When it was time for dinner, the officers and soldiers in this recuperation camp were all gathered, and a general who had specially arrived from the camp awarded Qian Laosan and Sun Zhongshan the double two silver nail black belts of Captain Huaihua on the eighth grade in front of everyone, in recognition of their outstanding military exploits in the war on the west bank of the Alegu River. At the same time, he announced that because of the bravery, tenacity, tenacity and fearlessness shown by the two outposts in a series of battles, the camp decided that the two outposts were officially promoted to the Yanshan Guards; As for the whereabouts of the soldiers of these two posts and the next transfer of several officers, the battalion department soon had a detailed and specific arrangement.

Although Wen Mu "leaked" the news to Sun Zhongshan and them in advance, however, when the good news really came, everyone was still deeply excited and excited, especially when they heard that everyone had gotten rid of the inferior border army status, the joy from the bottom of their hearts could not be described with pen and ink......

But they soon discover that something is wrong.

The officer only said a few words of encouragement after the award, and then left the camp in a hurry, and from beginning to end, he did not even say a word about Shang Cheng's promotion to brigade commander.

Because of this discovery, everyone's mood couldn't help but become depressed. Although Sun Zhongshan came forward to persuade him, everyone just couldn't keep their spirits up, and almost no one even touched the three pots of meat and vegetables and the two sieves of rye flatbread that they brought in.

Until dark, there was no news related to Shang Cheng's promotion.

Early the next morning, everyone got up. There was no one in the tent to speak, everyone was silently doing their own thing, and when there was nothing to do, they sat on the bunk with their knees crossed. The slightest sound in the direction of the camp gate will raise people's hearts. Walking and talking outside the tent can also make people involuntarily hold their breath. On several occasions, some people even heard the sentries saluting loudly, but when the crowd gathered at the tent door to look around, they were always disappointed and melancholy.

Slowly but surely, the sun moved along its own path across the celestial vault, drawing a perfect arc from east to west. The sunset arrives as scheduled with the rhythmic beat of the chiming drums in the distance. The afterglow of the setting sun slanted through the tent door, casting a long golden shadow in the tent, and the green grass on the ground, the bedding spread on the grass, the people sitting or lying, and the faces of those who had become worried from disappointment, were all gilded with a hazy golden red in this soft sunset.

The long-awaited news has not moved in the slightest.

"Let's have a meal! Let's eat one by one! ”

With the shouting of the gang leaders on the other side of the camp, many soldiers came out of the surrounding camp tents, holding sieves and carrying wooden basins, and followed them in twos and threes to receive today's dinner. But there was no sound in the tent, and everyone was nestled in their bunks, with gloomy faces and silent sounds.

Sun Zhongshan sat cross-legged at the door of the tent, the corners of his mouth drooping downward, and his eyes stared deeply at the silver nail belt in his hand. He was in a bad mood now, and there was a great deal of resentment in his chest, and he was frizzy about everything, and he wanted to find something to smash, or find someone to quarrel with. But he couldn't! He was now the leading officer of this small team of less than thirty men, and if he couldn't restrain himself, who could imagine what these soldiers could do?

He glanced one last time in the direction of the camp gate. In front of the house, there were several groups of soldiers who were crowded with vegetables, soup, and bread, and they couldn't see what the sentries were doing at all. He sighed silently, got up and beckoned a few soldiers around him: "Tian Xiaowu, Su Zha, you bring a few people to bring back the dinner." ”

"Yes." Tian Xiaowu and Suza's answers were weak. And though they promised with their mouths, they did not move.

Sun Zhongshan squinted his eyes and stared at the two grinding guys, the flames that had been pressed in his heart for a day and a night jumped up, and he gave each of them a kick without saying a word: "Go quickly!" ”

Tian Xiaowu and Su Zha slowly put on their coarse cloth short coats, and the blankets were not fastened, and they randomly clicked the names of the three border soldiers, and talked about the guys who received the food, and prepared to receive everyone's dinner one by one. But they had only taken two steps before they stopped, and suddenly an officer in a green robe and winged hood appeared at the door, blocking their way.

"The Shang Cheng Shang Lieutenant who came from Beizheng is here, right?"

Before a few soldiers could react to what had happened, Sun Zhongshan had already raised his voice and said, "Yes!" The Captain is here! ”

The officer returned the military salute casually, looked up and down the black lacquered iron armor on Sun Zhongshan's body and the four-nail belt in his hand suspiciously, frowned and asked, "You are the captain of the merchant school?" ”

"It's not!"

"He's not here now?"

"In! The lieutenant was wounded and was resting. This is the order of the military doctor! ”

The officer nodded noncommittally and said, "Let him get up and come with me." ”

There was no need for Sun Zhongshan to order, Tian Xiaowu, who had reacted, had already scurried over from the ground to greet Shang Cheng with the flexibility of a monkey. Although Sun Zhongshan guessed that this officer's eight achievements were here for Shang Cheng's promotion, it seemed that the person's attire was one level higher than Shang Cheng's, and it was impossible for him to come to the position as important, coupled with a cold look and a pair of indifferent eyes, it didn't seem like a good thing...... He was both happy and worried in his heart, hesitated for a moment, and asked cautiously, "What is the purpose of the Lord looking for the Captain Shang?" ”

The officer glanced at Sun Zhongshan and didn't say a word, only took out one thing and handed it to Sun Zhongshan.

This thing is silver, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, sharp at the front and behind it, but the palm is long and short and the grain is thick and thin, but the big four small five words floating on the white and blackened silver surface made Sun Zhongshan bluff:

"Order. Yanshan camp. ”

This is the arrow! The arrow of the Yanshan camp!

Something he'd heard of but never seen before......

Shang Cheng, who was woken up by Tian Xiaowu, came over. He looked at the silver arrow in the officer's hand and asked, "I am Shang Cheng." What's the matter with you? ”

"You are the captain of Shangcheng Business School in Beizheng?" Seeing Shang Cheng nodding, the officer continued, "You come with me." But he immediately asked, "What about your armor and uniform?" ”

Shang Cheng looked down at himself and said to the officer, "It's all broken." Didn't have time to reclaim it. His robes and armor had long been sparsely worn on the road, and he was dismissed from his post immediately after returning to Mogan, and there was no place to get another set, and now he was wearing the sleeveless coarse cloth short coat of an ordinary soldier, because his body was wrapped in bandages everywhere, and the gown did not fit well, so he did not fasten the button. Fat coarse cloth trousers were tied with a thick cowhide belt. The boots on his feet had already been opened, and a piece of black hard leather on the sole of his right foot was thrown off the crack as he walked.

The officer hesitated, shook his head, and said, "...... Forget it, let's go. ”

Shang Cheng didn't ask the officer where he was going to take him, nor what he was going to do, but followed him out of the tent and then out of the camp. Outside the camp, the sentry guarded the two horses, the officer rode one himself, and Shang Cheng got on the other, took the whip handed by the sentry, swept it lightly on the horse's stock, and galloped out with the officer as soon as the reins were loosened.

I don't know what special marks the officer had on his body, or if this man often rode around the camp, but in any case, the various checkpoints in the camp saw them coming from a distance, and immediately let them go as soon as they stood to the side. On the way from the rest camp, they also met a good team of sentry patrols of the camp, and they didn't drink and ordered them to dismount for an inspection, but just let them go to the side of the road, blinking their eyes and looking confused, and they were all curious about Shang Cheng's injuries and his small soldier uniform, maybe they were also curious about his identity......

This is not the first time Shang Cheng has been to Moganzhai. In fact, in the past two or three months, he had been in and out of the camp four or five times, but each time he stayed near the pond next to the rest camp, and he had never walked around in the old camp of the Middle Route Army. At this time, the horses galloped to truly appreciate the grandeur and magnificence of this big camp. Walking southeast from the west camp, arrow towers, forts, and horses abound, and the camps reinforced by fences and wooden carts can be seen at any time, and the tents are seen horizontally in columns, neatly arranged as if they have been hooked up to the end of heaven and earth. Under the embers of the half-submerged sunset, the silhouette in the hazy night was picturesque, and a few neighing horses and camels echoed, adding three points of murderous aura to this majestic and solemn silence......

Shang Cheng followed the officer all the way out of four or five miles, passing four or five tightly guarded ponds one by one, which were the so-called "Zhe Yu Dan" of the Tu Qi people, and the "Mo Gan" called by the Zhao people, and finally came to a well-guarded camp. The weather here is different from those camps that you pass by all the way, and the silver arrows of the Yanshan camp are not a problem, even if the officer leading the way and the officer on duty at the gate know that they know each other at a glance, they still have to dismount and be checked. Shang Cheng neither had a sword, nor did he wear armor on his body, his short coat and trousers were clear at a glance, and a seven-rank lieutenant still looked him up and down several times like a prisoner, and then pointed to a small sunshade tent at the gate of the camp: "Go and sign in." ”

waited for Shang Cheng to sign the name of his subordinate medal, and explain again why he didn't have the armor robe and belt of the lieutenant of Guide, and there was a leading officer beside him to help deliver the message, so he was reluctantly released.

He had already guessed that this was the station of the Yanshan camp, the highest command post of the Middle Route Army. But he couldn't figure out why he had brought himself to this place for a while. After all, it is the soldiers of the fourth or fifth battalion, and every move of the brigade commander is related to the life and death of two or three thousand people, and it is also related to the victory or defeat in a certain direction, and even determines the success or failure of a huge military operation......

Of course, he could have guessed completely wrong. Maybe this matter has nothing to do with his job transfer, it's just that General Zhuguo, who doesn't know much about military affairs and military affairs, wants to thank him for saving his life.

He followed the officer all the way to a large, heavily guarded cowhide tent.