Hundreds of horses and men trampled on bursts of dust and sand from time to time. When the horses stopped, everyone was covered with a layer of fine-grained yellow sand. It was really like "yellow sand wears golden armor in a hundred battles".
"My boss, that should be Tuotou Mountain."
Xu Mu nodded. There was a lonely mountain bun not far in front of him. It was shaped like a beast's skull, with hare lips and a long neck. It should be a hunchback.
The whole mountain didn't look very majestic, but the feeling of loneliness added a bit of desolation to the border.
"The mountains extend and are surrounded by rock piles. This kind of scenery is really suitable for hiding."
What surprised Xu Mu was that, despite being three thousand veteran soldiers, why did they still choose to stay hidden at this time, watching the beacon fire at the border indifferently.
Or maybe it was Yuan Tao who gave Qiaofu the death order?
With deep doubts and not staying long, the hundreds of men and horses continued to attack in the direction of Tuotou Mountain.
Encountering a group of sand wolves hunting refugees on the road, a wave of arrows flew past and the sand wolves fled wildly. A dozen of the rescued refugees frequently kowtowed to Xu Mu and others.
"Master, we're close."
Zhou Zun, who went to inquire first, came back and still couldn't change his problem of talking out of breath.
"There seems to be an ambush ahead."
Xu Mu frowned, put his hand into his sleeve, and took out the secret card given by Yuan Tao. Then he rode forward alone and galloped away.
Si Hu and others behind him were startled. After screaming a few times, they all caught up.
Thump thump thump.
Three or four tones of open strings suddenly sounded. More than a dozen figures poked their heads out coldly among the rocks.
"Don't move forward, I'm going to take advantage of you!"
"After you have used your sword, are you really ready to become an old gangster?" Xu Mu calmly reined in the reins and stopped the horse.
According to what Yuan Tao said, this group of people are all old warriors of Daji, and they naturally have a certain character in doing things. Just as Xu Mu believes, this group of people will not kill them before they find out clearly.
In the darkness, more than ten figures were startled for a while, and it took a long time before they spoke again.
"I dare to ask, which family is the king?"
"The Yuan family is looking for someone named Feng Qiu."
With just one sentence, these big men in ambush suddenly stopped talking and quickly approached with torches in hand.
"Do you have a brand?"
"Of course there is."
Xu Mu took a breath and handed the secret card in his hand to the leader.
Not long after, the faces of more than a dozen big men suddenly turned red, with a hint of tears bursting out of their eyes, but they finally held back.
"Everyone, please come in! The mountains and rocks are rugged, and it's hard to ride a horse." The big man at the head handed the secret card back to Xu Mu again, making a "please" gesture.
"Dismount." Xu Mu shouted in a low voice, and the figure of Baiqi slowly jumped off the horse, holding it in his hand, facing the night, walking through the towering rocks at the foot of the mountain, and walking deep into the depths.
From Xu Mu's perspective, the area at the foot of Tuotou Mountain was indeed a natural barrier, which at least eliminated the possibility of a cavalry charge. Even if there were spies who took detours and were at the foot of the mountain, they could easily see clearly.
"What else did this... boss, Guo surnamed Hou, say?" The big man leading the way turned his head, his eyes full of expectation.
"I said you are all good guys who are trying to fool you. This time, I will let you follow me."
The big man became slightly excited. He obviously had no intention of disobeying Xu Mu and only paid attention to the first half of the sentence.
"My little boss doesn't know that when the surnamed Marquis left the border, I waited for three thousand people. I really wanted to go with him." The big man rubbed his eyes, his voice full of sadness.
Xu Mu had heard similar past events from Yuan Tao's mouth. It was probably that the young emperor was fighting within the court after he ascended the throne. He was afraid that he would change the dynasty, so he left the military power early.
These three thousand old soldiers have also been stripped of their status as officials. They are just like bereaved dogs, without roots and feet, dormant in the flames of war at the border.
Xu Mu knew that it was more likely that Yuan Tao was protecting this gang of warriors.
"I still remember clearly that it rained at the border gate that day, and Yongguan, 700 miles away, had not yet been broken. A Marquis named Guo rode alone from the border gate back to the inner city to report on his duties. Along the way, there were ordinary people, kneeling in the rain.
I send you my respects on the ground." The big man wiped his tears.
Xu Mu looked silent.
Yuan Tao, a loyal minister who wanted to support the country, encountered too many constraints.
As the group walked deeper and deeper, the few torches they had were obviously not enough. The weak light reflected on the rugged rocks gave people a vague feeling of palpitations.
"Light the brazier!"
The big man leading the way shouted into the night.
In an instant, at least a dozen braziers were lit at once, and the world around him slowly became brighter.
Xu Mu had been a little curious before, how could these three thousand old warriors survive while dormant at the border with no industry and military pay.
Now he understood that the road along the way was densely packed with dried sand wolf meat and complete animal skins.
The big man who led the way seemed to have guessed Xu Mu's doubts, "Previously, General Feng asked me to wait for the wolves to hunt, sell my skins, and sometimes I would also make a living from martial arts."
"Why... don't you go back to the inner city."
"Little boss, I have told three thousand people that even if I die, I will die at the border and look after the country for the Marquis. I wanted to kill Di Gou before, but it's a pity that General Feng said he wouldn't let me until the time comes.
Waiting to come out of the mountain."
Xu Mu felt a little sad. There were three thousand soldiers who died for their country in the Wangzhou Camp. Here, there were three thousand veteran soldiers, dormant and waiting.
Although the dynasty is in a state of decay, there are still good men who are hanging on to their eggs.
It's a pity that I was in a hurry to leave the border and didn't get to know each other.
"Do you have a camp number?"
"Qinglong Camp."
Xu Mu hadn't heard of it, but Chen Jiaqiao was behind him, with a face that couldn't be concealed.
"My boss, Qinglong Camp was the first battalion in Podi a few years ago. I heard there were 20,000 people——"
"They all died for their country, and there are only three thousand people left." When the man who led the way heard this, he turned around somewhat lonely and pointed at the dense piles of rocks on both sides.
The slightly erect shape is like a continuous mountain of small tombs.
Xu Mu followed the firelight and looked closely, and found that most of them were burial mounds, with wooden spears and ragged robes and armor fluttering lightly in the wind.
"Some corpses were shot to pieces by horse arrows, some were beaten to pieces by falling rocks, some were captured by the Di people and fed to wolves, and some were burned into charcoal particles."
"The Marquis told us that the Great Era is in turmoil. As soldiers, if we can't defend the country, how can we have the face to return to the inner city to see our fathers, wives and children."
"If one day the world is at peace and the border is peaceful, we will go to a big restaurant in Changyang, drink a few glasses of strong wine, and eat a few peach fish from Jijiang River."
Xu Mu paused.
Behind him, more than a hundred figures also stopped.
Xu Mu knelt down on the ground, and more than a hundred people also knelt down on the ground.
"Goodbye!" Xu Mu gritted his teeth and saluted the ragged robes and armor swaying in the wind.
"Bye--" More than a hundred figures shouted in trembling voices.