I have been farming since I crossed over.

The cold wind blew sand and gravel onto Lu Jintang's silver armor, making a faint whimper.

He half-knelt on the ground, tapping his knuckles on the raised wooden ridges on the sand table. The candlelight flickered in the cold night, making the cold light in his eyes appear and disappear.

Lu Jintang's fingertips slid across the red silk mark on the sand table that represented the enemy's food and forage camp, and his nails almost scratched the scarlet.

The breakout battle three days ago was still vivid in his mind - arrows flew over his head like locusts, the wailing of war horses and the screams of soldiers mixed with blood foam splattered on the frozen ground. He personally held the dying deputy general in his arms, watching those young eyes gradually lose their luster in the cold night.

"good chance!"

Lu Jintang repeated it again, then suddenly stood up, his black cloak sweeping across the sand table, making the green flags representing his own troops rustle.

The sound of a night watchman's drum was heard outside the tent. It was already three quarters past midnight, the time when people are most sleepy.

Lu Jintang looked at the winding mountain path on the map, and suddenly remembered the sachet that Yang Mingxi had stuffed into her bag before leaving, which still carried her faint plum scent.

"Pass the order down, leaving 2000 men behind to bluff and feint an attack on the valley entrance."

He drew his sword, the blade gleaming coldly in the candlelight. "The rest of you, follow me around the back mountain. We must reach the enemy's food and fodder camp before midnight."

As soon as he finished speaking, the generals in the tent stood up and accepted the order, except for the wise king who frowned and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

The virtuous king and Lu Jintang defeated the border defenders one by one and took away 10,000 soldiers from them.

Including the 300 special forces brought by Lu Jintang, the 1000 people selected by Lu Da from the personal guards, the secret guards of the wise king, etc., there are less than people guarding this valley now.

If 2000 men were left behind, then there would be less than men going behind the enemy lines, while the enemy would have men.

With such a huge disparity in military strength, everyone knew that they could only defeat the enemy through wits and not through head-on confrontation.

"Thirteen, the snow on the mountain road in the back mountain has not melted yet, and it is difficult for war horses to pass..." His Royal Highness the Wise King stopped him.

"Then abandon your horses and walk!" Lu Jintang's voice was like an ice-hardened blade.

"The enemy's food supply is stored at the foot of Eagle's Beak Cliff. If we burn their food supply, we'll be halfway to winning the battle!"

He remembered Yang Mingxi saying "return safely" with red eyes when she left, and his palms clenched unconsciously - only a quick victory could minimize casualties.

At midnight, three thousand elite soldiers quietly sneaked into the back mountain from the right.

Another 3000 people sneaked into the back mountain from the left, and then the two sides met and besieged together.

The snow was up to their calves, and the soldiers wrapped the soles of their boots with cloth strips to prevent them from making any noise.

Lu Jintang walked in front, and the jade pendant on his waist gently bumped with each step, and each hit felt like a knock on his heart.

He remembered Yang Mingxi saying that this jade pendant was made of Tianshan cold jade and could protect people.

Suddenly, a muffled groan came from the front. Lu Jintang raised his hand suddenly, and the team stopped instantly.

A soldier fell to the ground in the snow, clutching his ankle, having apparently stepped on a hidden trap.

"Shut up!" Lu Jintang rushed over and tore off a strip of cloth to wrap around the wound. The smell of blood spread in the air.

He looked at the soldier's pale face and said in a low voice, "Go back with the team doctor and tell those who remain to proceed according to the original plan."

The team continued to move forward, and the snow on the cliff fell from time to time, causing bursts of echoes in the silence.

When the outline of Eagle's Beak Cliff finally appeared in the moonlight, Lu Jintang heard a suppressed gasp behind him - the torches below the cliff formed a galaxy, illuminating the food and grass camp as if it were daytime.

"Shoot!" With the order, hundreds of rockets streaked across the night sky and fell straight into the valley.

In an instant, flames shot up from the pile of grain and grass, and heat waves and thick smoke rushed towards us.

Amidst the enemy's panicked shouts, Lu Jintang swung his sword and cut off the antler-shaped barricades blocking the road: "Kill!"

Amidst the flashes of swords and sabers, he suddenly remembered what Yang Mingxi often said: "War is not about killing people, but about allowing more people to survive."

The sword flashed with a cold light, and he knocked an enemy soldier to the ground - then turned around and killed other enemy soldiers.

When the sky in the east began to turn pale, the enemy's food and fodder camp had become a ruin.

Lu Jintang stared at the burning tent, the blood stains on his body already clotted. He fished out the charred sachet from his arms, a wry smile playing on his lips—this battle had finally paid off in Axi's concern.

The sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance. It was the soldier in charge of communications coming to deliver a message.

Lu Jintang climbed onto his horse, looked at the gradually extinguishing firelight, and said silently in his heart: "Axi, wait for me to come back."

The cold wind blew up his cloak, which fluttered like a victory flag.

Then he commanded the soldiers to attack Eagle Cliff at night.

At three quarters past midnight, the wind outside Yanmen Pass blew fine snow across his cheeks. Lu Jintang raised his hand to press on his helmet, and his fingertips stroked the cloud pattern on the iron helmet - this was the pattern Yang Mingxi had drawn for him personally. She said that the clouds could block the sword light and protect him.

The three hundred light cavalrymen behind him had already wrapped themselves in armor, their horses' hooves were wrapped in thick cloth, and even their breath was covered with soft leather. Only the fire sticks at their waists emitted a faint dark red glow in the night.

"General, our spies report that there's a hidden mountain path on the cliff west of the granary, leading directly to the grain storage area."

Captain Chen Lin lowered his voice and unfolded the sheepskin map. His sleeves slipped down, revealing half of an old wristband. It was the stitching that his late wife had hastily made before her death.

Lu Jintang glanced at the "Eagle's Beak Cliff" circled in cinnabar on the map, and paused his fingertips on the three words "Rockfall Area." "We must reach the top of the cliff before midnight. If we are discovered, we will immediately detonate the signal flare."

When the team sneaked into the col, the moon had just climbed up the cliff.

The accumulated snow on the soles of the boots made a crisp "crunching" sound, just like the sound when Yang Mingxi opened a letter last winter night.

Lu Jintang touched her chest, where the amulet she had just received was hidden. The satin embroidered with the word "Victory" was warmed by her body temperature.

Suddenly, there was a crisp sound of stones rolling in front of them. Everyone immediately pressed against the mountain wall, with crossbows ready to go - but then they saw two tits fluttering out of the bushes in fright, their tail feathers sweeping off a few grains of snow.

The sound of a clapper came from the sentry post on the top of the cliff, and it was already three o'clock in the morning.

Lu Jintang untied the rope around his waist and threw the iron hook into the crevice, sending out a few sparks.

He was the first to climb up. The rough stone wall rubbed his palms so hard that they hurt, but he remembered that Yang Mingxi always told him that he should use hand protection more often.

When the soles of his boots finally touched the flat ground at the top of the cliff, he lay in the grass and counted the torches in the enemy camp: seven piles in the southeast, five piles in the northwest, and a grain storage in the middle covered with green cloth, through which the "Ming" military flag was faintly visible.

"Chen Lin, take ten people and destroy the west watchtower."

He pulled out his dagger and cut open the bag of food, revealing the golden corn inside - just as the spy said, the enemy had stored half of the food here, and the real baggage should be in the cave on the north side.

His fingertips touched a hard object at the bottom of the cloth bag, which turned out to be a half-frozen wheat cake. He suddenly remembered that Yang Mingxi always stuffed sugar-steamed cheese into his marching bag, saying that it tasted sweet when chewed on cold nights.

The moment the flame was lit, the night wind suddenly changed direction.

Lu Jintang watched the flames, carrying the dry grass, rush toward the grain storage. His heart skipped a beat—something was wrong! He rushed over to stomp out the fire, but saw a faint blue glow under the green cloth, a sign that it had been soaked in tung oil!

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" He roared and pushed the soldiers away. The explosion created an air wave behind him, and the gravel scraped across his cheeks, leaving bloody marks.

When breaking out, arrows were shot from all directions.

Lu Jintang swung his sword to cut off the crossbow arrow shot at Chen Lin, but he felt his left shoulder sink - a triangular arrow pierced his breastplate.

Blood seeped through his shirt. He gritted his teeth and chopped down three enemy soldiers. Suddenly, he heard a familiar horn sound in the distance - it was his own reinforcements!

Under the moonlight, he saw Chen Lin holding a blood-stained military flag and shouting something, but he couldn't hear clearly. He only felt that his vision was becoming more and more blurred.

The last glance was of the torches that suddenly lit up at the foot of the mountain, which looked very much like the candlelight in front of Yang Mingxi's window.

Lu Jintang suddenly thought: "I am now in Cao's camp but my heart is with Han", and then fell asleep.