Then...
In the morning, Zheng Fan led a thousand cavalry from Green Willow Fortress out of the stronghold. As they needed to calm and "educate" the newly arrived fifteen hundred barbarian soldiers, the original barbarian soldiers within the fortress were left behind to help them reflect on past hardships to better appreciate their current situation.
Among these thousand riders, most were prisoner soldiers. Their faces were awash with smiles; the commendations from Nanwang City had arrived the day before, the couriers were likely already en route, and their kinsmen would soon be freed due to their meritorious military service.
They were once the lofty children of the noble houses, cast down from the clouds in a single day. Fortunately, they could start anew.
However, Zheng Fan was not in high spirits. He knew full well that Hui Wenzu was marshaling the elite forces of six great commanders, including his own, for a battle unprecedented since the Yan-Qian border war began.
