At 100 years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter, and became a national war god.

Late at night, at the mouth of the Nanguan River.

The city was brightly lit, with rows of torches planted along the base of the city wall, illuminating the entire barracks as if it were daytime.

Several long tables were pushed together and were filled with food and drinks.

Although it couldn't compare to the lavish banquet in the capital, it was all the resources Zhou Shouyi could muster given the shortage of supplies for the garrison.

Several jars of rice wine had their mud seals broken, and their aroma wafted in the night breeze.

The banquet was in full swing.

Zhou Shouyi was the first to stand up, holding the wine bowl in both hands, and walked up to Su Mu.

His face was flushed with alcohol.

"General Su, this humble general... this humble general has guarded the South Pass River Estuary for so many years, and I have never felt so exhilarated as I do today!"

"Your Excellency is truly a formidable savior, a sight to behold! I have certainly never seen anything like it today!"

He raised the wine bowl high with both hands.

"This bowl is a toast to you, my humble servant! A toast to how you, on behalf of me and the people of Nanguanjiangkou, guarded this pass!"

Behind him, Wen Jiuyuan also stood up.

He didn't speak, but silently filled a bowl with wine, walked to Zhou Shouyi's side, knelt on one knee, and solemnly raised the bowl above his head with both hands:

"Mr. Su, Jiuyuan would also like to toast you."

Su Mu did not refuse or stand on ceremony. He simply stood up slowly, picked up the bowl of still warm rice wine from the table, clinked it with Zhou Shouyi, and then with Wen Jiuyuan.

"Guarding the pass is not easy, and leading troops in an attack is not easy either."

"One of you has guarded the pass for so many years without losing it, and the other led his brothers out of the reeds to join the army. You are both heroes, and I respect you both."

He tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.

Zhou Shouyi's eyes were a little red, and he tilted his head back to dry them.

Wen Jiuyuan was the same.

At this moment, Wen Jiuyuan looked at Su Mu again and said, "Elder Su, what is it that I cannot ask of you?"

"We hope that Elder Su will allow Jiuyuan and the brothers of Qianlangbao to serve under your command, so that we can follow Elder Su to fight the enemy and make meritorious contributions."

Qin Hao stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Elder Su, Wen Jiuyuan is a man of courage and integrity; he had no choice but to become an outlaw."

"We implore Elder Su to set aside past grievances and take in our brothers."

Hahaha!

Su Mu burst into laughter, his voice filled with genuine joy.

"Just because you dared to charge into the 30,000-strong Eastern Yi army and fight your way out to help this old man guard the Nanjiang Pass."

"How could I, an old man, refuse your request?"

"I like you young people who are full of vigor and willing to defend our country the most."

"Therefore, from this day forward, you are soldiers of the Great Qian Dynasty, soldiers of this old man."

Get up!

After saying that, Su Mu helped Wen Jiuyuan up.

Wen Jiuyuan turned around, looked at the brothers of Qianlang Fort, and said loudly, "Brothers, from today onwards, we swear to follow General Su to the death. If we betray him, may we be punished like this bowl."

After saying that, Wen Jiuyuan slammed the bowl in his hand onto the ground.

The brothers from Qianlang Fort followed suit, shouting, "We swear to follow General Su to the death!"

Su Mu continued drinking a few more cups at the banquet, chatted for a while, and then waved his hand in acknowledgment:

"I'm taking Qingxue to rest now. You young people should have a few more drinks and liven things up."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and gently picked up Su Qingxue, who was slumped over the table, and carried her toward the barracks.

Half-asleep, Su Qingxue grabbed her grandfather's clothes with her little hand and mumbled, "Grandpa... Grandpa is the best..."

Then she fell into a deep sleep again.

The two sisters, Xiao Zhiqi and Xiao Zhixia, also bowed and left the stage.

Xiao Yunchuan, on the other hand, drank his wine with great interest, watching these former bandits and heroes drink and eat meat.

He admired such courageous and heroic men.

……

Even after Su Mu left, the atmosphere among the soldiers remained unchanged.

Zhou Shouyi held the wine bowl and toasted everyone in turn, his face full of smiles, yet also full of sincerity.

"I've guarded the South Gate of the river for so many years, and today I've truly seen what it's like. Brothers, if you ever need my help in the future, just let me know!"

Chu Tianba laughed heartily and clinked bowls with Zhou Shouyi: "Commander Zhou, you're too kind! From now on, we're all family, no need for formalities!"

The group sat together, the sounds of clinking bowls and chopsticks, laughter, and toasts rising and falling.

Some people slammed their fists on the table, recounting the thrilling battle of the day, while others gestured wildly as they described the scene of Su Mu cleaving the enemy general in two with a single stroke, their spittle flying as they spoke.

At this moment, Ye Qingzhou, holding a wine bowl, moved to Qin Hao's side and bumped him on the shoulder: "Cousin, you came at just the right time. If you hadn't arrived, Old Su alone guarding the gate wouldn't have been able to drive those Dongyi people away so quickly."

Qin Hao put down his bowl, looked at Ye Qingzhou, and said with a touch of emotion, "It's not a coincidence, it's fate."

"Fate?" Ye Qingzhou was taken aback.

Qin Hao picked up his wine bowl, took a sip, and slowly recounted the whole story.

It turned out that after he led the special forces team and reinforcements from Thousand Waves Fort out of the northern border, he originally planned to head directly north back.

But the road just happens to pass near Qianlongzhai.

So he changed his mind and thought he would make a detour to Qianlong Village to see if he could bring his cousin Ye Qingzhou along. If Ye Qingzhou was willing to serve his country, bringing him back to the northern border to join the army would be a good way out.

He hurried along the waterway toward Qianlong Village, but encountered Wen Jiuyuan, who was leading the brothers of Qianlang Fort south by boat.

The two had worked together in the East China Sea Navy for a few months and had gone on missions together; they were true brothers who had risked their lives for each other.

Later, Wen Jiuyuan was wanted by the government and became an outlaw, and the two lost contact.

Reuniting after so many years was naturally a very exciting experience.

Qin Hao asked him where he was going.

Wen Jiuyuan then recounted how Su Mu had subdued Qianlong Village and was ordered to lead the eastern expedition.

He said that Qianlong Village had already followed Su Mu to Haizhou City, and he, as his old rival, could no longer hide in the reeds like a coward.

He led his brothers from Qianlangbao to join the army, even if it was just as a foot soldier, it was better than staying in the mountain stronghold and waiting to die.

Qin Hao was quite surprised after hearing this.

He turned to look at You Zhongyi, Zhao Tieniu, and Gu Changfeng behind him.

Zhao Tieniu was the first to speak, requesting to go to Haizhou City to see Elder Su.

After all, with Elder Su in Beijing, it's uncertain when we'll meet again.

You Zhongyi and Zhao Tieniu also said that they didn't even have time to say a proper word to Old Su after the war, and they felt bad that he was leaving like this.

Seeing his brothers' request, Qin Hao agreed.

So Qin Hao and his group changed course and followed Wen Jiuyuan's fleet south, sailing along the Nanpan River towards Haizhou City.

During the journey, one of Wen Jiuyuan's scouts returned from the direction of Haizhou City and told them that the Qianlong Village fleet did not enter Haizhou City, but instead turned towards the direction of Nanguan River Estuary.

Without hesitation, Wen Jiuyuan ordered his troops to head straight for the South Gate Estuary.

No one expected that as soon as they arrived at the dock, they would see 30,000 Dongyi troops besieging the pass that was only guarded by a few hundred people.

What was even more unexpected was that Su Mu was standing alone at the gate, blocking the 30,000-strong army.

"When I saw Old Su standing there alone, his back turned," Qin Hao said, his voice becoming increasingly emotional. "I didn't think about anything, and I led my brothers to charge forward."

Ye Qingzhou listened quietly, then suddenly smiled: "Cousin, this detour was worth it."

Qin Hao smiled and said, "It's worth it, absolutely worth it."

At this moment, Wen Jiuyuan stood up while holding a wine bowl.

His gaze swept over Chu Tianba, Ye Qingzhou, Zhou Shouyi, and the others. He raised his wine bowl and spoke in a loud voice.

"Brothers, I, Wen Jiuyuan, have been holed up in the reeds for several years. I never thought that one day I would be able to stand upright under the banner of the Great Qian and drink this bowl of wine."

"We used to fight each other in the reed marshes, vying for territory and waterways. Looking back now, it's all a joke."

He looked at Chu Tianba with sincerity in his eyes.

"Brother Chu, let's call it even and forget about what happened before, shall we?"

Chu Tianba suddenly stood up, picked up the wine bowl with both hands, and spoke with great excitement.

"Brother Wen, I was just about to bring this up! Let bygones be bygones. From today onward, we are all soldiers under Elder Su's command, brothers who would risk our lives for each other!"

The two exchanged a glance, then simultaneously tilted their heads back and drank the rest of their beverages in one gulp.

Zhao Tieniu slammed his hand on the table and laughed loudly:

"That's right! We're all on the same side now!"

Everyone laughed.

Qin Hao stood up, holding the wine bowl.

"Brothers,"

"It is our good fortune to be able to serve under Elder Su. Now that we have come together, we must help each other and fight together to achieve great things."

"From this day forward, we brothers will be of one mind, inseparable!"

He raised his wine bowl, his voice booming.

"Come on, drink this bowl of wine..."

"From now on, we will fight side by side on the battlefield, sharing life and death!"

"Dry!"

"Let's drink to our hearts' content tonight, and tomorrow morning, we'll follow Elder Su to Haizhou City."

"Drive the Eastern barbarian thieves out of the Great Qian Dynasty as soon as possible!"

After he finished speaking, dozens of wine bowls were raised at the same time and clashed together.