Xie Nanxiao nodded confidently. “Naturally. Our navy’s Cangming Guards can easily take on ten men apiece, and they’re experts at surprise attacks and night raids.”
“What’s more, Daqing has more than thirty thousand troops, and with another five or six thousand sailors, taking four counties in a single night will be no trouble.”
It truly would be no trouble. Back then, Jiang Jin had dared to attack Shantong, Xianglu, and Fuchuan Counties simultaneously with only a few thousand men.
He admitted that he did not possess his lord’s abilities, but with so many troops at their disposal, he felt that taking four counties at once would not be difficult.
Jin Feng pondered. “The garrisons in Changhai and the other three counties shouldn’t be very large. Added together, they probably number only around ten thousand.”
“Daqing has more than thirty thousand troops. After leaving men behind to guard the three counties, we can mobilize roughly twenty-five thousand. Adding six thousand sailors gives us around thirty-one thousand troops in total. A thousand of them are elite among the elite, and we’ll be launching a surprise attack. The difficulty truly won’t be great.”
Qiu Wu nodded. “We also have repeating crossbows. We’ll certainly be able to take the counties as quickly as possible.”
Li Zan was reminded of the Jinyang Army’s repeating crossbows and silently swallowed the words of opposition that had risen to his lips.
Xie Nanxiao smiled. “If we attack one county first, the other three will certainly be prepared. Catching them off guard and facing a fully prepared enemy are two entirely different levels of resistance.”
Li Zan glanced at him and sighed inwardly. Every one of his lord’s subordinates was both bold and meticulous—a true warrior. He would have to change his own way of thinking in the future.
Once they had reached a consensus, the group began discussing the details of the assault.
The next day, Chongzhou was still blessed with clear skies.
Yun Ce watched the commoners helping to harvest the wheat, his expression full of pleasure.
Their condition today was completely different from yesterday. Now that they had returned to Han Chinese rule, had the protection of the Jinyang Army, and would receive grain for their labor, everyone was working with enthusiasm.
Rong Hei, however, looked gloomy enough to drip ink. The thought of giving away so much grain made his heart bleed.
But they did not have enough manpower, and time was pressing. They had no choice but to have the Han Chinese commoners help with the harvest. These people had once been their Han slaves, and now they actually had to pay them wages!
Just then, a Jinyang Army soldier hurried over and whispered several words into Yun Ce’s ear.
Yun Ce frowned and cast a discreet glance in one direction. “Are you sure?”
The soldier nodded. “Absolutely.”
On a hillside, a group of men lay concealed behind withered yellow grass, watching the farmers harvesting in the distance, as well as the Ji troops and Han Chinese soldiers stationed around them.
A thin, dark-skinned man furrowed his brows until they resembled two caterpillars. “Boss, I don’t understand what I’m seeing. Since when have Han Chinese soldiers and Ji troops been living in peace?”
Another man, with narrow eyes, guessed, “Could they be Han Chinese who surrendered?”
The thin man glared at him. “Are you stupid? If they were Han Chinese who had surrendered to the Ji, they should be wearing Ji clothing. How could they be dressed in something completely different? It’s obvious they belong to different factions.”
“True.” The narrow-eyed man scratched his head. “Come to think of it, Shangjing Commandery has been strange these past two days. Yesterday, I saw tens of thousands of Ji troops galloping along the main road. They looked as if they were withdrawing, but I have no idea what happened.”
The thin man shook his head. “Who knows? Forget it. It has nothing to do with us anyway.”
He turned to the tall man. “Boss, what do you think? Should we make our move?”
During the harvest, the grain was left out in the fields, making it the easiest time for them to get their hands on it.
So they would hide nearby and wait for the Ji troops to disperse or change shifts before looking for an opportunity to steal the grain. They would take as much as they could—every little bit helped.
A flicker of hesitation crossed the tall man’s face. “Something doesn’t feel right. Let’s watch for now.”
The field nearest to where they were hiding had already been half harvested. Bundles of wheat lay scattered across it.
There were not many Ji troops guarding the surrounding area, perhaps a dozen or so. The rest were stationed farther away.
The thin man said unwillingly, “We have more than a hundred men. Thirty of us can hold off those dozen soldiers while the rest grab the bundles of wheat. As long as we move quickly, the troops farther away won’t be able to catch us.”
“Are you sure?” a voice asked.
The thin man frowned. “How am I supposed to be sure about—”
He suddenly realized something and whipped around toward the voice. “Wh-who are you?”
Only then did he discover, to his horror, that a group of Han Chinese soldiers had surrounded them at some point.
There were only twenty or thirty soldiers, but every one of them carried a strange-looking crossbow that appeared to possess tremendous power.
Yun Ce smiled faintly. “We’re the Jinyang Army. What are you doing hiding here? Planning to steal grain?”
The tall man was drenched in cold sweat. He tightened his grip on the woodcutter’s knife in his hand—their group possessed only a handful of iron weapons.
Yun Ce noticed the movement. “See the repeating crossbows behind me? I suggest you don’t make a move. Otherwise, you’ll die very unpleasantly.”
The tall man tightened his grip again. “What do you want?”
Yun Ce shook his head. “Nothing in particular. I just want to get acquainted. Are you bandits? Which area do you operate in?”
The muscles on the tall man’s face twitched. “Whether we’re bandits or not, what does it matter? Who are you people? You’re clearly Han Chinese, so why are you with the Ji?”
Yun Ce was speechless. “What do you mean, ‘with the Ji’?”
The tall man clenched the knife in his hand once more. “Aren’t you working with the Ji to oversee the farmers?”
Yun Ce frowned. “We’re the Jinyang Army, a Han Chinese army. Shangjing Commandery and Punan Commandery are already under our control.”
“Once the Ji finish collecting the grain, they’ll withdraw. At that time, you can return to your native villages, or register your household at a nearby county seat and become subjects of my lord.”
“What did you say?”
The tall man and everyone behind him stared at Yun Ce in shock, unable to believe what they had heard.
“Shangjing Commandery belongs to us Han Chinese now?” the thin man asked urgently. His expression was excited, yet filled with hope.
Yun Ce nodded. “That’s right.”
“Who is it? Is it the Northwest Army?” the tall man asked.
“Our Jinyang Army is under Princess Jinyang, not the Northwest Army.” Yun Ce’s voice rang out with force and conviction.
“The princess?” The tall man’s face filled with confusion. A moment later, his eyes lit up. “She… she drove the Ji out of Shangjing Commandery? She came to save us?”
Yun Ce looked at the group of Han Chinese commoners, their faces gaunt and their bodies covered in grime, and nodded. “Yes. However, my lord has no use for people who eat human flesh. So tell me—have you ever eaten anyone?”
The tall man hurriedly shook his head. “How could we possibly eat people? We were all commoners from Chongzhou before. We became bandits only because we had no other choice. When we stole grain, we took it only from the Ji.”
