Our Soldiers Live Here?

However, the Old Scholar Tree shook its head and said:

"These fruits are nothing compared to the fruits we have at home; they're awful."

Let them eat! We'll eat our own; I've already cut it all up for you.

Zhou Wanwan looked at the Old Scholar Tree and said, "Uncle Scholar Tree."

Zhou Wanwan ate the fruit from her own garden; homegrown fruit is always the sweetest!

Loquats, lychees, cherries, mangoes, and peaches are all ripe now.

Everything was something she liked.

Zhou Wanwan ate a few loquats, which were already peeled.

Many children around her were watching her expectantly.

Zhou Wanwan looked at them and said, "Weren't you full from the whole roasted lamb? We also have roasted chicken here, would you like some?"

Zhou Wanwan took out the roast chicken and handed it to the children.

After she had eaten her fill, Zhou Wanwan walked out of the iron cage.

Nobody knows how that iron cage was opened.

Zhou Wanwan looked at them and said, "You are free."

Mu Qing looked at Zhou Wanwan and said, "Wanwan, aren't you leaving?"

Zhou Wanwan waved her hand and said, "You go first! I have things to do behind me!"

Mu Qing said softly, "I'll stay and protect you. My martial arts skills are extremely high, far surpassing those of men."

Zhou Wanwan smiled and said, "Okay!"

Mu Qing was quite nice; she followed behind Zhou Wanwan, and the two strolled around the military camp.

Mu Qing said, "The military camps of the Great Qi Kingdom are truly something else; they're so magnificent!"

In the center of the camp is a spacious drill ground, with a firm and flat surface, large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of soldiers for training.

A tall platform stands on the sidelines, with white marble steps leading up to it. Tables, chairs, and banners are set up on the platform, making it the place where the general reviews and commands his troops.

Piles of arrows, rolling stones, and wooden shields were stacked on the sidelines, while dozens of siege crossbows and heavy longbows were neatly arranged in the corner.

To the east of the drill ground was the cavalry camp, where rows of fine horses were tethered in stables, with fodder and saddles neatly arranged.

The western side is the infantry training area.

Deep within the military camp were the residences of generals at all levels. Each commander, garrison commander, and adjutant general had their own independent courtyard, with the courtyards becoming increasingly grand as one ventured deeper into the camp.

At the very center was the general's tent, a vast blue cloth tent guarded by personal guards, with the banner of the Great Qi hanging outside.

The camp was clearly divided into several sections: grain and fodder warehouses, medical tents, blacksmith workshops, sentry posts, and prisons.

The granary was surrounded by high walls and piled high with stacks of grain sacks.

The blacksmith's workshop was filled with the clanging and banging of metal all day long, forging swords, spears, and armor.

The military medical tent was filled with herbs and medicines, specifically for treating soldiers injured during drills or on duty.

Every hundred paces along the surrounding wall, there was a watchtower, with soldiers on duty day and night to keep watch.

A deep trench was dug around the outside of the wall, and the trench was filled with sharpened logs to guard against enemy attacks.

Mu Qing said enviously:

"This is a real military camp! This is just a small camp with a few thousand people."

I wonder what a large camp with tens of thousands of people would be like?

Zhou Wanwan asked, "Is our Great Xia region really that bad?"

Mu Qing smiled wryly, "It's terrible, it's hard to describe. The tents are the worst quality, and there aren't many good things here either."

Zhou Wanwan sighed and said, "That's true. Our Great Xia Kingdom is really pitiful. If only we could move everything back here."

Zhou Wanwan looked around, and Mu Qing frowned, saying, "I think this military camp is too quiet. Why are we the only two here?"

Zhou Wanwan said, "They're up ahead, drinking and eating meat!"

Zhou Wanwan led Mu Qing forward and, sure enough, saw the group of soldiers gathered around a campfire, drinking and eating meat.

Mu Qing said softly, "That's the main tent over there."

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "Then let's go see what's inside?"

"Huh? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said, "What's inappropriate? Let's go."

Mu Qing obediently followed behind Zhou Wanwan; she just thought the child was too strange.

Zhou Wanwan lifted the curtain and went inside, only to find that everyone in the room had fainted.

Zhou Wanwan looked at the border map and said, "This thing is pretty good. Let's look for any other intelligence."

They quickly pulled out several letters, all of which were confidential correspondence from the border, one of which was about Yanmen Pass.

"Tomorrow night, the massacre at Yanmen Pass."

Zhou Wanwan raised an eyebrow and said, "These people from Great Qi are really ruthless! Massacre a city? How many people are there at Yanmen Pass now?"

Mu Qing said, "There should be over 100,000 soldiers and 20,000 Yanmen Pass inside Yanmen Pass now."

Zhou Wanwan's lips twitched as she asked, "More than 100,000 people are holed up in Yanmen Pass, refusing to come out. Why?"

Mu Qing scoffed coldly:

"The people Xie Family Army sent this time don't know how to fight at all."

They're all good-for-nothings, and extremely afraid of dying.

The troops of the Great Qi Kingdom were different; they were all brave and skilled in battle.

Currently, the Great Qi Kingdom has over 200,000 elite troops outside its borders, which is far beyond their ability to contend with.

They've fought several times before, but each time our Great Xia has come out on the losing end.

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "Those Xie Family Army are utterly vulnerable, but those civilians are innocent, and we still need to save them."

Mu Qing nodded and said:

"There's no way to save them, so who can?"

Millions of people live in dire straits on the border, starving and destitute, with no idea when things will get better.

Zhou Wanwan said, "It will get better."

She looked at Mu Qing and said, "Let's go! It's too dangerous here."

Zhou Wanwan led Mu Qing and Zheng Xing'an outside.

Mu Qing said, "I feel so strange today! It feels like the military camp is our own home, and we can leave whenever we want."

Zhou Wanwan looked at Mu Qing and asked, "Is your father a commander of a thousand households?"

Mu Qing nodded and said, "Yes, he is a commander of a thousand men. Let me take you to his camp!"

Zhou Wanwan nodded, and Mu Qing took Zhou Wanwan directly to the Great Xia Kingdom's camp.

Zhou Wanwan looked at the camp, her lips twitching as she said, "So our soldiers live here?"

Dozens of tattered tents were scattered across the wasteland, their fabric faded and riddled with holes, patched layer upon layer.

When the wind blew, the tent swayed violently, looking like it could collapse at any moment.

The ground was a mess of potholes and muddy roads.

The soldiers' weapons were lying carelessly on the ground; the knives were rusty and the gun barrels were cracked.

There were no granaries, no medical facilities, and no armories.

They cooked in a simple, blackened, broken iron pot set up on the ground, producing lots of smoke and ash, and the food was simple and meager.

The horses were so thin they were skin and bones, and they lay listlessly tied to a withered tree.

The soldiers' clothes were old and dirty, their armor was tattered, and they all looked tired and listless.

Zhou Wanwan twitched her lips as she looked at the scene and said, "This is the military camp of our Great Xia Kingdom."

Even the refugee camps in Beijing are much better than this.

Mu Qing sighed and said, "Yes!"

Mu Daniu came out and said, "You brat, where have you been? Your mother was worried sick. Come home right now."

Mu Qing said, "Father, I just returned from the Great Qi Kingdom. Those Great Qi bandits are going to attack Yanmen Pass today."