The guard at the gate immediately became alert, tightening his grip on his sword. "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
The other soldier didn't reply. Instead, he crouched down and pressed his ear against the wooden cart to listen.
A fierce glint flashed through Zhou Sui's eyes as he glanced at the sword in the hands of the guard standing not far in front of him.
Yun Yu and the others also grew tense.
Jiang Jin, however, looked toward the open gates leading into the city. Given their current position, fighting their way straight in wasn't out of the question.
A moment later, the soldier inspecting the cart stood up. "It's nothing. The wood used for your cart is just quite thick and of good quality."
Everyone was speechless.
The guard relaxed his grip on his sword and scolded with a laugh, "You brat, you scared me."
Zhou Sui secretly ground his teeth, but his face broke into a fawning smile. "We made it ourselves. It's thicker so it lasts longer."
The Quzhao soldier looked at Jiang Jin and the other women with a subtle expression. "You can enter the city, but it will cost ten copper coins per person."
Zhou Sui's face fell into an expression of bitter distress. "Could it be a little less? That's too expensive. We're just ordinary farmers; we barely have any way to make money all year round."
The soldier threw the household registration documents back at Zhou Sui. "Enter or don't, it's up to you. Say another word, and it'll be twenty copper coins per person."
Zhou Sui gritted his teeth, a flicker of hesitation passing through his eyes. He played the part of a poor commoner vividly and naturally.
After an internal struggle, Zhou Sui finally made up his mind. He carefully fished out seventy copper coins from his robes and handed them to the soldier.
The soldier accepted the money and stepped aside. "Go on in."
Qiu Wu hurriedly went to push the cart, and the group followed him into the city.
Before leaving, Luo A'man deliberately leaned a bit closer to the soldiers.
For some unknown reason, one of the soldiers suddenly went weak in the knees. He pitched forward, knocking down the soldier in front of him. Both fell to the ground, howling in pain.
The soldier who had spoken earlier angrily kicked at them. "Clumsy fools, get up!"
Jiang Jin glanced back at Luo A'man and couldn't help but find it amusing. Bringing her into the city today had been partly for this very reason—to test the power of her jinxed constitution.
Strangely enough, Luo A'man's jinxed constitution had absolutely no effect on her or Yun Chengxuan.
They had discovered this by accident. Once, Luo A'man's hair got caught on a tree branch. Yun Chengxuan happened to be nearby. Ignorant of her power, he kindly stepped forward and yanked her hair free.
Yes, he forcefully tore out that clump of Luo A'man's hair, nearly ripping off her scalp in the process.
And yet, Yun Chengxuan was completely fine.
Dong Si believed it might be because Yun Chengxuan possessed royal blood.
Out of curiosity, Jiang Jin had also given it a try. Sure enough, just like Yun Chengxuan, she was completely unaffected.
Jiang Jin didn't really believe in things like royal blood. She leaned more toward the idea that she and Yun Chengxuan simply had tough fates.
Seeing Jiang Jin looking at her, Luo A'man quickly offered a fawning smile.
On a small hillside about two or three miles from the city gates, dozens of people lay in ambush.
Watching Jiang Jin and her group enter, Xie Nanxiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "They finally got into the city smoothly."
Lu Ping nodded, worry showing on his face. "Yes, but who knows what the situation inside the city is like right now?"
Xie Nanxiao patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. According to the plan, we'll attack the city tonight. We'll find out then."
Lu Ping glanced at him, hesitating to speak.
Xie Nanxiao couldn't help but laugh. "If you have something to say, just say it. What's there to hesitate about with me?"
Lu Ping's expression turned somewhat melancholic. "Even if we take Gefeng, with just our small number of men, how can we hold it?"
The Quzhao army had nearly a hundred thousand troops in Fengzhou, and the barbarian tribes often fought together, dividing up Han territories after conquering them.
Their Northeast Army had been jointly attacked by several barbarian tribes, retreating step by step until they were almost completely wiped out.
Xie Nanxiao actually felt they couldn't hold it either, but remembering the broken corpses of Jiao Liang and the others, he believed again, and he wanted to believe.
He looked toward Gefeng, his tone profound. "Believe in her!"
Qingyun Ridge.
Yao Ji gazed in the direction of the Gefeng county seat. He hadn't participated in this crucial battle, and he felt somewhat regretful in his heart.
His injuries hadn't fully healed yet, and a siege would inevitably be a fierce battle.
Jiang Jin naturally didn't want to ruin such a fierce general, so she had him guard the rear.
Yun Ci sat in the carriage, a look of worry on her face.
Suo Qian picked up a bamboo cup, took a sip of water, and sighed comfortably. "Don't worry. The lady is very shrewd."
Ever since he was rescued from prison by Jiang Jin and her group, he had a certain confidence in her.
Yun Ci shook her head and smiled bitterly, saying nothing.
Dong Si sat under a large tree, resting with his eyes closed. He also wanted to attack the city with the lady, but she had said all her belongings were here and she needed his help to guard them.
The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up. The lady really trusted him.
Jiang Jin and her group entered the city. Not long after, they arrived at a residential area. It was filled entirely with low mud houses, almost all with thatched roofs, and all extremely dilapidated.
Along the way, they hadn't encountered a single person, neither Han nor Quzhao.
The entire city was as quiet as a dead town, with only the sound of Jiang Jin and the others' cart rolling over the road.
After walking for a little less than half a quarter of an hour, they reached the Gefeng County Office. Two Quzhao soldiers guarded the door, and the shouts of Quzhao men could be heard from inside.
The guards' sharp gazes swept over Jiang Jin and her group. Seeing they were Han refugees pushing a cart, their expressions turned strange.
However, when their eyes landed on Jiang Jin and the other two young women, they smiled meaningfully.
But perhaps because they were mindful that it was currently roll-call time, they didn't take any action, only staring at Jiang Jin and the others with wolf-like eyes.
A cold light flashed in Jiang Jin's eyes, but her face remained expressionless as she followed behind the cart and left. The gazes of these men were truly disgusting; she wanted to gouge their eyes out.
Watching Jiang Jin's group leave, a burly Quzhao soldier broke into a grin. "It's been a long time since fresh Han people came to our Gefeng. I didn't expect a few to arrive all at once today."
Another soldier with a somewhat dark face also grinned. "Hehe, it's been about half a year, hasn't it? It's a pity we got assigned to a small county like Gefeng. There's nothing here; I'm bored to death."
The burly soldier licked his lips. "If you ask me, the Great Chanyu is just too kind-hearted, wanting to learn the Han way of ruling the world. How can the Han compare to us Quzhao people?"
The dark-faced soldier cast him a sidelong glance. "You shouldn't discuss the Great Chanyu behind his back."
After saying this, he looked again in the direction Jiang Jin and the others had left. "Those women's faces were pitch-black with dirt. I wonder what they actually look like?"
The burly soldier said, "Even pitch-black, they looked alright. The main thing is they're young. Just looking at their figures, you can tell they aren't very old."
Saying this, he sighed. "The gate guards let them in, so I'm afraid they've got their eyes on them too. A few women won't be enough for all of us to share."
The dark-faced soldier waved his hand dismissively. "What's the rush? They won't die in a day or two. It'll be our turn sooner or later."
The burly soldier said, "If you ask me, all Han men should be killed. Keep the women for us to play with and bear children. That way, our Quzhao will definitely grow stronger in the future."
The dark-faced soldier didn't speak. Clearly, he thought the same way, but the higher-ups had their own considerations. Small figures like them could only obey.
Jiang Jin and her group had already walked some distance. Looking at a large, intact courtyard in the distance, her eyes showed deep thought.
This building stood out abruptly among the stretch of dilapidated and collapsed houses.
