War requires bows, arrows, rosin for stringing, and fletching.
The soldiers' winter leather armor was also damaged and needed to be replaced.
The military had been delaying the delivery of these items for two years, claiming that there were problems with the handover between them and the Ministry of Revenue.
But ordinary soldiers don't understand these things, and they immediately assume that he, the quartermaster, is embezzling, which makes him so anxious that he jumps up and down.
Therefore, he didn't want to fight, and he didn't want to be scolded.
Time passed slowly, snowflakes fell to the ground with a soft rustling sound, and with the sound of rapid hoofbeats coming from outside the barracks, the news that Commander Luo had been waiting for finally returned.
The messenger, exuding a chilling aura, rushed into the room, saluted Commander Luo, and announced loudly, "Commander Lei has issued an order that no garrison may leave their camp without permission."
"well!"
Luo, the centurion, slammed his hand on the military desk, making his armor rattle loudly. He then sat back down on the edge of the bed, dejected.
Wang Zhong breathed a sigh of relief and leisurely warmed himself by the charcoal brazier, saying, "My lord, in my humble opinion, this invasion by the Di barbarians will not involve Suijin Town, and even the Marquis will not be affected."
"Stop talking nonsense, what do you mean by that?"
Luo Baihu immediately perked up.
Wang Zhong was nominally his quartermaster, but in reality, when they were both green recruits, they were comrades who shared a mess hall.
After ten years of fighting large and small battles, Wang Zhong's arm was crippled. Now he has retired to the second line and become a housekeeper, and incidentally, he is also his strategist.
Wang Zhong held his injured arm close to the fire pit. His arm had been amputated due to frostbite, and the stump would ache whenever it got cold.
Seeing him rubbing his arm, Lawrence quickly handed him a bowl of piping hot tea: "Old friend, you should have rested earlier today. I didn't bother to get you up and put you in the cold."
Wang Zhong took the tea but didn't drink it. He just said in a low voice, "As you know, ever since the Third Young Master entered the grasslands, the Di tribe has never been at peace."
Two tribes were supposed to move into their winter pastures, but instead turned west…
Lauren suddenly realized, his eyes widened, and he slapped his thigh, exclaiming, "So that's how it is!"
At the beginning of winter, while collecting military pay, he also received a secret order: to strictly guard Suijin Town.
There was no reason, and no hint.
However, Wang Zhong soon heard from his colleagues who were delivering supplies that the Third Young Master had returned to the grasslands.
The identity of the third young master of the Hou family is a secret known to almost all the veterans of the Zhenbei Army who have been in service for more than ten years.
After all, for more than a decade, most of the horses in the Zhenbei Army came from the same tribe.
These veterans had spent half their lives with the Marquis in the Northwest, and had dealt with the Di people for half their lives as well.
My feelings towards the Di people are truly complex.
Every soldier of the Wu Dynasty had the blood of the Di people on their hands, and their comrades had also died under the swords of the Di.
However, everyone was eating beef and mutton sent from the Dilu grasslands and wearing cowhide armor and boots from the grasslands.
When it comes to love, hate, and passion, every veteran has a story to tell; who hasn't encountered a fiery and unrestrained foreign girl?
Especially the story of the Third Prince's background, which begins with a beautiful woman from the grasslands riding alone for a hundred miles in the snow to throw herself into his arms.
Everyone says that the Marquis invaded the Di barbarian grasslands in a fit of rage for a woman.
In fact, these veterans all knew that the Marquis was using this opportunity to send troops to garrison a hundred miles of grassland and massacre several tribes of the Di people.
The Di tribes on the border of the Wu Dynasty were almost completely wiped out, and the border enjoyed more than ten years of peace.
Wang Zhong lost his arm when he was stationed on the grasslands and was caught in a blizzard.
The Wuda tribe also moved away from Xiashi Pass five years ago and now lives on the grassland.
Although they seemed to have no connection with the Zhenbei Army, they still frequently visited each other privately within the Zhenbei Army's daily route, just like visiting relatives.
But things are different now. The Third Prince has led the entire tribe to migrate deep into the Di Lu grasslands, and has already escaped the influence of the Zhenbei Army.
From then on, the two families went their separate ways.
Changes in the border situation followed one after another. To prevent winter raids, local garrisons raised their vigilance and strengthened patrols within their jurisdictions.
But... people aren't allowed to leave the camp in Broken Gold Town.
Luo Baihu took out a map and, together with Wang Zhong, began to search for the locations of the villages that had been most severely attacked since the beginning of winter.
According to the military newspaper, these villages and towns are all located north of Hecheng.
Wang Zhong and Luo Lun exchanged a glance, their thoughts made no attempt to conceal their feelings.
These veterans had explored both the north and south sides of Xiashi Pass back then. The terrain there was easy to defend and difficult to attack, so the Di people would never go there, and there were usually not many troops stationed there.
But now I've gone anyway.
Five years ago, during the "Suijin Tragedy," Marquis Zhao Yanjiao almost went to prison. Taking this opportunity, the imperial court carried out a large-scale reshuffling of generals and troop movements in the Zhenbei Army, thus separating military power.
Of the 100,000 Zhenbei Army troops, 20,000 were transferred to the Northeast, and 10,000 went to the Southwest, leaving only 50,000 to be stationed in Yunzhou in the Northwest.
The military power held by the Marquis was diminished.
The defense line north of Hecheng was under the command of Deputy Commander Tang Ying, and the troops stationed there were not the Zhenbei Army, but the Xuanwei Army from the capital region.
Deputy Commander Tang Ying... was recommended by the Minister of Revenue, and the Xuanwei Army belonged to the eldest prince.
At this moment, the military camp at Xiashi Pass was brightly lit, and several attendant soldiers began to quickly tidy up the room.
A middle-aged man of medium build and slightly thin, dressed in dark-colored casual clothes, strode into the room. Zhao Tinglei followed half a step behind him, carrying a fur cloak.
As soon as the two entered, the soldiers saluted and retreated outside, flanking them.
Zhao Tinglei respectfully invited the middle-aged man to sit down: "Father, it's dark and snowing heavily now, why did you come out of the city?"
The middle-aged man had an ordinary appearance, but his face was as red as a date, with three short wisps of beard under his chin. His eyes shone brightly when he opened and closed his brows, and even before he spoke, he exuded the domineering aura of a superior.
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