The inverted ditch is the name of an ordinary small military fort on the border of Jizhou, the fort stands on a stone mountain, the north side is a knife-cut general cliff, the birds are extinct, the south side is a gentle slope, there is a road winding through the mountain, a small stream flows from east to west from the foot of the mountain, the inverted ditch gets its name from this.

Standing on the top of the hill and looking to the north, the north is a gentle hill, there are many trees, if you encounter sunny weather, look far, you can see the hills, faint grassland landform. The ditch is one of the northernmost forts in Jizhou, as the outpost of the border of Jizhou, there are more than a dozen border troops stationed in the fort all the year round, less than one team is in the establishment, the team is Zhou Lou Feng is an old border army over forty years old, and it is also the oldest one in this group of border troops.

When he was young and fought with the Khitan barbarians, he knocked out two front teeth, and the sergeants in the fort privately called him Zhou Leaky. His favorite thing to do is to carry an old smoking gun, sit on the roof of the fort, and brag to the young sergeants in the fort about how majestic he was in the battle when he knocked out his two front teeth, how many Khitan barbarians he slashed, and how he made the Khitan barbarians flee in fear.

There are stunned young people who have just arrived in the fort, and they will always be shocked by the story that the old team is depicting, and they all admire his sharp skills and extraordinary courage, so they admire the old team very much. But this kind of admiration often can't last long, because the more Zhou Loufeng tells about that battle, there will be some contradictions. For example, the day before yesterday he said that he had five barbarians in that battle, and today the number of military exploits will become six. A sergeant raised this question and questioned it, and Zhou Loufeng would also raise an old smoking gun to knock on other people's heads, and said unashamedly that it was because he didn't count a barbarian who had his arm cut off the day before yesterday, but didn't kill him.

As time went on, there were more and more flaws in this way of lying, and the young sergeants in the fort lost their interest in listening to Zhou Loufeng's chatter. Soon after, they would be told disdainfully by the old sergeant that when they entered the fort, Zhou Loufeng had more than a dozen military exploits in his mouth.

"Zhou leaks the wind's mouth, there are no front teeth, can you speak without leaking the wind?"

"You don't want to think about it, just his body, even if he doesn't pull a few thin, he can cut off the heads of a few barbarians? You've been in the fort for so long, and who has seen him show his hands? This old guy, that is, relying on his seniority, is in the right position of the team. ”

"That is, our part is quite peaceful, if there is really a Khitan barbarian coming, I hope that his body will not be cut by the swords of the Khitan barbarians."

The old sergeants in the fort sneered, and did not hide their forced gaze on Zhou Loufeng. It is no wonder that when they entered the fort, they were also people who believed in Zhou Loufeng's heroic deeds.

Zhou Loufeng sat on the threshold alone, and when no one listened to him in the fort, he could only concentrate on dealing with his old smoking gun, and he never seemed angry at his contempt for his subordinates, but would just smile and scold, "You little rabbits, you don't understand the rules of respecting the elderly!" ”

The strongest sergeant in the fort, eight feet long, fat head and big ears, nicknamed the black bull, every time at this time, he would clench his fists and look provocative, "Old man Zhou, since you are so powerful, let's practice?" ”

"Stinky boy, are you talking to the team like that? Believe it or not, I'll pump you! "That being said, Zhou Loufeng has never done anything, which makes it more and more confirmatory to the rumor that he has no ability and can only brag.

Zhou Xiaoquan, the youngest sergeant in the fort, is Zhou Loufeng's third son, and now he is not yet sixteen years old, he has inherited the characteristics of Zhou Loufeng's lean figure, and he is the shortest group of people in the entire fort. Especially with Zhou Loufeng, it is unusual to have three sentences a month. Every time Zhou Loufeng said something to Zhou Xiaoquan, he just replied coldly and responded to it. The relationship between father and son is not very good, and it can even be said that it is very stiff, which is a well-known thing in the castle.

But the sergeants in the fort looked down on Zhou Loufeng, but no one dared to underestimate Zhou Xiaoquan, in the army where strength is respected, this reason is very simple, although Zhou Xiaoquan is thin and short, but the ability in his hands is surprisingly large, especially the one-handed archery, a hundred steps through Yang, no false hair, are effortless. This cannot but be said to be a miracle.

According to the older sergeant, it was because Zhou Loufeng's first two sons were taken to the battlefield by Zhou Loufeng, but they were not brought down alive, so Zhou Xiaoquan resented Zhou Loufeng very much. It was also after Zhou Xiaoquan's two brothers were killed in battle that Zhou Xiaoquan arrived in the fort.

These are idle things and miscellaneous words, although they are not on the stage, but for the sergeants who are far away from the crowd and alone in the backwater ditch fort in the deep mountains and old forests, they are one of the few topics in life that can be entertained. The border land is bitterly cold, the summer is still good, every deep winter, the wind on the top of the mountain is strong, and it smells like a ghost crying wolf, although the sergeants are not afraid of ghosts and gods, but they can't resist the thin quilt, and it is common to be frozen and awakened in the middle of the night.

Not only that, because it is far away from the nearest county seat, and there is no population nearby, the food in the fort has always been monotonous, and the steamed cakes have not changed for thousands of years. Steamed cakes in the morning, steamed cakes at noon, and steamed cakes in the evening; Spring steamed cakes, summer steamed cakes, autumn steamed cakes, winter is still steamed cakes. The only good thing is that in the past two years, the supply of meat in the border army has increased a lot, and the sergeants in the fort can often eat meat.

Today was an ordinary day, in autumn, the sun was much softer, and in this far north, the afternoon sun was warm. Zhou Loufeng sat on the threshold of the roof of the fort, leaning on the door frame, smashing the dry smoke without a mouthful, looking up at the sky, enjoying it very much.

Such a picture of enjoying old age made the sergeant on duty looking behind the female wall on the roof very disdainful, but fortunately, they were used to it, pouting at each other and not saying anything.

"Who is patrolling the border today? Why haven't you come back at this hour? Zhou Loufeng suddenly spoke.

A sergeant behind the female wall replied: "Today's border patrol, it was the little brother who took Ali Acheng out." Glancing at the sky, "It's been an hour, and it stands to reason that I should have come back a long time ago, but the little brother has never missed the hour." ”

Out of admiration for Zhou Xiaoquan's hands, the sergeants in the fort all called him little brother, which shows that Zhou Xiaoquan's actual status in the fort is not inferior to Zhou Loufeng.

Zhou Loufeng knocked off the remaining smoke foam in the cigarette gun on the threshold, looked at the northern sky, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Half an hour has passed like this, and Zhou Xiaoquan still hasn't come back.

Zhou Loufeng walked behind the women's wall, looked at the hills behind the cliffs, and scolded with a smile: "This stinky boy, didn't you meet someone's little lady and forgot the time to come back?" That's a good thing, and the stinky boy is not too young, so you can consider it......"

The sergeants glanced at Zhou Loufeng, and they were all angry with his indifferent and unworried face, and one of the sergeants said worriedly: "Team Zheng, I heard that there are several forts nearby, but they have all encountered a large number of barbarian rangers recently, little brother, there won't be any accidents, right?" ”

"No!" Zhou Loufeng waved his hand decisively, and said in a tone that was so sure that he couldn't be more sure: "I have never found a barbarian rogue in the past few days, and there is nothing unusual at all, how can they be because the barbarian has delayed the journey, this will definitely not!" ”

"But ......" Sergeant wanted to say something, but seeing Zhou Loufeng's unwavering expression, he didn't say much. But in his heart, he doesn't think that if there was no abnormality a few days ago, there will be no accidents today, and everything has a beginning, right?

"Look, someone's back!" A sergeant next to him exclaimed in surprise, "It's little brother, little brother, he's back!" ”

Zhou Loufeng was in high spirits in an instant, no one noticed, and the deep worry in his eyes disappeared at this moment.

It's not that he doesn't know that Zhou Xiaoquan may be in trouble, but he doesn't want to believe it, and convincing himself not to believe it.

"But it's strange, why are there only two horses, and who is the other person sitting on the back of the little brother?! What about Ah Li and Ah Cheng? Without waiting for Zhou Loufeng to relax his heart, the sergeant's next words made his heart sink to the bottom again. He hurriedly looked out.

On the mountain road, on the back of a horse, the rider with the reins tied to his back was another man, and he was pulling the reins of a horse behind him, and was hurrying towards the fort.

"Open the door and welcome people!" Zhou Loufeng suddenly shouted, turned around suddenly, and walked quickly down the roof.

This sudden shout made the two sergeants stunned, they had never heard such a stern voice from the mouth of the old team who had lost two front teeth.

"Open the door! The little brother is back! The two sergeants hurriedly greeted their comrades who were guarding the mountain gate in front of the fort.

Zhou Xiaoquan was covered in blood.

He rushed into the mountain gate, rushed to the front of the fort, grabbed his horse, and shouted to the sergeants who came out: "Jinchuang medicine, take Jinchuang medicine, hurry!" ”

When he handed over another war horse to the sergeant who greeted him, everyone saw that the person he wrapped behind his cloak was the dying Daoshuigou sergeant Ah Cheng. Untying the cloak knot on his chest, Zhou Xiaoquan and his comrades worked together to carefully carry Ah Cheng off the horse.

Everyone hurriedly carried Ah Cheng into the fort, Zhou Xiaoquan was exhausted, and sat on the ground, his eyes that were bright and terrifying before became dejected at this moment.

Zhou Loufeng threw away the cigarette gun that never left his body from an unknown time, and stepped in front of Zhou Xiaoquan in two steps, but suddenly stopped, and his hands didn't know where to touch, and he looked at Zhou Xiaoquan who was covered in blood at a loss, "Xiaoquan, how are you, where are you hurt?" Come on, treat his wounds, hurry up! Xiaoquan, let Dad see, where are you injured, are you seriously injured, is it serious? ”

"Get out!" Zhou Xiaoquan kicked away Zhou Loufeng, who was sticking to him like a dog, "Lao Tzu is fine, I don't need you to treat him, Lao Tzu is fine, Ah Cheng is fine, what are you doing standing in front of me, go and treat Ah Cheng's injuries, he is dying!" ”

Zhou Loufeng was kicked by Zhou Xiaoquan and fell down on all fours, and got up in a hurry, but there was no resentment, hearing Zhou Xiaoquan's roar, he was stunned, "What about Ali?" Where's Ali? ”

The sergeant who followed Ah Cheng into the fort, a few came out at this time, and they just heard Zhou Loufeng's words, and they all looked at Zhou Xiao's whole body, "Yes, little brother, where is Ah Li?" He went out with you, you and Ah Cheng came back, where is Ali? ”