Chapter 15 How could 10,000 defeated soldiers defeat 50,000 enemy troops?
Xiao Qidi assured them that he would definitely ask Fairy Jinli to accept all of these.
Night gradually fell.
Tens of thousands of people in the entire Linxian Village, except for the injured, the elderly and children, all men and women were busy following Xiao Qidi's arrangements and orders.
The military doctors and barefoot doctors were responsible for treating people's illnesses and injuries using the medicines provided by Ning Jinli.
The rest of the labor force dug up soil and stones to build a defensive wall.
With approximately 40,000 people involved, the project relied on the natural defenses surrounding Linxian Village and sections of the abandoned city wall from earlier years, and it was completed in just two days.
Although it is far less sturdy and tall than the border city walls, it can still serve its purpose.
Such a commotion was quickly discovered by scouts of the enemy forces of the Yu Kingdom, who immediately reported it to their commander.
"Hahahaha! Building city walls? I think they're building their own graves!"
The border general of the Yu Kingdom laughed so hard he bent over backwards in his tent.
One of his subordinates asked, "Should we send someone to sabotage this?"
"No need to waste our troops!" The general took a big bite of the roasted lamb leg in his hand. "Tens of thousands of people are crammed into one village, without food or water. They won't last more than a few days. Now we're wasting our energy building city walls. We'll only die faster!"
The other officers nodded in agreement.
The people in Linxian Village are just making a futile struggle.
The Yu Kingdom has a strong and well-equipped army of 50,000, with a steady supply of provisions. They can afford to wait and slaughter everyone in Linxian Village without losing a single soldier.
This would not only allow the Yu Kingdom's king to seize the Azure Jade, but also bring a large area of the entire Xitun Pass into the Yu Kingdom's territory, preparing for the future annexation of the Xuan Kingdom—a triple win.
Inside the Yu Kingdom's army camp, both generals and soldiers were drinking and eating meat.
In Linxian Village, 40,000 people are working hard.
The vast majority of people are working hard, but some people sneak into a corner to slack off.
A dozen or so burly men gathered together, chatting and joking around.
The atmosphere was initially quite relaxed, but suddenly someone blurted out, "I think building city walls is completely pointless. What do you all think?"
Everyone turned to look in the direction of the sound.
Under the pale moonlight, the man who spoke had a gloomy face and his eyes were filled with resentment.
"Brother Kui... what do you mean by that?" someone asked.
"Brother Kui, don't be so discouraged," someone whispered to comfort him. "We know that last time some of your brothers followed those soldiers from Xitun Pass to the Immortal Cave to steal food, and they were killed by the Emperor... It's normal for you to be resentful, but... don't say anything carelessly. If the Emperor finds out, he will punish you for disrupting the morale of the army."
These dozen or so people all fled from the same village and knew each other, so they all knew about this.
Zhou Daikui said coldly, "What, are you going to complain?"
Those who tried to persuade him quickly shook their heads, their faces showing fear.
Zhou Daikui was a notorious ruthless man in their village. He killed without blinking an eye and was vengeful. No one in the village dared to offend him.
"Let me tell you, I'm full of resentment! I wish I could skin Xiao Qidi alive!" Zhou Daikui's face became even more ferocious. "My brothers who I grew up with, he just killed them like that! What is he? He claims to be the king of Xuan Kingdom, but he has no power or influence. He just comes here to show off his power!"
Some people wanted to say that the emperor was trying to maintain stability, but they didn't dare to say anything because Zhou Da Kui was angry.
"Brother Kui, what did you mean when you said that building city walls was useless?" someone else changed the subject.
Zhou Daikui's eyes flashed with a cold light. "I'm asking you, what was the purpose of building the city walls?"
"Of course, it's to resist the army of the Yu Kingdom."
"Then let me ask you again, how many soldiers do we have on this side?"
"This... seems to be ten thousand?"
"Where is Yu Guo?"
"I heard... there are fifty thousand."
Zhou Daikui snorted coldly, "Ten thousand defeated soldiers who retreated here from Xitun Pass are equipped with nothing but junk. How can they fight against the enemy's strong and well-equipped army of fifty thousand?"
Everyone fell silent.
Zhou Daikui continued:
"There are so-called fairies here providing food and water, but what then? Are we going to use food and water to fight? Without enough troops and decent equipment, how can we possibly withstand an attack from the Yu Kingdom's army?"
"Judging from the way Xiao Qidi is building the city wall, once it's finished, all the able-bodied men here will be conscripted into the army. We're unarmed, and we'll all be forced to die for him!"
"In the end, all the people here will become his victims in buying time. He just needs to hold out until the imperial reinforcements arrive. As for us? By then, we'll already be dead!"
His words sent chills down the spines of the others.
Zhou Daikui stared intently at them, posing the probing question: "Are you really willing to die for a monarch who can't even control the court?"
Finally, someone couldn't hold back any longer and asked in a trembling voice, "Brother Kui, then... then what do we do?"
Zhou Daikui uttered two words, "Defected to the enemy."
"To...to defect to the enemy?" The man was even more frightened. "The Yu Kingdom's army has always been brutal, often taking pleasure in torturing and killing prisoners of war. If we defect there, we will...we will die a terrible death."
Zhou Daikui glanced at him sideways and said, “We are different. We can bring them important information, such as that there are fairies in Linxian Village who can provide food. You have all eaten that food, which is a thousand times better than anything we have ever seen in our lives.”
Everyone fell silent again, their expressions showing some hesitation.
Zhou Daikui used both threats and inducements:
"One option is to stay here. Although there is food and drink, it's exhausting, and in a few days we'll be slaughtered like pigs and sheep by the Yu Kingdom's army."
"The second option is to defect to the Yu Kingdom with important intelligence. There is still a glimmer of hope there, and you might even be able to make a name for yourself, be rewarded, and rise to prominence."
"Now answer me, which one do you choose?"
The crowd looked at each other, their gazes gradually hardening.
"Brother Kui, you're right!"
"Of course we'll choose the second path! We're going to rise to the top!"
"Brother Kui, we're all sticking with you!"
Seeing that everyone had expressed their opinions, Zhou Daikui smiled with satisfaction.
At this moment, someone gritted their teeth and suggested viciously, "Since we've already decided to defect, why don't we kill Xiao Qidi tonight and take his head with us? That would be safer! What do you think?!"
Several people immediately seconded the motion, saying that although Xiao Qidi had no real power, he was still the monarch of Xuan Kingdom, and sending his head over would be a great achievement.
Moreover, I heard that Xiao Qidi was injured, which is a good opportunity to make a move against him!
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