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

The originally harmonious and relaxed atmosphere in the council hall suddenly froze the moment Ah Man uttered the words "no less than a thousand cavalry."

The flames in the charcoal brazier were still leaping, but they couldn't dispel the biting, malevolent aura that suddenly filled the air.

Shen Qinghe's fingers tightened slightly as she gripped the account book, while Liu Ruyan's gaze darkened as she strode to the full-length map of the north wall hanging in the center. Zhou Laoqi's smirk vanished, his large, fan-like hands resting on the hilt of his sword, his joints making soft, rhythmic cracking sounds.

Nearly a thousand riders!

On the vast and desolate frontier plains, nearly a thousand elite barbarian cavalrymen, fully armed with heavy scimitars and great bows, were enough to flatten a medium-sized fortified village without strong defenses, and could even wipe out thousands of unprotected infantrymen on the plains.

"Aman, have you clearly seen their marching route and organization?" Xu Qingshan walked to the table with a calm expression, his gaze falling on the Luoyanpo area to the north.

Aman nodded and drew a deep red line on the map with his finger, running from north to south straight into Duanhe Fortress:

"Look closely. Leading the way is the banner of Wugu, the new leader of the Vulture Tribe. Behind him are the variegated wolf-head banners of the Gray Wolf Tribe and the Blackwater Tribe. The three tribes' troops are gathered together, divided into three groups: front, middle, and rear. They are all riding tall, cold-resistant horses from the grasslands, with each person riding two horses, and carrying a large amount of dried meat and quivers."

Aman raised her head, her eyes cold: "They're not taking the official roads, but avoiding the deep mountains and dangerous paths north of Qingya Fort, heading straight for the Duanhe Beach. At their current pace, their vanguard cavalry will be able to reach our outposts within ten miles of our perimeter around dusk."

Looking at the map, Liu Ruyan said coldly, "In the battle of Grizzly Bear Ridge, the Vulture Tribe not only lost three hundred sets of heavy armor and two thousand elite arrows, but also more than one hundred elite cavalrymen and more than ten thousand taels of silver. In addition, they suffered heavy casualties in the previous battle of Broken River Fortress, and the tribe was already in an uproar. These steppe wolves have come out in full force to demand payment from us."

"They want more than just the account."

Shen Qinghe's beautiful eyes were like water as she coldly analyzed, "First, they want to reclaim the twelve thousand taels of silver and the high-quality gold dust that we intercepted; second, the captured leader of the Vulture Tribe and the patrol battalion members from Gray Bear Ridge are all in our hands, and they want to kill them to silence them and erase the evidence of their smuggling of supplies to the Great Qian army; third..."

Shen Qinghe's gaze shifted to the flat riverbank outside the window, where irrigation canals had just been dug and was ready for large-scale land reclamation:

"They want to completely raze Duanhebao, destroy all the military settlements and irrigation facilities we just built, and turn the North Wall back into a pasture they can plunder at will."

Hearing this, Zhou Laoqi spat fiercely, his large, bell-like eyes gleaming with malice: "These beasts of the grasslands, do they really think our Broken River Fortress is still the empty shell they used to come and go as they please? We just got three hundred sets of fine iron lamellar armor, and I was worried about where to let the brothers test their skills! Centurion, give the order! Let me lead the heavy spear battalion to charge up there and chop off all their horses' hooves!"

"Do not be reckless."

Xiao Hongluan's cool voice rang out in the hall, interrupting Zhou Laoqi's shouting.

Xiao Hongluan walked to the long table, her slender fingers landing on the roster, her expression somewhat solemn:

"Seventh Brother Zhou, don't forget, although we have just expanded our army to five hundred men, nearly two hundred of them are new recruits who were just reorganized and assigned to their positions yesterday. Although they are physically strong, courageous, and some even know some martial arts and archery, they have not even practiced the most basic military formation coordination, let alone experienced the grand scene of hundreds of cavalry charging into the enemy formation."

Xiao Hongluan turned to look at Xu Qingshan and said in a deep voice:

"Wugu dares to launch a full-scale southward offensive at this critical juncture, which means they must have planted spies in the direction of Bailangji or Yunzhou. They know that you have just returned from reporting to Yunzhou, that the troops in the four forts have just been expanded, and that the new and old soldiers have not yet integrated, leaving the defense line in a state of transition. In Wugu's eyes, this is the best, and only, opportunity to flatten Duanhe Fort."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall tensed up.

Xiao Hongluan had pointed out the fatal flaw. A newly formed army, no matter how well-equipped, if it has not been tempered by war, could be easily routed in an instant if the front ranks panicked even slightly when facing a frontal charge of nearly a thousand fierce cavalrymen.

All eyes turned to Xu Qingshan.

Faced with the overwhelming pressure of an impending storm, Xu Qingshan's deep, abyss-like eyes showed no trace of panic or anxiety. On the contrary, a cold and sharp smile slowly curved his lips.

He looked at the arrow on the map pointing straight towards Broken River Fortress and spoke softly:

"You came at just the right time."

Xiao Hongluan raised an eyebrow, looking at him with some confusion: "The recruits haven't finished training, their formations are undecided, and their tactics are still unfamiliar. You think this is a stroke of luck?"

Xu Qingshan turned around, his deep gaze meeting Xiao Hongluan's eyes, his voice calm yet carrying a powerful, awe-inspiring force:

That's why we needed them to come.

Xu Qingshan stood with his hands behind his back, his cloak fluttering slightly in the cold wind:

"Even if you drill a thousand times on the training ground and lift stone weights ten thousand times, you still won't teach a new recruit how to keep his eyes open when a blade is about to strike his face. No one dies on the training ground; only on the battlefield."

Xu Qingshan's gaze swept over all the generals in the hall, his tone as cold as iron:

"Three hundred sets of lamellar armor are already on our bodies, we've eaten the best food and meat, and our fine steel spears are gleaming. The borders of the Great Qian Dynasty don't need greenhouse-grown flowers and plants; the Zhenbei Army needs wolves that have survived mountains of corpses and seas of blood!"

"This battle will be the best tempering stone for these new recruits!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the heavy atmosphere in the hall changed, and a deep and fervent fighting spirit ignited from the depths of everyone's chest.

Xiao Hongluan gave Xu Qingshan a deep look, a hint of genuine admiration flashing in her eyes. She said nothing more, simply placing her hand on the hilt of her sword, stepping forward, and replying in a deep voice, "How do you intend to fight?"

Xu Qingshan walked back to the table and gently tapped his fingers on the [Four Fortresses Defense Atlas]:

"Wugu thought we only had one Broken River Fortress to defend, and that he was facing five hundred isolated soldiers fighting alone."

Xu Qingshan's fingertips slowly traced the terrain on the map, finally stopping heavily on a treacherous canyon passage between Duanhe Fort and Tiemen Fort.

Eagle Beak Gully.

Xu Qingshan raised his head, his eyes flashing with a cold, calculating light:

"Back then, in the Battle of Luoergou, we used the narrow terrain to ambush five hundred barbarian cavalry; this time, we will show these nearly one thousand tribal allied troops what kind of inescapable trap these four interconnected fortresses along the north wall truly are!"

Xu Qingshan's expression turned serious, and he immediately issued a military order:

"Shen Qinghe, Zhao Lihua!"

"Yes!" the two women replied in unison.

"Immediately organize all the reclaimed land and refugees outside Duanhe Fort to evacuate into the inner fort and rear cellars, carrying their rations; at the same time, have twenty supply wagons loaded with empty grain sacks and weeds, deliberately transporting them back and forth along the Duanhe River to create the illusion of a hasty rush to transport grain!"

"Aman!"

"Take twenty mountain scouts and deliberately leave messy retreat traces and hoofprints along the route south from Luoyan Slope to lure the main force of Wugu and make them believe that Duanhe Fort's defenses are weak and its main force has not yet assembled!"

"Angelica dahurica!"

"exist!"

"All heavy ballistae on the walls of Iron Gate Fortress and Broken River Fortress are cocked, and sufficient antifreeze tung oil and armor-piercing heavy arrows are prepared. The sluice gate winches are to be guarded by strong men to the death. Obey my orders!"

"Xiao Hongluan, Zhou Laoqi!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"The heavy spearmen, clad in full armor, and the cavalry, armed with twin bows, follow me out of the pass to form ranks!"

Each military order resounded with conviction, and the entire Broken River Fortress, like a massive and sophisticated war machine, began to operate with a roar amidst the sound of horns.

……

Half an hour later.

On the highest bluestone beacon tower of Duanhebao, a pile of dried wolf dung and pine resin was ignited by a torch.

"boom!"

Thick, black billowing smoke, carrying a chilling warning, pierced through the leaden-gray snow-covered sky and stabbed straight into the heavens!

Immediately afterwards, the beacon towers of Iron Gate Fortress, Green Cliff Fortress, and Black Stone Fortress, located several miles away, were ignited in succession.

Four plumes of black smoke, stretching from heaven to earth, echoed each other in the wind and snow of the northern wilderness, forming a vast and desolate beacon fire line spanning hundreds of miles!

And at the horizon directly north of this defensive line.

A fierce wind swept through, carrying a blizzard, and a dark shadow suddenly appeared at the edge of the once pale and boundless land.

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves shook the snow on the ground.

Nearly a thousand barbarian cavalrymen, dressed in heavy fur robes and carrying powerful bows and scimitars, surged towards Broken River Fortress like an overwhelming black tide, under the huge wolf-head battle flag of Wugu!

Four thick, inky plumes of smoke rose from the ground against the backdrop of the vast, snowy sky of northern China.

Broken River, Iron Gate, Green Cliff, and Black Stone—four military fortresses separated by dozens of miles—were now completely connected by the billowing smoke. Though the wind and snow were fierce, they could not extinguish the black smoke rising into the sky.

The piercing bugle call echoed between the mountains and the wilderness, and the entire northern defense line, after months of silence, ushered in its first full-scale combat mobilization since its formation!