The corpse still had to be buried, because it might cause some problems due to the hot weather. It was better to bury it. They just needed to dig a big hole.
Lu Qi asked his men to do it, then he went to see the big pit with Xu Ran and Tangtang.
Tangtang pointed to the pit and said, “I’ve seen this pit before, but I didn’t look at what was inside. And I find it strange that this pit doesn’t look big, why can it accommodate so many people’s bodies? The other thing is why did these people fall into the pit for no reason?”
There was a silence when Tangtang finished speaking. Xu Ran and Lu Qi stared at the pit and looked down. It was still very stink and the places they could see were limited. They could vaguely see some scattered weapons below, even the weapons were there, and these people didn’t seem to have been killed. Then they might actually fall into it.
Did they just fall down and not climb up? There were still so many people. Tangtang and the others came back very soon and did not hear anything.
The more he thought about it, the more strange this question seemed.
Tangtang touched his chin and tried hard to think about the suspicious part of that time, but he didn’t find anything wrong.
The three of them looked at it for a long time and didn’t see anything. Xu Ran shook his head and said, “This is a good thing. At least Guoguo is not in this place. That means Guoguo probably escaped on his own. Didn’t Tangtang say he was injured? He will go home after he’s healed.”
Lu Qi nodded in agreement, “You’re right, but I’ll still have people watch around here and see if we will find anything strange.”
Xu Ran said that he had no objections, and he just stared at the pit with a thoughtful expression.
However, these corpse were just a small episode in their current situation. The most important thing was to repel the barbarians back to their hometown.
Xu Ran thought that they should take the initiative to attack. After all, the longer they delayed, the more beneficial it was for the barbarians.
Lu Qi thought about it carefully and agreed.
In addition to Tangtang, the three of them studied the combat plan in the tent for the whole night. The next day, they asked all the soldiers to rest for a day to prepare for the war.
On the third day, in front of thousands of people, Lu Qi told Tangtang to command the battle, which got many objections.
The reason was simple. Why should they be commanded by a fifteen-year-old boy who had never been on the battlefield? Let alone it was when life and death were at stake.
Xu ran had already considered these problems and was ready to say what he should say, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned his eyes to Tangtang.
Lu Qi also understood Xu Ran’s thoughts and did not mean to help him. He just looked at Tangtang like Xu Ran.
Tangtang looked at the two of them helplessly. They were always unreliable at a critical moment and threw him out as a child.
But there was nothing he could do. It would not work out if he did noy say anything. After all, he really wanted to go to the battlefield. He still remembered what Guoguo told him.
One day, he would become the most famous general in Great Xia.
However, no one knew he was still alive now.
And he was Guoguo’s brother, which was enough for him.
Tangtang took two steps forward and greeted everyone first, then he said, “Hello all my soldiers, my name is Xu Qing. Last year, I came to the military camp fora year of training with my brother, and we are twins.”
“I know that you don’t agree with the words of the military counsellor. I can understand your feelings, because when you’re in battle, a word from me can kill all of you.
“But I don’t know if you remember the feeling of your first time on the battlefield. Do you think your legs are soft and you will faint when you see blood? And then some people died, some people are still alive. Everyone who came back felt lucky, with a sense of survival.
“But you have been accustomed to it after so many times. You don’t even care about life or death anymore because your responsibilities are still firmly in your mind.
“But I am different from you. You are responsible for the lives of millions of people behind you, but I’m responsible for your lives. I have no experience and I have no qualifications to say so. Because I haven’t even been on the battlefield yet. Compared to you, I am really too far behind.
“And as I stand here, the only confidence I have is what my dad has taught me over the years, even if I haven’t fully learned it, I will do everything I can to get you back. The real victory in a war is not how many people are killed to win it, but how many people come back after winning it. There is nothing more important than life.”
After Tangtang said this, he did not speak again. Although there was still a lot more to say, but he didn’t want to say it, because he knew that was all he could promise. And what these people cared about was perhaps to run away from the enemy and suriveve and go home.
There was silence and no one said a word, and Xu Ran couldn’t bear it and said helplessly.
“And here I am. When you first went to the battlefield, your legs must have been trembling. But as you’ve done it more and more, you would naturally feel differently. I believe him because he is the child I personally taught. It’s impossible for my son to know nothing for more than ten years of learning. More importantly, it’s still unknown if my other son is alive or dead.”
At the end of the sentence, Xu Ran’s tone became cold, as if he was extremely dissatisfied.
Lu Qi also followed and said a few good words about Tangtang. They actually agreed to let Tangtang take command this time.
Although Tangtang’ was not very good at Kung Fu, his brain worked faster than Xu Ran’s. It was just that he didn’t like to fight.
After the soldiers nodded, there was a long-lost smile on Tangtang’s face. After Guoguo’s accident, Xu Ran had never seen him smile again.
……
According to the plan that had been set up long ago, Tangtang led his troops out, and Lu Qi led his men to give the enemy a sneak attack, and Xu Ran stayed in the station to cooperate with them.
Xu Ran watched Tangtang changed his armor and rode the horse to the front. He didn’t bring many people. Tangtang said that the tactic he was going to use this time was called “lure the enemy away from his base”.
Most people were with Lu Qi, and he was still the main force this time. Although Tangtang was the commander.
Xu Ran didn’t look at the battle below like the last time. He just walked around the military camp with his hands behind his back.
He trusted Tangtang, but he was worried about him at the same time. It was his son, whom he had raised for ten years.
However, he couldn’t reveal his concern. He was the one who let him go and asked him to persuad other people in public. Now that he was on the battlefield, he started to worry again, which was a little ridiculous.
There was nothing in the military camp and it was quiet. Xu Ran kept his daily routines and he would go for a stroll when he was free. He waited from morning to evening until his son came back. At the same time, there was a bright light from the enemy’s camp on the other side.
And behind Tangtang, there was the man he took out. There were about a hundred of them when they left, and there were still more than ninety of them now. Some of them had wounds on their faces, some of them had wounds on their bodies, but they all had one thing in common. They all came back alive.
Xu Ran didn’t know what Tangtang had done but he could clearly see the admiration of the people behind him. At that moment, Xu Ran knew that he was right. He made the right bet on his son.
Not long after, Lu Qi came back with a large force. The first thing he said when he saw Xu Ran was to let him lay out a feast to celebrate.
Everyone was smiling but Xu Ran didn’t agree to Lu Qi’s request.
He said, “Let’s not celebrate yet. We can wait until you we sure that the barbarians are really leaving. Although the fire has burned their camp, there is no guarantee that there will be no fish that escapes from the net, we should be careful.”
Hearing Xu Ran’s words, Lu Qi calmed down. He was really overexcited just now. Xu Ran’s words were not unreasonable. Although the fire was still burning, they were not sure how many people were inside.
Not to mention that it was not certain if there were any spies in the military camp. They could not be plotted at the last moment.
When they heard that they couldn’t celebrate, the soldiers were disappointed and sighed.
Xu Ran laughed and said, “Although there is no wine, there are definitely plenty of good dishes and good meat. You soldiers have worked hard, so you can go back and havee a rest. Later, when the food is ready, I will call you out.”
Although there was no alcohol, it was not bad to have meat and vegetables. The men were not dissatisfied, so they went back.
After everyone left, Xu Ran went into the tent with Tangtang and Lu Qi. Xu Ran started to look at Tangtang seriously.
Tangtang shook his head at Xu Ran. “Dad, I’m fine. Don’t worry!”
After Xu Ran confirmed that he was really fine, he let out a long sigh.
Lu Qi was looking at them bitterly, wondering why he didn’t have such a good son? Well, he also didn’t have a nice father like Xu Ran.
“You’re the one who said you wanted your son to go to war. Why are you worried now?”Lu Qi held his arms and looked jealous.
Xu Ran rolled his eyes at him. “People like you who don’t have a son will not understand.”
These words made Lu Qi feel like he was seriously injured.
Tangtang watched them bickering and smiled unconsciously. This was the kind of life he wanted. His family was safe and peaceful, and they could chat when they were free. There was no need to worry about how to make a living. Everything was fine.
Tangtang said silently to herself, “Guoguo, come back! I miss you. If… I would feel guilty for the rest of my life, and you wouldn’t want me to feel so, would you?”