The ninth son of the emperor was demoted at the beginning. I have a famous Chinese general.

"Alright, I'm tired too, you all should go down."

"I will be inspecting the fort tomorrow morning, so please prepare in advance."

Ning Quan waved his hand.

"Yes, I will take my leave."

Zhuge Liang and others accepted the order.

.........

The next day.

The sky is bright.

Ning Quan took Xiang Yu, Zhang Tinggao, Li Jing and others to inspect the fort in the northeast.

There were seven forts under Hulan's rule, four of which were located in the northeast, mainly to provide early warning for defense against the Huns.

The three in the northwest were mainly used to defend against the Arabs.

Because they are in two completely opposite directions, it will take at least three days to complete the entire inspection.

All the forts were quite far away from Hulun City, and the nearest one was fifty miles away. It was already noon when Ning Quan arrived.

"Your Highness, Pingyang Fort is just ahead."

Zhang Tinggao pointed to a small fort in the distance.

A dock fort, also known as a dock wall, was originally a small castle built by local tyrants to defend themselves against bandits and to protect themselves.

It was later used in military applications, but mostly for early warning purposes.

Each fort is equipped with a beacon tower, which can be used to send messages when enemy situations are discovered, and promptly convey the enemy situation to the border garrison.

The fort has no fixed shape, and its size, wall height and thickness are also different.

They are usually not big, because the bigger they are, the more vulnerable they are to attack.

In order to hold out for a long time, there would be wells inside the fort, and food and weapons would be stored for long-term defense and self-defense.

Of course, the defensive capabilities of a fort cannot be compared with those of a city or a military fortress. If it encounters a large-scale armed siege, it cannot be defended at all.

However, under normal circumstances, the enemy would not bother to attack these small forts. After all, it was not only time-consuming and laborious, but also had no benefits to offer.

Ning Quan looked up and saw a tall beacon tower standing in the square of the fortress, and the Daqian army flag was also planted on the city wall.

Although the military flags have changed color and are even a little damaged.

But when he saw the military flag fluttering in the wind, Ning Quan felt inexplicably moved.

Ning Quan has no feelings for Daqian, but the military flag has a different meaning, representing the glory of the Han soldiers.

At this time, the gate of Pingyang Fort slowly opened, and three people walked out of the fort.

Among them was an old soldier wearing tattered armor, a sword at his waist, gray hair, and carrying a bow and arrow.

The other two were young men, without armor, but holding spears.

Seeing the large group of cavalry arriving, the three men looked a little nervous.

Fortunately, it was the Daqian cavalry that came, not the Huns, otherwise they would not dare to come out.

"Old Sun, don't you see that it's the county magistrate who's here? You're still so cautious."

Zhang Tinggao shouted from a distance

"Of course I saw the magistrate, but who were they?"

Old Sun shouted loudly from afar.

"Shut up, do you think you can yell at His Highness the Ninth Prince?"

"Why don't you come and meet His Majesty the Ninth Prince?"

Hearing this, Zhang Tinggao immediately scolded.

"What, His Royal Highness the Ninth Prince!"

Old Sun was stunned when he heard this, his eyes widened and his face was full of disbelief.

How could His Majesty the Ninth Prince be here?

At this time, Ning Quan and others had already arrived.

Looking at Ning Quan who was so close and wearing a python robe.

Looking at the elite cavalry behind him, Old Sun had to believe it.

"Sun Zhong, Commander of Pingyang Fort of the Beiting Border Army, greets His Royal Highness the Ninth Prince!"

Old Sun knelt down quickly.

The two young men beside him also quickly knelt down.

"Haha, everyone, get up."

Ning Quan smiled.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Old Sun stood up, but his face was still full of excitement.

"Your name is Sun Zhong?"

"What are they called?"

Ning Quan asked with a smile.

"Your Highness, I am Sun Zhong."

"They are my sons, one is Sun Yong and the other is Sun Bao."

Sun Zhong said quickly.

"Sun Yong, Sun Bao?"

"Good, very good. It's great that you can follow your father to guard the border!"

"Sun Zhong, besides you and your father and son, are there any other people in Pingyang Fort?"

Ning Quan nodded approvingly and continued to ask.

"Your Highness, there are only my family in Pingyang Fort."

"Apart from my younger wife, my older daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren, there is no one else."

Sun Zhong replied.

"Oh, I see."

"So what do you do for a living?"

"I heard that you haven't received your salary for twenty years."

Ning Quan continued to ask.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Ever since the Beiting border troops withdrew, we veterans haven't received any salaries."

"These days, the young family just relies on a few acres of thin land and hunting to make a living."

Sun Zhong sighed.

"Well, this is difficult for you."

Hearing this, Ning Quan sighed.

"It's not difficult, it's not difficult. Guarding the border for Daqian is the duty of us border troops."

Sun Zhong quickly shook his head.

"Well, I have a heart."

"Alright, you lead the way, I'm going to take a look inside the fort."

Ning Quan nodded.

"Here."

Sun Zhong responded respectfully.

Then he took Ning Quan into the dock.

After entering the fort, the first thing that caught Ning Quan's eye was several adobe houses. Outside the houses were rows of bamboo poles with dried radishes hanging on them.

In the southwest corner of the dock is a chicken coop where a few chickens and ducks are raised.

In the southeast corner is a beacon tower, to the north is a warehouse filled with firewood, and outside is a well.

On the east side is the kitchen, with a spatula, a kitchen knife and food on the stove.

Ning Quan looked carefully and found some wheat, a few pieces of meat and dried fish.

"Grandpa, grandpa."

At this moment, a childish voice suddenly sounded.

Immediately afterwards, two little boys, about four or five years old, ran out. They were chubby and very cute.

The two little boys were originally looking for their grandfather, but when they suddenly saw Ning Quan and others, they stopped immediately and stared at Ning Quan and others curiously with their big black eyes.

"Eldest wife, please take the child back to the house quickly and don't disturb His Highness."

Seeing this, Old Sun hurriedly greeted them.

"Yes, daddy."

Soon, a woman about thirty years old and thin ran out of the warehouse.

Seeing so many people, the woman's face turned red and she hurriedly took her child back to the house.

"Your Highness, please don't blame me for being ignorant."

When the woman returned to the house, Old Sun quickly apologized.

"It doesn't matter."

"This is your home. I am sorry for disturbing you."

Ning Quan said with a smile.

"Sun Zhong, I want to ask you, do you want to leave Pingyang Fort and move to Hulan City?"

Ning Quan looked at Sun Zhong and asked.

"Leaving Pingyang Fort?"

"Your Highness, you mean..."

Sun Zhong looked at Ning Quandao in surprise.

"Yes, I intend to let you retire to Hulan City as a reward for your family's contribution to defending the border."

Ning Quan smiled.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Your Highness. I'm not going. I'm already used to it here."

"If possible, let the younger and older son's family go, not for anything else, just for the two grandchildren."

“Life here is so hard.”

Sun Zhong hesitated for a moment, but finally declined.