When night fell, the messengers ran back and forth several times, and the troops who had been running all day began to set up camp.

In fact, they haven't gone very far now.

After a ceremony to thank the emperor, it was already noon when we set off.

Although there were less than a hundred people, they were not moving very fast.

Their main mission is not to go to the northwest to fight, but to escort the officials of the imperial court to their posts.

Most of the military envoys and other replacement generals rushed directly from their current places, while those who set out from Beijing were supervisory officials who were ordered by the emperor to thoroughly investigate the northwest military affairs.

Of course, there are also the majority such as Liu Lang and Xu Maoxiu who supplement the northwest military line, but these majority can be ignored in front of these senior military attachés.

It's not that these senior generals in Beijing can't walk, but some want to walk fast and some want to walk slower.

So he pushed and pulled quickly and slowly, and it took him half a day to get out of the city.

"Damn it, what kind of camp are we setting up tonight?"

Sitting by the campfire, Xu Bangchui couldn't help but curse in a low voice.

"It's not like we've been running for three days and four nights. What's the point of resting here?"

"Shut up, mind your own business, and do whatever I ask you to do." Xu Maoxiu glared at him.

"I'm in a hurry," Xu Bangchui muttered, and went to see Fan Jianglin again, "Brother, brother, look at you, it's so tiring to carry three bows on your back..."

"I'm a little tired. You can carry the bow issued by the army for me." Fan Jianglin said.

Xu Bangchui suddenly became angry. The other brothers laughed at him and wanted to carry their own bows for him.

"Fourth brother, help me take a look at my horse." Xu Bangchui shouted again, turning his head and seeing no one.

"The fourth brother has already gone to see the horses." A brother said, "The good hooves he gave Matthew have now attracted many people to ask him to have their hooves repaired..." [Note 1]

While they were talking and laughing, Xu Maoxiu stood up, frowned slightly, and looked in the direction he came from.

"Someone is coming," he said.

Fan Jianglin immediately grabbed the bow and arrow beside him, and the other brothers also stood up.

At this time, the soldiers who were scouting the road ahead and on guard also sent signals.

"It doesn't matter, we are one of our own."

The messengers galloped past, comforted the soldiers who stood up one after another, and headed towards the main camp. There were already many generals standing outside the camp.

There was no worry on their faces. It was so close to the capital, and there were official roads and court personnel. If someone really came to harass them, then all the officials in the capital should go home and retire.

The leading general took the document handed from the ordering soldier and passed it on for a moment with a strange look on his face before passing it on to the next one.

I looked at them one by one, and they all looked a little weird.

"Nonsense."

One of them who was listening faintly said, with a bit of dissatisfaction, he rolled up his sleeves and went in.

The other military attachés who had read the documents either shook their heads or said nothing and went into their respective camps.

The tense atmosphere suddenly disappeared, and the standing soldiers all sat down again.

"...Who?"

"...What are you doing here?"

Everyone whispered and looked curiously in the direction they came from. The night in the wild was much darker than in the capital. It was so dark that nothing strange could be seen.

"I said I came to see him off..."

Hearing this, Xu Maoxiu turned around subconsciously and looked at the group of people sitting next door who were exchanging new news.

"Who are you sending off to?" he couldn't help but ask.

"The person who caught up with me this late at night, and there was a government official who led me to deliver the order, must not be an ordinary person, and the one I am sending him is not someone like you or me." The man smiled, and licked his lips towards the tent of the general's camp, "This

There were many young people on this trip, and they were all the children of generals and pampered children. Many of them were reluctant to be parted by their families..."

As he spoke, torches appeared in the dark night, and the noisy sound of horse hooves gradually became clearer.

It seems that there are quite a few people coming.

The soldiers in the camp couldn't help but stand up and look curiously.

The people and horses were getting closer and closer. With the strong night wind and the light of the torches, we could clearly see about a dozen people and a carriage. No, in addition to the guards of more than a dozen people, there were also a few empty horses.

"No way, who has two horses as a bodyguard?"

The soldiers couldn't help but said in surprise.

Long-distance attacks hurt horses the most, so the best way is to equip three horses for rotation. Of course, this extravagant approach is unrealistic for the mainland of the Central Plains where horses are scarce. It is extremely rare even in the Northwest Army.

Only excellent scouts are eligible to receive this kind of equipment.

Because of the advance greeting, the troops and horses were not blocked and stopped outside the camp.

The carriage opened and a woman got out.

There was a low noise in the camp.

"Look, it turns out that the female relatives of some family are reluctant to leave their relatives to travel far away..." The person next to him laughed and said to Xu Maoxiu, but saw that Xu Maoxiu looked surprised. Looking at the other people next to Xu Maoxiu, he almost lost his eyes.

Come down normally.

Is this surprising? I have never seen it before!

The soldier laughed a few words and saw Xu Maoxiu striding away in the direction of the men and horses outside the camp.

"I'm not looking for you. Don't meddle and watch the excitement. Be careful of getting beaten..."

Xiaobing shouted hurriedly, but before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Xu Bangchui's cry.

Then five or six people ran over there.

The soldier was startled, and everyone else looked over with surprised expressions. However, what surprised them was that the few people who rushed forward were not knocked to the ground by the guards, but stood directly in front of the carriage, which was even more surprising.

Surprisingly, the little lady even saluted them!

salute!

A group of people's eyes almost dropped when they saw it.

"No, you're here to see off a few poor men, right?" the soldier murmured.

Banqin lifted the car curtain, and Cheng Jiaoniang, who was completely covered in a cloak, stepped out.

"Sister, what's the matter?"

"What happened?"

The seven brothers asked in unison, worried and anxious.

"Give me a gift." Cheng Jiaoniang said.

Everyone was stunned.

"Is there really a third gift?" Xu Bangchui shouted.

"Of course, when have I ever failed to say what I said?" Cheng Jiaoniang said, pointing to the side, "That's it."

Seven horses were snoring nearby.

It turned out to be a gift of horses.

"The one with the white nose is mine!" Xu Bangchui was the first to shout and rushed over.

The other brothers all laughed and followed.

"It's really not necessary." Xu Maoxiu said, "We didn't walk very fast along the way. Besides, none of us are cavalry. We won't need it when we get to the west. Why did you come here in the middle of the night?"

He said frowning and looking around.

"Did you come by yourself?"

Are these guards from the Zhou family?

Seeing him looking over, a man wrapped in a big cloak dismounted from his horse.

"Don't worry, sir, I'm here with my wife."

The hood was lifted, revealing the handsome face of the young man under the torch.

The camp tent was suddenly opened, and a follower jumped in.

"Master, Master!" he shouted loudly.

This tent was shared by four people, but at this time, everyone else was chatting and laughing around the campfire, and there was only Liulang in the tent.

"What are you shouting for?"

Liu Lang, who was reading under the torch, shouted angrily.

"Master, Master, Mrs. Cheng is here!" the attendant shouted excitedly.

Liu Lang stood up suddenly, with a look of disbelief on his face.
To be continued...