Chapter 76 Paper Tiger Is this tough guy in love?! ...

Shen Changfeng narrowed his eyes, took in the scene across from him, and said, "It's a feint! They're bluffing!"

Jiang Jin, who was pushed aside, threw a punch but missed. Hearing this, he took out his homemade telescope and followed Shen Changfeng's sight. He saw that the waterline of the two ships at the back was very shallow, the lights were dim, but there was no one moving on the side of the ship. Lightning flashed, illuminating the pale face and bright red lips. The enlarged faces of several paper dolls were smiling sinisterly at him!

Jiang Jin got goosebumps all over his body and took a step back.

Shen Changfeng snatched the telescope from his hand, swiftly climbed up to the mast, and peered northward. His suspicions were confirmed: "The real enemy is on the northern front. They're trying to disperse our forces."

He immediately ordered, "Qingsong, immediately set off for Xiangyangwei to sound the alarm..." He gazed at a corner of the ship and said slowly, "Also, Command Headquarters, please dispatch support."

As the boat approached the shore, two riders galloped out in the rainy night.

Jiang Jin was unhappy when he heard him giving orders. Just as he was about to retort loudly, a telescope was stuffed into his hand. He heard the man say, "Look." Jiang Jin didn't believe it, so he put it in front of his eyes and took a look. Sure enough, he saw a faint fire in the north, and the faint shouting in the noisy rain became clearer and clearer.

"Everyone retreat back into the city, leaving two teams to defend the city gates, and the rest of the people rush to the northern front to provide support."

Shen Changfeng met Jiang Jin's gaze, his telescopic vision gone. He spoke slowly, "Go to the lookout tower, light the signal smoke, beat the drums and shout to steady the troops' morale, but remember not to attack proactively. You can frequently mobilize soldiers to patrol the city walls, pretending the main force is still there... Stabilizing the rear is paramount. I leave it to you."

Jiang Jin, who had replaced Shen Changfeng as the general flag-bearer, was originally very angry. After hearing the last sentence, his heart swelled up. He almost patted his chest and said, "Just leave it to me, don't worry." He nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, then I..."

He only realized halfway through his response: Who is the commander?!

Without waiting for Jiang Jin's response, Shen Changfeng took the lead and rushed forward, blending into the darkness in an instant.

Jiang Jin cursed, thinking to himself why he didn't think of this series of methods so quickly. He felt regretful. When he turned around, more than a dozen soldiers were ready to go. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and said, "Follow him!"

Shen Changfeng was not well-liked in the garrison because he often used force to subdue people. However, this situation changed after the Xiangyang Lantern Festival because Shen Changfeng dared to go against the people of the King of Chu.

In the past few years, the military funds received by the garrisons have been getting less and less every year. After being deducted by the Dusi Yamen and the Zhihuishisi, the silver actually distributed to the soldiers is pitifully small, not to mention that they have to pay for the purchase of weapons out of their own pockets. Most of the military farms in the garrisons are occupied by people from higher up, and the best grain grown from the few acres of thin land left has to be used as a tribute to the higher ups. The winter clothes and cotton quilts distributed are also rotten... Over time, the soldiers were not well fed and well clothed, they were lazy in training and patrolling, and they would pretend to be lame when chasing bandits. Naturally, they were angry at the King of Jingzhou but dared not say anything.

But Shen Changfeng vented their anger for them. He dared not to kneel before the King of Chu, and even dared to hit the guests invited by the King of Chu, which made his image become great in the hearts of these soldiers.

In Fengpingfang, north of the city, Luo Shanchang was commanding his soldiers to hastily engage in battle. However, the weapons in the arsenal were mostly rotten and unusable, and some soldiers couldn't even find any weapons. Furthermore, these soldiers had neglected daily training, and the sudden attack threw them into disarray. Fewer than a hundred horse thieves, disguised as merchants, had defeated the garrison's 500-plus men.

The group of horse thieves broke through the soldiers' defense line, killing everyone they met with extreme brutality, and rushed straight towards the shops and houses in the streets. At this moment, the ground trembled slightly, as if something was rushing out from deep underground, and then the buzzing sound came from far away and turned into a continuous dull roar.

The leader of the horse thieves raised his hands and looked towards the source of the sound vigilantly.

A series of rapid horse hoof sounds exploded from the depths of ink, and a white horse broke through the fog, its four hooves crushing the firelight in the puddle. The man on the horse had his wide hat brim pulled down low, half of his face was hidden in the ink shadow, leaving only his cold and hard jaw that was chiseled by a knife and an axe. He suddenly clamped his grip on the horse's belly, and when he dived, his goose feather knife slashed down diagonally. In a flash, he had taken the heads of several people nearby. Blood beads mixed with water splashed and rolled down the knife groove, and in an instant, a bloody rain fell.

All the robbers were frightened by the momentum of the man and horse who broke into the encirclement. They stopped smashing and looting and watched his every move with bated breath.

The tall man sitting upright on horseback suddenly pointed the blood-stained blade straight into the sky. The cavalry broke through the fog ahead and shouted, "Kill!!"

Then, the sound of horse hooves behind him suddenly became like thunder hammering the ground, like thousands of war drums beating simultaneously. The entire ground suddenly became more noisy, and even the dust in the cracks between the bluestone slabs jumped up. Along with it, there was a deafening charge, "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Someone among the bandits shouted, "It's Shen Changfeng! He's bringing reinforcements!"

Seeing the situation was not good, the bandit leader turned his horse around and hurriedly ordered: "Retreat!"

The soldiers, who had ridden their horses for more than a dozen laps behind the rain curtain, finally breathed a sigh of relief. How could reinforcements arrive so quickly? They had simply tied their armor and shields to the backs of their horses and dragged them along. The clashing of iron was amplified within the high walls and alleys, and the sound of the rain masked it, giving the impression of a thousand-man army raiding the enemy lines.

The black horse that ran the loudest and most vigorously ran to Shen Changfeng and arched his hand to beg for food.

Shen Changfeng stuffed half a candy into the horse, walked two steps, turned back, leaned over and patted its face and said, "A Chou, you did a great job. You are a good horse."

Ah Chou didn't know whether he understood or not. He pricked up his ears, shook off the water droplets, turned his face away, and chewed the candy with a crunching sound.

Luo Shanchang was still frightened, and looking at Shen Changfeng was like seeing his reborn parents. Only then did he feel fortunate that he had not been too ruthless and kicked him out.

The bandits were fierce and fierce, their morale high after breaching the garrison's defenses. Furthermore, the garrison consisted mostly of infantry, making them at a disadvantage against cavalry. A hasty engagement with only the dozen or so soldiers who arrived later stood no chance of success. Deception is the norm in war, and Shen Changfeng, knowing the garrison's capabilities, decided to use a sleight of hand to scare them off.

Fortunately, the bandits were already somewhat suspicious and fled in a hurry without taking a closer look.

Luo Shanchang looked at the mess on the ground and listened to the soldiers reporting the casualties and losses of shops. He was so worried that his eyebrows were about to fall off.

"I have to send people to block the damaged part of the city gate. You go and check the city wall to see how much is damaged. The wall is wet and soft after the rain, and I don't know how much has collapsed. Also, ask your two men, no, my two men, to report to the nearby garrison and the commander-in-chief..." Luo Shan was so busy that he could not stand still. He handed over the tasks to Shen Changfeng one by one, as if he had forgotten who was cursing and refusing to leave a few days ago.

At this moment, a medical officer suddenly came running to report: "Sir, the garrison has run out of medicine for wounds!"

Luo Shanchang slapped his forehead and almost forgot about this!

Luo Shanchang said, "Don't we still have herbs in the institute?!"

The medical officer said, "Forget it! Those bandits burned the herb garden. We only have about ten pounds of blood-retaining herbs like Panax notoginseng and Sanguisorba officinalis left. We're almost out of Coptis chinensis too. But with nearly three hundred wounded soldiers, it's far from enough!"

Shen Changfeng pondered and said, "Mix the wound medicine with water and distribute the medicine for ten people to a hundred people for emergency treatment. Give priority to the seriously injured... Sir, you can send soldiers to the pharmacy to requisition the medicine."

Luo Shanchang looked worried and said to the medical officer, "Let's do as he says first." Then he turned to Shen Changfeng and said, "It's true that the garrison can borrow medicinal materials from the local area with the military token, but... it's really hard to explain."

"When requisitioning medicine, we have to compensate the pharmacies. If they don't have silver, we use salt and rice to compensate. If they don't have salt and rice, we use cloth to replace them. We can't just give them nothing, right? But you know the plight of the garrison. They can't even get the monthly pay. They're so poor that they can't even afford to eat. How can they come up with extra silver?" Luo Shanchang sighed helplessly and continued, "Over the years, the soldiers in the garrison have been injured. They can only buy medicine and see doctors on credit. Over time, the people in the clinic are full of resentment towards the garrison."

Luo Shanchang was on the verge of tears as he spoke. "Before, the people in the county were willing to give me face by seeing patients. But a month ago, a medical clinic took the lead in boycotting and politely refused to provide medicine to the garrison. Then the other medical clinics followed suit, using all kinds of excuses to refuse to see patients. How can I find the money to pay off my debts in such a short time? Is it because I don't want to pay? Or is it because I really don't have it?"

Shen Changfeng pondered for a while and asked, "Which clinic is taking the lead?"

Luo Shanchang replied, "Huisheng Hall."

The next day, outside Zuixian Tower in Jiangling County, horse-drawn and donkey-drawn carriages came and went, and the venue was packed with guests. However, the guests did not look happy at all, and instead walked hurriedly, as if they were being herded into battle.

Jiang Jin, who was riding past on his horse, saw those reluctant and ugly faces, and felt both indignant and impatient.

His views were completely different from Luo Shanchang's. If the clinic's staff disobeyed, then he would beat them until they obeyed. If the clinic refused to provide medicine, then he would send people to search the store. If they found any evidence, he would punish those who pretended to obey but actually disobeyed.

But Shen Changfeng didn't know what he said to Luo Shanchang, but Luo Shanchang was willing to cut off his own leg flesh and pay for the doctor and drug dealer to attend a banquet at the restaurant. He was also afraid that his cousin would do something bad, so he asked him not to join in the fun.

Jiang Jin was so angry that he had no place to vent. Just as he was about to ride away, he suddenly saw a familiar figure standing in a private room on the second floor opposite. The man was looking down with his body sideways, his eyes fixed without blinking, a faint smile brewing at the corner of his mouth, and a look of love and affection that he had never seen before. Upon closer inspection, there was also a hint of anxiety.

Shen Changfeng always has the final say in the garrison. He is always calm and composed in his plans. How could he have ever looked so sad like a young girl?

Jiang Jin let out a silent "wow," thinking, "Is this tough guy in love?" His heart quickened, and he immediately reined in his horse, following Shen Changfeng's gaze. Sure enough, he saw a woman walking gracefully towards Zuixian Tower. From behind, even her thorny hairpin and cloth skirt couldn't hide her graceful figure. Looking closer, the woman had her hair tied up in a bun, with a small white flower dangling from her temples, clearly still in mourning.

Jiang Jin looked at the dazed man standing by the window and gave a wicked smile: Ha... So you like this?

The woman took a few steps, and suddenly raised her head to look upwards as if she had eyes on her head. Although most of Shen Changfeng was hidden behind the window, she could see him clearly.

Being far away, Jiang Jin didn't see the expression on the little woman's face. He just saw her turn her head away as if burned by something, and her steps became noticeably faster as she walked forward. Looking at Shen Changfeng again, although he could only see half of his face, his jawline was clearly softer.

Jiang Jin smelled something different and sneered in his heart: "Look at how useless he is, being attracted by such a young widow..." He rode his horse two steps and met the woman face to face, and his heart was shaken.

But the woman had only two white jade hairpins on her thick black bun, and there was no trace of makeup on her face. Her oval face was as white as snow, and her almond-shaped eyes were sparkling when she looked around. Her red lips were not dyed but had a rosy look. The bright facial features and the plain attire formed an extreme contrast, which made her pretty face look even more charming. Her beauty was extremely forbidden and made people unable to take their eyes away.

When Lin Meiju looked up, her eyes were dazzled by something. It turned out to be a tall and thin soldier with a face as red as a date who had approached her at some point. He was smiling so hard that the words "ill-intentioned" were almost written on his forehead, but his eyes were full of surprise and enthusiasm, and with a row of shiny white teeth, he looked really bad, weird and stupid.

Lin Meiju felt that this garrison was full of talented people, and thought to herself: Fortunately, Chen Huisheng was not allowed to come, otherwise, with his bad temper, he would have asked the other party if he had any opinion of him because of this inexplicable smile when he saw the other party's smile.

Coincidentally, at this moment a whistle was heard on the street, and then several horses broke free. Jiang Jin was about to say something, but unexpectedly the horse rushed straight towards him and almost trampled him into a pulp.

Jiang Jin cursed and dodged, but suddenly felt a strong sense of coldness coming from behind him, like some beast whose territory was violated, secretly watching from the dark. Its eyes were cold and sharp, releasing naked displeasure and threat. Jiang Jin suddenly pressed his cold neck and turned around to look, but there was nothing.

Lin Meiju took advantage of this opportunity to leave the other person behind and went upstairs alone.

Luo Shanchang gathered all the drug dealers in the county together, saying that they were negotiating repayment, but everyone knew that he had other intentions, so Lin Meiju did not plan to stay any longer.

As soon as Luo Shanchang took in Lin Meizhu's appearance, he knew something bad was going to happen. No wonder Shen Changfeng said it might not be a good time to come forward directly today. It turned out that the person who slapped Shen Changfeng at the Lantern Festival that day was the same person who led the boycott of the garrison!

Seeing that Lin Meizhu spoke more sharply and bluntly than those old foxes, and stood up to say goodbye before even warming up her chair, Luo Shanchang suddenly became anxious and thought: If the initiator leaves, the others will surely disperse after seeing her attitude. We must keep her at all costs!

Luo Shanchang immediately stood up and tried to stop the person, but at this moment a tall figure flashed out from behind the door. The dark figure was as solid as a mountain, with his iron arm stretched across the doorpost, blocking most of the way. The remaining gap was just right, so that even if Lin Meiju passed by sideways, she would definitely hit his chest.

Shen Changfeng said righteously and sternly: "You can't leave yet!"

If Shen Changfeng looked gloomy, few people would be afraid of him. Everyone in the room fell silent, even Luo Shanchang quietly swallowed his saliva. Just when everyone thought he would use iron fists to scare people into tears and take them back to the room, Shen Changfeng suddenly softened his voice and tentatively said, "The food is almost ready. Let's eat before we go."