Xie Nanxiao's eyes were dark and obscure, half of his face hidden behind the battlements. "We're opening the gates, hold on a moment."
The leading soldier furrowed his brows. "Why do I feel like something isn't right?"
"What could possibly be wrong? They're probably just slacking off," another soldier with a pointed chin said dismissively.
The distance across the moat was quite far, and Xie Nanxiao and the other gate guards were wearing the uniforms of the Quzhao soldiers.
Looking up from their angle, they could only see a small portion of Xie Nanxiao's face, so they didn't immediately notice anything amiss.
"That's true. It's just a small city. You won't see a single soul for weeks on end. It's a far cry from our Zhou County."
The pointed-chin soldier laughed heartily. "Indeed. There are barely any people in Gefeng City. Every time I go in, it feels like a dead city."
As the men conversed, the city gates slowly opened, and the drawbridge was lowered.
The Quzhao soldiers ceased their chatter and spurred their horses across the drawbridge.
However, today was indeed a bit strange; surprisingly, no one came out to welcome them.
The pointed-chin soldier couldn't help but mutter, "What exactly is going on in Gefeng County today? They have no manners at all."
No one else spoke. Before they could even step through the gate archway, they heard a loud creaking sound coming from behind them.
The leading soldier's heart skipped a beat. He looked back, only to see the drawbridge being slowly pulled back up.
Meanwhile, dozens of cavalrymen swarmed out from within the city and surrounded them.
Xie Nanxiao looked at them and smiled. "Welcome to our Gefeng."
At this time, Jiang Jin was in the residential area. With over a thousand people working simultaneously, the scene was quite grand, and the progress was rapid. The houses had already been built to the height of a person.
Kang Sheng was very excited. "My Lord, have you tried the heated walls and the kang bed in the medical center? They are truly amazing."
Jiang Jin gave him some appropriate encouragement. "Yes, I've tried them. The results are good. You've done very well."
Kang Sheng chuckled, but then started to complain, "My Lord, the brick supply can't keep up with our progress. The brick kilns really need to speed things up."
Jiang Jin spread her hands helplessly. "There are only four brick kilns, and they also have to fire roof tiles, all while prioritizing the barbican. However, I estimate the bricks for the barbican are almost done. Once that's finished, all four kilns can fire bricks together, and the speed will pick up."
Kang Sheng also knew what was most urgent and important. He sighed, "That's all we can do for now."
Jiang Jin smiled and said, "If it comes to it, just arrange for people to lay the foundations first. That way, as soon as the bricks and tiles arrive, construction can start immediately."
Kang Sheng nodded. "The foundations for the residential area were dug a long time ago. Now they are digging the ones for the industrial zone. Speaking of which, we don't have quite enough stone either."
Jiang Jin felt helpless. "There's nothing we can do about that. We are short on manpower everywhere right now. Oh, by the way, make absolutely sure that the waterproofing and drainage are done well."
Kang Sheng hurriedly assured her, "My Lord, rest easy. Look at these underground drainage ditches; I've planned them all out. There will absolutely be no problems."
"Good. Once the foundations for the industrial zone are done, go dig the ones for the armory. In short, the men cannot be left idle," Jiang Jin instructed.
The personnel were actually divided into general labor divisions: some dug foundations, some rammed earth, some built walls, and some laid tiles and bricks...
Once anything was turned into an assembly line model, the speed increased dramatically.
She was just thinking of going to the brick kiln to take a look when she saw Xie Nanxiao walking over briskly. "My Lord, we've captured a small squad of Quzhao cavalry."
Jiang Jin frowned. "Were they a patrol? Did you catch all of them?"
Xie Nanxiao shook his head. "No, they are cavalry from Zhou County, here in Gefeng to deliver a message to Qu Chi."
As he spoke, his face darkened. "They said they had acquired a mother and daughter who are exceptionally beautiful, and they wanted to invite Qu Chi over to appreciate them."
Jiang Jin froze for a moment before she understood the implications of his words, and the look in her eyes grew a few degrees colder.
But at this moment, she had no time to worry about the fate of others. With the disappearance of this cavalry squad, Quzhao would likely soon discover that Gefeng had changed hands.
She had originally wanted to drag things out a little longer, but it seemed that was no longer possible.
Still, she had occupied Gefeng for almost a month. It was only because Gefeng was so remote and she had completely controlled the city's populace that they hadn't been discovered sooner.
"We took six alive and killed four. How should we handle them?" Xie Nanxiao asked.
Jiang Jin didn't even hesitate. "Send the living ones to dig stones for me. Double the guards on the city towers. Soldiers must be dispatched to patrol the city walls around the clock. Be prepared for battle at any moment."
Xie Nanxiao's heart skipped a beat, and his expression turned solemn. "Understood."
In the evening, when Yao Ji and Xia Chanyi's bandit-suppression forces returned, they immediately reported their results from the past few days to Jiang Jin.
"We did not disappoint. The notable bandits in the vicinity have either been wiped out or have surrendered."
Jiang Jin nodded, affirming their achievements. "You've done very well. It just so happens that starting tomorrow, you won't be going out anymore."
Yao Ji and the others had heard about the Quzhao cavalry as soon as they returned. Hearing Jiang Jin's words now, they naturally knew what was going on.
"Put all the disobedient and wicked bandits into the quarrying group. Carefully screen the rest as well; we can't completely trust their words."
Over the past few days of bandit suppression, excluding those who refused amnesty and were directly annihilated for resisting, they had brought back over 1,200 people in total. Among them, there were about 400 wicked men.
The rest were commoners who had been abducted up the mountains or forced into banditry like those on Wuhu Mountain. Jiang Jin didn't make things difficult for these people; the young and strong were directly added to the construction or logging groups.
However, these people weren't necessarily as innocent as they claimed, so Jiang Jin would have people monitor them for a period of time.
Yao Ji and Xia Chanyi understood her meaning and nodded in agreement.
It wasn't until two days later that Zhou County received the news.
Zhou County Magistrate Sangjie was greatly shocked. "What did you say? Something might have happened in Gefeng?"
The County Defender, Qu Xiang, shook his head. "We aren't certain yet. We had a small squad of cavalry go to Gefeng, and they haven't returned since."
He had acquired a mother and daughter a few days ago and wanted to invite his old friend Qu Chi to come and appreciate them together, but he never expected that the men he sent out wouldn't return.
At first, he thought Qu Chi had kept his soldiers in Gefeng overnight, but two days had passed, and not only had Qu Chi not come, but the soldiers hadn't returned either. It was then that he realized something was wrong.
Sangjie pondered deeply, then shook his head a moment later. "Impossible. Although Gefeng is a small county town, it still has over a hundred guards. How could something happen so easily?"
"Is it possible your soldiers didn't make it to Gefeng, or something happened to them on the road? Or perhaps Qu Chi got delayed by something over in Gefeng?"
A cold glint flashed in Qu Xiang's eyes. "I've already sent people to investigate. Word should come back soon."
Today, another cavalry troop of several dozen men arrived at Gefeng. It was later than Jiang Jin had estimated; they were likely sent by Zhou County to scout the situation.
Naturally, Jiang Jin didn't hold back against them. In any case, the fact that Gefeng had changed hands could no longer be hidden.
The forces she sent into battle included not only Xie Nanxiao but also Yao Ji, Xia Chanyi, and other female soldiers. A mighty host of over a hundred people rode out of the city gates.
Ganging up on the enemy on her own turf—Jiang Jin didn't see any problem with this at all. She stood on the city tower, watching the Quzhao soldiers get beaten so badly they couldn't even fight back.
Suddenly, a glint of light in the distance caught her attention, and she couldn't help but look up.
In the distance, the dense forest was deep, making it impossible to see what was hidden inside.
Back when she had taken Gefeng, Xie Nanxiao and the others had hidden in that very same dense forest.
Jiang Jin narrowed her eyes slightly, thinking to herself that the trees in that dense forest should be cut down; they were just short on firewood anyway.
Zhou Sui glanced at her and asked, "What's wrong?"
Jiang Jin lifted her chin. "Over there. There should still be rats hiding in the dense forest."
A fierce glint flashed through Zhou Sui's eyes. He turned on his heel and descended the city tower.
Jiang Jin cast a sidelong glance at Yun Chengxuan beside her. "You go too."
Yun Chengxuan voiced his agreement and swiftly made his way down the tower.
He had been practicing his saber techniques with Zhou Sui recently and felt he had made some progress; this was the perfect opportunity to test out the Buddha's Heart.
Before long, Zhou Sui and Yun Chengxuan led a small squad of men out of the city gates on horseback, charging straight toward the dense forest in the distance.
