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

By early morning, the wind and snow had completely stopped.

The pale winter sun shone on the dilapidated outer walls of Blackstone Fortress, casting a blinding light. After the fighting and cleansing of the previous night, the entire outer wall camp was enveloped in a strange tranquility.

Inside the main hall of the house, the charcoal fire was burning brightly.

Xu Qingshan sat upright in the main seat and placed the two items he had exchanged the night before on the table.

Bai Zhi and Xiao Hongluan were called in.

"Take a look at this." Xu Qingshan pushed the parchment scroll covered with densely written small characters in front of Bai Zhi.

Bai Zhi picked up the parchment scroll with a puzzled look. After reading only a few lines, her originally cool eyes suddenly widened.

She learned mechanical forging from her father from a young age, so her eyesight was naturally excellent. The "Hundred Forging and Hundred Refining Method" recorded here, through repeated folding, hammering, and quenching, can completely remove impurities from pig iron.

"This forging method..." Bai Zhi's voice carried an undisguised excitement. "Most of the border army's standard weapons are cast from rough iron, which is brittle and easily dulls. If forged using this method, I can transform the scrap iron in the warehouse into blades that can cut through iron like mud in just three days. Those barbarians' cold-forged armor will be utterly helpless against such weapons!"

"Take as much pig iron and good charcoal as you like from the warehouse. I'll have Tie Niu assist you; he's strong enough to swing a sledgehammer." Xu Qingshan delegated authority directly. "Besides repairing weapons, I want you to prioritize building a batch of more powerful mechanical crossbows."

"Leave it to me." Bai Zhi carefully put the parchment scroll away, turned around and walked out quickly, not wanting to waste a moment longer.

Xu Qingshan then handed the yellowed "Elementary Battle Formation Manual" to Xiao Hongluan.

Xiao Hongluan came from a military family. As soon as she opened the first page of the booklet, her gaze was fixed on it.

The diagrams do not depict large-scale military formations that require thousands of troops to execute, but rather practical formations specifically designed for small groups of infantry to engage in skirmishes in narrow streets and open fields.

In particular, the "Three Talents Formation" consists of three people in a group, with spears for the main attack, short swords for cover, and round shields for defense, combining offense and defense and changing formations extremely quickly.

"This kind of small-scale formation isn't complicated to train, but it can unite scattered soldiers into a cohesive force." Xiao Hongluan closed the manual, her gaze towards Xu Qingshan now filled with scrutiny. "Such practical training manuals are rare even among the main border armies of the Great Qian Dynasty. Where did you get them?"

"That's not important. What's important is that the 108 men on the outer wall are now in your hands." Xu Qingshan stood up, walked to the door, and looked at the soldiers lined up loosely outside the courtyard. "Three days. I'm only giving you three days. After three days, I want to see this bunch of rotten mud transformed into a pack of wolves that can bite and kill. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be court-martialed. Don't ask me."

"Three days is enough." Xiao Hongluan gripped the white ash wood spear in her hand and strode towards the training ground.

On the drill ground, 108 soldiers had already assembled.

These people received their money and food last night, and this morning they had plenty of hot porridge, so they are much more energetic than before.

But the ingrained habits of soldiers, formed over many years, made them stand crookedly and whisper among themselves.

Xiao Hongluan walked to the front of the line and coldly surveyed the entire scene.

"Zhou Laoqi, Hou San, Xiao Qi, step forward!" Xiao Hongluan shouted coldly.

The three of them immediately straightened their backs and quickly ran to the front of the line.

Xiao Hongluan tossed a wooden shield to Hou San, a long wooden pole to Zhou Laoqi, and a short wooden knife to Xiao Qi. "Stand in position according to the directions I taught you inside!"

The three quickly formed a small triangular formation, with Zhou Laoqi in the center holding a long spear, Hou San holding a shield to protect the left front, and Xiao Qi wielding a short knife to move around and provide cover on the right.

"From the remaining men, pick ten who think they're pretty good." Xiao Hongluan pointed her wooden spear at the group of new recruits. "Ten of you can take on three of them. If you can break through their formation, I'll give each of you an extra half a pound of meat tonight."

At the prospect of a hefty reward, ten burly, seasoned soldiers immediately jumped out.

They looked at the three elderly and frail people opposite them with disdain.

"superior!"

The ten men rushed forward, attacking without any strategy or plan.

However, what happened next made all the soldiers watching gasp in shock.

Despite being surrounded by ten people, the three-person team remained completely calm.

Hou San's wooden shield easily blocked the frontal slashes; under the cover of the shield, Zhou Laoqi's long wooden pole emerged like a venomous snake, each strike landing on the knee or chest of the charging attacker, forcing them back; if anyone tried to bypass the shield from the side, Xiao Qi's short knife would follow closely and cut into the opponent's blind spot.

The three men moved with measured steps, like a perfectly integrated barbed iron barrel.

In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, all ten soldiers were hit in vital areas by wooden poles and lay sprawled on the ground groaning in pain.

The drill ground was completely silent.

"Have you all seen clearly?" Xiao Hongluan slammed her wooden spear heavily on the ground, her voice cold and sharp. "On the battlefield, your lives are the lives of your comrades. Without discipline, without forming ranks, you will be nothing but minced meat under the barbarians' blades!"

"From now on, everyone will be organized into groups of three! Those who cannot master the Three Talents Formation will not be allowed to eat!"

Facts speak louder than words.

Having witnessed the power of the battle formation, these seasoned soldiers no longer dared to underestimate it in the slightest and obediently began group drills according to Xiao Hongluan's instructions.

The orderly shouts and the clanging of weapons quickly echoed throughout the outer wall camp area.

……

Inside the main hall, Xu Qingshan listened to the sounds of soldiers training outside and nodded in satisfaction.

At this moment, Liu Ruyan walked in from outside, bringing a gust of cold wind.

"Xu Qingshan, I just went to the south gate to gather information." Liu Ruyan walked to the table and lowered her voice. "Half an hour ago, Commander Chen sent two of his most trusted personal guards out of the city on the best horses in the fort. Judging from the direction, they are heading south towards Yunzhou City."

"He went to deliver the memorial requesting commendation." Xu Qingshan tapped his fingers lightly on the table, unsurprised by the news.

"Not only that," Liu Ruyan said with a hint of worry in her eyes. "I spent two copper coins to get some information out of the handyman guarding the inner fort's drawbridge. Last night, Commander Chen glossed over our contribution to the outer wall in his report, but instead emphasized that Liu Sandao colluded with the barbarians and intended to surrender the city. It was he who saw through the plot, sent men to kill Liu Sandao on the spot, and then held the fortified position to the death, ultimately repelling the barbarian hundred-man squad."

They turned black into white and seized the credit.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingshan laughed instead of getting angry.

Chen Baihu's plan was shrewd. By portraying Liu Sandao as a traitor, he could not only legitimately swallow the gold and silver but also cover up Liu's shameful act of closing the door and refusing to help Liu the night before.

The credit for killing the barbarian centurion naturally fell to him, the "strategist" commander.

"Let him write whatever he wants." Xu Qingshan picked up his coarse tea and took a sip, his expression calm. "The word 'official' has two mouths. Those high-ranking officials in Yunzhou City only care about heads and results, they don't care about a few lowly soldiers who die below them."

Liu Ruyan frowned slightly: "But if the higher-ups believe his report, and he takes the opportunity to be promoted after the rewards are given, won't Black Stone Fortress then have to find a new leader to suppress us?"

"That depends on whether he lives to see the day the reward is bestowed." Xu Qingshan put down his teacup, his eyes deep and cold.

The centurion of the Northern Barbarian Black Wolf tribe died in Blackstone Fortress. Given the Black Wolf tribe's vengeful nature, they would never let this go.

Last night's attack was merely a probe by the vanguard of the 100-man squad. Once the main army assembles to retaliate, Blackrock Fortress will face annihilation.

Chen Baihu thought he was safe and sound, but little did he know that the head he had so eagerly seized was a death warrant.

"Keep an eye on the inner fortress. Report to me immediately if there is any movement of supplies or personnel," Xu Qingshan instructed.

Liu Ruyan acknowledged and withdrew.

For the next two days, the outer walls of Blackrock Fortress entered a state of frenzied preparation for battle.

In the makeshift blacksmith shop in the backyard, the furnace fire burned day and night.

Iron Ox, shirtless, wielded a sledgehammer, repeatedly folding and hammering the red-hot iron.

The swords and blades that Bai Zhi improved using the "Hundred Forging and Hundred Refining Method" were successively produced and equipped to the squad leaders of each unit. At the same time, five ingeniously designed crossbows capable of firing two arrows in succession were also completed and kept safe by Xu Qingshan.

On the training field, Xiao Hongluan's training was very effective.

The 108 new recruits have already grasped the essence of the "Three Talents Formation". Although they are not yet an elite force, they cooperate well and advance and retreat with ease. When they encounter small groups of barbarians again, they will not collapse at the first touch as before.

Shen Qinghe kept the warehouse in good order, distributing military rations and hot soup in the correct amount every day to ensure that the soldiers had plenty of energy.

In Qin Yuenu's wounded soldiers' camp, the seriously wounded veterans' injuries miraculously stabilized after being treated with a potent blood-activating and qi-regulating powder.

On the evening of the third day, snowstorms once again blanketed the northern wastelands.

Ah Man hurriedly ran back to the main hall from the watchtower on the north wall, his cheeks red from the cold and his breathing rapid.

"Centurion!" Ah Man, barely catching his breath, said in a strained voice, "There are large numbers of fires in the Black Pine Forest, thirty miles to the north. Judging by the size, there are at least three hundred-man squads, and... and judging by the heavy hoofbeats, there are heavily armored cavalry in the rear."

The Black Wolf tribe's retaliation came faster and more fiercely than expected.

Three hundred elite troops, plus heavy cavalry.

Such a force, if deployed in open battle, would be enough to rout a thousand-strong border infantry force of the Great Qian. For Black Stone Fortress, whose city gates were already in ruins, this was tantamount to a dead end.

Inside the lobby, the veterans who heard the report paused in their breathing.

Xu Qingshan stood up, picked up the steel scimitar on the table, and strode out the door.

A fierce wind whipped up snowflakes that lashed at our faces, and the distant night sky was faintly tinged with a chilling, dark red.

"Sound the bugle, all troops assemble."

Xu Qingshan drew his long sword and pointed it into the depths of the wind and snow.

"Tonight, we'll deliver a grand gift to the centurion of the inner fortress."