On New Year’s Eve, there was unprecedented heavy snow at the border. The falling snow enveloped the entire camp, and the towering observation deck became a small white tower.
Yu Shaoqing stood on the observation deck, concentrating on his duty tonight.
Ever since Yan Congming had tasted the sweetness of being General Gui De, Yu Shaoqing had been on the most difficult shift every night.
The heavy snow blocked Yu Shaoqing’s vision. He could only vaguely hear the sounds of drinking and playing in the Xiongnu camp.
The Xiongnu army also had a tradition of celebrating the New Year. Every New Year’s Eve, both sides reached an unspoken agreement that no one would mobilize their troops.
This was the case in the past, and there seemed to be no difference this year too.
However, Yu Shaoqing had never been on duty on New Year’s Eve in the past. To him, this was the first time he heard such lively sounds coming from both camps.
“Old Yu!” Wu San climbed up through the wind and snow. He opened his tightly wrapped cotton shirt and took out a bottle of warm nu’erhong. “Have a sip of wine to warm yourself up!”
Yu Shaoqing said, “I’m on duty. I can’t drink.”
Wu San clicked his tongue and stuffed the bottle into his hand. “Just drink it without worry!”
Yu Shaoqing didn’t drink it and only asked, “Was it like this in the past?”
“Like what?” Wu San followed Yu Shaoqing’s gaze and looked in the direction of the Xiongnu camp. He suddenly understood and said, “It’s New Year’s Eve. They won’t send troops!”
“How do you know?”
“That’s the rule!”
“Who set the rules?”
Wu San was at a loss for words. He paused and scratched his head. “It’s not your first day in the camp. Don’t you know the rules of not starting a war on New Year’s Eve? I heard that General Xiao personally set it with the general of Xiongnu. After so many years, no one has ever invaded on this day.”
“Is that so?” Yu Shaoqing’s eyes were deep.
Wu San persuaded Yu Shaoqing to drink for a while more, but Yu Shaoqing did not drink at all so Wu San left angrily.
Yu Shaoqing stood in the snow for four hours like an iron man. He waited until the next soldier came up before walking down the observation deck.
At this moment, both sides had just finished celebrating. The camps on both sides fell into a deathly silence.
Yu Shaoqing stepped on the snow and returned to the tent. As soon as he lifted the curtain, he felt an unfamiliar aura in the darkness. His eyes turned cold as he drew his sword and swung it at the bed!
“It’s me.” A woman’s voice sounded with slight fear.
Yu Shaoqing paused in his actions.
The woman stood up, took out a match, and lit a weak oil lamp. Under the oil lamp, the woman’s appearance and figure were revealed without reservation. It was the official prostitute who had walked out of Yan Congming’s tent that day.
Yu Shaoqing turned around. “Put on your clothes!”
The woman stepped on the cold ground with her bare feet and bent down to pick up the clothes on the ground. After picking them up, she was not in a hurry to put them on. Instead, she smiled charmingly. “The moment I saw you, I was attracted to you. Can you let me serve you tonight?”
“Get out.”
She walked behind Yu Shaoqing step by step. “It’s been so many years. Aren’t you lonely?” Her gaze went down along Yu Shaoqing’s strong waist. “My lord, you might not be lonely, but it might be. Let me help you relieve your loneliness…”
Yu Shaoqing suddenly turned around, his eyes bursting with a fierce killing intent. “Get lost!”
The woman was so frightened that she fell to the ground. Realizing that Yu Shaoqing really wanted to kill her, she quickly hugged her clothes and fled!
The tent fell silent.
Yu Shaoqing sat on the bed dejectedly.
Loneliness…
How could he not be lonely? He missed his wife and children at home so much that his heart ached.
Yu Shaoqing polished the two jars sent from home and lay down on the cold and hard bed.
Just after midnight, the soldiers’ screams came from the camp. “Night attack! There’s a night attack!”
Yu Shaoqing suddenly opened his eyes!
The soldier at the observation deck was drunk. It was a new recruit who ran to the toilet at night and met with a Xiongnu soldier who had infiltrated the camp. Only then did he realize that the enemy had attacked.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The Xiongnu soldiers had already infiltrated the camp. The Xiongnu army of fifty thousand had also arrived outside the tent.
“F*ck! We’ve been made into dumplings!” Wu San picked up his spear and went to Yu Shaoqing’s tent.
General Xiao led two thousand light cavalry and charged through a gap in the Xiongnu army.
Yan Congming’s orders were to settle the Xiongnu sacrificial soldiers who had infiltrated the camp.
However, the sacrificial soldiers were strange and unfathomable. Yan Congming chased after them for a long time but did not catch a single Xiongnu soldier.
“Old Deng! Old Deng…” Yan Congming lifted the blanket of the person he had personally promoted as a chiliarch, only to see a round head rolling down. Yan Congming felt as if he had fallen into an icehouse!
“Captain Gui De! Centurion Liu has been killed!”
“General Gui De, Centurion Lu has been killed!”
“General Gui De, Centurion Zhou has been killed!”
“General Gui De…”
“General Gui De…”
One centurion after another was killed, and the team became leaderless and panicked. At this juncture, Yan Congming finally thought of Yu Shaoqing. “Where’s Centurion Yu?”
The soldier at the side said, “He went to the granary!”
Yan Congming heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that Yu Shaoqing was still alive. “Call him over! Let him guard the camp!” Yan Congming panicked. “Forget it, I’ll go personally!”
When Yan Congming arrived at the granary, Yu Shaoqing was giving the order to splash fire oil.
“What are you doing?” Yan Congming asked sternly.
Yu Shaoqing said, “Burning the rations.”
Yan Congming was furious. “You’re crazy! This is all our food! What will we eat if you burn it?!”
Yu Shaoqing said seriously, “If we don’t burn it, it’ll become the rations of the Xiongnu! They’re here for the rations. The Xiongnu are short of rations. If they can’t snatch the rations from the Northwest Army Camp, they can only wait for death!”
“We will starve to death too!”
Yan Congming refused to let it burn.
General Xiao was not around. He had completely taken over the command of the camp. His words were the highest military order. “Yu Shaoqing! I order you to lead five hundred elite soldiers and settle all the sacrificial soldiers in the camp! If anyone dares to escape, you will be held accountable!”
