Xie Changgeng asked the guide: "The next beacon should we light?"
"Exactly."
"How long will it take to arrive if we start from here given the road conditions today?"
The straight-line distance between two beacon towers is usually ten miles, but because the beacon towers are built on mountain tops or high ridges, the actual ground road in between is far more than this mile.
"It's about thirty miles, which normally takes an hour on a fast horse. But now it's hard to travel in the snow, so I'm afraid it will take more time."
"As long as we get the message out before dark, we'll still have time. Lead the way, and drive at full speed!"
Xier said: "Thank you, sir, I really can!"
Xie Changgeng smiled slightly: "Xi'er, of course you can. But Master Xie brought you out this time to pick up your mother. Besides, you are still young. When you grow up, you can help Master Xie."
He picked up the child and turned away.
These words were certainly spoken to the child, but they were also spoken to Liang Tuan and others.
Everyone knew that he did not want the young master to take risks, so they followed his lead.
The group of people got down from the beacon tower and walked quickly and windingly in the snow. After walking for a few miles, they reached a gently ridge. Just as they were about to go downhill, suddenly, a team appeared from the side and headed in the opposite direction.
Both sides were caught off guard and met head-on.
There were about two to three hundred people on the other side. Although they were all dressed as Hexi defenders, their facial features could be vaguely identified, and they should be northerners.
This group of northerners were the team sent to control the beacon tower. When they arrived here, they suddenly saw a small group of people appearing on the opposite ridge and stopped.
Someone shouted loudly: "Hexi Jiedushi Xie Changgeng! He is there!" The voice was full of ecstasy.
There was an immediate commotion in the team.
They didn't expect to meet Xie Changgeng, the governor of Hexi, here.
There were only a few dozen people around him, while our side had ten times as many people as the enemy. If we could capture him, or at least kill him, we could imagine how great the merit would be.
Hundreds of people immediately caught up with excited roars.
Xie Changgeng ordered his followers to retreat, turn their horses around, and quickly go down the ridge along the original route.
Arrows kept flying from behind, passing by and piercing the snow.
A horse was shot in the groin and neighed in pain.
Xie Changgeng looked back at the group of northerners who were chasing him and quickly made a decision.
He ordered Liang Tuan to take half of the men and continue to rush to Hecang Beacon. They must light the beacon before dark. After completing the task, they should take the children and go straight to Jincheng without coming back.
He led the remaining fifteen people away from the group of pursuers.
"Sir! We are willing to protect you as you charge out. Please go to Hecangfeng!"
Liang Tuan led thirty guards and pleaded in unison.
Xie Changgeng said: "The northerners are targeting me. If I go to the beacon tower, they will chase me at all costs, which will be disadvantageous."
"Sending the signal smoke is the top priority! Do as I order!" he shouted.
No one dared to disobey orders again.
"Sir—" Xier called him.
"Wait, I'll find you!"
Xie Changgeng said something to the child, threw him and his skin to Liang Tuan, and immediately took the rest of the people and rushed off in another direction.
Liang Tuan and the dozen or so guards hid in the depression behind the snow hill, watching the hundreds of northerners rushing past them. They suppressed their uneasiness and anxiety, gritted their teeth, and continued to move forward.
Xi'er held the mouth of the leather bag tightly with both hands, looking back constantly. After walking a few miles, she suddenly shouted, "Guard Liang, take me back! I'll help you light the fire, so you can go and help the master kill the bad guys right away!"
Liang Tuan continued to move forward.
"There are so many bad guys. If you don't help the adults, he will die!"
The sound of children shouting echoed in the snow.
…
Half an hour later, Liang Tuan and his group returned to Molifeng with Xier.
He handed the fire starter to the child, taught him how to use it, and repeatedly reminded him of various precautions. Then he tied the child's waist tightly with a rope soaked in snow water, and slowly lowered the child down from a smoke vent on top of the beacon tower.
Liang Tuan and the guards were waiting outside, talking to the children inside.
It has been some time since the child went downstairs.
Everyone held their breath and waited anxiously.
Suddenly, a wisp of black smoke slowly floated out of the smoke vent. Everyone immediately tightened their grip on the rope and shouted inside: "Young Master, come out quickly, are you standing still?"
There was no response from inside.
Everyone looked at each other with anxious eyes and were about to try to lift the rope when a cough was heard from below.
"I'm ready-"
Everyone was delighted and hurriedly pulled the rope upwards.
A small head popped out from the chimney.
Liang Tuan hugged the child's shoulders and quickly pulled him out of the hole.
When he first came out, the child had his eyes closed, and his face and body were covered with cigarette ash. He coughed for a long time, opened his eyes, turned his head, stared at the thick smoke that kept coming out of the vents, and asked, "Is this okay?"
Liang Tuan was delighted: "Young Master, it's done!"
The Jiedushi Mansion has established a strict system for the beacon towers on this westward military road. At every beacon tower, at any time, at least one beacon guard must always keep an eye on the smoke from the next beacon tower to ensure the transmission of military information. Unless the beacon guards of Hecangsui are buried in an avalanche like here, otherwise, there is no way they will miss the smoke from this direction.
Xier breathed a sigh of relief, wiped her eyes which were red from the smoke, and said, "I'm fine, go help the adults!"
Liang Tuan had great admiration for the boy. He knelt down in front of him and kowtowed respectfully.
"Young Master, I'll help you find a place where you can hide for the time being!"
…
Liang Tuan hid Xi'er in a cave near the beacon tower, left behind two guards, dry food and water, and left with the rest.
Xier waited for three days and three nights.
On the third day, he was extremely sleepy and lay down in the sleeping bag. When he fell into a drowsy sleep, he suddenly heard footsteps coming in.
He opened his eyes and stuck his head out from the opening of his sleeping bag.
He saw a tall figure covered in blood, striding towards him from outside the cave.
He recognized it at a glance, screamed in surprise, climbed out of the sleeping bag, and pounced towards the adult figure.
"Thank you, sir! You're back!"
Xie Changgeng caught the child and held him in his arms.
"Yes, I'm back!"
He suppressed the warmth that welled up in his heart and touched the child's hands and feet.
"Are you hurt?"
Xier immediately shook her head.
"I ran so fast! Guard Liang and his men pulled me out before the fire could even reach me!"
The child's tone contained a hint of pride.
"By the way, sir, have your soldiers arrived? Are you injured?"
The child looked at him, his eyes full of worry.
Xie Changgeng pulled his arms together and hugged the child tightly.
"They saw the signal fire you sent and rushed over. Not only did they defeat the enemy, they also captured many prisoners!"
"Do you want to go and see it?" he asked.
"think!"
The child's eyes immediately lit up and he answered him loudly.
Xier sat on the horse's back, wrapped in a coat by the adult behind her.
The war horse galloped, the wind whistled past his ears, and he seemed to be riding on the clouds. The child was carried along, and he didn't know how far the horse had traveled. Suddenly, a faint sound of cheering seemed to be heard in the wind.
Xier opened her eyes wide.
He was stunned by the scene in front of him.
At the end of the sight, on the snowy ground, there appeared an army lined up for battle. The flags fluttered in the wind, and the soldiers' robes were stained with blood, but they were in high spirits. Their armor and swords flashed a cold light in the snow, which frightened the enemy.
They lined up here, as if they had been waiting for a long time. The news of the arrival of the Jiedushi was passed down by the heralds from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred.
All the soldiers cheered in unison.
Xie Changgeng, with Xi'er on horseback, rode past rows of soldiers who were cheering for him, and stopped at the center.
The Jincheng guard came on horseback to meet him. When he arrived in front of Xie Changgeng, he dismounted, knelt on one knee and saluted.
"Reporting to the Jiedushi, all the northern cavalry that invaded Dudeng Garrison have been wiped out! There are still more than a hundred prisoners. How should we deal with them? Please give orders, Jiedushi!"
“Kneel down!”
The soldiers standing by shouted in unison.
The northern captives were already trembling with fear and knelt down, waiting for the verdict to be passed on them.
Xie Changgeng said: "Push them down and kill them all!"
The guard gave the order and the message was passed on quickly.
In the deep and solemn voice of the herald, the captives had already sensed the murderous aura and collapsed to the ground one after another.
More than a hundred cold and heavy swords fell, splashing a dazzling light of blood on the snow.
Xie Changgeng ordered his men to cut off the ear of the last remaining captive and shouted, "Go back and tell your king that this is the fate of those who offend Hexi!"
The prisoner was like a stray dog. Amid the screams of killing behind him, his legs went weak and he fell to the ground. He then got up and stumbled away.
The soldiers once again let out a mighty roar, shaking the wilderness.
Xie Changgeng lowered his head, looked at Xi'er who was sitting in front of him, and asked, "Are you afraid?"
Xier clenched her fists tightly, looked up at the man behind her, her eyes filled with admiration.
He shouted, "I'm not afraid!"
Xie Changgeng laughed loudly. Amid the thunderous cheers and countless gazes from the soldiers, he lifted the child high up in front of him.
…
Mu Fulan had arrived in Jincheng several days ago. After a short rest, she went up the mountain to look for medicine under the escort of a team of people familiar with the geography of Tianshan sent by the Jincheng guard.
The weather along the way was worse than she had imagined, and the process of finding the medicine was also extremely tortuous.
Fortunately, after several days of climbing the mountain, she finally found enough herbs in the ice cracks. After digging and harvesting the roots, she finally went down the mountain. When she arrived at the foot of the mountain that day, it was already dark.
It would take another two days to get back to Jincheng from here. The road was dangerous at night due to the ice and snow. The team leader set up a campsite in a sheltered valley at the foot of the mountain, preparing to spend the night and set off at dawn.
Mu Fulan was extremely tired, but she forced herself to stay awake. In her small tent, she made some preliminary preparations for the herbs she had collected and returned to the city to make them. After making the herbs, she set out immediately.
A soldier brought her hot water melted from snow, added some fuel to the stove for heating, closed the stove lid, and left.
She packed her things, washed her face, hands and feet hastily, crawled into her bed, and lay down with her clothes on.
It has been a month since he came out. I wonder how the old leader is doing now.
And Xier, I wonder how he is doing over there alone.
She was helping him do something very important. At this point, she believed in the man, and he would definitely take good care of Xier on her behalf.
She listened to the sound of wind and snow raging outside the tent, closed her eyes, and slowly fell asleep.
I don’t know how long I slept, but in a daze, I suddenly felt as if there was someone next to me.
She shuddered and opened her eyes suddenly.
The yak oil lamp on the low table in the tent was still lit. In the dim light, she saw a man squatting at her feet.
The man held up one of her frozen and swollen feet and was applying ointment on it.
He lowered his head, his eyes fixed on her feet. His movements were gentle and focused, as if he didn't notice she had woken up. He only stopped when she retracted her feet. He turned his head and looked at her as she slowly sat up.
"Your feet are frostbitten. Lie down and I'll put the medicine on you."
Xie Changgeng said in a normal tone.
The author has something to say: Thank you little angels for voting for me~
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