Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Huai County.

After successive victories over Yun County and Yu County, the rebel army led by the Anti-King needed time to rest and regroup their troops. Taking advantage of this lull, Li Gang and his brothers called Mr. Fan to discuss their next strategy.

To the north lay the Great Pass of Datong, which Li Gang dared not provoke for now. The counties on both the east and west had already fallen under their control, leaving only Ying County to the southeast and Yin County to the southwest.

Li Gang wanted to attack both counties.

Mr. Fan pointed at the map hanging on the wall and said, "According to our scouts, King Dai has gathered his forces and is planning to attack Yin County."

Li Zhen scoffed, "Let him attack. He's just a headman from a rural village. We have nothing to fear. If we need to seize anything, we will."

Mr. Fan: "They have troops from five counties, while we have troops from four. A direct confrontation would be evenly matched. However, we must beware of other forces taking advantage if we and King Dai end up mutually weakened."

Li Gang: "Are you referring to the Xiao family?"

Mr. Fan shook his head and pointed to Datong in the north of Huai County and Shuozhou, separated only by Yin County: "The border troops must guard against external enemies and won't easily leave their posts. However, there are three thousand garrison troops in Shuozhou who are currently inactive. Once they mobilize, our four thousand militia will not stand a chance against them."

Li Gang broke out in a cold sweat: "What should we do?"

Mr. Fan said, "I am willing to personally negotiate with King Dai. We can agree that we take Ying County and let them have Yin County. This way, both sides can gain a county and preserve their strength. King Dai has yet to suffer defeat since he rose up and might still be considering attacking Shuozhou. If I can persuade him to engage Shuozhou's troops, we can sit back and watch the fight unfold."

Li Gang was delighted and clasped Mr. Fan's shoulders, "Thank goodness for your advice. If I had fought King Dai, even a victory would bring no benefit."

Mr. Fan spoke sincerely, "His Highness spent tens of thousands of silver taels to redeem my worthless life. As a mere scholar, I cannot carry or lift anything, but I will do my best to advise His Highness and repay his kindness."

The two men shared a moment of mutual respect, making Li Zhen standing nearby feel somewhat superfluous.

After setting the plan, Mr. Fan quickly packed and set off with a detachment of troops.

The next evening, Mr. Fan returned in high spirits and presented an alliance document to Li Gang: "Your Highness, I have fulfilled my mission. King Dai has agreed to ally with us, each occupying one county to support each other."

Li Gang eagerly asked, "Did he mention attacking Shuozhou?"

Mr. Fan: "He plans to attack Yin County first and then move on to Shuozhou. King Dai also has advisors who suggested simultaneous attacks, but they changed their mind when they learned we were targeting Ding and Wei Counties."

Li Gang clapped and laughed, "Good, very good. By the time we capture Ding and Wei Counties, King Dai and Shuozhou's troops will likely have decided their battle. Then we can swoop in as the final victors, catching them off guard."

Mr. Fan was concerned about the four thousand troops camped outside the city, their tents standing in the cold wind.

"Your Highness, it's getting colder. Perhaps we could ask the women in the city to make winter clothes for the soldiers so they stay warm and maintain their combat readiness."

Li Gang dismissed the idea, "Don't they have winter clothes from home? They brought them when they enlisted; they won't freeze."

Those treasures were hard-won spoils of war. Allocating them to prepare military rations was already painful enough; he couldn't bear to give more away.

"Ignore the ordinary soldiers. Distribute the winter clothes collected from wealthy households to the commanders. As long as they stay warm, they'll remain loyal."

Commanders, grateful for his care, would ensure the soldiers followed orders obediently.

Mr. Fan, unable to convince him, suggested, "Then slaughter some pigs and sheep and provide hot meat soup to the troops every few days. It will give them something to look forward to during campaigns."

Li Gang nodded and instructed his brother, "Go to the villages and borrow some pigs and sheep from the people. We're fighting to help them overthrow the government; they'll surely support us."

Li Zhen chuckled, knowing the people would comply whether they liked it or not, given the troops' presence.

---

On October 27th, scouts from Wei County reported that King Dai and King Xing (Li Gang) had respectively captured Yin County and Ying County, dividing their territories without conflict.

Xiao Mu summoned the six commanders and Sun Wei, responsible for weapon production, to the southern camp.

He first asked Sun Wei, "How are the weapons coming along?"

Sun Wei, who had always assisted Village Headman Sun Xinghai in Lingshui Village with population counts and tax matters, recalled the numbers and replied, "Our army has a thousand archers, each equipped with twenty iron-tipped arrows and thirty wooden arrows. By the end of the month, the blacksmiths will deliver the final batch of eight hundred spears, completing the armament of all spear soldiers. There are over three thousand four hundred swords and knives, distributed among those skilled in their use, while others are temporarily equipped with daggers and kitchen knives."

These weapons came from various sources: some from the county armory, some donated by wealthy families, and some seized from the bandits at Imprisoned Dragon Ridge.

After entering the city, the Xiao family purchased large quantities of idle iron tools from the residents, sending them immediately to the blacksmiths to be made into weapons. Combined with the copper and iron from Ding County, resources were used efficiently.

Xiao Mu had Sun Wei sit down and then inquired about the recent training progress from Xiao Zhen and the others.

In short, the six thousand new recruits could now fight with discipline rather than recklessly charging into battle.

All preparations in Wei County were under the old man's control. Xiao Mu told Xiao Zhen, "Go to Ding County and check on their preparations."

Ding County, with its mines, had assembled eight thousand troops, including miners and young recruits gathered by He Lianqing. Though less trained than the Xiao family's forces, these young and energetic soldiers provided strong support.

With the Anti-King's imminent attack, Xiao Zhen needed to coordinate tactics with He Lianqing.

Xiao Zhen wouldn't return home tonight, and Xiao Yan and his brothers continued to stay in the camp. After dinner, the old man went back.

In the Xiao family residence, the women and children had already eaten and retired to their rooms, with a few lights still on.

Aunt Xiao was talking with Lady He. Both their husbands were away, and it was still early, so chatting helped pass the time.

Lady He held her chest, "Every day, I feel so anxious, hoping for the best but constantly worrying about what might happen."

Aunt Xiao smiled, "Should I ask Second Brother to send you back to the village? The Anti-King will likely attack the cities first before ravaging the surrounding towns. If anything happens, the villagers will have time to flee."

Lady He: "Nonsense. Even if I run, where would I go without my husband and children? Wherever they are, I will be."

Aunt Xiao: "Then trust your husband. At his age, he should be more composed than the young women in the house."

Lady He: "Strangely, Aman knows martial arts and isn't afraid, but why aren't Liu'er and Ningfang panicking?"

Aunt Xiao: "Aman trusts our family's men, and Liu'er and Ningfang trust her. One person's calmness spreads to the others."

Suddenly, the sound of Old Master calling from the flower gate came through.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law quickly put on their shoes and ran out to open the door, as the maids and servants were all staying in the back wing.

When Xiao Mu entered the inner courtyard, he saw his granddaughter and eldest grandson's wife also coming out from the west wing. He waved his hand and said, "Nothing serious, everyone go back to sleep."

Xiao Yuchan and Liu Chu, needing to take care of the children, went back inside relieved after learning that it was just Old Master wanting to stay home.

Xiao Mu told Lady He to go to sleep as well, and instructed his daughter, "Go call Aman, and come to the study later."

Aunt Xiao nodded and headed to the East Wing Courtyard.

Lady He asked anxiously, "Father, why do you need Aman at this hour? Has something happened outside?"

Xiao Mu replied, "If something had happened, would the city still be so peaceful? Stop worrying unnecessarily; it has nothing to do with you. Go to sleep."

With that, he left her behind.

Lady He pouted.

In the East Wing Courtyard, whenever Xiao Zhen and Xiao Yan were not around, Lin Ningfang would move over to stay with Tong Sui, bringing her own bedding.

It was still early, and although the sisters-in-law had extinguished the lamp, they were both fully dressed and sitting on the bed, chatting in low voices.

When Tong Sui was in Taohuagou, she spent her time helping her family and hunting in the mountains. She had learned all the necessary skills when she was young, and there were no stable conditions for continuous reading. Over the years, Tong Sui considered herself to be a quiet person who spoke little.

Only after following Xiao Zhen into the county town did Tong Sui realize how much she wanted to learn, and that a few books could not explain everything.

So, she started asking Xiao Zhen and Lin Ningfang questions, and unexpectedly became quite talkative.

Xiao Zhen was busy training soldiers, and apart from the day they strolled around the county town when Tong Sui asked him extensively, she did not bother him with questions at other times. For one, she felt sorry for him since he was already exhausted during the day, and secondly, Tong Sui believed that except for matters related to the battlefield, Xiao Zhen might know less than Lin Ningfang.

Lin Ningfang led a relatively leisurely life every day and had a good nature, never finding Tong Sui's questions bothersome. Sometimes when Tong Sui felt embarrassed, Lin Ningfang encouraged her to ask more, saying it helped alleviate her boredom.

After returning from the cavalry camp last time, Tong Sui had a new question: The founding emperor of Great Zhou was a wise ruler, so why did Great Zhou become so chaotic after two or three hundred years, to the point of near collapse?

When she posed this question to Lin Ningfang, the usually quick-witted Lin Ningfang hesitated, trying to speak several times but holding back.

Then, Lin Ningfang decided to avoid the question and instead began explaining the official system of Great Zhou to Tong Sui.

She talked about the civil officials in the court and local governments for several nights, and tonight they had just started discussing military officials.

They heard the commotion at the flower gate but thought it had nothing to do with them until Aunt Xiao came to call Tong Sui.

Tong Sui asked, "I'll go see what it is. Should you go to sleep?"

Lin Ningfang replied, "No rush."

Tong Sui felt her way in the dark to put on her shoes and ran to open the door for Aunt Xiao.

Aunt Xiao looked inside and said, "Old Master wants you to come to his study with me. Is Ningfang asleep?"

Tong Sui shook her head. "Aunt, please wait a moment. I'll let her know."

She didn't need to go back inside. Standing under the window, she explained the situation in a low voice.

From inside the room came Lin Ningfang's gentle voice, "Understood. Second Sister-in-Law, go ahead."

Tong Sui returned to Aunt Xiao's side and closed the door of the East Wing Courtyard from the outside.

Aunt Xiao teased softly, "If Ningfang treated Third Brother even a tenth as kindly as she treats you, Third Brother would be smiling in his dreams."

Tong Sui wondered what virtue she possessed to have caught the eye of a prime minister's daughter. Giving wildflowers was hardly worth mentioning.

Compared to Xiao Yan, however, Tong Sui did not feel modest. She simply knew she was more liked by ladies of noble families.