After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

One month later, the North

Smoke filled the air, devastation was everywhere, ruins and empty houses were everywhere.

Jiang Xiaoqi never knew that silence could sometimes be so terrifying.

Ouyang Zheng's expression was solemn as he gripped Jiang Xiaoqi's hand tightly.

Peng Qing led a few people in a light and simple journey, braving the wind and snow, and finally arrived at the territory of Jiawu City in the northern border.

Li Haisheng shook the snow off his felt hat and turned to look at his junior brother who was riding with his master.

"Afei, can you still take it?"

Jiang Xiaoqi poked her head out a little from under her thick scarf: "I'm fine, Senior Brother. You've asked me so many times along the way, isn't it annoying?"

Jiang Xiaoqi was speechless. It was clearly agreed that he would come with his master and leave his senior brother to look after the house.

Little did I expect that my senior brother was also someone who was good at throwing tantrums and pestering our master to come along.

And the other three were all persuaded by their senior brother's big mouth to go north, and they followed him no matter what. This is a battlefield, not some fun place.

He was confident he could protect himself. Ah Niu was strong but lacked martial arts skills, Wen Bin's martial arts were mediocre, and only Li Mo could handle him somewhat.

They all followed me here so eagerly, it's really giving me a headache.

Sigh, when I have the chance in the future, I'll have to beg my master to let his three subordinates learn some skills together.

After traveling for another half day, the group arrived at the city gate.

The city gates of Jiawu were heavily guarded, and Peng Qing was only allowed to pass after showing his military token.

After settling his two disciples in the inn, Ouyang Zheng followed his junior brother Peng Qing and turned his horse around to enter our army's main tent.

When Mu Yuanqing, the commander-in-chief of the Great Zhou Dynasty, saw Ouyang Zheng, he clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Lord Ouyang, you've finally arrived!"

Mu Yuanqing also briefly worked with Ouyang Zheng for two years, but at that time Mu Yuanqing was just a minor deputy general in the border town.

He had little interaction with Ouyang Zheng, who held a second-rank position in the imperial court, but had only heard of his illustrious reputation and regretted not being able to work with him.

After the fall of the previous dynasty, Mu Yuanqing and a group of young generals were recruited by the new emperor, and now Mu Yuanqing is the leader of them.

Ouyang Zheng, who had received Mu Yuanqing's bow, did not presume to be arrogant and returned the gesture with clasped hands, behaving in the manner of a martial artist.

"Mourinho, what is the situation in the North right now?"

"The situation is not optimistic. The barbarians are cunning. They pretended to retreat a few days ago, but suddenly launched a fierce attack yesterday. Now the garrison inside the pass has less than 50,000 troops. I'm afraid they won't be able to hold out for much longer."

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Zheng frowned slightly. He looked at Mu Yuanqing and said in a deep voice, "General Mu, I have come here to help you defend the northern border."

Although I am past the age of fifty, the sword in my hand is still quite sharp!

Mu Yuanqing was deeply moved and cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "With Lord Ouyang's assistance, I am confident that I can defend the city!"

"This time, the barbarians are acting more cunningly than before. We must also take offense while defending. We cannot just sit and wait for the enemy to attack, or we will be too passive."

Ouyang Zheng had been listening to Peng Qing talk about the previous battles in defending the city, and had gained a preliminary understanding of the enemy's tactics.

"What plan does the old man have?"

"The army approached the gate, switched from defense to offense, and cut off the barbarian's food supply."

"Linmen Gorge?" Mu Yuanqing had a vague impression of this place, but it seemed that the enemy's supply route was not located here.

"The Linmen Gorge is narrow on both sides and wide in the middle, and its overall shape is like a date pit. If we can lure the enemy to change their route to Linmen Gorge, our army can set up ambushes in front and behind and surely defeat the enemy.

While weakening the enemy forces, we can also capture a batch of provisions and supplies to replenish our army's equipment.

"If this can be accomplished, it will be able to boost the morale of our troops. But the question is how to successfully get the enemy to change course?" Mu Yuanqing asked, puzzled.

"Make the empty appear real, and the real appear empty."

-

At the Jiawu City Inn, Wenbin lit several charcoal fires and placed them in three corners of his young master's room, making the room warm and cozy.

Looking at Wenbin bustling about, Jiang Xiaoqi thought of the heated kang beds unique to the North in later generations. Why don't they exist now?

Isn't it said that the wisdom of the ancients is boundless? Could it be that the person who invented the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) hadn't been born yet?

Should I develop this great invention ahead of time to benefit the people of the north? After all, it's something that can be solved with ordinary firewood, which is both warm and economical.

This charcoal is something only the rich can afford, but the rich are always just a small minority; the poor are the largest group.

Seeing that his young master had been staring blankly at the charcoal brazier for a while, Li Mo moved closer.

"What are you thinking about, young master?"

"I'm thinking about how to keep the poor from freezing..."

Jiang Xiaoqi answered casually, unaware of why Li Mo paused for a moment.

"To keep the poor from freezing?"

Li Mo knew that the Jiang family was quite wealthy when they bought him; they were landlords and gentry, and their cultural background was comparable to that of some scholarly families.

The young master, while not exactly raised in luxury, had never experienced hunger or cold, clearly belonging to the wealthy class.

What does the freezing cold of the poor have to do with the rich?

But his young master is now staring at a pot of charcoal fire, actually seriously considering this problem that isn't even a problem.

Jiang Xiaoqi snapped out of her daze and saw Li Mo standing frozen in front of her. She assumed she had said something wrong while she was daydreaming.

Shaking his head, which was still thawed from the cold, he tried to explain, but Li Mo said with a firm look in his eyes, "Young Master has the world in his heart, which is admirable."

"Huh? Li Mo, what's wrong with you...?" What makes you say that?

Without waiting for Jiang Xiaoqi to say anything more, Li Mo got up and opened the window of the room a crack to prevent his young master from getting carbon monoxide poisoning.

If something were to happen to his young master, wouldn't the Great Zhou Dynasty lose a capable and virtuous official?

The north wind howled outside the window, blowing the snow off the eaves again, making the streets seem as if they were covered with a fresh layer of snow.

The wind and snow were swirling, and there were hardly any pedestrians or vendors on the streets.

"Master, it's time to eat!"

Ah Niu carried two large food boxes and delivered the food to the room. Wenbin went next door to call Li Haisheng over to have dinner together.

The inn has few rooms, so only two are open, one large and one small.

The older one was squeezed in by Jiang Xiaoqi and his three servants, while the younger one was occupied by Ouyang Zheng and his apprentice.

Ouyang Zheng did not return until 9 PM. Li Haisheng had not slept well until his master returned. He then prepared hot water for his master to wash up before going to sleep.

Ouyang Zheng should have stayed in the main tent of the military camp, but he was worried about his two apprentices and was afraid that they would go looking for him rashly, so he came back to give them some instructions.

The next morning, the three of them, master and disciples, stared at each other, their eyes meeting.

"The battlefield is not child's play. Master did not know that the Northern Territory was more dangerous than imagined. He regretted bringing you out."

"Listen to me, just stay here in Jiawu City and wait for Master to return, okay?"

“Master, a man’s word is his bond!” Li Haisheng stood up, his resolve unwavering.

“Master, a person without integrity cannot stand!” Jiang Xiaoqi added.

Well, they all started lecturing their master one by one.

Ouyang Zheng sighed, wondering whether the older ones had corrupted the younger ones, or the younger ones had influenced the older ones.