Commander Zha Arrives at Qixia City and Launches a Surprise Attack on Guo Youshan

In the inner world, Ye Fan stared at the 300 taels in a daze. Money was far too easy to earn. It wasn't much, but at least he had found a way to make a living.

If I find even rarer herbs in the future, will I earn even more? Ye Fan wondered silently.

"I forgot something important. How could I forget to buy seedlings from Pharmacist Bai? Since they run a pharmacy, they ought to have seedlings, right? Oh, I was so focused on getting home that I forgot all about it."

"Oh well, I'll deal with it next time! There will be plenty of chances in the future."

Only a tiny opening to the inner world remained, speeding through the sky.

Qixia City

Commander Zha had arrived in Qixia City in the latter half of the previous night. By the time he arrived, Guo Youshan had already led his army in an attack on the city.

Since Commander Lu had long since made preparations, Guo Youshan had gained no advantage.

"Commander Lu, please assign me a task." After a night's rest, Commander Zha had gradually regained his strength and went straight to Grand Commander Lu Guangtai.

"Commander Zha, after such a long, forced ride, shouldn't you rest a little longer?" Commander Lu looked at the Sunset City commander before him. With his sword-like brows and tiger-like eyes, he was indeed a rare great general.

"Please assign me a task, Commander Lu. My troops are well." Commander Zha stood his ground.

Lu Guangtai looked at Chahar. He was full of vigor and looked relaxed, showing no sign of fatigue.

"Attend me! Summon the officers."

Before long, Fang La, commander of Qixia City, Deputy General Ling Tianhan, and all the other officers had assembled.

"Deputy generals, less than two years have passed, and the Wu Kingdom is once again harassing our Qian Kingdom's border, leaving the common people displaced and unable to make a living. Today, Chahar, commander of Sunset City, has brought 50,000 troops to Qixia City to join us against the Wu army. There are also 70,000 reinforcements dispatched by the court. With such strong troops and sturdy horses, I have decided that we will no longer simply defend. It is time to show the Wu Kingdom what we're made of." When Lu Guangtai finished, he looked at the others. Every one of them was rubbing his fists and palms, determined to deal the invading enemy a heavy blow.

"Commander Fang La!"

"This subordinate is here!"

"I order you to lead 50,000 city defense troops out to meet the enemy. You are not to win; you must lose and lure the Wu soldiers into taking the city!"

"This subordinate accepts the order!"

"Deputy General Ling Tianhan!"

"This subordinate is here!"

"I order you to lead 70,000 capital guards and conceal them inside the houses on both sides of Qixia City. Do not make the slightest sound!"

"This subordinate accepts the order!"

"Commander Chahar!"

"This subordinate is here!"

"Lead your troops around Qixia City and launch a surprise attack on Guo Youshan's camp. You must capture Guo Youshan."

"This subordinate accepts the order!"

"Once the Wu soldiers enter the pass, close the city gates. Spare no cost and slaughter every last one of them."

"Yes..." The men cupped their fists and accepted their orders, their voices like sharp swords, mighty and imposing!

"Make your preparations. The entire army must reach its assigned positions by midnight tonight. There must be no delay."

The men left the command tent and went to deploy their respective forces.

"Commander Zha, I am an attending officer under Commander Lu. His Excellency ordered me to guide you." Before the men had gone far, someone ran out of the command tent and spoke to Commander Zha.

"Fan Duo'er, it's you! If you're the one leading the way, it'll save Commander Zha and his troops quite a bit of trouble!" Fang La said, patting him on the shoulder after recognizing him.

"Commander Zha, this man's name is Fan Duo'er. He was an attendant to the city lord. He's quick-witted, and after the city lord disappeared, he became an attending officer under Commander Lu. He was born and raised in Qixia City and knows the area well!" Fang La turned and explained to Chahar.

"In that case, many thanks. This will indeed save us quite a bit of time."

"Generals, we will take our leave first. Farewell."

"Commander Zha, please take care."

After giving a general round of instructions, the men each led their troops away to make their preparations.

Outside the city gates, Guo Youshan's army was still shouting insults before the battle lines, trying to provoke the defenders into coming out to fight. Little did they know that Qixia City had already spread a great net, waiting for Guo Youshan to walk into it.

Ye Fan returned to New Commoners Village. The round trip had taken only an hour, and he had not attracted the villagers' attention.

Walking along the edges of the fields and greeting the villagers at work, Ye Fan made his way leisurely home.

"Brother Fan, where did you go in such a hurry?" Xiao Ke'er was drying medicinal herbs at the door. When she saw Ye Fan return, she asked him happily.

"Hmm? I went to the river. It was too hot, so I took a bath." Ye Fan came up with a poor excuse.

Sigh, my brother Fan still doesn't know how to lie. Xiao Ke'er shook her head inwardly, but she didn't expose him. The two sat by the door, helping sort the herbs.

After discussion, the village had come up with several ways to earn money.

Xiao Changlin would take Xiao Feng with him to practice medicine around the area.

The women of the village would weave some simple items, and someone would be assigned to take them to Sunset City to sell. Most of the villagers would remain in the village. Aside from working in the fields, they would spend the rest of their time building up the village's perimeter.

When Ye Fan heard about it, he eagerly volunteered to go to the city to sell the goods.

In the end, the villagers voted unanimously in favor. The selling was entrusted to the two young men, Ye Fan and Chen Yunye. After all, Sunset City was half a day's journey on foot from here, and most of the villagers were not up to the task.

The villagers got busy again for the rest of the day. Together, they went into the small woods to gather materials for weaving bamboo baskets: purple bamboo, Xiangfei bamboo, moso bamboo... They brought back everything they could use. Xiao Changlin and his son, meanwhile, prepared the things they needed to practice medicine at home.

The afternoon slipped quietly by as the villagers worked.

Nightfall

"Commander Zha, Eastward-Looking Mountain is just ahead. The forest here is dense, but there's a path we can take. If the army follows it, we can reach Guo Youshan's rear and cut off his retreat," Fan Duo'er said to Chahar, pointing to a weed-covered path.

"You two, go scout ahead," Commander Zha said to the two men behind him.

"Yes." The two scouts crouched low and crept forward.

Commander Zha had passed the Wu army's encampment and quietly reached its rear. To avoid the Wu soldiers' scouts, he had taken a detour of several dozen li. Once they found Guo Youshan's field camp, they could surround and annihilate him directly.

"Deputy General Yuan, there seem to be quite a few more guards at Qixia City's gates than usual. The Qian army may have a new battle plan. We must guard against it," a captain said to Yuan Shiji after observing the city.

"There's no need to worry, Captain. All 150,000 of our troops are stationed outside these gates, and General Guo has another 50,000 guards to the rear. No matter how you reckon it, how many defenders can this little Qixia City have? I imagine that brat Lu Guangtai has already fled with his soldiers. The extra troops on the walls are just a bluff."

"Deputy General Yuan, we must be on our guard! What if..."

"Enough, Captain. Take your men on patrol. If anything is amiss, sound the alarm at once." Yuan Shiji spoke with slight displeasure. Now that he had a great army at his command, even a mere captain dared question him.

The moon was bright and the stars sparse. The intermittent chirping of insects could be heard in the wilds. Commander Zha had already located Guo Youshan, and his army now lay in ambush less than a li away.

"This Guo Youshan really is careless. He hasn't even posted sentries," Fan Duo'er said to Commander Zha as he lay prone in the grass.

"According to the scouts, Guo Youshan has more than 50,000 guards. He would never expect our army to circle around the front lines and launch a surprise attack on him. Still less would he expect us to be lying in ambush less than a li away."

Time passed second by second. The bright moon slipped behind the clouds, and muffled thunder rumbled in waves. Lightning cast the grassy slope where the army lay in ambush alternately into light and darkness.

Rumble... Lightning flashed across the sky, and bean-sized raindrops pattered against the grass swaying in the wind. It was raining...