Strategy
Li Xingxiao realized that one mouth couldn't outwit four mouths that seemed reasonable yet unreasonable—two gossipy and one curious. She had no choice but to swallow her anger and return to Peng Feizhe's room to clean.
"Brother Li! Brother Li!" a young man called out when he saw the man holding a broom under the eaves.
She looked in the direction of the sound, "What?"
"The chief wants you to go to the study to find him," he said.
"Okay, I understand." She put down the broom and went alone to the so-called study to find the head of the household.
Bang bang bang ━━
"Come in," the person inside said.
"Boss, you wanted to see me?" She opened the door and saw a burly man sitting at the table, looking at her with a kind expression.
"Haha, Xiao Zi, come and sit down." The tanned man warmly invited her.
She obediently did as she was told, sitting in the chair on the left and looking at the man at the desk.
The man instantly concealed his enthusiasm, replacing it with an interrogative look. "Xiao Zi, were you fooling around with that girl again?"
"Hmm... Honey, is talking to someone considered joking around?" She paused for a moment.
The man sighed, looking at her with the worried expression of an old father. "You silly boy, do you know what everyone in the village is saying? It's not good for you to play around with Mo'er all day long. Besides, there's a difference between men and women, and Mo'er is an unmarried girl who will be of marriageable age soon..." His heavy eyes glanced at her face. "She'll still have to get married in the future, and you..."
She patted her chest, seemingly without any hesitation: "Honey, don't worry. Didn't I tell you before? I'm not into women, and I'm even less interested in your man."
He seemed somewhat hesitant to speak, but more than anything, he felt regret: "...You're so talented...how could you...sigh."
A rare talent indeed, yet it turns out this talent is somewhat difficult to express.
"Oh dear, everyone has their own preferences, and we should respect each other, right?" She scratched the back of her head sheepishly, a smile playing on her lips, revealing two big white teeth.
"Let's not talk about that. Come here. I've heard some news recently. The imperial court has sent someone again. I heard it's a very important person. They've summoned you here today to discuss countermeasures." He frowned, a heavy aura filling the air, and looked down at the blueprints on the table.
"Strategy? The defenses in the village have been improved and are much better, so there's no need to think too much about it. The road we came from has been blocked, and the wooden walls defending the village have been reinforced."
He was still somewhat worried. "That's good. How are the garrison troops? Have they intensified their training?"
"Boss, this is not my responsibility. This is the responsibility of the Third Boss."
"Didn't I say that you all need to manage and train this garrison? A fierce battle may be unavoidable in the coming days. You need to come up with some strategies as soon as possible to minimize the losses of the imperial army."
"..." She fell silent. So many demands—training, sabotaging the enemy, and protecting her own people. She had to consider so many factors.
"Master, this is a bit of a dilemma. I need to investigate further before I can make a decision. Besides, this time we are dealing with a very important person, so it will take some time."
Looking at the person in front of him, he knew he was indeed in a difficult position, since the village had managed to survive until now largely thanks to this talented individual.
"Okay, you can go now."
"Then, mistress, I'll take my leave now." She stood up to leave.
"etc."
She stopped and looked back at him.
"Is there anything else you need, sir?"
"Here are a few more ledgers. Take them back and calculate this month's income and expenses."
“…Okay…” she replied wearily.
She left the head of the household's study, carrying the account book in her arms, and obediently went back, thinking that if she didn't finish cleaning, she might be interrogated again.
I walked back to the earthen house, stepping on the yellow soil and fine colored pebbles. Before I even entered the door, I saw a familiar tall figure with brown linen hair tied in a low ponytail.
How could she not recognize him? Wasn't this the man who almost killed her with a sword?
She tried to ingratiate herself by saying, "Oh, General..." but then she stopped, realizing it was dangerous to use that title in the village.
"Oh! Brother Yilin... you're finally back."
Peng Feizhe cast a somewhat unfriendly glance at her, and a chill immediately ran through her. She swallowed hard and maintained her smile.
Who has offended this ancestor again?
"Come inside with me."
She then followed him into the house, and it was another scene of him being punished by standing in the corner. He looked at her seriously.
"What were you summoned to do?" He took a sip of water from the table.
"Nothing serious, just... we discussed some strategies."
"What strategy?" Upon hearing the keyword "strategy," he immediately began to scrutinize her.
"How to deal with the imperial court, ...strengthen the strategy and so on..." She felt a little guilty, after all, she had contributed to the fact that the village had not been invaded by the imperial court for so long.
"Ha, I never expected Wei Jinhe to summon you to discuss such an important matter." His face darkened, his eyes turned sinister, and he slowly got up, rummaged through the bedding on the bed, and took out the long sword hidden underneath.
Wei Jinhe is the head of this village and also its chief, and Wei Mo's father.
"You must be a high-ranking official." He
Sound──
A sword was drawn from its sheath, its deadly gleam striking towards her.
Her legs went weak involuntarily.
“Brother Yilin, I can explain… I can also help you break through this stronghold, really!… You have to believe me…” His tall figure approached step by step, and she retreated step by step, wishing she could run away immediately.
Finally, she was cornered against a wall, with nowhere to retreat!
“Yilin, really! I know this village very well! I guarantee your people will be safe.”
Snap—
The longsword was embedded in the earthen wall, just four fingers' width from Li Xingxiao's face. She shrank back, looking at the person who had pinned her against the wall. His dark eyes gleamed with danger, and his handsome face was covered in dark lines.
"Tell me about it," he said coldly, suppressing his anger.
She responded with a wry smile, her eyebrows furrowed, "Boss... why don't you... put the sword away first? It's not good for you to stand, sit down and let's talk... sit down and listen to my solution..."
He pulled the sword from the mud wall, returned to the stool by the table, and looked at her. "Aren't you coming over?"
"Here you are..." She forced a smile and walked over, her expression complicated.
She looked at the boy in front of her, who resembled a demon king, and paused before saying, "General, it's just...did you...wander around the village today?"
He glanced at his sword casually. "Hmm... the defenses are pretty good. No wonder it's hard to attack and difficult to retreat from. The terrain around the stronghold is chaotic and there are traps laid out." He analyzed it to himself.
"Yes, it's difficult to attack and difficult to retreat, easy to defend but not easy to break through, so it's certainly difficult."
"Stop talking nonsense and get to the point."
“General, the entrance to the stronghold is initially protected by an iron gate, and the entire area is surrounded by double-bound hardwoods. It is generally impossible to break through by force or burn it. Even if you bring a ladder to attack, it will not be able to withstand the few wooden supports behind the iron gate.”
“If it’s wood, it can be burned. Why not just burn it?” he asked.
“The people inside aren’t stupid, and there’s plenty of water here. They can just take water from inside and splash it. Also, the location here is high up, so it’s usually difficult to climb up using ladders. So I think we need to dig a tunnel and use earth to attack.”
"?" He frowned, somewhat puzzled by what she said next.
“I have observed that the double wooden bundles are indeed stable when driven five meters into the ground. However, if you dig deep from the outside, you can cut the ropes connecting the bundles to the other trees with a knife and knock them down.”
"...Won't the people inside notice? Besides, these bundles of wood are all secured with sturdy wooden supports. If you dig one up, the whole bunch will collapse, right?" He found it somewhat ridiculous.
“I designed these double bundles of wood… how could I not know how to dig them?” she confessed guiltily.
His anger was evident on his face after hearing this, and his brows furrowed tightly. "So it was you! Do you know that aiding the enemy in resisting the dynasty is a capital offense?"
"I know... I just want to atone for my crime by doing good deeds..." she said somewhat embarrassedly.
"You have committed a heinous crime. Even if you were to perform a meritorious service and your entire family were spared execution, you will still not escape death."
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