The female prisoner was fierce

Even cold-blooded!

At a time like this, he cannot show the slightest hesitation.

Of course, a special forces soldier who has been through many battles would not have such an expression.

soon.

In the open space in the center of the village, dozens of large pots were set up.

Su Wanruo led the logistics team to move the grain out of the warehouse, pour it into the pot, add water, and light the fire.

The firelight illuminated half of the village.

The aroma of porridge wafted through the wind and snow, and the refugees, who had been crying out, gradually quieted down.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on those large pots.

An old woman, so thin she was practically skin and bones, knelt in the snow, kowtowing repeatedly to the large pot of porridge being cooked, muttering something that was hard to hear, but judging from her lip movements, it seemed she was saying "May the Bodhisattva protect me."

A young woman holding a baby next to her, ignoring the heat, scooped up the porridge she had just been given and shoveled it into her mouth. After finishing, she licked the bottom of the bowl clean, then stared longingly at the porridge in the pot, not daring to ask for any more, just watching.

Zhao Xiao'e was one of them.

At that moment, she was holding her child, queuing in the crowd to receive porridge.

She is twenty-three years old and comes from Zhaojiagou outside Yanbei City.

My husband was separated from me by the fleeing soldiers when the city fell, and his fate remains unknown.

Holding her one-year-old son, she ran with the fleeing crowd into the mountains. She ran for a day and a night, and her cloth shoes were worn out, and her toes were so cold that she couldn't feel them.

The baby in her arms was crying from hunger, but she had no breast milk, so she could only melt the snow and feed it to the baby.

Fortunately, there are places that are willing to take them in now.

Strangely, however, there are many women in this village.

Especially the woman next to that adult.

She looked younger than her, at most eighteen or nineteen, with a hint of childishness still lingering on her face.

But her grip on the knife was steady, her eyes were cold, and she exuded an indescribable aura.

When Zhao Xiao'e first saw it, she was stunned for a moment.

"Women can wield knives??"

However, before she could figure it out, it was already her turn.

The young female soldier in charge of serving porridge glanced at her, her gaze lingering on the child she was holding, and paused for a moment.

Then he took out two bowls, filled them to the brim, and handed them to Zhao Xiao'e:

"Here you go."

Zhao Xiao'e was stunned for a moment:

"Sir, no... isn't there only one bowl?"

The female soldier in charge of serving porridge answered:

"You have a child, so that counts as two people."

Zhao Xiao'e was stunned again, her eyes reddening at some point, unsure of what to say.

"Go eat first, and come back if you're still hungry. The people behind you need more porridge."

The female soldier in charge of serving the porridge said.

"Yes."

Zhao Xiao'e then realized:

"Thank you, thank you."

She hurriedly thanked him sincerely, then quickly took the child aside, and carefully carried away the two bowls of porridge.

Then, she couldn't bear to eat it herself, so she fed it to the child little by little.

The baby in her arms was starving.

When there was food, the little girl immediately started munching away, her eyes half-open and half-closed, as if she were about to fall asleep.

Actually, that was a sign that they were about to starve to death.

However, being able to eat right now is a relief, as it pulled me back from the brink of death.

"Phew~~"

Zhao Xiao'e finally breathed a sigh of relief. After the child had almost finished drinking, she ate the remaining half bowl of porridge herself.

However, as she drank, tears involuntarily began to fall.

Looking around at the female soldiers, she secretly made a vow:

"No matter what, I, Zhao Xiao'e, will definitely repay my benefactor!"

"must!!"

……

On Xiao Jianyang's side.

At this moment, he stood under the village wall, looking at the list of names that Lin Qingxue handed over.

The roster was just compiled!

This group of refugees consists of 237 people!

Of the total, there were 93 men, 112 women, and the rest were all elderly people and children.

In addition to the original inhabitants of the village.

The female prisoners and villagers from Lijia Village together numbered nearly four hundred people!

With over four hundred people, every aspect of their lives—eating, drinking, and relieving themselves—was a challenge.

However, the grain reserves can last for a while, so there's no rush.

What Xiao Jianyang was truly anxious about was something else entirely: the Northern Di people!

Now that Yanbei City has fallen, the Northern Di people will definitely not be satisfied with just taking one city.

They will definitely send out scouts to plunder in all directions, centered on Yanbei City; this is the nature of the Northern Barbarians!

Table Mountain is only forty miles away from Yanbei City, and it will be the first to be hit!

Thinking of this, Xiao Jianyang immediately spoke:

"Defang".

"exist."

"Gather all the male refugees in the open space below the village wall. I have something to say."

"Yes, Lord Xiao."

Defang immediately went to do it.

Half an incense stick later, 93 men were gathered under the village wall.

Among these men were farmers, blacksmiths, carpenters, and a few small merchants who had escaped from Yanbei City.

They stood in the open space, some with their necks hunched, some rubbing their hands, and some looking around, their expressions a mixture of confusion and fear.

Xiao Jianyang walked up to them, looked around, and then spoke:

"My name is Xiao Jianyang."

"This village is mine now. You stand on my territory, eat my food, and live in my houses."

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

"If you want to stay, you have to work."

Upon hearing this, some people in the crowd immediately began to whisper among themselves:

"What kind of work? It's not some kind of tiring or dirty job, is it?"

"Very likely, otherwise why would they take us in?"

"As long as there's a place to stay and enough to eat, I'll work."

Everyone had different thoughts, and their facial expressions were also different.

Xiao Jianyang glanced around, his gaze finally settling on a man.

This was a man in his thirties, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with blacksmithing tools at his waist; he looked like a blacksmith.

He stepped forward and asked:

"What's your name?"

"My name is Zhao Tiechui, sir."

Zhao Tiechui answered cautiously.

"blacksmith?"

Zhao Tiechui paused for a moment, then quickly nodded:

"Yes, sir, I make a living by blacksmithing."

Xiao Jianyang nodded:

"it is good."

"The village is currently short of iron arrowheads, but there is iron in the warehouse. I'll give you the blueprints and three days to forge two hundred arrowheads. Can you do that?"

If iron arrowheads are used, the power of a pulley crossbow bolt can be increased by at least several times.

before.

Gollum~~

Zhao Tiechui swallowed hard, then gritted his teeth and said:

"Reporting back to you, sir, as long as we have the ingredients and the stove, it's perfectly fine."

Xiao Jianyang:

"The furnace and materials are in the storeroom, but you'll need to tidy them up yourself."

Zhao Tiechui nodded vigorously:

"Don't worry, sir, I will definitely live up to your expectations."

Xiao Jianyang:

"it is good."

"Once this busy period is over, I will teach you a faster way to smelt iron."

He gave a brief instruction, then turned to the others and continued searching for refugees with special skills.

Meanwhile, Zhao Tiechui...

He didn't care about Xiao Jianyang's words.

In his view, Xiao Jianyang had absolutely nothing to do with blacksmithing.

Xiao Jianyang had already returned to the group and asked again:

"Is there anyone here who knows carpentry?"

Several hands immediately rose from the crowd.

"You guys, go with Defang to cut down trees and replace all the damaged crenellations on the stockade wall. Chop the old wood into firewood, don't waste it."

"yes!"

After having these people step out of the line and line up, Xiao Jianyang continued to ask:

Does anyone know how to break rocks?

Several more hands were raised at the scene.

Xiao Jianyang also had them step forward, and then gave the order:

"You guys, go collect stones behind the mountain."

"Most of the thunderstones on the stockade wall have been used up. Replenish them within three days."

"The stone shouldn't be too big, about the size of a human head is fine. If it's too big, you won't be able to throw it far, and if it's too small, it won't hurt anyone."

"yes!!"

The burly men who received the mission were excited, at least they would have a place to stay and wouldn't have to worry about going hungry.

Xiao Jianyang continued selecting people.

Those who can't do anything else can be used as porters or simply as laborers.

Those with even a little bit of skill or expertise are put to good use.

Of course, the primary objective was to reinforce defensive fortifications.

In addition, Xiao Jianyang summoned Lin Qingxue and instructed her:

"Make arrangements for the women who are going into the village."

"The young ones, be assigned to the reserve squad of the women's army, and training will begin tomorrow."

"Don't practice swordsmanship; practice moving stones, carrying arrows, and lifting the wounded first."

"The older ones are assigned to cook, boil water, and mend clothes."

Lin Qingxue looked at the 93 busy men with a strange expression and asked:

"Lord Xiao, where are they?"

Xiao Jianyang:

"Their primary task is to repair and reinforce the village walls. After that, they will also train together."

"We can't just have the Xiao family women's army; we need the Xiao family army too."

Children make choices; adults want it all.

Lin Qingxue breathed a slight sigh of relief upon seeing him.

She was truly afraid that Xiao Jianyang might have some peculiar fetish, only liking to use female soldiers; that would be troublesome.

"Yes, sir, I will take care of it immediately."

They clasped their hands in acceptance and carried out the order swiftly.

For the next two days, the entire Black Cloud Village turned into a machine running at full speed.

A war machine set in motion for the likely influx of Northern Di people.

……