Three days later, in the dense forest of Yihewu...

  "It's getting colder and colder, hiding in this broken forest for three days blowing cold wind. When I get back, I must have a good drink to dispel the chill!" Sun Biao and several others hid in a wooden shed built with chopped wood, constantly putting their hands on the fire to warm up. Wu Zhenying and Chu Zijun beside him were also shivering with cold, fortunately, the down jacket and sleeping bag on their bodies were thick enough, otherwise they would have frozen out of illness on this cold day.

  "Calculating the days, the bandits should be arriving soon. I believe that by tomorrow or the day after tomorrow at the latest, we can have a good fight with them!"

  Chu Zijun said, "Thanks to the general's kindness, I, Zijun, with my humble background as a new soldier, have been given the opportunity to rise to the position of Bai Zhang. Every day, I am not too afraid, but only by killing more bandits on the battlefield can I repay the general's kindness."

  Sun Biao laughed and said, "Zi Jun, you can't hear this flattering general."

  Chu Zijun hastily said: "Sun Baichang, you are joking. Every word I say comes from the heart and is absolutely true. General, you have always disliked flattery and sycophancy, so I can only pour out my thoughts to all of you..."

  Wu Zhenying nodded and said, "Zi Jun's words have touched my heart. General has always been kind to us, the only way to repay his kindness is to fight bravely, kill enemies and make great achievements..."

  Sun Biao listened and thought to himself, "It seems that reading books and recognizing characters is indeed useful. Look at how others speak so eloquently, their flattery is more pleasant than my own. It appears I need to work harder, otherwise not only will I not be able to climb higher, but even this position of mine won't be secure." He then smiled and said: "You two are good at flattering each other, don't always mock me behind my back. Speaking of which, Zi Jun, you and Xu Hui that kid in our Jingwei Camp are known as the 'Confucian Generals' due to your dignified appearance, why haven't you thought about finding a wife?"

  Chu Zijun was taken aback and said, "Of course, I wouldn't dare compare myself to Xu Qi's overall situation, but as the saying goes, a man should achieve something in this world. At that time, why worry about not having a wife?"

  Sun Biao shook his head and said, "No, no, I've also read some books these past few days. As the saying goes, 'establish a family and start a career', one should establish a family first before starting a career. Without even having a wife, what's the point of talking about achieving great things?"

  Wu Zhenying beside him also nodded in agreement: "Sun Baichang said it well, Zijun, you're not young anymore, and you should start a family. The treatment of soldiers with families in the Imperial Guard is extremely good, let alone I heard that in the future, the Imperial Guard will expand further, and those who want to climb up must have a family."

  "Huh?" Sun Biao's interest was piqued, "Old Wu, who told you that?"

  Wu Zhenying smiled with a hint of playfulness and said, "Of course it's Mr. Qin and his people, you two just mind your own business."

  Chu Zijun and Sun Biao were both stunned, Chu Zijun was okay, with his looks and gradually increasing family wealth, he wouldn't have to worry about finding a beautiful wife. But Sun Biao was different, his appearance wasn't ugly, but it couldn't be considered handsome either, and his rough temper wasn't good either, who would look up to him?

  "It's all over, I'm done for this lifetime. With a face like mine, which girl would look at me? General, you're really making things difficult for me..." Sun Biao sighed and shook his head in self-mockery.

  "Who said that?" Just then, Chen Qing and Guo Tao pushed open the windscreen hanging at the entrance of the wooden shed and walked in, patting their armor to shake off the snowflakes on their bodies.

  "We've met Generals Chen and Guo." The three immediately stood up, clasped their fists and exchanged greetings.

  "Never mind, never mind, whose wine is this? I'll drink a mouthful first, it's freezing to death, this weather is really unbearable." Guo Tao, wearing gloves, picked up the charred bamboo cup hanging above the fire and drank a mouthful without caring about burning his mouth. Suddenly, he felt warmth all over his body, then handed it to Chen Qing, who also took a drink, and sat down with everyone else.

  "Sun Biao, you're wrong," said Guo Tao. "Since the establishment of our Jingwei Camp, haven't you heard that many girls' families want to marry their daughters off to our soldiers? Just a few days ago, after the drill was over, my gate was crowded with matchmakers, and I didn't know how to deal with them."

  "It's the same." Chen Qing interjected, "In my camp, it's also like this. Every day, dozens of pairs wait at my quarters' entrance to ask for matchmaking, I don't know how to respond. You guys say that as a military officer, I'm clueless about these things and have almost become a matchmaker myself. When asked what the general would do, guess what? The general told us to handle it ourselves and not bother him with such trivial matters from now on."

  "Mother, this is a small matter?" Sun Biao's eyes suddenly lit up with excitement, "How come I didn't get to experience this good thing?!" Sun Biao was already twenty-seven years old, and even in Liu Ce's time, most people were already married, and some had children who could help with household chores. He also wanted to marry a wife to settle down, carry on the family line, and have something to report to his ancestors.

  Guo Tao glanced at him and continued: "As long as you're good to your own woman, how can you not find a daughter-in-law? A man's appearance is not important, what's important is that he has the ability to take responsibility. This is what General Wan taught us in person when we were in Wanjiacun. Don't worry, Old Sun, just work hard and it won't be a problem for you to marry three or four wives in the future."

  "Haha, look what you said, it's like I'm in a hurry." Sun Biao rubbed his hands and laughed. The atmosphere inside the shed became lively, filled with hope for the future.

  ……

  "Su Wenchang, where has the bandit army gone?" In another wooden shed, Liu Ce handed Su Wenchang a cup of hot water, indicating that he should drink it before speaking.

  Su Wenchan drank the hot water and said, "Less than 50 miles, after today it will be less than 30 miles. According to my estimate, we will arrive at Yihekou early tomorrow morning."

  "Alright, send someone to scout out where Xu Hui and his men are now." Seeing the tense situation, Liu Ce asked about the location of Xu Hui's troops, in order to make arrangements early.

  "It's all right," said Su Wenchuan, "I've already scouted ahead and there's no movement within a hundred miles. I estimate that it will take at least another day and a half to arrive, the earliest being the day after tomorrow afternoon."

  "You've done a great job." Liu Ce found that Su Wenchuan was meticulous in his thinking, calm and composed in the face of changes, and could gather intelligence ahead of time. He thought to himself that Su was a talented individual, so he said: "After this battle is over, I plan to establish a scouting team. Are you willing to lead it?"

  "Thank you, General, for cultivating me. I will not die even if I am beheaded a thousand times!" Su Wenguang's eyes flashed with excitement, his heart filled with wild joy, as he knelt down on one knee and clasped his fists.

  "Get up! After forming the vanguard team, you must train well. This team of yours is the eyes and ears of my Imperial Guard, don't be careless, understand?"

  "Please be at ease, General! After organizing the vanguard battalion, I will strictly discipline them and make great contributions to our elite guard regiment!"

  "Alright, go down now. After this battle is over, you can hand over to General Han Qi. I will take care of the rest of the arrangements."

  Liu Ce watched as Su Wenchan walked out of the shed with an excited expression, and silently sighed: The entire Jingwei Camp has already struggled to survive from the warm and full line, gradually having ambitions. However, this is good, having ambitions gives them motivation, allowing the Jingwei Camp to be more vibrant and progressive.

  Just then, Qin Mo and Xue Peng pulled open the windscreen and walked in. Seeing Liu Ce, Qin Mo spoke up, "General, I just saw Su Wenchuan leave with a pleased expression. Is there something good happening?"

  Liu Ce waved his hand, indicating that they should sit down and talk: "Nothing, just a few words of encouragement, how's everything been taken care of?"

  Xue Peng stood up and bowed his fist, saying: "Thank you, brave warrior, for the golden wound medicine and the cotton bag. It has allowed my soldiers to avoid suffering from pain and cold. I, Xue Peng, will remember this kindness of yours." Because Liu Ce's troops were a volunteer army and had not been recognized by the imperial court, he had been addressing him as "brave warrior" for several days.

  "Don't thank me." Liu Ce sat down with a bad attitude, "If you want to thank someone, thank Mr. Qin more. I'm not some kind of good man or faithful woman. If it weren't for Mr. Qin's face, I wouldn't even bother with you guys."

  Xue Peng was choked with a sentence, his face twitched several times, thinking that this kid is too much, but he couldn't think of a word to describe the situation, if there had to be one, it would be "really asking for a beating".

  "If it weren't for your kindness and righteousness, General, I, Qin Mo, wouldn't even have a shred of dignity left..."

  Liu Ce shook his head and said, "Mr. Qin, don't praise me anymore, what's the matter this time?"

  Qin Mo and Xue Peng exchanged a glance, and slowly said: "Just now I had a brief conversation with Su Wenchuan, the bandits have already arrived fifty miles away?"

  Liu Zhan said, "That's right, we can reach Yihetou in just two days. The battle is about to begin."

  Qin Mo took a step forward and continued, "It seems that before the war began, Yang Kai's and Xu Hui's troops would not have been able to arrive here in time. I have an impertinent request, I hope General will consider it."

  "Please proceed, sir."

  Qin Mo looked at Xue Peng again, and saw that his eyes were full of eager gaze. So he plucked up the courage to say: "Mo was thinking, since there are so many bandits, why not return General Xue and his cavalrymen's horses and weapons to them, so they can join forces with us to fight against the enemy? Every single one of General Xue's men is a seasoned veteran, having more of their help would increase our chances of winning."

  Liu Ce heard this, stood up and began to ponder. Judging from the performance of Xue Peng's troops since they were captured that day, they were indeed considered elite. Even in such a state of exhaustion, they could still calmly form an array and respond to battle. Moreover, Qin Mo had been with him for several months and he was sure that there would be no mistakes. However, the army under Xue Peng's command was not part of the same system as his own, and their way of fighting was vastly different from that of the Imperial Guard. They were still stuck in the realm of individual bravery, would they cause any unexpected changes to the battle situation?

  Seeing Liu Ce pacing back and forth, Xue Peng's face was filled with a desire to speak but hesitated. Repaying kindness is his principle of doing things, let alone he had understood some achievements of the Jingwei Camp in these days with Qin Mo, and he also wanted to see what made this army different from others.

  "Never mind." After some deliberation, Liu Ce said to Xue Peng, "Mr. Qin has already said so, how can I refute him? You'll go with Mr. Qin later, won't you? The version of 'Yi Jie Feng Huo Lu' you're reading now only has half a chapter on the 57th military unit. To read the full version, please search for it on Baidu: () and then search again for 'Yi Jie Feng Huo Lu'.