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

As night fell, Blackstone Castle was completely swallowed up by the heavy snow.

Inside the dilapidated courtyard, the firewood in the hearth crackled softly.

No one was sleepy; they all sat quietly around the fire, the atmosphere cold and oppressive.

Xu Qingshan sat by the door, holding the powerful bow in his arms, his right thumb gently stroking the bowstring.

Hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

Immediately afterwards, three long and one short coded signals were given.

Zhou Laoqi immediately unlatched the door, and Hou San, covered in snow, rushed in like a gust of wind, then shut the door shut behind him.

He was panting heavily, not even bothering to brush the snow off his hat, and ran straight to Xu Qingshan.

"Corporal! You guessed right!"

Hou San took a swig of the hot water Zhao Lihua handed him, then lowered his voice and urgently reported, "The situation over at the north wall is complete chaos. But Liu Sandao isn't supervising the battle there at all; he's secretly harnessing wagons behind the barracks with a few trusted men!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the four veterans inside the room all changed.

"Hitching up a horse-drawn carriage?" Tie Niu asked, his eyes wide. "What's he going to do?"

"What else could they do? Run away!" Hou San spat on the ground. "I saw it clearly from the snowdrift behind the barracks. They were carrying several heavy camphor wood chests and several bags of fine grains onto two wagons. That's the blood he's been skimming off our soldiers' wages over the years!"

Xu Qingshan's face darkened; the worst had happened.

Liu Sandao also learned about the situation of those two barbarian soldiers.

"Where is Commander Chen?" Xu Qingshan asked.

Hou San gritted his teeth, his voice filled with barely concealed hatred: "Commander Chen is even more ruthless! He locked the inner fortress gates! When the brothers on the outer wall went to knock on the gates for help, the archers in the inner fortress immediately fired warning arrows, threatening to shoot anyone who dared to approach. He's using all of us on the outer wall as human shields to buy himself time to survive!"

"Beasts!" Zhou Laoqi slammed his fist on a nearby wooden pillar, trembling with rage. "The inner fortress has grain and wells, but the outer walls are just an empty shell. Once the barbarians breach the city, we won't even have a place to retreat!"

Xiao Qi turned pale with fright and gripped the wooden gun tightly in her hand.

The women in the courtyard dimmed their eyes upon hearing these words.

Abandoned by their superiors and facing a formidable enemy, this is the cruelest reality on the frontier.

Xu Qingshan stood up, straightened his old cotton-padded coat, tucked the wood-chopping knife into his waistband, and glanced at the four veterans in front of him.

"Chen Baihu is staying indoors, trying to be a coward. Liu Sandao absconded with the money, trying to use us as scapegoats. Since they won't leave us a way out, we don't need to risk our lives for them."

Xu Qingshan's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a calming power.

"Let's not go to the north wall, let's go to the south gate," Xu Qingshan ordered.

"To the South Gate?" Zhou Laoqi was taken aback. "The South Gate leads directly to the main road; Liu Sandao will definitely take that route to retreat. If we go there, aren't we just walking into a trap?"

"That's the one we rammed." Xu Qingshan's eyes flashed coldly. "Once the barbarians' light cavalry breach the city, the first thing they do is loot. Liu Sandao is pulling two carts of gold, silver, and valuables across the snow; he's a bigger target than the inner fortress. The barbarians will never let this big fish go."

Everyone realized what was happening.

Xu Qingshan is using Liu Sandao as bait to fish in troubled waters.

Bai Zhi emerged from the corner and handed over a heavy cloth bag.

"These are thirty caltrops that I made overnight using discarded arrowheads and nails. If you scatter them on the snow, horses that step on them will either be crippled or rendered useless."

Then, she took out a simple-looking but cold-looking crossbow and three short arrows.

"The mechanism is secured with hemp rope and thick iron nails. It can only fire three arrows, which can penetrate leather armor within ten paces, but you have to judge the accuracy yourself."

Xu Qingshan took the crossbow and caltrops and nodded approvingly.

He turned to Shen Qinghe and Xiao Hongluan: "The courtyard is yours. Lock the gate tightly and jam it with a doorstop. Ignore anyone who knocks except for my voice. If any barbarians manage to climb over the wall, don't hold back, kill them."

Xiao Hongluan gripped the wooden gun in her hand: "Don't worry, I'll guard the door."

"Walk!"

With a wave of his hand, Xu Qingshan, along with Tie Niu, Zhou Laoqi, Hou San, and Xiao Qi, pushed open the courtyard gate and plunged into the vast snowstorm.

……

Near the south gate of Blackstone Fortress, there is a narrow street.

The alley was lined with abandoned mud-brick houses of varying heights, and the narrow alleyway was so narrow that even the widest part could only accommodate a horse-drawn carriage.

This is the only way to the official road leading to the South Gate.

The wind and snow swirled through the alleyways, emitting a mournful howl.

Xu Qingshan led his men to the middle of the alley.

"Set up an ambush here." Xu Qingshan surveyed the terrain and quickly gave the order, "Tie Niu, go and pull those two broken carts over here, and that abandoned stone mill. Block the alley exit with them. Leave a narrow gap that only allows people to pass through, so that carriages absolutely cannot get through."

"Alright!" Tie Niu rubbed his hands together, strode forward, and relying on his brute strength, dragged the heavy, broken cart and half a stone mill to the alley entrance, piling them up to form a makeshift roadblock.

"Hou San, you're quick on your feet, go and spread the barbed wire in the snow at the entrance and middle of the alley. Remember the locations, so our own people don't step on it when we retreat."

"Understood, Corporal, watch me." Hou San took the cloth bag and quickly set it up in the snow, crouching down.

"Seventh Brother, Seventh Brother," Xu Qingshan handed them two thick hemp ropes. "Go to the earthen walls at both ends of the alley and set up the tripwires. Keep them below knee height and cover them with snow."

The four had a clear division of labor and worked efficiently.

In less than half an incense stick's time, this once empty dark alley had been transformed into a web of deadly traps.

After everything was arranged, Xu Qingshan led four veterans into the abandoned mud houses on both sides of the alley.

The earthen house had no roof, only half a low wall remained, which was just right for hiding.

The night was deep, and the cold wind was like a knife.

The five men lay prone in the snowdrift, taking a bite of the military rations in their arms to ward off the chill, and quietly awaited the arrival of their prey.

Time passes little by little.

After an unknown amount of time, a muffled and desolate sound suddenly came from the direction of the north wall of Blackstone Fortress.

woo-

That was the sound of bone horns from a barbarian attack.

Immediately afterwards, a faint light appeared above the north wall, and screams, the clash of weapons, and even the loud crash of warhorses ramming against the city gate were carried by the north wind all the way to the south gate.

Hou San lay prone behind the low wall, his body trembling slightly: "Squad leader... the barbarians are knocking on the gate."

The defenses of the north wall were more fragile than anyone imagined.

Having lost command and with their retreat cut off by the inner fortress, the defenders on the outer wall had no will to fight.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the fire on the north wall suddenly blazed brightly.

With a deafening roar, the already dilapidated North Gate was smashed open by barbarian cavalry using logs.

The sound of horses' hooves thundered through the streets of Blackrock Fortress.

The barbarians have entered the city.

"Keep your breathing steady." Xu Qingshan placed the powerful bow flat beside him, and the simple crossbow in his hand was already strung. "Listen, our fish are coming."

From the intersection on the north side of the alley, came the hurried sound of horses' hooves and the squeaking of wheels crushing the snow.

What followed was Liu Sandao's furious cursing.

"Hurry! Whip it! The barbarian light cavalry is catching up. Drag this cart out of the south gate, and we'll be rich when we get to Yunzhou!"

Upon hearing this sound, Xu Qingshan, using the ruins as cover, locked his gaze on the alley entrance like a hawk.

The prey has come knocking—