A veteran of the frontier army, after marrying a wife, fought his way through the northern border.

The military camp had 300 soldiers, more than 200 auxiliary soldiers, and 110 female relatives.

Sixty percent of the women in the family are engaged in laundry and cooking.

Two-thirds of the men died in battle, from disease, or from freezing, and became playthings for officers.

In the harsh winter on the border, the living conditions in the auxiliary troops' camp are the worst.

Each person was rationed only one and a half pounds of millet per day.

There was only enough food for half a person to eat, and many auxiliary soldiers and women worked on an empty stomach.

Only about eighty of the women survived the three months of winter.

"You set up your tent there, and once you're all packed up, head to the military post early tomorrow morning. There's a mission to be assigned."

Wang the Scarface pointed to an open space at the far north and said.

"Li Ergou, come here for a moment."

A thin auxiliary soldier came up to Wang Scarface.

"This kid will be your errand boy from now on."

Wang Scarface pointed at Li Ergou and said to Luo Yunxiao.

"Li Ergou, this is the new squad leader Luo Yunxiao. From now on, you will be under his command."

"Yes, squad leader."

Wang Scarface did not do this out of kindness, but rather because he gave Li Ergou to Luo Yunxiao.

Because Li Ergou was too young and the weakest soldier in terms of physical strength among this batch of auxiliary soldiers.

This kind of weakling is perfect for Luo Yunxiao.

"Hello, Loshman!"

Li Ergou bowed humbly in greeting.

Luo Yunxiao nodded, realizing that Li Ergou was too weak.

He was short, at most seventeen years old, and his limbs were as thin as sticks.

It looks like it could be blown over by a gust of wind.

"You were right, the living conditions in the auxiliary troops camp are terrible."

Let's build our own warm shelter.

Luo Yunxiao said to Qin Hongxiu.

"It's already pretty good; at least it lets us live together."

Qin Hongxiu said with satisfaction.

"Li Ergou, do you know where I can find some tree branches?"

"Squad leader, please come with me."

The two arrived at the kitchen, where there were piles of dry grass and firewood.

The cook saw Luo Yunxiao stealing firewood and shouted, "How dare you! Which battalion are you from? This hay and timber are limited; you're not allowed to use them for personal purposes!"

Luo Yunxiao flashed his squad leader badge: "I am the newly arrived squad leader Luo Yunxiao. I'm here to set up a tent with some firewood."

The squad leader paused for a moment when he saw the badge.

His face instantly changed to a forced smile: "So it's you, Section Chief. Please, make yourself at home."

In front of these cooks, the platoon leader was just a junior officer, and they had to give him face.

Su Yunshang and her sister, along with Qin Hongxiu, removed the wool felt from the donkey cart.

Luo Yunxiao was strong; he easily carried 180 jin of firewood tied with rope on his shoulder.

The squad leader stared, grinning, but dared not say anything.

Li Ergou was thin and only carried less than 30 pounds.

"Commander Luo is really amazing. He carries so much firewood as if it's nothing."

Li Ergou praised repeatedly.

"You're too weak. Your primary problem is to eat your fill and survive."

Luo Yunxiao gave instructions.

The two returned to the camp and began building a warm shelter.

To build a warm house, the first step is to create a core framework shaped like umbrella ribs.

Luo Yunxiao inserted six three-zhang-long tree branches radially into the ground, forming a circle.

The tops are crossed and gathered together, then secured with ropes.

Then take ten thinner branches and wrap them around the core framework, twice at the top and twice at the bottom.

Tie it with rope to make the support more stable.

Finally, everyone pieced together the prepared sheepskin felt and covered it from the top of the frame downwards.

The edges were sewn together with rope.

Make sure the entire skeleton is covered, with the sheepskin felt hem hanging down to the ground.

Qin Hongxiu used stones to weigh down the hem of the felt to prevent it from being blown over by the strong wind.

A gap one zhang wide was left on the south side to serve as a door.

Su Yunshang took a piece of sheepskin felt to use as a door curtain.

Leave a small opening of about half a foot at the top inside as a ventilation opening, which can also be used to vent smoke if a fire is lit.

Su Yushang was skillful and built a simple three-tiered storage rack out of tree branches to store dry food and clothing.

It took the five people about an hour to finish building a warm hut that was 3.5 meters in diameter and 2.5 meters high.

Of the fifteen sheepskin felts, twelve were used.

As dusk fell, Su Yunshang lit an oil lamp inside the warm hut.

A cold wind was blowing outside, making the tents in the camp rustle loudly.

You can faintly hear some sick auxiliary soldiers coughing violently inside their tents.

However, Luo Yunxiao's warm house was very sturdy and warm, and he could not feel the cold wind outside at all.

At this time, it was routine drill time, and the auxiliary soldiers who had dug trenches returned to camp.

Upon seeing the warm shelter built by Luo Yunxiao, the women all gathered around to see what was so special about it.

They whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with envy and jealousy.

Li Ergou sat next to Luo Yunxiao.

She looked at him with bright, sparkling eyes: "Squad leader, this tent of yours is really warm."

But his eyes immediately dimmed.

"If I had a tent like that, my brother wouldn't have frozen to death."

"What, have a lot of auxiliary soldiers frozen to death here?"

Luo Yunxiao asked.

"Many. I've been here for a month and I've already seen eight people carried away, including my childhood friend."

The women suffer the most here. Wang Scarface and Du Bo Wang Kui are scoundrels.

Li Ergou glanced around and whispered, "They treat the women of fallen auxiliary soldiers as their playthings."

There's simply not enough to eat here; the food consists of moldy millet and wild vegetables.

"Hang in there, once I've earned some military merit, I'll make sure you're well-fed every meal."

Luo Yunxiao started making empty promises.

"Really? Uncle Luo... Sergeant, I'll follow you wholeheartedly from now on!"

"Um...could I have a sheepskin felt blanket? It's so cold in the communal sleeping area at night."

Li Ergou took out one hundred coins from his pocket and handed them to Luo Yunxiao.

"That's all I have."

The sheepskin felt that Luo Yunxiao bought was 4 by 6 feet (1.3 x 2 meters), about one finger thick, and was moisture-proof and warm.

The original price was 300 coins per piece.

However, seeing Li Ergou's pitiful appearance, Luo Yunxiao couldn't bear to let him buy it at the original price, so he asked Qin Hongxiu to get him a ticket instead.

Li Ergou was extremely grateful: "Thank you, platoon leader! I'm in the next tent, just call me if you need anything!"

Having said that, he happily took the sheepskin felt and left.

By then it was already dark.

After a busy day, Luo Yunxiao was already starving.

So he piled up stones to build a stone stove, and Su Yunshang took out an iron pot, cooked a pot of millet porridge, and added a few pieces of Solomon's seal and yam.

Before long, the rich aroma of firewood-cooked rice wafted out of the pot.

This is the unique fragrance of Polygonatum.

Everyone ate the prepared dry rations, dried meat, and a bowl of rice porridge, enjoying the delicious aroma.

Dry food can fill your stomach, but nothing beats a bowl of hot porridge.

"Burp, after all that work, I'm finally full."

Su Yushang let out a long breath.

"Fortunately, my husband was successful in suppressing the bandits, otherwise we would have had to live in a drafty dormitory, which is no place for a human to live."

Su Yunshang felt a little scared.

She was afraid that Luo Yunxiao would be mistreated in the military camp.

She was even more afraid that she and her two sisters would be treated like playthings by some officials, just like those criminal women.

"Are you all full? There's still a lot of wood left. Let's make two more beds before we go to sleep."

It's so cold, sleeping on the floor is no good.

Luo Yunxiao got up, picked up a machete, and began chopping down tree stumps to make bed legs.

Suddenly, a gruff voice rang out from outside the warm shelter: "What are you all doing gathered here? Go back to your tents!"

Then the curtain of the warm room was lifted, a gust of cold wind blew in, and the flame of the oil lamp began to flicker violently.

A tall figure appeared at the doorway.

"Ha! That old guy's pretty capable, he even built himself a shack."

This man is Wang Kui, a military officer, and the deputy to Zhao Xiao, the squad leader.

He had just led the auxiliary soldiers back to camp after training and saw them all gathered together, so he came over to inspect them.

Only then did they see the warm hut that Luo Yunxiao had built.

Standing next to Wang Kui was Squad Leader Wang Scarface.

The two men scanned the furnishings in the warm hut.

His eyes revealed a look of envy.

The Su Yunshang sisters hid behind Luo Yunxiao and Qin Hongxiu, their eyes filled with fear.

This Wang Kui was wearing armor, was slightly overweight, and was around thirty-five years old.

His face was full of fat, and he had a mustache.

He had a greedy and lustful appearance.

A pair of sly eyes darted around, staring intently at the Su sisters behind Qin Hongxiu and Luo Yunxiao.

"Luo Yunxiao, this is Earl Wangdu."

Wang the Scarface explained.

"Your subordinate has met with Lord Wang Du. May I ask what advice Your Excellency may offer?"

His position in the border army was second only to the squad leader Zhao Xiao, and he commanded fifty men.

Luo Yunxiao was under his command.

Wang Kui crossed his arms, stroked his chin, and paced back and forth.

Even if you are a squad leader personally appointed by the military commander, you are still under my command.

Did you get my permission to do all these fancy things in the military camp?

Do you want to show off your wealth, or do you want to hide your beautiful wife in the shack so the brothers can't see her?

I think your three wives are quite nice. Tell the two behind you to come over here.

"Your warm shelter will be confiscated; you'll only be fit to live in a tent!"

Wang Kui stared intently at Luo Yunxiao, his eyes filled with malice, and began issuing orders.