Chapter 137 Guarding the City Defense
Fang Xun remained silent in awe.
He walked out quickly and ran into Fang Ningmo. Fang Ningmo had been very busy these days because of Fang Ruyu's sudden departure. On the one hand, she had to serve and comfort her parents, and on the other hand, she had to help put out fires everywhere like a fire brigade. Her eyes showed fatigue and her cheeks were deeply sunken. She looked much thinner, but she was still in good spirits.
"Cousin." Fang Ningmo bowed, his eyes a little anxious. "Any news about my sister and grandmother?"
Fang Xun shook his head, his face also solemn. "Today, the city lord has sent the eldest son of the Xu family to Ye County with people and food. It will take at least two or three days for him to return."
"If Grandfather knew that my sister had left the team, I wonder how furious he would be."
Fang Xun said bluntly, "I'm more than furious. I'm afraid I'm heartbroken. I didn't know my eldest cousin was such a fool. If she brings trouble to our entire Fang family and the City Lord, then she will truly become the eternal sinner of the Fang family."
Fang Ningmo had no room to retort to Fang Xun's complaints, so she could only say, "Sister, you don't judge people well... We didn't expect Zhou Heng to be so ambitious... There is no such vicious person in this world."
"Our Fang family has done their utmost to be kind to the Zhou family. My grandfather almost gave up his last breath to protect the Zhou family's kingdom. But as for them, one of them is so heartless and the other is worse than pigs and dogs. If they continue to force us, I say, we might as well rebel against them!"
Fang Ningmo was shocked. She never expected that her cousin, who seemed honest and silent on weekdays, would have such outrageous thoughts in his mind!
"Cousin, be careful with your words!" Fang Ningmo hurriedly reminded, "Don't let Grandfather hear you say this!"
Fang Xun was instantly sobered by the cold night wind. He finally suppressed his anger and said after a while, "Sister, you're right. I was impulsive."
Fang Ningmo didn't say anything, just sighed. She had a lot of worries. She was worried about her grandparents in Ye County, her parents who fell ill due to anger, and even more worried about Fang Ruyu whose whereabouts were unknown.
It seemed as if troubles had followed her ever since she embarked on the road of exile.
I used to worry about what to eat, what to wear, and where to sleep during my exile.
Now she is worried about whether bandits will attack, whether her relatives can survive, and whether they will have a tomorrow.
She felt that reality was becoming increasingly heavy, making her feel suffocated and wanting to escape.
And her way of escape was to bury herself in the mountain of official duties.
It seemed that only by spinning herself like a top would she have no time to think about those problems.
So she asked Fang Xun, "What kind of problem has the City Lord given my cousin this time?"
Speaking of official business, Fang Xun's expression brightened slightly, a hint of laughter in his eyes. "The City Lord, she really is... He asked me to register all the scholars, and I thought it would be of great use. But I didn't expect him to just summon a group, saying they're going to raise chickens. Your cousin, I'll soon be the head of the chicken farm."
"Raising chickens?" Fang Ningmo covered his mouth, almost laughing out loud. "She's really mischievous, to come up with such a scheme."
Fang Xun also said solemnly, "Not really. The city lord wants to solve the food crisis in the city. First, he relies on tribute from the wealthy, and second, we have to rely on ourselves. Now the entire Jinzhou is short of food. The city lord said that we need to break through the technological blockade and research easy-to-grow crops like leeks and bean sprouts. We also need to study how to hatch chicks from eggs and how to make piglets grow meat quickly..."
"Technical blockade?" Fang Ningmo savored the words, the more he thought about them, the more intriguing they became. "I wonder what's going on with Xu Liu's brain? How can he come up with so many brilliant ideas?"
"Sister, please don't call me Xu Liu Xu Liu anymore. It makes us look unruly." Fang Xun scolded Fang Ningmo lightly, but he also had to remind her, "The City Lord is no longer the same as before. Our Fang family has no hope of recovery. I'm afraid we'll have to rely on him for our livelihood. Although you have a close relationship with the City Lord, you must remember that tolerance is a gift from the superior, not a pretext for the inferior to act recklessly."
Fang Ningmo agreed when he thought about it. Xu Zhenying is no longer the same person he used to be. He now has 5,000 men under his command. Adding the more than 10,000 people in the city, that means he has 15,000 men under his command. He is a true mountain king.
Thinking that his granddaughter, a second-rank official, had now become a bandit, Fang Ningmo felt that life was still full of changes.
She nodded. "My cousin was right. I have a close personal relationship with the city lord, and I was indeed not careful enough."
"I'm glad you know," Fang Xun whispered again, "Although the city lord didn't say anything, I guess she must have sent people to search the whole city for Li Zhaodi. That girl has a miserable life. You should pay more attention these days and find out if there is any trace of Zhaodi."
Speaking of Li Zhaodi, Fang Ningmo felt upset again.
I heard that the human trafficker that day was a prostitute collector in Jinzhou City. He specialized in collecting refugees at low prices, exchanging one for a bag of food, and would move to another place after each shot. I wonder what would happen to Li Zhaodi if she fell into the hands of such a person.
Fang Ningmo's eyes were slightly red. "That Li Xiucai family is nothing but trash. They deserved it for the city lord to send them to clean the pigsty! If they don't get into my hands again, I will definitely make them suffer a fate worse than death so that they can pay off the debts of Yinzhang and Zhaodi!"
As the two were talking, they saw the dim light of lanterns. Xu Zhenying came out with Xu Yinxi, Feng'er, Sun Qingchen, Mo Jinchun and others.
Fang Ningmo wanted to go up and greet them warmly, but remembering Fang Xun's reminder, she became a little reserved and called out, "City Lord."
Xu Zhenying's gaze fell on the two of them, and then he asked with a smile, "Have you had dinner? If you're free, come with me to the city wall and take a walk to see if there are any problems with the city defenses."
Fang Xun took a half step back, "City Lord, please go first."
Seeing Fang Ningmo was a little dazed, Xu Zhenying simply took her hand and walked out. "Why are you dazed? Have you been tired these past few days? How are your parents?"
But Sun Qingchen and Mo Jinchun who were following behind were greatly shocked!
How could the new king hold a woman's hand so calmly?
But the people around him seemed to be used to it and didn't care.
The two suppressed their doubts and shock, but could not help wondering about the woman's identity. Could she be Xu Zhenying's sister or fiancée?
Mo Jinchun remained calm, completely hiding his handsome face in the shadow of the lantern.
He followed behind and couldn't help but look at Xu Zhenying carefully.
The man was very thin, only about as tall as his shoulders. This kind of thinness was not the slenderness of a man, but the slenderness that only women have.
Especially her shoulders and waist, which have clear curves and are not as strong and muscular as men's.
Her skin was pale, and upon closer inspection, even tender, like a peeled egg. She didn't smile often, but she smiled graciously at those below her, and when she smiled, two shallow dimples formed on her face.
Mo Jinchun's mind flashed with light, and he suddenly remembered that no one seemed to have ever doubted Xu Zhenying's gender.
Xu Zhenying was wearing men's clothing and was an underdeveloped teenager, making it difficult to tell whether he was a man or a woman.
But since she dared to lead so many people to attack Lan County, everyone naturally subconsciously assumed that she was a man.
Who knew that this person was actually a girl!
Mo Jinchun's breathing quickened.
Xu Zhenying turned out to be a woman.
And judging from her actions just now, she didn't seem to be deliberately concealing her identity. If someone was careful, they would definitely be able to find the clues.
With this discovery, Mo Jinchun suddenly felt at a loss for some reason. He could only follow her and try to reduce his presence.
He heard Xu Zhenying asking about the condition of the girl's parents. It seemed that the girl's sister had run away, and her parents were extremely worried and had fallen ill in bed.
"There are good doctors in Lan County. You can hire them yourself. If you don't have enough money, please go directly to my fourth sister. I will use the best herbs, so don't be stingy. Uncle Fang is a mathematical genius. I hope he recovers quickly and comes to help me govern Lan County as soon as possible. You don't know how short-staffed I am right now. I feel really stretched... Speaking of people..."
Xu Zhenying turned around and glanced at Mo Jinchun with a smile. Mo Jinchun took a step forward, knowingly. "This is Mo Jinchun. He's quite skilled and has been escorting people for years, so he's very familiar with the surrounding geography. I've brought him to the city wall today to have a look. You all should come too. I estimate there are at least hundreds of thousands of refugees in Jinzhou right now. Even Ye County has been occupied, so Lan County isn't exactly safe. Now that we've captured Lan County, we must find a way to protect it and make sure the people don't fall into the hands of the bandits."
Sun Qingchen couldn't help but sneer in his heart.
I was thinking, aren’t you, Xu Zhenying, a bandit?
Mo Jinchun put aside the chaotic thoughts in his mind about Xu Zhenying's gender and spoke at the right time: "Lan County will be our second home from now on. I will do my best."
Fang Xun couldn't help but take a deep look at Mo Jinchun. Although this man was a little thin, he had a slender figure, spoke forcefully, and had bright eyes. It was obvious that he was someone who had killed people and had seen a bloody knife.
Fang Xun bowed to Mo Jinchun and said, "Brother Mo."
Mo Jinchun was on Lao Liao's side, having previously followed them. He had only just met Xu Zhenying and his men during this siege, but he wasn't familiar with Xu Zhenying's men. While Fang Xun was observing him, Mo Jinchun quietly observed him.
He couldn't help but sigh that although Xu Zhenying had few men under his command, each of them was an elite soldier and strong general, and even the girls and women were not inferior to him.
This team has a clear division of labor, strong execution, and is extremely united. Most of them seem to be literate and are much better than those reckless villagers under Lao Liao.
No wonder Lao Liao and his brothers were tied up and thrown into the woodshed.
Mo Jinchun returned the greeting.
Xu Zhenying and the others climbed up the city wall. Tonight, Jiang Yongkang was guarding the city. He was exhausted after two days and two nights, but for some reason, he was in good spirits. When he saw Xu Zhenying, he immediately ran over and called out, "City Lord."
Xu Zhenying didn't like the title of city lord at first, but when he thought it was better than being a bandit leader or a mountain king, he had no choice but to accept it.
Xu Zhenying asked directly, "What is the current situation of the city's defense?"
"We originally had over a hundred soldiers stationed there, but we've disbanded them. We're still afraid to use them, so we're only using our own men. There are three squads on the city wall, each with eighty men, and twenty men at each of the four city gates. Our biggest problem right now is that while we have a lot of men, we can only use a few, and our combat effectiveness is relatively weak. They're just a bunch of extras. If other bandits really attack, our chances of winning aren't very high."
"How are the weapons and equipment?"
"There are only a hundred sets of armor in Curry, and they've all been given to the brothers on duty. As for weapons..." Jiang Yongkang shook his head, "They're either in disrepair or moldy and rusty. There aren't many usable weapons."
"How's the city gate going?"
"It will take two or three days to fix it after we find a carpenter."
"Work quickly. It must be repaired within two days. Also, gather the black powder. You are to keep it. If the enemy attacks, light it immediately."
Seeing that he had explained most of it, Xu Zhenying smiled and said, "Don't be too nervous. We can deal with any problem we encounter."
Jiang Yongkang said, "It's so hard to find a place to live, so we have to protect it well."
These words resonated with the people behind him.
They have really had enough of the life of being homeless and displaced.
They really don't want to experience the feeling of having to be alert even when sleeping again.
Fang Xun also said, "City defenses must not be relaxed. I see refugees everywhere in Jinzhou, and there might be people like Li Datou coming to seize our territory. City Lord, I think we should train more combat forces to prepare for emergencies."
Xu Zhenying tilted his head to look at Mo Jinchun, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile, "Mo Jinchun, did you hear that? Your mission has arrived. You are now our team's guard coach. Tomorrow, pick some strong men and test them first. Let's pick 200 people, half men and half women, and teach them some close combat techniques. I'm a man of efficiency, so I'll give you five days to train at least a group of vanguards who will obey orders, dare to kill, and dare to charge forward!"
Ever since he learned of Xu Zhenying's female identity, Mo Jinchun had been feeling a bit uncomfortable. He felt Xu Zhenying's hand on his shoulder grow hot. He unnoticedly moved it away a half inch and asked, "City Lord, women are weak and can't even lift a weapon. How can they charge into battle? Besides, throughout history, there have been no women on the battlefield!"
Even Jiang Yongkang, Fang Xun and others on the side showed expressions of approval.
Only Feng'er and Fang Ningmo pouted, as if they felt looked down upon.
Feng'er had always been bold and daring, so she retorted without hesitation, "Mr. Mo, you're wrong. You don't know that our team of more than a hundred people was ambushed by bandits before. The bandits didn't distinguish between men and women when they killed people. Instead, they killed us women first, because they thought we were weak and wouldn't dare to resist. But in fact, that night, the men were charging in the front, and the women were also fighting in the back. Many women in our team have seen blood! I, Feng'er alone, have killed at least three men."
Speaking of this, Mo Jinchun's face was full of astonishment.
Fang Xun looked guilty.
Now that he thinks about it, he was almost killed the last time the bandits attacked him. If it weren't for my grandmother's quick eyesight and blinding of the bandits' eyes, I'm afraid he would have been killed by the sword.
Feng'er said firmly, "You refuse to teach us women. Do you think we women are born weak and should be killed? Or do you think we shouldn't be able to resist? You have a mother and sisters too, and you have the heart to watch them with their lives hanging by a thread, without any ability to protect themselves and can only ask for help from others? I don't care what other women think. Anyway, I, Feng'er, absolutely do not want to put my life in the hands of others!"
Xu Yinxi nodded frequently as she listened, feeling that what Feng'er said was reasonable and well-founded.
Mo Jinchun blushed and bowed repeatedly, "Miss Feng'er, that's not what I meant. I've never looked down on you ladies, it's just that practicing martial arts is incredibly hard, and getting beaten and injured is common. Women and men are inherently different. Men can handle a few fights without getting hurt, but women are so delicate, it's really..."
"You said you didn't look down on us, but now you are looking down on us. You are saying that us girls can't endure the hardship of martial arts training..."
Seeing Mo Jinchun blushing with embarrassment, Xu Zhenying interrupted their conversation with a smile, "It's okay. It's my fault for not setting a quota. When the time comes, just say that there's no limit on gender. Encourage girls to learn martial arts. Those who are willing and can endure hardships will naturally come."
Mo Jinchun's heart trembled, thinking that he had just made a mistake.
Since Xu Zhenying is a woman, she naturally needs to train a group of women, otherwise how can her close safety be guaranteed?
Unexpectedly, Xu Zhenying continued, "As everyone knows, this is an extraordinary period. Bandits are everywhere in Jinzhou, and the princes outside are in rebellion. The Great Zhou Dynasty is in turmoil and troubled times are about to begin. The more skills women learn, the more likely they are to survive. I hope you will no longer look at things with old ideas. Not to mention that we can't talk about women joining the army, even if it is not decent for women to join the army, so what? How can decorum be as important as life? Who has the final say on this decorum? What's more, no matter now or in the future, no matter whether it is a man or a woman, old or young, I will not support idle people under my command. You either have to be good at both literature and martial arts, or be a weaver, or be able to write and calculate. I have no obligation to support those who have no skills. As for those who are of no use to me, I will not allow them to eat idle meals. The worst that can happen is to drive them out of the city!"
Mo Jinchun was startled.
Is Xu Zhenying telling him that if he refuses to teach, either he or the girls will leave?
Or are you trying to pressure him into being obedient?
Mo Jinchun quickly said, "The City Lord is absolutely right. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Practicing martial arts can not only strengthen the girls' bodies, but also save their lives in critical moments. It's a meritorious deed. I'm being too narrow-minded."
Xu Yinxi, however, had other concerns. "The City Lord is naturally doing this for the good of these girls," she said. "The scary thing is, few people understand the City Lord's painstaking efforts. He wants women to learn martial arts, but that inevitably means both men and women will be paired together. I'm afraid... with the world going downhill, there will always be gossip..."
Xu Zhenying thought about it and agreed.
The status of women in the Zhou Dynasty was not high, and she wanted to gradually improve the status of women. However, if she rashly forced women to train with men now, there would be rumors and gossip, and her order would become a decoration.
"That's easy," Xu Zhenying said with a smile. "Other women are encouraged to join the drill team, but all women in our team must participate. I think with this, no one will dare to make irresponsible remarks!"
Xu Yinxi's eyes lit up, and she thought this was a good idea. "I'll give the order right away."
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