Hundreds of miles of desert.
Hundreds of people and horses trample on bursts of dust from time to time. When the horses stopped, everyone's body was covered with a layer of fine yellow sand. It was really like "yellow sand wears golden armor in a hundred battles".
"Master, that should be Tuotou Mountain."
Xu Mu nodded. There was a lonely mountain bun not far in front of him. It was shaped like a beast's skull, with hare lips and a long neck. It should be a hunchback.
The whole mountain didn't look very majestic, but the feeling of loneliness added a bit of desolation to the border.
"The mountains extend and are surrounded by rock piles. This kind of scenery is really suitable for hiding."
What surprised Xu Mu was that, despite being three thousand veteran soldiers, why did they still choose to stay hidden and watch the beacon fire at the border indifferently at this time.
Or maybe it was Yuan Tao who gave Qiaofu the death order?
With deep doubts and not staying long, the hundreds of horses and men continued to attack in the direction of Tuotou Mountain.
Encountering a group of sand wolves hunting refugees on the road, a wave of flying arrows passed by and the sand wolves fled wildly. A dozen rescued refugees kowtowed to Xu Mu and others.
"Master, we're close."
Zhou Zun, who went to inquire first, came back and still couldn't change his problem of talking out of breath.
"There seems to be an ambush ahead."
Xu Mu frowned, put his hand into his sleeve, and took out the secret card given by Yuan Tao. Immediately, a single rider galloped forward.
Si Hu and others behind him were startled. After screaming a few times, they all caught up.
Thump thump thump.
Three or four tones of open strings suddenly arise. More than a dozen figures poked their heads out coldly among the rocks.
"Don't move forward, I'm going to kill you!"
"After using the knife, are you really ready to become an old gangster?" Xu Mu calmly reined in the reins and stopped the horse.
According to what Yuan Tao said, this group of people are all veterans of Daji, and they naturally have a certain character when doing things. Just as Xu Mu believed, this group of people would not kill him until they found out everything.
In the darkness, more than ten figures were startled, and after a long time, they spoke again.
"Dare I ask, which family is the king of?"
"The Yuan family is looking for someone named Feng Qiu."
With just one sentence, these big men in ambush suddenly stopped talking and quickly approached with torches.
"Do you have a brand?"
"Of course."
Xu Mu took a breath and handed the secret card in his hand to the leader.
Not long after, the faces of more than a dozen big men suddenly turned red, with faint emotions of tears bursting from the eyes of tigers, but they finally held back.
"Everyone, please come in! The mountains and rocks are rugged, and you can't ride a horse." The big man at the head handed the secret card back to Xu Mu again and made a "please" gesture.
"Dismount." Xu Mu shouted, and the figure of Baiqi slowly jumped off the horse, holding it in his hand, facing the night, walking through the towering rocks at the foot of the mountain, and walking deep into the depths.
From Xu Mu's point of view, the area under Tuotou Mountain was indeed a natural barrier, which at least eliminated the possibility of a cavalry charge. Even if there were spies who took a roundabout way and were at the foot of the mountain, they could easily see clearly.
"What else did this... boss, Guo surnamed Hou, say?" The big man leading the way turned his head, his eyes full of expectation.
"I said you are all good guys who cheat on you. This time, I will let you follow me."
The big man became slightly excited. He obviously had no intention of disobeying Xu Mu and only paid attention to the first half of the compliment.
"My little boss doesn't know that when the surnamed Marquis left the border, I waited for three thousand people. I really wanted to go with him." The big man rubbed his eyes, his voice full of sadness.
Xu Mu had heard similar past events from Yuan Tao. It was probably that when the young emperor ascended the throne, there was internal fighting in the court. He was afraid that he would change the dynasty, so he left the military power early.
These three thousand old soldiers have also lost their status as officials. They are just like bereaved dogs, without roots and feet, dormant in the beacon fire at the border.
Xu Mu knew that it was more likely that Yuan Tao was protecting this gang of warriors.
"I still remember clearly that it rained at the border gate that day, and Yongguan, seven hundred miles away, had not yet been broken. A Marquis named Guo rode alone from the border gate back to the inner city to report on his duties. Along the way, there were ordinary people, kneeling in the rain. I send you off respectfully on the ground." The big man wiped his tears.
Xu Mu looked silent.
Yuan Tao, a loyal minister who wanted to support the country, encountered too many constraints.
As the group walked deeper and deeper, the few torches they had were obviously not enough. The weak light reflected on the rugged rocks gave people a vague feeling of palpitations.
"Light the brazier!"
The big man leading the way shouted into the night.
In an instant, at least a dozen braziers were lit, and the world around him slowly became brighter.
Xu Mu had been a little curious before, how could these three thousand old warriors survive while dormant at the border with no industry and military pay.
Now he understood that along the way, there were densely packed sand wolf meat hanging out in the air and complete animal skins.
The big man who led the way seemed to have guessed Xu Mu's doubts, "General Feng asked me to wait for the hunting wolf before, sell my skins, and sometimes take on some martial arts business."
"Why... don't you go back to the inner city."
"Little boss, I have told three thousand people that even if I die, I will die at the border and look after the mountains and rivers for the Marquis. I wanted to kill Di Gou before, but it's a pity that General Feng said he wouldn't let me until the time comes. Waiting to come out of the mountain."
Xu Mu felt a little sad. There were three thousand Tongzi camp in Wangzhou who died for the country. Here, there were three thousand old warriors, dormant and waiting.
Although the dynasty is in a state of decay, there are still good men who are hanging on to their eggs.
It's a pity that I was in a hurry to leave the border and couldn't get to know each other.
"Do you have a camp number?"
"Qinglong Camp."
Xu Mu hadn't heard of it, but Chen Jiaqiao was behind him, with an unconcealed expression on his face.
"My boss, Qinglong Camp was the first battalion in Podi a few years ago. I heard there were 20,000 people——"
"They all died for their country, and there are only three thousand people left." When the man who led the way heard this, he turned around somewhat lonely and pointed at the dense piles of rocks on both sides.
The slightly upright shape is like a continuous mountain of small tombs.
Xu Mu followed the firelight and looked carefully, and found that most of them were burial mounds, with wooden spears and ragged robes and armor fluttering lightly in the wind.
"Some corpses were shot to pieces by horse arrows, some were smashed by falling rocks, some were captured by the Di people and fed to wolves, and some were burned into charcoal particles."
"The Marquis told us that the Great Era is in turmoil. As soldiers, if we can't defend the country, how can we have the face to return to the inner city to see our parents, wives and children."
"If one day, when the world is at peace and the border is peaceful, we will go to a big restaurant in Changyang, drink a few glasses of strong wine, and eat a few peach fish from Jijiang River."
Xu Mu paused.
Behind him, more than a hundred figures also stopped.
Xu Mu knelt down on the ground, and more than a hundred people also knelt down on the ground.
"Goodbye!" Xu Mu gritted his teeth and bowed to the ragged robes and armor swaying in the wind.
"Bye--" More than a hundred figures shouted in trembling voices.
