why don't we just have a picnic here?"

Gu Fengyue looked at the desolate countryside around him. Well, he was just greedy.

Song Chunlin dismounted and found a flat place. The two men placed the horses. Song Chunlin took out a barbecue grill from the space, as well as charcoal fire, various skewers and drinks.

Gu Fengyue lit a fire for him and hung a rechargeable lamp on the tree, illuminating the surroundings.

The two of them had a good picnic in the woods, and only after they had eaten their fill did they return to the Song family with their round bellies in their hands.

Song Qinshi and Song Dazhuang had not slept yet. They were waiting for Song Chunlin to come back. Song Dazhuang had a sharp nose and smelled the barbecue smell on the two brats. He snorted coldly and went back to his room with a stern face without saying anything.

Song Qin smiled and told them: "Your father was afraid that you two would come back too late and have no way to get in, so he insisted on waiting for you to come back. I told him that you two would definitely not treat yourselves badly, but he just didn't believe it. See." With that, Song Qin spread her hands, shook her head at the two of them, and went back to her room.

Both Song Chunlin and Gu Fengyue felt guilty, so they got up very early the next morning to help with the housework. When they were working hard, there was a loud knock on the door again.

"Boss, boss, are you there? Boss, come out quickly!"

Song Chunlin's face turned black. This Lin guy must have been a loudspeaker in his previous life. Not only did he have a loud voice, but he couldn't stop shouting. Song Chunlin couldn't bear it anymore and tried to get the guy out. Before General Lin could be happy, Song Chunlin pulled his sleeve and walked him away from the gate.

"What's wrong with you? I gave you a bow yesterday for nothing. You come here to disturb the people so early in the morning. Don't you have anything to do in your barracks?"

General Lin was attacked by a barrage of attacks and wanted to retort. Fortunately, his brain was faster than his temper. Thinking about the bow he got last night, General Lin resisted the urge to retort and instead put on a flattering face.

"Boss, isn't it because I came to see you for something important?"

"Business? What business do you want to talk to me about?" The surprise on Song Chunlin's face didn't seem fake, and it made General Lin's heart chill for a moment.

Seeing this, Gu Fengyue couldn't help but come out and remind Song Chunlin: "Have you forgotten what he came here for yesterday?"

"Ah?" Song Chunlin thought carefully. It seemed that General Lin came here for the three thousand archers yesterday. Thinking of the huge amount of military pay, Song Chunlin took a breath again.

"I'm warning you, you won't get any money, but you'll lose your life!"

General Lin felt disappointed again, thinking, am I that kind of person who is obsessed with money?

Well, I am.

"Wasn't it because we weren't familiar with each other yesterday? Could I cheat someone I know? Of course not. Let's put it this way, boss. You take these 3,000 people back first. As for the military pay... we'll talk about it later, later." General Lin thought to himself that your family is just a farmer's family. If you really let your family pay, he would probably be hunted down by the brothers Gu Fengyue and Gu Fengyun, right?

Song Chunlin was suspicious: "Really?"

General Lin nodded frantically: "It's true. It couldn't be more true."

Song Chunlin still refused: "My house is so small, where can I live with three thousand archers?"

General Lin: "I'm not asking you to take them home to raise them, but I'm asking you to transfer their military status to your name so that you can have the real power to command them."

Song Chunlin seemed to understand: "Transfer to my name? They are not slaves, how can they be transferred?"

"Well, in theory, it's almost the same as slavery. Most of us soldiers join the army because we can't survive and want to have a full meal. Once we enter the barracks and become soldiers, we are not much better than slaves. It's just that military status cannot be bought and sold, and it's easier to get rid of it. In addition, soldiers get paid."

It's military pay again. People keep talking about military pay left and right, but in the end it all comes down to the lack of money.

In fact, according to the supplies in Song Chunlin's space, it is not impossible to feed these 3,000 people, but the question is why he should pay out of his own pocket to support the court? And according to General Lin, this phenomenon is very common in the military camp.

Song Chunlin turned around and asked Gu Fengyue: "Are your Gu Family Army also paid by the Gu Family?"

"It's different. The Gu Family Army belongs to the Gu Family, not the court. Very few of the Gu Family Army's soldiers are military personnel, and most of them are good civilians. The ones in General Lin's hands are different. They are soldiers of the court, so naturally they should be supported by the court's military pay. But now that the emperor has given them to you, I think it's probably for you to support them."

"So the emperor can't afford to support them anymore, so he gave these people to me?"

Gu Fengyue: “…”

General Lin: “…”

"My dear, this is not something you can say!"

"It's okay. He can't hear it. Oh, by the way, these people are all young and strong, right?"

General Lin said as a matter of course: "Of course it's the young and strong men. Don't worry, the ones I give to the boss are definitely the youngest and strongest."