A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

Zhao Daxuan frowned upon hearing this. He looked at the old man with a puzzled expression, "Sir, may I ask your name? What do you mean by that?"

The old man sighed, shook his head, and said, "I am Qin Lide, the village chief of Wangbei Village. Over the years, Wangbei Village has been nothing more than a tool for the Zhenbei City Guard to eliminate dissidents, and also a hunting ground for the Tartars."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Daxuan raised an eyebrow and first turned to instruct Li Erlong.

"Erlong, let's take everyone to set up camp in the north!"

Li Erlong initially showed a worried expression, but seeing Zhao Daxuan's calm demeanor, she regained her composure.

He saluted and accepted the order, then waved his hand and said, "Brothers, follow me to set up camp in the north."

After Li Erlong led everyone away, Zhao Daxuan turned his head again to look at the village chief, Qin Lide.

"Village Chief Qin, I am Zhao Daxuan, the centurion of the stationed team. Please tell me in detail what you just said."

Qin Lide nodded and slowly said, "Since Wangbei Village has produced nothing and Zhenbei City has been unable to gain any benefits from us, Wangbei Village has essentially become a pawn abandoned by Zhenbei City."

"The Tartars also killed our young men during their winter hunts because there was nothing of value to be gained here. But since all the young men were killed, they've only been killing the city guards who come to garrison the area."

"Although the garrison troops sent to the city every year are hunted down by the Tartars, Zhenbei City still sends people over. Later, I learned that those sent over were all people who had offended certain high-ranking members of the city garrison. They were sent here simply to use the Tartars to get rid of their thorns in their side."

Qin Lide paused for a moment, then looked at Zhao Daxuan with sympathy, "Lord Zhao, have you offended anyone in the city guard?"

Zhao Daxuan frowned and thought about it seriously. On the surface, he had offended not only the Black Armor Camp but also the people behind Jubao Fang. Both sides were possible culprits.

As for whether Captain Chu Hanchuan is in cahoots with them, we can only find an opportunity to verify that after he returns.

He looked at Qin Lide and nodded with a smile.

"Zhao has indeed offended many people in the army, but I personally agreed to take on the task of guarding Wangbei Village. My men are strong and there is nothing to be afraid of."

Qin Lide opened his mouth upon hearing this, only to feel that Zhao Daxuan was overly confident.

He asked curiously, "Has Lord Zhao ever fought against the Tartars?"

"Not yet, but don't the Tartars also have two eyes and one mouth?"

Zhao Daxuan casually glanced around, smiled slightly, and didn't seem to care at all.

Qin Lide shook his head upon hearing this. Of all the teams and garrison units he had met, Zhao Daxuan was the most confident.

"This old man still advises Lord Zhao to be more vigilant and make better preparations. The Tartars rely on their iron cavalry to come and go like the wind; the previous garrison troops were all hunted down by them like kites."

Zhao Daxuan nodded seriously upon hearing this, "Of course, I will still make the necessary tactical preparations even if I underestimate it strategically."

Qin Lide breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this. Seeing that Zhao Daxuan was willing to listen to his advice, he hoped that Zhao Daxuan could live a few more days.

"By the way, Lord Zhao, there's one more thing to remind you. Based on past experience, now that you've arrived, the Tartars will probably send some scattered troops over in the next couple of days, so please be very careful."

"I understand, thank you for the reminder, Village Chief Qin." Zhao Daxuan clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute to Qin Lide.

Qin Lide simply smiled and waved his hand, "No need to be so polite, this old man won't bother you any longer."

After saying that, he turned around and went back to the fields to work.

Zhao Daxuan also walked north of the village and saw that Zhao Li Erlong and others had already set up tents for everyone to rest on a flat area and started cooking.

Seeing everyone busy at work, Zhao Daxuan didn't disturb them. Instead, he turned around and went into the tent that had been prepared for him. He reached out and took out ten boxes of cured meat stored in his personal space.

Then he called over Li Erlong, who was directing from outside, and pointed to the boxes on the ground, saying, "These will serve as meat for the time being. Also, take another thirty catties and send them to Village Chief Qin."

Li Erlong looked at the boxes on the ground with surprise. He hadn't seen anyone bring these boxes in just now.

Slightly bewildered, he scratched the back of his head, but still replied, "Yes! I'll send it over right away!"

He then summoned several soldiers, who moved the boxes out of the tent. He found a burlap sack, filled it with 30 jin of meat, and carried it towards Qin Lide's direction.

After everyone left the tent, Zhao Daxuan sat down to rest and think about the next steps.

But after a short while, a noisy cheer was heard outside the tent, followed by a report from the soldiers outside the tent.

"My lord, Village Chief Qin requests an audience!"

Zhao Daxuan was not surprised, and simply said, "Please let him in."

Qin Lide, a small and thin figure, lifted the tent flap and walked in, a look of gratitude on his face. He knelt down in front of Zhao Daxuan with a thud.

"Thank you very much, Lord Zhao, for the meat. On behalf of all the villagers, I thank you!"

Zhao Daxuan quickly stepped forward and helped him up. "It was nothing, Village Chief Qin, please don't be so polite. Please get up."

"You don't know, the people of Wangbei Village haven't tasted meat for who knows how long." Qin Lide slowly shook his head.

Zhao Daxuan smiled slightly, intentionally changing the subject.

"By the way, Village Chief Qin, I have another question. This area around Wangbei Village is deserted and unproductive. Why don't you move towards Zhenbei City?"

After hearing Zhao Daxuan's question, Qin Lide remained silent for a while.

Only then did he look up at the north with a touch of sadness, his lips trembling as he slowly opened his mouth.

"Lord Zhao, as you can see, our Wangbei Village is now only populated by the elderly, the weak, and the disabled. The reason we haven't left is because we all come from the old land to the north."

"Looking north, looking north, is because we want to look back at the place we came from, hoping that one day we can recover our lost territory and return as soon as possible."

"But ten years have passed, and now it seems that hope is getting slimmer and slimmer. We're getting old, and we're too lazy to keep running around."

Zhao Daxuan frowned. "Village Chief Qin, are you referring to the lost territory in the north, 'Youyun Beiting'?"

"That's right, all of us here fled from the six cities of Youyun Beiting back then."

Qin Yide, his face contorted with resentment, gritted his teeth and cursed, "According to those who have fled here over the past two years, only three of the six cities of Beiting remain. Of the original 300,000 people, I'm afraid less than 50,000 are left. Those damned Tartars, they'll die a horrible death sooner or later!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Daxuan felt a surge of anger. He recalled the humiliation of foreign invasion and the slaughter of his Han people in his previous life. Whenever he read about these historical events, he wished he could travel back to that era and kill the enemy.

Now that he's here, it's given him an opportunity.

"Sooner or later, I will make them pay for their crimes in blood!"

Zhao Daxuan spoke with absolute certainty.

Qin Yide pursed his lips, concealing the sadness on his face once more.

Over the years, he had long since resigned himself to his fate, but when he talked about it again, he inevitably felt angry.

"Lord Zhao, this old man will not keep you any longer. In fact, if you cannot withstand the pressure, you should leave as soon as possible to avoid losing your lives."

After saying goodbye, he left with his back hunched over.