Gu Nianchen instructed his brothers to clean up the battlefield and help the villagers treat the wounded, then followed Mayor Bai inside.

The town was truly desolate. In Gu Nianchen's memory, although Lishu Town was very poor, it didn't seem to be so poor. Even many shops were closed, not to mention the vendors setting up stalls. It looked even less lively than the small commercial street in Baoxing Village.

Mayor Bai didn't say a word along the way, nor did he go to the town compound. Instead, he walked towards his home, and Gu Nianchen followed him and watched him all the way.

"Boss Chen, please come in." When they arrived at the gate of the yard, Mayor Bai made a gesture of invitation.

"Mayor Bai, please." Gu Nianchen also stopped and let Mayor Bai go in first, and then he followed.

"Please sit down, I'll pour you some tea." Mayor Bai's home was not what he had imagined. But he was the mayor after all, so Gu Nianchen thought that at least the conditions should be acceptable.

But now that I walked into the room, I realized that Mayor Bai's home could be described as extremely poor.

"Don't be busy, Mayor Bai. I know you asked me to come here because you have something to say. You can just tell me directly. I will not refuse as long as it is something I can do." Gu Nianchen didn't want to make things difficult for Mayor Bai. He could see that what Mayor Bai wanted to say was a little difficult to say.

Mayor Bai took the teapot and poured a cup of last tea for Gu Nianchen. Then he walked back to his seat and smiled awkwardly: "To be honest, there are indeed some things I would like to ask for help from Master Chen and Baoxing Village."

"Mayor Bai, please feel free to speak." Gu Nianchen nodded.

"You also know that I sent my son Xiaoyu to study since he was a child. Now he is under the command of Marshal Lin. It was good at first. At the beginning of the year, Xiaoyu wrote to me saying that he wanted to take over. I didn't agree. There are so many folks in Lishu Town. I can't abandon them." Mayor Bai said slowly.

Gu Nianchen had more respect for Mayor Bai. As far as he was concerned, his son was so promising now and commanded a large number of troops, so he could definitely follow his son and live a life of luxury.

But today, if he had not brought his brothers from Baoxing Village, Mayor Bai might have been killed or captured.

Gu Nianchen sighed in his heart, but did not interrupt and listened quietly.

"In the past two years, our Lishu Town has been getting poorer and poorer, with a declining population. With Baoxing Village protecting us, few people have come here. But a few days ago, we received a letter from Marshal Li, asking us to prepare ten dan of rice and ten cows. They are coming today to collect them."

As soon as Gu Nianchen heard this, he knew that this would obviously make things difficult for Lishu Town. Not to mention ten loads of rice, even ten loads of bran might not be able to be produced. Even if they were, what would the people here eat?

Ten cows is even more ridiculous. Where can they find ten cows in such a poor place?

I wondered why Marshal Li wanted to pick a fight with this small and remote town called Lishu.

"As soon as we received this post, we thought we couldn't afford to offend them, nor could we avoid them. Even though we didn't have what they wanted, we tried to prepare some things so they wouldn't go back empty-handed. That way, they wouldn't make it too difficult for us."

Speaking of this, Mayor Bai sighed. This kind of sadness, where they couldn't win the fight and had nowhere to hide, was really going to crush the people of Lishu Town.

"Today we prepared everything and waited at the town entrance. When they arrived, we greeted them with a smile and told them the truth."

"Who knew they would come up and start swearing and beating our people, telling us that if we didn't give them what they wanted, they would wipe out Lishu Town today."

"We were all panicked and begged them to spare our lives. Finally, one of their leaders let slip the secret, and we finally understood why we had been in such a disaster."

"I'm sorry to the folks in Lishu Town. They're trying to get revenge on Xiaoyu, so they're making things difficult for us. They're trying to find an excuse to massacre the town."

Mayor Bai was already in tears when he said this. He didn't leave because he wanted to protect his fellow villagers and think more about them.

Who would have known that in the end it was because of him that Lishu Town nearly suffered a disaster, and he almost became the sinner of Lishu Town. How could such an old man who was so devoted to his fellow villagers bear it?

"Don't be sad, Mayor Bai. You are injured. Please tell me in detail." Gu Nianchen comforted him. He had originally set his sights on Marshal Li because he wanted to find someone who would take the lead.

Now it seems that he still has a grudge against Bai Luoyu, so let's settle both the old and new accounts together.

"Marshal Li previously led troops in the southwest. Later, the two cities he occupied were liberated by Xiaoyu. He suffered heavy losses and fled. He dared not operate in the southern region at all, so he came north and stationed in Lincheng, thirty miles away."

"I hold a grudge in my heart. I knew Xiaoyu was from Lishu Town, which is why today's incident happened. I am sorry to the folks in Lishu Town."

Mayor Bai thought of the villagers who died at the hands of the enemy today, and he felt grief-stricken. All his perseverance and forbearance along the way collapsed at this moment. The immense guilt made him lose his composure in front of a junior.

Gu Nianchen also knew how heavy the burden was on Mayor Bai's shoulders, and his emotions surged involuntarily.

"Mayor Bai, none of this is your fault. Please don't take it on yourself. Li was beaten to a pulp by Young Marshal Yu. You should be happy to have a son who makes you proud."

Gu Nianchen comforted him, and Mayor Bai nodded with satisfaction after hearing that. His son was indeed his pride.

He once wanted to persuade Bai Luoyu to come back, but he also knew that in today's chaotic times, his son had learned so much just to realize his ambitions. If he came back, everything would have to start all over again. How could a general show his abilities without soldiers?

"Thank you, Master Chen. I know the rules of our Baoxing Village. If you don't need to leave the village, it won't be too difficult for you to come to the Master today. I just want to see if Baoxing Village can take in the children from our village and leave a legacy for Lishu Town."

Gu Nianchen was shocked after hearing this. Mayor Bai's action seemed to imply that he was entrusting his son to someone else's care.

"Why do you say that, Mayor Bai?" Gu Nianchen asked.

"Thanks to the brothers from Baoxing Village, we've escaped disaster today. However, Marshal Li has 20,000 troops under his command. He holds a grudge and will definitely not give up. He will definitely come again, and then we'll be hard to resist. Baoxing Village is strategically located, easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even if they want to make things difficult for us, they may not dare to cause such trouble."

"Therefore, I beg Baoxing Village to take in the children of Lishu Town and give them enough food to keep them from starving. On behalf of all the people in this town, I would like to thank Master Chen for his great kindness." Mayor Bai said this, and he stood up from his seat and was about to kneel down to kowtow to Gu Nianchen.

Frightened, Gu Nianchen quickly helped Mayor Bai to his feet. "This is unacceptable. Mayor Bai, please stand up quickly. Let's discuss this carefully."

Mayor Bai then stood up and sat back in his seat, looking dejected.