The Book of Rites explicitly records four types of shooting rituals, namely the Great Shooting Ritual, the Banquet Shooting Ritual, the Guest Shooting Ritual, and the Local Shooting Ritual. The Great Shooting Ritual refers to a shooting ritual held before sacrificing to heaven.
Today is the end of the year and the end of the month, and tomorrow we will change the calendar, sacrifice to heaven, and march south to launch a major campaign. This Great Shooting Ritual is timely.
In the south suburb of Shouchun City, the shrine was located south of the altar. This lower platform had three tiers, and Emperor Cao Rui was seated on the highest tier in his imperial robes.
And the announcer for this Great Shooting Ritual, Cao Xiu, was fully dressed in court attire, standing on the second tier, presiding over the entire ritual. Below him, sixty or seventy officials of the rank of two thousand stones and above were also dressed in full court attire and lined up neatly on the lower platform.
As a shooting ritual, archery is naturally an essential part of it. The Great Shooting Ritual is a ritual of the emperor, so naturally, before all the officials began shooting arrows, Emperor Cao Rui had to be the first to shoot.
At Cao Xiu's direction, Cao Rui got up from his seat, took up his quiver, and accepted the walking bow handed over by his servant. As he descended the steps to the ground in the accompaniment of drum music, there was already a target set up for him by the master archer sixty paces in front of him on the other side of the court.
This type of target has a specific name, which can be called 'Hu' or 'Hou'.
According to the ritual, the 'Hou' used by the emperor is made of tiger skin, the 'Hou' used by feudal lords is made of bear skin, and the 'Hou' used by officials is made of leopard skin.
Shouchun is the capital of Yangzhou. It is not difficult to find tiger skin. However, bear and leopard skins are indeed more difficult to find. Under the circumstances, only silk and silk can be used as replacements.
Cao Xiu loudly read out the rules of the Great Shooting Ritual. Apart from the first arrow, which is a trial shot, each person has three arrows in total. They are to shoot three times in sequence, guided by the announcer and following the rhythm of the drum music.
If one can hit all three arrows, there will be rewards. Of course, if one fails to hit all three, there will be no punishment. The only thing is that they will be embarrassed in front of all their colleagues who are of the rank of two thousand stones.
Since the end of Han Dynasty, the etiquette gradually began to decline. Add to this constant warfare in Jian'an years, there was no time or opportunity to make such a grand ritual in the imperial court. Therefore, all the officials and generals below listened carefully, not wanting to embarrass themselves in front of the emperor later.
This place is outside the city, and there is wind naturally on the open ground, which can interfere with shooting arrows. A target as large as a person's head is sixty steps away, and hitting it is still quite challenging.
Archery is definitely an upper body strength activity. In ancient times, Li Guang's story of shooting a tiger spread. Li Guang shot an arrow out and it stuck in the stone, leaving no trace of the arrowhead. If one has such strength, it can be done. However, at a distance of sixty steps from the target, hitting the target is already quite difficult.
How many people can shoot through a hundred steps? Moreover, the bows and arrows used in the Great Shooting Ritual are common ones, not the ones that each person is accustomed to using. It is already a good achievement to hit the target.
The announcer was Cao Xiu, who was in charge of the ritual process. The master archer responsible for the specific shooting guidance was General Cao Zhen. With both of them holding such important positions, in Shouchun City, apart from the emperor, they were the two most powerful individuals, and no one could say a word against them.
Under Cao Xiu's direction, Cao Zhen first bowed to the emperor, and then demonstrated to the emperor and the other officials.
Cao Zhen walked slowly to the emperor's side, with his left foot stepping onto the mark where a subject would stand for shooting. Facing west, he turned south, looking at the center of the target, indicating that his mind was focused on shooting, then he took his steps, drew his bow, and shot all five arrows in his hand and those in the quiver.
Cao Zhen then bowed to the emperor and turned to walk back to his own position.
This process was jointly studied by Sima Yi and Xin Bi. Cao Zhen just shot four arrows one after another, and these four arrows also had specific meanings.
The first arrow is called practice shooting, taken from the meaning of practice and exercise, hitting or missing is not counted. The three arrows in the quiver behind are the real arrows that count for the score.
With the exclusive drum music for the emperor, Emperor Cao Rui held a bow in his left hand, gripped an arrow in his right hand, and had three more arrows slung across his waist in a quiver.
Emperor Cao Rui took a deep breath and slowly stood still. With his left hand, he opened the palm slightly, feeling the wind with his four fingers. A moment later, he held the bow steady with his left hand, pulled back the string of his right hand, and let go of his fingers. The arrow soared through the distance of sixty steps, stuck at the edge of the tiger skin target.
The practice arrow has hit the target. The officials on both sides of the crowd dare not make any noise to disturb the emperor. Cao Xiu stood to one side, seeing that Emperor Cao Rui's right hand was reaching for his waist, and immediately shouted: "Please shoot again, Your Majesty!"
Emperor Cao Rui gently closed his eyes, listening to the sound of flags fluttering in the wind, took a deep breath, and silently prayed in his heart: "If heaven grants me victory this time, may all three of my arrows hit the target!"
Of course, no one would dare to hurry the emperor. The officials could only stare at the emperor's handsome face with wide eyes.
Emperor Cao Rui slowly opened his eyes, bent his bow and drew an arrow, slightly aimed without hesitation, released the hand after loosening the string. The arrow soared through the air and directly hit the center of the target.
Seeing that the emperor's first shot hit the center of the target, the officials erupted in shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" all over the field, and the sound of the drummers became increasingly urgent.
As the drumbeat slowed down, Cao Xiu stood on the stage and shouted: "Please, Your Majesty, shoot again!"
Emperor Cao Rui shot another arrow, which was a bit off from the previous one, but it was still quite close to the center of the target. The officials in the field saw that the emperor had hit the target three times in a row, and their cheering grew even louder.
With the call of "Please, Your Majesty, shoot a third time!" from Cao Xiu, Emperor Cao Rui took a deep breath, pulled the bowstring taut and breathed three times before releasing the arrow. Moments later, the arrow hit the tiger skin target steadily. At this point, the cheers in the field could no longer be contained, with shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" rising and falling.
Emperor Cao Rui smiled softly and handed the bow to Cao Zhen, who had come to retrieve it. He then slowly removed the quiver and handed it to Cao Zhen as well.
The emperor hitting all four arrows, indeed set a good example for the Great Shooting Ritual. It also provided a very positive psychological suggestion for the military leaders who will lead their troops to battle tomorrow.
Hitting all four arrows is quite extraordinary. Archery is one of the Six Arts of the gentleman, and not to mention the civil officials who are engaged in routine affairs, even among military leaders, how many can achieve a four-for-four hit at a head-sized target from a distance of sixty steps?
The officials and military personnel in the field all had enthusiastic expressions. Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen, as the military commanders of Yangzhou and the master of the army, were surprised but only delighted. What else could it be considered a good omen if this wasn't enough?
It can only be said that the emperor indeed inherited the martial prowess of the Cao family and was indeed good at shooting.
With the lively and urgent drumbeat, Emperor Cao Rui smiled and walked onto the stage. As he climbed the stairs, Cao Rui even thought, is this truly fate meant for me?
What is the meaning of fate? What is the sky?
The Great Shooting Ritual is now officially underway. There are a total of sixty-four people present, including officials of the rank of two thousand stones and governors. They are divided into teams of thirty-two, with one person from the central army and one person from the outer army and each state or county being selected for each team.
The thirty-two matches are proceeding slowly in the drumbeat. Before each match, both competitors have to address the emperor by their name and official title, and only then can they begin the actual competition of archery.
This way of remembering officials is indeed difficult to forget. Many years later, when a prefectural magistrate came to Luoyang as a Shangshu, Emperor Cao Rui saw him again and asked casually, "Are you the same official who was in Shouchun and missed all four shots that day?"
Impressive.
Time slowly passes, and about ten teams have finished their archery competitions.
Among them, there were also those who failed to hit all four arrows. And those who had practiced archery regularly, most of them were able to hit one or two of the four arrows. Those who could hit three out of four arrows were already rare and usually not in the same team.
What most intrigued Emperor Cao Rui was the duo of Ma Qiu Jian, the Commander of the Yuer Cavalry from the central army, and Sun Li, the Prefect of Langya from Xu State.
Both Ma Qiu Jian and Sun Li had hit all four arrows in the practice, one, two, and three matches. The eyes of the officials in the field gathered on these two. As Cao Xiu prepared to call out "Shoot a third time," Emperor Cao Rui gently signaled for Cao Xiu to stop.
Emperor Cao Rui announced their names on the stage: "Ma Qiu Jian and Sun Li."
Hearing the emperor call out their names, Ma Qiu Jian and Sun Li turned around quickly and bowed again. Emperor Cao Rui said with a smile, "Both of you have hit three out of four arrows, which hasn't happened since the shooting ceremony began. Alright, I'll add some more fun to it. If either of you hits the target with the fourth arrow, I will reward you with one of my own horses."
Although a horse from the emperor's personal stable is worth quite a bit, as officials of the rank of two thousand stones, a horse is not something to brag about. However, if it is the emperor's own horse, getting it would be truly an honor.
Ma Qiu Jian was only twenty-five years old, in his prime. Sun Li, on the other hand, was forty-something and also an expert in archery and horseback riding. The two exchanged glances, neither willing to back down, clearly with their eyes set on winning the prize.
With Cao Xiu's command, the two arrows almost hit the target simultaneously. Both in the same group had hit all four targets, a scene that had not occurred since the shooting ceremony began. Emperor Cao Rui laughed heartily upon seeing this.
Emperor Cao Rui said with a smile, "Come closer to me, your two."
Ma Qiu Jian and Sun Li were about to bow when Emperor Cao Rui stopped them: "Take two more steps, come closer to me."
The two then ascended two more steps, standing on the same level as Cao Xiu, and bowed to Emperor Cao Rui.
Emperor Cao Rui then slowly stood up, took a step down and grasped both hands of the two at the same time. Ma Qiu Jian was an old acquaintance, but Sun Li had long been serving in state offices and provinces. This was the first time Cao Rui had seen him. Sun Li's face was thin and sharp-jawed, with particularly expressive eyes.
Emperor Cao Rui said with a smile, "Today, I have remembered the appearance of Sun Li. I will have the imperial horses brought over soon, one for each of you."
Gently patting the back of Sun Li's hand, Emperor Cao Rui said, "Strive to make merit for the country!"
Hearing this, Ma Qiu Jian and Sun Li both fell to their knees in gratitude. The officials below who had yet to compete could not help but also think about what rewards they would receive if they were to hit all four targets.
And the two thousand stone officials who had just hit one, two, or even none of the four arrows could only stand where they were, envying but unable to do anything.
(End of Chapter)
