To be honest, the brothers haven't seen each other for over a year.
Even Xiao Jiang Sheng has grown taller, and the fourth and fifth brothers have also grown a bit taller. The eldest brother has grown into a tall and slender man. I wonder if the third brother has grown taller or gotten thinner in the northern frontier.
Zheng Ruqian became more and more agitated as he thought about it. He straightened his clothes several times and wiped away the bloodstains, afraid of worrying his younger brother.
But as they waited and waited, the tremors became clearer and clearer, yet the person still didn't appear.
Wang Xiaosong muttered to himself, "With so many people, it's fine if they're soldiers, but what if they're Tartars?"
Not to mention Zheng Ruqian, even Jiang Wu turned around in surprise, and the young girl was so frightened that she curled up into a ball.
Wang Xiaosong quickly covered his mouth, "I was just talking nonsense, I was just talking nonsense."
Fortunately, the group became clearer, and the figure in the lead was very familiar; otherwise, Zheng Ruqian would have turned and run away.
In the blink of an eye, the line came to a stop.
Jiang Wu knelt on one knee and reported with remorse, "I am late. The entire village has been wiped out, and only one girl has survived."
“These Tartars.” Fang Heng gritted his teeth in hatred. “Add two more soldiers to patrol each area. We must be able to detect the enemy’s situation as soon as possible and not let the Tartars run rampant.”
"Yes, sir." Jiang Wu accepted the order. "Captain, I rescued two people on the way."
Fang Heng then turned his head to look at the two figures standing next to the carriage.
One of them had a bandage around their neck and covered their mouth, so you couldn't tell.
The other was dressed in rags and looked disheveled, but his nonchalant smile was so familiar. His broad-mouthed, square face exuded righteousness, and his thick eyebrows and big eyes were mixed with a hint of shrewdness. Who else could it be but his second brother?
The person on horseback was instantly stunned, thinking he was dreaming.
It wasn't until Zheng Ruqian chuckled and asked, "What's wrong, Third Brother? Don't you recognize your Second Brother?"
Fang Heng then realized that his silly second brother had really come to the frontier. In this turbulent time, he had only brought one farmhand and dared to venture deep into the heart of the frontier.
"Second Brother," Fang Laosan said, both angry and anxious, "Are you out of your mind? How dare you come to a place like this?"
But once they got off the carriage and were actually standing in front of each other, all that was left was a tight hug.
Fortunately, we arrived in time.
Fortunately, he was unharmed.
Once the two sides separated, Fang Heng immediately changed his expression, "You are not allowed to come to the heart of the border region in the future. It's too dangerous here. There are always Tartars around. What if something really happens?"
"Who knew a war would break out suddenly?" Zheng Ruqian said, sounding aggrieved. "We kept asking around as we went, and slowly we got to the heart of the territory. We realized something was wrong and were already preparing to turn back."
As a result, they encountered danger on the return trip.
Fang Heng was about to give him a scolding when he suddenly noticed the depth of the ruts on the carriage and changed his mind to a sigh, "Don't do this again next time."
"Absolutely, absolutely." Zheng Ruqian nodded vigorously. "I'll never dare to do it again."
In the following time, Fang Heng directed the large force to collect the bodies of the villagers. Because there were many people and no names were recorded, they could only be buried in a large pit. Then, a young woman wrote down the name of the village, and finally a wooden monument was erected to prove that a group of people had once lived here.
Once these steps are completed, the team should return to their lodgings.
Zheng Ruqian and Wang Xiaosong followed in the carriage. The rescued young girl was seriously injured and was placed inside the carriage.
Fang Heng, who was originally leading the way, has now moved to the rear, positioned right in front of the carriage.
Zheng Ruqian gazed greedily at his younger brother, noticing that he had grown much taller, stronger, and darker-skinned, and looked much more mature, occasionally revealing the unruly spirit unique to a young man.
Suddenly, Fang Heng turned around and met his second brother's eyes. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he chose to swallow it back.
I never expected that Fang Laosan, who is impulsive, could keep his mouth shut.
Zheng Ruqian couldn't help but laugh, but as he laughed, he felt a pang of sadness.
Over the course of hundreds of days and nights, everyone has grown a lot.
The group walked for about half an hour before finally arriving at the location of the tents.
The sentries stationed there greeted everyone excitedly and arranged for the tired soldiers to eat and rest.
“This isn’t the main force; it’s our fifth detachment’s temporary encampment.” Fang Heng dismounted. “Returning to the main force would be very troublesome. We’d need to check identification tags, check any tokens, and most importantly, outsiders aren’t allowed to enter.”
Zheng Ruqian nodded, craning his neck to look at the team. "Last time Jiang San told me that your team had more than a hundred people, but now it looks like there are more than that."
There are countless heads, teenagers of all ages, there must be three to five hundred of them no matter how you count them.
Has Fang Heng been promoted?
But he's still leading the fifth squad; I haven't heard of him becoming the captain.
Fang Heng smiled without saying a word, led the two to the center of the crowd, and waved, "Men, we'll have sausages and cured meat to eat today."
The soldiers, who were originally exhausted, suddenly became energetic and howled like ghosts.
"Great! I was really craving the cured pork and sausages from last time."
"The captain is so kind, he even divided these out."
"I wasn't here before, so I'll have to eat a little more this time."
Several strong men came over, reached into the carriage, and quickly carried away all the dozens of kilograms of cured meat and sausages that Jiang Sheng had prepared. They washed and rinsed them, then threw them into a large iron pot to cook.
Zheng Ruqian was stunned.
He never imagined that the things he had sent all the way to his younger brother would be divided up like this.
"Second brother, don't be angry. These men have risked their lives for me every day. I can't let them eat all the food by themselves." Fang Heng turned around and smiled apologetically. "Don't tell your sister."
“I…I…” Zheng Ruqian was at a loss.
Fortunately, the soldiers only took away the cured meat and sausages, leaving the rest untouched. He quickly went over and took out his clothes and shoes.
Unexpectedly, Fang Heng carried them into a large tent, where dozens of wounded soldiers and some civilians with missing limbs lay.
"You can wear these coats for now." He handed them out to the thinnest of the children. "The ones that are too big can be used as is, and the ones that are too small can be swapped with the ones that are big."
When Fang Laosan came out of the tent, he was alone again.
He didn't keep any of the food or the clothes. What is this fool trying to do?
Zheng Ruqian refused to believe it and took out several more packets of pastries that Jiang Sheng had carefully packed. They were all high in oil and sugar and had a short shelf life. They were hard and heavy in his hands and not very tasty, but better than nothing.
We can't just give this away again.
Seeing his second brother's wide eyes, Fang Heng reluctantly took the mooncake, took out a piece of jujube paste mooncake, and took two big bites, seemingly using it to miss his relatives far away.
Zheng Ruqian breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could finish, Fang Heng pulled out two packets of pastries and stuffed them into the hands of a passing sentry, saying, "Break them into small pieces for everyone to try."
We're all human, and we've all been away from home for years. Who wouldn't miss their loved ones far away?
Zheng Ruqian was completely exasperated. He angrily sat on the carriage shaft and pointed to the few large bundles left inside, saying, "Those were given to the brothers by Jiang San and Jiang Si. You should divide them up too, divide them all up."
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