Xie Xiao was shocked again.

Li Qing said, “We now have three armies: your Black Wind Stronghold plus Marquis Xinyang and General Zhao, which together number 20,000; Ziyang Peak with more than 7,000; and the Li Family Army with more than 12,000. We should unite as one.”

Li Ruo looked at Xie Xiao, 20,000! She thought he only had a little over 10,000 men. Where did the other few thousand come from? Tsk tsk, he actually has "private troops"?

My brother is amazing! He knew as soon as he got back.

Li Qing seemed to know what they were thinking: "I was just guessing. There must be quite a few people in Beishan who could stop the Prince of Jiangning, as well as the Marquis of Xinyang. I know several powerful families he knows, and their members are still around. These people must also be working for you. You think far ahead, and you are brave and resourceful. Yesterday's battle showed that you are more suitable for this important task than I am."

He then looked at Li Ruo and asked, "You don't have any objections, do you?" Part of the reason for doing this was for her sake.

Because his younger sister chose to marry him.

Years ago, a Taoist priest who passed by their house said something to their father that he still remembers vividly.

Since she chose Xie Xiao, it means that the Li family has chosen Xie Xiao.

The other reason is that he lacked such ambition.

Li Ruo's feelings were somewhat complicated.

If her older brother is the commander-in-chief, it will have both advantages and disadvantages for her.

If Xie Xiao were the commander-in-chief, it would have both advantages and disadvantages for her.

Finally, she glanced at Xie Xiao and nodded slightly.

Xie Xiao felt a jolt in his heart, then it slowly began to beat faster and faster. More than that distant day, he cared about Li Qing's affirmation and his wife's support.

"Big brother, I—"

"Don't use humble words."

Xie Xiao choked, feeling an immense weight on his shoulder. He straightened up slightly, looked at Li Qing's open and confident gaze, and smiled brightly, "Okay!"

Could you please stop patting my shoulder all the time?

You can pat the other side.

Li Qing released his hand and smiled, "However, I want to reorganize Ziyang Peak and the soldiers I brought back into the Li Family Army. Ruo'er will lead the Ziyang Camp, and I will lead the Qinghua Camp. What do you think?"

Li Ruo felt that her older brother, despite his rough appearance, was actually very thoughtful. "Yes, I'm fine with it."

That's settled.

After the three of them went out, they gathered all the key members of Ziyang Peak and Black Wind Village together and explained the plan. Xie Xiao would be the commander-in-chief, Li Qing would lead 10,000 Li family soldiers to be stationed at Qinghua Mountain, and another 10,000 Li family soldiers would be stationed at Ziyang Peak. Everyone agreed.

However, just to be on the safe side, Li Ruo suggested waiting a few more days until they found the group of soldiers left behind by Song Zhijing before heading over.

"Besides, the Chinese New Year is coming soon."

Li Qing agreed.

Laughter and cheers filled the air atop Ziyang Peak.

I never imagined that such a major natural disaster could still allow us to celebrate the New Year in such a lively manner.

After the meeting, Xie Xiao asked Li Ruo to go back to the village with him, but Li Ruo wanted to stay a while longer. Before she could answer, Xiao Lizi hurriedly ran over and whispered to Xie Xiao, "Aunt Su refuses to eat."

Xie Xiao's eyes dimmed slightly. "Then I'll go back to the village first."

Li Ruo was right next to him, and she heard what Xiao Li Zi said. "I'd better go back with you. I'll leave things here to you, brother."

"Okay, go ahead." Li Qing smiled and shook his head. A daughter is meant to stay at home when she grows up. Watching her walk so briskly, his gaze became somewhat distant, as if he were lost in deep thought.

He walked over to Liao Fusheng and said, "Daoist Master, I have something I'd like to ask you..."

On the way to Black Wind Stronghold, Xie Xiao held the woman's hand, their fingers intertwined, and whispered in her ear, "Didn't you say you were tired? Why don't you lie down a little longer?"

"I was worried, so I came to check." Li Ruo looked behind her, her face slightly flushed. "There's someone there."

She tried to break free from his hand, but he held on even tighter.

Sun Ergou, Xiao Lizi, and Chen He, who had already eaten their fill of dog food, all looked up at the sky.

"Boss, I still have some things to do," Sun Ergou said.

"I forgot something at Ziyang Peak," Little Li said with a smile, and then went to check on Yang Huahua.

Chen He: ...Waaah, he's the girl's guard, he can't leave.

Li Ruo glared at Xie Xiao, noticing the lingering smug smile on his lips, and quickened her pace.

Xie Xiao's smile widened, but quickly faded. Thinking of his mother, Xie Heng, and Madam Fang, he felt a surge of unease.

He once hunted five wild horses by himself, established a mountain stronghold with a dozen or so local brothers, dared to raid an army camp with two thousand brothers, and dared to rebel with ten thousand men, yet he was repeatedly helpless against his own family.

What do his family members really mean to him?

At this moment, Madam Su was in the council hall with her two grandsons.

Uncle Luo, the third leader, and Xie Ying were all there. The former two looked helpless, while the latter had a stern face.

Upon seeing the person at the door, the third leader was overjoyed, exclaiming, "Boss, you've finally arrived!"

As soon as the two nephews saw them, they ran over and hugged Xie Xiao's legs. The older one was called Xie Zhaobang, and the younger one was called Xie Xiaoyu.

"Uncle, please let my father, brother, and mother go. If they don't come back, my grandmother won't eat anything. She hasn't eaten all day," Xie Xiaoyu said. He was bolder than his brother.

Xie Xiao glanced at the bowl of noodles on the table, which wasn't steaming at all, and smiled. "What is Mother making?"

Li Ruo felt that this mother-in-law was really strange.

The words spoken during their previous meeting made her feel that this woman had a strong sense of justice and wasn't completely disregarding Xie Xiao. She even attended the wedding last night, so she thought the woman had come to her senses.

Who would have thought that she would still be so blind and heartbroken when it came to her eldest son's affairs?

Madam Su said, "It's my fault as your mother for not taking good care of your elder brother. He's in jail now and has nothing to eat, so I shouldn't deserve to eat either."

Xie Xiao narrowed his eyes. "Is Mother trying to blackmail me into delivering food to my elder brother? But do you know what kind of mistake he made? If it were any of the brothers in the village, they would have been executed long ago."

Su's face turned pale.

Xie Zhaobang and Xie Xiaoyu quickly grabbed his legs again, pleading, "Uncle, don't kill my father, don't kill my mother."

Suddenly, Su knelt down, and it was Li Ru who was kneeling, which startled Li Ru. "What are you doing?"

"Xie Xiao will listen to you. Talk to him and ask him to release Xie Heng and his wife. From now on, until the flood recedes, they must not step out of this house." Her voice sounded weak, but every word was clear.

Li Ruo helped her up. The woman wasn't heavy, and she easily pressed her back into the chair. "I'm sorry, I can't make that decision."

Su's lips trembled as she looked at Xie Xiao, her voice slightly choked, "Do you really want to starve your brother to death?"

Uncle Luo and the third leader were both at a loss, let alone the first leader.

This is really a difficult situation.

Xie Ying couldn't stand it any longer. "Mother, in your eyes, is only my eldest brother your child, and neither my second brother nor I are your children?"

Su was taken aback.

Xie Ying had little affection for her mother because she was abducted as a child, but she was still her mother after all. With tears in her eyes, she said, "Although my second brother became a bandit, he never killed innocent people indiscriminately, and he never forgot you. He sends you things every year. Didn't my sister-in-law tell you?"

"Send something?" Su's eyes widened in surprise.