In this chaotic world of vying for power, I can become stronger by marrying a wife.

Black blood splattered.

The surrounding soldiers subconsciously took a step back, and the way they looked at Su Ming was no longer that of a new recruit, but that of a living Yama.

"Good arrow."

Su Ming took out a tattered cloth from his pocket and carefully wiped the recovered arrows. These were specially made by him using spatial materials, and each one was extremely precious in this border army where iron was scarce.

"Master Su... Master Su."

The bodyguard from before approached, holding a bloodstained leather bag in his hands. His tone was respectful to the point of being obsequious. "This was found on that barbarian general. I didn't dare to touch it. Please take a look."

This is the rule in the military.

The strong prevail.

Before last night, Su Ming was just cannon fodder sent to the vanguard battalion; after this morning, he became "Master Su," whom no one in the guard battalion dared to offend.

Su Ming took the leather bag, weighed it in his hand, and heard a crisp sound of metal clashing inside. Upon opening it, he found several gold ingots of excellent quality, as well as a simple map drawn on a sheepskin.

"Here's a reward for you." Su Ming casually tossed a piece of silver to Da Niu.

Da Niu was overjoyed and bowed repeatedly, saying, "Thank you, Master Su! Thank you, Master Su!"

Su Ming tucked the map into his pocket, his gaze sweeping over the group of soldiers with fanatical eyes, his heart unmoved.

Murder, loot the corpse, establish authority.

He is very familiar with this process.

……

Inside the commander's tent, the fire in the stove was burning brightly.

"That feels great! That's fucking great!"

Zhang Meng sat imposingly in the main seat, a bowl of strong liquor in his hand, his face flushed. "Last night's battle, although we lost some brothers, wiped out the elite Northern Barbarian scout team, especially their leader 'Jebe' (the sharpshooter). That's a truly great achievement!"

He looked at Su Ming, who was sitting below him, and his eyes showed increasing satisfaction.

"Su Ming, I've already recorded your first merit in the military merit book. According to the rules, killing an enemy general is at least equivalent to a centurion. Although you're relatively inexperienced, I don't care about those damn rules. From today onwards, you are the deputy commander of my personal guard battalion!"

Upon hearing this, the other centurions in the tent, though envious, dared not utter a sound.

Who can deny the incredible skill of his archery? If you don't believe me, why don't you go to the top of the tower and try it yourself?

"Thank you for your guidance, sir." Su Ming stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and remained calm and composed.

Deputy Commander?

This position looks glamorous, but it's actually a target. However, Su Ming doesn't care. With this identity, he can legitimately mobilize resources and even... gain access to higher-level secrets.

"Report—!"

Just then, the tent flap was suddenly flung open, and a gust of cold wind mixed with snowflakes rushed in.

A middle-aged scholar dressed in a dark brocade robe with a long sword at his waist strode in. He was pale and beardless, with a sinister look in his eyes. He held a command arrow aloft in his hand, followed by two attendants with deep auras.

Upon seeing this person, Zhang Meng's smile instantly froze, and he slammed the wine bowl heavily on the table.

"Commander Zhou? What brings you all the way from Jing'an City?" Zhang Meng asked in an unfriendly tone.

This week's recruits are from the garrison headquarters; they usually just enjoy life in the city and never come to this harsh front line. Unless, of course, they're acting on the orders of the person above them.

Ignoring Zhang Meng's sarcastic remarks, Zhou Canjun scanned the tent with his venomous gaze before finally settling on Su Ming.

"Which one is Su Ming?" The voice was shrill and arrogant.

Su Ming narrowed his eyes slightly, said nothing, and just quietly looked at him.

"That's me."

"Very good." Zhou Canjun's lips curled into a cold smile as he unfolded the official document in his hand. "Urgent order from the Garrison Command! There is a new recruit, Su Ming, who is exceptionally skilled in archery and brave in battle. He is hereby ordered to lead a ten-man squad to immediately penetrate three hundred miles into the Northern Plains to investigate the movements of the main force of the Northern Barbarians and bring back an accurate map of the defenses of 'Black Mountain Pass'."

"Ten days are the deadline; no mistakes allowed!"

"Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

Dead silence.

The entire command tent fell into a deathly silence.

The next second, Zhang slammed his hand on the table and smashed the thick mahogany table to pieces with one blow.

"Bullshit!"

Zhang Meng, enraged, pointed at Zhou Canjun's nose and cursed, "Three hundred li into the Northern Plains? And you want to scout Black Mountain Pass? That's the assembly point of the Northern Barbarian army! Don't even mention ten men, even if I led the whole battalion there, we'd just be throwing our lives away!"

"This is reconnaissance? This is clearly sending people to their deaths!"

"Zhou Bapi, tell me honestly, whose idea was this? Was it that old bastard Liu Cang?"

Liu Cang.

The garrison general of Jing'an City, Liu Tao's uncle.

Upon hearing the name, Su Ming's pupils contracted slightly, and he instantly understood.

After the young one was beaten, the old one came.

Although Liu Tao has fallen, the Liu family behind him still exists. This military order is a death warrant.

Faced with Zhang Meng's fury, Zhou, the military advisor, remained completely calm. He calmly put away the official document and said with a forced smile, "Captain Zhang, watch your words. This is the garrison commander's personal order, stamped with the official seal. What, you intend to disobey orders?"

"You..." Zhang Meng trembled with rage, his hand already on the hilt of his knife.

Disobeying orders is a capital offense.

But not obeying orders means watching Su Ming die.

"Su Ming has only been in the army for one day! Even if he's a sharpshooter, he hasn't received any scout training! This kind of mission is completely against the rules!" Zhang Meng was still trying to argue.

"Rules?" Zhou, the military advisor, sneered, his gaze turning sinister as he looked at Su Ming. "Military orders are absolute; this is the rule. Su Ming, accept the order. Unless... you want to be court-martialed right now?"

The atmosphere was tense and ready to fight.

All eyes were on Su Ming. There was sympathy, regret, and even schadenfreude.

A promising genius is about to fall from grace.

Su Ming slowly stood up.

He showed no anger, no fear, not even a furrowed brow. He walked up to Zhou Canjun and took the burning military order from him.

"I'll take this task."

Zhang Meng panicked: "Su Ming! Are you crazy? Do you even know what Black Mountain Pass is?"

Su Ming turned around and gave Zhang Meng a reassuring look.

"My lord, since the garrison commands so highly of us, we must not let them down."

Su Ming emphasized the word "disappointment".

He looked at Zhou Canjun, a slight smile playing on his lips, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth: "However, since we're going deep behind enemy lines, I should be able to choose the equipment and personnel myself, shouldn't I?"

Zhou Canjun felt a chill run down his spine under Su Ming's gaze, and subconsciously took a step back, coldly snorting, "As long as you don't take away Captain Zhang's main force, you can choose whatever you want. However, there are only ten spots available."

In his view, it didn't matter who he brought. They were all dead anyway.

"it is good."

General Su Ming tucked the order into his robes, turned to Zhang Meng, and clasped his hands in a salute: "Sir, I'd like to borrow ten fast horses and ten sets of leather armor. Also, I need to go to the prisoner-of-war camp to select a few men."

……

Half an hour later.

A corner of the training ground.

Ten ragged, wounded soldiers stood in a row. Some had lost fingers, some had the word "prisoner" tattooed on their faces, and their eyes revealed numbness and despair towards the world.

These people were all troublemakers who had violated military law or offended their superiors, and were originally waiting to be executed in the autumn or used as suicide soldiers.

"Do you know why we chose you?"