The mournful sound of the horn suddenly echoed throughout the mountain village.
Villagers who were either gathered around the stove laughing or busy cooking were all momentarily stunned, but the next moment they all reacted.
"The great call!"
"It's the great call!"
Everyone showed a look of surprise.
This was different from the usual gong sounds; it was the call for the assembly of troops, the call to battle the enemy. Many children and young people were slow to react.
They had been taught and knew the meanings of various horns, gongs, and flags, but this was the first time they had actually heard the call to assemble the troops.
For the elders, it had been a long time since they had heard it too.
Iron Foot, who was dragging along a bundle of firewood with his new prosthetic foot, stood petrified in the road, his body beginning to tremble.
He violently threw the firewood away.
"To battle the enemy!" he shouted, "To battle the enemy!"
He then ran towards the direction of the horn sound, stumbling at first, but then gaining speed.
Finally, everyone snapped to action; the men put on their shoes, women threw water to extinguish the hearth and coal basin, and children dropped their stone toys.
Everyone ran outside, and in addition to the sound of the horn, there was also a waving red flag giving direction to the villagers.
The direction was no longer towards the village entrance but the foot of the mountain instead.
The villagers quickly gathered at the foot of the mountain, where Yang Jing stood erect, watching the villagers form up in ranks below the mountain.
Although the line-up looked somewhat comical due to the mix of old and young, men and women of various statures, no one laughed, no one moved. They stood firmly, like long spears, emanating a chilling presence.
The horn sound ceased, and Yang Jing waved his hand.
"Open the armory," he called out.
A few men stepped forward and embraced a huge rock from four sides, giving a unified shout as they turned the stone.
With the turning, the originally sheer cliffside creaked and groaned, the earth and rocks tumbled revealing an entrance.
"To your weapons, don your armor!" Yang Jing said in a deep voice.
If Miss Jun and Lei Zhonglian were still here, they would be very surprised.
All along it was known that their weapons were hidden under the Big Green Stone at the village entrance, but they hadn't expected that there was another armory at the foot of the mountain.
Villagers lined up to enter, and Yang Jing had already lit torches to illuminate the entire cave.
The cave was spacious, and inside, many items were piled up at different heights, all covered with felts, which were now being ripped away by several men, revealing a display of armor first.
Outside, the gongs and drums beat rapidly, and the villagers, in an orderly line, silently picked up the armor, dressed in protective gear, and then moved to another area, where more felts were removed to expose densely packed weaponry racks.
In order of precedence, they took down sabers, spears, Locking Swords, strapped on bows and shields, and left in an efficient, single-file motion.
As the armed villagers exited, a cacophony of counting off sounded outside.
"First squad, sound off."
"Ten."
"Nine."
"Eight…"
"One."
"First squad assembled, double-time forward march. Gather at the village entrance."
One call after another, squad by squad, the footsteps of the armed villagers grew more uniform and weighty, sending tremors through the entire village.
Beneath the big tree at the village entrance, horses had already gathered, all of them armored and waiting in lines quietly.
Xia Yong stood atop the Big Green Stone, now clad in armor, his hat almost covering his face, giving him an exceedingly stern look, devoid of his usual gentleness.
The villagers who had run over quietly lined up before him, and after a surge of intense drum beats, the sound of drums and gongs ceased.
"All squads report in," Xia Yong commanded in a deep voice.
Upon his order, loud voices rang out from the villagers standing in formation.
"First Platoon, all present."
"Second Platoon, all present."
"Third Platoon, all present."
"Fourth Platoon, all present."
"Women's Platoon, all present."
With the completion of roll call, silence returned to the village entrance. Xia Yong swept his gaze over them and looked ahead.
"Present the flag," he said gravely.
The standing villagers turned to look, toward the direction from which they had just run, where Yang Jing was advancing quickly with seven or eight individuals.
They were pulling three carts, their armor not as neatly arranged as those of the others, with the carts loaded with objects covered by felts, appearing very heavy and leaving deep tracks on the road.
Besides the carts, Yang Jing held an unfurled flag in his hand.
As he came near, Yang Jing halted and with a powerful swing raised the flag high.
This is a flaming red banner that billowed with each wave, its surface alive with the roiling images of Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, revealing in the middle three large golden characters.
"Welcome the banner!"
"Welcome the banner!"
The village entrance suddenly erupted into cheers.
Watching the fierce winds toss the banner below and hearing the shouting, Zhao Hanqing's eyes sparkled as he stood on the mountain path.
"Mother, I'm going now," she called out.
Xiao Zhi held her, giving her an appraising look.
Zhao Hanqing was dressed in red cotton armor, and even the mask on her face had been changed to red, exuding an unprecedented vitality.
"It's good, just a bit of alteration and it will be perfect," Xiao Zhi said with a smile.
"Ah, Mother," Zhao Hanqing shouted somewhat urgently, "Second Uncle Xia and the others are about to leave, and it's off with one's head for being late to the military!"
Xiao Zhi laughed and patted her.
"Go on," she said.
Zhao Hanqing's eyes bent into a smile, she hugged Xiao Zhi and then turned to run down the mountain.
"Take good care of our Miss, and don't you slack off," Liu'er called out anxiously from behind, "Don't steal the food from our Miss."
Zhao Hanqing didn't look back; she dashed along the mountain path like a red cloud in flight.
..............
The carriage and horses stopped on the road, and a faint arguing noise came from upfront.
Madam Yu lifted the carriage curtain, her brows slightly furrowed.
"Chengdong," she called out, "What is it now?"
Liang Chengdong came back with a slightly red face.
"Madam, they are heading in the wrong direction," he said.
"My direction is not wrong," Miss Jun said from behind, "There's a shortcut from here that can quickly cut through Zhending Prefecture and head to the west road of Hebei."
"Have you walked it before?" Liang Chengdong asked.
Miss Jun shook her head.
"No," she said.
How can you be so sure if you've never walked it? Liang Chengdong glared.
"It's alright, let's follow Miss Jun's direction," Madam Yu said.
Why? Liang Chengdong glared wanting to say something, but Miss Jun suddenly shushed him.
What? Liang Chengdong frowned, suddenly perking up his ears.
The ground had a subtle vibration, a sign of a large-scale troop movement.
Could there be an army passing by?
It's normal for the armies in the northern lands to move around now, but it's also possible that it's an abnormal movement.
Although Madam's journey is meant to be a secret, we have encountered continuous ambushes along the way, which shows the news has leaked. There are plenty of people who would want to stop Madam, and for the Duke of Chengguo, Madam's significance is extraordinary.
If Madam dies en route, the Duke of Chengguo will certainly be greatly affected.
Right now, apart from a few exceptions, these northern military generals are not to be trusted.
Liang Chengdong's expression tensed up.
The ground vibrations grew stronger and a group of men and horses appeared in sight.
The first thing that caught the eye was the armor – they must be government soldiers, Liang Chengdong thought. He wondered which forces they were as he squinted, watching the approaching group, and a large banner in the troops breaching his line of sight.
Qingshan... Army.
The Qingshan Army?
What kind of army is this? He had never heard of it on the Hebei Road.
A girl beside him let out a short, soft gasp, and Liang Chengdong looked at her in surprise to see that the girl who had just been arguing with him now had a changed complexion.
In the chilly wind of the twelfth lunar month, armored soldiers galloped forth, a large flaming red banner flying high above their heads catching the wind, the golden characters shimmering under the sunlight.
The Qingshan Army.
The Qingshan Army.
Miss Jun's eyes brimmed with tears.
This was the origin of her master's livelihood.
Qingshan, become an army.
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The second release is postponed to 2 PM, I'm moving house first.
Thank you to ALATIN, 11-page celebrity, and Ice from the South for their rewards with the He's Bi, thank you.
Thank you, everyone, continue to have a pleasant weekend.