#244 - The water is cold and the wind is like a knife (Part 1)

The next day, at the hour of You (5-7 PM).

Luzhou, Anren County.

As a county located at the junction of Luzhou and Jizhou, Anren County has always had a low profile. In recent years, the most famous thing that has come out of it is a "Lushan Hermit", Song Zhengming.

But unfortunately, this Master Song argued with Wei Changtian at the flower judging ceremony in Anyi County. Not only was he angered to the point of vomiting blood, but his literary reputation was also tarnished, and he is still locked up in prison.

As a result, Anren County no longer had anything to praise, until recently, when it suddenly became the focus of attention.

The reason is simple: it is here that the imperial army is stationed to quell the "Jizhou Rebellion".

"Glug, glug..."

"Halt!"

Armor gleamed like golden scales in the sun, stretching across eighty miles of connected camps.

At sunset, a carriage kicked up clouds of dust as it stopped in front of the main general's tent.

The military officers, who had only received the notice an hour earlier, were already standing on both sides, waiting. As soon as the person from the carriage set foot on the ground, they all knelt down in unison, shouting loudly with full vigor:

"This humble general greets the Emperor!"

"Mm."

Ning Yongnian, dressed in golden armor, raised his hand in a gesture of support: "Rise, all of you."

"Yes!"

The generals stood up, and the one at the head took a step forward, ready to speak, but Ning Yongnian spoke first:

"General Zhou, order all the soldiers to prepare their armor and weapons. In half an hour, gather at the drill ground to receive orders. I will hold a pre-battle rally."

A pre-battle rally is a mobilization meeting before the war, a necessary ritual before officially sending troops to fight.

And Ning Yongnian's immediate call for a pre-battle rally meant that...

More precisely, they should directly attack Jizhou City.

From a military strategy point of view, this approach was undoubtedly very unstable.

Jizhou has one city and four counties. Jizhou City is located in the west, closer to Yuanzhou to the west, and farther from Luzhou to the east.

This meant that if the imperial army were to directly attack Jizhou City, they would have to bypass three counties controlled by the Xu family along the way.

The ancient county was not the same concept as the county in the previous life. Its scale, population, and administrative area were far greater.

So once the imperial army failed to quickly take Jizhou City, but was rejected outside the city by the Xu family, it was very likely to fall into a dilemma.

Forward, Jizhou City could not be taken.

Backward, the Xu family could order the other three counties to send troops to intercept the army's retreat.

Therefore, unless there was an extremely strong confidence to break through Jizhou City in one fell swoop, such use of troops was extremely risky.

And Ning Yongnian was now prepared to do so.

Of course, his confidence was not without reason.

It was a pity that the current emperor did not know... the south gate, which should have suddenly opened a quarter of an hour after the drums sounded, was unlikely to open tonight.

"..."

"... Young Master Wei, if tonight's events are as you say, I will definitely fulfill my previous promise."

In the corner, the fine sand in the copper hourglass flowed little by little, symbolizing the passage of time.

Still in that tea room, Wei Yanyu looked at Wei Changtian, her tone very serious.

"However, if the young master's information is wrong, then no matter what conditions the Wei family proposes, I will not discuss it with the young master."

"Madam, rest assured."

Wei Changtian took a sip of tea, his expression indifferent: "If the information is wrong, then I naturally have no face to stay in Jizhou, and I will leave tonight."

"The young master is indeed generous..."

Wei Yanyu perfunctorily said, no longer speaking.

The room fell into a brief silence, until Wei Changtian asked somewhat curiously:

"Madam, forgive me for asking one more question."

"Has the spy within the Xu family been found out?"

"..."

Wei Yanyu was stunned when she heard this, and silently shook her head.

Wei Changtian smiled and sighed: "Then it seems that Madam intends to find out tonight."

"Mm."

As they were both smart people, Wei Yanyu didn't hide anything.

She nodded noncommittally, and repeated softly to herself.

"We'll find out tonight..."

The hour of Hai (9-11 PM), Yishan County, Jizhou.

"Quick! Get on the city wall!"

"Set up the crossbows! Prepare the boiling oil! Light the torches!"

"No one is allowed to act without authorization. Everyone must obey the orders of their respective squad leaders!"

"Martial artists of the sixth rank and above, gather at the north gate immediately!"

"..."

The continuous firelight illuminated a circle of tall city walls nearly a hundred miles long. If viewed from the night sky, one could see a huge red circle.

Jizhou was not a border state, so the city walls of each city were not very strong.

However, in the past month, the Xu family had invested a lot of manpower and material resources to make major renovations to all the city walls in Jizhou, so now the city wall of Yishan County had reached the point where it could resist the moves of martial artists below the sixth rank.

Even if it was a fifth rank, or even a fourth rank, hitting it with one move would at most open a crack a few inches deep.

This little damage was not much different from scratching an itch for a city wall several feet thick.

"They're here! They're here!!!"

"Dong, dong, dong!!!!"

Accompanied by the sudden explosion of drums, the speed of the figures moving on the city wall increased again.

There were occasional riots, but the overall situation was far from chaotic.

Although the imperial army suddenly crossed the border tonight, the scouts had already reported, leaving the outermost Yishan County with more than an hour to prepare.

For the Jizhou army stationed here, who were always on edge, this time was enough.

"Red armor! It's the Imperial Guards!"

Standing on the tall watchtower, a martial artist who had reached the fifth rank of "Clear Eyes and Sharp Ears" shouted, giving information as soon as possible.

"Don't panic!"

"Everyone! Prepare to meet the enemy!!"

Without the command of the generals, the squad leaders, each in charge of a combat unit of five people, immediately issued orders, leading their soldiers to stand in their respective battle positions.

The crossbow strings were taut, and the giant arrows were in the grooves; the long halberds were dense, and the blades were unsheathed.

Listening to the rumble of hooves coming from far and near, and feeling the strong sense of oppression, the city wall suddenly became silent for a moment.

All the soldiers clenched the weapons in their hands, held their breath, and tried their best to look into the distance.

Then soon, they saw the Imperial Guards, like a wave of blood, sweeping over the sky and covering the earth.

Red armor, red helmets, red horses, imperial flags...

As expected of the most elite army in Da Ning, this momentum alone seemed to be able to tear the sky and crush everything.

"Damn it! What are you shaking for!"

Suddenly, a roar sounded from somewhere on the city wall.

"So what if they are the Imperial Guards?!"

"Do they have three heads and six arms more than us?!!"

"I will kill the Imperial Guards today!!"

"Yes! Kill the Imperial Guards!!"

"Let's do it! Killing one is enough, killing two is a profit!"

"Roar!"

"Roar!!"

"Roar!!!"

Like lighting a powder keg, the sudden burst of continuous roars instantly greatly increased the morale of the Jizhou soldiers. It seemed as if they couldn't wait to rush down the city wall and engage in close combat with the Imperial Guards who were still in the distance.

However, when this fighting spirit reached its peak, something happened that no one expected.

"Report!"

The martial artist on the watchtower observed repeatedly for a long time, and then shouted:

"The Imperial Guards are not coming this way! They seem to be going to Jizhou City!"

"What?!"

A general was stunned when he heard this. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly roared:

"Quick! Immediately light the jade! Report to Madam Wei!!"