Through the gaps in the wooden fence, Lin Feng saw Cui Yijiao leading a group of people shambling over.
They were the villagers of Lingdouzi Village.
There were no able-bodied young men, only the old, weak, women, and children.
Dressed in tattered clothes, they walked with faltering steps.
Years of drought had led to widespread crop failure.
Furthermore, with the Tiezhen Tribe plundering everywhere, the able-bodied young men in the village were either conscripted into the Border Army or had left their homes.
“Feng Zi, why did you call me here?”
“Feng Zi, Grandma still needs to dig for wild vegetables. What are you up to?”
These villagers were either Lin Feng's grandparents' generation or children under ten years old.
Lin Feng was dumbfounded.
What could these people do?
According to his plan, he needed to dig several traps around the camp fence and plant barbs inside them.
If possible, he also needed to deepen the trenches.
The battle today made him realize that the trenches in front of the camp fence were not very effective.
If he let these people do it, it probably wouldn't be finished even after the New Year.
Cui Yijiao shouted loudly, “Lin Feng is a Sergeant now! Do whatever he tells you to do! Why ask so many questions!”
There was also a little girl with a face full of dirt and dishevelled hair.
She ran up to Lin Feng and tugged at his clothes.
“Brother, I’ve also come to work.”
Lin Feng knew this was his own younger sister, Lin Shou, who had just turned ten this year.
Before he could speak, Lin Shou’s big, dark eyes widened in surprise.
“Brother, you’re a Sergeant now?”
The original Lin Feng had a gentle personality; although he spoke little, he treated his younger sister very well.
“Uh, is Dad doing okay?”
Ever since the Tiezhen Tribe invaded, Lin Feng had been assigned by Cui Yijiao to keep watch on the Beacon Tower and hadn't been home for over half a month.
“Hmm, Dad is fine, it’s just that he’s hungry… there’s nothing to eat at home.”
“You go back; there will be food to eat today.”
“I don’t have to work?”
Lin Feng felt a headache coming on. He waved his hand and shouted loudly to the group of villagers.
“Everyone, old and young, go back. There’s nothing to do here.”
Cui Yijiao leaned over, looking puzzled.
“Sergeant, don’t we need to build fortifications?”
“What do you think they can do?”
“But… these are all the people left in the village…”
“Let them go back. I’ll think of another way.”
Cui Yijiao nodded and waved his hand at the villagers.
“Everyone, go, go, hurry up. It’s not safe here.”
An old man, trembling, walked over.
“Squad Leader Cui, we can’t have come all this way for nothing, can we?”
Cui Yijiao glared, “What else do you want?”
“At least give us something to eat. My family ran out of food long ago, and my wife has a small child. They’re so hungry they can’t get out of bed.”
“Get lost! I haven’t even had anything to eat yet!”
Cui Yijiao cursed angrily.
Lin Feng also had a headache. In these times, people were starving to death everywhere; where would there be extra food?
His own father was still starving in bed.
Cui Yijiao was accustomed to being a Sergeant and was a man of great authority in Lingdouzi Village; no one dared to offend him easily.
He waved his hand, driving the dozen or so old, weak, women, and children out of the camp fence.
Lin Feng took Lin Shou’s small hand and led her into the thatched hut.
He dug two blackened sweet potatoes from the fire, wrapped them in a piece of torn cloth, and had Lin Shou tuck them into her in my arms.
Lin Shou was excited, saliva dripping from her small mouth.
“Take them home. You and Dad each get one. Don’t let anyone see them, okay?”
Lin Shou was speechless, only nodding continuously.
When he escorted Lin Shou out of the camp fence, he found that there was still one person who hadn't left.
This was a woman in her early twenties. Although her clothes were old, they were very clean and neatly patched.
With dark hair and a fair face, she was neatly groomed.
Her pretty eyes showed a hint of arrogance.
Lin Feng looked at Cui Yijiao in confusion.
“Sergeant, this woman refuses to leave, and we can’t afford to offend her.”
Cui Yijiao whispered to Lin Feng.
“What’s her background?”
“She’s Lin Zhaomin’s newlywed wife from our village. Reportedly…”
Cui Yijiao’s voice dropped even lower, “She had some unclear relationship with Master Huang, the juren from the county, and was later driven out by his main wife before marrying old Lin.”
In Lin Feng’s memory, Lin Zhaomin was a bachelor in his forties who had been a bandit in his early years. For some unknown reason, his Achilles tendon had been severed.
When he was sent home, he was half-dead and had contracted tuberculosis.
Lingdouzi Village was a mixed-surname village, with people of all surnames.
Although Lin Zhaomin also had the surname Lin, he had no relation to Lin Feng’s family.
The Lin surname was the most common in the village. Lin Feng had a paternal uncle who was a prominent figure in the village, with money and grain.
Although they lived in the same village, they had not interacted with Lin Feng’s family for many years.
Even when Lin Feng’s mother starved to death, Lin Feng’s paternal uncle did not show up.
“What does she want?”
Before Cui Yijiao could speak, the woman stepped forward and looked at Lin Feng calmly.
“Sergeant Lin, there’s no food at home. I want to work here. Just give me some food to eat.”
Cui Yijiao smiled, “Sister-in-law Lin, it’s not that we won’t let you stay here, but this is a Border Army camp. How can women be allowed to work here?”
“I saw women working in the camp.”
“Those are military family members; naturally, they can stay here.”
“Then just consider me a military family member.”
“Then… you…”
Cui Yijiao was usually fierce, but when facing someone with an official background, he remained gentle.
He was at a loss for words and could only turn to look at Lin Feng.
The woman’s bright black eyes also looked at Lin Feng.
“Sergeant Lin, I can do anything, including the work you men do.”
She spoke calmly, without expression.
Lin Feng nodded, “Alright, then stay and work.”
Cui Yijiao became anxious, “Sergeant, keeping a woman in our camp… she’s unlucky.”
Lin Feng sneered, “When you had two women serving you, why didn’t you say it was unlucky?”
“Uh… family members, you know.”
“Stop babbling and hurry up and dig traps outside the camp.”
Cui Yijiao dared not say more. When Lin Feng glared at him, he felt a tightening in his crotch.
Lin Feng looked up and saw Wu Er’s head immediately retract from the top of the Beacon Tower.
“Sister-in-law Lin, is it…”
“Just call me Bai Jing.”
“Alright, Bai Jing, you go work with Cui Yijiao. You’ll get enough food.”
Bai Jing said no more, turned, and followed Cui Yijiao to get tools.
After everyone had left, Lin Feng stood on the camp fence partition, looking at the barren land stretching for a thousand li in the distance, sighing in his heart.
“Alas, the situation is grim. What should I do?”
Lin Feng thought of his past glory and then looked at his current predicament, feeling a sense of confusion about the future.
When the Tartars attacked, the Beacon Towers before and after did not show any smoke signals, which likely meant their garrisons had already been wiped out by the Tartars.
He was now an isolated force here.
Fortunately, this place was barren, so the Tartars had not sent a large army.
Otherwise, they would have been slaughtered long ago.
Suddenly, he frowned.
If he stubbornly defended this place, the Tartars, having a clear target, would continuously send troops to harass them.
With so few people and the camp fence offering virtually no defensive advantage, they would be finished if just a few more Tartars came.
It would be better to take the initiative and attack, choosing advantageous terrain to snipe enemy cavalry.
If they couldn't find a clear target, perhaps the camp fence could survive a few more days.
Thinking this, Lin Feng felt a surge of heat throughout his body.
With his current skills, he probably wouldn't be worse than the Tartars.
As soon as he thought of it, he acted. Lin Feng called Cui Yijiao into the camp fence.
“Do you have a map of the vicinity here?”
Cui Yijiao spread his hands, “How could someone of our rank have such a thing? We just operate based on our familiarity with this area.”
“Good. Use a white cloth to draw the nearby villages, roads, and hills.”
“No problem, but, Sergeant, what are you planning…?”
Lin Feng felt there was no need to hide it from them; he still needed to cooperate with these few people to eliminate the enemy.
“You all hold firm here, and I will tie up the Tartars outside. With an inside-out pincer attack, we might be able to hold Lingdouzi Beacon Tower.”
Cui Yijiao looked at Lin Feng in confusion.
His first reaction was that this guy was trying to run away.