Lord of the Desert

Chapter 553 Choice
The snow stopped that night, and the starry sky was vast and open.

The lights in the beacon tower city remained on late into the night.

"So what did Suo Chengzhou say in the end about the troop deployment?"

Hou Tengyuan, the commander of the Pijian Camp, sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and asked.

“He said that he would invite the two of us and the military commanders of each battalion to discuss important matters in three days in the name of the garrison commander. The meeting place would be at the garrison commander’s mansion. The Song brothers and Madam Yong would also be there.”

Yang Haorang repeated.

"Suo Chengzhou actually mobilized the Song and Xiang families, which is quite unusual for him."

Hou Luzhen, commander of the elite battalion, scoffed.

Yong Yu was originally from out of town. After marrying into the Xiang family, she practiced her husband's family's martial arts. Unexpectedly, she reached the Innate Realm and naturally became the head of the Xiang family. Now, she is the only one who can do what she says in the clan.

"He has only reached the level of cultivation, which he achieved by consuming pills. What's with his tough attitude? He's just being forced by his superiors to put on a show."

Yang Haorang also disdained it.

“We know our own situation best. If Zhenbeiwei were truly tough, why would Hong Fan and his Chisha Army be here?”

Upon hearing this, the officers present were all speechless.

The situation has been bad these past few years – the giant spirits are active frequently, and more and more are heading north to join Wolf Ridge City as traitors – the decline of Zhenbei Guard is self-evident.

Of the three guards, only the Central Guard, with its five cities, can still maintain a semblance of order thanks to the prestige of the old and new members of the Kou family.

"Sigh, I've only been in this military post for a few months, and I'm already suffering this kind of injustice!"

Teng Yuan suddenly slammed his fist on the table.

"You're not the same person you used to be; you now command hundreds of men. You must control your anger!"

Yang Haorang glared at him.

"Old Lu, what do you think about the Red Sand Army that you went with me to pick them up?"

"Hard to say."

Lu Zhen hesitated.

"Most of the soldiers under the Red Sand Army are newly trained, but the officers are all highly motivated and truly fierce. With three innate Earth Gods including Hong Fan, and in such a small city like Fengsui, if they were to clash with them, life would probably be extremely difficult."

"What else can we do? Should we side with these Liangzhou people?"

Teng Yuan called out.

"Suo Chengzhou is almost fifty years old and has only managed to become a garrison commander. He is definitely no match for the top of the Prodigy Ranking. As for Yong Yu, she is just a woman and she can't handle it. But Lin Yuan City still has two powerful figures from the Huo family..."

As the two military commanders revealed their positions, the five or six men in the room immediately began arguing, but their arguments were nothing more than considering the pros and cons.

"Be quiet!"

Yang Haorang's temples bulged with veins, and he let out a low shout.

He took his pipe, lit it with the fire in the stove, and strolled outside into the cold winter air, letting the north wind cool his overheated thoughts.

General Huo Zhan possesses the cultivation of the fifth level of Yuan Magnetic Realm, making him undoubtedly the number one expert of the Left Guard. However, he is over 130 years old, even older than Kou Fei of the Heavenly Realm and Human Realm, and at most only has a few more years to live.

Hong Fan was less than a fraction of Huo Zhan's age.

Yang Haorang has been working within the Zhenbeiwei system for nearly thirty years. His orders are always issued by bandits or Huo. Excluding the fact that he has grown older, what he has seen and heard has not changed. On the contrary, the tricks of the giant spirit change every few years, and the abilities of the Wolf Spine Warriors have increased significantly over a ten-year period.

His life, marked by both glory and disgrace, began in the land of Changbai Mountain and Heilongjiang River. At the age of ten, he followed his father and brothers, hunting tigers and bears with steel forks. Now, with all his relatives gone and decades of life leaving him scarred, even the Xiao Dynasty could not make him take notice.

Yang Haorang only trusts what he sees.

Tobacco shreds are like a tiny spark under the dark moonlit night.

Through the smoke exhaled from his mouth and nose, Yang Haorang saw again the battle from many days ago—the muzzle flashes of gunfire cleaved through the battle formation, beasts and knights fell amidst the swirling snow and rushing waves, and the spilled blood scorched the cold white of the world...

Later, the military officer surnamed Gao, who came from a wealthy family, said that everyone in Jinhai City was armed, and the snake people were forced to retreat.

Yang Haorang didn't entirely believe this.

However, it is an undeniable fact that the Red Sand Army is fully equipped with armor and possesses formidable firearms.

After standing there for a long time, Yang Haorang finished his tobacco and strode back into the house.

"We must attend the troop review in three days."

He immediately launched into a tirade.

"Old Yang, between the Left Guard General's Mansion and Hong Fan, shall we choose Hong Fan?"

Teng Yuan looked completely incredulous.

"It's not about choosing Hong Fan, it's about choosing a way to survive."

Yang Haorang plopped down on the kang (a heated brick bed).

“As a captain, I have to obey the colonel. Even if I go against the general’s wishes, they will just find a pretext to dismiss me, or at most I can find another job to make a living. If we don’t listen to Hong Fan, military law will be a sharp sword hanging over our heads. If he dares, I will really lose my head.”

"Shouldn't the captain be under the command of the garrison commander?"

Teng Yuan pressed his knees and remained silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Can that be the same?"

Lu Zhen took over the conversation.

"What is Hong Fan's background? He was personally recruited by Guan Qimai and appointed as a captain by Emperor Xiao! Let alone Suo Chengzhou, would Huo Zhan dare to execute him under military law?"

Teng Yuan remained silent, unable to offer a rebuttal.

"Brothers, it's settled then; in the North, whoever chickens out is doomed. I can't gamble my life on the fact that Hong Fan is a coward!" Yang Haorang said, looking around at everyone.

"If Hong Fan really can't hold on in the end, I'll take you to Liangzhou. Will you come with me?"

"Old Yang, the bond between us sworn brothers is stronger than that between blood brothers. What are you saying?"

Teng Yuan shoved him.

Upon hearing this, everyone chuckled softly, and the atmosphere instantly relaxed.

······
Three days later, on November 13th.

The temperature dropped to around minus fifteen degrees Celsius, but thankfully it didn't snow.

West of the beacon tower city, the drill ground.

At 8:00 AM, the sun was hanging obliquely on the eastern mountain shoulder, but the sky was still not fully bright.

The snow piled up to a person's height on both sides of the drill ground, with the frozen, rammed earth in the middle; the entire Red Sand Army stood in formation, wearing leather helmets and double-layered cotton-padded coats, in the dim morning light.

"Will they arrive in half an hour?"

Gong Pengyun scanned the crowd gathered outside the drill ground, trying to distinguish the spies with ulterior motives from the onlookers.

"Hard to say."

Gao Junxia replied, casting a sharp glance at the soldiers in his team who were slacking off with their shoulders down.

"I think it's better if they don't come."

Hongbo stroked the hilt of his sword and chuckled.

He never had the patience to distinguish so many pros and cons; he only knew that the Red Sand Army had a full five innate combatants, among whom the Second Young Master alone could easily take on all five.

Therefore, any fools in this small beacon city who dare to challenge them should be utterly crushed.

On the platform, Hong Fan and Xu Yuntao stood motionless like statues, braving the north wind that was even stronger and colder than the wind blowing from below.

Below the platform, the three officers and soldiers from each battalion chatted idly.

Half an hour later, a commotion broke out outside.

The crowd of people blocking the entrance quickly dispersed on both sides, and then the soldiers of the two battalions strode in and stood in formation on the side of the Chisha Army.

"Yang Haorang, the Commandant of the City Defense Division, has arrived with two battalions fully armed and ready for inspection by the Colonel."

Yang Haorang walked to the foot of the platform and knelt on one knee, his voice clear and resonant.

"My subordinates have been lax in disciplining the troops, and the camp's documents are in disrepair. A few days ago, I was unable to sort them out properly, which caused a delay. I have brought them all here today. I request that you, Captain, punish me!"

"It's a trivial matter, why talk about punishment?"

Hong Fan smiled, shook his cloak, and gestured for him to join in.

"Lieutenant Yang, please come up to the platform and stand with me!"

He commanded the thunderous roar to sweep across all directions.

After the conversation ended and Yang Haorang ascended the platform, several pale-faced men in the crowd turned and ran away, clearly to deliver a message.

"Captain, should we arrest those men?"

Hongbo looked toward the platform and asked in a low voice.

"There's no need to go to that trouble."

Hong Fan said calmly.

"Given the situation, I'm going to make the trip no matter what. Just wait and see."

Half an hour later, the agreed-upon time of 9:00 AM arrived, but Guo Han was still nowhere to be seen.

"Captain, I have sent men to the No Return Camp three times to urge them, but they will not accept the request."

Xu Yuntao said.

"Commander Guo is currently garrisoning the prefecture."

"Stubborn."

Hong Fan nodded, signaling his personal guards to prepare the horses.

"Commander Yang, I intend to make a trip to the garrison headquarters. Would you like to come along?"

"No, thank you."

Yang Haorang forced a smile.

Just then, a voice came from afar.

"Captain Hong, if you don't mind, I'd like to join in the fun."

Hong Fan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged man with a missing leg walking out from the crowd, leaning on a cane.

It was Huan Chengji who was gradually squeezed out of the core of power in Fengsui City.

"Brother Huan is willing to go, which I could not ask for more."

Hong Fan naturally agreed.

Soon, he and his entourage of brightly armored guards rode eastward, their silhouettes gleaming like an arrowhead piercing the center of the beacon tower in the sunlight.

(End of this chapter)