A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

Zhenbei City, outside the west gate.

The hundreds of people in the small settlement were all in a sorry state, huddled together in family units, with no place to hide.

These people stared blankly at the city gate with a sense of uncertainty about the future, hoping that someone would open the gate and let them in at any moment.

Unfortunately, they had been shouting all day, but the city gates remained unmoved. The city guards said that they could only enter if they handed over sufficient supplies or money.

But the price offered by the city seemed astronomical to them. Now that they were basically penniless, how could they possibly enter the city?

Some villagers were lucky enough to be reminded by the city guards and packed their belongings in advance, bringing their livestock and money to Zhenbeicheng.

These people gritted their teeth and handed over most of their family property before they could allow their entire family to enter the city.

Occasionally, government soldiers would come and go, but if any civilians who had not paid the full amount dared to approach, they would be attacked by the city guards with swords drawn.

The people in this stronghold are villagers from the surrounding villages of Zhenbei City. Due to the sudden attack by the Tartar cavalry, they had no time to take any valuables and fled with their families.

This time, the Tartars didn't arrest people first like before; instead, they were busy seizing their livestock and plundering their stored grain.

Although the reason is unknown, it is already a great fortune to escape the clutches of evil, but there is no way to retreat after reaching the city gate.

Now that they have come empty-handed, if they continue to migrate towards the Central Plains, they will not go far and will starve to death halfway.

It would be better to stay near Zhenbei City and wait and see if there are any other hopes.

A little girl with pigtails had a dirty face, but her parents didn't care.

The little girl's stomach suddenly rumbled, and she timidly looked up at her mother in front of her.

"Mother, I'm hungry!"

The little girl's mother sighed upon hearing this and looked at the girl's father, "Honey, we have no money and no food. What do you suggest we do?"

The girl's father shook his head, a bitter expression on his face.

He didn't dare look the girl in the eye, but simply reached out and picked her up.

"Niu Niu, take a nap. You won't be hungry when you're asleep."

The little girl's eyes dimmed upon hearing this, but she didn't cry or make a fuss; she simply nodded obediently.

She rested her head against her father's chest and slowly closed her eyes.

Feeling the girl's breathing gradually become steady in his arms, the girl's father looked on with a pained expression. After a while, he placed the sleeping girl in her mother's arms.

"I'll go look around and see if I can find anything to eat."

He then turned and walked out of the camp. He didn't know where to go, only that staying where he was meant to wait would either lead to starvation or death under the iron heel of the Tartars.

He wandered aimlessly when he suddenly saw a migrating caravan approaching. Unlike the villagers who had fled empty-handed, this caravan carried supplies and livestock.

He gritted his teeth, ran forward, chose a family with many livestock, knelt down in front of them, and choked up.

"Please, fellow villagers, have mercy and give me some food! My daughter hasn't eaten all day!"

A burly man with a gloomy face walked out of the house and kicked the man away.

"Get out, get out! Where do we have any spare grain to give you now? Once we enter the city, we'll be drained of most of our savings. If we give it to you, are we going to eat dirt after we get there?"

After saying that, he led his family on their way, cursing as they went.

"What bad luck! This is the tenth person to come begging for food since we arrived around Zhenbei City."

The girl's father got up again, looking dejected. He looked around, randomly chose a direction, and continued walking.

I begged countless people, but all I got was a tiny piece of dry biscuit, about the size of half a palm.

The girl's father wept with joy and knelt before the man, kowtowing several times.

He then got up and put the dry biscuit in his pocket, hiding it close to his body, but that one dry biscuit was not enough, and the girl's father continued walking forward.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, a unique campsite appeared before him.

There were over a thousand people outside the camp, some carrying swords and shields, others riding warhorses, training in an orderly fashion.

There were still many people digging trenches around the camp, and the trenches outside the camp looked like they had already surrounded most of the camp, and it would soon be able to surround the entire camp.

The girl's father's eyes lit up, as if he had seen a glimmer of hope. He quickly stepped forward and walked to the outside of the camp.

He was stopped by people patrolling the area as soon as he arrived at the outskirts of the camp.

"Who goes there? What do you want?"

The girl's father grinned obsequiously, "Brother, could our camp let my family of three join? I can help with the work, all I need is some food."

The patrolman gave a knowing look, then put on a gentle smile.

"That's possible, but at least one male must enlist!"

"Besides food, there are many benefits to joining the army. Not only is there a settlement allowance of fifty taels, but if a soldier dies in battle, his family members will be taken care of by the camp and raised to adulthood."

Upon hearing this, the girl's father perked up, his face lighting up with joy. "Is this really true?"

The patrolman nodded. "Of course it's true. You can ask at the registration office. But there's a problem: the resettlement allowance isn't enough. If you join the army, the allowance will have to be postponed."

The girl's father frowned, pondered for a moment, and then nodded.

"Thank you, sir. Where can I register? I'd like to enlist in the army."

The patrolman pointed to a long queue not far ahead.

"Hey, that's it. There are still quite a few people who want to sign up, so hurry up and go before the camp is full and you miss your chance."

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw the girl's father take off running. She also saw several men walking towards the team that was signing up for the army not far away.

He had to run fast and get ahead of them, otherwise he would have to wait for a few more people.

As he ran past, he turned back and shouted to the patrolman, "Thanks for the reminder, sir!"

The girl's father waited for a good 45 minutes before the registration was completed. He told the people in the camp that he was going to pick up his wife and child, and then hurriedly ran towards the west gate.

When he ran back to the small camp at the west gate, panting heavily, and found his wife and children, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hoo hoo... Wife, hurry and come with me! I've found a camp. There's food, lodging, and an army of over a thousand men. It's much safer than staying here under the city walls!"

The girl's father finished speaking breathlessly, and before his wife could react, the other refugees around them immediately perked up their ears and surrounded him.

"What? Sir, are you serious? Where is it? Take us there right now!"

Instantly, the girl's father was surrounded by a crowd, leaving the girl's mother standing there dumbfounded, holding the girl who had just woken up.

Finally, the girl's father carried her in his arms, held her mother's hand, and followed by hundreds of people, heading from the south gate toward the north village.