Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Yunzhou Water Defense Camp, located between Jiacun and Gaoyang County, is the northernmost naval garrison camp closest to the Great Wall in the Celestial Empire.

Although the battalion-level units have 3,000 people, the Yunzhou Water Defense Battalion has been severely withholding military pay, and many soldiers are suffering. Some die, some escape. Now there are no more than 2,000 soldiers in the battalion that can be trained.

Han Ye, a sixth-rank garrison captain, is an old subordinate of Huangfu Changshui. He is nearly fifty years old but has no children.

He was kind by nature, but because he was unable to have children, he became cruel and addicted to alcohol. He married several wives and concubines, all of whom were sexually abused to death by him.

Not receiving the punishment he deserved, he became more and more violent. At first, he only raped the beautiful wives and daughters of his subordinates, but later he abducted women and assaulted them in the streets. He was truly a heinous criminal.

Gao Fei was one of the victims.

……

In Jia Village.

This was the second day since Zhang Jingwei arrived in Jia Village. He had been busy until late last night to recultivate all the land. The soldiers and horses were so tired that their legs were trembling.

After he returned to the village and had a good sleep, he was awakened by Beta who was following him.

Beta reported to him that a group of people were approaching.

Zhang Jingwei asked, "Have you informed Captain Gao?"

"I've informed you. Lord Gao is already on guard duty at the village entrance."

After washing his face hurriedly, Zhang Jingwei immediately rushed to the village entrance.

When he arrived at the village entrance, he saw nothing. Even if he heard someone calling him, he didn't know where that person was hiding.

Zhang Jingwei complained in his heart: This secret sentry is pretty good, it's so dark that even his own people can't see it.

Gao Fei suddenly emerged from the bushes in front of him.

“Here…here.”

It appears that the setting of being invisible in the grass has appeared!

Zhang Jingwei crawled into the grass and looked ahead.

There was indeed a group of people approaching this way, and there seemed to be about one or two hundred people. At this speed, they would reach the village entrance in less than an hour.

"Collect!" Gao Fei only said one word to Beta.

Beta understood what he meant, ran to the village quickly, took out a small gong, and rode his horse through the streets.

While knocking, he shouted "All troops muster!"

There were no basic officers such as sergeants and squad leaders in the military system of the Celestial Empire. In order to better manage basic soldiers and assemble the army faster, military officials such as "flag officers" were set up under the captains.

The flag officer is not an official, but a messenger in the military camp. His job is to assemble the soldiers in the camp and issue the general's orders.

Due to the importance of their work, they are often shot by the enemy, so they are the only type of soldiers in ordinary troops who wear armor, except for officers.

Generally, each officer will be equipped with a large flag officer called the "general flag" and several small flag officers called "small flags".

……

After a while, more than 200 people gathered at the entrance of the village.

The cavalry stood in the front row with their horses, followed by the interspersed columns of archers and infantry.

Zhang Jingwei was puzzled. He had never seen such order and seriousness when he was in the garrison camp.

When they saw Gao Fei coming over, the soldiers stood up straighter.

It seems that Captain Gao is very strict in his discipline.

……

The troops outside the village were getting closer and closer.

The secret sentry who was stalking them felt more and more that something was wrong.

"Everyone, wear armor! And it's Rong soldiers' plate and chain mail! Gouwazi, you're quick on your feet, go and inform Captain Gao!"

An old soldier recognized the style of the armor at a glance. The armor of the Celestial Empire was all plate armor, and even if there was chain mail, it was soft armor attached to the inside.

The Rong people's iron armor had strong defensive capabilities but was very heavy, so their craftsmen adopted the unique flexibility and lightness of the chain mail of the Western Hu people and combined it with their own iron armor to make plate chain armor.

This manufacturing method not only saves iron materials, but also reduces the weight of armored soldiers and provides them with greater mobility.

Afterwards, the armor-wearing rate of the Rong people became higher and higher, and relying on the absolute advantage of the entire army being armored, they unified the entire grassland.

The northern part of the Celestial Empire, the tribes south of the desert, the Hu states in the western regions, and Goryeo in the northeast were all invaded by the Rong people.

……

"Report! Sir, an unknown force is about to arrive. They are all infantry armor. Uncle Tian said they are military armor!"

Zhang Jingwei's heart sank. How could Rong Bing appear here? He turned to look at Gao Fei, only to see that Gao Fei's expression was also very solemn.

Gao Fei looked in the direction of the Great Wall Pass.

"No...no...no smoke...water..."

Beta said, "There's no signal fire on the beacon tower. It's the soldiers from the water defense camp!"

Zhang Jingwei was shocked when he heard this. How could the Water Defense Battalion become a military unit? Could it be that Han Ye had rebelled?

He quickly looked at Gao Fei, whose face was terribly gloomy.

"Alert!" Gao Fei ordered loudly.

The soldiers raised their weapons and watched the approaching enemy nervously.

Gouwazi took a deep breath. He knew that this battle might be a life-or-death battle.

But he was not afraid at all, and had only one belief in his heart - to defend Jia Village!

He gripped the steel knife tightly in his hand, ready for the upcoming battle...

The infantrymen's armor clanked.

The team of more than one hundred people had more than a dozen leaders on horseback.

The leading general rode a tall warhorse with a sad look in his eyes.

"Alas, I was beaten by Old Dog Han again yesterday. When will this end?"

The soldier next to him said angrily, "Brother! Why not kill this old thief and go to the frontier? This kind of court is not worthy of our loyalty!"

"Yes, big brother, the brothers' rice is not enough to eat, how much of your salary can help them?"

"As long as Big Brother gives the order, I'll take my axe and chop Nas to pieces!"

The leading general, looking troubled, advised, "Defection! Death penalty for nine generations of your clan! Have you thought about your family?"

"That old man Han, rape and robbery aren't capital crimes. He should have been executed the day he raped my sister-in-law! You...sigh..."

"If General Huangfu hadn't favored his old subordinates, we wouldn't have ended up like this..."

The leading general remained silent throughout the entire process, his face dark. When they were almost at the village entrance, he reminded his men, "We're almost there! Keep quiet! ... Hmm? Are there any defenders?"

When the two armies met, Gao Fei and the general were both surprised. The man who came was someone he knew, but he couldn't remember his name for a long time.

"Yi...Yi, Yi Xiao...Qi?"

The commander of the Water Defense Battalion quickly dismounted and ran to Gao Fei.

"Boss Gao Qian? It's really you! If you hadn't stuttered, I wouldn't have dared to recognize you!"

Qianzong? Zhang Jingwei was puzzled.

Could it be that Gao Fu was in a high position before?

Gao Fei took the water defense battalion officer named Yi and introduced Zhang Jingwei.

Zhang Jingwei couldn't wait for Gao Fei to introduce himself stutteringly.

"My name is Zhang Jingwei, son-in-law of the Northern Marquis. I'm here... um... to collect the essence of life!"

Although he was an acquaintance of Gao Fei, Zhang Jingwei did not dare to tell him that he was here to investigate a smuggling case and happened to find it at the Water Defense Battalion.

The officer saluted and said, "General Yi Feiyu, I greet you, my dear brother-in-law... Why do you bring troops with you, my dear brother-in-law?"

Zhang Jingwei replied, "I heard that Gaoyang County is not peaceful, so my Taishan sent a garrison battalion to protect me!"

He emphasized the garrison battalion in particular, hoping to intimidate him. Zhang Jingwei thought to himself: Are you scared? I can mobilize the entire garrison battalion!