Chapter 61: The Death of Xiutu Ge

A few minutes later, everyone in the royal tent gathered outside.

Liu Bei and Xiutu Ge each mounted their horses.

In front of them, a dull yellow line, made by pulling up all the grass, served as a boundary.

Forty paces beyond that stood a target.

Their contest was to gallop past the boundary and shoot at the target from forty paces away.

Each would shoot ten arrows to see who was the more accurate.

Liu Bei was the first to spur his horse along the edge of the yellow line.

As he rode, he steadily drew his bow, aimed at the distant bullseye, and released.

With a sharp “whoosh,” the arrow shot out like lightning and struck the ten-ring dead center!

“Well done!”

Mengde, along with the wagon drivers and guards, shouted excitedly at the sight.

The drivers and guards had been specially summoned by Mengde to cheer for Liu Bei.

Otherwise, if only she were there to support him, both she and Liu Bei would have felt awkward.

After Liu Bei’s first shot, a flicker of surprise flashed in Xiutu Ge’s eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

He couldn’t believe he would lose to Liu Bei in mounted archery.

Xiutu Ge took a deep breath, raised his bow while riding, and shot with all his might.

His arrow streaked across the sky like a meteor and pierced the ten-ring with precision!

“Well done!”

The Xiongnu on their side also cheered.

Mengde, hearing their cheers, couldn’t help but look at those guys speechlessly.

‘Were their brains addled?’

If Xiutu Ge won, she and Liu Bei would lose, and without the Cao Family providing 1.5 million shi of grain, these people would be left starving in the cold winds this winter!

Forget it, no point arguing with fools.

Mengde shook her head in resignation.

***

Time passed as the two sides traded shot for shot, neither giving ground.

Each arrow displayed their superb skills.

By the ninth shot, both had struck the ten-ring every time.

On the palm-sized red bullseye, eighteen arrows were clustered tightly together.

For a moment, the atmosphere was tense to the extreme.

Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on the two competitors.

Tute Chanyu, seeing this, thought the match would end in a draw.

He ordered his attendant to prepare to move the target to fifty paces for another round.

At that moment, Liu Bei acted again.

But this time, he didn’t aim for the bullseye.

Instead, he targeted one of Xiutu Ge’s arrows already embedded in the target.

“Whoosh!”

“Crack!”

The sound of the arrow slicing through the air was followed by a crisp snap. Xiutu Ge’s arrow broke cleanly, its head bouncing off the target.

Because Liu Bei’s arrow struck and broke Xiutu Ge’s, the impact threw off its balance, causing it to land in the eight-ring.

But that was enough.

Unless Xiutu Ge could now break Liu Bei’s arrow and still hit within the two-ring, he couldn’t win.

Unfortunately, Xiutu Ge couldn’t do it.

Nervous sweat beaded on his brow as he drew his bow, his hands trembling slightly.

In the end, his arrow only struck the nine-ring.

Xiutu Ge had lost.

According to their wager, he now faced death—either at Liu Bei’s hand or by his own.

***

Xiutu Ge gasped for breath, nerves frayed.

But in the next instant, the Xiongnu nobles close to the Zuo Xian Wang tribe crowded forward, pointing at the target and arguing.

“That Han’s shot shouldn’t count!”

“There’s no rule that breaking your opponent’s arrow doesn’t score!”

“This contest is clearly Zuo Xian Wang: ninety-nine points, the Han: ninety-eight. Zuo Xian Wang should be the winner!”

“Yes, that’s right!”

The Xiongnu nobles all chimed in, trying to deny Liu Bei’s feat of knocking Xiutu Ge’s arrow from the target and declare Xiutu Ge the victor.

Mengde, however, was in no mood to argue with these people.

She softly asked Liu Bei, “Do you remember how Banchao subdued the Shanshan Kingdom?”

“Shanshan Kingdom?” Liu Bei was momentarily puzzled, then realization dawned.

He gripped his bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed at Xiutu Ge, who was still dazed nearby.

Then he released.

With the sound of an arrow splitting the air, Xiutu Ge sensed something coming toward him.

His eyes widened in shock, but before he could react, Liu Bei’s arrow pierced his skull with a sickening crack.

***

What’s happening to me…?

Xiutu Ge didn’t even have time to process what had happened before he lost consciousness and collapsed, dead in an instant.

Everyone present was stunned.

Banchao’s subjugation of the Shanshan Kingdom referred to how, when Banchao wanted to reopen the Western Regions, he led thirty-six men to Shanshan.

At first, the King of Shanshan treated them with great courtesy, but soon became cold and dismissive.

Banchao guessed there was a reason—most likely, Northern Xiongnu envoys had arrived.

So, he led his men in a night attack, burning the Xiongnu envoys’ quarters and killing hundreds of them before anyone realized.

The next day, Banchao presented the heads of the Xiongnu envoys to the King of Shanshan.

The king was shocked, but also realized that after the Han mission killed Xiongnu envoys in his country, he could no longer side with the Xiongnu.

So the king agreed to submit to the Han Dynasty and sent his prince to Chang’an as a hostage.

Banchao’s plan succeeded for one reason—the King of Shanshan didn’t dare kill Banchao.

Because behind Banchao stood the Han Empire.

And now, would these Southern Xiongnu nobles dare kill Liu Bei or Mengde?

Of course not.

Because Liu Bei and Mengde also had the Han Empire behind them.

That’s why Mengde had hinted for Liu Bei to act quickly.

Before Xiutu Ge’s death, the Xiongnu nobles could still argue about who won or lost.

But once Xiutu Ge was killed by Liu Bei’s arrow, the outcome no longer mattered.

After all, even if Xiutu Ge had won, would that change anything? Could he come back to life?

Of course not.

The Southern Xiongnu nobles suddenly found themselves in an impossible position.

They could keep arguing about the result, but even if they won the argument, Xiutu Ge would still be dead, and they’d lose over a million shi of grain for nothing.

As for killing Liu Bei to avenge Xiutu Ge? They wouldn’t dare.

In the end, after much consideration, they could only swallow their anger and continue to accept aid from the Han Dynasty.

Making money isn’t shameful.

Tute Chanyu was the first to step forward and smooth things over.

“Enough, enough. According to the wager, Zuo Xian Wang was supposed to kill himself if he lost. There’s no point debating who won or lost between Liu Bei and Zuo Xian Wang. Since Liu Bei could shoot down Zuo Xian Wang’s arrow, his archery is clearly superior. Let’s put this matter behind us.”

After Tute Chanyu spoke, the Xiongnu nobles all nodded, agreeing to let the matter rest.

At the same time, Xiutu Ge’s body was carried away.

In Xiongnu society, there was no place for losers or the dead. If Xiutu Ge’s son were an adult, he could inherit the tribe, and Xiutu Ge’s legacy would be safe.

But Xiutu Ge’s son was not yet ten years old. In Xiongnu’s law-of-the-jungle world, a boy like that would never inherit the chieftaincy.

Most likely, Xiutu Ge’s tribe would be divided among his brothers and uncles, and both he and his son would be forgotten.