"So the gentlemen disappeared while transporting grain?"

Wei Mingkuan stood up and paced back and forth in the room. He was a little uneasy when he learned that his men were missing. "Does the clan leader know about this?"

Wei Xiyin: "It was my grandfather's intention to keep the news secret."

She looked at Uncle Nine, who was filled with worry, and added silently, "Four teams have been sent out to search for him. Judging by the timeline, news will be back soon."

The three centurions who followed Erlang out were all reliable people. Regardless of whether they found the person or not, they would find a way to bring back news first to avoid her worrying.

Wei Mingkuan reacted, "Yes, you hadn't come back when Cheng Xiu went out..."

Wei Xiyin raised her eyes and said, "Uncle Nine, please don't make this known to the public yet. We'll know the situation once the scouts return, and then we'll let grandfather make the final decision."

Wei Mingkuan calmed down for a moment and said, "Of course. Since it's the clan leader's intention, I won't tell anyone. But Wu Niang, have you ever thought about it? It's been so long, I'm afraid the clan members have already noticed it."

The young men are the next generation of the fortress and the continuation of the Wei family. If anything happens to them, it will be a heavy blow to the family.

The biggest fear is that if the secret is kept secret until the end, something unexpected will happen, which will cause dissatisfaction among the clan members towards the eldest branch of the family.

It is said to be the eldest son of the family, but in fact it refers to Wu Niang.

Although it was the clan leader's intention to conceal the news, it was Wu Niang's idea to let the men go out to transport grain. After all, she was still young and inexperienced, and could not completely suppress the clan members under her.

Wei Xiyin replied calmly, "It's inevitable that they'll notice. Everyone knows it, and if we don't make a fuss about it, we'll keep it a secret for as long as we can."

"Let's wait a little longer. If there is still no news, your niece will lead the troops to look for the person herself." If he is dead, I must see his body.

Wei Mingkuan sighed and said that this was all he could do.

It was getting late, and he still had to go to the public kitchen to count the grain. Five thousand shi was not a small amount, and he was most afraid that no one would keep an eye on it, and the people who helped transport the grain would secretly hide it.

Everyone knows that food is precious. It is hard to say what will happen if someone takes a risk just for a bite of food.

The two came out of the backyard together and separated at the gate of the county government office.

Wei Xiyin stared at the back of Uncle Nine as he hurried away. She stood there for a while, then lowered her eyelids and turned to walk in the opposite direction, intending to find Uncle Three and return to the fort together.

Outside the military camp.

There were Wei family soldiers on duty. When they saw the girl coming, they hurried in to report.

Soon a soldier came out and saluted, saying, "General, please let the girl in. The third master is also inside, doing the household registration."

"Thank you." Wei Xiyin nodded and followed the soldier into the barracks.

It is very big inside, at least five times the size of the dock camp.

As you enter, you will see two training grounds of the same size, located on the left and right sides, separated by a straight dirt road in the middle. There are many tall and straight trees preserved on both sides of the dirt road, blocking the scorching sun.

There were four desks set up in the shade under the tree, and the four uncles from Mingjingtang were sitting in front of them. The Wei family soldiers were standing on the training grounds on both sides, lining up to go forward and register one by one. After registering, they went to the side to get their clothes.

In order to complete the registration as soon as possible, several uncles were so busy that they didn't even have time to look up.

Wei Mingze was also among them.

Mingjingtang not only brought 5,000 dan of grain, but also brought a set of spare clothes for each soldier.

The soldiers had been wearing their armor for almost a year without changing it. Sometimes they would pass by places with water on their way, but most of the time they were afraid of polluting the water and did not dare to use it.

If you are lucky, you will come across some mountain springs, refill your water bag, scoop out water and wash yourself and your clothes together, and then continue on your journey in your wet clothes.

Wei Mingze was speechless after hearing this.

As expected, those who practice martial arts are all a bunch of rough guys, and they are not afraid of getting sick.

The tribe stores a lot of plants in the spring, such as ramie, ramie, and kudzu for making linen clothes, which fill the yard. People who know the business teach the women how to rinse, beat, and weave them into clothes.

This kind of coarse linen clothes were originally prepared to be distributed to the residents within the wall. Now these soldiers had no clothes to wear, so Mingjingtang took this batch of linen clothes first.

The drought caused water shortage, and there was no place to wash the smelly clothes and armor that had been taken off. They could only be piled up separately in an empty house and wait until there was water in the future.

Wei Mingyuan and his son stood beside the table.

He was silent for a long moment, then said, "I'm sorry to have caused trouble for the clan."

Wei Mingze raised his head when he heard this. "It's just a few pieces of clothes and some food. The clan doesn't need any of it right now, so how can it be a big deal?"

Only rough people can wear this kind of coarse linen. People with delicate skin will suffer when wearing it.

"If you really feel bad, call your soldiers out to help with the work as soon as possible. You'll need to ask Wu Niang about how to allocate them. However, the borders of Ling County must be demarcated as soon as possible. By then, we'll have a wider range of activities and can start many things."

Wei Mingze shook his head and said, "With so many people here, I don't know if the water in the storage will be enough..."

As for the other words, he didn't say them in front of everyone.

The three thousand troops were like a timely rain for the fort. With the manpower, it would be much easier to do things in the future.

Although Wu Niang didn't say it explicitly, her uncles and aunts knew it clearly. She was afraid that sooner or later she would have to go out and look for the eldest son's family.

Whether it is the Zhongshan Army or the Yizhou Army, neither is as effective as Wei Mingyuan's Wei Family Army.

Wei Mingyuan looked calm, "It's natural."

The registration line was very long, and the soldiers were illiterate, so their household registration information had to be asked one by one. Wei Mingze didn't have time to talk to him.

When Wei Xiyin came over, the household registration work had not yet been completed.

She walked forward and bowed to her uncles.

Wei Mingze pointed at the soldiers lined up behind him and said, "It's getting late. Wu Niang, please follow your third uncle back to the fort. It looks like we won't be able to finish this today, so we'll just rest here tonight."

There were three thousand soldiers, but only four were doing the registration, so naturally it wasn't that fast.

Wei Mingyuan still had to go back to pick up Gu Qiu, and was afraid of missing the time, so he nodded and said, "Then I'll take my leave first. I'll come back tomorrow."

He turned around and told Wei Ling, "Stay here and help your uncles. Come back after you've settled down."

Wei Ling naturally agreed.

He sent his father and fifth cousin to the gate of the military camp before returning to help.

The sun has set, and the people working outside have finished their day's work. They carry their farm tools and go back to rest under the guidance of their supervisors.

At least until the high walls throughout Ling County are built, it is not suitable to work at night.

The uncle and niece walked on the official road, falling behind the crowd.

Wei Xiyin told the Wei family army that she wanted them to help her find water.

Wei Mingyuan: "Your seventh uncle just mentioned the water storage issue to me. I have the same idea in mind. Just tell them if you have anything to say."

"But uncle wants to ask you something."

His voice was low and slow, "Wu Niang, what are your plans for the future?"