The nomads bade farewell to the Northwestern men from the 6th Combat Brigade. They hugged each other and invited their new friends to visit their homes in the future. All of them were extremely enthusiastic with one another.
Ren Xiaosu and Yan Liuyuan both knew that such a day would definitely come. At the very least, as long as the two of them were still alive, the Northwest and the grasslands would not wage war with each other.
Yan Liuyuan did not intend to participate in the subsequent battles. Now that the overall situation was decided, the expeditionary army’s defeat was no longer in doubt. As the new king of the steppe, there was no need for him to risk the lives of his subjects any further. What they should do now was to return to the grasslands to recuperate.
He told Ren Xiaosu to leave it to him to guard the North in the future. In a sense, from today onwards, the nomads would replace Stronghold 176 as the Central Plains’ first line of defense in the North.
If the expeditionary army tried to head south again, they would have to pass through the grasslands first.
Before leaving, Xiaoyu pulled Yang Xiaojin aside with reddened eyes and said, “Xiaosu, that kid, has been through a lot. Now that he’s finally come through that, I plead that you treat him well. Love is between two people, and as an outsider, I have no right to say anything. I only hope for both of you to live well. When you two bear a child, I can go to the Northwest to help you take care of it….”
All of a sudden, Yang Xiaojin’s face turned red. She was not one to get shy so easily in front of Ren Xiaosu, but for some reason, she always felt like she could not open up fully to Xiaoyu.
As for having children, it was still too early to talk about that.
Yang Xiaojin asked, “Big Sister Xiaoyu, are you also going back to the steppe with Liuyuan? I know you must not be used to living there. After all, the customs in the South are very different.”
Xiaoyu turned around and took a look at Yan Liuyuan. However, she said to Yang Xiaojin with a gentle smile, “Y’all have Wang Fugui, Teacher Jiang Wu, Mr. Zhang, and so many friends with you in the Northwest, but Liuyuan only has me on the steppe. So I have to accompany him. Don’t worry, I heard from Liuyuan that it’s not difficult to get to the Northwest. If we ride horses, we can get there in ten days. It’ll also be very convenient for me to go and visit y’all.”
Xiaoyu continued, “Moreover, now that Xiaosu has become the future commander of the Northwest, it’s only a matter of time before the Northern Plains and the Northwest link their trade routes with each other. Then I can travel with the caravans to see y’all.”
“Mhm, Big Sister Xiaoyu, you must come,” Yang Xiaojin said in seriousness.
“Alright, I’ll go and join up with them now,” Xiaoyu said reluctantly. “Xiaosu has never liked other girls before, that I can guarantee you. That’s why, sometimes, he might not know what girls like or want to hear. If he makes a mistake, you can tell me when you see me again and I’ll lecture him for you.”
“OK.” Yang Xiaojin smiled.
…
After Yan Liuyuan confirmed they were returning to the grasslands, he started discussing some serious matters with Ren Xiaosu. Ren Xiaosu then called Zhang Xiaoman, the Great Hoodwinker, P5092, Wang Yun, and the others over.
Then Yan Liuyuan said, “There’s many things we require in the grasslands, such as weapons, vegetables, tea leaves, and cloth. When I get back, I’ll send Hassan to form a caravan as soon as possible and bring goods from the steppe to trade with y’all. I wonder if that’s possible?”
The Great Hoodwinker was still needed to answer these questions. He thought for a moment and said, “That’s not a problem. We’ll also form a caravan and head to the steppe to discuss this.”
“Besides that, I also hope I can send some children to Fortress 178 to attend school as there’s a severe lack of knowledge among the nomads,” Yan Liuyuan said.
“No problem,” the Great Hoodwinker agreed immediately.
Yan Liuyuan looked at Ren Xiaosu again. “Bro, I’d like to send some of our nomads to attend the Northwest’s military institute. Is that OK?”
Ren Xiaosu immediately put a smile on his face. Yan Liuyuan was still as smart and quick-witted as ever. Sending people to attend a military institute was still considered a sensitive matter, so Yan Liuyuan did not speak directly to the Great Hoodwinker about this. Instead, he requested it to Ren Xiaosu as his younger brother.
Ren Xiaosu looked at the Great Hoodwinker and said with a smile, “Can I decide on this?”
The Great Hoodwinker hurriedly said, “Since you’re the future commander, of course you can.”
Ren Xiaosu looked at Yan Liuyuan and said, “Alright, I’ll promise you that.”
Finally, Yan Liuyuan led the nomads back to the North. But before they left, the Wolf King suddenly went up to Ren Xiaosu and paced around him, refusing to leave.
Ren Xiaosu was puzzled. Although he had not seen the Wolf King in a long time, they were still old friends. But what was the meaning of this?
Everyone looked at the Wolf King while it looked at Ren Xiaosu.
After a long time, Ren Xiaosu suddenly took out a vial of black medicine. “Is this what you’re asking for?”
The Wolf King immediately nodded!
Ren Xiaosu was startled. ‘Why would an old wolf like you need something like that?!‘ However, he still gave out a dozen vials of black medicine to the Wolf King before it went away satisfied.
P5092 looked at Ren Xiaosu and asked, “Future Commander, where are we going next?”
“Let’s finish what we’ve started.” Ren Xiaosu said with a smile, “After we finish firing all the ammo we have, we’ll head back to the Prosperous Northwest.”
P5092 hesitated for a moment before saying, “Although I also want to continue assisting the Wang Consortium in pursuing the expeditionary army, it’s not suitable for us to join the battle again, because our mobility isn’t as great as the expeditionary army’s, so it’s very easy for us to get into trouble.”
“Who says that our mobility isn’t as good as theirs?” As Ren Xiaosu said that, P5092 and the others heard the sound of the steam locomotive driving out of the darkness.
P5092 was stunned. “Future Commander, are you thinking of having all our soldiers get onto the train?”
Ren Xiaosu had also mentioned this idea before they arrived at Mt. Zuoyun. But they needed to delay the expeditionary army at that time, so P5092 rejected the suggestion.
“Yes.” Ren Xiaosu explained, “Although there’s only about a 1,000 seats in the sixteen carriages, it definitely won’t be a problem for all of the 6th Combat Brigade to get onto the train if everyone stands. We won’t fight the expeditionary army head on either. We’ll just use the steam locomotive to chase after them and leave after we’re done expending all of our ammo!”
With that, Ren Xiaosu had everyone board the train. Then he had them mount their guns on the windows of the carriages, making it look extremely terrifying.
In that instant, P5092 suddenly felt the infantry brigade had become somewhat like an armored brigade.
On the train, the soldiers of the 6th Combat Brigade started getting excited. They had not expected their future commander to have such tactics.
Just as the train started moving, Ren Xiaosu saw yet another group of soldiers appearing in the distance. These troops were led by Luo Lan and Zhou Qi.
Ren Xiaosu stopped the train in front of them. Luo Lan shouted, “Are you all heading back onto the battlefield?”
Ren Xiaosu answered, “Yes, thank you for your help this time. I’ll remember the Qing Consortium’s friendship. What are your plans?”
Luo Lan chuckled and said, “I won’t go back with you and get involved in this mess anymore. Who knows if the Wang Consortium might really want to capture me now? I’ll get the nanosoldiers to return straight to the Southwest while I make a trip to the South. Since the Wang Consortium still has their hands full, I should hurry to the South.”
“You’re going to the South?” Ren Xiaosu was curious.
“That’s right, I’m making a trip to Luoyang City before heading to the Zhou Consortium.” Luo Lan said, “Erm… there’s something more important though. Do you still have the black medicine? Some of my soldiers are injured…. You know what I mean!”
Ren Xiaosu did not know whether to laugh or cry. He looked at those nanosoldiers and thought, ‘How could any of them be injured? If you want the black medicine, just ask directly!‘
First, it was the Wolf King, then Luo Lan. Why do all of you have to come and get the black medicine from me before leaving?!
