A plump and chubby little girl, dressed in a white top and red skirt, wearing pearl-embroidered shoes, and holding a bunch of red fruit in her hand.
Under the influence of longing, even a delicate painting can become a tangible reality. The clear, silvery sound seems to be right beside you, carrying the flattering trepidation of the first meeting, the composure and certainty of being together, and the confident and exuberant feeling after becoming familiar with each other.
"Third Brother."
Someone called out from the doorway, with a touch of affected manner.
Fang Heng put away the scroll and glanced over coldly, only to see Jiang Qi covering Jiang Ba as they fled.
"Are you all tired of living? How dare you make fun of the general!" Jiang Yi scolded in a mocking manner, then bowed and said, "General, please don't be angry with these monkeys. I will give them more training later."
People meet at different ages, experience development and encounters, and become a completely new version of themselves.
Jiang Yi was only two or three years older than the other ginger, but he had already become a steady and mature elder brother.
Looking at him, Fang Heng felt as if he had traveled through time to see Xu Mo, who led his younger siblings forward with his unyielding spine, and a warmth inevitably welled up in his heart.
It would have been even better if Jiang Yi hadn't been secretly whispering to her younger brothers with her hands behind her back.
Fang Heng curled the corners of his mouth and deliberately asked, "How should we train them?"
Jiang paused for a moment, then did not answer.
"In my opinion, let's run twenty laps around headquarters and do two thousand squats," Fang Heng said decisively. "Oh, and don't eat the cured meat tonight either."
Jiang Yi looked distressed, knowing she was going to disappoint her younger brothers.
Jiang Qi and Jiang Ba dared not play any more tricks and obediently went into the tent, saying, "General, we were wrong."
"We shouldn't have impersonated girls to call out to the general; we'll never dare to do it again."
The two squatted on the ground, hands behind their heads, in a classic surrender posture.
Without hesitation, Jiang Yi squatted down as well, saying, "I failed to educate my younger brother properly; I was wrong."
The tent was filled with a chilling atmosphere, and even the most mischievous soldiers had to keep their tails between their legs.
Just as San Kuai Jiang was filled with trepidation, the curtain was lifted and Jiang Wu, dressed solemnly, walked in. "General, there seems to be some unusual activity in the village south of the city. A dozen or so Tartars are roaming around looting."
After that great battle recorded in history, the Tartars, beset by internal and external troubles, finally abandoned their attack on the Dayu Dynasty and turned to recuperation.
But this does not mean that the border is now safe.
The biggest problem for the foreign tribes was that they couldn't get enough to eat in the winter. As long as someone was hungry, they would take risks and engage in killing, burning, and looting.
The soldiers of Dayu were stationed on the frontier, and all they could do was to do their best to conduct reconnaissance and provide timely rescue.
Just like now, Fang Heng almost didn't think twice before hanging up his sword, stood up and said, "All of you, come with me."
The seventeen-year-old boy strode out of the tent, head held high, the future looming overhead.
Jiang Qi and Jiang Ba breathed a sigh of relief and stood up to give Fifth Sister a thumbs up.
"Hurry up and follow us!" Jiang Wu said irritably. "If you keep acting up, I won't take you off next time."
She says that, but every time she goes without hesitation.
Those deep family ties are never confined to a select few; they flow throughout the world, passing through countless loving people and settling deep within countless tender hearts.
It could be Jiang Yi bracing herself to cover for her brother, or it could be Jiang Wu actively changing the subject for her brother.
It could be Xu Mo drawing Jiang Sheng's most beautiful appearance, or it could be Fang Heng staring at the painting for a long time in a daze.
Perhaps Fang Hengming knew Jiang Wu's intentions, yet he still mounted his horse and charged towards the unknown Tartars.
The world was icy cold, and withered branches kept retreating.
Fang Heng originally intended to patrol twice and then return, but the unusual calm in the village ahead made him frown and mutter, "Shouldn't we be preparing dinner at this hour?"
The most unusual memory I have is of the moment when the girl with the braid was murdered.
The girl who was the same age as his sister but had a different fate, lying in a pool of blood, was always a pain in his heart.
"Let's go take a look," Fang Heng muttered to himself, spurring his horse into a gallop.
The guards and soldiers followed at the same time, trying to minimize the noise and disturbance.
The village was just ahead, but there was no smoke from cooking fires, no footsteps, no parents calling out, and no children babbling.
But upon closer inspection, there were no signs of foreign tribes killing, burning, or looting, nor were there any corpses or pools of blood.
"What exactly is going on?" Jiang asked in surprise and uncertainty. "Could it be that the Tartars have launched a large-scale invasion and laid an ambush here?"
“No, impossible,” Jiang Wu rejected. “The Tartars are in internal strife, and the Khan’s position has not yet been decided. They have no time to ambush us.”
If we eliminate all possibilities, then only the impossible remains.
Could it be that all the villagers... have quietly met with misfortune?
Thinking of the girl with braids lying in a pool of blood, and of the countless vanished villages, Fang Heng felt a lump in his throat. He dared not delay any longer and abandoned his horse to continue on his way.
The guards followed suit and handed their horses over to their fellow soldiers.
As with countless rescue missions, elite troops were the first to scout, while the main force surrounded and brought in the enemy.
The downside is that it is relatively dangerous, but the upside is that it is more maneuverable.
But Fang Heng was not afraid of this danger, nor were Jiang Yi, Jiang Er, Jiang Wu, Jiang Liu, Jiang Qi, and Jiang Ba behind him. They gripped their long knives, braced their waists, and infiltrated with the most agile movements, listening with the most vigilant posture.
There was no one at the village entrance, no one in the houses, but once you reached the flat area in the center, you could finally hear some movement.
Jiang Yi supported Jiang Wu, and the girl nimbly peeked out to look around, discovering the people lying haphazardly and the smell of tung oil permeating the air.
Several foreigners laughed maniacally as they continued to splatter water on the elderly and children.
The burning, looting, and arson of that time... has finally reappeared!
Jiang Wu's eyes turned bloodshot instantly, and the limbs he was stepping on trembled. He used almost all his strength to say, "They're going to burn down the whole village. They've drugged all the people. They're committing atrocities."
It was worse than ordinary robbery and more brutal than ordinary killing.
Burning means the entire village is reduced to nothingness, and those who return from their journeys will not even have a place to kneel and kowtow.
These heartless beasts!
Fang Heng made a hand gesture, and Jiang Ba, the most agile among them, darted out like a rabbit to notify the main force.
Jiang Wu jumped off Jiang Yi's shoulder, gripped his long knife almost simultaneously, and lay in ambush by the wall.
They stared intently at the foreign race, and the instant the tinder was taken out, they darted away with incredible speed.
The ensuing battle was not actually that fierce.
But when all the Tartars were dead, smelling the strong tung oil and looking at the tinderbox lying in the corner, tears welled up in Fang Heng's eyes.
He thought of the girl with the braids who was asleep, her innocent smile, and the repeated calls of "Ada".
Many years ago, he couldn't save the girl with braids from the knife. Many years later, he will save one girl with braids after another and hear one "Ada" after another.
He is Fang Heng, and he will guard the frontier and never retreat.
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