Eight miles north of the Lingzhou camp, there is a northeast-southwest trending earth mountain, the earth mountain is not high, but it can barely block the wind in the north, and the mountain is a gentle land with little undulation, and there are not too many trees, so it has become the best garrison place.

A horse farm surrounded by a wooden fence, a building half a cave and half a wooden barricade, and various dark bunkers arranged around it, constituted the best place for the cavalry battalion to be stationed.

The largest main building is a stone fort carved with the help of boulders on the side of the mountain, and the exterior of the stone fort, which was forced to stop due to snow, has not yet been completed, but the inside is enough for people to rest and deliberate.

In one of the large stone halls, on a fireplace-like stove, on a rough cast-iron shelf was dressed a roasted yellow sheep, and the four men of Gonzas, Alk, Naga, and Haas took turns, slicing the roasted parts with their leg forks, and loading them on a wooden plate in their hands, and then brushing some jars of wild jam, the taste of which was mixed with the burnt aroma of the roasted meat and the freshness of the jam, and for a moment there was only the sound of four large mouths chewing and swallowing.

After half a ring, Haasna, who had the biggest mouth and the fastest eating, slumped down on the wooden couch covered with thick fur, "Ah, what a good meal, the Seris are really clever and dexterous, and they made the jam with just a few hints from the Lord...... I ate a little too much and couldn't stand up......"

"Poof......" Alke, who was a little more elegant, couldn't hold back, and before he had time to swallow the last bite of meat, he coughed a few times and said: "Hasna, you boar, don't forget your oath, you are also a Seris now!" ”

Gonzas, who was standing and eating, kicked Haas, then threw himself on the wooden couch as well, grabbed the wooden cup on the table, took a sip of the wild fruit brew inside, wiped the water stains on the side of his mouth with his hand carelessly, glared at Alke and said: "Don't worry about that boar, Alck, I really didn't expect that among more than 100 of us, you were the first to marry a woman, why, don't you have to accompany your bride?" ”

"Hey, Miana is a good girl who is understanding!" Alke boasted about his newlywed flag with a happy face, and then explained a little helplessly: "It's just that the Lord sent someone to deliver a message today, ordering us to closely monitor the Ma family in Xingzhou to prevent them from making trouble during the Lord's wedding!" ”

Whether the other person's bride is empathetic or not is not the target of Gonzas's attention, he stared at Alke's happy face, he firmly believed that this partner who came out of the gladiator camp together was not a negligent person, but the content of the other party's words could not help but be unserious, "Your scouts have heard the movements of the Ma family?" ”

"Not yet," Alke shook his head, "the south gate of Xingzhou City is tightly closed, the miscellaneous people in the city are very well guarded, no matter day or night, there are at least a thousand people patrolling the city wall, and the spies who came out were either killed by my men or trampled to death by your war horses......"

Haas, who was kicked by Gonzas, was too lazy to move, spread out on the wooden couch and hummed twice, just heard the conversation between the two, and couldn't help but interject: "Gonzas, Alke, please, what is there to think of, think of a way to set fire to the city, or get a few throwing cars outside the city, I don't believe that the Ma family is still hiding in the city and not coming out!" ”

Although he swore to be a Serisian, from Western habits, Haasner is still accustomed to calling his chief by his first name instead of respectfully addressing his position, and he speaks without scruples.

"Shut your mouth, Hasna!" After scolding in Latin, Gonzhas said to Alc, "The Lord is about to have a wedding, and we need to do something to congratulate the Lord General!" ”

Alke put the wooden plate in his hand on the table, and spread his hands a little helplessly, "However, the general does not allow us to storm Xingzhou City, nor does he allow us to use methods such as arson or poisoning, and he also wants us to do our best to save the lives of his subordinates...... It is merciful to the Lord, but to do so is to tie hands and feet to fight......"

"No, Alck, the Lord must have his purpose in asking for this, and it is your duty for you and me to carry out the commands, and there shall be no complaints!" Gonzas, who was born as a military officer, knew more about military discipline than others, and after a little reminder, he turned his gaze to the black guy who didn't speak, "Hey, Naga, you came here in Africa with the general, do you know how the general will deal with such a situation?" ”

The dark-skinned Naga has a good appetite, he is much stronger than before, and his adaptability to the cold has also improved a lot, he stood not far from the fireplace, and thought for a while with the wooden plate in his hand, and then said: "I remember that when I was on the grassland with the general, I once encountered a group of more than thirty wild dogs, and the wild dogs gathered together did not dare to attack us, nor did they run away, and the way the lord would disturb them, let them change positions, and then the lord took the opportunity to kill their leader, and the rest had no courage to stay, Half of them fled, and the rest became our food. ”

This black guy is much more stable than before, perhaps because he has experienced too much, compared to the half-grown child who was bold and reckless in the grassland, and now this Naga has a wise side.

Alk and Gonzas glanced at each other, and the former exclaimed, "I thought of it!" ”

Gonzhas paused for a moment, and said with some confusion: "Alck, what do you think?" ”

"Monkey!" Alke shouted excitedly, and then began to explain with a flush on his face, "Min Wenhou, that guy is still in Xingzhou City, and he brought fourteen people in the city!" ”

"You mean to let him make trouble for the Ma family?" Gonzas's reaction was not slow, he asked rhetorically, and then shook his head and denied: "There are too few people...... I'm afraid it's hard to do, and after doing it, how can you pull it out? And also...... The monkey's mission is to scout what's going on in the city, not to attack! Now that the gates are closed, and no one can sneak into the city, how do you inform the people inside? ”

"It's okay!" Alke's expression was completely relaxed, and he said with some eyebrows: "The scout camp has an agreed set of brass horn sound rhythm as a signal, it is noon, you send a capital to the south gate of Xingzhou, and my people will follow to blow the brass trumpet at dusk, at that time is the agreed contact time, and the monkey will definitely hear it...... Then it's just waiting to protect them from retreating, it's up to me to attack the Ma family, it's up to you to Gonzas! ”

Gonzhas stood up, paced back and forth a few steps, stopped and said, "Good! Alc! It's up to you! Naga, Hasna, go and gather your men, the number of each is too small, and the number of two colonels can prevent the enemy from raiding! ”

……

The four immature leaders will piece together a perfect plan for the message, and a deceptive operation begins.

It was not far from the cavalry battalion to Xingzhou, and the river was already frozen, and the fast horse was only two or three hours away, but it was a pity that until night fell, the brass trumpet sounded at least seven or eight times, and there was still no movement on the Xingzhou city wall, not to mention the solid south city gate, and there was no sign of opening at all.

"Alc, can you make sure the city can hear you?" In the night, Gonzas looked at the wall where the bonfire had begun to be lit, and asked Alc, who was also on horseback, beside him.

"I can definitely hear it, and I can hear the cries of the children inside!" Because he was wearing a mask, Alk's voice was also urn-like, "Blow again, I'll take someone to the east whistle to answer, Gonzhas, you'd better retreat to the river bank to prevent the Ma family from attacking at night." ”

"That's it, I don't need you to worry about it here, if there is a change in the city, no matter how many people come out of the Ma family, it's useless!" Gonzhas gritted his back teeth and said, "I just hope that the monkey will move quickly inside, it will not be pleasant to stay outside at night, and the day after tomorrow will begin the Lord's wedding." ”

With the sound of verbose words, the thick and loud brass horn sounded again.

……

Under the same night, not far from the Xingzhou city wall, more than 300 steps away from the south gate is the main residence of the Ma family, opposite the main house is a piece of blue bricks and green tiles of Tang-style buildings, of course, because of the age, they have been dilapidated.

The snow on the ground and roof hides too much of the unbearable, but the mottled walls and faded columns that reveal the grain of wood show that the place has not been restored for a long time.

Behind a pile of tattered rubble, in a crude chamber, five or six people gathered together, under the dim light of a little oil lamp, eating and talking, the atmosphere was very warm, but their food was only a dry broth hastily cooked in a crockpot and a roasted naan in each hand.

"The trumpet sounded nine times, and it was certain that it was a message informing us that we were changing our mission and preparing to leave." A gruff voice spoke, accompanied by the sound of his words and the swallowing of food.

"No, it's not just the change of tasks, Meng Yi, you have to listen carefully, the second half of the second tone is six short and three long, which means that we have to start acting, at this time, what is the action doing?" A stern voice corrected.

"Don't be noisy, be careful to be heard by people outside!" There was an obvious command tone in this, but it was followed by an explanation, obviously, this was a guy who had just adapted to the role of team leader, "There can only be one action, disturb the Ma family!" ”

There was silence for a while, and several different voices whispered at the same time: "Wow! ”

The guy who led the team said again: "Damn the Ma family, some people have already starved to death, and they are still stuffy in the city, fighting and not fighting, falling and not falling, even if we are trapped in the city and can't get out, I am hungry and thin!" There are two days left to get married, and after this time, we will go out of the city and return to Lingzhou immediately, and we must have a few good meals! ”

Along with the nagging and complaining, there were a few deliberately suppressed muffled laughter. Obviously, everyone in the room had the same idea.

There was a continuous sound of eating and swallowing, and after a while, the leader's voice sounded again, "Changing the mission at this time, something must have changed, the biggest possibility is that the Lord hopes that no one will disturb the wedding...... From the sound of horses' hooves heard in the afternoon, the people leading the group outside the south gate must be the people of the cavalry battalion, about 2,000 people, and the trumpeters should be the people of my scout camp. Now that it is getting late, they must retreat to prevent the Ma family from going out of the city to raid...... And when the Ma family is confused, the night before will definitely strengthen the convenience, and we don't have a chance to do anything we want! ”

"Brother Monkey, we have smuggled in more than 100 jars, and more than 60 have been buried, and the rest are converted into small jars, and thrown into stables and granaries in the middle of the night, even if they can't burn all the grain, it's enough to disturb the mixed ......," a crisp voice suggested.

"Eighteen, that's a good point!" The rough-voiced Meng Yi snorted, "Monkey...... General, I'll throw the jar, my arm strength is good! ”

"General Monkey?" The leader repeated, and then shouted in a low voice: "In the future, they will all be called General Min!" You bastards! Don't call it Brother Monkey or General Monkey! ”

"Whoa!" The response was not very crisp, mixed with a low laugh.

"Since there are no objections, we are scheduled to start the night after, but the order needs to be adjusted, and the location of the assembly and retreat needs to be confirmed repeatedly, let's talk about it, what should I do?"

A low murmur of discussion buzzed, and it was clear that Heungju was destined not to have another peaceful night in the twilight.