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

Inside a side room of the council chamber, a basin of boiling water emitted a white, damp steam, and the room was filled with the pungent smell of strong liquor, mugwort, and festering sores.

Qin Yuenu knelt beside the hardwood couch covered with dry straw, her slender fingers holding a delicate crescent-shaped scraper, carefully cutting through the tattered cotton wadding that had long been stuck to the skin and flesh under the wounded man's ribs.

With a tear, the frozen, blackened scab fell off, revealing a deep cut that reached the ribs, with the surrounding flesh showing a grayish-white necrotic color.

The cavalryman, who claimed to be from Jubeibao, had purple lips, was trembling uncontrollably, and was so thin that he was just skin and bones. His cheeks were sunken and his eye sockets were hollow, making him look like a dried corpse that had just been dug out of a mass grave.

"All ten fingers were severely frostbitten, with three deep knife wounds that exposed the bone. More than half of the blood had been lost. What's worse is that... the internal organs were completely empty, filled only with blood from chewing tree bark and grass roots."

Qin Yuenu inserted a piece of ointment containing the essence of old ginseng into the wounded man's tongue, and then used silver needles to seal six major acupoints on his chest. Her voice was heavy with unspeakable sorrow: "The only reason I was able to travel eighty miles over the mountains to Duanhe Fortress was because of the stubbornness in my bones that I would rather die than rest in peace."

Xu Qingshan stood in front of the couch, holding the blood-stained bronze military tag in his hand.

The edge of the dog tag had been slashed with a saber, leaving several notches. The inscription "Made in the twelfth year of Tianxi" on the back had been worn smooth and shiny.

Several bowls of piping hot, thick mutton bone and ginseng soup were slowly poured down his throat, supplemented by acupuncture needles. After about the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, the soldier on the bed moved slightly, letting out a gasp like a trapped beast gasping for breath, and his cloudy, bloodshot eyes moved with difficulty.

When he saw the Han army generals standing around the bed, clad in iron armor and with solemn expressions, his withered hand suddenly grabbed Xu Qingshan's clothes, his knuckles turning pale.

"Jubei Fort... Right Garrison Commander... Lu Yong..."

A dry, rough voice squeezed out from his cracked, bleeding lips, sounding like he was weeping blood:

"I beg you, sir... to send troops... to save the brothers in the fortress... to save the women and children..."

Xu Qingshan bent down and placed his broad palm on Lu Yong's thin, bony hand, his tone low and steady: "I am Xu Qingshan, the acting garrison commander of Duanhe Fort. Relax, you're already at your own camp. Tell me the truth about Jubei Fort in detail."

"Our own camp..."

Two streams of hot, cloudy tears suddenly streamed down Lu Yong's withered eyes, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.

As the story unfolded intermittently, a tragic truth, completely buried by heavy snow and sandstorms in the border region, was revealed to everyone.

Jubeibao is located deep within the cliffs of Langya Ridge, eighty li directly east of Duanhebao.

That place is the narrowest and most treacherous strategic choke point on the entire northern wall defense line of the Great Qian Dynasty. The entire military fortress is built by carving into the mountainside, with a hundred-zhang-deep abyss in front and a ten-thousand-ren-deep cliff behind. Only a narrow stone path less than two zhang wide leads to the outside world, and it has always been known as the "Iron Throat" of the northern wall.

According to the old system of the Great Qian Dynasty, the Beibao Fort was equipped with two hundred soldiers. In addition, there were military households and craftsmen who had followed the army to reclaim wasteland for generations. The permanent population of the fort was more than five hundred people, and it was led by Lu Zhen, an old commander who was over fifty years old.

"Three months ago... when the first blizzard hit, the winter rations allocated by the Yunzhou military supply depot stopped..."

Lu Yong's lips trembled, his eyes revealing endless resentment and despair:

"The grain transport officer sent by the General's Office changed course halfway through the journey, leaving behind only the words, 'The mountains are covered in snow, the plank roads are all destroyed, and it's difficult to transport the grain,' and then abandoned our two hundred brothers and their families to die in the snow!"

Hearing this, Zhou Laoqi, standing at the back, gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the doorframe: "Another snowstorm has destroyed the carts! Another plank road has been completely destroyed! Those heartless bastards, Chen Huaishan and his gang, are sending cartloads of military rations out of the Great Wall from the Beicang warehouse, yet the garrison inside the Great Wall can't even find a single grain of moldy wheat!"

"If it's just a matter of running out of food... the brothers can tighten their belts, dig up grass roots, and peel tree bark, and maybe they can still manage to get through this year..."

Lu Yong coughed violently, dark red blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes gradually becoming unfocused.

"But shortly after winter began, a remnant force of the Blackwater Tribe and the Snow Wolf Tribe from beyond the Great Wall... a full five hundred cavalrymen, crossed the frozen Wild Horse River, followed the snow-filled valley road, and went straight to Wolf Fang Ridge, completely blocking the only way out of Jubei Fortress!"

"They didn't attack the city; they just kept us besieged on the cliff, waiting it out. The food supplies in the fort were completely gone last month... First, we killed all the mules and horses, then we boiled leather armor, leather boots, and saddles... Eventually, the old, weak, and our brothers froze and starved to death every day..."

"Commander Lu led our remaining forty cavalrymen who could still wield swords, organizing three desperate breakout attempts. The first two groups of brothers all died in the snow ravines... I was in the third group. Six of us jumped down protecting this bronze plaque, and five brothers were shot to death by the barbarians' arrows on the icy river... I was the only one left... I climbed over two snow-capped mountains..."

Lu Yong clung tightly to Xu Qingshan's armor, the light in his eyes gradually fading, and a final plea escaped his throat:

"My lord... the fortress... the fortress is dying... those trapped children and women... are about to be cooked like lambs... save them..."

With a sigh of relief, Lu Yong's head lolled to the side, and he fainted again.

Qin Yuenu's expression was solemn. She quickly stepped forward to insert acupuncture needles to stabilize the heart's pulse, wiped the fine sweat from her forehead, and whispered, "The anger and shock, coupled with the frostbite on her internal organs, caused her to faint temporarily. Although her life can be saved, if she doesn't rest quietly for several months, her body will be completely ruined."

Xu Qingshan slowly straightened up and exhaled a long breath of cold white air.

He turned around, walked out of the side room, and entered the council hall where the snow had just stopped.

Inside the main hall, Xiao Hongluan, Liu Ruyan, Shen Qinghe, Zhou Laoqi, Bai Zhi, and others, who had already gathered, all wore grim expressions. Every word spoken in the side room clearly reached their ears.

"Centurion, we must not go to Jubeibao."

Although Zhou Laoqi was filled with rage, after the fierce battle with a thousand men, he was noticeably more tactically astute. Pointing to the sheepskin map on the wall, he frowned and analyzed:

"Eighty li of mountain road, all knee-deep snow and frozen soil. Langya Ridge is extremely treacherous, the road so narrow that even two riders can't pass side by side. The barbarians have besieged us there for two whole months, they must have set up ambushes and blocked key points throughout the mountain paths. We just finished a major battle, the Heavy Spear Battalion suffered 30% casualties, the brothers are exhausted, and we haven't even cleaned up the battlefield yet. If we split up now and launch a long-distance raid into the deep mountains, and get stuck in the icy valleys, the entire force will be wiped out!"

Guo Shan also looked troubled and echoed in a deep voice, "Moreover, the Yunzhou General's Office previously stamped the document in black and white, clearly stating that we are only permitted to take over the defenses of the four forts of Heishi, Qingya, Tiemen, and Duanhe. Jubei Fort is directly under the jurisdiction of the Yunzhou East Route Assistant General in the military register. If we cross the border and send troops without authorization, Chen Huaishan can easily accuse us of the serious crime of 'leaving our defense zone and plotting a mutiny'!"

The air in the hall was somewhat stuffy.

Their concerns were not unfounded.

Military strength, logistics, timing, location, and even official regulations—almost every factor pointed to Jubei Fortress as a doomed pawn. Chen Huaishan left it to its fate, and the imperial court had no idea whether that isolated snow-capped fortress was still within the territory of the Great Qian Dynasty.

To risk the annihilation of the entire army and being branded as a traitor for the sake of two hundred starving, old and weak soldiers, to venture into a remote, frozen mountain village—this would be utterly foolish in the eyes of any shrewd bureaucrat.

All eyes once again turned to Xu Qingshan behind the long table.

Xu Qingshan did not speak immediately.

He walked to the hanging map of the Northern Territory, stretched out his palm, and placed his fingertips on the location of Broken River Fortress. He then traced the map eastward and finally hovered over the grotesque canyon pass of Wolf Fang Ridge, which resembled the teeth of a ferocious beast.

To ordinary people, Jubeibao was a desperate place with no one to rely on.

Deep within Xu Qingshan's mind, the golden light that had originally enveloped only the four fortresses in the system sandbox was now faintly glowing along the crack in the canyon.

"Chen Huaishan hopes to die at Beibao."

Xu Qingshan spoke slowly, his calm tone carrying a penetrating insight into the pros and cons:

"If the entire army of Jubei Fort is wiped out, Chen Huaishan can easily pin the blame for the breach in the entire eastern defense line on the heavy snow blocking the mountains and the rampage of the barbarians. Not only that, once Jubei Fort falls, the hooves of the various tribes beyond the Great Wall can pass through the Langya Ridge Pass without any hindrance and directly circle around to the back of our Qingya Fort and Duanhe Fort."

Xu Qingshan turned around, his deep gaze sweeping over the generals in the hall:

"By then, the so-called four-fortress joint defense will leave our flanks completely undefended plains. Barbarian cavalry can set fire to our fields and cut off our trade routes at any time. The three thousand acres of military settlements we have just reclaimed along the Broken River will become a piece of meat hanging on the edge of a cliff."

Xiao Hongluan's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and she nodded thoughtfully: "If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. If Jubei Fortress collapses, the iron gate on the north wall, which was originally closed, will be like a door panel being removed from the east side."

"That's just one aspect."

Xu Qingshan's gaze sharpened, and his voice rose slightly:

"Secondly, Chen Huaishan tried every means to trap us within the confines of the four forts, denying us official titles and promotions, even hoping we would remain just local tyrants in four dilapidated forts. But he forgot that titles are never bestowed by those cowards above, but earned inch by inch with the sword in one's hand!"

Xu Qingshan's right hand rested on the hilt of the long sword at his waist, and the clear, metallic sound echoed throughout the hall.

"The old soldiers on the north wall gave their lives to this wall, but the imperial court doesn't care, and the General's Office treats it like trash. If even we, the Zhenbei Army, turn a deaf ear, then this north wall will truly only be a pile of cold, white bones!"

"Today we watch as Jubeibao perishes, but tomorrow, when we're besieged, who will light the beacon fires for us to call for help?!"

His words, spoken with resounding force, instantly dispelled the previously wavering atmosphere in the hall!

Zhou Laoqi, his face flushed, gasped for breath and wiped his neck before striding forward: "Centurion, stop talking! I was being petty! Since you're determined to rescue him, I'll lead the way, even if I have to carry it on my shoulders, I'll get the supplies into Langya Ridge!"

"However, while sending troops is one thing, we cannot fight a war haphazardly."

Liu Ruyan, who had been standing quietly to the side, unfurled a document and quickly cut to the chase:

"The eighty-mile mountain road is covered with three feet of snow, and the heavy infantry's large shields and spears make it impossible to move quickly. If the large army drags its feet, it will have lost more than half of its men and horses before it even reaches Langya Ridge."

"How do we solve the food problem?" Shen Qinghe stepped forward, calmly calculating the accounts. "The winter food for five hundred mouths is barely balanced through military settlements and spoils. If we take in several hundred hungry people from Jubei Fort, and the expenses exceed expectations, our hard-won stable rear will also be under heavy pressure."

"Wugu has already taken care of the food problem for us."

Xu Qingshan's lips curled into a cold smile as he turned to look at Shen Qinghe:

"Among the spoils captured today are two hundred bags of high-temperature dried beef, one thousand catties of dried grassland cheese, and more than eighty fine horses that died in battle, which were carried by the Wugu Imperial Guard. The Heavy Spear Battalion and the Supply Battalion will immediately start fires tonight to cook, marinate, and air-dry the horse meat, and press it into high-ranking marching rations that are easy for individual soldiers to carry close to their bodies!"

"This kind of ration doesn't need to be transported by large carts; two sacks per warhorse are enough to sustain one rider for half a month. It doesn't deplete the original grain reserves of the four fortresses, and it allows for rapid travel along mountain roads by light cavalry!"

Shen Qinghe's beautiful eyes lit up, and she quickly picked up her brush to mark and annotate the roster: "Understood. Qinghe will personally go to the kitchen to supervise the preparations. Two hundred servings of dried meatballs and strong liquor will be prepared within three incense sticks!"

"As for troop deployment."

Xu Qingshan turned to look at Xiao Hongluan and Bai Zhi:

"The heavy spear infantry and the wounded will all remain at Duanhe Fortress, with Xiao Hongluan in charge of the rear, coordinating the defense of the four fortresses, and continuing the military settlement renovation and new recruit training. The wagon formation at Tiemen Pass and the high sentry posts at Qingya Fortress will remain on wartime alert, guarding against a counterattack by a barbarian flanking force."

Xiao Hongluan clasped her hands in acceptance of the order: "Leave the four forts to me. If even one fort loses an inch of land, I will offer my head to you."

"Bai Zhi, how many of the snow-resistant skis and special sleds that the workshop rushed to produce are usable now?"

Bai Zhi immediately took out a blueprint from her wooden box and replied clearly, "According to the blueprints given by the garrison commander, we have made thirty sets of hardwood double-row sleds. Each sled can be pulled by two warhorses and can glide smoothly in knee-deep snow. It can bear a weight of over 600 jin and is specially designed for the rapid transport of heavy arrows and emergency wounded soldiers. In addition, the warhorses' anti-slip iron horseshoes are equipped with reverse barbs, which are enough to climb icy slopes of about 30 degrees."

"good!"

Xu Qingshan made a decisive decision and issued the final military order:

"The Zhenbei Cavalry, at full strength, consists of sixty riders, all clad in double-layered light armor and carrying two quivers of horn bows."

"A scout team of forty elite men, led by A-Man and Hou-San, equipped with double-barreled crossbows and climbing ropes, will advance to clear the way and remove mines."

"Ten skilled logistics personnel accompanied the military medical team, with Qin Yuenu personally leading the team, bringing all the hemostatic powder and hot medicine soup."

"The entire army consists of 110 cavalry, each rider with two horses, equipped with 20 sleds, and carrying dried horse meat and armor-piercing heavy arrows!"

Xu Qingshan drew his long sword from his waist, the blade reflecting a chilling killing intent in the flickering candlelight.

"We'll assemble in half an hour. Tonight, braving the wind and snow, we'll head straight for Langya Ridge!"

"I want to see just how tough these pack of prairie dogs are, having turned Jubeibao into a death trap!"

"promise!"

Inside the hall, the generals roared in unison, their murderous aura reaching the eaves.

……

At midnight, the wind and snow intensified.

The east gate of Duanhebao was quietly opened.

One hundred and ten elite cavalrymen, cloaked in snow-white camouflage, silently marched out in formation. Their horses' hooves were wrapped in burlap, and their mouths were bound with bits. The only sound was the soft rustling of their light sleds gliding across the frozen snow.

At the very front of the group, Xu Qingshan led the way, his black cloak transforming into a blade that cleaved through the chaos amidst the wind and snow.

Beside him, Lu Yong was securely strapped to a specially made sled covered with thick wolf skins and a heater. His withered eyes stared at the silent, iron-willed army rushing into the depths of the night, carrying an overwhelming aura of slaughter. His chest heaved violently.

This newly reorganized Zhenbei Army, transformed by stepping over the corpses of nearly a thousand barbarians, was like a steel cone tempered with icy poison, silently plunging into the dark abyss of the eastern section of the north wall.