Are you crazy? Trying to trick him into military service? He's the number one dragon on the fro

"Gentlemen, my name is Lu Xiao, and I am from Sangzi Village."

Inside the barracks, Lu Xiao cupped his hands in greeting to Li Erniu and the other two, and gave a brief introduction.

Fang Dahu then revealed his background.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Fulu spoke first:

"Zhang Fulu, a native of Changyang County, grew up in a clinic and learned a few rudimentary medical skills. I was responsible for treating all the wounded in the area."

He was a slightly overweight middle-aged man with fairer skin than the others present.

The name Fu Lu suits him quite well.

Immediately afterwards, Li Erniu said in a deep voice:

"My name is Li Erniu, I'm from Fengmai Village. I don't have any great skills, but I can forge some ironware and I have the strength of an ox. I can lift a 200-pound object over my head with both hands."

"I can mend the brothers' torn clothes and worn-out armor."

He was a bit older than Lu Xiao and Fang Dahu, but they were still the same age.

Seeing that he was strong and capable of needlework, Lu Xiao was immediately surprised and full of praise:

"I never expected to find such a thoughtful and strong man like you in our unit. It's quite a surprise."

"Squad leader, you flatter me. I've just been doing it a lot; practice makes perfect."

Li Erniu scratched his head sheepishly, his expression a stark contrast to his rugged appearance.

The last person, without Lu Xiao needing to ask further, was Zhong Wei.

He was also a middle-aged man, quite thin, and looked older than Zhang Fulu, but in fact the two were only a few months apart in age.

Sensing the gazes of the crowd, Zhong Wei immediately sat up straight and bowed to everyone.

He said to Lu Xiao, who looked slightly surprised:

"My name is Zhong Wei. I once ran a private school in the county town and know a few characters. If you need to write letters home or record battle results on the battlefield, you can entrust them to me."

"Then perhaps we have something in common to talk about."

Lu Xiao was surprised to find that this unassuming middle-aged man was actually educated.

He smiled at Zhong Wei's questioning gaze:

"I have also been to school, but I was short of money and could not afford to attend a private school, so I studied at home."

"It seems our squad is truly full of talented people."

Zhang Fulu, who had a blessed appearance, immediately smiled, his squinting eyes resembling those of Maitreya Buddha.

"Sergeant, I heard you killed a charging barbarian warhorse with a single spear thrust?"

"Quickly tell the brothers what exactly happened!"

"yes……"

Under his leadership, the atmosphere in the five-person team gradually became more lively.

Lu Xiao could only laugh and recount the entire incident in detail, then said rather modestly:

"It was just a matter of taking advantage of the enemy's lack of intelligence. Those three Hu people who escaped will surely spread the news of today's events when they return."

"Next time we encounter the Hu people, we probably won't have such a great advantage to take advantage of."

The three veterans, however, were not quite convinced. They kept praising his exceptional skills, saying that their squad's survival rate would likely far exceed that of others.

As they chatted, the sound of a drum signaling mealtime rang out in the camp.

Zhang Fulu jumped up in one swift motion and said to everyone with a grin:

"Please wait a moment while I bring out our evening meal. We can eat and chat at the same time."

As soon as he left, Li Erniu could no longer contain his curiosity and looked at Lu Xiao with burning eyes:

"Sergeant, since you can kill a galloping warhorse with a single spear thrust, you must be quite strong. How about we arm wrestle?"

"Brother Erniu, I think you'd better not make things difficult for yourself."

"Oh? You want to try it with me too?"

Li Erniu was puzzled.

Fang Dahu looked at Lu Xiao with eyes full of admiration:

"A few days before joining the army, Brother Xiao shot and killed the white wolf king who broke into his home. That wolf king was as tall as a man's shoulder!"

"Although you can lift two hundred pounds, that's inanimate matter. How can that compare to Brother Xiao's feat?"

Thanks to Lu Xiao's education, Fang Dahu learned a lot from him and understood the meaning of things, even though he couldn't write them.

Upon hearing this, Li Erniu and Zhong Wei both widened their eyes.

It turns out that this new corporal had such a feat before joining the army; no wonder he wasn't afraid of the Hu people when he first entered the camp.

Lu Xiao smiled, indicating to Fang Dahu that he didn't need to exaggerate the truth:

"Brother Erniu, since you want to test your strength, let's begin."

"I also want to see your strengths so that we can cooperate with each other on the battlefield in the future."

"No, no!"

Li Erniu repeatedly stated that he was just a brute and refused the suggestion to test his strength, and dared not let the squad leader treat him as an elder brother.

Just then, Zhang Fulu returned carrying some food.

Lu Xiao took the food from the other person and saw that the dinner consisted entirely of coarse grains, without any meat. He asked in confusion:

"Is this what you usually eat?"

"Before joining the army, at least I could eat a few bites of meat at home from time to time. How come I'm eating worse now?"

As a special forces soldier, he knew very well that if people could ensure their intake of the three basic nutrients—meat, eggs, and dairy—their physical condition would not be too bad.

In today's environment, forget about eggs and dairy products; at least you can have some meat, right?

Zhang Fulu smiled bitterly:

"Sergeant, you don't know this, but our White Wolf outpost hasn't had any profit for months."

"Although the brothers' pay can be paid on time, there is no spare money to buy meat for everyone. Only when we kill a barbarian's warhorse will we get some meat."

Even so, the centurion will only take out a small portion of it to reward those who have made contributions, and the rest will be made into dried meat and stored for future rewards.

As they were talking, Zhou Daxing walked in, instructed two subordinates to put a bag of rice on the ground, and said to Lu Xiao:

"This is a reward from the centurion for giving up your warhorse and for today's victory. It weighs one stone. Please keep it safe."

"In the food box is a stew made from the meat of a dead warhorse."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao saw that he was about to leave after speaking, so he quickly got up and chased after him.

But he didn't forget to instruct Fang Dahu to distribute the meat soup and grain to everyone.

This action brought tears to the eyes of Zhang Fulu and the other two, and their feelings for the new corporal grew even stronger.

On the drill ground, Zhou Daxing listened to his words and couldn't help but smile bitterly:

"Lu Xiao, my brother-in-law is well aware of all that you're saying."

"But life in the army is tough, and corruption is rampant among the officials in the court. It's good enough if they can pay the brothers on time, let alone have money to buy meat."

"But if we don't eat meat, how will our brothers have the strength to fight the barbarians?"

"If all else fails, we can always go hunting in the mountains!"

Lu Xiao felt that this matter had to be resolved, otherwise he would be trembling with fear when he saw the Hu people in the future.

He had seen among the supplies he had seized that the Hu people ate meat and drank milk, and their standard of living was much higher than theirs.

Seeing his persistence, Zhou Daxing sighed silently and pulled him to sit down beside him.

"Originally, there were still some wild animals on White Wolf Mountain, but last year the Hu people launched a major offensive, and all the outposts and border defense battalions along the route implemented a scorched-earth policy, which has long since wiped out the wild animals in the mountains!"