The snow was flying all over the sky, and the cold was bone-chilling.

Farmers in the Central Plains will be happy to see such heavy snow fall in winter, because it will freeze many pests in the soil and make the next year's crops grow better. But for the soldiers guarding the border passes, this was a disaster. Because the severe cold will hurt people and animals, it will also bring a lot of trouble to logistics and military garrisons.

Xue Ne, the frontier general guarding the northernmost gate of the Great Zhou Dynasty, is standing at the head of the city at the mouth of the moraine, holding the cement cast female wall with one hand, squinting at the vast north.

Many people have privately said that Xue Nekong has the reputation of "Jiangmen Huzi", but he is far less majestic and domineering than his father Xue Rengui. He was often reticent and always unhurried. Compared with his fifth brother Xue Chuyu, who championed the three armies, he was more like a strategic Confucian general.

In the past few years of guarding the black sand, Xue Ne has done everything beautifully except for fighting, especially raising horses. A group of war horses left by Xue Shao at the beginning have now developed into the largest and best black sand horse farm in the Great Zhou world.

"The general should be angry, and the general should fight", this was said by Xue Shao, and Xue Ne always remembered it very clearly. Because of this sentence, Xue Ne will always endure loneliness, and he will always have blood in his heart. He hopes that one day his efforts in the black sand will come in handy.

So over the years, what Xue Ne has done the most is to stand at the northernmost city of the Great Zhou Dynasty in the cold wind of the north and look at the north of the desert.

There was the hope he once let fly, and it was also the battlefield he longed for in his dreams.

The snow was falling like goose feathers, and Xenne was about to turn into a snowman.

The two young men were dressed in military uniforms, and Kong Wu strode side by side and stopped behind Xue Ne, clasped his fists neatly and bowed, "See the general!" ”

When Wu Zetian ascended the throne, he named Xue Ne as "General of Zuo Ying Yangwei". But over the years, Xue Ne has been guarding the Black Sand Border Pass without outstanding military achievements, and he is almost about to become the least "existent" of the Sixteen Guards.

Therefore, whenever he heard someone call himself "the great general", Xue Ne's heart was not so happy. The people close to him rarely call him a general, and more often call him "Xue Sima", who is only in the Dadu Protectorate Sima, and is also one of Xue Ne's official positions.

After hearing the voices of the two young men at this moment, Xue Ne stood still and only asked, "What's the matter?"

One of them replied that his subordinates had returned from a routine patrol with light cavalry, and that everything was normal, and that the general had given the order.

Xue Ne said "hmm" and still didn't look back, and said, "What about you?" ”

Apparently, he was asking another teenager who didn't say anything. Compared to the one next to him, he was a little thinner.

"My subordinates have returned from a patrol with General Qin......," the thinner young man replied.

"It's just an order, do you need two people?" Xue Ne said lightly, "If there is nothing else, just retreat!" ”

The two teenagers looked at each other, a little stunned.

"Uncle......" the thinner young man called.

"There are no fathers and sons in the army." Xue Ne's voice was slightly cold.

"Subordinates know their mistakes!" The young man clasped his fists and bowed, and then said, "My subordinates just want to ask, is there any news about my father and mother?" ”

Xue Ne was silent for a moment, "I don't know who you're asking. ”

"My father, Mrs. Xue, and my mother...... Princess Taiping. The young man held back his temper and continued to ask, "Dare to ask the general, is there any news about them?" ”

"Nope!" Xue Ne answered categorically, turned around with a sullen face, and said in a deep voice, "If you are in the army, you should abide by the rules of the army." Military affairs, should you and other juniors ask? ”

"The general is angry, and his subordinates know their mistakes......"

"Qin Poyu, you retreat first!" Xue Ne gave an order with a full majesty, and then said, "Xue Linyu, stay here to stand guard." ”

"Yes!"

Qin Poyu hurriedly strode away, not daring to turn his head back.

Xue Linyu picked up a spear on the weapon rack and stood by the female wall, standing straight, just like the gun in his hand.

Xue Ne stared at him for a moment, then walked over to him. Secretly compared to himself, he was surprised in his heart: The kid has grown so fast in the past six months, and he is almost the same size as me!

Xue Linyu looked ahead, and his eyes didn't move.

"Are you convinced?" Xue Ne asked.

"The military order is like a mountain, and the subordinates are convinced." Xue Linyu replied with a blank look.

Xue Ne was silent for a moment and said, "Everything is fine with your mother and family. Your father and Xue Chuyu led three thousand jumps together, and they are still in Helong. ”

Xue Linyu was slightly stunned and whispered, "Thank you, uncle." ”

Xue Ne said indifferently: "Recently, the situation in the grassland has been turbulent, and there may be a war. Are you scared? ”

"Don't be afraid!"

"No young person would say they were scared." Xue Ne's face was expressionless, and he only said: "Now I'll change the question, if you are allowed to fight against Qin Poyu, who will win?" ”

Xue Linyu pondered for a moment, puffed up his chest, and said, "If it is one person and one ride, he will win." If it was a thousand riders, I would have won! ”

Interesting!

Xue Ne couldn't help but feel a light in his heart, these two boys really have a bit of Xue Shao and Xue Chuyu's taste!

But Xue Ne said: "Young man, don't just brag. Now I'm going to give you a chance to put it into practice and prove your own abilities. ”

Xue Linyu's eyes suddenly lit up, "Please also ask the general to give an order!" ”

"It's not an earth-shattering event, I'm going to send you to be a guard." Xue Ne said, "Your task is to lead a hundred horsemen with Qin Poyu to escort a very important figure out of the moraine and through the desert and snow into the Turkic hinterland. The requirement was to ensure her absolute safety and not be discovered by the Turks, and finally to bring her back intact. Can you do it? ”

Xue Linyu didn't answer immediately, but blinked his eyes suspiciously, "Can the subordinates know who she is?" ”

"You're no stranger to this man." "But the point is, it's a very important and top-secret mission, and success is a must." I won't punish you if you fail, because your father will never let you go. Do you dare to take this task? ”

"Dare!!"

Xue Ne was silent for a moment and patted Xue Linyu's shoulder, "Follow me." ”

The two walked to the head of the city and came to the sentry house of the city pass.

Push the door to enter.

It was warm inside, and there was a woman sitting by the fire holding a book and perusing it. Seeing the two entering, she turned her face and smiled when she saw Xue Linyu, "Shizi? ”

She used a question sentence.

"That's him." Xue Ne replied simply.

Xue Linyu was stunned, "Xuanyunzi Immortal Gu?!" ”

Xuan Yunzi stood up, his brows furrowed slightly, obviously thinking, and then he closed the book with both hands, "Then him!" ”

Xue Linyu was a little confused, what kind of dumb riddle were these two people playing?

Xue Ne said: "Xue Linyu, listen, the Immortal Gu has an important mission to go to the Turks, and someone needs to take care of it. Such a difficult and important task should not have been carried out by you, a new soldier. But you are Xue Shao's son, and this mission is none other than you. ”

Xuan Yunzi smiled, "The general said this, can he understand?" ”

"Someday, he'll understand." Xue Ne said, "Xue Linyu, keep in mind your military identity and your special mission. If there are no other problems, get ready to go. ”

"Yes!" Xue Linyu didn't say anything more, hugged his fists and made a promise to retreat first and make preparations for the expedition.

Xuan Yunzi stepped forward to close the door and said to Xue Ne: "Is this appropriate?" ”

"It's inappropriate." "He was too young to withstand such a severe test. ”

Xuan Yunzi frowned.

"But since his father dares to throw him to me, I dare to throw him into the most dangerous battlefield." "This is the mission his father gave me, and I must complete it." ”

"I see." Xuan Yunzi nodded, "The tiger father has no dog son, and it is not just the inheritance of bloodline. ”

Xue Ne, who had never been smiling, smiled rarely, and said, "Fairy Gu, are you scolding?" ”

"How dare you, how dare you." Xuan Yunzi smiled, "Actually, he has always had a high opinion of you. He once said in person that although Xue Shao and Xue Chuyu have been in the limelight over the years, the most handsome person in the Xue family in his generation is none other than you. ”

"Fairy Gu has said it." Xue Ne said indifferently, "In the next day, it has always been merit but no fault. For the moment, I just hope that the fairy girl must take care. ”

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Xuan Yunzi said, "I ask you to send guards to accompany you, mainly in case you encounter wolves on the grassland. The last time I infiltrated Yujinshan among the refugees, I encountered wolves twice, and it was too dangerous. Another intention is to spread the news quickly. There should be no other dangers. ”

Xue Ne was silent for a moment, "Are you so sure that the Tunyu Valley and those Turks will not hurt you?" ”

"They must have such thoughts, but they must not dare." Xuan Yunzi said, "If they really hurt me, then the biggest purpose of my trip will be achieved." The Turkic Khanate is also destined to be extinct. ”

Xue Ne was slightly surprised, "Immortal Gu, this is absolutely unacceptable!" ”

"Don't worry, I have my own sense of proportion." Xuan Yunzi said, "When he was leaving, he also told me a thousand times, I won't forget it." ”

"That's good......" Xue Ne has never been good at words, and he doesn't know what to say at this time. He took a step back and clasped his fists and bowed, "I just hope that the fairy aunt will return safely as soon as possible." ”

Xuan Yunzi smiled slightly, "I will." ”

Lingzhou, the same ice and snow.

In the winter of this year, a strange scene appeared in the vast area of thousands of miles under the rule of the Lingzhou Metropolitan Governor's Mansion that had not been seen for many years -- a large-scale winter military training!

Winter training was originally a custom of the Tang Dynasty soldiers. However, in recent years, the military system has gradually collapsed, and Helong has been repeatedly affected by military disasters and the people's livelihood has withered, and the winter military training has not been seen for many years.

But this winter, because of Xue Shao's arrival, it was different. All the prefectures and counties under the Lingzhou Metropolitan Governor's Office are holding winter training of various scales. Participating in the winter training were peasant soldiers, foreign settlers who settled near the city, captives captured on the battlefield and exiled prisoners, and 3,000 jumping and Uighur cavalry brought by Xue Shao.

Because it is in line with the national military system, Xue Shao's action is no problem, and anyone is impeccable. This is also the main reason why Xue Shao evacuated Fengzhou in the winter and returned to the Lingzhou Metropolitan Governor's Mansion.

During the winter training, Xue Shao sent scouts and subordinates to various places to investigate and supervise, and at the same time counted the number of soldiers participating in the training.

Two hundred and eighty thousand!

This is almost twice as many people as Xue Shao expected!

Even Xue Shao himself was a little puzzled, how could so many people participate in the winter training? It is important to know that this military activity is not very compulsory and is not paid. Except for a small number of mercenaries, Uighurs, and government soldiers, the others mainly relied on the spontaneous participation of the Helong people.

Two hundred and eighty thousand?

Xue Shao's heart is full of pride, let alone 280,000, even if it is 80,000, it is enough for me to swallow thousands of miles and dominate the world!