Nearly hundreds of refugees have entered the city, leaving only a few corpses lying outside the city gate.
These were the people who had just been shot on the spot for committing crimes and misdeeds.
Besides the previous five, two more were identified by the refugees who had been bullied and were also shot without mercy.
This little girl is quite ruthless.
Li Guorui, who had been watching the whole process from the city wall, rubbed the tip of his nose.
Not to mention her excellent archery, the ability to kill without batting an eye is not something anyone can do.
Many soldiers do not kill as decisively; killing the Jin thief is one thing, but killing one's own people...
"How can these be considered one's own people?" Miss Jun said, "These individuals took advantage of the chaos to abuse their compatriots, have vile conduct, and should they engage in battle with the Jurchen people, they would likely betray and subvert our city defenses. We must not leave such a hidden danger; sometimes, mercy is cruelty."
Being lectured by a little girl, Li Guorui could only give a bitter smile.
Since there are temporarily no more refugees outside the city, the city gate is slowly closing, but it is believed that soon refugees from Bazhou, having heard the news, will come rushing here.
"Strengthen the city's defense." Li Guorui shouted to those both on and below the city wall, glanced at Miss Jun, and added, "If there are refugees coming, let them in after verifying their identities."
The soldiers, both on and below the city wall, responded in unison, with an unprecedented vigor and enthusiasm.
Just now, these reinforcements brought wine and meat, allowing them to eat a hearty meal they hadn't had for a long time, and they felt filled with strength and invigorated.
Of course, the wine and meat were one thing, but most importantly, the Duke of Chengguo had sent reinforcements.
They were not left to defend alone.
Such orders were not only passed in Changfeng, but also along the borders of Hejian, where clearing the countryside and not turning away the refugees from the north were prescribed.
The events here quickly spread to the Hejian Prefecture.
Compared to Changfeng, Hejian City covered dozens of miles, with higher and thicker walls, a Judge in the town government, the Hejian defense forces, and nearly ten thousand Army men who had been pulled back from the front lines to defend this central town of the western route in Hebei. Even if the Jin thief attacked, they could be safe relying on the city walls.
What's more, there was already talk of peace negotiations and a ceasefire.
But at this moment, the officials and military generals within the feudal authority were not relaxed but had furrowed brows and heavy expressions.
"With all this going on, will Hejian fall into chaos?" Lord Tian, the leading Judge, said with a worried expression.
"I don't think receiving the refugees will cause chaos." A general said, face flushed, "I just know that as soon as we pull back, those cowards will only close their doors and shrink back. We really didn't want to retreat..."
His words were cut off there.
However, the imperial edicts are not easily defied.
The Duke of Chengguo dares to disobey orders, but they truly dare not.
"What is this Qingshan Army? Does the Duke of Chengguo have such a force under his command?" the Judge asked.
The generals present all shook their heads.
"Could it be a private army?" the Judge asked doubtfully.
The generals shook their heads again.
"No," they unanimously and instantly declared without any hesitation, "the Duke of Chengguo does not even keep house servants, let alone a private army."
Although there were always people in the court attacking and impeaching the Duke of Chengguo, there was never any evidence of him keeping a private army.
"Then this is strange. Could it be a fake?" the Judge speculated, "After all, insignia are inanimate objects."
"There is nothing strange about it. The Duke of Chengguo is kind-hearted and loves the people. He would surely protect the people and would not allow them to suffer at the hands of the Jin thief without doing anything." A general said solemnly.
Ceding land and abandoning civilians is indeed a humiliating matter, the Judge sighed.
"Then let's follow their orders, protecting the civilians doesn't count as defying the Imperial Decree." He said.
This was also an acknowledgment of the actions of the Qingshan Army, and the generals all nodded in agreement.
They had all been reluctant to retreat in the first place.
"Lord Tian, lord Tian." Outside the door, a messenger rushed in, holding a document in his hand, "The garrison troops from Changfeng have entered the territory of Bazhou."
Bazhou?!
All the civil and military officials present were taken aback.
"What for?" the Judge blurted out, "Who gave the order for them to cross the border? What are they trying to do?"
It was rumored that the Jin thief had already entered Bazhou's territory; were these Changfeng troops going to fight the Jurchen people?
This would be a violation of the Imperial Will.
Furthermore, have they gone mad? They only have three thousand men, right? This is suicide!
"This insignia must be a forgery." the Judge exclaimed, his expression was one of furious indecision, and he finally slammed the table, "This Qingshan Army must be spies of the Jin people!"
A stir went through the hall, and everyone's complexion changed.
If the Changfeng Army is finished, Hejian Prefecture will be wide open!
..............
On the vast, desolate expanse of the land in January, a dismal sight, a bright light suddenly shot across the gloomy sky.
Someone lying in a gully amid withered grass immediately jumped up and rapidly ran backwards.
Upon crossing the gully, one could see a solemn formation of government soldiers standing in the open field, numbering a thousand strong.
"There are Jin thieves ahead." The sentry who came rushing shouted.
This news caused a stir among the solemn government soldiers.
But a group within the ranks remained unmoved, standing with their horses in order.
Li Guorui felt a bit embarrassed.
"We've seen Jin soldiers before, and we've fought them before." he chided in a low voice.
Moreover, due to the still strict formation on the other side, the agitated soldiers quickly quieted down.
Since they had come out, they were bound to encounter such situations, although Li Guorui hadn't expected it so soon. He took a deep breath and was about to prepare for battle when Miss Jun spoke up first.
"How many?" she asked.
The beacon and gong signals could convey numbers, but just now there had been no beacon smoke or gong sounds. Li Guorui looked up at the sky again, which was a blanket of gray nothingness.
How were they passing the message?
"Around fifteen hundred." The sentry replied.
As these words were spoken, Li Guorui's expression drastically changed, and the recently quieted ranks stirred once more.
They had fewer than nine hundred men, facing off against more than fifteen hundred Jin soldiers, without a fortress to rely on; this was akin to throwing an egg against a rock.
"Quick, move!" Li Guorui shouted.
"Do not move." Miss Jun also shouted, "Prepare for battle."
The girl's voice was not as loud as Li Guorui's, but in the next second, two men stood out and waved the flags in their hands.
"Form up!" they shouted.
Li Guorui was no stranger to formation: after deciding to lead troops into Bazhou territory, Miss Jun had the Qingshan Army train the three thousand Changfeng Army troops a few times, mainly in formation, understanding their flag signals, and following their commands.
"We invited you to help us, so you must follow our commands." The two named Yang Jing and Xia Yong spoke thus.
What a boastful claim, their party had fewer than forty people, including women, and yet they claimed that the three thousand Changfeng Army troops were there to help them.
Who was helping whom?
Although he harbored criticisms internally, because of the seal of the Duke of Chengguo, Li Guorui did not express anything. Lost in his thoughts, the formation had been properly set up, and the supply carts that were originally at the rear were pushed to the very front.
Regarding these supply carts, Li Guorui also had complaints in his mind. Venturing into dangerous terrains, of course, demanded mobility and speed, and yet these Qingshan Army insisted on bringing three carts with them.
These carts carried nothing more than pots and pans, ready to cook at any moment. Li Guorui had already enjoyed the fast and delicious meals prepared from these carts, and along the way, the refugees they encountered also survived on a bowl of hot porridge.
He knew they were there to help the refugees, but helping shouldn't come at the cost of a greater loss; they shouldn't be dragging these carts within Bazhou territory, slowing down their progress.
Looks like today is the day to make a stand here, Li Guorui's expression became somewhat wooden. He wasn't particularly scared—dying like this felt more justified somehow.
Through his vision rolled clouds of dust; at the same time, the ground pounded with the bizarre cries of horses' hooves, along with the desperate wails of the people.
Getting closer and closer, even across the ravines, it was clear to see a throng of civilians running wildly across the wilderness, pursued closely by a dense pack of Jurchen people.
A dozen Jurchen people broke out from their ranks, whipping the civilians with horsewhips and laughing eerily.
Of course, it wasn't that they couldn't kill these people, they were merely toying with them.
Despite being desperate, the civilians had no choice but to run forwards.
Most of these civilians were old, weak, women, and children. They had lost their shoes, and their bodies and faces were covered with blood from the beatings. Staggering on their feet, a woman suddenly fell to the ground.
A Jurchen person on horseback immediately followed, laughing as he aimed to trample the woman's head.
Just as a gruesome scene was about to unfold, a buzzing sound was heard, the Jurchen person on horse let out a strange cry and fell off the horse, the horse's hooves landing squarely on his head.
The horse's hooves crushed the skull, splattering blood. The surrounding Jurchen people let out a startled cry and froze, only then noticing the quietly standing square formation ahead.
At the very front of the formation, a frail soldier, looking like a girl and with an indistinguishable face, stood alone, holding a bow and aiming in their direction.
The face was unclear, but the armor was evident—Zhou Soldier.
To hit the Jurchen's unprotected throat from such a distance, this soldier was truly skilled with the bow.
But the Jurchen people did not appreciate the archery; they stopped, looking angry and yet surprised.
Weren't all the Zhou Soldiers in Bazhou supposed to have been withdrawn?
The civilians, as if seeing the first light of dawn, cried and shouted with excitement as they rushed towards us.
"Split to the left and right, move to the back." The tidy commanding voices echoed from within the ranks of our Zhou Soldiers.
The authoritative and intimidating commands made the panicked civilians subconsciously stumble and scramble to the left and right, running towards the rear of the Zhou Soldier group.
The Jurchen people did not pursue; the dozen leading Jurchen riders circled a few times, hurled some angry curses towards our Zhou Soldiers, then galloped back to their line.
The atmosphere in the wilderness became stagnant, suffocating.
The woodcutters also began to form ranks and advanced forward.
Li Guorui let out rapid panting sounds, clenching the long knife in his hand.
This was his first time in an outdoor battle against so many Jurchen people. It would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid, yet the sight of two girls in the formation and the women behind the supply carts made the situation somewhat comical to him.
The supply carts had been reversed, with several women squatting behind them, pressing firmly on a wooden plank, which was not clear of its purpose.
The women showed no fear, and the two girls within the formation appeared even more tranquil.
Do they really know what fighting a war means? Do they know how to fight a war?
The Jurchen people were getting closer, now would be the time for the first round of engagement from the Bowmen.
The Jurchen people on the other side had already raised their bows, but there was still no movement on this side.
Three hundred paces, two hundred paces, one hundred paces now...
If this continues, by the time they extract their bows, it'll be too late; they'll be shot like a nest of hornets.
Li Guorui could no longer hold himself back and was just about to shout with a bow in his hand.
"Fire!" A high-pitched male voice exclaimed before him.
Finally, they were firing, although a bit too late!
Bowmen hadn't picked up their weapons yet, Li Guorui thought frantically, but at the next moment, instead of seeing the soldiers raising their bows, the women behind the supply carts shouted in unison as they forcefully pressed down on the wooden planks, from which some wooden boards on the carts abruptly flipped over, throwing something forward.
Stones? Were these supply carts actually catapults?
But it wasn't a siege; what use were stones on flat terrain!
Smashing their opponents until they bled was less effective than using bows.
Li Guorui was about to shout out, but in the next moment, he heard several thunderous booms by his side, the ground trembled, and a burst of fire and thick smoke rose before his eyes.
The approaching Jin thief screamed and rolled onto the ground.
"Fire!"
The ten women pressed down on the wooden planks behind the supply cart once more, and several dark stones flew out again.
With several booms, the Jurchen people fell in an instant, agonized wails and screams piercing the air, blood and flesh scattering amidst the rising firelight and pungent smoke.
The previously orderly Jurchen formation had fallen into chaos, with dozens of corpses lying on the ground and just as many people writhing and screaming.
In just two releases, a hundred men had been killed.
Li Guorui's ears were ringing, and he stood dumbfounded.
Terrifying.
What on earth was that?
How did the stone bullets explode?
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Thank you to the southern ice for the reward of He's Bi, kiss kiss.
Also, did everyone notice the chapter is quite long? Hehe, looking forward to your praises.
Thank you, everyone.