Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2

  Jiang Cai equipped each person with a leather quiver, which everyone used as a pillow to listen for the sound of Xiongnu horses' hooves. Zhang Wan and Du Lu were skeptical about this leather quiver, but only Jiang Cai had complete faith in it.

  Jiang Cai took out his savings again to buy a relatively thicker coat for Wang An to keep warm, but his savings were limited and could not be used to buy down jacket.

  Autumn is getting stronger, and Wang An has been here for 4 days. Wang An looked at the geese flying south, and his heart was also filled with emotions, wondering how his father was doing back home.

  Wang An felt indignant every time he thought of Hu Yinyin, and his original love for her had turned into a bellyful of anger.

  "It's bad, the Xiongnu have invaded", a wolf smoke signal rose from the distant beacon tower. The beacon tower had rules: during the day, when the enemy invades, ignite the wolf dung and raise the wolf smoke; at night, ignite the beacon fire to report to the rear. Jiang Cai hastily ran up the beacon tower and ignited the pile of wolf dung.

  In front, wolf smoke rose here, and wolf smoke also rose. The signal of the beacon tower was transmitted one after another. Soon, the dust rolled in from a distance, and cavalry rushed over from afar, with dust covering the sky. Jiang Cai and others broke out in cold sweat, thinking that if these people attacked the beacon tower, they would surely die.

  The cavalry was getting closer and closer, the sound of horseshoes touching the ground was like a huge thunder, striking the hearts of Jiang Cai and others. The cavalry was like endless waves on the sea, with ferocious faces on horseback, looking up at them made people afraid.

  Jiang Cai's body began to sweat, although he was a veteran soldier, but he had never seen such a precarious situation, in such a dangerous position. Zhang Wan's whole body trembled, Du Lu's face turned white, without any blood color. Li Li now also lost his heroic spirit, frightened to the point where his teeth kept chattering together.

  Wang An looked calmly at the cavalry, without showing any fear. Since being betrayed by Hu Yinyin, he had experienced many things and his body was still weak, but his heart had become extremely strong. Seeing that some of his companions were afraid, he said to them: "Don't be afraid, the Xiongnu are in a hurry to go to Guannei to plunder, they don't need to delay." Zhang Wan, although tense, couldn't help but retort to Wang An: "Who do you think you are? A god? You can predict everything?" Du Lu also said: "You think you're the leader of the Xiongnu, daring to speak so boldly. We believed your words and spent money to buy cowhide quivers, but they had no effect at all. Look! This time the Xiongnu cavalry invaded during the day." Jiang Cai shouted loudly: "Stop talking, what's the point? Prepare to die...no, prepare for battle!" Jiang Cai made a mistake due to tension, and he also began to doubt Wang An's judgment.

  The Xiongnu cavalry was getting closer and closer to the beacon tower, only 100 meters away. This distance was already very close for the cavalry, and Jiang Zai and others felt that they were getting closer and closer to death. The cavalry approached to within 50 meters, and now Jiang Zai and others believed that the Xiongnu wanted to attack this beacon tower, and they no longer doubted the Xiongnu's intention to attack this beacon tower. Jiang Zai and others calmed down instead, Jiang Zai began to draw his bow, preparing to shoot arrows, Zhang Wan also picked up stones, Du Lu also took up clubs, Li Li also took up knives, ready to fight with the enemy. They had already put life and death aside, they were now warriors, although their bodies were trembling, but at this moment, they shouldered the responsibility of resisting the enemy and defending the land without hesitation.

  Wang An, however, said to Jiang Cai: "Wait a bit longer, don't attack first." Jiang Cai thought Wang An had gone mad. At this time, the Xiongnu cavalry suddenly split into two groups and bypassed the beacon tower, charging forward. Jiang Cai and his men were now extremely tense, staring intently at the Xiongnu cavalry without blinking.

  The Xiongnu cavalry kept passing through the beacon tower, rushing forward, and soon all passed by here. Wang An calculated that this cavalry unit had about 1.5 million people. Wang An sighed: "The interior of the pass will be devastated again." Wang An turned his head and found that the other four were looking at him.

  "Sir, you are truly a god. You said the Xiongnu would not attack us, and indeed they did not. It's really incredible! Earlier, sir, you stopped us from attacking the Xiongnu cavalry, and I was still wondering about it. Now that I think back, I'm getting goosebumps. If my arrow had been shot out, the Xiongnu would have definitely sent troops to attack our beacon tower, and we would have suffered a disastrous defeat."

  Li Li said: "Our Mr. Wang is a man who can read people, and reading people is not ordinary", Zhang Wan and Du Lu also stopped talking now, they couldn't help but admire Wang An in their hearts.

  "Sir, how do you know the Xiongnu won't attack our beacon tower?" Jiang Cai asked. Wang An replied, "It's not difficult to understand. Our beacon tower has very few people and poses no threat to the Xiongnu, so they can safely bypass us and move forward. Moreover, the Xiongnu's goal is to raid the interior and plunder some wealth. Now that they've been discovered by our beacon tower and the news will be transmitted back, the people in the interior will flee into the cities, making it difficult for the Xiongnu to attack our cities. Once the people are inside the city, the Xiongnu's gains this time will be very small. Therefore, the Xiongnu won't waste time here and will definitely move forward quickly. If the Xiongnu doesn't gain anything in the interior this time, they might take out their frustrations on some beacon towers."

  Jiang Cai and Li Li have great admiration for Wang An now. Zhang Wan and Du Lu Kou didn't say anything, but they also had some respect for Wang An. As soon as Jiang Cai heard Wang An's analysis, he became tense, thinking that Wang An was definitely right, and immediately ordered the soldiers to prepare, ready to face another attack from the enemy.

  Jiang Cai and his men had been preparing nervously for a day, when at noon, the Xiongnu cavalry came galloping from afar. Wherever they passed, they attacked the beacon towers. Jiang Cai and his men saw that in an instant, one of the beacon towers behind them was captured, and all the defending soldiers were killed.

  The Xiongnu cavalry galloped towards them, and Jiang Zai's group tensed up again. They knew that this time there was no possibility of escaping unscathed. Jiang Zai's face turned pale once more, but he quickly calmed down and said to Li Li: "Li Li, if the Xiongnu attack the beacon tower, you must take responsibility for protecting Mr. Wang. Once the beacon tower falls, you must ensure that Mr. Wang escapes first." Zhang Wan and Du Lu looked at each other in confusion at Jiang Zai's arrangement.

  "Mr. Wang is a talent, the pillar of the country. We can do without Zhang Wan, we can do without Du Lu, we can do without Jiang Cai, and we can do without Li Li, but we cannot do without Wang An," said Jiang Cai. Zhang Wan and Du Lu nodded in agreement. Wang An was also moved, he said: "I won't leave, since I lost my loved one last time, I decided that I will never give up on the people I love again. Moreover, I have the responsibility of defending our country's territory. If we flee at this moment, what face would we have to meet our ancestors? Although most of the time we live in humility, but at critical moments, we can also be great once. Let us fight a fierce battle!"

  "Alright, let's wage a great war for the country," said Jiang Cai. Zhang Wan, Du Lu, and Li Li were also hot-blooded and shouted loudly: "War!" They arrived at their respective battle stations to prepare for combat, and in that moment, they became resolute warriors defending their homeland.

  The Xiongnu cavalry was getting closer and closer to the beacon tower, and Jiang Cai and his men were also prepared to die generously.

  The Xiongnu cavalry suddenly bypassed the beacon tower, without making too much of a stop, and went forward. Jiang Cai and Zhang Wan, Du Lu were all at a loss, not knowing what kind of trick the Xiongnu was playing.

  They all looked at Wang An, hoping that Wang An could know the answer. Wang An spread his hands and said: "I'm not a god either, I don't know what this move of the Xiongnu means." Jiang Cai said: "Don't mind him, we'll do as Mr. Wang says, continue to reinforce our defenses and make all preparations."

  After the Xiongnu invasion, the Jiedushi of Yuyang sent people to repair the beacons that had been destroyed by the Xiongnu. After this battle, the Jiedushi of Yuyang also recognized the importance of the beacons and attached great importance to their construction.

  Jiang Cai was also summoned by Wu Ge to the city to attend a meeting, while Wang An continued to gaze at the sky, his thoughts flying back to his hometown. He thought to himself that he didn't know how Hu Yinyin was doing now, but she must be living a life of luxury and freedom. Li Li arrived behind him and said, "Mr. Wang, you're thinking about that little traitor again, aren't you?" Wang An nodded, and Li Li continued, "Sir, I'm an unrefined person, but I also know some simple truths. Your talents are great, your goals should be far-reaching, and you shouldn't waste too much time on a woman like Hu Yinyin." Wang An was taken aback, but quickly understood that this must have been said by Jiang Cai, who hoped that Wang An would utilize his talents to make greater contributions to the defense of the border.

  Wang An said, "Don't worry, from today on, I will no longer think about Hu Yinyin. I will put all my energy into thinking about the defense of the border." Jiang Cai, Zhang Wan, and Du Lu all applauded, and Jiang Cai said, "Sir, I have always thought you were an extraordinary person. I believe you will bring peace to the border. You should apply your talents and do more beneficial things." Wang An smiled bitterly and asked, "Aren't you going to a meeting in Guannei? When did you come back?" Jiang Cai said, "I just got back. I brought a gift for you," and immediately took out a cotton-padded jacket. Wang An was very moved when he saw it, and he said, "Thank you." He knew that Jiang Cai didn't have much savings either, so buying a cotton-padded jacket must have been very difficult for him. Jiang Cai said, "Don't thank me. I couldn't afford to buy it by myself. Zhang Wan and Du Lu chipped in some money, and we bought this cotton-padded jacket together." Wang An hastily thanked Zhang Wan and Du Lu, saying, "Thank you so much!" Zhang Wan said, "What's the need for such courtesy among brothers?" Du Lu said, "We are brothers who have been through life and death together. What does a material object matter?" Zhang Wan, Du Lu, Wang An, and Jiang Cai exchanged smiles, and the bond between men didn't need to be spoken aloud.

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