Shanggu County.
"This damn weather. It's only July and it's already so cold. We still wear unlined garments in our hometown!”
"Cold? In another two months, the snow will freeze thousands of miles, and you will know how to write cold!”
"Ha, I've never seen snow in my life. I'm going to see it this time.”
In an outpost in the northern frontier fortress, two or three Han soldiers were squatting under the wall and making a fire to keep warm.
There was no sign of life within a radius of dozens of miles. If they didn't find something to do, they would go crazy.
"Sigh, I still need more than a year before I can go home. I wonder if the little girl from the neighboring village can wait for me until then?”
"Give up as soon as possible. Even if others are not married, they won't have the chance to marry a poor family like you!”
"When I came out to serve, my wife was already pregnant. I don't know if she has given birth now.”
In the Great Han Dynasty, everyone had to serve in the military for two years in their lifetime.
Most of them served in the nearest county, and a few unlucky ones were transferred to other border counties.
There were two unlucky fellows from the south in this outpost.
"Sergeant, I heard that your military service time is up. Why don't you go home and take a look?”
"What are you looking at? It's long gone. The entire village is gone!”
"…The Huns did this?"
This question was like asking for nothing. The answer could be seen from the sergeant's expression. The two of them could not help but feel uneasy.
Although they hadn't spent much time together, the two of them knew that although the sergeant's mouth was a little harsh, he was really a good person.
If it weren't for the captain's care, the two southerners would have suffered a lot.
"About three years ago, the Xiongnu attacked again. I was lucky enough to cut off the head of a Xiongnu!”
"The Imperial Court rewarded me with a few dozen strings of money and promoted me to a sergeant.”
"When I got home, I found that the village had become a pile of ruins. Everyone in the village was dead.”
"According to the people in the neighboring village, it was done by a small group of Huns who entered the country to rob!”
"From that moment on, I swore that I would never return until I chopped off ten Xiongnu men's heads as a sacrifice to my entire family.”
The sergeant spoke freely, and there was not much sadness on his face.
However, the deep hatred that was revealed in his words was extremely moving.
Such a thing was not rare in the northern border counties.
The sergeant was not the only one whose family was destroyed by the Xiongnu.
In fact, among the four or five people in the border army, there was probably one who had a deep hatred for the Xiongnu.
Later, Liu Che came to power and fought with the Xiongnu for decades. Isn't there a reason?
The seeds of hatred had long been planted, and it was destined that only when one side completely fell would it end.
The two people at the scene did not know how to comfort him. They could only pat the captain's shoulder.
The sergeant took their hands away. He didn't need anyone's comfort.
Just as he was about to say something, his expression suddenly changed.
Feeling the ground shake, his years of military experience immediately made him realize what had happened-an enemy attack.
"The Huns are here!"
"From the dust, there are at least ten thousand riders!”
"Quick, open the Beacon Tower and smoke!”
Under the captain's scolding, the two recruits who were scared silly by the scene in front of them finally moved.
Wolf Smoke was not something that could be made by simply adding grass to the table and burning it.
Different types of smoke would transmit different messages.
It was difficult for one person to complete these missions in a short period of time.
Therefore, these outposts had at most a dozen soldiers stationed there, and at least two or three.
Their mission was to act as the eyes of the Han army and buy time for the cities behind them to warn them.
By the time the three of them lit up five smoke trails, the Xiongnu cavalry was already less than three miles away from the outpost.
"The Xiongnu people came in a strange way. We have to send someone back to report!”
There was only one horse in the outpost, and it was usually treated like a treasure to prevent such a situation.
There was only one horse, but there were three people at the scene.
"Forget about me. I'll stay here and kill one Xiongnu to break even. I'll make a profit by killing two!”
The sergeant waved his hand, signaling the two people opposite him to make up their minds as soon as possible.
"Let Old Guo go back. His wife and children are still waiting for him!”
This result was somewhat out of the sergeant's expectations. Because the person who spoke was usually not very talkative, he did not expect that he would have such guts at the critical moment.
"Old Merchant, I…"
Old Guo looked touched. He was about to say something when he was interrupted by the sergeant.
"Let's go, don't be like a woman!”
The distance of three miles was only half a cup of tea's time for the Xiongnu cavalrymen. They had no time to waste.
Old Guo also understood this logic. He gritted his teeth and ran out of the outpost, riding his horse all the way south.
Not long after, the Xiongnu cavalry appeared a few dozen meters away.
The large group of cavalrymen did not stop. They directly bypassed the outpost and continued south.
They only sent out a force of about a few dozen cavalry to charge towards the outpost.
"The Han army inside, surrender!"
The Xiongnu leader spoke in a strange Han accent.
"It's a pity that I don't know how to use a bow and arrow. Otherwise, I could have killed that Xiongnu official with one arrow!”
The squad leader revealed a regretful expression. Archery was a skill that could not be displayed without a few years of hard work.
"If we can get rid of that guy, we can at least make it back to the team, right?”
"The premise is that you can survive."
"Seriously, he won't let me do it even in my dreams!”
The two of them gripped their weapons tightly and prepared for the final fight.
Seeing that the Han army refused to surrender, a few Xiongnu soldiers began to draw their bows and nocked arrows, preparing to shoot these two people to death.
However, he was stopped by the Xiongnu leader.
"These two are Han warriors. Go and chop off their heads. I want their heads to be my collection.”
It was a custom among the Xiongnu nobles to collect the heads of enemy warriors.
Therefore, after hearing the noble's request, the soldiers put down their bows and arrows, changed into sabers, and ran towards the outpost.
The outpost only had a two-meter low wall. It could block the wind and sand, but it was not enough to resist the enemy.
Therefore, the two of them quickly went up to him.
The sound of a sharp blade piercing into a body could be heard.
"I didn't lose out!"
Old Merchant stabbed his halberd into the chest of a Xiongnu man.
The two scimitars had also hit his vital points, and his life signs quickly disappeared.
"Seven and a half more!"
With Old Merchant's cover, the sergeant killed two and severely injured one.
Even in death, his face was filled with regret.
It was as if he would be too ashamed to meet his elders if he did not gather the heads of ten Xiongnu people.
.......
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