Chapter 29

"Master, think thrice!"

As soon as Yueyang spoke, Yue Laifu became anxious. In his view, the gain or loss of Yingzhou Prefecture was not something to fear; the safety of their own stronghold was the most important. Yue Laifu supported Yueyang's recruitment of the local militia, after all, having a force directly under the Yue family's control was a good thing. However, Yueyang was now planning to send this force, which had required a significant investment of manpower and resources, to reinforce Yingzhou Prefecture, which he found very hard to understand.

"Master, you mustn't do something foolish. Our Yue Family Manor has only a hundred or so retainers and the five hundred or so militiamen you recently recruited (another hundred in the last two months). But I've heard that the bandits number over ten thousand. This is like sending eggs to smash against a rock!" Yue Laifu knelt down before Yueyang, almost in tears. As a steward who had served the Yue family for most of his life, he could not stand by and watch Yueyang throw away the precious and only armed force of Yue Family Manor.

Looking at the old servant whose temples were already streaked with gray, Yueyang felt a deep sense of emotion. Although Yue Laifu did not understand his decision to send troops, his intentions were good, all for the sake of Yue Family Manor.

Yueyang bent down to lift Yue Laifu up and said, moved, "Uncle Laifu, please stand up. I understand your concern, but listen to me. Do you know why Yingzhou City is now full of bandits, but the Five Mile Fort, which is only dozens of miles away, has not been touched by them?"

"This..." Yue Laifu hesitated.

Without waiting for an answer, Yueyang continued, "This is because the bandits are busy attacking Yingzhou City and have no spare strength to deal with us. But if they capture Yingzhou City, think about it, will those starving bandits spare our manor, which has no walls and few troops to defend it? As the saying goes: 'When the nest is overturned, there are no intact eggs.' If Yingzhou City falls, how can Five Mile Fort survive alone? This is why I have decided to reinforce Yingzhou City. Do you understand?"

Yueyang's explanation was clear and straightforward, and Yue Laifu and the other two understood it clearly. However, understanding was one thing, but the knot in their hearts was still hard to untie. The recent incident where Zheng Fakui forced the Yue family to dig a canal on the Sanggan River for the Wang, Li, and Lin families was still fresh in their minds. Now, they were actually going to send troops to reinforce them, which was a bitter pill to swallow.

Seeing Yue Laifu speechless but still somewhat indignant, Yueyang smiled and comforted him, "Uncle Laifu, I know you are still upset about the Sanggan River incident. Rest assured, as long as Yingzhou City can escape this disaster, I will make the Wang, Li, and others pay back everything they took from us, and more. You can rest assured."

Yue Laifu said, somewhat ashamed, "Sigh... I was being foolish. Master is a man of great deeds, and your insight is naturally far beyond mine. Master, you just go ahead, I have no objections."

"Good, I'm glad you understand." Seeing that Yue Laifu, the steward of Yue Family Manor, agreed, Yueyang nodded in satisfaction. He then turned to Hu Laosan and asked, "Hu Laosan, how is the training of the soldiers going?"

Hu Laosan grinned and said, "Master, you can rest assured. The soldiers are training well. Their drills and combat exercises are all going well. The only thing they lack is combat experience."

Yueyang nodded and said, "I understand. You don't need to worry about that. This time, I'm taking them to gain that experience!" As he said the last sentence, a cold and stern tone crept into Yueyang's voice. Yue Family Manor was his foundation and the result of his hard work in this world, and he would not allow anyone to destroy it...

Although Yueyang had never been a soldier, he understood the importance of reinforcements. He quickly reported the situation in Yingzhou City to the old lady, comforted her, and then urgently instructed Yue Laifu on some matters. Finally, he ordered Hu Laosan to gather the five hundred militiamen and set off south toward Yingzhou City, leaving behind the tearful gazes of the Linglong sisters...

Meanwhile, on the walls of Yingzhou City, Zhang Xianzhong was directing countless ragged and starving bandits to launch continuous attacks on the city. After the failed surprise attack in the morning, Zhang Xianzhong had become ruthless. Throughout the day, he drove the bandits to attack Yingzhou City, leaving the defenders gasping for breath.

Wearing a felt hat, a light green robe, and black cloth boots, Zhang Xianzhong was berating a sallow-faced man, "Sun Laoer, you damn fool, it's been almost half an hour, and your men are still circling the south wall. I tell you, if you can't take the wall in another half hour, I'll make you pay!"

The man being scolded, Sun Laoer, whose real name was Sun Kewang, was a capable and fierce subordinate of Zhang Xianzhong. However, despite leading over two thousand men in a fierce attack on the south wall, he had been repelled by the defenders, much to Zhang Xianzhong's anger.

Sun Kewang, who had been scolded mercilessly, kept his head down and said nothing. Finally, another of Zhang Xianzhong's subordinates, Li Dingguo, stepped in to defuse the situation, "Great King, the Ming dogs on the wall are not to be underestimated. They know that if we enter the city, they will be annihilated, so they are fighting with all their might. Moreover, you know what kind of weapons our rebel army has. To be frank, it's very difficult to capture a well-prepared city in one go."

Hearing Li Dingguo's words, Zhang Xianzhong, who had been furious, fell silent. Li Dingguo was right. Although they had captured several cities in Shanxi, most of these victories were due to surprise attacks and inside help, not their own strength. After capturing several cities, Zhang Xianzhong had acquired some weapons and armor, improving their equipment, but it was still very basic. The bandits were far from being fully equipped, and even getting a knife for each person was a challenge. While Yingzhou City was not particularly well-fortified, capturing it with just a few ladders and the bandits armed with sticks and hoes was not realistic.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Xianzhong said grimly, "Alright, let's forget about that. I'll give you another thousand men. You must keep attacking the south wall non-stop to wear down the Ming dogs. I want to see if there are more Ming dogs on the wall or more of our men!"

It seemed that Zhang Xianzhong was planning to use his ten thousand bandits to wear down Yingzhou City. This strategy was unthinkable for a normal commander, but no one around him found it strange. To them, the bandits were merely expendable. If they were lost, they could always be replaced by capturing another city, so there was no need to feel sorry for them.

Under Zhang Xianzhong's strict orders, Sun Kewang, who had returned to his troops, wielded a large saber and drove the bandits to attack the wall. They formed a dense crowd around the ladders, climbing one after another until they were struck down by the defenders with spears or stones.

As night fell, the bandits finally retreated after a day of relentless attacks. The defenders, who had been fighting for their lives, lay exhausted on the wall, gasping for breath. Many were grateful to have survived the day's battle.

Even the Prefect of Yingzhou, Zheng Fakui, was sitting on the gate tower, leaning on a sword he had somehow acquired. Around him stood the heads of the Wang, Li, and Lin families. After a day of intense fighting, even the usually fierce Lin Yuanteng looked terrified.

After a while, the wall was lit by intermittent torches, as the defenders lit them to guard against a night attack.

Zheng Fakui, breathing heavily, asked, "Brother Wang, how many men do we have left?"

Wang Shoucheng, weakly, replied, "I just counted. We have fewer than a thousand men left, and many are injured."

Hearing this, Li Yuan could not help but cry out in despair, "So we can't even last until tomorrow?"

Wang Shoucheng paused before answering, "If my estimate is correct, that's the case."

Everyone fell silent. After a while, Lin Yuanteng suddenly shouted, "What about Yue Family Manor? Didn't Yueyang start a militia recently? Zheng Prefect has already sent someone to summon him. Why hasn't he come back? Is he planning to desert us?"

Hearing Lin Yuanteng's angry words, the others looked at him with disdain. He must have been scared out of his wits to say such low-level things. Yueyang had only started the militia two months ago, and it was unlikely that he had even gathered enough men. Even if he had, a few hundred men would be of little help and would only be sent to their deaths.

Zheng Fakui also shook his head in helplessness. He had sent Lu Ban to Five Mile Fort for reinforcements, but he had not really expected much from Yueyang's troops.

A wave of pessimism enveloped the wall...

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