Isolated town in northern border region

The people gathered outside the training ground, clinging to the wooden stakes and cheering for Xiao Lie.

Hearing this, Xiao Lie couldn't help but put his hand to his forehead.

Failed!

The Trapped Battalion, which used to only know how to march in formation, could be shown off before, but now that it's time to demonstrate the results of the intensive training, they can't be exposed to the public eye!

Although these people meant well, there were probably quite a few spies mixed in with them.

Xiao Lie's eyes darted around, and he beckoned Chen Hu over.

"Hurry! Go and bring General Shen here. He complained to me a few days ago, saying that even a one-armed man can fight on the battlefield."

"Perfect timing! He'll take the lead. You and the other new recruits will put on a military parade for me on the main street of Cangwu City!"

"Let the people of Cangzhou see what kind of soldiers we have here!"

Chen Hu glanced at the fierce and energetic soldiers of the Trapped Camp behind Xiao Lie and immediately understood.

"It was my dereliction of duty; such a deadly weapon as the Trapped Camp should not have been used..."

Xiao Lie waved his hand.

"Alright! It's nothing serious, as long as you didn't give yourself away, go and get on with it!"

Before long, the news that a military parade would be held in the city spread throughout the streets and alleys.

This is the first proper military parade since the liberation of Cangzhou.

Moreover, Xiao Lie even shouted the slogan that the people should inspect the army!

In just half an hour, the crowds that had been gathered outside the training ground had all converged on both sides of Wansheng Street in Cangwu City.

With only one arm remaining, Shen Chongyuan stood on the high platform, his face glowing, one hand resting on his waist knife.

"start."

The drums thundered, and the banners fluttered like clouds.

An endless line of infantrymen marched forward.

With synchronized steps, tens of thousands of people trod on the bluestone slabs, their movements powerful and resounding.

The armor gleamed coldly in the sunlight, spears stood like a forest, and banners stretched like a sea.

No one spoke, no one looked around; the procession of tens of thousands remained as silent as pines.

The people were stunned.

"These...these are soldiers from our Cangzhou?"

"Oh my God, my son is inside! That's my son!"

"Their spirit is even more impressive than that of the imperial guards!"

In the crowd, an elderly man with white hair stood up shakily, tears welling up in his cloudy old eyes.

He recalled how, when the northern barbarian cavalry marched south, the border troops of the Great Chu collapsed at the first contact, running faster than rabbits.

At that time, he thought that the Great Chu was finished.

Now, he sees a completely different scene.

"Okay...okay..."

The old man murmured.

"The Great Chu is saved... the Northern Frontier is saved..."

Meanwhile, Xiao Lie and his Trapped Camp had already completed the final physical fitness test.

On the entire training ground, only Xiao Lie and Luo Daniu, two animals, were still standing.

"Your Highness, running on flat ground isn't exciting enough!"

"How about we go into the mountains and see who's the best?"

Xiao Lie also became interested. In the previous training sessions, he and Luo Daniu had been unable to determine a winner. Now that it was the final stage, they had to decide who was superior no matter what!

So Xiao Lie pointed to the mountain peak not far to the north.

"Alright! Let's have a contest, fully armed, and see who climbs to the other side of the hill first!"

"If you win, I'll let you command the Trapped Camp!"

Upon hearing this, Luo Daniu grinned and started chuckling to himself.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

"Hehe! Even I, Da Niu, can be a general!"

"To bring glory to one's ancestors!"

Xiao Lie's eyelids twitched.

This beast! He hasn't even started the competition yet, and he's already got his hands on me?

"start!"

Xiao Lie glared at Luo Daniu, shouted, and started running!

Luo Daniu followed closely behind, and the two chased each other.

The mountain road became increasingly difficult to traverse, and Xiao Lie gradually slowed down.

It wasn't that he lacked physical strength, but rather that he was unfamiliar with the mountain paths.

Luo Daniu had been hunting in the mountains with his father since he was a child, and he could traverse mountains and valleys as if they were flat ground.

He stepped on the most stable spot with every step, and used every bit of leverage perfectly, humming a little tune as he ran!

In contrast, Xiao Lie was hesitant and awkward when running, and almost tripped and fell several times.

Looking at Luo Daniu's relaxed figure, Xiao Lie felt both admiration and helplessness.

"What a fucking beast!"

The two ran for about an hour and arrived at a mountain forest at the border of Cangzhou and Youzhou.

The mountains here are steep and rarely visited by people.

Xiao Lie had been left far behind by Luo Daniu and was the first to reach the summit.

"Your Highness! I won!"

Xiao Lie leaned against a large tree, panting, and gave Luo Daniu a thumbs-up.

"You're really amazing!"

"From this day forward, you are the Commander-in-Chief of the Vanguard Camp!"

Luo Daniu cheered with joy, then knelt down with a thud and kowtowed three times towards the north.

"Father! Your son has made something of himself!"

"Once the prince leads me back to Youzhou, I'll be able to claim land based on my military merits!"

"When the time comes, I'll allocate you a prime burial plot and build you the most beautiful tomb!"

"By then, our Luo family descendants will surely be even more successful!"

Luo Daniu roared at the mountain wind, and Xiao Lie also climbed up the mountain and gently patted Luo Daniu on the shoulder.

"Da Niu, please accept my condolences. I will definitely lead you back to Youzhou!"

"Not just Youzhou! I will reclaim all five states of the Northern Frontier!"

Xiao Lie gazed sharply northward, his heart brimming with heroic spirit.

Just then, Luo Daniu turned around with a surprised look on his face.

"Your Highness? What's there to mourn for?"

"My dad isn't dead!"

"Even I easily get lost in that old forest where my old man lives; those northern barbarians can't get there."

Seeing Luo Daniu's smug look, Xiao Lie couldn't help but kick him.

"You're already thinking about building a tomb while your father's still alive?"

"You're such a filial son, aren't you!"

suddenly……

Xiao Lie smelled a certain odor.

It doesn't smell like firewood.

The smell of firewood is dry, with a distinct woody aroma.

This tastes different...

It had a pungent, choking smell with a sulfurous odor.

Xiao Lie's pupils suddenly contracted.

煤！

Someone is burning coal!

In this era, coal was considered toxic carbon.

It could easily poison an entire family if it caught fire, and only the poorest people who couldn't afford firewood would use it occasionally.

"Big Ox, keep up!"

Xiao Lie followed the direction of the smell, and Luo Daniu, not understanding why, followed behind.

After walking for about a mile, a dilapidated thatched hut appeared at the foot of the mountain.

The thatched hut was built of stones and covered with thatch and bark, and it looked like it was about to collapse.

Smoke billowed from the cracks in the roof, grayish-white in color, carrying that pungent smell.

Xiao Lie quickened his pace, walked to the thatched hut, and knocked on the door.

Is anyone home?

The door opened. An old man with white hair poked his head out and was startled when he saw Xiao Lie and Luo Daniu.

"Who...who are you?"

Xiao Lie quickly cupped his hands in greeting.

"Don't be afraid, old man. I'm from Cangzhou. I was passing through this place when I smelled a strange odor and wanted to come and see."

The old man sized them up for a while, and seeing that although the two were covered in mud, they didn't seem like bad people, he opened the door.

The room was dark, with only the firelight from the stove illuminating half of it.

What was burning in the stove was not firewood, but pieces of dark stones.

Xiao Lie's breathing suddenly became rapid.

He squatted in front of the stove, picked up a stone with fire tongs, and examined it closely.

It is black with a dark gray sheen on the surface.

He tapped it with his hand, and the powder that fell off was grayish-white.

Coal! And it's high-quality coal!

"Grandpa, where did this toxic char come from?"

Xiao Lie's voice was calm, but his hands were trembling slightly.

The old man turned around and brought the two a pot of water, pointing to the back of the house.

"It's...it's in the back mountain...about seven or eight miles up the mountain, over the top there's a valley, the ground is covered with these black stones..."

"The whole mountain is full of them?"

Xiao Lie's eyes widened in disbelief!

"They're everywhere."

The old man said.

"The old man and his wife fled from Youzhou. They ran all the way here, but they were too tired to run anymore, so they built a shack at the foot of the mountain."

"Last winter, heavy snow blocked the mountain pass, and we couldn't find any firewood. I almost froze to death."

"There was really no other way but to burn this kind of toxic charcoal."

Xiao Lie's Adam's apple bobbed as he forcefully suppressed the excitement in his heart.

"Da Niu! Leave your provisions for the old man!"

"Let's go check out that valley in the mountains!"

Xiao Lie strode out of the house, while Luo Daniu behind him stingily pulled out a cloth bag from his pocket, smacked his lips, broke off half a pancake, and handed it to the old man.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Lie paused, took a deep breath, turned around, and kicked Luo Daniu in the buttocks.

"Silly Ox!"

"Eating one less bite won't kill you!"

Luo Daniu looked aggrieved.

"I...I've been running for so long, I'm starving."

Xiao Lie snatched the cloth bag and stuffed five large pancakes into the old man's arms.

"Damn it! After I'm done, I'll treat you to a feast!"

Two incense sticks later, Xiao Lie led Luo Daniu up the mountain the old man had pointed out.

Looking down, the valley below is sparsely wooded, with exposed rock formations visible everywhere.

The black lines resemble scars, stretching for miles.

At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind!

Open-pit coal mine!

An open-pit coal mine covering half a mountain!

We've struck it rich! We've struck it rich!

With this half-mountain, Cangzhou can produce coke, steel, and cement!

It can also be used to extract sulfur for gunpowder!

What will happen then, what kind of Northern Barbarian cavalry?

That's nothing!

Just as Xiao Lie was envisioning the future war fortresses, Luo Daniu's voice rang out in his ears like a muffled bell.

"Your Highness! There are Tartars at the foot of the mountain!"

"We've arrived in Youzhou territory; this is Tartar land!"

Xiao Lie turned his head to look up and down, his eyes blazing with the fire of war.

"Youzhou!"

"This is Youzhou, the territory of my Great Chu!"