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

"The soldiers are willing to give us food; you are good people, not human traffickers."

Liu Qinghe shook her head and said seriously.

"Young lady, you have good taste. We're definitely not bad people."

Qin Hongxiu nodded and smiled.

"Get in the car and come with me. We can talk on the way."

Luo Yunxiao waved his hand, signaling the two to get into the car.

He could tell that the two siblings were not stupid.

As long as they are fed, with a little training, they can become promising talents.

Liu Honghe smiled broadly, helped the girl into the car, and sat down with Li Ergou.

Fifteen minutes later, the group arrived at the main beacon tower.

The beacon tower is five zhang high and has three levels.

The platform is built on a huge rock that is five zhang high.

Luo Yunxiao noticed that this place was a natural choke point between two mountains.

To the east is the main mountain range of Bailang Mountain, which is steep and precipitous, and it is difficult for ordinary people to climb up.

To the west are low hills, with only a narrow path that allows cavalry to pass.

The passage in the middle is twenty zhang wide.

The beacon tower was built on the highest point on the northwest side.

"Who goes there?"

Someone was speaking through the lookout window of the beacon tower.

"I am Luo Yunxiao, the newly arrived squad leader."

They were ordered to guard the beacon tower.

This is my letter of appointment.

Luo Yunxiao held up the certificate.

The man looked down at the carriage for a while before ordering the gate to be opened and the carriage to come in.

Only then did Liu Honghe and his sister realize that Luo Yunxiao was a platoon leader in the border army, and they couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

Beneath the beacon tower.

Four soldiers, dressed in worn-out military jackets, stood in a row in front of Luo Yunxiao.

Another female relative was a young convict transferred from the auxiliary military camp to do laundry, cook, and feed the horses.

After the introductions, Luo Yunxiao learned that among the four people, the tall and arrogant one was named Li Dakai.

The man with a wooden expression and an honest, kind face was called Sun Tieshou.

He was burly, dark-skinned, and looked rather simple-minded; his name was Zhou Han Niu.

The lean and capable-looking one is called Wang Shitou.

The group of people looked at Luo Yunxiao and Qin Hongxiu and Li Ergou behind him with disdain.

Li Dakai looked at Luo Yunxiao with his arms crossed and said, "I heard you became a squad leader because you were recommended by the county magistrate. With your delicate skin, what skills do you have?"

He even brought a woman with him. Tsk tsk, this isn't a place for luxury.

Li Dakai was the oldest of the four.

He's been guarding this position for three years; he's a seasoned veteran.

Since the original squad leader died in battle, he has been the leader of the four men.

The group of men were naturally resentful of the sudden appointment of a squad leader.

Especially Li Dakai.

"Exactly! I heard you killed Wang Tu of the Beggar Gang and single-handedly wiped out more than thirty people. I just don't believe it!"

Wang Shitou looked mocking, and the other two shook their heads in agreement.

"Judging from your expressions, you seem quite resentful."

Luo Yunxiao stood with his hands behind his back, smiling as he looked at the four of them, not angry at all.

"Of course I'm not convinced. You don't know anything, how can you be a section chief?"

How about this, let's have a match. If you can beat me, I'll admit defeat.

If you lose, leave the grain behind, and you can all go back!

Li Dakai rolled up his sleeves, showing no politeness whatsoever.

Luo Yunxiao remained calm and composed, standing still.

"good!

One more thing: you lost, so from now on you have to call me "squad leader" whenever you see me.

You can use your fists, feet, or weapons, or all four of you can come at me together.

Upon hearing this, Li Dakai and the other three grinned and sneered, as if they were watching a joke.

The four of them were soldiers selected from the border troops to guard the main beacon tower.

They all possessed the cultivation levels of early and mid-stage warriors.

Li Dakai felt it was hard to say whether they could defeat the fierce Tartars.

But taking down a squad leader who rose to power through connections is a piece of cake.

"You're asking for it!"

Li Dakai rushed towards Luo Yunxiao in one stride, spreading his arms to grab her around the waist and throw her down.

Luo Yunxiao dodged to the side, his right hand gripping the elbow joint like an iron hoop.

Press down on Li Dakai's shoulder with your left hand.

Li Dakai felt a sharp pain in his arm and cried out.

My lower body felt unsteady, and I felt a tremendous force pressing down on my shoulders.

He fell to his knees with a thud, his knees aching, raising a cloud of dust.

Seeing that Li Dakai was at a disadvantage, Sun Tieshou quietly circled around behind Luo Yunxiao, intending to put his throat in hers.

He moved lightly and made no sound.

Luo Yunxiao did not turn around, but a slight smile appeared on his lips.

He first kicked Li Dakai away, then swiftly spun around and kicked him from behind.

With a single Dragon Tail Kick, he struck Sun Tieshou in the stomach, knocking him to the ground.

Luo Yunxiao has a talent called Scout Intuition, which allows him to sense danger within a radius of 100 feet.

Luo Yunxiao could clearly see the actions of the people around him.

Zhou Han Niu's face turned ashen. With a loud roar, he slammed his fist, as big as a sand bowl, towards Luo Yunxiao.

Instead of retreating, Luo Yunxiao advanced, ducking to avoid the force of the punch.

Immediately afterwards, an uppercut landed on Zhou Hanniu's jaw!

Bang!

Zhou Hanniu felt his mind go blank, saw stars, and fell backward.

Wang Shitou was alarmed when he saw Luo Yunxiao defeat three of his companions in the blink of an eye.

He grabbed an iron rod and swung it horizontally. The blow was powerful and heavy, and the iron rod whistled as it swung towards Luo Yunxiao's forehead.

Luo Yunxiao drew his short sword from his waist and used the back of the blade to parry the iron rod, sending sparks flying.

Using the momentum to spin around, the blade pressed against Wang Shitou's throat without hesitation.

"If you were a Tartar, you would be dead by now."

Wang Shitou remained in the position of holding the stick with both hands, not daring to move an inch.

It's not that these four people are bad; it's just that Luo Yunxiao is too strong and too fast.

"You win."

Wang Shitou's throat bobbed, and he threw away the iron rod.

Li Dakai stood up with a hunched back and a shameful expression.

Chong Luoyunxiao gave a thumbs up: "Chief Luo, you're awesome."

The four men called him "Chief Luo" one after another, showing their complete respect for Luo Yunxiao.

"Commander Losh is really amazing!"

Liu Honghe and his sister clapped their hands excitedly.

Qin Hongxiu crossed her arms, her face full of satisfaction.

Luo Yunxiao's technique of subduing Wang Shitou with a short knife had a certain essence of the Seven Secrets of Border Defense.

This shows that she taught well, and her husband learned well too.

Children can be taught.

Luo Yunxiao instructed the convicted woman and Li Ergou to carry the grain and bamboo boxes from the cart into the beacon tower.

The sinful woman told Li Ergou to put the grain in the cellar on the first floor.

The box was carried to the second-floor storage room.

"Remember this: you must not touch the box, and you must not open it. Anyone who disobeys will be severely punished!"

Luo Yunxiao gave everyone a few instructions.

"Yes, sir!"

Although Li Dakai and the others did not know what was in the box, the squad leader's order was a military order.

They naturally dared not disobey.

However, when they saw that Luo Yunxiao had brought 300 catties of millet, their faces showed a mixture of joy and worry.

Three hundred catties of grain is still too little!

But it's better than nothing.

The beacon tower had three days' worth of rations left.

The last time the main camp sent someone to deliver grain was thirty days ago.

If no one comes to deliver food soon, we'll have no choice but to eat the messenger horse.

Or you can hunt for yourself.

They might even take risks and rob nearby villagers of their food supplies.

Even if the villagers gang up on him, or even report him, it's better than starving to death.

They also couldn't send anyone back to camp to ask for food.

There is an order in the army that the soldiers guarding the beacon towers must not leave their posts without permission, otherwise they will be punished for abandoning the tower.

Even if they went back, given their status as ordinary soldiers, the military commander wouldn't provide them with rations.

On the contrary, it will cost you your head.

"Squad leader, you only brought three hundred catties of grain?"

There are ten of us now, I'm afraid we won't last a month."

Because it was a year of famine, the border troops were required to eat only two meals a day to save food.

The ten people at the beacon tower, each consuming 1.5 liters of millet per meal, wouldn't last even a month.

Luo Yunxiao pondered for a moment: "The food supplies in the camp are also very tight. Let's eat for now, and I'll think of something."

"Alright, please come in, sergeant."

Li Dakai gestured for Luo Yunxiao and his group to enter the first floor of the beacon tower to rest.

When he saw the filthy Liu Qinghe and his sister, he frowned and asked, "Who are these two children...?"

"They are my apprentices."

Luo Yunxiao explained.