Disciplining Emperor Gaozu of Han

Chapter 27 The Patriarch of Han Dynasty Cavalry

"The prince did hit the target." Li Bi picked the leaf, rode back on horseback, and waved the leaf in his hand as he spoke to the cavalrymen.

"impossible!"

"Absolutely impossible!"

The cavalrymen would never believe that.

"I tore off a small piece of this leaf myself, there's no mistake, you can see for yourselves." Li Bi handed the leaf to the nearest cavalryman.

The cavalryman took the leaf, his eyes widening as he examined it. Just as Li Bi had said, a small piece was missing from the leaf, and there was an arrow hole in the center. He still couldn't believe it: "This…"

It took him a while to come to his senses and hand the leaf to his nearby companion.

The cavalryman took it, opened his eyes wide, and was shocked.

And so the leaves were passed around, and the cavalrymen could hardly believe it.

Finally, the leaf was handed to Liu Bang. After examining it, Liu Bang puffed out his chest, beaming with pride: "Ying'er's archery skills are truly my teachings, how could they be lacking? Are you all convinced?"

Xiahou Ying glanced at Liu Bang, not even wanting to expose him anymore.

It was Liu Ying who taught you archery, okay?

Liu Ying had long been aware of Liu Bang's shamelessness and had no desire to expose him.

"Excellent archery skills!" Lü Ze took the leaf from Liu Bang, examined it, and exclaimed in admiration.

Liu Ying was his own nephew, and he was very proud of his achievements, so he involuntarily puffed out his chest.

"It's luck."

"It was just a coincidence."

The cavalrymen remained unconvinced.

"Hmm?" Liu Bang was displeased, rolled his eyes, and glared at the cavalryman.

"Since you're not convinced, fine. I've only shown you my basic archery skills. I have even more impressive techniques to reveal to you." Liu Ying's gaze swept over the cavalrymen as he said, "Go to a distance one arrow's width away and mark your positions. I'll shoot them one by one."

"Really?" The cavalryman stared at Liu Ying.

"A gentleman's word is as good as his bond!" Liu Ying said proudly.

"Then let's go." The cavalrymen didn't stand on ceremony. More than forty men rode to a spot one arrow's width away and began to mark the location.

Some people poked a hole in the tree, some peeled off the bark, some poked a hole in the leaves... and so on.

After marking the spot, they rode their horses aside, their eyes wide open, watching Liu Ying intently, waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

Liu Ying spurred his horse, and it galloped forward. He then drew his bow and released an arrow. After firing one arrow, he quickly nocked another and fired another. Arrow after arrow, without ever stopping.

Sometimes they would turn around and shoot arrows, and sometimes they would hide in the stirrups, with all sorts of tricks.

"I won!"

"I won!"

"I won!"

As the arrows fell, each one hit its mark, and the cavalrymen cried out in surprise.

"Xiang Yu is nothing more than this!" Liu Bang watched Liu Ying's various tricks and listened to the cavalrymen's exclamations. He was overjoyed, and his eyebrows were full of joy.

"It's a pity Liu Ying is too young," Xiahou Ying said regretfully.

If Liu Ying were older, he could have dominated the battlefield. Not to mention, his extraordinary archery skills alone would have made him a force to be reckoned with among thousands of troops.

Even more impressively, they could take the head of a general amidst a vast army.

"It will grow up," Liu Bang said with anticipation.

"I've met the prince!"

"Greetings, Prince!"

More than forty cavalrymen returned on horseback, dismounted, and approached Liu Ying's horse. They knelt on their right knee and bent their left knee, paying their respects with the highest military salute. This showed their complete admiration for Liu Ying. The army respected the strong, and Liu Ying's archery skills were extraordinary, so they naturally submitted to him.

Liu Ying, seated on horseback, calmly looked at the cavalrymen, showing no intention of returning their greeting: "You have tested my archery skills, and I will now test your mounted archery. I only need two hundred of the most skilled mounted archers; the rest will remain for emergencies."

Of the more than 11,000 men, only 240 were cavalrymen. Liu Ying couldn't possibly take them all; he needed to leave some for Liu Bang in case of emergency. In case of an emergency, the cavalrymen would be of great use.

"How do we conduct the entrance exam?" Li Bi asked.

This is also the question that Luo Jia and the others wanted to ask.

"This is a wilderness, perfect for galloping. You will ride horses and shoot arrows, show me your best skills." Liu Ying's gaze swept over the crowd: "I will only choose two hundred men."

"Prince, watch closely." Li Bi took the hard bow from his back, nocked an arrow, spurred his horse, and the warhorse galloped away like the wind. He then drew his bow and released the arrow at a leaf in the distance.

The arrow flew like lightning, striking the leaf squarely and piercing through it.

"What excellent archery skills!" Liu Bang exclaimed in astonishment, "That's a hundred paces away! He's no less skilled than that scoundrel Zhongli Mo."

The Qin Dynasty used six as a unit of measurement, with six feet equaling one step. One foot was 23 centimeters, so one step was 1.38 meters. A hundred steps was about 140 meters, which was comparable to Zhongli Mo's archery skills.

Luo Jia also fired an arrow, hitting a leaf a hundred paces away, which once again drew praise from Liu Bang.

The other cavalrymen each displayed their skills, riding horses and shooting arrows. Their archery skills were so-so, only managing to shoot about fifty paces, which is about the average level of an adult.

"Compared to the Chu cavalry, they are far inferior." Liu Ying saw this and felt very sorry.

If this cavalry unit were to encounter the cavalry led by Zhongli Mo, they would be utterly crushed.

They were generally older and their archery skills were mediocre, far inferior to those of Zhongli Mo's men who could shoot hundreds of meters at a time.

Li Bi and Luo Jia were the most outstanding in horsemanship and archery. Liu Bang summoned the two to his side and asked, "I have observed that your horsemanship and archery skills are extremely impressive, no less than Zhongli Mo's. Why have I never heard of you before?"

"We dare to tell the King of Han: We are originally cavalry generals of the Great Qin." Li Bi's words were astonishing.

"What? A Qin cavalry general?"

"Impossible, right?"

"The people of the tyrannical Qin dynasty all deserve to die, how could they have become cavalrymen of the Han dynasty?"

The cavalrymen heard this, were shocked and deeply moved.

"A Qin cavalry general?" Liu Bang was also taken aback, his eyes widening as he scrutinized the two men. "At the end of the Qin Dynasty, chaos reigned, and the officials of the tyrannical Qin were like rats crossing the street, hated by everyone. If your identities were exposed, you would suffer a terrible death. Why did you reveal your identities to me after concealing them for so long?"

"Good!" Xiahou Ying nodded heavily.

The cavalrymen echoed this.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, all Qin officials, regardless of rank, were considered heinous criminals, hated by everyone. Once their identities were exposed, they faced a terrible death. Therefore, many Qin officials always tried to conceal their identities.

Li Bi and Luo Jia looked at Lü Ze.

"I dare to inform the King of Han: I have known for a long time that Li Bi and Luo Jia were cavalry generals of the Qin Dynasty." Lü Ze explained to Liu Bang: "The two are skilled in riding and archery, and have no bad deeds. I thought that the Han Dynasty would need cavalry soldiers sooner or later, and their skills would be useful, so I took them in."

"Thank you for taking us in, Lord Zhou and Lord Lü." Li Bi and Luo Jia clasped their hands in gratitude.

"You don't need to worry about it. Just be loyal to the Han Dynasty," Lü Zeyou encouraged.

"This..." Liu Bang hesitated.

Li Bi and Luo Jia saw this and were somewhat disappointed.

"What are you hesitating about?" Liu Ying asked Liu Bang.

"They are cavalry generals of the tyrannical Qin dynasty," Liu Bang hesitated.

"So what if Qin had cavalry generals?" Liu Ying sneered, "Qin not only wiped out the six states east of the mountains by defeating six of them, but also defeated the Xiongnu in the north and pacified the Baiyue in the south. The reason Qin had such a fierce and warlike army is that it could learn from their strengths."

"This..." Liu Bang still hesitated.

"If you had a fierce army like the Qin Dynasty, would you still worry about not being able to defeat Xiang Yu? Would you still be afraid of not being able to destroy the eighteen vassal states that Xiang Yu enfeoffed?" Liu Ying looked at Liu Bang and curled his lip.

"Excellent!" Liu Bang said, "In that case, you two will follow Ying'er to accomplish this task."

"Thank you, Prince Han!"

"Thank you, Prince!"

The two were overjoyed.

Liu Ying was not good at history and did not know that Li Bi and Luo Jia were actually the forefathers of the Han Dynasty cavalry.

In the Battle of Yingyang, Liu Bang was utterly defeated by Xiang Yu's cavalry. After much reflection, he decided to build a cavalry force. However, none of his generals were skilled in mounted combat, so he ultimately recommended Li Bi and Luo Jia, two Qin Dynasty cavalry generals. But these two were shrewd and only wanted to assist, not serve as commanders. Therefore, Liu Bang appointed Guan Ying as the cavalry general. With their assistance, Guan Ying accumulated considerable merit and eventually became prime minister.

Note:

The "Biography of Guan Ying" in the Book of Han records: "When the Chu cavalry came in large numbers, the King of Han selected those in the army who could serve as cavalry generals. He recommended Li Bi and Luo Jia, former Qin cavalrymen from Chongquan, who were skilled in cavalry and were now colonels. The King of Han wanted to appoint them, but Bi and Jia said, 'We are former Qin people, and we are afraid that the army will not trust us. We wish to have skilled cavalrymen from Your Majesty's side teach us.' Although Ying was young, he fought bravely many times. So the King appointed Ying as a Grand Master of the Palace and appointed Li Bi and Luo Jia as left and right colonels, leading the cavalry of the Gentlemen of the Palace to attack the Chu cavalry east of Xingyang, and defeated them greatly."