After the incident with Ridamuzi, Liangzhou Wei was very busy for a while.

After the new recruits who died in battle were buried and the tombstones were erected, their names were also recorded in the military register. When they returned to Shuojing in the future, funeral allowances would be distributed to their families. The new recruits who died were all sentinels, most of them were still very young. They died in battle less than a year after arriving in Liangzhou Guards, and their comrades who had been with them day and night were also very depressed for a while.

However, life still has to go on despite the depression. Especially after this incident, Liangzhou Guards are not as safe as before. Xiao Jue ordered the head coach Shen to start practicing the new formation drill - if they really encounter the enemy, the new recruits can only learn the military formation layout to kill the enemy and win.

The Southern Army had not all arrived in Liangzhou. When Xiao Jue rushed back from Qingnan, he brought 10,000 Southern Army soldiers with him. The Nine Banners Battalion remained in Qingnan and did not follow. Now that Liangzhou City had become the target of everyone's criticism, it was really not suitable for it to be in the limelight.

The daily training of the Southern Army soldiers was different from that of the Liangzhou Guards. As Xiao Jue said, the length and amount of daily training was three times that of the Liangzhou Guards. Whenever the new recruits of the Liangzhou Guards saw the vigor of the Southern Army soldiers in their daily training, they couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

Suddenly, the previously empty martial arts arena became bustling with activity. Soldiers could be seen at the foot of Baiyue Mountain and along the Wulu River.

He Yan's injuries were also getting better day by day.

Lin Shuanghe's medical skills were much more sophisticated than Shen Muxue's. Originally, it was thought that such an injury would take at least a year or two to heal. But at this rate, in another two months, He Yan felt that he would be able to go to the martial arts arena and be full of energy.

Song Taotao placed the soup in front of He Yan, watched He Yan finish it, and then took the bowl out. The little girl couldn't cook, so she went to the soldiers to rob them, relying on her status as a young lady, and fed He Yan with the food she robbed. He Yan sometimes felt like a freeloader, but at first she was a little embarrassed, but after so many times, she got used to it.

After all, the soup was delicious. It would have been even better if the little girl didn't look at her as if she were her baby.

From the other end of the room, a faint voice came from someone. It seemed to be Liang Ping's, and he sounded a little excited.

He Yan thought about it for a while, then stood up and got out of bed with the help of a stick.

She took out the silver thread from her sleeve and poked it into the lock. She had done this many times and was very familiar with it. Fortunately, Xiao Jue turned a blind eye to her behavior and never changed the lock to a more complicated "士" shape. Xiao Jue's important official documents were usually not in this room, so he was so careless.

He Yan pushed the middle door open a little and saw a man kneeling in front of Xiao Jue. It was Du Mao, whom he had not seen for a long time. Ever since the incident with Ridamuzi, the identity of Lei Hou's spy was exposed. As Lei Hou's relative, the original recommender Du Mao disappeared. Hearing Cheng Lisu say that Du Mao seemed to be locked up, He Yan could understand that since Lei Hou was a traitor, no one could guarantee that Du Mao was innocent.

Now that Du Mao appears here, it seems that his grievances have been cleared.

In addition to the kneeling Du Mao, there were also a group of coaches standing in the room. He Yan saw Liang Ping step forward and begged, "Commander, Coach Du and Lord Lei haven't seen each other for many years. He really didn't know that Lord Lei was a traitor. Please forgive him."

"Yes, Governor," Ma Damei couldn't help but speak up, "Master Du has been in Liangzhou Guard for ten years and has never made any mistakes. If it weren't for Lord Lei's deliberate concealment, he wouldn't have ended up like this. Governor, please give Master Du a lighter punishment for all his hard work over the years."

All the coaches agreed and pleaded for Du Mao.

Du Mao came to Liangzhou Guard when he was in his twenties. It was a bitter cold place and he stayed there for ten years. There was nothing to do in the guardhouse all day long. At most, the coaches would get together for a drink during festivals. On weekdays, they either trained the soldiers or defended the land.

The coaches had a strong friendship and naturally did not want to see Du Mao lose his life because of Lei Hou. They could not bear it, so they came to plead for mercy.

Shen Han moved his lips, but in the end said nothing. It was not that he and Du Mao did not have a deep relationship, but even though they had only known each other for less than a year, Shen Han knew that the Second Young Master Xiao in front of him was definitely not someone who would change his mind because of a few words from others.

As expected, Xiao Jue ignored what others said, looked at Du Mao, and said, "What are you going to do?"

He Yan still remembered that when he first came to Liangzhou Guard, this coach named Du Mao had a good relationship with Liang Ping and often argued with Liang Ping. He was considered young among all the coaches. But now, in just a few days, he seemed to have aged ten years, with a few scattered white hairs on his temples, and his expression was much older.

Du Mao spoke, his tone unable to conceal his fatigue: "Du Mao is willing to accept the punishment."

"Du Mao!" Liang Ping called his name anxiously.

"I didn't find out the current status of Lord Lei clearly before I rashly recommended him to join the guard post. This is dereliction of duty." Du Mao said, "It is right for the governor to punish me."

"You have indeed neglected your duty." Xiao Jue said calmly, "Because of you, many new soldiers of Liangzhou Guard died."

The coaches who wanted to continue to persuade paused and did not dare to speak.

"The dead will not be resurrected." Xiao Jue said, "Do you understand?"

"Du Mao understands."

The room was silent, and Liang Ping looked at Du Mao with a look of despair.

"I won't take your life."

When these words came out, everyone in the room was stunned, and He Yan was also stunned.

Xiao Jue said: "You go."

"Commander..."

"From today on, you are no longer the coach of Liangzhou Guard." Xiao Jue stood up and walked out of the house, "You don't have to come back in the future."

His figure disappeared outside the house. After a moment of silence in the house, Ma Damei came to her senses and pulled Du Mao, who was still kneeling on the ground: "Okay, okay, the governor has shown leniency to you. Hurry up and get up."

Du Mao stood there blankly, and suddenly burst into howling.

The comfort from everyone in the room and Du Mao's crying made He Yan's head hurt. She grabbed her clothes and threw them on, then followed him out the door with her stick. As soon as she went out, she was shivered by the wind and snow outside.

Where's Xiao Jue? He Yan looked around. This person just left the house, and now he's gone? Can he fly?

"Looking for me?" Someone's voice came from behind, and He Yan gasped in fright, almost losing his grip on the stick in his hand.

She turned around and saw Xiao Jue standing behind her, staring at her with raised eyebrows and asked, "What's the matter?"

"No, nothing." He Yan pretended to look up at the sky, "The weather is good, I'm going out for a walk."

Xiao Jue glanced at the sand-like snow outside and said mockingly, "I thought you didn't eavesdrop enough just now, and you wanted to ask me something in person."

He actually knew that he was eavesdropping? This was embarrassing. He Yan shook his head and said, "The governor has a really good hearing."

Xiao Jue curled his lips, "Not as good as you."

"Well," he asked, "what do you want from me?"

What did she want to do with him? He Yan didn't know, she just followed him out subconsciously. She was at a loss for words for a moment, thought for a moment, and said, "Commander-in-chief, you still showed some mercy to Master Du."

It was one thing for the coaches to have a close personal relationship with Du Mao, and it was another thing for Du Mao to have made a mistake. He Yan thought that with Xiao Jue's temper, Du Mao would not be able to escape death, but he did not expect that in the end, he would just be expelled from Liangzhou Guard.

Xiao Jue laughed, as if he found her words funny, "Show mercy?"

"Yeah, if it were me..."

"How about you?"

He Yan suddenly couldn't speak.

What would she do? She had been in this situation before, from a soldier to a deputy general to a general. In fact, the subordinates under General Feihong were not much more merciful than Xiao Jue. But most of the time, others subconsciously ignored it, just because she usually fought with her subordinates and did not have the inhuman "great achievements" like Xiao Jue.

If it were her, would she order Du Mao's life to be taken?

"If it were me, I wouldn't do that either." He Yan said, "Taking Du Mao's life may seem like a strict military order, but it actually hurts people's hearts. Liangzhou Wei has just gone through the incident with Rida Muzi. If people's hearts are scattered, Liangzhou Wei will be like a pile of loose sand and it will be difficult to stand up again."

Xiao Jue looked at her with a hint of surprise in his eyes: "Not bad."

He Yan said proudly, "I told you before, I'm the best in Liangzhou. I'm very smart. How about it, Commander, can you let me join the Nine Banners Camp?"

Xiao Jue curled his lips: "No."

This guy is really stubborn. He Yan was about to say a few more words to defend himself when he saw him turn around and continue walking forward. He Yan followed him with his stick and asked, "Where is the governor going?"

"Martial arts arena."

"Do you want to watch the military training?" He Yan said, "I want to go too!"

After she was injured, she naturally could not follow the daily training. Every day, she either lay in bed or walked around outside with a stick, which was really boring. Although Song Taotao and Cheng Lisu came to chat with her whenever they had a chance, one of them only remembered the trivialities of which girl in the capital was beautiful and which lady had a baby, and the other knew nothing except eating, drinking and having fun. It was very difficult for He Yan to talk to them. Lin Shuanghe, the only one who could still speak, was invited by Shen Muxue to the clinic to help boil medicine for the injured soldiers.

Therefore, when Xiao Jue mentioned going to the martial arts arena, He Yan became eager to do so.

The snow was getting lighter, and it wasn't as cold outside as before. He Yan couldn't walk fast with his stick, and complained, "Captain, wait for me!"

Xiao Jue couldn't help but pause for a moment at such a righteous tone. He asked back, "I am your servant?"

"No," He Yan came back to his senses and explained, "What I mean is that we can walk slower and chat about other things. Uh, did Lord Lei tell us why Ridamuzi came to our guard post to cause trouble? Wasn't the Western Qiang Rebellion quelled by General Feihong a long time ago? Where did the Qiang get so many soldiers?"

Tens of thousands of soldiers, do the Qiang people really have so many troops now? He Yan had fought with Ridamuji in the past, and was very familiar with the situation of the Qiang people, but he always felt that something was wrong.

"They are not Qiang people," Xiao Jue answered He Yan's question, which was rare for him. "They are Wutuo people."

"Wutuoren?" This time, it was really beyond He Yan's expectations.

Xiao Jue glanced at her, taking in her surprised expression, and said calmly, "What do you think?"

Is this a test for her? He Yan asked, "Is Ridamuzi from Wutuo?"

Xiao Jue was speechless for a moment before he said, "He is not from Wutuo, but except for Ridamuzi and a few of your confidants who fought with you before, the rest of the soldiers are all from Wutuo."

"Are you sure, Governor?"

Xiao Jue walked forward slowly: "Sure."

"If they are really from Wutuo," He Yan's voice was already a little more serious, "then what the Wutuo people are after is not just a Liangzhou guard."

"What do you mean?"

"In recent years, Wutuo has been raising troops and has become very powerful. They have been harassing the people at the border, which was originally intended to test us. Now they have come to Liangzhouwei, but they are hiding in the dark under the pretext of being a Qiang. They want to use the name of the Qiang to do evil things in Wei first."

"Governor, think about this. If you had really gone to Zhangtai and failed to rescue them in time, and the Wutuo people had occupied Liangzhouwei and then seized the city, it would be like tearing a hole in the border of Wei. They could have gone all the way west, marched straight in, and followed the river all the way to the capital."

Xiao Jue raised his eyes: "That's all?"

"The Great Wei may have a traitor colluding with the enemy and committing treason," He Yan said, "This person has private contacts with the Wutuo people, and is an old acquaintance of the governor."

Xiao Jue: "Go on."

"He was able to plant his confidants in Liangzhou Guards without anyone noticing, and he was also able to spread false news in Zhangtai. This person must be in a high position and has extensive connections. Knowing that the governor is in Liangzhou Guards, he is as strong as a rock. He first lured the governor away. This person must be very afraid of you. So," He Yan looked at Xiao Jue, "maybe there is such a person, who has a high position in the court and has fought with the governor in the past but did not get any benefits. If there is such a person, nine out of ten times, he is the one who did it."

Xiao Jue stared at her and asked, "Then why don't you tell me, who is this person?"

He Yan felt really confused. Although she and Xiao Jue were classmates, they only met for one year. They hadn't seen each other for many years, one in the south and one in the north. Xiao Jue was caught up in the whirlpool of the court because of Xiao Zhongwu's affair, but she was a clean person who was promoted by military merit and stayed in the border camp every day, so she didn't know much about the mess in the court. How could she guess who that person was?

Even if it was a test, it was too difficult. Not everyone was like him and could sleep the best in Xianchang Hall.

Thinking of what happened with Yuan Baozhen before, He Yan casually asked, "Xu Jingfu?"

Xiao Jue was stunned.

Seeing his expression, He Yan's heart moved: "Is it really him?"

Xiao Jue did not answer.

"Xu Jingfu actually colluded with the enemy and committed treason?" He Yan was shocked. "He's crazy! He is the prime minister of the dynasty. What good will it do him to do such a thing!"

"You can speak louder," Xiao Jue said in a neutral tone, "I can always sue you for slandering court officials if there is no evidence."

He Yan thought, who is not a court official? In her previous life, when she was a general of Feihong, she also ate imperial food.

"But, but..." She wanted to say something, but Xiao Jue had already stopped and walked forward. Not far away, he could hear the soldiers shouting and forming a battle array.

Before they knew it, the two of them had arrived at the martial arts arena.

The martial arts arena originally only had the daily training of the new recruits of Liangzhou Guards, but now it is divided into two sides, the east side is where the soldiers of the Southern Palace are training, and the west side is where the people of Liangzhou Guards are. Now that both sides are training at the same time, the gap is exposed.

The deputy commander of the Southern Army was practicing infantry, and he didn't even need anyone to command him. Just looking at him made people feel that the soldiers were brave and invincible. The new recruits of the Liangzhou Guard had just started to learn how to form a battle array, so they were inevitably a little flustered. Shen Han stood on the platform and roared with all his might.

He Yan looked at it and asked hesitantly, "Are they practicing... the fish scale formation?"

Xiao Jue glanced at her and asked, "Do you know?"

Here he comes, he's here to test us again. Although He Yan was a little confused by Xiao Jue's questions from time to time, she thought that maybe he was testing her to see if she could enter the Nine Flags Camp, so she had to answer seriously: "The troops are distributed in echelons, with a slightly convex front end, and the main force is gathered in the center, and then divided into several small square formations shaped like fish scales. When facing the enemy, you can concentrate your forces to launch a fierce attack on the center of the enemy formation, but the weakness is at the rear. If the enemy breaks through from the rear, they can break the formation. It's a fish scale formation, yes, but..." She said, "They are too loose."

Too loose! If they had to form a formation as slowly as they did, they would have been beaten to death five times.

Xiao Jue looked at her thoughtfully, and suddenly curled his lips and said, "Not bad."

He Yan was very proud. Hard work paid off. Who would have thought that he was the last in Xianchang Hall, but now he knows the art of war by heart. Even if he is asked a question by the first in Xianchang Hall, he can answer it easily. All these years of fighting and studying have not been in vain. That's enough.

"Have you studied military tactics?" Xiao Jue raised his eyebrows.

"A little."

"Do you know how to deploy a battle array?"

"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it."

"Okay," Xiao Jue looked at the soldiers training below the stage and said, "If you were not imprisoned in the dungeon when Ridamuzi came to Liangzhouwei, and Shen Han gave you the power to command the troops, how would you fight this battle?"

The question will be released so soon?

He Yan thought for a moment, then slowly said, "Those Western... Wutuo people are strong, brutal and cruel. The new recruits of Liangzhou Guards have never been on the battlefield, so their morale is low and it is difficult to confront them head-on. It is also not something that can be solved in a short time. If it were me... I would use chariots to form a suspended formation."

Xiao Jue looked at her quietly: "Go on."

"As the commander, I will be in the center of the formation, with troops deployed in layers on the periphery. Disperse the troops outside to form a mobile formation. When the battle comes, rotate in the same direction and take turns attacking the enemy formation, like a rotating wheel. In this way, we will keep exerting pressure on part of the enemy, and the Uto people will collapse due to fatigue. We can be replenished and repaired by taking turns to attack, and restore our combat effectiveness."

"You are the commander?" Xiao Jue taunted.

"What I mean is, I am only the main commander temporarily, but the one I really want to fight is you, the commander-in-chief. The reason why I chose the chariot formation is to buy time so that you, the commander-in-chief, can come back to support me." He Yan said very earnestly.

Xiao Jue turned around, leaned forward slightly, looked at her with his eyes downcast, and said with a curved lip: "Miss He has learned the art of war well. It's a pity that you don't become a general."

No matter what you say, Xiao Jue has a good vision. He Yan nodded and said, "I think so too. I think I was born to be a general. Sometimes I even think that I was a female general in my previous life."

Xiao Jue: “…”

"The governor doesn't believe it?" He Yan poked a hole in the snow with a stick, "Or does the governor think that women can't be generals?"

"I didn't think so."

He Yan raised her head to look at him. People in the world believed that women should stay in the inner chambers, embroidering and drawing eyebrows, waiting for the favor of their husbands. Not to mention being a female general, even if they were to show up in public and be a female storekeeper, a female teacher, or a female doctor, they would have to endure many people's strange looks.

Very few people can take that step, and even if they do, others may not understand them.

"You can do whatever you want," the young man said with a lazy look on his face, and pulled the corners of his mouth, "As long as you can do it, that's all."

He Yan was stunned for a moment and stared at him without saying a word.

His gaze fell on the distant training ground, on the new recruits in training, and he did not notice He Yan's gaze behind him.

"Thank you." He Yan whispered in his heart.

The snow gradually stopped falling. After practicing a few times, the new recruits led by Shen Han became more skilled and not as panicked as they were at the beginning. The formation began to show results, and Xiao Jue and He Yan also stood here for a long time.

A familiar voice sounded from behind: "Huai Jin! He...Brother!"

He Yan looked back and saw that it was Lin Shuanghe. Lin Shuanghe climbed up to the attic, shook off the snow on his boots, and said, "No wonder I couldn't find you two anywhere. It turns out you're here. What's the matter?" He looked at Xiao Jue and smiled shyly, "Did you bring our He sister to watch the military training?"

He Yan: "...Doctor Lin, please don't call me sister outside."

"I'm sorry," Lin Shuanghe covered his mouth with a fan and apologized, "I forgot for a moment. But there's no one else here." He glanced at the stick He Yan was leaning on and asked, "Can you get out of bed and walk so far today? How is it? Does the wound still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt too much." He Yan said, "Doctor Lin is a very skilled doctor. I feel much better today."

"That's great," Lin Shuanghe waved his fan, "If I can't cure you, I will feel guilty."

The two of them complimented each other, and Xiao Jue watched coldly from the side, as if he couldn't stand it anymore, and said impatiently: "If you have something to say, just say it."

Lin Shuanghe was startled and said, "Hey! I almost forgot about the important matter. Someone just came from the Liangzhou Guard Station. I wanted to find Coach Shen, but Coach Shen was not there. I searched for a long time before I found you here."

"Who?"

"The people from the palace said that the emperor gave you a reward for the great victory of the Liangzhou defense. Oh, and that one, that one..." He couldn't remember it all at once, and choked for a moment before remembering the name, and said, "The fourth son of the Shi Jinbo Mansion, Chu Zilan! Yes, Chu Zilan is here too."

"Chu Zhao?" Xiao Jue frowned: "What is he doing here?"

Lin Shuanghe shrugged his shoulders. "How should I know? People are waiting at the entrance of the clinic now. Why don't you go and take a look?"

Xiao Jue paused and walked downstairs: "Let's go."

"Hey, Commander, what about me?" He Yan hurriedly leaned on his stick, wanting to follow, but he didn't know if he could follow in this situation. Looking at Xiao Jue's appearance, he didn't look like an old friend reminiscing.

Xiao Jue looked at her and said, "You can go back. You don't have to follow me."

"Oh." He Yan agreed obediently. Lin Shuanghe waved at her, and the two of them went downstairs very quickly, and their backs disappeared in the distance.

He Yan looked at the vast snowfield, feeling somewhat confused.

Who exactly is this person called Chu Zilan?