If I made you cannon fodder, how did you manage to achieve your goal of conquering the wolf's l

As dawn broke, the sounds of shouts and the dull thud of shovels breaking the earth echoed across the frozen wasteland along both banks of the river outside Duanhebao.

The biting wind howled across the riverbank, but it couldn't dispel the bustling scene of labor on the wilderness.

The five hundred soldiers of the Zhenbei Army, who had just been reorganized a few days ago, except for the two hundred or so who were on duty for guard and defense patrols, all the rest, whether they were burly men from the Heavy Spear Battalion or skilled craftsmen from the Supply Battalion, had all changed into coarse cloth short tunics, carrying iron picks, hoes and wooden baskets, and worked side by side with more than two thousand young and strong refugees.

Zhao Lihua, dressed in a neat gray cotton robe, with her hair tied up in a bun with a wooden hairpin and wearing a pair of thick-soled, high-top leather boots covered in mud, was standing on a high earthen slope, holding a scroll of water system boundary map drawn on tanned sheepskin.

Beside her, Liang Shun was leading dozens of burly men, struggling to pull the cast iron winch hanging at the old sluice gate.

"Open the sluice gate—release water for dredging!"

With a clear, sweet shout from Zhao Lihua, the cast iron winch emitted a heavy whirring sound as the bearings turned.

The wooden and stone sluice gate, which had been reinforced and renovated by Bai Zhi, slowly rose. The clear river water that had accumulated for half a winter upstream rushed down a newly dug irrigation canal several miles long, carrying with it the fertile black mud washed down from upstream, and gurgled into the flat and open wasteland gullies on both sides of the river.

"Good water! Good mud!" An old farmer who had spent most of his life farming in the interior squatted by the irrigation ditch, grabbed a handful of black soil mixed with water foam, sniffed it, and a long-lost look of joy appeared on his face. "This riverbed has been barren for decades, and the sediment at the bottom is all fertile soil fermented from rotten leaves and wood ash. As long as the irrigation ditch is properly dredged, and wheat is sown after spring, the harvest will be no worse than those top-quality fields in the south!"

Zhao Lihua strode to the canal, spread the sheepskin scroll she was holding on a flat bluestone, and calmly instructed the agricultural supervisors beside her:

"According to the rules set by the centurion, the three thousand acres of fertile land along the river surrounding Duanhebao will be officially divided into three categories of farmland from today onwards."

Zhao Lihua drew three dividing lines heavily on the scroll with charcoal:

"The first category is 'military farmland,' consisting of 1,200 mu of land. Five hundred soldiers will take turns cultivating it after their daily training. The two hundred-plus prisoners from Black Wind Village will all be assigned to the farmland labor team, responsible for carrying soil, digging irrigation ditches, and breaking stones. Every grain of rice produced from the military farmland will go into the Broken River Fort military granary, exclusively for the soldiers' rations and the horses' feed!"

"The second category is 'military household land,' which is allocated 800 mu. Each household of the 500 officially registered soldiers and their families will receive 10 to 20 mu per adult, exempt from all miscellaneous taxes, only subject to a 10% public grain tax. If a male member of the family achieves merit on the battlefield, more land will be granted according to the size of the merit; if they unfortunately die in battle, the military household land will never be reclaimed, and the four forts will allocate grain to support their elderly and young families!"

"The third category is 'public land,' which is allocated 1,000 mu. It is open to all migrants and households who are willing to settle down in Sibao. Sibao will provide farm tools, wheat seeds, and winter rations through unified lending, and land will be allocated to each household. For the first two years, only 20% of the land will be taxed, and the rest will belong to the farmers themselves!"

Most of the refugees who fled from various places had suffered exploitation by powerful local magnates and the ravages of bandits and soldiers in their original hometowns, and had long lost trust in the government. But now, Duanhe Fort not only provided them with food to keep them alive, but also distributed land to them in a real way, and even made arrangements for the families of soldiers without any problems.

"The land has been distributed! We now have our own land on the border!"

"Working for the garrison commander is a promising career path!"

The crowd's enthusiasm was fully ignited. Even the more than two hundred Black Wind Village prisoners who were working in shackles swung their pickaxes even more vigorously after learning the rule that "those who perform well in three years of labor service can be converted into formal military households and allocated land."

On this once desolate ice field, order and vitality are spreading at an astonishing speed.

……

Compared to the bustling Duanhe military settlement, Shen Qinghe and Liu Ruyan were building a much larger and more sophisticated operating system in the Duanhe Fort council hall.

On the large, long table, a detailed map of the entire northern wall defense line was laid out.

Black Stone Fortress is situated in a strategic location in the northwest, Green Cliff Fortress stands majestically on the northern cliff, Iron Gate Fortress guards the southwestern trade route, and Broken River Fortress is located on the central plain.

Holding a calligraphy brush, Shen Qinghe laid out the thick ledgers and warehouse catalogs, categorizing them as she explained them in detail to Xu Qingshan, who stood before her:

"Centurion, once the 500 soldiers are assembled, the consumption of food will not only be a matter of quantity, but also a matter of transportation and security. If we continue with the old method of storing food separately, once a border fort is besieged by barbarians or set on fire by enemy agents, the entire defensive line will be plunged into a desperate situation of running out of food."

Shen Qinghe marked the four fortress locations on the map with different colored marks.

"Therefore, after discussing with Sister Zhao, Qinghe formulated this 'Four Forts Granary Rotation System'."

Shen Qinghe's pen tip touched the location of Black Stone Castle:

"Blackstone Fortress is situated at the highest point, with deep cave-like vaults inside. It is moisture-proof, fireproof, and easy to defend, making it difficult to attack. Therefore, it was designated as a 'strategic reserve warehouse.' No matter how dire the situation at the front, the Blackstone Fortress vaults always contain enough food and arrows to sustain the entire army for three months. They must not be moved unless there is a catastrophic disaster."

The pen tip moves toward Broken River Fortress:

"Duanhebao has a flat terrain, abundant water resources, and 3,000 mu of military farmland, and was designated as the 'main grain production base.' All the newly harvested grain and flour milling workshops were located here, responsible for the daily supply and allocation of rations for the entire army."

Next are Iron Gate Fortress and Green Cliff Fortress:

"Iron Gate Fortress is located next to the trade route, making it convenient for vehicles and horses to travel. It is designated as the 'Trade Transport Warehouse,' responsible for receiving the supplies transported by White Wolf and coordinating the distribution of supplies among the four fortress caravans. Green Cliff Fortress is situated at a strategic point on the mountain road, with treacherous and narrow roads. It is designated as the 'Tactical Emergency Warehouse,' storing only lightweight and durable high-calorie dry rations and wound medicines to ensure that mountain scouts and veteran garrison soldiers can access them at any time."

This four-in-one grain storage rotation system completely separates yet complements production, transportation, emergency response, and strategic reserves.

Xu Qingshan carefully examined the layout on the map, a look of satisfaction appearing in his deep eyes.

"Good." Xu Qingshan nodded slightly. "In this way, even if the Yunzhou General's Office sabotages things halfway, or if Duanhe Fort is attacked head-on, the four forts can still communicate with each other and won't go hungry for a day."

Just then, the cotton curtain in the side hall was lifted, and a fragrant breeze, along with the chill of the northern frontier, rushed in.

Su Jinniang, dressed in a crimson fox fur cloak, strode into the hall, her face displaying the shrewdness and composure characteristic of a merchant.

"Commander Xu, my sisters, I have brought back good news from White Wolf Village."

Su Jinniang took off her cloak and handed it to her attendant. She walked to the long table, took out a stack of contracts and invoices stamped with the seals of various merchants from her sleeve, and gently placed them on the table.

"The batch of grassland silver and gold dust intercepted at Grizzly Bear Ridge has been completely laundered into clean cash by my secret contacts in White Wolf Village."

Su Jinniang picked up the hot tea to moisten her throat, and then recited a series of numbers in a clear and organized manner:

"Taking advantage of the imperial envoy's sealing off of the northern granary of Yunzhou, the major grain shops and caravans in the city were in a state of panic. I took the opportunity to buy up three batches of key supplies at low prices: the first batch was 2,000 shi of selected black soybeans for warhorses and soybean cakes from within the pass; the second batch was 50,000 jin of high-quality winter hay and coarse feed; the third batch was 20,000 jin of pig iron, selected pine soot ink, saltpeter and sulfur that the workshops urgently needed; in addition, I also bought up 20 carts of Guanzhong medicinal herbs for stopping bleeding and removing blood stasis from the medicine merchants from the south."

Looking at the heavy list of supplies, Shen Qinghe and Liu Ruyan both breathed a sigh of relief.

With the continuous influx of these hard currencies, the expenses of the hundreds of mouths for the five hundred soldiers and thousands of refugees finally had the most solid material support.

With a slight thought, Xu Qingshan noticed the system interface quietly refreshing in the void before him:

[Long-term mission: Guard the northern wall]

[Affiliation: Four Fortresses of the Northern Wall (Blackstone, Green Cliff, Iron Gate, Broken River)]

[Border Fortress-level Overall Construction Progress: 68% (Steadily Rising)]

[Military Settlement System: Activated (Duanhe Military Settlement in Progress)]

[Logistics and Trade Route System: Operating Smoothly (Sibao Grain Depot Rotation System in Effect)]

[Combat readiness assessment: The northern defense line has initially broken free from dependence on external food supplies, and its self-sufficiency in combat readiness has been significantly improved]

The system's fortress-level construction blueprints were truly transformed into visible productivity and combat power on this wasteland at this moment.

The atmosphere inside the room became exceptionally harmonious as the logistical problems were resolved.

Zhou Laoqi poked half his head in from outside the door, grinning widely, "Centurion, now that the food supply is secured, can our Heavy Spear Battalion ask the kitchen for an extra half-spoon of mutton soup after our drills tonight?"

"As long as your new recruits can hit the bullseye with their spears, you'll get your share of mutton," Xu Qingshan said with a laugh.

A burst of light laughter immediately filled the hall.

However, this joyful atmosphere did not last long.

"Hiss—!"

A sharp, short neigh from a warhorse suddenly rang out from outside the fortress gate, accompanied by the rapid, chaotic sound of hooves pounding through the snow, instantly shattering the tranquility of the snowstorm.

Immediately afterwards, the heavy wooden door of the council chamber was pushed open.

Scout Commander Aman, covered in unmelted ice shards and snow, strode into the hall.

Ah Man's usually expressionless and cold face was now furrowed, and his eyes flashed with the sinister glint of a wild beast sensing the approach of a powerful enemy.

He didn't even have time to brush the snow off his shoulders before striding up to Xu Qingshan, his voice low and urgent:

"Centurion."

Aman raised her hand and pointed to the vast wilderness to the north, saying each word slowly and deliberately:

"Thirty miles away, a large number of traces were discovered at the sentry post on the north side of Luoyanpo."

"A lot of horses have come from the north."

Xu Qingshan's eyes narrowed slightly, and he slowly straightened up: "Is it a merchant caravan heading south, or a patrol cavalry unit from Yunzhou?"

Ah Man shook her head, a cold killing intent flashing in her eyes:

"It's neither a caravan nor soldiers from Yunzhou."

"The horseshoes were heavy, the horseshoes were thick, and all of them were covered with non-slip leather... The people on horseback were all carrying large bows and scimitars."

Ah Man took a deep breath, her tone chilling and biting:

"It is the main battle flag of the Vulture Tribe."

"The number of riders... is no less than a thousand!"