Fierce winds howled. While the Great Wu Dynasty's capital Shengjing was still in the early autumn, occasionally harassing them, Northern Liangzhou had already entered the bleak early winter.

Ten li outside Liangzhou, on the Northern Border Army's training grounds, the nomadic barbarians had all stopped their nomadic activities, setting up tents and storing up food for the winter. As for the border soldiers, apart from the daily work they were given, they still had to continue training.

Smoke rose from the kitchen chimneys of the soldiers' barracks. They were already cooking dinner.

The setting sun fell to the horizon, leaving behind only a strand of red light that sprinkled onto the earth, adding a layer of fresh color to the bleak and vast grasslands. But no matter how fresh this color was, it could not block out the biting cold wind that blew past.

A loud and clear bugle horn sounded, one sound after another, until it spread throughout the entire border army barracks.

On the training grounds, the last code words on the flags ended, and then there was a burst of powerful shouts from the soldiers. The officers in charge of training shouted that it was time to eat.

Even though it was early winter, the Northern Border Army was not in a state of war preparation. They only ate two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the evening.

These soldiers had trained for an entire day, sweating profusely. At this time, they were already so hungry that their chests were sticking to their backs. Under the officer's order, the footsteps that they ran towards the soldiers' barracks might not even be able to catch up to the general's sharp arrows.

In Officer Guo's barracks, more than three hundred elite soldiers also ran like wolves and dogs towards the soldiers' barracks.

The tall and sturdy Officer Guo followed behind the soldiers. Because of his many years in the army, his tanned face had a smile on it. He pointed at the soldiers that were running like rabbits and scolded them with a smile.

There were two men beside Field Officer Guo. The one on the left was strong and slender, actually taller than Field Officer Guo by a head. Looking at his deep eyes and straight nose, one could tell that he was a young man in his twenties. Just as they were about to admire his appearance, it was a pity that he had grown a dark beard that covered half of his face. It was a pity that he had grown a dark beard that covered half of his face.

The man on the right was about the same height as Officer Guo. His face was clean-shaven, but unfortunately, he had a square face and small eyes. In addition, his stature was even taller than Officer Guo, so there was nothing to look at.

However, this square-faced man also looked very young.

Commandant Guo reached out and patted the two people beside him. "Zixiang, Yuhong, keep your subordinates in check. Look, they're about to turn the sky upside down."

Zixiang was He Changdi's courtesy name, and Yuhong was naturally the square-faced burly man.

Due to his relationship with Count Jing 'an and Prince Jin, He Changdi had a higher starting point than the others even though he had just entered the northern border army and was serving under Commandant Guo. Due to his status, He Changdi was able to become a general the moment he arrived.

The general of the Great Wu Dynasty's border army was equivalent to a centurion in the army, commanding a squad of more than a hundred soldiers.

Lieutenant Guo had three generals under him. Other than He Changdi and Xiao Yuhong, there was also Zhang Mai, who was over thirty years old.

He Changdi and Xiao Yuhong hurriedly agreed with a smile.

Commandant Guo saw that the Cooks' Army Barracks had already started fighting over the food, so he quickened his pace. "We should hurry up too. Otherwise, the food will be snatched away by that group of hungry ghosts."

Commandant Guo was only joking. He and the three generals would leave some extra food for the cooks.

However, Commandant Guo treated his soldiers like his own brothers. His own food was no different from the soldiers', just that the portion was a little larger. He was an upright person and never gave the cooks special treatment.

The only time he had drunk pheasant soup was when he was training while sick. The old cooks couldn't stand it anymore and made him an extra meal. That was a year ago.

However, the northern border was already bitterly cold. Although the border army was regularly distributed rations and money by the imperial court, resources were still limited. The rations were simply too crude. Unless they were preparing for war, it was only enough to fill the stomachs of the border army.

Even if Commandant Guo wanted to give them special treatment, there wasn't much else to eat.

When the three of them arrived at the cooks' Army Barracks, the old cooks hurriedly brought out three large porcelain bowls and placed them on a light wooden table outside the tent. There were four wooden stools beside the table. It was still evening, and because they were sheltered by the tent, they were facing away from the wind. They could take advantage of the light of day to have a coarse army dinner.

Commandant Guo asked his two assistants to sit down and pointed at the three porcelain bowls on the table. "It's been a long day. Eat!"

He Changdi and Xiao Yuhong didn't hesitate. They took the chopsticks beside them and began to eat.

There was only a bowl of green fruit porridge mixed with cabbage in the porcelain bowl. On top of it were two pieces of Guokui. There was no smell of meat at all. The green fruit porridge only had some coarse salt.

Because it was low-grade coarse salt, there was a bitter taste mixed with something else.

How could they care about the taste of such a meal? It was just barely enough to fill their stomachs.

Xiao Yuhong finished a piece of Guokui in two or three bites. He swallowed so much that he stretched his neck and swallowed a few mouthfuls of green fruit porridge. Only then did he wash down the Guokui that was stuck in his throat.

His face was dark and red. He took a deep breath and stared at the huge porcelain bowl in a daze.

Although this kid was as strong as a calf, he was one year younger than He Changdi. He was only nineteen this year. His family was also a military family. He had only entered the camp last year. Although his family's discipline was strict, he had never lacked food since he was young.

"Big Brother Guo, Big Brother He, every time this happens, I really want to eat my mother's meat stew. In the past, when I was at home, I disliked the meat because it was too fatty. Now, if you can bring me a pot of it, I can eat it from top to bottom."

Commandant Guo laughed and pointed at him. "What? You can't eat the remaining half? Give it to me and I'll help you eat!"

Xiao Yuhong hurriedly protected his own porcelain bowl in his arms like a puppy protecting its food. It made people want to laugh out loud.

"That won't do. Big Brother Guo, I'm not full yet!"

"Hmph, didn't you say you wanted to eat meat?"

"I don't have any!

If there was meat, who would want to eat this coarse dough! "

He Changdi held the bowl in his hands and slowly ate the food in front of him. Although he ate quickly, not only did the way he ate not make people feel awkward, but he even faintly looked elegant.

Apart from the fact that his beard was a little inconvenient and would occasionally be stained with porridge, he buried his head in his food and didn't seem to hear the conversation of the other two people at the table.

Just as Commandant Guo and Xiao Yuhong finished speaking, a clear male voice said, "Who said there's no meat!"

"What?

There's meat? "

Xiao Yuhong, who hadn't tasted meat for a few months, couldn't help but stand up with her eyes glowing red. Her pair of small eyes also widened in excitement.

The man who spoke slowly walked over with an empty bowl. He was about the same height as He Changdi and had a clean-shaven face. He was also dressed in the military uniform of a commandant, but he was clearly older than He Changdi.

He was the third commandant under Commandant Guo, Zhang Mai.

Zhang Mai's old injury had relapsed today and he had been exempted from training by Commandant Guo. He had rested in the tent for half a day and had just finished his dinner.

For some reason, He Changdi, who had been sitting quietly at the side eating, suddenly froze.

Xiao Yuhong's gluttony had flared up and he couldn't wait to eat meat. He walked to Zhang Mai and said fawningly, "Big Brother Zhang, you said there's meat to eat just now. Don't forget about me!"

Zhang Mai smiled mysteriously and pointed his index finger at He Changdi, who seemed to be meditating.