"What?"
“So soon?”
Although he was mentally prepared, he was still surprised to hear this in person. Qiu Cheng even clenched the armrest of the table tightly to hide his true emotions. Xun Ding immediately dropped another bomb: "If there is no accident, this Shen Tang not only led the troops to come personally..."
He deliberately kept everyone in suspense.
He uttered the rest of the words slowly.
“… He’s still a vanguard general!”
I have never seen such a diligent lord.
One scholar recalled the details Xun Ding had narrated earlier, and asked doubtfully, "Vanguard General? But didn't you just say that you encountered the vanguard camp under the command of the bandit Shen, and only after a hard battle were you able to lead your troops to escape? Could it be that you met the bandit Shen?"
At first glance, this question sounded fine, but Xun Ding had lived with his father since he was a child, and under the influence of his father, he had all the necessary wisdom and insight. He could naturally hear the accusation behind the scholar's words - since the thief Shen was there, why didn't he kill him
It is not unreasonable for the scribe to think so.
The vanguard battalion was generally short of manpower, and more than 400 heavy shield warriors had already been sacrificed, and the loss was irreparable. Why didn't Xun Ding go all out and sacrifice all the remaining soldiers, taking the opportunity to kill Shen Tang, the bandit leader? Wouldn't that be better
I think there is a chance.
But Xun Ding did not do so.
Xun Ding sneered, "Yes, it is precisely because Shen Tang is the general of the vanguard camp that I suffered such a great loss. Have you forgotten, or do you not know, that Shen Tang was able to compete with Gong Xichou in front of the battle four years ago? How can I keep him?"
If someone in the vanguard camp were to be replaced, he wouldn't necessarily suffer any loss.
Xun Ding is confident in his own abilities.
Everyone: “…”
They had all heard about it, no one had seen the scene with their own eyes. In addition, Shen Tang had been too Buddhist in recent years, living like an honest old farmer who only knew how to farm. He was so low-key that no one could find him... As a result, it was inevitable that they would feel that his reputation was not worthy of him.
For a time, people were in turmoil.
Until a loud shout interrupted everyone's thoughts.
"What are you afraid of? You are such cowards, not even like real men! The battle hasn't even started yet, and you're already afraid? If you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? You should have just kept your tail between your legs and kowtowed to the enemy before leaving the city! You are just a thief like Shen! Didn't you also lose to Gong Xichou back then? Now Gong Xichou is in our service, so why worry about not being able to take his head?"
Qiu Cheng's grip on the armrest loosened slightly.
Yes, he still has the trump card of Gong Xichou.
So far, unless the employer maliciously defaults on the payment, Gong Xichou will complete the contract agreement until the end. Even though the outside world spreads that this guy has a bad reputation and only cares about money and not people, Qiu Cheng feels that he is more assured to use such a person.
Qiu Cheng had his own ambitions. He was not satisfied with the small Sibao County and had long wanted to expand. When he heard that Gong Xichou was unemployed at home, he took a large sum of money and came to invite him. Having such a notorious war god in charge was like taking a reassurance pill.
Xun Ding wanted to roll his eyes after hearing this.
Gong Xichou has become more and more powerful in recent years.
Everything you do must be clearly stated in the deed.
You get paid according to how much work you do.
He is currently in Xiaocheng, so it is impossible for him to come to Linshan County. If Gongxi Chou wants to play a role, he has to wait for Shen Tang to lead his troops to Xiaocheng. But you say - he was beaten to his hometown, and finally relied on the foreign aid hired by money to beat him back. What is there to be arrogant about? Instead of thinking about these things, it is better to think about how to fight the next battle.
Without food supplies and the loss of heavy shield warriors...
Linshan County is not easy to defend.
Xun Ding was thinking about how to break the impasse.
Sitting in the corner, he looked at his nose, his nose looked at his mouth, and his mouth looked at his heart. He remained unmoved despite the noise in the meeting hall, which was like a vegetable market. He also heard a young and brave warrior claiming that Shen Tang was not that scary, and that he was just a false reputation. He was willing to sign a military order to take off his head for Qiu Cheng. Xun Ding was amused and almost laughed out loud. Really - the ignorant are fearless.
After a while, he noticed someone's eyes on him, so he followed the line of sight and met a pair of sinister and cold eyes. The owner of the eyes was a woman with a decent appearance and light makeup. Xun Ding knew her identity immediately.
Rumor has it that this is the canary that Qiu Cheng loves very much.
Xun Ding did not comment on this.
Whose canary isn’t kept beautiful and bright
The "canary" in front of me doesn't look happy at all.
He had not been dealing with Qiu Cheng for a long time, but Gong Xichou had said that Qiu Wenyan had the same character as many other sons of aristocratic families, with a thief's heart, courage and appetite, but lacking some self-awareness and manly responsibility. This kind of person is used to bullying others at home.
As the saying goes, a canary knows only the cold and the warmth.
He could hear a buzzing in his ears, and heard hurried footsteps outside the meeting hall. A messenger came hurriedly: "Report—"
Everyone looked at the messenger.
"The enemy has 20,000 soldiers and is already ten miles outside the city!"
Everyone's mind buzzed.
They all looked at Xun Ding.
Xun Ding remained calm, but he was actually shocked.
He only dealt with the Vanguard Battalion and had not encountered the other two armies, so he really didn't know the scale of Shen Tang's troops.
I never thought there would be as many as 20,000
Qiu Cheng directly crushed the armrest: "Twenty thousand?"
What does 20,000 troops mean? For a county, it was like sending out all the troops. It also sent a signal—
I won’t stop until I die!
Someone asked again to verify: "Is it really 20,000?"
The messenger replied: "It is absolutely true."
It is impossible to accurately determine the number, but judging from the size of the army, the approximate number will match and the discrepancy will not be too big.
Miao Shu noticed a detail.
"How big is Longwu County? How many soldiers can it support? Not to mention that there are troops stationed on the border to divide up the military supplies... Could it be that the Shen bandits have really come out in full force, leaving the rear defense empty now?" Knowing how much land Longwu County has, one can estimate how many soldiers it can support.
Either the number of soldiers was fake, and the 20,000 soldiers were just a fictitious number, with some water mixed in, and the common people in the territory were temporarily transferred to make up the number. The actual number of elite soldiers participating in the war was probably around 10,000. Or Shen Tang went crazy and sent out all his troops, not leaving enough people to guard the nest... If it was the former, the opponent's combat power was not to be feared, and if it was the latter, they would benefit.
Maybe he could take advantage of the opportunity and kill Shen Tang.
Miao Shu pointed out the key point in just a few words. Qiu Cheng followed her thoughts and thought of the above two points. His frown gradually relaxed: "So, what you mean is..."
"Shen thief, there is nothing to be afraid of."
"If we were to conclude that the enemy was strong but cowardly, and that he was weaker than us, we would have fallen into their trap..."
Miao Shu was talking for a while, and couldn't help but look at the chief clerk who had remained silent under Qiu Cheng's tent.
He is also the top scholar under Qiu Cheng.
The latter looked indifferent.
Neither agree nor disagree.
He only spoke after Qiu Cheng asked him for advice.
"At first glance, this analysis is correct. But it overlooks a crucial point - what benefit does Shen Kou have from doing this? This guy has been running Longwu County for two years, spending countless energy, filling the granary, recruiting countless refugees, and thriving the territory... This is not something that can be achieved in a day or two. If no one is left to guard Longwu County, even if he goes all out to capture Sibao County, he may accidentally lose Longwu County. Is it worth it? Therefore, in my opinion, Longwu County must be heavily guarded, just waiting for those with naive ideas to fall into the trap. This is most likely a 'luring you into a trap' strategy."
Miao Shu was immediately dissatisfied.
"If it is true that Longwu County is heavily guarded, but there are 20,000 soldiers and horses in front of us, how can Shen Ze afford them with his wealth?"