Hiding on the right side of the road were the sentries selected by Wei Xian and trained for some time in the mountain stronghold. There were sentries on guard within a ten-mile radius of the mountain stronghold.
Yu Song grabbed the person who was peeking out.
"Honest man, spare my life, spare my life!"
Yu Song shouted, "Are you hiding here to rob people?"
On the way, they encountered many robbers, but they often counter-robbed them and saved a lot of money. Yu Song thought that the boy in front of him was also a robber and wanted to plunder more property. As for counter-robbery, he had done it very well along the way.
The young man was speechless and said, "My lord, I misunderstood. I just had to go to the bathroom. Could you please let me go so I can put my clothes on?"
The sentry was helpless. He was on his way to the toilet when he heard the sound of horse hooves. He had to get up quickly, clean himself up, and put on his clothes. But in just a few moments, the horsemen were close to him and pulled him out.
It would have been better if this person didn't say anything. As soon as he said it, Yu Song felt as if he stepped on something. In the dark night, his face suddenly became very interesting.
Wan Jinlan's horse was already approaching. When he smelled the scent, he held his breath, squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, and moved away.
Yu Song had been hunting geese all day, and today he was lucky. Wan Jinlan wanted to laugh.
After putting on his clothes, Sentinel Zhang San asked in a familiar voice, "Where are you two going, brave men?"
Yu Song was rubbing his shoes on the ground and didn't answer him angrily.
After being a secret guard for so many years, this was the first time he stepped on something hot and yellow and white, but he didn't feel sick and vomited.
"Are you from the village?" Wan Jinlan asked.
Zhang San was alert, his face expressionless, and he didn't answer her question, "The two girls are going to Xiaping Village, can you give me a ride?"
Wan Jinlan looked at him with interest and suddenly asked, "Do you know Wang Shu?"
In the darkness of the night, Zhang San really wanted to see Wan Jinlan's face clearly, but he really couldn't see it clearly with only the moonlight.
Hearing her mention Wang Shu's name, Zhang San became more alert.
Wan Jinlan stopped arguing with him and said, "Just stay here and guard it."
Yu Song rubbed the ground for a long time, but still felt it was not clean.
"Alright, just throw it away when you get back. You've robbed a lot along the way, so buying a few pairs of leather boots is just a drop in the bucket."
When Yu Song walked back, Wan Jinlan moved away with a look of disgust, causing Yu Song's mouth to twitch.
When Wan Jinlan and Yu Song arrived at the foot of the mountain stronghold, they felt several eyes staring at them in the dark.
On the way back, there were many secret guards on the road.
In just two months, the copycat had already taken shape.
Yu Song covered his mouth and imitated a few bird calls, and An Xi soon appeared in the village. After talking to the night watchman, the two of them successfully entered the village.
There was still a faint smell of burning mugwort and atractylodes in the village, and only a few lights were on.
When she returned to the house, she didn't see Xiao Feng. Looking at the room, although it looked tidy, there was no sign that anyone had lived there. Thinking of Xiao Feng's plans before he left, she had some vague guesses about his movements.
Wan Jinlan lifted the curtain and prepared to go out to the kitchen to boil water for bathing.
Wang Shu and Wei Xian heard her return and dressed themselves before coming out. Wan Jinlan saw Xia Feng's mother, Song, also coming out and hurried forward, "It's late, Madam, don't worry about me. Go back and rest. We can talk tomorrow if you have anything to say. You've been working hard for over a month."
Song nodded and said, "I'm glad you're back. I'll go to bed first. If you need anything, just let me know."
While Wan Jinlan and Song were talking, the little girl Fan Jing came out of the room. She now lived in the same room with Song. She rubbed her eyes and bowed to Wan Jinlan: "Madam."
Wan Jinlan saw that her eyes were shining, smiled and touched her head.
After everyone was comforted and sent back, Li Dazhuang added water to her cup, lit the stove, and then they went to the study.
Wei Xian bowed respectfully to her first, and Wang Shu and the others followed suit, "Madam."
Wan Jinlan helped him up and said, "Don't be bound by these conventional etiquette. Please sit down."
Within the next half hour, Wan Jinlan learned about Xiao Feng's current movements and the development of the village in the past two months.
After reading several letters that Xia Feng sent to Wei Xianlai, Wan Jinlan learned from the letters that Xiao Feng and the horse bandits in the mountain stronghold started as barbers in the army. They made several military achievements more than a month ago, and were promoted to lieutenant generals as an exception for seizing more than a thousand war horses of the Helan tribe half a month ago.
A lieutenant general is the lowest-ranking general in the army, but he can control up to 3,000 soldiers and horses.
It was a miracle in the army that Xiao Feng was promoted from a barber soldier to a lieutenant general within two months.
In fact, Xiao Feng's time outside Yongcheng in the past two months is simply not what can be described in a few words in the letter.
The Helan and Basha tribes were fierce and cunning, and the military and civilians of Liangzhou had insufficient understanding of the grasslands and mountains to the north. In addition, the officers and soldiers in the army were fighting among themselves and vying for credit. Xiao Feng was able to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in a short period of time because of his hard work in the battlefield. His military merits were preserved under the operation of the Second Master Li. He was able to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General because he won the favor of Li Wei, the governor of Liangzhou, because he not only fought a very beautiful battle with a small number of troops to reverse the situation, but also brought back a thousand fine horses.
The few words in the letter could not reflect the hardships Xiao Feng had been going through these days.
Wan Jinlan folded the letter and heard Wei Xian say, "Madam, you may as well burn the letter. I left these here so that you can read them and feel at ease when you come back."
Wan Jinlan nodded, then placed the letter on the candle flame and threw it into the brazier beside him.
"There are now over 1,200 refugees in the village, including nearly 800 young and strong men. Less than 100 of them have been resettled in the village, and barracks and a camp have been built in the back mountains."
Wan Jinlan asked, "Their household registration has been lost, right?"
Wang Shu shook his head. "I've already recorded everyone's origins, but their household registration hasn't been resolved yet. Liangzhou is still recruiting soldiers, and if they were to settle down, these people wouldn't be able to stay here safely."
Wan Jinlan nodded. When she recruited refugees, she had thought of secretly training a private army. Since they were private soldiers, they naturally could not settle down. As for when this army could appear in public, it all depended on Xiao Feng.
Xia Feng went to work as an aide to Mr. Li Er, and Yu Liang returned to Qingyuan County to work as a clerk.
"Master, the hot water is ready." An Xi shouted from outside.
Wan Jinlan was about to talk about firearms, but after thinking it over, he decided there was no rush and simply asked everyone to go back and rest.
After bathing, he wrung his hair dry, lay down on the stone bed, and fell asleep quickly.
An Xi sat on the adobe house, quietly guarding the night, and patted his head. He had forgotten to tell the third young master's wife the good news of giving birth to a daughter.
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