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

As night fell, the leaden-gray clouds over Blackrock Fortress finally dissipated.

Two bright, gleaming lanterns hung in front of the inner fortress's iron gate.

Xu Qingshan, along with Tie Niu and Zhou Laoqi, trudged through the frozen snow and arrived at the suspension bridge on time.

"stop!"

The guard stepped forward, pressed his hand on the sword at his waist, and looked the three men up and down. His tone was rather stiff: "By order of the centurion, in this important inner fortress, all those attending the banquet must remove their armor and weapons."

Upon hearing this, Tie Niu's thick, dark eyebrows furrowed, and his large, fan-like hand gripped the barbarian battle axe on his back.

Zhou Laoqi's face also turned cold, and his fingers gripped the curved knife.

While they were fighting desperately amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood last night, these inner fortress guards didn't even show their faces, but now they're acting all high and mighty.

Xu Qingshan raised his hand and pressed down on Tie Niu's arm, his gaze calmly fixed on the guard.

"Although the barbarians have retreated, the city's defenses are not yet secure. According to the laws of the Great Qian border army, soldiers must never be without their weapons in wartime." Xu Qingshan's voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable force. "Go and report to Commander Chen that if he finds my bloodstained knife an eyesore, he may refuse to attend this banquet."

After saying that, he turned around and made a move to leave.

The guard's face stiffened, momentarily intimidated by Xu Qingshan's imposing aura, unsure of how to respond.

"Centurion, please wait!"

A series of hurried footsteps came from inside the door, and a middle-aged man dressed in a flag-bearer's uniform quickly came out to greet them.

He forced a familiar smile and waved away the guards: "We're all brothers. Centurion Xu killed an enemy general last night and made a great contribution. He naturally has the privilege of acting expediently. Please come in quickly. The centurion has been waiting for a long time."

Xu Qingshan glanced at the captain, but didn't answer. He led the two across the drawbridge and into the inner fortress.

Upon entering the gate, one can immediately sense the stark contrast.

The inner fortress not only had thicker walls, but the patrolling guards were also well-equipped, and several huge smokeless charcoal braziers burned in the main hall, making the room warm and cozy.

The long table was laden with a sumptuous feast, including roasted lamb legs glistening with oil, stewed chicken, and several jugs of warm yellow wine, all emitting an enticing aroma.

This was a world apart from the situation of the soldiers on the outer wall who had been eating cold, hard rations and drinking snow water for days on end.

Chen Baihu sat upright in the main seat. When he saw Xu Qingshan walk in, he immediately put down his wine cup and smiled broadly.

"Qingshan is here, please take a seat. Last night's battle, you were the pillar of our Black Stone Fortress!" Commander Chen made no mention of the fact that he had stayed indoors all night, as if the two were truly comrades who had shared life and death.

Xu Qingshan took his seat, while Tie Niu and Zhou Laoqi stood behind him, their hands on their weapons, like two iron towers.

"You flatter me, sir. I was only fighting to the death with my brothers to save my own life." Xu Qingshan picked up the wine cup in front of him, raised it in a toast, and took a small sip.

After a few rounds of drinks, Commander Chen put down his chopsticks, his smile gradually fading, and got down to business.

"Qingshan, I have already prepared the memorial requesting commendation. I have truthfully reported the head of Zhuo Lu, the centurion of the northern barbarians, as well as your merit in leading your men to fight bravely against the enemy. At the latest, the rewards from the higher-ups will be issued in half a month."

"Thank you for your guidance, sir." Xu Qingshan's expression remained unchanged.

Commander Chen sighed, feigning concern: "But after Liu Sandao's death, the outer walls are in dire need of reconstruction. The city walls need repair, and the troops need to be reorganized. You are new to commanding a hundred-man squad and are young; I'm afraid you won't have the energy to manage alone."

He paused, then pointed to the middle-aged captain who had greeted him at the gate and said, "This is Captain Wang, an experienced man in handling affairs within the inner fortress. I plan to send him with a dozen or so skilled men tomorrow to assist you with the defenses at the outer wall. Also, the money, grain, and supplies left behind by Liu Sandao are not safe for you to guard. Why not hand them over to Captain Wang and have them transported into the inner fortress for unified management? What do you think?"

See the picture poorly.

Chen Baihu's true purpose in hosting this banquet was not only to claim credit for Zhuo Lu's head, but also to extend his reach beyond the outer walls, strip Xu Qingshan of his military power, and incidentally seize all of Liu Sandao's inheritance.

Xu Qingshan did not reply immediately, but instead played with the rough porcelain wine cup in his hand.

Standing behind him, Tie Niu was so angry that he was breathing heavily. If it weren't for Zhou Laoqi secretly holding him back, he would have already smashed the table to pieces with an axe.

The atmosphere in the lobby gradually cooled down.

Seeing that Xu Qingshan remained silent, Commander Wang snorted and slapped the table.

"Centurion Xu, the centurion is showing you leniency. You're a new recruit who has suddenly risen to a high position. Without the help of the brothers in the inner fortress, how could you possibly control those arrogant and fierce soldiers below you? Don't let the lord's good intentions go to waste."

Xu Qingshan stopped playing with the wine cup and looked up at General Wang.

"Commander Wang is right, but the brothers on the outer wall just crawled out of a pile of corpses last night. They are rough and don't know the rules," Xu Qingshan said calmly. "The brothers in the inner fortress are delicate. If they go to the outer wall and get hurt by some stray arrow, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain it to the centurion."

Commander Chen's face darkened: "Xu Qingshan, are you planning to amass military power and seize the outer walls for yourself?"

Several inner fortress guards around the main hall immediately stepped forward, their hands on the hilts of their swords, their killing intent palpable.

Xu Qingshan didn't even lift an eyelid when faced with the threat.

His blood and qi surged, and he clenched his five fingers together.

There was a crisp "snap" sound.

He crushed that hard, rough porcelain wine cup into dust with just one hand! The broken pieces, mixed with the wine, fell through his fingers and splattered onto the table.

The terrifying grip caused the pupils of Commander Wang and his guards, who were about to launch an attack, to shrink, and their feet to the spot.

Only then did they realize that the seemingly calm young man before them was the fierce god who had personally beheaded the centurion of the Black Wolf tribe last night.

"This subordinate would not dare to be presumptuous." Xu Qingshan took a cloth from the table, slowly wiped the wine off his hands, and looked directly into Chen Baihu's eyes.

"My lord, the credit for the heads taken, plus the prestige of commanding from the front, all belong to you. If this memorial requesting credit is submitted, you will surely rise rapidly in rank."

Xu Qingshan stood up, placed his hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and exuded a strong sense of pressure.

"But the defenses of the outer wall, the personnel, and the things left by Liu Sandao must be used to appease the brothers who risked their lives last night. It's best not to overstep our bounds in the inner fortress, otherwise, if the brothers feel it's unfair and cause trouble, it will be difficult for you to write your commendation memorial."

This is not just a rejection, but a blatant warning.

Chen Baihu stared intently at Xu Qingshan, his facial muscles twitching slightly.

He knew very well that if he pushed Xu Qingshan too far, the nearly one hundred bloodthirsty soldiers on the outer wall would definitely dare to storm the inner fortress, and then they would all perish, ruining his promising future.

After weighing the pros and cons, Commander Chen suddenly burst into laughter, breaking the deadlock.

"Good! Impressive! No wonder you're a centurion I value!" Commander Chen picked up his wine jug, poured himself a cup, and said, "Since you're confident you can control the outer wall, I'm happy to take a break. Everything regarding the outer wall is entirely yours to handle. Commander Wang, step down!"

Wang Zongqi gritted his teeth and retreated to the side, unwilling to accept defeat.

Xu Qingshan straightened up and cupped his hands in greeting: "Thank you for your kindness, sir. There are still defenses to be arranged on the outer wall, so I will take my leave now."

Having said that, he showed no reluctance towards the table full of delicacies, and led Tie Niu and Zhou Laoqi out of the inner fortress hall.

Only after the three figures disappeared into the snowstorm did Chen Baihu slam his wine cup to the ground, his face ashen.

"Sir, are we just going to let him go like this?" Commander Wang stepped forward, his face full of resentment.

"An ungrateful wolf," Chen Baihu said coldly. "Although the barbarians have retreated temporarily, they may return at any time. Let's keep him on the outer wall as a shield for now. Once the rewards from our superiors come down and I'm transferred out of this godforsaken place, Xu Qingshan will have no say in how he dies."

……

It was already late at night when we returned to the military barracks on the outer wall.

The wind howled as it blew across the dilapidated city walls.

Xu Qingshan went into his main room, closed the door tightly, and shut out the harsh cold from the outside.

The confrontation with Commander Chen was only a temporary compromise.

He knew all too well that dignity and territory could not be defended by a few harsh words; ultimately, it depended on whether the knife in his hand was sharp enough and whether his soldiers were strong enough.

He walked to the table and lit an oil lamp.

With a thought, the system panel appeared before his eyes, and he extracted the two items he had exchanged that day.

A yellowed ancient book lay on the table, its cover bearing the title "Elementary Battle Formation Diagrams"; next to it was a parchment scroll covered with densely packed small characters, titled "Hundred Refinements Method".

Xu Qingshan opened the battle formation manual, which detailed how small groups of infantry could form formations to defend against the enemy in streets, alleys, and open fields. There were "circular formations" suitable for defense, "arrowhead formations" suitable for charging, and "three-person formations" where three people formed a small group and covered each other.

"These things are best left to Xiao Hongluan."

Xu Qingshan thought to himself, Xiao Hongluan comes from a military family and knows military strategy. With the help of this map, it would not be difficult for her to train those seventy or eighty scattered soldiers into a disciplined and iron-blooded infantry in a short period of time.

Then he picked up the "Hundred Refinements Method" again.

This parchment scroll records an extremely advanced iron-forging technique that can remove impurities and improve toughness and sharpness from ordinary pig iron through repeated folding and forging.

Weapons and arrows made in this way can even easily pierce the cold-forged iron armor commonly used by barbarians.

Xu Qingshan carefully put away the sheepskin scroll, intending to hand it over to Bai Zhi for research early the next morning. There was a lot of scrap iron and good charcoal that Liu Sandao had secretly hoarded in the barracks' storeroom, which would come in handy.