As Wei Chenglin was thinking about these things, he suddenly saw a military camp ahead and couldn't help but feel happy.
It's rare to see a military camp; you might want to go and learn more about it.
Before he could take two steps forward, a hole suddenly appeared on a mound of earth beside him, and two soldiers emerged from it, wielding large machetes, blocking Wei Chenglin's path.
"This is a military camp. How dare you trespass here? Go back right now, or you will be killed without mercy."
This nearly scared Wei Chenglin out of his wits. The two soldiers emerged from the mound of earth like ghosts.
He quickly turned back, and the two soldiers crawled back into the mound from the hole, blocking the entrance again, as if nothing had happened.
After walking back for a while, Wei Chenglin began to look around and found that there were mounds of earth like the ones he had just seen everywhere. These mounds were used to hide people, and no one knew how many people were inside.
If the imperial army were to storm the city, the soldiers would be in a terrible predicament, where they could be attacked anywhere but would hardly encounter an enemy.
This is only what we have seen with our own eyes. There are many unseen facilities waiting for the soldiers. If the soldiers get caught in them, they will suffer heavy casualties.
Back in the shop, Wei Chenglin sketched out what he had just seen. Of course, he had only seen a small part of the city and could not draw a complete map, but this map was enough to illustrate the problems in the city.
This was only inside the city; he wasn't clear about the situation outside. Wei Chenglin decided to go for a walk outside the city in the afternoon.
As the sun began to set in the west, Wei Chenglin arrived outside the city to check on the situation.
Outside the city, he saw many soldiers and some civilians. Needless to say, these soldiers were all under Huang Liang's command.
To the southeast of Lanwei City lies the road leading to Yuanxi. Wei Chenglin saw some of the city's residents lined up and advancing, followed by a number of soldiers carrying swords and spears.
This scene left Wei Chenglin dumbfounded. The people in the city had been used as human shields by Huang Liang's forces. If the imperial army attacked Lanwei, they would use these people to block the enemy and make them hesitant to attack.
This must have been Xiao Yi's idea. It's too ruthless. In order to resist the attack of the imperial army, they will stop at nothing and trample on the lives of ordinary people at will.
Tomorrow I will accompany Hu Dong to Yuanxi and make sure to tell Wei Jin about the situation there so that he can be prepared and take appropriate measures.
Early the next morning, Wei Chenglin made preparations and waited for Hu Dong to come to his door.
A short while later, Hu Dong arrived, carrying a bag on his shoulder. Judging from his attire, he was clearly a businessman about to travel.
After arranging things at the shop, Wei Chenglin took Hu Dong and boarded a carriage to Yuanxi.
Throughout the journey, Hu Dong didn't say much; he mostly answered Wei Chenglin's questions.
Wei Chenglin knew that Hu Dong was a foreigner, so he dared not say too much lest he give himself away.
Lanwei is not far from Yuanxi. It can be reached in a day by horse-drawn carriage. In the vast desert, such a distance should be considered very close.
When the carriage arrived outside Yuanxi City, the sun had not yet set.
Outside the city, it was bustling with activity, as a large number of people were training.
Hu Dong lifted the car curtain and carefully examined the scene outside, his brows furrowing involuntarily.
There are too many troops training outside the city, divided into several areas. Judging by sight, there are at least 10,000 people in front of us.
Further away, a large number of troops were also training. Although they were not clearly visible, judging from the rising dust, there were even more troops in the distance than here.
In this way, it can be calculated that the number of troops training outside the city will exceed 30,000.
What shocked Hu Dong even more was that there was a large flag in the distance, fluttering in the wind, with the character "Li" on it.
Only one person in the Great Northern Dynasty possessed such a magnificent banner, and that person was Li Guang.
Wei Chenglin also saw the scene outside and knew that Wei Jin was bluffing and training his troops.
On the other hand, this was done to show Hu Dong the barbarian, to scare him first.
As expected, when Hu Dong saw the large banner, his eyes widened in surprise. Could it be that Li Guang had also led his army to Yuanxi?
Li Guang's name was already a household name, striking fear into the hearts of the foreign people. Many important generals of the foreign kingdoms were defeated by him.
Li Guang was not only a brilliant strategist, but he also had a bomb-making team. Since the Northern Dynasty had sent Li Guang, it meant that the Northern Dynasty was determined to take over Louye and Lanwei.
Soon, Wei Chenglin's carriage arrived at the city gate and was stopped by a group of soldiers guarding the city.
"Everyone in the vehicle, get off and submit to inspection," a tall and imposing soldier ordered.
“They never checked when we entered the city before, why are they checking now?” Wei Chenglin muttered as he got off the carriage, and Hu Dong followed him off.
"Where did you come from?"
"Lanwei".
"What are you going to Yuanxi for?" the soldier continued to ask.
“My home is in Yuanxi. If I don’t go to Yuanxi, where else can I go?” Wei Chenglin said irritably.
Seeing that this person still dared to talk back, the tall soldier was about to get angry, but was pulled back by the soldier next to him, who then whispered something in his ear, and the soldier immediately smiled broadly.
"So you are Manager Zhou. I was blind and didn't recognize you. Please forgive me."
"Forget it, ignorance is no excuse. This is Manager Wu, a friend of mine in business. Shouldn't we check him too?" Wei Chenglin said, not forgetting to glare at the soldier.
"How dare we? Since you are Manager Zhou's friends, there is no need for inspection. You two managers may enter the city." The soldier said with a smile on his face.
The two got back into the carriage, passed through the tall city gate, and entered the city.
There were also a large number of soldiers patrolling the city, one group after another, immediately questioning any suspicious persons.
The area within Yuanxi City is very large, and the patrols are so dense, so it can be calculated that there are at least 10,000 soldiers inside the city. Adding the large number of troops outside the city, the total military strength of Yuanxi City reaches 50,000, far more than the 20,000 troops they had heard about.
Even though so many people came to Yuanxi all at once, it did not affect the daily lives of the city's residents at all. The shops on the street were open for business as usual, and no shop closed down. People did what they were supposed to do.
Hu Dong was shocked. He hadn't expected that Yuan Xicheng had so many troops, and that Li Guang had also come.
What surprised him even more was that Yuanxi was heavily guarded, and Xiao Yi's attempt to take down Yuanxi through infiltration was simply impossible.
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