In the cold wind, Xu Mu stood up quietly. Deep down in my heart, there are still mixed feelings.
The ragged robes and armor were still swaying in the wind. God knows how many village women and children are in the courtyards of other places, leaning against the door and looking into the distance.
"My young master, please come this way." The voice of the man leading the way was obviously choked with sobs.
"Thank you."
Taking steps, they walked through the tombs made of rocks. After about two sticks of incense, the large group of people finally climbed up the mountain and walked to a slightly flatter terrain.
There are hundreds of thatched houses in total, all of which look like stacked buildings. On the edge of the flat land, there is a large pool of water, the water color is a bit dirty.
Unknown wild vegetables grow beside the pond, in a large circle, quite neatly, and they probably do not grow naturally.
In the old horse gallery built, only a dozen old horses with sparse manes could be seen, scratching their hooves slightly uneasily.
In the middle of the plain, an old camp flag embroidered with soaring clouds and blue dragons was whistling in the night wind.
The veteran camp of three thousand people, just for one belief, lived dormantly in such a cold border.
"My little boss, General Feng is here."
Xu Mu raised his head, and after a while, he saw a strong man walking towards him. He had long steps, high cheekbones, deep wrinkles on his forehead, and the simple knife tied around his waist was also very old. .
"Xu Mu in the inner city, meet the general." Xu Mu was silent for a moment and held his hands firmly.
The figure approached and followed Xu Mu's voice and made a fist-clasping movement.
"I am no longer a general, my boss just calls me by my name." Feng Qiu said in a hoarse voice with a smile on his face.
"Someone came to report earlier, saying that the Marquis has finally sent someone. My Qinglong Battalion of three thousand people are all eagerly waiting for it."
"Come, little master, please come into the house. All heroes, you can also go in and rest. Someone will bring you food later."
Xu Mu breathed a sigh of relief. He was previously afraid that Feng Qiu was a veteran ruffian who could not be said to be reasonable. Looking at it now, he is indeed a rare good general.
With only Chen Jiaqiao and Si Hu, the three of them followed Feng Qiu and walked into the middle thatched hut.
As soon as he sat down, Feng Qiu spoke, his voice slightly anxious.
"My dear boss, can you take a look at the hidden cards?"
"Naturally." Xu Mu calmly handed over the hidden card.
Not long after, Feng Qiu, who was holding the secret card, gradually became slightly moist in his eyes.
To be honest, Xu Mu can understand this feeling. It was like an old official who had been dismissed and was suddenly re-employed. How could he express his excitement in words?
"My dear boss, how are you doing, Mr. Marquis?" Feng Qiu took a deep breath as he handed back the secret card.
"I recently contracted a cold and my cough was a bit severe."
"It's not the wind and cold... The Marquis was injured by an arrow at the border two years ago, and his chest was almost broken. If he had been treated earlier, there would be no such sequelae, but the Marquis held on and took us on horseback. After running around for three days, we captured the four camps of the Di people in front of Yongguan."
Xu Mu showed bitterness. In a time when the world was at peace, people like Yuan Tao could be called the great sages of the country.
Xu Mu deliberately avoided such a serious topic. Soon, he would take these three thousand people to fight with the Di people. His morale must not be affected.
"By the way, Feng Qiu, how is the situation at the border now?"
"What else can we do? That General Po Di is still somewhat bloody and did not abandon the city and escape. But the current situation is still very bad."
"The strength of the Di people has increased to 130,000. However, the defenders of Hezhou, including the temporarily recruited civilians, only have 40,000 to 50,000 to defend the city."
"In a few days, the 100,000 veteran households in the northwest border should be able to reach Hezhou. But even so, I don't think Hezhou can hold it."
Xu Mu nodded, Feng Qiu's analysis was not wrong.
With successive victories in Beidi, morale will become higher and higher. On the other hand, Hezhou is timid before fighting. At most, it relies on anger to defend the city hastily.
"Before, my little boss hadn't come yet, and Hezhou was in a hurry. I couldn't help it anymore, so I had to lead my people to fight." Feng Qiu said in a helpless tone.
Fortunately, I held back.
If not, this time at the border, he would have no choice but to take a hundred men and horses to beat the autumn wind.
Three thousand people, not a large number, but enough to make a surprise attack on a small scale.
"Feng Qiu, is there any way to cross Hezhou?"
"Crossing Hezhou? My little boss, aren't we going to help Hezhou?" Feng Qiu was startled. His first thought was to go to Hezhou, be organized into a camp, and then go up to the city wall to defend the city.
"No, if you go to Hezhou like this, it will have no effect. The Marquis told me that your role is to be a surprise force."
"But why do you want to cross Hezhou? My dear boss, Mo-could it be that you want to have an encounter with the Di people?"
"You can't fight in an encounter. Beidi are all cavalry, and they are good at running around and shooting."
If he really led 3,000 people to fight Beidi, it would probably not take more than a few rounds before a large number of them would be shot to death by the Di people's horse bows.
Although he didn't understand what Xu Mu meant, in the end, Feng Qiu chose to trust him. After all, this was the person appointed by Yuan Tao.
"My little boss, if you want to cross Hezhou, there is no way. But you need to walk down the steep road from the rocks at the foot of Tuotou Mountain. Before the Di people came to the city, I also followed that path. This road has to be walked twice.”
"Is it dangerous?"
"It's very dangerous. The rocks there are very high. If you fall, you will definitely die. And you can't take your horses with you."
There are no horses, which means you can only bring some dry food with you.
In front of Xu Mu, there are actually only two ways. The first option is to simply go to Hezhou and help Zhao Qingyun defend the city, but this will have no effect. At most, he will be used as cannon fodder.
The second one is to bypass the fighting Hezhou City, go deep into the hinterland of the Di people's forces, and act as a troublemaker in team battles.
Xu Mu chose the latter. He couldn't fit in with this rotten imperial army. Furthermore, he still leads the army as a righteous man and cannot be too ostentatious.
"Feng Qiu, are all the three thousand people in Qinglong camp equipped with robes and swords?"
"Of course." Feng Qiu smiled, "Even though I was stripped of my official status, I still practiced on Tuotou Mountain every other day, polishing my armor and sharpening my sword."
"Just wait for one day, and we will go out with three thousand people and fight into the Beidi people's formation, even if we die, we will sacrifice our country."
Xu Mu's heart moved slightly, remembering that day, the same three thousand Tongzi camp, under the smoke and rain of arrows, rushed to the head of Wangzhou City to die.
He really didn't want this tragic situation to happen again.
"It's not that they are going to die, and the people of Di are not invincible -"
"My little boss, we are waiting for three thousand people, and we have already decided to die." Feng Qiu's voice was solemn, and he suddenly stood up and walked to the door of the thatched house in a few steps.
"My dear boss, come with us."
Xu Mu stood up in astonishment and took a few steps closer.
Under the night sky, Feng Qiu picked up an old horn from the side and blew it twice.
In an instant, the Qinglong Camp of three thousand people quickly gathered on the huge flat ground.
"My dear boss, I am not afraid of life or death." Feng Qiu's face suddenly turned red.
"Throughout this life, the three thousand Qinglong Camp has nothing left. Only the will to sacrifice one's life and forget one's own death is unmatched."
"If you are really unfortunate enough to die, why should you be afraid of being wrapped in horse leather?"
Feng Qiu raised his arm. In front of him, the three thousand people of the Qinglong Camp all had firm expressions.
"The Marquis once said that if we are strong and unyielding and refuse to give up even if we die, we will be the Great Wall to commemorate people."
Xu Mu remained silent, and the tragic and strenuous feeling suddenly filled his chest again.
He raised his head and looked at the Three Thousand Azure Dragon Battalion in front of him. Among them, some are older and have gray hair.
In any era, there is no shortage of heroes. What is lacking are heroes who dare to die and move forward indomitably.
"We worship the three thousand tiger soldiers of the Qinglong Camp. Please join me, Xu Mu, to kill a round of border beacons and defeat the enemy!" Xu Mu raised his head and shouted coldly.
"Go with us! I am willing to die with you!"
The passionate voice soon filled the vast night sky.
