Chapter 349: Instigation
Editor: Atlas Studios
Wu Jin gritted his teeth, turned around, and ran out.
Wu Shancai roared angrily, “Come back here!”
“Father, if you want to escape, then escape. I want to stay!”
As he spoke, he ran out with a wisp of smoke. After all, escaping was a confidential matter, so Wu Shancai chased everyone out. Not only was there no one in the courtyard, but there was also no one on the road outside. By the time Wu Shan called for someone to capture Wu Jin, the latter had already run to the street.
Wu Shancai only had one legitimate son. Although he was weak, useless, and not good at studying, he doted on him very much. Now that he saw him run out, his heart ached so much that it twitched. He could not help but wipe his tears and say, “I must have done something wrong in my past life to have given birth to such an unfilial son! It’s not like I didn’t help. Didn’t I do everything Mu Yangling asked me to do?”
The butler did not know what had happened and could only comfort him. “Master, I think Young Master is very filial. There might be a misunderstanding. Why don’t you call him back in two days to ask?”
Hearing this, Wu Shancai was even angrier. No one knew if he would be dead or alive in two days. Could this matter of life and death wait?
“Hurry up and get someone to capture Young Master. Hurry! Also, call Madam over.”
Wu Jin ran to the government office to look for Mu Yangling.
Mu Yangling was counting the number of people. The local hooligans and guards who had been dragged here stood unwillingly.
Mu Yangling said, “Only sons and those with aged parents to support, step forward.”
The people below were a little confused, but they still stepped forward. After Mu Yangling confirmed with the bailiff, she asked them to retreat to the left and said, “You can leave now.”
The people below immediately stirred. Some people simply shouted, “I’m also an only son. I also have an elderly mother to support…”
Mu Yangling looked at them coldly and said, “Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to risk your lives on the battlefield.”
The people standing below immediately fell silent. Mu Yangling said, “There are two things I want you to do by asking you to go up the city gate tower. First, it is to build up momentum and deter the Jin soldiers below. You don’t have to stand on the wall and fight with others, but there are many stray arrows landing on the city gate tower. That’s why I asked for people who know martial arts. At least you can dodge the arrows faster.”
Mu Yangling looked at everyone one by one and said, “You guys just stand behind the city guards and hand them some things, wave the flag, and shout. As for you guys.” Mu Yangling looked at the local hooligans on the other side and said, “I heard that you often throw things at people. You’ve trained your arm strength well, right?”
A few ruffians blushed slightly, while most of them looked at Mu Yangling with a smile. Mu Yangling said, “When the time comes, I’ll have to trouble you to throw the lime packets as far as you can. You don’t have to stand at the edge of the city tower. You can also stand behind the soldiers guarding the city. If you’re accidentally shot by a stray arrow, I’ll take care of your families.”
A bailiff handed a booklet to Mu Yangling. Mu Yangling opened it and started to read the names. In the end, she promised, “If you succeed in defending the city, all of you will be hailed heroes. Failing to do so, the people on the city tower and in the city, including me and you, will be dead. In that case, why don’t we fight them with all we have before we die? Are we Han Chinese really as sick cats as the Hus like to say? Or are we just tyrants at home but meek kittens in public?”
Mu Yangling’s sharp eyes looked at them. The people below were furious from her gaze and glared at her angrily. One of the guards clenched his fists and shouted, “Kill them! Let them see if we Han Chinese are at their mercy!”
“Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!”
None of the local ruffians were honest folks who were willing to be insulted. All of them stared at Mu Yangling with reddened eyes. Even the guards who were originally hesitating also had their fighting spirits ignited by the ruffians beside them.
The moment Wu Jin arrived, he saw hundreds of people in the field shouting “Kill them!” so loudly that their cries resounded through the clouds. So emotional that his eyes turned red, he rushed over and waved his arm as he shouted alongside the crowd, “Kill them!”
When Mu Yangling saw this, the corners of her eyes couldn’t help but twitch. After instructing someone to prepare food for them, she went down to pick Wu Jin up and asked, “Why are you here?”
“I came to see what else I can do to help. Tell me.”
Mu Yangling pondered for a moment and said, “Go to Xingcheng Pass and help me keep an eye on those people who are put in charge of boiling water. Make sure they boil the water. Once it’s dark, I’ll use it immediately.”
Considering those pots were enormous, they would take at least two hours to boil.
Upon receiving his instructions, Wu Jin immediately ran to Xingcheng Pass happily and even called his classmates over. He put it nicely, “We’ll share weal and woe together!”
Mu Yangling brought her men up the city tower. Only then did Mu Shi know that his daughter had arrived. He had not slept for a day and a night, and his eyes were red from staying up all night. Now that the Jin soldiers had just finished a round of attacks, the soldiers on the city tower were resting. The injured were carried down or into the building to be treated and bandaged. Mu Shi was checking on the injured one by one, occasionally encouraging the soldiers to persevere. When he looked up, he saw his daughter coming up with her men.
Mu Shi was stunned for a moment before flying into a rage. How could she come to this place at a time like this?
However, Mu Yangling grinned and bowed to her father. She waved her hand and got someone to bring the guards and ruffians to make arrangements while she went forward to support Mu Shi.
“Father, are you injured?”
How could he not be injured? However, Mu Shi did not say anything. He only moved his daughter to the side and roared in a low voice, “Who asked you to come?”
“Father, it’s too late to talk about this now. Let’s discuss how to defend the city.” Mu Yangling complained, “Why did the general only leave you with 2,000 soldiers?”
Mu Shi glared at his daughter, but he still explained, “It’s not the general’s fault, because from the beginning, he estimated that only about 3,000 troops could break through here. Last night, there were indeed not many of them at the beginning, but later on, another group of people came, which increased the number to about 6,000.”
“Didn’t you say that there were only 5,000 people?” Mu Yangling lowered her voice and asked.
“I reported a smaller number so that everyone wouldn’t feel demoralized. Initially, I wanted to say that there were only 4,000 of them, but my subordinates felt that it wasn’t convincing judging from the situation, so they announced 5,000.” Mu Shi looked at his daughter expectantly. “Daughter, do you have any ideas?”
Mu Yangling did not answer this question. Instead, she asked, “Father, how long do you think the fight in Jingzhao Prefecture will last?”
“The pass of the Jingzhao Prefecture is not weaker than Xingcheng Pass. If we can’t defend it, we can only ask for help. This is our main camp. We mustn’t let the Jin soldiers enter the city. Otherwise, the people south of Xingzhou Prefecture will suffer.”
Mu Shi was clearly afraid that the Hus would massacre the city once they successfully attacked Xingcheng Pass.
Mu Yangling nodded. “Once our soldiers in the city fall below 5,000, send a signal for help.”
Mu Shi looked at his daughter eagerly. Mu Yangling said in a low voice, “Father, I don’t have a way to retreat. We can only try our best to stall for time. If Qi Haoran is around, I can still get him to kill the enemy leader.”
“Can’t the others?” Mu Shi frowned.
“No. The others don’t have Qi Haoran’s martial arts skills and can’t hide themselves as well as he can. If they go, they’ll just be courting death for nothing.”
Mu Shi said regretfully, “The other party is very cunning. He has always been outside the range of the bow and arrow. Otherwise, with your archery skills, you would definitely be able to kill him.”