Rebirth of a Star General: Chapter 55
JIANG JIAO
Translator: Sylph
Editor: Reki
During summer, days in Liang Zhou were long and unbearable, and it was accompanied by hard, boring, tedious training every day. But the days went on. After the start of summer, there was the middle of summer, and soon after the scorching heat, hopefully, a cool autumn would emerge.
The training on hot days quickly educated the new recruits of the Liang Zhou Guards to have excellent endurance and determination. Each month, in addition to the crossbow and the early morning weight-loading run, they practiced knives, battle formation, spear, sword art, and mounted archery. Riding archery was practiced less, as Liang Zhou guards had limited soldiers and horses.
“Brother He, your loaf of bread.” Mak handed the dry dough to He Yan.
The round loaves were baked over charcoal, crispy and salty. After one bite, even the dregs of the cakes were hot, and when He Yan took another one, she gulped down a large mouthful of water. She felt her empty belly soothed and became comfortable.
Hong Shan stared at He Yan and wondered, “Ah He, I just don’t feel right. You said you eat the same as us every day, sometimes you even open a small stove to make something, so why are you still so thin and… small?” He stifled back the word “short”.
He Yan, “…”
Could you blame her for this?
Even her sworn brother, the “trashy prince” Cheng Lisu, came over every now and then. He would always slip He Yan some food, sometimes a handful of pine nuts or a few pieces of dried meat, and once even a bowl of soup, saying that it was from his uncle.
Whenever he came, Cheng Lisu was almost always nervous, “Quick, quick, eat right here, you can’t be seen by my uncle.” It felt like a secret visit to the prison. Sometimes He Yan really didn’t want to eat, so why bother? But on second thought, there was no need to go overboard with the food, and besides, the food that Cheng Lisu had sent was quite tasty.
But even this opening of this small stove didn’t make He Yan look sturdier. Instead, she was busy training daily and sweating, and after a few months, she lost a lot of weight and looked even more pitiful.
However, the little guy surprised all of the Liang Zhou guards with his crossbow, from making the bandit-born scarred man call out to him as Boss, to being the cause of countless new recruits losing so many dry pieces of bread in one day. This memory was still fresh in their minds. He Yan was now considered famous.
After that, no one came to compete with He Yan for the time being, and He Yan was also happy to relax. She still thought about how to get Xiao Jue to notice her so that she could save the trouble and enter the Nine Banners Camp.
Today’s practice focused on spears. Most of the spears in the arena were made of dense wood, with hard shafts and short, sharp blades.
The instructor threw the dull weapons on the stage, and the recruits followed suit, as they practiced for a while, but with little success. He Yan herself was not very good with spears, as she was used to using a sword. Now that she has become Miss He, she is small and it was inconvenient to use a spear, so she felt her hands and feet become tied.
After performing a set of spear techniques, Instructor Liang let the new recruits practice by themselves, and he couldn’t help but take a second look at He Yan when he came down to inspect the stage.
After all, He Yan’s previous crossbow technique was so hard to forget. This new recruit was valued. But these days, Instructor Liang also noticed that He Yan’s skills with the Whip, Knives, Steps, spears, and Sword were all pretty good, but far from amazing, and the only surprising thing was the Riding Archery, but since there was no competition these days, she could only show so much.
She trained seriously every day, and never slacked off. But Instructor Liang still had a feeling that the teenager seemed to have reservations, and what she showed daily was only a part of it.
He went back to Instructor Du Mao Du’s position. Instructor Du was also in the process of his rounds, and several instructors surrounded him, as they pointed at a new recruit and said something.
As Liang Ping walked over, he started to hear the conversations.
“It’s worthy that his family owns a martial arts school, look at that long spear technique, amazing!”
“I’ll say, he’s actually more skilled than you, old Du. I’ve never even seen that set of marksmanship!”
“This kid isn’t very old, I guess he’s only seventeen or eighteen, he’s been practicing since he was a kid.”
Liang Ping asked, “Who are you guys talking about?”
“That one, the soldier under Instructor Du, the one on the far left of the front row, the big tall one, see?”
Liang Ping looked over in the direction he pointed and indeed saw a young man in a strong looking outfit practicing his spear. This young man bore with thick eyebrows and big eyes, his features straight. Between his eyebrows, there was an air of perseverance, but also a hint of arrogance. He had a steady pace, and his hands dazzled. It wasn’t fancy, but Liang Ping could feel that every step of his spear dance had its own fury.
“Good!” Liang Ping couldn’t help but praise.
“It’s really good,” Du Mao was also proud of him, “I’ve tried him a few times before, and he has real skills. His name is Jiang Jiao, and his father is the owner of a martial arts school in the capital.”
“Then he’s still here to join the army?” Liang Ping was surprised. As the young proprietor of the martial arts school, although he can’t be called a rich man, in an ordinary family, he could eat and drink without worrying about his life.
“He has big ambitions. Don’t you understand men’s aspirations?” Du Mao said, “I admire such men!”
Someone interjected, “I wonder who is more powerful compared to this Jiang Jiao and He Yan under Old Liang?”
As soon as the words came out, everyone quieted down. Du Mao looked thoughtfully at him. Liang Ping subconsciously said back, “He Yan is quite talented at the crossbow, but his spearman-ship is mediocre, not a match for Jiang Jiao’s.”
Joking aside, He Yan was small and thin, but this Jiang Jiao was very tall and strong, and there was a difference between comparing spear skills and archery skills. With bow and arrow, the prey is a straw man, a flying bird, or a walking beast. Spearman-ship was a competition between the two individuals, and if they were not careful, they would suffer bloodshed. Jiang Jiao’s family opened a martial arts school, and he had practiced martial arts since childhood, so how could He Yan be Jiang Jiao’s opponent? If he was beaten up by Jiang Jiao, where would he find another fine archer like him?
“Old Liang, you can’t say that.” Du Mao did not give up and turned to hook Liang Ping’s shoulders, “That He Yan under you, always lagged behind while running in the beginning, but now, he was able to run with ease. Before, he wasn’t able to even pull a bow, but in the end, he could even shoot blindfolded. If you say he can’t do it, he might return triumphant again ten days later. As the instructor, you can’t be too protective of the new recruits. After all, they will all have to go to the battlefield someday in the future.”
The people around them chimed in, “Right, right, Old Du is right! Old Liang, you can’t protect the calf forever.”
Right, my ass! Liang Ping thought angrily in his heart as a bunch of people watched the fun in making him uneasy and restless.
“Instructor Liang, I also want to have a match with He Yan.”
Liang Ping turned back. Jiang Jiao had already put down his long spear at some point and walked behind him. He probably heard the talk between the instructors and came to deliver this statement.
Liang Ping pondered on how to refuse.
“May I?” As if unaware of his dilemma, Jiang Jiao asked again.
