In Wu Lai's mind, a strong city should not only have a solid defense line, but also a united people with a common hatred of the enemy, so that the invading enemy can be submerged in the vast ocean of people's war.

However, the current situation is not optimistic. Although the people are working hard on the canal defense line under the temptation of interests, the workload is not small and it is almost impossible to complete it in a short time. As for the public opinion, there is no need to mention it. When Wu Lai was in Assyria, he heard that the people of Salt Marsh Town were tough. After arriving here, he felt that this statement was wrong, or far from the truth. They were not necessarily tough, but they liked to quarrel and fight.

The next morning, Wu Lai and Xiban Ok appeared at the canal protection site. They didn't want anyone to follow them. They just walked slowly, looked around, and chatted.

"Young Master's approach is adapted to local conditions, which is very good." Xiban said with a smile.

"There's nothing we can do about it. Salt Marsh Town is a remote place with little rocks and trees. If we want to build a useful defense line in a short period of time, this is the only way we can do it," Wu Lai said.

When they reached a certain place, Xibanok saw people pouring soil from baskets onto the inner bank of the canal, while others were using shovels and hoes to level the newly poured soil. There were also many strong men working together to pull a large stone mill, crushing the newly leveled soil back and forth.

When Sibanok took a closer look, he saw that the inner bank of the canal was obviously a little higher than the outer bank, and he couldn't help but frown.

"Master, there must be a reason for what you did. But I still want to ask, the canal needs to be dug so deep, and a lot of soil can be produced. Why not pile up this soil and build a protective wall for the city?" Sibanok asked curiously.

Wu Lai smiled and replied, "You said a solution, but Salt Marsh Town has too few defense forces, and the people have no awareness of helping to defend. The wall can be easily used by the enemy. They have flying claws and other equipment. When the wall was intact before, they often slipped in. In this case, I will simply not build it. I will just tamp out a dirt road on the inner bank that is four cubits higher than the outer bank, and then put a circle of spurs along the bank to ensure that their horses cannot cross the canal."

"I see." Sibanok nodded.

"But there is so much soil that cannot be used up. This canal is approximately a hexagon. I plan to use the remaining soil and rocks to build a thirty-cubit-high observation tower at each point of the hexagon, and then equip it with a telescope. Then, we will be able to see everything that happens within three to five miles around the town." Wu Lai said.

"Why don't we just build a few lookout posts on those hills?" Sibanok said, pointing to the hills that rose on the horizon.

"Your suggestion is good. I accept it." Wu Lai laughed and waved his sleeves. "Let's go. I'll take you to see the Arrow Tower area. After you're done, don't forget to give me your suggestions."

…

In the afternoon, Bird and his sixty men appeared in the mountain bay where Xiban and others had rested yesterday.

Bird dismounted from his horse and walked straight to a bush and sat down. He picked up a grass stalk and put it in his mouth. He stretched his body, leaned back, and lay down happily.

"General, you look just like those noble lords in the city-state." A middle-aged man with a dark face smiled and threw away the reins and walked over. Although he had an ordinary appearance and physique, the two deep scars on his forehead were unforgettable. They crossed into a neat X shape, which looked like a deliberate mark.

"Mai Sui, haven't I told you many times, they are the ones who call me general. We escaped from that damn black building together, and we have been on the brink of death together until now. Calling me general is too formal." Bird said.

"That won't work. A general is a general. I won't agree with you on this matter anyway." Mai Sui sat down next to Bird with a smile and looked up at the sky. "Today's clouds are so beautiful, just like the flocks of sheep running on the fields in my hometown."

"Wheat ears." Bird chuckled, "Don't dream. You don't have a hometown. Everything you said must be a dream."

"I think there should be one, Bird." Wheat Ear said seriously, "Everyone should have a hometown, right? But I really don't know where my hometown is. Maybe it's just a grassland."

"Okay, let's work for another two years. After two years, we'll take the money and find a grassland, where we'll raise a large group of lambs. You'll have goat milk to drink and goat meat to eat every day, and when you burp, your burps will smell like strong sheep dung." Bird laughed wildly, his arms and stomach shaking.

"It would be nice if this were true." Mai Sui sighed with a wry smile. He knew very well that he and Bird were both serious criminals in Assyria. Looking around Assyria, only the vast and sparsely populated area of ​​Lunvington could provide them with a place to stay. Grasslands, sheep and a comfortable life seemed destined to be just a distant dream.

Wheat's sigh stopped Bird from smiling. How could he not hear the deep regret in his sigh? After hesitating for a long time, Bird patted Wheat's arm heavily and said, "Good brother, don't be discouraged. That day will come."

Mai Sui nodded and forced a smile: "You take a rest first. I'll send two guys to check out what's going on and make contact with the insider."

"Alright." Bird closed his eyes. "Let's take a rest. We have to return before dusk."

"Okay." After answering, Mai Sui stood up, raised his arms and made two gestures. Dozens of riders then dismounted and rested on the spot. Mai Sui pointed his hand again, and two people came running over quickly.

"You two should dismount behind the small hill three miles away from the town, change into farmer's clothes, and walk closer to observe..." When Mai Sui gave these instructions, he would never have imagined that at this moment, on the rocky beach a mile away to his right, a pair of eyes were staring at him closely.

No one would have thought that the owner of these eyes could merge himself with the rocky beach, thanks to Woolley's booklet and the cloaks he had tinkered with.

The large gray spots on his cloak hid his figure in the rocky beach. As he observed, he quietly gestured with his left hand, which was covered with mortar. At the same time, on the hill two miles to his left, a boy dressed as a shepherd was lying in the grass, looking at the rocky beach, holding a telescope in his hand...

After a while, Pu Ya, who was sitting on the roof of the official residence, put down the telescope and turned to El who was waiting beside him and said, "Go and inform the young master that there is a group of bandit cavalry resting in a mountain bay nine miles away. There are 61 people and 102 horses. They are lightly armored and their weapons are long swords and bows and arrows. Two scouts have been sent out. Have you made a note of it?"

"I've got it." El nodded, turned around and ran downstairs quickly.

After a while, Wu Lai finished listening to El's report, frowned slightly, turned around and ran quickly towards the official residence. Sibanok was stunned and quickly quickened his pace, but he couldn't catch up.

"What's the situation now?" Wu Lai climbed to the roof.

"Two scouts have arrived behind the hill." Pu Ya pointed out the direction to Wu Lai and handed him the telescope. "Master, what should we do now?"

Wu Lai raised his telescope and looked for a while. As expected, he saw two figures sneaking out from behind the hill. After thinking for a while, he said, "Don't worry. Don't disturb the two scouts. Let them see enough. There are only 61 of them. How can they be our opponents? After they leave, you can take four carriages and wait at the entrance of the town. These guys are so arrogant that they don't even take a detour. Let's deal with them at the horse trail leading into the town. It's a good opportunity for the townspeople to see the excitement and let them feel my determination."

"Okay, Master." Pu Ya nodded. "Your telescope relay is really good. You can know the enemy's movements from ten miles away."

"That's thanks to Vulture and you. Without your training, how could these children grow up so fast?" Wu Lai said with a smile, and his heart suddenly trembled. If the situation of this era was not like this, how could he be willing to train a group of children to become killing machines? Fortunately, the enemies they need to fight are all bad guys, otherwise, Wu Lai's psychological shadow would be even greater.

"We are just following your orders, young master." Pu Ya's admiration for Wu Lai is absolutely sincere. Although the qualities of the members of the Daishan team are good, without Wu Lai's training subjects, tactics and standard equipment, they would certainly not have such terrifying combat power as they do today.

"Get ready." Wu Lai stuffed the telescope into Pu Ya's hand and turned around and walked away.

"Where are you going, young master?" Pu Ya was stunned and asked quickly.

"I'll wait for those guys at the entrance to town," Woolley replied.

"No, sir, that's too dangerous. The bandits are carrying bows and arrows. If they shoot indiscriminately without knowing the truth, what if..." Pu Ya said.

"There aren't so many unexpected events. Just do as I say. The Daishan team has practiced a lot of ambush tactics. As long as nothing goes wrong, my safety will be fine." Wu Lai waved his hand and said.

"But..." Pu Ya had just finished speaking when Wu Lai's figure disappeared at the stairs.

Pu Ya frowned and shook her head helplessly. Wu Lai always kept his word and did what he said. As his subordinate, she really only had the responsibility to execute. Besides, there was not much time for her to fight for it now.

Wu Lai hurried out of the stone building, and as soon as his feet touched the yard, he raised his voice to call Lauren.

"Call a few people and notify the citizens in the town separately. Tell them that I'm waiting for them at the horse trail at the entrance of the town. I plan to discuss with them about building a large stone archway at the entrance." Wu Lai said with a smile.

"Okay, sir, I'll do it right away." Lauren saluted, and when Wu Lai waved his hand, he turned around and ran quickly to the servants' rest room, where three servants were on standby at any time.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

When Wulaimai walked out of the official residence, he almost bumped into El who was running towards him.

"Why are you so panicked?" Wu Laigang frowned, rolled his eyes, and whispered in El's ear, "Go find Guru immediately and tell him..."

After listening to this, El nodded with a smile...

…

"General, we have checked carefully. There are one or two thousand people digging trenches and transporting soil outside Salt Marsh Town. There are pits and holes everywhere. The retaining wall has been pushed down. You can enter the town from anywhere. We didn't see any militia patrols. Our insiders in the town also said that the financial officer Baker has set up a shed at the construction site to pay workers. There is a big box of gold and silver coins in the shed." A spy said to Bird, "They agreed to wait outside the entrance, waiting to show us the place."

"These two guys are probably tired of pretending to be hired servants in the town, so they jumped out to show us the way. That means they want to go back with us. Well, brothers..." After hearing this, Bird grinned and waved his hand, ready to give orders, but Mai Sui rushed forward and said anxiously, "Don't worry, General. I think we should wait a little longer. After all, there are one or two thousand people there now, and they all have weapons in their hands. If someone is brave enough to lead the crowd and start a commotion, it will be difficult to deal with these guys once they rush forward."

"It's okay!" Bird waved his hand. "Wheat Ear, we've been there so many times, and every time we've charged straight in, those guys in Salt Marsh Town are scared out of their wits. Not to mention there are only one or two thousand of them, even if there were twice as many, they would just run away when they see us."

After he finished speaking, seeing that Mai Sui was still worried, Bird laughed again and punched Mai Sui on the right shoulder. "Mai Sui, you are getting more and more timid as you get older. You'll have to listen to me. While it's still light, we should rush over. When we get to the edge of the town, we'll have our brothers draw their bows and arrows. When those guys see us, how can they dare to rush over?"

Mai Sui was stunned for a moment, then nodded. Yes, this trick has always worked in the past.

"Let's go!" Bird patted Mai Sui's shoulder again, then quickly walked to his horse, jumped on it, and raised the whip. "Brothers, go full speed ahead, and when you are 400 steps away from the town, slow down and draw your bow. Whoever dares to get close will be shot to death!"

"yes!"

…

As the chaotic sound of horse hooves got closer, a smile appeared on Wu Lai's face.

Seeing him "laughing for no reason", the nobles who were invited by him to "discuss the town's affairs together" began to wonder what Archon Wulai meant by suddenly laughing so brightly. However, their thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of horse hooves. As soon as they raised their eyes to follow the sound, they suddenly found a row of black shadows on the horizon...

"It's bandits!" Several small nobles were immediately frightened and pale. They did not have the means and abilities like Hubble and Henry, so they were naturally afraid of the bandits.

"Sir, what should we do?" a young noble asked in a tearful voice. The bandits were less than 400 steps away from here. It would be useless to run away now. Can human legs outrun horse legs? There were four carriages parked nearby, belonging to someone unknown, but where were the horses? Why were the horses gone?

"What are you afraid of?!" Wu Lai shouted, and shook off the little noble's hand. He thought to himself, if you hold my arm, I will just have to stand there and get beaten.

At this moment, shouts were heard one after another nearby -

"The bandits are coming! Everyone, run!"

"Run! Run! The bandits are coming!"

Bird, who was leading the way, heard the shouts and saw people running around on both sides of the town like headless flies. He laughed heartily and couldn't help but be proud: "Wheat Ear! What did I say? Every one of them in this town is a coward!"

As he was speaking, two accomplices emerged from the bushes beside the horse path and ran happily to Bird's horse.

"General, look, the young man in a white robe at the entrance is the new consul, Wulai Grindo. He is taking the town's nobles to look for a place to build an archway." The two insiders had just walked past Wulai and others, so they naturally heard everything clearly.

"Great!" Bird raised his eyebrows, whipped his horse whip, and shouted in a loud voice, "Brothers, speed up! Catch the guy in the white robe!"

As long as we catch this archon, why would we need to spend time and effort to search for money? We can just use some torture and still not worry about not getting the money? When Bird thought of this, the smile on his face became brighter.

"If you're afraid of death, hide behind the carriage!" When Wu Lai saw the bandits speeding up their horses, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He waved his sleeves calmly and said to the little nobles whose legs were already trembling. Then he turned around and faced the bandits instead of facing them sideways.

"It looks like they want to rush over and take me hostage." Wu Lai stretched lazily, "Come on, grab whatever you want."