Chapter 44

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The man was speechless, although he knew it wasn't just for this reason.

If he were a bit more clever, he might have realized that Wang Ju's strategy this time was also due to his personality, unwilling to be the weaker party.

The sky gradually turned gray.

The man climbed up the big tree again.

However, he was still kind-hearted. If anything went wrong immediately, he was prepared to carry Wang Ju away from this place quickly. No matter what, this little guy was a talent, and more likely the person the government was looking for, even though he didn't admit it.

Wang Ju whispered to Wang Quan, "Old man, please tell the villagers not to spread the news of that day. No matter how outsiders try to deceive or threaten them, selling private salt is a capital offense. Once it is presented in court, the entire village will be in trouble, with the lightest punishment being military service and the heaviest being beheading and public display."

"Alright."

Wang Ju lowered his head and thought gloomily, "Little Princess, I can't tell anyone about this."

But the man was also depressed. The northwest was harsh and cold. Was this young man the one he was looking for? What did the government mean? Did they want him to stay in Yanzhou for the rest of his life?

The sky began to turn red.

Gui Niang Lang Mai left the village. Before leaving, he looked at Wang Sheng, his future brother-in-law, Wang Quan's second son. The boy seemed a bit nervous, but overall he was fine, quietly crouching on the wall, watching outside. It was somewhat satisfactory. Moreover, the Han people were somewhat "noble," and he had paid a lot of dowry. If they could get through this, no other village would dare to look down on Wang Family Village in the future, so this marriage was worth it.

Gui Niang Lang Mai nodded and quickly rode out.

"Big Ox, I owe you one," Wang Quan said fearfully.

Wang Ju had mentioned several times to stop while ahead, including "getting rich," otherwise, growing too big on the border would invite trouble, and many people couldn't understand, which indeed brought enemies, and they were from Western Xia.

Moreover, this time, from start to finish, it was all planned by Wang Ju, including proposing to the Gui Niang tribe, honestly stating the difficulties of Wang Family Village, and all the arrangements for the upcoming battle.

"Old man, no need to be polite. Wang Family Village is also my home. Without Wang Family Village, I have nowhere to go."

Wang Ju stood on the wall, looking into the distance.

It wasn't as easy as he said. Since the enemy chose to cross the Zangdi River at dusk and reach Wang Family Village at dawn, it was a reasonable military arrangement, but it also showed that the enemy leader was very cautious.

He only had a chance to win based on the early information and the enemy's possible underestimation. In reality, he had no experience in battlefield command. Fortunately, there was Li Sandog; otherwise, he would have long advised everyone to flee.

The sky became even brighter.

Finally, black dots appeared at the horizon.

The black dots grew larger, and with the morning light, a dense crowd of enemies could be seen.

Perhaps six hundred people wouldn't mean much on a large battlefield, but in front of a small village, the number was terrifying.

Most of them wore leather armor, the kind of armor that even the Song army couldn't fully equip all their infantry with, many of whom wore cloth or paper armor. Iron was too expensive in this era; a ton of slightly better pig iron cost sixty strings of coins, which, in terms of purchasing power, was equivalent to about 30,000 RMB.

But the villagers didn't even have leather armor.

Among them, some wore real armor, not many, less than a hundred, but they made Wang Ju frown. The Song army had infantry armor, and the quality of Western Xia armor was also good. If these hundred people were well-organized and charged into the village, no one could stop them. Additionally, there were about a dozen horsemen, likely the leaders of these people.

Li Sandog clearly noticed this problem and shouted, "Everyone, remember, no matter what, do not let them into the village."

The order was passed down.

The enemy got closer.

As they approached the village, their speed increased.

Suddenly, they all stopped.

One of them observed the village.

Wang Family Village was located between two hills, neither of which was very high. The eastern hill was no more than forty meters high, and the western one was less than thirty meters. This was the common terrain in Yanzhou. The village faced south, as did almost all villages, to get more sunlight. Some villagers lived in caves on the hillside, including Wang Ju, who had moved into a cave. Below the caves were some thatched houses.

The sky was just beginning to brighten, and the village was very quiet.

There were also three small streams. One stream flowed from the south of the village wall to the southeast, another to the north of the mountain pass, merging with another stream from the north, and the last one flowed from the east of the village. The three streams converged into a small lake of about six to seven acres in the southeast, which, though small, was the village's golden water source before the reservoir was built.

Two of the streams were modified in late autumn and early spring, with some reeds planted, but they hadn't fully grown yet. Some small ponds were also dug around the streams, making it difficult for a large-scale fan-shaped attack.

The tall village wall also surprised the leader.

He was slightly dissatisfied that the family providing the information hadn't notified them...

However, the huge gain quickly dispelled his dissatisfaction.

It was said that this village had made over ninety Western Xia swords from last year to this year. How much would ninety Western Xia swords be worth?

It couldn't be calculated like that. These were imitation Western Xia swords, but this person couldn't distinguish the difference and calculated based on the value of real Western Xia swords, which would be an astonishing amount.

Moreover, it was already daylight, and the village was filled with the sounds of cattle and sheep.

"This is a wealthy village!" Hearing the sounds of the large herd of cattle and sheep, he and his men all thought.

And there was a reward of a thousand bolts of silk, with five hundred already in their hands. Due to the Song dynasty's ban on mutual and private markets, the prices of many goods, including silk, had risen. A bolt of coarse silk in Western Xia was almost three strings of coins, so a thousand bolts of silk were worth over five thousand sheep or nearly two thousand cattle!

In short, this attack would bring huge gains.

So he shouted, "Attack, form human ladders."

The village wall was over six feet high, but with one person crouching and another standing on top, they could easily climb over the wall and enter the village, securing their gains.

He also said, "Leave the blacksmiths in the village alive. Capturing them will get you the remaining five hundred bolts of silk."

"Aye."

Hundreds of his men responded in unison.

"The first wave of the attack is easy to repel, but the second wave will be difficult. Villagers, follow my orders. Wait until they get closer before shooting arrows to maximize the damage to the enemy," Li Sandog said.

The order was quietly passed down.

Li Sandog whispered, "Wang Xiaolang, don't worry. It seems the enemy leader isn't as careful as you think."

Wang Ju neither nodded nor shook his head.

He had just shared his concerns with Li Sandog. In this battle, he and Li Sandog played the roles of Zhang Liang and Han Xin, one for planning and the other for command.

Li Sandog was also a bit worried, after all, they were just a group of villagers against the Western Xia army.

However, the sky was already bright, and the village was so quiet. The enemy launched the attack without observation, so they might not be that careful. But it wasn't certain. The Han people went to bed early and woke up early, while the Qiang people were more laid-back and woke up late. According to Qiang customs, it was normal for them to still be in bed at this time. Perhaps the enemy mistook Wang Family Village for a Qiang village.

"Uncle Sandog, are there any Iron Hawks?"

"Iron Hawks? They are heavily armored cavalry, even the horses wear armor. How could they send Iron Hawks to attack a small village?" Li Sandog replied with a strange expression.

It was rumored that Zhang Kang defeated countless Iron Hawks in Tumao Valley.

There were Iron Hawks, but the main force was the Qingsheng Army and the Zhaoling Army. If it were all thirty thousand Iron Hawks, could Zhang Kang have achieved a great victory in Tumao Valley? Underestimating the Iron Hawks.

He couldn't understand the mindset of the Song people, and this young man thought the same...

He added, "However, some of them are from the Qingsheng Army."

The brief conversation ended as the enemy was already close, the nearest only a dozen steps away. Suddenly, an enemy shouted, "Not good, there's an ambush."

So close, and the black arrow tips in the crenels were visible.

Li Sandog waved his hand forcefully and shouted, "Fire."

One arrow after another was shot out.

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