Chapter 63

"WHAT!"

Zhang Kui abruptly stood up, his face full of shock, and looked at the innkeeper Wang Long in disbelief.

"You... You're not fooling me, are you?"

"Why would I fool a general? Everyone in the county saw it. They were leading mules, dragging their armor into the city. Their miserable appearance was even worse than that of defeated soldiers."

"They were actually leading mules!"

Zhang Kui finally resolved his confusion. Why didn't they pursue him? It turned out they were riding mules, not warhorses.

Zhang Kui was filled with intense hatred and slammed his fist on the table with a loud "Clang!" A large bowl rolled off and shattered into two pieces.

At that moment, a rumble of distant thunder echoed. Wang Long hurriedly said, "General, they're here!"

Zhang Kui quickly walked out of the inn. The street was already crowded with people, all looking up at the city walls.

Zhang Kui followed their gaze and saw a large, dark army approaching from the west. The soldiers were running on the city walls, and although Zhang Kui could only see their heads, he could clearly see that they were running very slowly, with painful expressions on their faces. Many soldiers were even holding onto the city walls as they ran.

"How far have they run?" Zhang Kui asked in confusion.

Wang Long sneered, "They run around the city every morning. They've only run half the city wall, about ten miles!"

"What! They're exhausted after running ten miles?"

Zhang Kui finally believed it. The troops sent to suppress them were a bunch of ragtag soldiers, just a group of boxers.

The court actually sent such an army to besiege him? It wasn't very harmful, but it was extremely insulting.

A strong urge to kill surged in Zhang Kui's heart.

......

Today was the third day of running, and the results had improved. The top ten finished in less than an hour, and there were no more turtles crawling on the ground. Even if they were tired, they could still keep up with the main group.

What Chen Qing found most comforting was that the names of the bottom ten changed. The bottom ten from the first day no longer appeared, and some had even moved to the middle ranks.

This showed that the soldiers still had a sense of honor and didn't want their names on the black list.

After just three days of running, the soldiers' stamina had clearly improved, probably due to the horse stance training.

As long as they persisted, this army could be completely transformed.

Today was still early. After the soldiers finished breakfast, they would practice the Hu family spear technique, a very practical and concise spear method suitable for the battlefield. They would start practicing the horse stance in the afternoon.

"Commander!" Someone was calling him.

Chen Qing turned around and saw Prefect He Jian standing at the edge of the training ground with several attendants.

Chen Qing hurriedly smiled and approached, "Prefect He, is there something you need?"

He Jian smiled and nodded, "Commander asked me to help collect some shields. I've collected a few hundred over the past few days, mostly half-used but still usable."

This time, Chen Qing's military supplies only included five hundred shields, which he felt was a bit insufficient. He had considered collecting more in Muzhou, but he didn't expect to actually collect several hundred, which made him very pleased.

"Thank you, Prefect He. I'll send someone to move them right away!"

"No need. I'll arrange for the local militia to deliver them later. I came to see Commander for another matter. I found a weapon for you. Would you like to see if you like it?"

He Jian waved his hand, "Bring it up!"

An attendant brought up a long iron weapon.

Chen Qing's large iron spear and warhorse were left with Wang Yan. He hadn't expected to fight in Lin'an and had no suitable weapon. Currently, he was using a standard long spear, which was not very suitable for him, as he was used to a long spear.

He had asked He Jian to help collect shields and also to find him a suitable weapon. He didn't expect to find one so quickly.

Chen Qing saw the weapon in the attendant's hand and his eyes lit up.

He quickly stepped forward and took the weapon, which turned out to be a Green Dragon Halberd. The Fangtian Halberd has two blades, while the Green Dragon Halberd has only one.

The length was the same as his large iron spear, one zhang and eight chi (about 3.6 meters), weighing about fifty pounds. The quality was not as good as his steel spear, which was made of ordinary iron, but the weight was comfortable. Chen Qing felt that his large iron spear was slightly too light, lacking the heavy feel. The fifty-pound iron halberd was just right.

He Jian laughed, "This was originally a support beam in someone's house. The prefecture paid for it and had it de-rusted. I hope Commander likes it."

"I feel it's just right. Thank you very much, Prefect He!"

"No need to be so formal. It was just a small effort. By the way, I'd like to discuss with Commander how to strengthen the city's defenses."

"Does Prefect He think Zhang Kui and his bandits will come again?"

He Jian nodded, "I know them well. They have informants in the city. They will definitely come again."

He Jian's implication was that if they discovered the quality of the troops sent to suppress them, they wouldn't be satisfied.

"I understand. I'll make some arrangements. I'll bring a few men to see Prefect He in the afternoon."

......

He Jian returned to arrange for the shields to be delivered. Chen Qing took the halberd back to the training ground, mounted his horse, and swung the halberd a few times, gaining some insight.

"Commander seems to like this weapon?" Hu Yan Tong smiled as he walked over.

Chen Qing nodded, "I always felt my steel spear was missing something, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Using this Green Dragon Halberd, I realized what was missing."

Chen Qing swept the halberd horizontally, "It's the lack of a chopping function. When I used to sweep with my spear, I would use the tip to cut the enemy's throat or the point to smash their skull. Now, with the halberd blade, I can easily chop the enemy in a melee."

Hu Yan Tong took the halberd and weighed it, "This thing weighs about fifty pounds!"

"Fifty-two pounds!"

"Commander has strong arms, but this halberd isn't perfect."

"Do you know about halberds?" Chen Qing asked with a smile.

Hu Yan Tong nodded, "My grandfather was quite skilled with halberds. This weapon is rarely used now, mainly for ceremonial purposes, but those are wooden halberds. If you want to use a halberd, I suggest you use a Fangtian Halberd, which can chop left and right. My grandfather told me that the Green Dragon Halberd is unbalanced, affecting its stabbing effectiveness, while the Fangtian Halberd is balanced and can incorporate both sword and spear techniques. However, it has a drawback."

"What drawback?"

"My grandfather said that using a Fangtian Halberd is like walking in iron shoes. It's stable, but it loses the flexibility and versatility of spear techniques."

Chen Qing was very interested. His spear technique was simple, fast, and fierce, emphasizing power and a single strike. The Fangtian Halberd seemed very suitable for him.

Seeing the expectation in his eyes, Hu Yan Tong smiled, "I'll talk to my grandfather. Maybe he'll get excited and give you his treasured Fangtian Halberd, which even Gao Qiu couldn't buy after three visits."

......

In the afternoon, Chen Qing brought Zheng Ping and Zhao Xiaoyi to see He Jian.

Chen Qing had plenty of experience and lessons in defending a city. He knew how to deploy troops effectively.

"The bandits came from the south, but the south is mostly rocky terrain, unsuitable for large-scale attacks. In contrast, the north is open and flat, making it advantageous for attacks. The west is a forest, and the east is a shallow river. If I were Zhang Kui, I would definitely attack from the north. Therefore, the north should be the focus of our defense, and we should deploy heavy troops there."

He Jian nodded, "Commander is right. The bandits attacked the north a few days ago. This time, should I mobilize more civilians? I think relying solely on the troops to defend the city is a bit difficult."

Zheng Ping and Zhao Xiaoyi were immediately annoyed. The prefect clearly didn't take them seriously.

Zheng Ping immediately countered, "Do they have tens of thousands of troops? They're just a few thousand ragtag soldiers. Are two thousand troops not enough to fight them? Prefect He is underestimating us!"

Chen Qing glared at Zheng Ping, who turned away, no longer speaking.

He Jian quickly explained, "General Zheng, you misunderstood. My point is that the city wall is too long. Deploying two thousand troops would be too scattered. Adding more able-bodied men would also prevent the bandits from sneaking in."

He Jian mentioned a sneak attack, and Chen Qing's mind raced. After a moment of thought, he smiled, "Actually, I think our discussion about defense deployment here is unnecessary."

He Jian was taken aback and asked, "What do you mean, Commander?"