"Chief of the forest Wuzhe! These tribal warriors or whatever don't seem all that impressive, do they? They can't even draw a ten-strength bow. Can they really count as warriors?"
"Ah! They've been fighting all day today, used up all their strength, that's why they can't draw a ten-strength bow... Ha! Look, didn't he draw it now?! I told you, the calluses on his hands—one glance and you can tell he's an experienced archer!... Uh? He only managed that many draws? These tribes from the southern stockades, the ones who keep those thin braids, really are a bit weak. They can only count as Battle-Ready Serfs..."
By the riverbank, a large body of Wild Jurchen cavalry spread into a line, bows and arrows in hand as they stood on guard, watching the Tame Jurchen captives huddled together in terror and unease. Meanwhile, the twenty-five "Battle-Ready Serf" captives were taken out separately from the crowd and, under the supervision of the Kingdom's Jurchen tribesmen, strained to draw the great bows in their hands.
"Put your backs into it! Pull hard for me! If the Maha Tribe doesn't want you, if you can't be traded for Iron Pots and Iron Axes... then you'll be the vanguard the next time we attack another stockade!..."
At those words, some of the twenty-odd newly captured Battle-Ready Serfs showed fear on their faces, while others showed hatred. But every one of them bit through their lips and put forth all their strength, proving what they could do.
The so-called Battle-Ready Serfs and Reserve Serfs were actually very simple for the Wild Jurchen tribes to judge. Anyone who could draw an eight-strength bow and shoot two quivers of arrows counted as a Battle-Ready Serf. Those who could not were Reserve Serfs. This was also the selection standard