“Elder brother?” Just as Edward Benson was lost in wild thoughts and blaming the heavens, the door was suddenly pulled open, and a young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes swept into the room with a gust of cold wind.

“Ah Yue.” Edward Benson finally came back to his senses. “Weren’t you on the city tower with our clan uncle observing the enemy camp? Why are you here now?”

“There’s someone.” The thick-browed, big-eyed Charles Benson sat down, looking a bit excited. “The person you asked me about before, I just happened to see him.”

“Which person?” This came out of nowhere, so Edward Benson was naturally confused.

“Han Dang, Han Yigong!” Charles Benson quickly replied. “The one I told you about last year, the best in archery and horsemanship in our Lingzhi city, and whose strength is recognized as the best in the village, that George Harris. When I mentioned him, you asked me to keep an eye on him for you. Now that you’re back, I was thinking of bringing him to meet you, but I couldn’t find him… Who would have thought I’d run into him here at Lulong Fortress? Turns out he’s now a squad leader of cavalry.”

“Han Dang, Han Yigong.” Edward Benson pondered for a moment, then suddenly stood up. “Han Dang, Han Yigong?!”

“Yes.” Charles Benson nodded. “He’s the one you were looking for, right?”

“Wait a moment.” Edward Benson paced around, shaking his head repeatedly. “Han Dang… George Harris! Both the name and the courtesy name match, so it might really be him. But isn’t he supposed to be from Jiangdong? He’s supposed to be a claw of the Jiangdong Tiger. How could he be from Liaoxi, and from what you’re saying, even our fellow townsman?!”

“Yes,” Charles Benson nodded calmly. “He’s from our Lingzhi, not Jiangdong at all. Jiangdong Tiger? Brother, are you dreaming?”

Edward Benson was left speechless—did this person’s appearance mean his mother’s prophecy was right or wrong? Or was it just a coincidence?

Striving to make a name among the lords, seeking to survive in troubled times… The wheel of history really does turn when you least expect it!

……

“When Emperor Ling ascended the throne, not a year passed without the border commanderies of You, Bing, and Liang being raided by the Xianbei, with countless killings and plundering.” — Book of the Later Han, Volume 90, Biography of the Wuhuan and Xianbei, No. 80

Chapter Two: Requesting Battle

“Fellow townsmen and young men, ever since the Jianning era, for so many years, our border commanderies have been raided and harassed by the Xianbei almost every year. Sometimes a hundred or so riders, sometimes thousands or tens of thousands. Today they kill our neighbors, tomorrow they plunder our goods. In spring, when food is scarce, they come to steal grain; in autumn, when the horses are fat and strong, they come to rob food again. Even in winter, when the grasslands are bitterly cold, they still come to the border to steal clothes for warmth. Now, with the New Year approaching, the Xianbei are still camped outside the fortress—do they want us to spend the New Year inside the fortress? This is truly outrageous…”

The speaker was a burly young man with a fine beard and eagle-like eyes, wearing a sword and armor, looking around with pride—a true hero of Yan. Only his bow-legged stance seemed a bit out of place, but it also told those around him that he was a seasoned cavalry warrior.

Now, although Lulong Fortress’s core was just this one fortress city before them, the entire Lulong defense system spanned the two commanderies of Liaoxi and Youbeiping, stretching over a hundred li. According to Charles Benson’s earlier explanation, this Thomas Harris was currently a cavalry squad leader in the Liaoxi section of Lulong Fortress.

However, while this squad leader looked quite imposing and spoke passionately, most of the hundreds in the courtyard were just listening. Only a dozen or so soldiers standing behind him joined in the commotion, causing a bit of a stir.

“What does this mean, what is Thomas Harris trying to do?” Charles Benson, only seventeen this year and just recently having his hair tied up, had neither studied nor entered officialdom, so he might not understand everything. “It wasn’t like this just now.”

“What else could it mean?” After two years in the commandery’s accounting office, Edward Benson couldn’t help yawning as he leaned on the stairs. “He just wants to earn military merit.”

Now Charles Benson suddenly understood: “He wants to stir up the crowd and pressure his superiors to let him lead an attack?”

“That’s right.”

“But isn’t our clan uncle patrolling the camp here at Lulong Fortress today? With so many important people upstairs in Lulong Tower, isn’t he afraid of causing a disturbance and being punished?”

“If you ask me, he probably heard that our clan uncle was patrolling today, so he’s making a fuss on purpose.” Edward Benson yawned again, shaking his head. “Alright, since he’s a fellow townsman, we can’t just watch him suffer. Charlie, go upstairs and find our clan uncle…”

While the brothers were whispering on the stairs, the commotion in the courtyard had indeed drawn the attention of the mid-level officers in the watchtower. On the south wall, a squad leader wearing a black headscarf and crimson military uniform poked his head out in a fury, not even bothering to wipe the soup from his beard:

“Yigong, everyone’s eating—can’t you give me a break? Is there sand in the food, or is the soup not hot enough? Tell me, and I’ll give you an answer.”

“Squad Leader Tian.” Thomas Harris smiled slightly at these words, neither hurried nor annoyed. “The food is enough and the soup is hot. It’s just that the men are angry at the arrogance of the Xianbei dogs and are eager for battle…”

“Eager my ass!” The squad leader surnamed Tian was furious. “Never mind that important matters in the army are for the nobles to decide, but the sun is already setting, and our unit is all cavalry—do you really want to ride out and fight at night?”