The fiercest soldier of the border army

The evening breeze swept across the gaunt faces.

They gripped their weapons tightly, breathing softly, afraid of disturbing the young squad leader in front of them.

"Let's start training tomorrow!"

Tang Shun stepped down from the earthen platform. "Cheng Feng led the training of waist, abdomen, legs and feet, Wei Zong taught the three of them how to cooperate, and Liang Enyi supervised the work."

"Initially, four people took turns standing guard, but this was changed to rotating shifts according to the number of personnel."

"There's only one goal: train hard and survive!"

"Aren't you scared?"

The ranks were silent for a moment, then the soldiers took a deep breath and roared in unison, "We are not afraid!"

Although his voice was still high-pitched and lacked the ruggedness unique to a veteran, it was still powerful and imposing!

Tang Shun waved his hand dismissively, "Now, let's eat!"

Half an hour later, the food was distributed.

It was still brown rice with bits of meat stuck to it.

There wasn't much minced meat, just enough to fill a tooth gap for each person, but—the food had a hint of oiliness!

The soldiers sat around, using bamboo strips as bowls, wolfing down their food, their faces showing genuine satisfaction.

The people were initially reserved, but later they relaxed and squatted on the ground, slurping their hot soup.

The northern lands are barren, and for ordinary families, being able to eat meat once every three to five days is considered a sign of being well-fed and clothed.

Most ordinary people would smoke meat until it was black and hard, but they couldn't bear to eat it. When guests came, they would place it in the center of the dining table, just to look at it without eating it. This was called "looking at the dish".

Meat was scarce, and fatty meat was especially prized.

Early the next morning.

Tang Shun, dressed in worn-out coarse clothes, stepped out of the camp.

The three men and one ginseng repeatedly thrust at the solid straw man in front of them.

"kill!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

Each thrust was inevitably accompanied by heart-wrenching battle cries!

Sometimes, deafening battle cries and ferocious expressions are also important means to instill fear in the enemy.

"Thrust! Retract! Thrust!" Cheng Feng shouted, veins bulging on his forehead, as he gave the commands.

Tang Shun paced back and forth and saw a skinny soldier whose arms were trembling and whose movements were weak. He kicked the soldier in the back of the knee.

The man knelt on the ground, and when he looked up, his eyes were filled with fear.

"Do you think this will do any good?" Tang Shun stared at him. "When the Xiongnu come, are you going to face their blades with your own neck?"

The soldier lowered his head and remained silent. Tang Shun said no more, "Come here, all of you, and watch!"

As soon as Tang Shun finished speaking, the three squad leaders moved at his command, leading their respective squads of soldiers to form a semicircle.

Tang Shun stood in the center of the semicircle.

He took off his coarse outer clothes, wearing only a short brown robe, and dug his feet into the rammed earth, gripping a sharpened wooden pole with both hands.

"Watch closely!" Tang Shun shouted in a low voice, and thrust his spear forward with a sudden burst of energy!

The wooden pole pierced the center of the straw figure with a dull thud.

He withdrew, then stabbed again, his movements so fast they were just afterimages.

Thirty consecutive blows sent splinters flying, leaving the straw man completely battered and bruised.

He straightened up, his face calm.

"The Xiongnu aren't fools; they won't just stand there and wait to be stabbed."

"They'll try to take your guns, they'll dodge your attacks, and even if they do stab you, the flesh will tighten, and you won't be able to pull it out so easily."

"So, with every sprint, pull back and thrust forward sharply, exerting maximum force in an instant!"

After saying that, Tang Shun threw the wooden pole on the ground. "One at a time. If you don't practice well, you won't eat!"

As the sun climbed over the top of the canyon, the soldiers, under Tang Shun's watchful gaze, thrust one after another, their voices hoarse, until they could no longer lift their arms.

Rows of scarecrows were poked and fell apart, and the sound of breaking wooden poles echoed everywhere.

Tang Shun arrived at the place where the townspeople were working.

Liu Laosi led a dozen or so strong men up the slope, carrying cut bamboo poles on their shoulders and dragging logs tied with thick ropes behind them.

"The bamboo forest is all cut down." Old Liu wiped his face, his voice hoarse. "There's no bamboo left in here."

Tang Shun nodded, his gaze sweeping over them.

The bamboo forests on both the north and south sides have been completely cleared out, and the outline of the southern slope's skeleton can be seen from the narrow pass on the north slope.

The framework of the two border towns has been erected, with wooden pillars buried deep, crossbeams joined together, and half of the wall panels nailed in place.

The stones were piled up on the east side, like a mountain, enough to build a city wall.

The cement has already been calcined in the kiln and is just waiting to be taken out of the furnace.

Tang Shun went to the makeshift kitchen, where a septuagenarian soldier told him, "The stored rice can last for seven days, but if the grain supply is halved, it will last for eleven days."

Tang Shun remained silent for a moment, then summoned Liang Enyi.

"Go and buy grain."

Tang Shun handed over a bag of silver: "Rice, flour, beans, buy whatever you have, the usual, nothing fancy, just enough to fill you up."

"Bring plenty of salt and oil, and as much as possible, as long as it can be stored for a long time."

"Buy more pork and mutton, and try to buy the fatty parts. Every meal should include meat."

Liang Enyi took it, feeling its weight pressing down on his hand.

Without asking any further questions, he turned and walked toward the cart, this time accompanied by four soldiers.

"Be careful on the road," Tang Shun said, only this one sentence.

Liang Enyi nodded, pushed the cart down the slope, and gradually disappeared at the bend at the mouth of the valley.

The sun was setting, but the training continued.

Torches were lit at night, illuminating the busy figures of people.

There are three shifts at night, and no one slacks off.

The quarry team was chiseling rocks on the north slope, the material transport team was shuttling back and forth, and three old soldiers were guarding the burning furnace.

The following morning, Liang Enyi still had not returned.

Half an hour later, the sickening sound of cart wheels began.

Several carts struggled uphill, their wheels tilted and their tarpaulins torn.

The soldiers who were training stopped what they were doing and went to help.

Liang Enyi was behind, his left hand wrapped in a blood-stained cloth, his face pale.

Four soldiers followed closely on foot, one of them with a cut on his arm.

The car came to a stop, and Liang Enyi stepped forward, his voice hoarse: "Squad leader, I ran into some trouble on the road and rescued someone."

"Save people?" Tang Shun shifted his gaze.

On the cart, a figure was huddled up.

The man's clothes were tattered, his face was covered in blood, a piece of his hair was torn off and hanging down with his scalp, and his right trouser leg was ripped open with a deep cut.

He was trembling all over, his whole body shaking with fear.

Tang Shun nodded, making sure everyone was alright, before checking the provisions.

The sack was intact and the seal was not broken.

Two meals a day are enough to feed their group of about a hundred people for three months.

"Help me...help me..."

At that moment, the figure on the cart began to murmur softly.

"Save you? Who are you?"

Cheng Feng, ever the nonchalant one, squatted down, brushed aside his hair, and was immediately shocked!

Although his face was covered in blood and he looked haggard, he was still recognizable!

It was Li Lang!

Initially, there were people in the Datong City camp who took five taels of silver from Tang Shun but were unwilling to accompany him.

"Li Lang? Damn it, what kind of bastard are you!"

Cheng Feng's eyes widened.

Li Lang didn't react, and continued muttering to himself.

Tang Shun and the others all looked at Liang Enyi.

"Wang Xianghong," Liang Enyi gasped, "Damn it, Wang Xianghong sent men to kill him, but I fought off Wang Xianghong's men and saved him."

"Why did you save him?" Cheng Feng was furious. "He took the squad leader's money and shamelessly stayed in Datong. Now he's going to die, he deserves it!"

"He should have died out there. Why did you get injured trying to save him? Mind your own business!"

Many soldiers present nodded in agreement.

They felt only jealousy and hatred towards Li Lang.

"It wasn't that I wanted to save him; I just saw Wang Xianghong's men chasing after him and tried to kill him, so I rescued him on a whim. Only after I saved him did I realize it was him."

Liang Enyi patiently explained, "How he decides to deal with it is naturally up to the squad leader."

"Squad Leader!" Cheng Feng drew his broadsword. "I'll kill this son of a bitch with one stroke, is that alright?"

"Kill him! Kill him!"

The soldiers present all joined in the commotion, and for a time, shouts of battle filled the air...