The dense forest.
A few Quzhao soldiers watched anxiously from afar as their comrades were being ganged up on at the gates of Gefeng City.
A soldier with Big Nostrils had eyes practically spitting fire. What do we do? Should we go save them? When was Gefeng City occupied? How come no news of this got out at all?
Standing at the front was a Square-faced Soldier. He shook his head. Save them with what? Just the few of us?
Big Nostrils fell silent. Indeed, with what?
The Square-faced Soldier gritted his teeth. Retreat. We must go back and report the situation here as quickly as possible.
Oh no, a group of riders is heading our way! Hurry, we've been exposed! Big Nostrils exclaimed.
He quickly vaulted onto his horse, rode out of the dense forest, and galloped wildly down the official road.
The Square-faced Soldier and the others were also quick. They mounted their horses and followed closely behind him.
Yun Chengxuan spurred his horse into a furious gallop, swiftly catching up to the trailing Quzhao soldier. With a swing of his blade, Foxin, a head flew into the air.
Watching Yun Chengxuan's clean and decisive killing technique from a distance, Jiang Jin thought to herself that the Mo Dao really suited him perfectly.
Zhou Sui was equally unwilling to be outdone. Bringing down his blade, Lenglin, he cleaved a Quzhao soldier in half, armor and all, spilling blood all over the ground.
Knowing they couldn't escape, the Square-faced Soldier, Big Nostrils, and the rest had no choice but to slow down and actively engage in battle.
Yun Chengxuan grinned, revealing his teeth. It was better if they didn't run.
He charged forward fiercely, completely ignoring the blade Big Nostrils swung at him. After all, the opponent's weapon was only about a meter long and couldn't reach him at all.
Thrusting Foxin forward, Big Nostrils let out a miserable shriek as he was directly launched into the air...
Zhou Sui had already engaged the Square-faced Soldier.
The battle ended quickly. In just over ten breaths of time, the Quzhao soldiers were completely wiped out.
When Yun Chengxuan and Zhou Sui rode back to the city gate, the battle there had also just concluded.
This skirmish yielded over forty horses, along with weapons, and they also captured twelve quarrymen alive.
Jiang Jin pointed to the dense forest. Chop down those woods. At the very least, clear out the front section where the south gate tower can be observed.
Zhou Sui understood her intention and nodded in agreement. Alright, I'll arrange for people to do it right away.
Jiang Jin glanced back at the idle Yun Chengxuan. Have him go chop trees. He's strong; one of him is worth ten men.
Yun Chengxuan: ...
What Jiang Jin didn't expect was that Zhou County would act so quickly.
The very next day, Gefeng was besieged!
Riding half a pace behind the Quzhao general, Qu Xiang gazed at the walls of Gefeng from afar. General, what do you make of this?
When the men he sent out yesterday failed to return, he knew something had happened and immediately reported the situation to the garrison stationed near Zhou County.
The man he addressed as General was the supreme commander of the Zhou County garrison, the General Who Pacifies the South, Qu Chou.
Qu Chou looked at the Gefeng city tower and twitched the corner of his mouth. Just Han people. Nothing but a bunch of stragglers and disbanded soldiers.
His contempt was self-evident.
He couldn't be blamed for looking down on Jiang Jin and her group; currently, there was simply no formidable Han army in Fengzhou.
And he hadn't received any recent intelligence about a large Han army operating near Gefeng.
Therefore, he naturally assumed that those inside Gefeng City were merely stragglers who had somehow managed to capture the city through unknown means, posing no real threat.
He signaled a nearby officer to step forward and call out.
Receiving the order, the officer rode forward and shouted loudly at the city tower, Who is inside the city? State your names!
Jiang Jin looked down at the Quzhao soldiers below the tower. A considerable number had come this time; at a glance, there seemed to be three or four thousand men.
However, these people had ultimately underestimated her, not even bringing a siege weapon like a catapult.
If it had been when she first arrived in Gefeng, having so many people attacking the city would have indeed been somewhat troublesome.
But now she had over a thousand soldiers under her command and the advantage of defending the city, so she really didn't have much to worry about.
Jiang Jin gave a signal.
Xie Nanxiao understood and shouted down at the city, We are the Jinyang Army! Who are you, and what is your business here?
Qu Xiang frowned slightly and muttered, Jinyang Army? How come I've never heard of them? Where did they pop out from?
Qu Chou hadn't heard of the Jinyang Army either. I don't know. Did I just see women on the city tower?
Qu Xiang narrowed his eyes slightly. There are women, more than one. Heh, Han men are truly cowardly, actually relying on women?
The shouting from their side continued. Never heard of any Jinyang Army! I am from the Zhou County garrison, under the Fifth Legion of the Quzhao Army.
Gefeng is Quzhao territory! Open the city gates and surrender immediately, and our army will spare your lives...
Yun Yu explained in a low voice beside Jiang Jin, If I am not mistaken, the main general of this force is Qu Chou. This man is somewhat arrogant.
Jiang Jin nodded, watching the meaningless war of words going back and forth between the two sides.
At this moment, Dong Si hurried over. My Lord, I have sent people to notify the logging team, the brick kiln, and the iron mine.
These places were a certain distance away from the Gefeng county seat. As long as the Quzhao people didn't spread out and conduct large-scale searches, they wouldn't be discovered.
What she worried about was the unfortunate possibility of someone transporting goods back from there at this exact time; that would be troublesome.
The Quzhao people would definitely grow suspicious and, following the clues, would very likely find the locations of her various sites.
You did well. The various construction projects in the city don't need to stop; just continue as usual. Oh, and make sure to properly soothe their nerves, Jiang Jin instructed.
Dong Si complied and quickly walked away.
The people in the city were indeed in a state of panic, worried that the Quzhao army would break in.
When Dong Si arrived at the residential area, it wasn't just the commoners who were flustered; even Kang Sheng and a few other supervisors looked rather pale.
The brutality of the barbarians had left an indelible mark on the hearts of the Han people. This fear ran deep into their bones, making them shudder whenever they thought of it.
Dong Si shouted loudly, We have our Lord and the Jinyang Army in the city! If our Lord could seize the city back from the hands of the Quzhao people, she can certainly defend it!
This is our city, the city of the Han people! As long as the Jinyang Army is here, we will absolutely never allow the barbarians to set foot in Gefeng City again, unless they are carried in horizontally!
Everyone, there is no need to worry. Keep working and finish building the houses as quickly as possible. These are being built for you by our Lord. From now on, this is our home, and we will protect it together.
The commoners all looked at him. Tears welled up in many of their eyes, but their gazes gradually grew resolute.
That's right. This was their home. They had finally looked forward to these good days where they could eat their fill and have work to do.
No longer oppressed, humiliated, or slaughtered at will, their lives finally had hope, and no one was going to take that away from them!
