On Magu Mountain, facing the same setting sun, Hua Yuxi stared at the Chushui military camp covering the mountain pass, and recalled the scene when she first met Sheng Yong.

That was two months ago, when she went to a restaurant in a nearby county to sell her homemade dried fish.

When she was idle in the river valley, she used sharpened branches to catch fish in the stream, then smoked them on the fire to make a unique flavor of dried fish, which she regularly sold in the county.

Bai Xueyin didn't know she knew martial arts, but when she first saw her ability to insert fish with perfect accuracy, she was amazed and envious: "Sister Jingshu, is there anything in this world that you can't do?"

At that time, Hua Yuxi said absently: "What does this mean? Sooner or later, I will catch a big fish, a big stupid fish."

Hua Yuxi uses the spices bought from the county to make smoked dried fish, and then sells them to various restaurants in the county to earn some pocket money. Her dried fish sells very well, and the restaurant owners have said that diners like it very much.

This smoked dried fish is the best choice whether it goes with wine or stews. They only accept as much dried fish as they have.

"Of course, don't ask who I am." Hua Yuxi felt proud, and later asked Bai Xueyin to help her. The two women worked together to smoke the dried fish, and they could sell more than ten kilograms each time.

This time, a boss wanted Hua Yuxi to sell all the dried fish to just one of their restaurants, so he held a banquet in his restaurant to entertain Hua Yuxi. While they were eating and drinking, they talked about the war between the north and the south. The boss

It is said that Sheng Yong recently recruited a team called the Chu Shui Army to prepare for another northern expedition.

Hua Yuxi pressed for details and was convinced that the Chu Shui Army had indeed joined Sheng Yong's Northern Expedition, and that their target this time was not Hebei, but the Qingzhou Mountain City in Shandong.

She was secretly surprised. Although she knew that letting the soldiers of Chushui City follow Sheng Yong to establish military exploits was one of their best ways out, she still felt worried and uneasy when the Chushui army went to the front line.

This worry gradually amplified in the following days, and finally filled her mind, forcing her to make a decision to leave this secluded valley and visit Sheng Yong's army.

She first took Bai Xueyin back to Tianlian Peak via Henan, and then set off alone to Shandong to meet Sheng Yong.

Sheng Yong was very happy to hear that she had come, and personally took her into the Chinese military tent and introduced her to several main generals in the Northern Expeditionary Army.

There were six generals in the tent at that time, namely the commander-in-chief of the First Army, the vanguard general Ping An, the commander-in-chief of the second army, the left governor He Fu, the commander-in-chief of the third army, the right governor Chen Hui, the commander-in-chief of the fourth army, and the partial general Lan

Xi Ye, the commander of the Fifth Army, deputy general Zhang Zhongjie, and Lan Daoxing, who attended the meeting on behalf of the Chu Shui Army.

Everyone stood in two rows on the left and right in the tent. Pingyan General Sheng Yong himself was wearing armor and sword, standing proudly in the center. As rumored, he also wore a ferocious iron mask under his broad helmet, which was intimidating.

His gaze shines directly through the holes in the mask, making people feel intimidated.

"Public girl Hua Yuxi, pays homage to General Sheng Yong." Hua Yuxi followed the etiquette in the army, knelt down on one knee and saluted Sheng Yong.

"It is said that the Hua family is very resourceful and has a deep connection with the Chu Shui Army. With a beautiful counselor like you as the general's military counselor, wouldn't it make our army even more powerful?" Sheng Yong laughed heartily and put Hua Yuxi with his own hands.

After being lifted up, the latter felt an indescribable feeling in her heart. It seemed that this was not the first time she had seen this "iron-faced general" who was the only one who could compete with Zhu Di on the battlefield.

In addition to the smell of rust oil on Sheng Yong's iron helmet, iron armor and iron surface, there was also a faint fragrance of flowers and plants. Hua Yuxi had never smelled such a special fragrance of flowers, but she didn't understand why a commander with dozens of

The generals of thousands of armies will have such a fragrance on their bodies.

Sheng Yong's eyes were so sharp that he seemed to be able to see through her thoughts, and he explained nonchalantly: "This general was injured in the Battle of Jinan. He didn't want the stench from the wound to detract from the morale of the army, so he had some local wild flowers picked.

Wild grass is refined into essential oil, and this is what it tastes like after being used for a long time.”

In addition to Sheng Yong, Lan Daoxing also expressed excitement about her arrival.

After the meeting, Lan Daoxing sent Hua Yuxi out of the military tent. While leading her to the small tent assigned to her by the quartermaster, he told her what happened in the army.

Hua Yuxi curiously looked at every detail in the camp and asked as she walked: "Are our Chu Shui Army here too? After training for so long, how much combat effectiveness do they have now."

"Our position is in Magushan, which is the farthest from Qingzhou among all the troops participating in this battle. I came here because of today's Chinese military discussion, and I have to go back later." Lan Daoxing smiled bitterly, "Oh, Commander.

They still don’t trust us, so they deliberately left us idle. Although the Chu Shui Army only has four thousand people, they are all carefully trained by me. After a few actual battles, I am sure to make them the best among the best.

."

Hua Yuxi recited "Ma Gushan" silently twice. When she saw that there was a small tent arranged for her living in front of her, she said softly: "Just send it here. Lan Shuai is busy with military affairs, so don't worry too much about me."

Lan Daoxing said "Miss, please take care of yourself", said goodbye to Hua Yuxi, and headed back to the Magushan position where the Chu Shui Army was stationed.

Hua Yuxi opened the curtain and saw Zhang Zhongjie sitting in her tent, waiting for her to come in with a smile.

"Why are you here?" She frowned slightly, glanced at Zhang Zhongjie somewhat upset, and ducked into the small tent.

Anyway, this is a Chinese army camp with many people and mixed eyes. Zhang Zhongjie does not dare to act openly. Let's listen to what he has to say.

Zhang Zhongjie first expressed his joy at being back on the same page as Hua Yuxi, then he leaned slightly closer and whispered: "This is a good opportunity given to me by God, I will definitely seize it and catch you.

"

This time he didn't just talk about it, he actually launched a crazy pursuit of Hua Yuxi, and made it known to everyone in the camp.

Every morning, he would wait outside Hua Yuxi's small tent, wait for her to come out, and give her a wild flower that was newly picked today and still stained with morning dew.

"There is a moth in your hair, let me catch it." Before he could reach out his hand, Hua Yuxi fled away.

In the evening, he softly sang love songs outside Hua Yuxi's tent. There were many obscene and explicit lyrics in them, which attracted many lively sergeants to come and watch. They also secretly started betting on when Hua Yuxi would accept Zhang Zhongjie's love.

Zhang Zhongjie's martial arts skills were even more advanced than when he was in the capital. He would often compete with military masters bare-chested in wrestling competitions. Of course, he would deliberately appear where Hua Yuxi passed by.

His Four Symbols are infinite and unfathomable. In terms of internal strength alone, few people in the world can match them. It is even more difficult for ordinary masters in the army to compare with them. They were beaten to pieces by him and fell into all sorts of shapes.

Seeing that Hua Yuxi's reaction was dull, Zhang Zhongjie and his staff talked loudly within Hua Yuxi's hearing to demonstrate his military strategy. Of course Hua Yuxi was not impressed, and even found it a bit funny.

One night ten days later, Zhang Zhongjie set up a bonfire outside Hua Yuxi's tent, attracting a large number of sergeants to watch. He said that he had a gift for Hua Yuxi. Hua Yuxi said that she had gone to bed and asked him to come back at dawn. The sergeants followed and started to cheer,

They clamored to let Hua Yuxi come out, but Hua Yuxi had no choice but to wrap herself in a cloak and get out of the tent.

Zhang Zhongjie solemnly took out an anklet made of ivory and tiger bones, and said that the ivory and tiger bones on it were hunted in Yunnan, and they were the most appropriate way to express his feelings.

The sergeants started making noises, as if they were just watching the excitement and it was not a big deal. Hua Yuxi frowned and wanted to take the anklet, but Zhang Zhongjie insisted on putting it on for her himself.

He knelt on one knee in front of Hua Yuxi, his body hanging very low, his forehead almost touching Hua Yuxi's feet, and he carefully put the anklet on her white jade ankle. The soldiers laughed loudly when they saw this, and asked him one after another

: "Does it smell good?"

"Smells! It smells so good!" Zhang Zhongjie laughed loudly, but he took the opportunity to put on Hua Yuxi's anklet and touched her foot intentionally or unintentionally.

Hua Yuxi seemed to have been bitten by a poisonous snake, and jumped away like lightning, so that the sharp animal bones on the anklets drew a long blood streak on her ankles.

She originally expected Sheng Yong to stop this matter for her, but Sheng Yong declined politely and said: "My fair lady, a gentleman is very jealous. No one in Xiao Zhang's family can arrange a marriage for him. I can't stop him from asking for a wife."

Not only that, Sheng Yong also intentionally or unintentionally created opportunities for Zhang Zhongjie, as if if Hua Yuxi was really pursued by Zhang Zhongjie, he would also be happy to see it happen.

Sometimes they would discuss matters until late at night, and Sheng Yong would ask Zhang Zhongjie to send Hua Yuxi back to her small tent. Sometimes several people were talking together, but Sheng Yong would find excuses to keep the others away, and in the end only Zhang Zhongjie would be left to accompany her.

.

What's more, at a military meeting six days later, Sheng Yong ordered Zhang Zhongjie's troops to deploy in Le'an to meet Chen Hui's troops in Linzi.

After the meeting, Sheng Yong left Hua Yuxi to persuade: "Xiao Zhang is a bit rash and his practical experience is not rich enough. I wonder if everyone is willing to go to Le'an with Xiao Zhang to help me look after him and assist him."

Don't make any mistakes."

Hua Yuxi knew that once she went to Le'an, Zhang Zhongjie would be in charge of military affairs, and she would only become more passive. It would not be appropriate to continue to stay in Sheng Yong's Chinese army camp, so she took the initiative to go to the Magushan position where Chu Shui Army was located.

: "After all, I am also from Chushui City. If I am with the soldiers of Chushui City, they will definitely work harder."

What she said was reasonable and reasonable, and Sheng Yong had no choice but to agree.

So Hua Yuxi packed her luggage and left Sheng Yong's Chinese army camp in Jiyang that day and came to the Chushui army camp at the foot of Magu Mountain.

It was a feeling of coming home.

The first person to discover Hua Yuxi's arrival was Zhuo Jianting. He met Hua Yuxi while patrolling outside the camp and excitedly brought her into the camp to give her some guidance.

The Chushui military camp was solid and the military appearance was neat and tidy. It was no less generous than the Chinese military camp in Shengyong. Hua Yuxi was very pleased to see it and nodded repeatedly.

Zhuo Jianting was already handsome, but now he looked even taller. Hua Yuxi couldn't help but praise: "We haven't seen each other for a few months, and you have grown taller again. Those two girls who are always pestering you..."

Before she finished speaking, she saw Xiaolei and Wan'er emerging from a tent, holding her arms one by one and greeting her.

"That's okay, young man." Hua Yuxi joked to Zhuo Jianting, "If you bring your two sisters, won't you worry about them getting angry and jealous?"

"No way." Xiaolei said proudly, "Me and Wanmei have already discussed it. If we win this battle, we will marry Brother Jingting together."

"No matter how big or small." Wan'er nodded and added.

When Hua Yuxi heard them say "Whatever if we win," her heart suddenly sank. She no longer paid attention to Zhuo Jianting, who was blushing at the words of the two women, and walked quickly to the main tent.

In the main tent, she met Lan Daoxing, Xiao Wuhen and Lan Xiangzi, several core members of Chushui City reunited, and naturally they had something to say.

"I don't agree with what the second brother said. We were not left idle, we should be entrusted with important responsibilities." Lan Xiangzi pointed to the battlefield sand table in the middle of the main tent and said, "If I were the King of Yan, I would know Qingzhou

If we are surrounded, we will definitely send troops to rescue. He will definitely send troops to Cangzhou, and the shortest road from Cangzhou to Qingzhou passes through Magu Mountain where we are stationed."

Xiao Wuhen was shocked and said: "Surround the area for reinforcements?"

"Exactly." Lan Xiangzi said, "As long as we block King Yan's reinforcements, we can achieve the first victory in this battle."

Lan Daoxing said a little irritably: "With only four thousand of us, why can we block King Yan's army?"

"Second brother, look." Lan Xiangzi pointed to another point on the sand table, "Fourth brother's Fourth Army is stationed in Lijin. As long as we can hold it for a few hours, wait for fourth brother to come for reinforcements, and the commander-in-chief rushes from Jiyang.

If we advance in three directions to support the Chinese army, we will definitely be able to push back King Yan. By then, will it not be easy to take over a small Qingzhou mountain city?"

"You're right." Lan Daoxing is the coach of four thousand people, but he doesn't like to put on airs and is never self-willed. "If we can really achieve such great achievements, the day will not be far when we will be whitewashed.

"

So everyone began to actively prepare for war, setting up various fortifications in Magushan, and practicing formations day and night in preparation for the arrival of the Yan army.

Although Hua Yuxi has no actual position, her role in the Chu Shui Army is obvious.

From the time she left home at the age of sixteen to the time she entered the Goddess Tower in the capital at the age of nineteen, she spent the best three years in Chushui City.

She was born in the prime minister's family, was literate, could sing and dance well, was taught martial arts by An Xiaohan, and was taught cooking skills by Lan Zhi.
To be continued...