The rebel army's foremost master craftsman forged a million iron pylons!

Sun Sheng paused for a moment, then started shouting in his loud voice.

"I don't want to!"

"You went out to kill the corrupt officials and convicts of the imperial court, why didn't you take me with you!"

"Although I've lost an eye, my hands and feet are still intact. Killing one or two of those government bastards is no problem for me."

Li Tian's gaze fell on Sun Sheng's shoulder, revealing a hint of concern.

"The injury on your shoulder..."

Sun Sheng immediately stretched his shoulders to show that he could still fight, but then a sharp pain shot through him.

"He's ruined; he probably can't even wield a knife anymore."

Sun Sheng said with a dejected look on his face.

Li Tian laughed, "It's nothing serious, it won't break you. It's just a minor injury to your bones and muscles. You'll be fine after a few days of rest."

Despite Sun Sheng's strong disagreement, the injury was still an injury, and he had no choice but to accept staying at Wolf Head Fort with Chen Junshan to take on the responsibility of guarding it.

The arrangements for guarding the fort have been made.

Li Tian's gaze fell on Wu Laoliu and the others.

"Zhao Erbao, go and fetch the armor. One set for each person. The court's scouts sometimes wear only leather armor to travel light."

"Their equipment might not be as good as ours!"

Zhao Erbao's face lit up with joy, and he immediately headed towards his woodshed, where the armor of the imperial soldiers he had captured last time was kept.

They had all wanted to wear it, but Li Tian wouldn't allow it.

Today, the opportunity has finally arrived.

"Guys, the armor's here, get on."

A moment later, Zhao Erbao came out carrying several pieces of armor.

The armor was made of fine iron and gleamed coldly in the sun. Although it bore the marks of swords and axes, it was still enough to save one's life on the battlefield.

"nice one!"

Zhao Erbao and the others happily put on their armor, instantly transforming from chickens to phoenixes, each of them completely covered from the neck down.

In addition, they were all people who had participated in several bloody battles.

From a distance, they do look somewhat like an elite force.

Li Tian nodded slightly.

The soldiers are good soldiers, but they still need more training.

"Set off!"

After his men had changed into their gear and armed themselves, the drawbridge creaked and groaned as it was lowered.

Six soldiers, fully clad in armor, slowly emerged from Wolf Head Fortress.

They did not ride horses because two of the four warhorses in the stable were already skin and bones from hunger, and the other two had injured legs and could not be used for the time being.

But their steps were firm, their heavy footsteps kicking up dust on the sandy ground. Facing the rising sun, the six figures slowly disappeared into the mountains.

"Squad leader, they say they're assassinating scouts for the imperial court, but where are we supposed to find them?"

Walking in armor under the scorching sun was no easy task, and before long, Wu Laoliu and the others were covered in sweat.

Everyone except Li Tian seemed to be out of breath.

At that moment, several people were sitting in the shade of a pine tree, drinking water from their water bags.

Li Tian took the water pouch and took a sip. "No rush. The reason I brought you out this time is firstly to hunt down the court's scouts, so we can earn some military merits."

"Secondly, I will teach you some reconnaissance techniques."

The word "reconnaissance" was still relatively new in this era, and Wu Laoliu and the others were stunned when they heard it, exchanging bewildered glances.

Wu Laoliu asked, "Squad leader, what's reconnaissance?"

"Reconnaissance, reconnaissance is some basic skills of scouts, including the shape of mountains, the direction of water, marking, drawing maps, observing wind direction, and following clues."

"Although we are currently soldiers guarding the fort, we could be assigned to the scout unit at any time."

"Learn more, so you can save your lives on the battlefield."

These words were spoken with such sincerity that Wu Laoliu and the others felt a deep respect for them, thinking to themselves, "The squad leader knows so much; these are things we've never heard of before."

"Sergeant, ever since we followed you, we've entrusted our lives to you. Tell us, what should we do next?"

Wu Laoliu said in a gruff voice that he knew what a scout was; they were the elite of the army. If he could become a scout one day, he would feel that his time as a soldier had not been in vain.

Li Tian considered for a moment and then spoke about some principles that they could understand.

"Now, the four of you go down, each of you go in a different direction and walk four miles, then each of you draw a map for me and come back."

"I remember clearly how many mountains, rivers, and earthen slopes there are along these two miles, how many forks there are on each mountain, and how many people and horses have passed through these forks."

"That's all?"

Wu Laoliu seemed quite pleased to hear this, saying, "I've been running around in the mountains since I was a child, this little thing is no problem for me."

"Don't rush!"

"In addition, you also need to observe every blade of grass and every stone, and search for any traces of wild animals or humans that may have passed by."

"What are the traces left by people? Tear strips of cloth, footprints, or unwanted debris, all of these count."

hiss!

Upon hearing this request, Li Tian's men all gasped in shock.

Every blade of grass, every stone—that takes so much time!

Aside from those with exceptionally sharp eyesight, who could remember so many things?

But Li Tian didn't give them a chance to object.

"Go, each of you walk four miles and return in two hours."

At Li Tian's command, his five subordinates scattered in different directions like startled birds.

East side,

As Wu Laoliu walked, he drew something on the deerskin with a charcoal pencil, stopping occasionally to observe it carefully.

He walked three miles and picked up three scraps of cloth and two pairs of worn-out straw sandals. He didn't know if they were useful or not, but he picked them all up anyway.

South

Zhao Erbao was squatting under a huge rock on the riverbank, carefully observing it. The rock was about a meter high and had two small dents on it, with bloodstains around the dents.

Zhao Erbao was using a dagger to pry open the arrows in the two small nests, and then...

He quickly took out a charcoal pencil and wrote on the deerskin: "Three miles south, Xiaoshang River, there seems to be a fight here. They are either scouts or remnants of the army. The blood has dried for about two days."

He took two more steps forward and noticed dark red bloodstains on the ground. He quickly wrote on the deerskin, "The injured person has fled. There are signs of human activity here."

North,

Zhao Yong didn't find anything, but he did encounter a leopard. After killing it, he carried the leopard on his shoulder and continued on his way.

Thanks to this armor, he would have run away long ago if it were any other time.

……

The six men Li Tian sent out each gained something, and they were also growing rapidly. If they were just reckless brutes who served as cannon fodder on the battlefield before, now each of them had mastered keen observation and judgment.

Such people are highly sought-after in every military unit.

They themselves may not even realize that such a big change has happened to them.

Two hours later,

The five henchmen returned to the tree where Li Tian was sitting at the same time.

"Sergeant, I found some scraps of cloth on the east side. They don't look like material from military uniforms. My initial assessment is that they might belong to hunters who went into the mountains." Wu Laoliu took out the scraps of cloth he had picked up.

"Sergeant, there are barren mountains to the north. There are no signs of trampling on the road. The animals there don't know to hide from people. It seems like no one has ever been there."