The Great Wall Guards' main camp.
Three or five soldiers guarded the camp entrance, and several more watched for movement to the north from a watchtower built atop an earthen fort.
But none of them could muster much energy. Taking turns on guard duty in the dead of winter was genuinely miserable.
Zhao Bing had been a retainer of Su Hu's and now served as Su Quanzhong's deputy. He roared at the soldiers who were nearly asleep, "Wake up! You're on duty today!"
The soldiers jolted awake. One of them said, "General, those nomadic tribes won't come. It's been decades. They wouldn't dare set foot in Great Shang's territory. Besides, don't we have the Beacon Towers?"
Zhao Bing replied displeasedly, "Are you from Tu Fang? How do you know they won't come? Yes, we have Beacon Towers, but what if their garrisons neglect their duties just as you do?!"
The soldiers grumbled inwardly but dared not argue further, forcing themselves to perk up.
In truth, most frontier soldiers thought the same way. The late King Wu Ding had been a badass, driving the peoples of Tu Fang, Gui Fang, and Qiang Fang deep into the grasslands and beating them so badly they had not dared venture south for decades. Those barbarians had long since lost their nerve!
At first, the soldiers had faithfully fulfilled their duties, braving wind and snow to guard the borders in bitter cold. But what was the point?
There hadn't been so much as a stir!
Wasn't this just a waste of time and energy?
Over time, they had grown lax.
Zhao Bing could do nothing about it. Deep down, he felt much the same: surely all they needed to do was watch the prisoners of war and slaves building the Great Wall. Why stand guard