Tang Tishou closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, a decision had been made. His voice came out as if squeezed between clenched teeth: "Retreat!"
Fight? How could they still fight now?
The city had already fallen. To fight now would only mean certain death, without any hope of success.
On the city wall, Zhou Sui watched the distant Quzhao cavalry turn and flee. His expression remained unchanged.
What a pity that the city was now empty of troops; otherwise, it wouldn't have been impossible to wipe them out.
In a village of Shan'guan County, the common people were harvesting wheat. This was the last batch—another two days of work and it would be finished.
They were tired, thirsty, and hungry, their faces flushed red from the heat, yet hardly any sweat dripped from them, as if their bodies had dried out completely.
There was only one well in the village with a little water left, but it had all been seized by the Quzhao soldiers. Each day, every commoner could only be allocated about two mouthfuls of water.
This year's drought had left the wheat shriveled and sparse; the yield was less than twenty percent of a normal year’s. Still, the people harvested it with great care.
Though barely any of this grain would end up in their hands, the preciousness of food was ingrained deep in their bones. They could not bear to see a single speck wasted.
Not far away, under a big tree, several Quzhao soldiers sat.
A large-faced man chugged water from his canteen, gulping noisily, then let out a long, satisfied breath: "This weather—it's too hot."
"Tell me about it," complained a gaunt man waving a dried-up tree branch as a fan. "At least in the city, it's comfortable. Here, there aren't even enough leaves on the trees to block the sun."
Another sturdy soldier chuckled and said, "Come on, it's not much cooler in the city either. The wheat will be harvested soon, and then we'll head back."
The gaunt man looked toward the scattered, low houses in the village. "Those officers have it easy—sleeping the day away in the village, leaving us to watch over these base laborers, making them toil."
The large-faced man let out a couple of smirks and asked, "Are we leaving any grain for these base people this year?"
The sturdy soldier shook his head. "There's a severe drought this year, and the grain harvest is too poor. The higher-ups said not to leave a thing."
The large-faced man's expression showed he had expected this. He turned and glanced around. "What a shame—this is some fine farmland, and these Han people are exceptionally hardworking."
The gaunt man tossed the withered branch to the ground. "What's there to regret? They're just base people. Dead means dead. Next year, when we need laborers to farm, we'll just go grab some more."
The large-faced man snorted coldly. "With a drought like this year, even grass roots aren't enough to eat. By next year, the Han will have nearly died off. Where would we find anyone to grab?"
The sturdy soldier twitched his mouth into a half-smile. "There will always be some Han who survive."
The gaunt man echoed, "Exactly. If they're desperate enough, they can always trade their children for food."
Suddenly, the sturdy soldier sat up straight. "Who's that? Which unit is that, coming here at this hour?"
Following his gaze, the large-faced man squinted into the distance. Too far to see clearly. "Doesn't look like one of ours. That horse is impressive—fast too."
The gaunt man gasped sharply and leaped to his feet. "Damn it! That's the Jinyang Army!"
"Run!" He dashed onto the dirt road and bolted for the village.
The sturdy soldiers finally saw the thundering horsemen clearly—Jinyang Army troops. Terrified, they spun around and fled into the village.
Shuangjiang pressed her legs tight against the horse’s flanks, drew her bow, and loosed an arrow.
Thwack.
The arrow pierced the large-faced man’s neck. The sheer force carried him stumbling forward several steps before he crashed to the ground.
The sturdy soldiers, horrified, scrabbled and stumbled as they fled. But no matter how fast they ran on two feet, they couldn't outrun a galloping warhorse on four.
The female soldiers were excellent archers as well. Almost every arrow felled a man. In moments, the sturdy soldier and his companions were struck and killed.
The commoners were terrified, thinking armed bandits had come to rob them. They turned and fled into the village.
Shuangjiang spurred her horse to catch up quickly, shouting loudly, "We are the Jinyang Army! We are an army of the Han people! Do not be afraid!"
But how could they not be afraid?
The Quzhao had killed people without a second thought—and this was Shan'guan County, Quzhao territory.
Seeing the terrified civilians fleeing even faster, Shuangjiang sighed in frustration and made a hand gesture.
The female soldiers instantly fanned out and swiftly surrounded the commoners.
Panicking, the commoners jostled toward the center of the circle, which grew tighter and tighter.
The pressure finally became too much. They fell to their knees, kowtowing and begging for mercy.
Shuangjiang was about to speak when, suddenly, from the distant village, sixty to seventy Quzhao cavalrymen burst out—likely alerted by the commotion.
Her face hardened with cold fury. "Mu Chichi, you take charge here. First Company, follow me!"
She charged toward the Quzhao cavalry at the head of her troops.
Hooves thundered. Her upper body moved rhythmically with the horse's gait, but her hands were steady as stone. She drew and loosed another arrow.
The lead Quzhao cavalryman raised his blade to block, but her strength was overwhelming. The sheer force of the arrow deflected his sword, and the arrowhead grazed past the skewed blade and buried itself in his neck.
The impact pinned him and sent him flying backward over ten feet before he slammed to the ground, only to be trampled by the horses behind him. His screams were ghastly.
Shuangjiang was fast. She immediately drew another arrow and felled another man.
As the gap between the forces closed rapidly, she jammed her bow into its holster, drew her longsword, and plunged into the chaos of the Quzhao cavalry, cutting them down.
One swing.
The Quzhao cavalryman’s sword flew out of his hands. His armor split open. He was nearly cut in half at the waist, and his body was sent flying...
The battle ended swiftly. Shuangjiang had the female soldiers clean up the battlefield—finishing off any survivors, gathering equipment, and, most importantly, capturing the warhorses, the finest spoils of war.
By the time she returned to where the commoners had gathered, Mu Chichi had already calmed them down.
Some of the commoners cautiously looked up at them and asked in fear, "Are... are the Quzhao in Shan'guan County really... really driven out?"
Mu Chichi nodded. "Our Jinyang Army has taken Shan'guan County. But in a few days, the Quzhao army might come to besiege the city, so it's best if you come with us into the city. We’ll protect you."
The commoners hesitated. Entering the city might mean being eaten. The threat wasn't just from the barbarians—even among the Han, when food was gone, this sometimes happened.
Shuangjiang understood their fears. She spoke up, "If you're unwilling to come into the city with us, we won't force you. We will leave these grains for you.
But I will give you a warning: now that we've taken Shan'guan, the Quzhao are bound to retaliate. If they fail to take the city, they'll likely take their anger out on you, the common people.
Take this harvest and find a place to hide quickly. Winter is coming, so you should also prepare for the cold as best you can."
Most of the wheat in this area had already been harvested. It went without saying that all the harvested grain had been sent back to Shan'guan County.
The commoners here included old and young men, women, and children. In the eyes of the Quzhao, only those who could work were needed. Those who couldn't work—well, they'd just die.
So everyone who could move was forced to come out and toil.
Jiang Jin’s policy was simple and straightforward: those willing to enter the city would be welcomed.
Though she wanted both grain and people, if the commoners didn’t trust her and refused, she wouldn’t force them. She simply didn’t have the time or energy to reason with them at length.
Her time was limited. By her estimates, if the Quzhao army moved quickly, they could reach Shan'guan County as soon as the day after tomorrow.
She had only two days to eliminate the Quzhao men scattered across Shanguan and Chunrong counties who were collecting grain, while also gathering the obedient and easy-to-manage commoners back into the city to save their lives.
