After the last incident in the palace, Ye Qingshan didn't dare to let Ye Laosi out of his sight again this time.

After giving the order, Ye Qingshan got up and went to the inner room without waiting for Ye Laosi to speak.

This side of the room had been cleared out long ago, leaving only a large table.

"Find me a map of this area."

Someone immediately took the order and left. After a while, he came back with a sheepskin map and spread it on the table.

Ye Qingshan leaned over and looked carefully at the mountain roads on the map.

"These intersections are the most convenient for exiting the mountain and heading to the capital. If they want to start a war directly, they will probably choose these places to go down the mountain.

"So we must arrange enough people around here and have them carry flares to immediately set off warnings if anything happens."

Ye Qingshan turned to the other side and continued looking, pointing to other mountain roads around him and said, "We need to deploy personnel in these places as well. If they break up and leave in small groups, there will be a possibility of them at any intersection, so we can't let them go.

"Also, send someone to notify the villages at the foot of the mountain. Tell everyone to stay home as much as possible today. Don't go out unless necessary. If you encounter any problems, seek help from the nearest officers and soldiers..."

After Ye Qingshan had arranged everything, he prepared to take his entourage to the exit of the mountain road closest to the capital to check out the situation.

It was like this when he was at the border. He could never let his men charge in the front while he hid behind and had no time to spare.

On the way there, Ye Qingshan was still saying to his close followers: "Based on the investigation of the traces they left behind, it is estimated that the number of people should be between 8,000 and 10,000.

"Although we are short in manpower, our battle line is quite long. On the side close to the capital, we only have 5,000 men at most.

"If we really encounter a large force later, everyone must pay attention to safety..."

Before Ye Qingshan finished speaking, the deputy general beside him started laughing.

"If it was half a year ago, I wouldn't have dared to say anything big.

"To put it bluntly, the abilities of these youngsters at that time were really inadequate. They would have been absolutely useless if they had been deployed to fight.

"But over the past six months, after the general's reorganization and training, the remaining group of people, although they haven't actually seen the battlefield yet, are definitely not the cowards they were six months ago.

"Besides, when we were with the general at the border, we fought battles where we defeated the larger force with a smaller one.

"Don't even mention that there are only 8,000 to 10,000 people on the other side. Even if there are 15,000, we are not at all vulnerable!"

"Third brother is right!"

"That's right. No matter how powerful these people inside the pass are, they can't compare to those ruthless people on the border. What do we have to be afraid of?"

"Ever since we followed the general back from the border, we've been idle for half a year. Now we finally have a place to use our skills. Let's see who dares to stand back today!"

"Whoever has persisted in practicing for the past six months has been cheating and slacking off. Today, they can't hide it anymore!"

"I have a good idea. If we really meet today, how about we brothers compete to see who can kill more?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone responded immediately and was ready to go.

The horses of a few impatient people had even surpassed Ye Qingshan, and they were eager to rush to the foot of the mountain and have a good fight with the group of people on the mountain.

Although Ye Laosi was no longer a newcomer in the Yulin Guards and had made meritorious service before, and was now a small leader, he had never encountered such a situation and had never actually killed an enemy.

So he had mixed feelings along the way.

But seeing that everyone else was so excited, I felt a lot more relaxed.

Ye Qingshan had long noticed that something was wrong with Ye Laosi's expression, so he slowed down a bit and waited for Ye Laosi to ride up to him before comforting him, "Don't compare yourself with them, they all fought their way out of the dead on the border with swords and knives.

“Killing people is not as easy as they say.

"You've never been in this situation before, so don't try to be brave. Just follow me honestly, okay?"

But Ye Laosi disagreed and took the opportunity to say everything he had wanted to say in the village before.

"General, I am also a member of the Imperial Guard, and I have brothers under my command!

"If I just hide behind you when something happens, how can I ever convince others in the future?"

"This is different from how you, the Yulin Guards, maintain law and order in the capital." Ye Qingshan had long guessed that Ye Laosi would have this attitude. For a moment, he felt both relieved and helpless. He patiently explained to him, "Generally speaking, when a person kills someone for the first time, they will be quite shocked and will be greatly affected.

"So when I asked you to follow me closely, I didn't mean for you to be a coward.

“Just in case, I can take care of you in time when you need me.

"If something happens to you, how am I going to explain it to my family and Miss Zhou when I get back?"

After hearing what Ye Qingshan said, Ye Laosi finally stopped objecting and promised to stay with Ye Qingshan and not leave him too far.

But in fact, he had already made up his mind that even if he followed Ye Qingshan, he would not wait for a share of the credit. He would definitely fight bravely and make Brother Qingshan look at him with admiration.

The village where Ye Qingshan lived was not far from the destination, so everyone arrived quickly and dismounted.

The captain who was stationed here with his troops came forward immediately.

"General, we haven't detected any unusual activity yet. I've sent people into the mountains to investigate. We should have news back before lunch."

"Okay, then we'll wait here too." Ye Qingshan nodded.

Sure enough, less than half an hour after everyone waited, the spies they sent out came back and reported, "There is indeed movement in the mountains. Although I dare not get too close for fear of alerting the enemy, I can be sure that they have definitely set off.

"The main force should be coming this way. It's hard to say whether they have detached personnel to leave through other mountain roads."

As soon as they heard that a large army was coming this way, the men Ye Qingshan brought back from the border immediately became excited.

Without waiting for Ye Qingshan's order, they all began to tidy up their clothes and check their weapons. One of them even hung a palm-sized leather bag around his waist.

Ye Laosi didn't understand what this was, so he went over to ask.

"Third brother, what's in this leather bag?"

"Haha, this place is empty now. It's reserved for good things!"

The others started laughing too.

Seeing Ye Lao Si's puzzled expression, the man called Third Brother explained, "This is for storing spoils of war."

While Ye Lao Si was still pondering what this trophy was, he heard others eagerly asking, "Are we going to cut off the right ear again this time?"