The general of the Song army shot all 3 arrows crookedly, and the 10,000 Liao troops laughed wildly, and they were so frightened that they hurriedly retreated. What is going on here? A Song Dynasty marksman actually shot a crooked arrow at a moment of crisis, causing the enemy to laugh, but then why did the enemy retreat in panic? There must be something else behind this. Let's find out:
The martial arts are strong, and the fame is on the border
In the city of Kaifeng, Henan, there is a strong martial arts archer, known as the "archer" He Guan. He has been an avid archery enthusiast since childhood, and has caught wild birds in the woods of his hometown to practice archery. Seeing his tireless work, his mother had high hopes for him, hoping that he would be able to get ahead through martial arts.
He Guan's archery is unique, he can shoot the bull's-eye from a hundred paces away, and later extended the distance to three hundred steps, and he still misses every shot. No one in the county has been able to match him, and they have praised him as a "sharpshooter". At the age of twenty, He Guan was a sensation in martial arts and was named the champion of martial arts.
With Wu Zhuangyuan's exploits, He Guan was soon stationed in the western border fortress. At first, he was only a small official, but with his outstanding martial arts and diligence, he gradually rose to important positions. During his tenure in Hedong, He Guan became acquainted with Han Jin, an envoy of economic strategy, who valued his talents and predicted that he would do a great deal.
At this moment, the Western Xia soldiers approached the city, and He Guan was not afraid of danger and personally charged into battle. He quickly wound the arrow, only to hear the sound of "bang", the arrow went straight into the throat of the enemy, and what was even more amazing was that this arrow also stabbed another enemy in the back! Seeing this, the Western Xia soldiers' faces turned pale, and they no longer dared to advance half a step.
After this battle, He Guan's prestige was greatly shaken. Song Huizong personally summoned him to the palace to ask for advice, and He Guan analyzed the border situation to the emperor through sand table deduction, which was deeply appreciated by the emperor. During the inspection of the Volcano Army, He Guan demarcated the famous "38th Parallel" in order to prevent the Liao Army from taking water for transit. In retaliation, the Liao army sent troops to crusade.
When the Liao army was advancing step by step, He Guan fired three arrows at once, and all of them were shot at the rocks in a row! When the Liao army saw He Guan's amazing archery skills, they were stunned and had no choice but to retreat in embarrassment. He Guan's prestige immediately spread in the Liao Kingdom, and everyone was in awe and called him "the archer". Thirty years later, He Guan reunited with the envoy of Liao, and the envoy still respected him and thanked He Guan's subordinates for showing mercy and not pursuing the victory.
In this way, with his outstanding martial arts and brave style, He Guan repeatedly performed miraculous feats in the western border fortress, relieving the worries of the Song court. As a civilian, he used his identity as a martial artist to break out of the world in the military circles, and his reputation was impressive, which was deafening.
The three arrows shot crookedly, and the Liao army laughed wildly
Since ancient times, there have been contradictions and conflicts between the Song and Liao countries. During the reign of Song Zhenzong, border conflicts intensified. In order to retaliate against the "38th Parallel" demarcated by the Song army, the Liao State sent troops to attack the Song army.
At that time, the Song army was assembling at the border, preparing to meet the Liao army. The general He Guan commanded the main force, and he had tens of thousands of elite divisions under him. When the Liao army heard of He Guan's name, they knew that they could not underestimate the enemy, so they sent an advance messenger to call for battle.
The envoy arrived at the camp of the Song army and shouted: "General He can come from the territory of our Liao army's million-strong army, and please move the division quickly to avoid being killed!" He Guan sneered after hearing this, and said to the envoy: "How do you know the strength of our army? I will let you see my magic arrow today!"
After that, He Guan took his bow and arrows and aimed them at an old tree in the distance. I saw that he took a deep breath and flew out of the arrow, but the arrow deviated from the target and shot into the open space next to the tree! Seeing this, the envoys and soldiers of the Liao army laughed in unison, mocking He Guan's unfamiliar archery technique.
He Guan was not ashamed, and set up two arrows in a row, but the two arrows were also shot crookedly and landed on the other side of the old tree. The envoy of the Liao army laughed heartily, pointed at He Guan and said: "General He really does not live up to his name! If only three arrows fail to hit the target, how can he resist the offensive of our Liao army?"
In the Liao army's array, more than 10,000 elite cavalry also laughed wildly, mocking the incompetence of the Song army. Even the Song sergeants were in an uproar when they saw this, and some people even doubted whether He Guan really had the skills of a "magic archer".
He Guan was unmoved, he slowly picked up the fourth arrow and put on the bowstring. This time, he didn't aim at any target, but shot the arrow directly into the sky! Seeing this, the Liao army envoy laughed even more wildly, pointed at He Guan and mocked: "Isn't General He shooting birds in the sky?"
At this moment, only three crisp sounds of "pop pop" were heard, and the three arrows that He Guan had shot crookedly before actually passed through the heavy bushes and accurately hit the three guards behind the Liao army envoy! The three guards fell to the ground in response, and the Liao army envoy was so frightened that his face was colorless, and he fled back with a crawl.
Hidden mysteries, the Liao army was terrified
The Liao envoy fled back to the barracks in embarrassment, and reported to the commander of the Liao army the miraculous scene of He Guan shooting three crooked arrows but hitting the guards accurately. The commander was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly summoned the masters of the army to come and discuss countermeasures.
A veteran said: "He Guannai is a famous archer in the Song Dynasty, and his archery skills are really amazing. If we underestimate the enemy, I am afraid that we will suffer a big loss!" Another sergeant added: "He Guan deliberately shot three arrows crookedly, but he was able to hit the target accurately, which is obviously deliberately luring our Liao army to take it lightly!"
The commander nodded, pondered for a moment and said, "It seems that He Guan is secretly considering the vigilance of our army, we laughed and mocked just now, I am afraid that we have fallen into his trap." With that, the commander immediately ordered the whole army to be on alert, and sent elite cavalry to reconnoiter the movements of the Song army.
Sure enough, the cavalry soon returned to report that the Song army was already in array for battle, and He Guan personally commanded the main force. The commander was shocked when he saw this, and hurriedly ordered the whole army to prepare for battle. At this moment, I saw He Guan holding a longbow in his hand, slowly taking an arrow, Yun Li took a deep breath, and the arrow flew out of the string and shot straight out!
The commander of the Liao army was so frightened that his face was pale, and he hurriedly ordered: "Quickly cover up! Don't let He Guan's arrow hurt us!" I saw several sergeants hurriedly raise heavy wooden shields to cover it, but after waiting for a long time, the arrow did not arrive. The commander looked at it suspiciously, and the arrow was actually shot at the highest point in the sky!
Just when everyone was puzzled, they only heard two "whoosh" sounds, and two more arrows shot into the sky! Three arrows lined up in mid-air and shot in the direction of the sun. The commanders and soldiers of the Liao army were all shocked when they saw this, and they looked at each other inexplicably.
Prestige and fame
When the commander of the Liao army saw He Guan shoot an arrow into the sky, he was puzzled for a while. At this moment, a veteran stepped forward and said solemnly: "My lord doesn't know, He Guannai is a famous archer in the Song Dynasty, and his archery skills are really amazing. ＂
It turned out that this veteran had witnessed He Guan's magic arrow skills in a border conflict thirty years ago. At that time, in order to prevent the Liao army from taking water to cross the border, He Guan demarcated the famous "38th Parallel". In retaliation, the Liao army sent troops to crusade. Just when the two sides were confronting, He Guan fired three arrows at once, and all of them were shot on the rocks in a row!
The veteran recalled: "At that time, we were all horrified when we saw this, and we had to retreat in embarrassment. Since then, He Guan's prestige has spread throughout the Liao Kingdom, and no one admires his marksmanship. ＂
When the commander heard this, he couldn't help but be in awe. He remembered the previous scene when He Guan shot three crooked arrows but hit the guards, and immediately understood He Guan's intentions. It turned out that He Guan was deliberately considering the vigilance of the Liao army, and these three arrows shot into the sky to give the Liao army a dismount.
The commander-in-chief hurriedly ordered the whole army to fight and sent envoys to sue for peace. The envoy came to the camp of the Song army and said to He Guan respectfully: "General He's archery skills are really earth-shattering, crying ghosts and gods! We are not your opponents at all, please show mercy to my subordinates and spare the lives of our Liao army!"
Seeing that the envoy was so sincere, He Guan nodded and said, "Since you know your mistakes, you can change them, and I will open the net." But next time there is a transgression, don't blame my subordinates for being ruthless!"
Since then, He Guan's prestige has spread throughout the Song and Liao countries, and no one has been in awe of him. Up and down the Liao Kingdom, all regard He Guan as a "magic archer". Even thirty years later, when the envoys of the Liao State reunited with He Guan, they still respected him, and thanked He Guan's subordinates for showing mercy and not taking advantage of the victory to pursue.
end
He Guan, who was born as a martial champion, finally became a recognized marksman in the Song and Liao countries by virtue of his outstanding martial arts and resourcefulness, and his reputation was famous and powerful.