"Okay, lead the way."
Wu Shuangren nodded.
This way, please.
The constable was overjoyed; he was truly afraid that Xu Jing's reputation was no longer enough to persuade this gentleman to come.
A moment later, Wu Shuangren walked into the county government office and headed towards the back hall as if he knew the way well.
Xu Jing sat in the lobby waiting for him. Upon seeing him, he stood up from his seat.
"Lord Xu."
Wu Shuangren took the initiative to clasp his hands in a gesture of respect.
Xu Jing looked him over with a sigh in his eyes, then gestured for him to sit down. "Militia Commander Wu, please have a seat."
Six months ago, Wu Shuangren was just a constable in the police station, a subordinate of his own subordinate. Now he has become a big shot who commands thousands of soldiers!
After the two sat down, Xu Jing gestured for Wu Shuangren to drink tea.
Wu Shuangren didn't stand on ceremony and said directly, "Lord Xu, please speak frankly. I have to travel today and I'm afraid I can't stay long."
Xu Jing said solemnly, "Very well, then I will speak frankly. I have an elder in Yi Prefecture City who sent a messenger back the other day, informing me that Mount Liang has gathered tens of thousands of people to rebel! Now that Mount Liang has captured Rong Province City, they are very likely to march on Yi Province!"
He had been staring at Wu Shuangren, but noticed that the other man remained expressionless after hearing this important information. He was taken aback and continued:
"You suddenly brought so many people back to Bo County, and then said you wanted to continue your journey. You must be going to cause trouble for Mist Hidden Temple, right? But we have a powerful enemy outside, who could attack at any time. I hope you can stay here with these people! As the head of the Bo County Militia, you have the responsibility to protect the safety of Bo County. The families of those militiamen are also in Bo County, so they should stay here even more!"
Wu Shuangren hadn't expected that Xu Jing would contact him to discuss this.
He looked at Xu Jing, "Lord Xu, I not only know that Mount Liang has rebelled, but I also know that they have sent more than six thousand men to attack Yi Province."
Xu Jing's expression changed.
Before the other party could react, Wu Shuangren continued, "Moreover, Mount Liang has already colluded with Mist Hidden Temple, and the two sides are preparing to join forces to take Yi Prefecture City!"
Xu Jing's breathing quickened noticeably as he stared intently into Wu Shuangren's eyes. "Is everything you're saying true?"
"I run a business in West River Market, and I have informants all along the canal."
Wu Shuangren met his gaze, her voice steady, "These reports are absolutely true!"
"So, why did you suddenly bring so many people back?"
"Holding out at Bo County is a poor strategy. Only by taking the initiative and preventing Mount Liang and Mist Hidden Temple from breaching Yi Prefecture City can we seize a glimmer of hope!"
"..."
Xu Jing remained silent for a while, his eyes gradually hardening as he looked at Wu Shuangren and said, word by word, "I'll go with you!"
This time, Wu Shuangren was stunned. "Is what you say true, sir?"
Xu Jing said with a serious expression, "Just as you said, holding Bo County to the death is a poor strategy. If Mount Liang launches a full-scale attack, only by taking the initiative can we survive! Besides, my elders are in Yi Prefecture City. How can I ignore them?"
Wu Shuangren smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "If we can get Lord Xu's help, that would be wonderful!"
He still remembers that night when he took the initiative to ambush the cavalry of the Mist Hidden Temple.
If it weren't for Xu Jing leading the archers from the city to help in that battle, it would have been impossible to win such a great victory against cavalry with infantry!
Moreover, all the tactical arrangements for that battle were devised by Xu Jing, and this county magistrate is clearly quite capable. With his assistance, the chances of victory in this trip to Yi Prefecture City have increased even further!
"I can also take a dozen or so archers with me. They're all from home; they're skilled in archery and horsemanship and can be of help."
Xu Jing continued.
"That's great!"
Wu Shuangren's eyes lit up.
Training a crossbowman takes only a few days, but training a qualified archer from scratch takes at least several years.
The number of archers is currently the weakness of the militia. The truly qualified archers in the militia are those who already mastered archery skills, and there are fewer than sixty of them in total, almost all of whom are in Wu Shuangren's personal guard.
Fortunately, there were still more than thirty repeating crossbows, which could make up for the 'medium and close range firepower' of the training group.
Now that Xu Jing has joined with more than a dozen skilled archers, it is undoubtedly a great thing!
"Is it really alright for you, sir, to leave your post without permission with these people?"
Wu Shuangren was still a little worried, so he asked again.
After all, Xu Jing couldn't run a "one-man show" in West River County like Guo Jiwang did; there were several officials above him keeping him in check.
Xu Jing calmly said, "I would say I'm taking them out to suppress bandits, even if someone holds me accountable afterward..."
He paused, his eyes sharpening. "What does this little crime matter if it can save Yi Prefecture City?"
Wu Shuangren stood up, solemnly clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Your Excellency is truly wise and righteous; Wu Shuangren admires you!"
Xu Jing waved his hand. "No need for formalities. Go and prepare; I need to get ready too."
"My lord, there is one more thing."
"What's up?"
"My militia is currently short of armor. Could you do me a favor and lend me all the leather armor in the county government's storeroom?"
Wu Shuangren put forward his own idea, which was entirely 'inspired' by Guo Jiwang.
Xu Jing was taken aback. In the past, he would never have agreed to such a serious violation.
But now...
"Okay, I'll let the warehouse know. You can have Liao Yu take some men to get it."
Xu Jing said.
Wu Shuangren was overjoyed and bowed again, saying, "Thank you, sir!"
Xu Jing then went to organize his own people, while Wu Shuangren went to find Liao Yu.
Upon receiving the news, Liao Yu's eyes widened. "How did you manage to persuade Lord Xu to agree to such a thing?"
In his view, Xu Jing was completely different from the other officials in Bo County; he was principled and followed the rules.
He Zhixu and others might change their attitude because of Wu Shuangren's current power, but Xu Jing would never change his principles out of fear of Wu Shuangren's strength.
Surprisingly, Xu Jing agreed to lend all the leather armor in the storeroom to Wu Shuangren.
Wu Shuangren smiled and said, "I appealed to his emotions and reasoned with him, and Lord Xu agreed."
Liao Yu laughed and scolded, "Are you kidding me?"
Seeing that Wu Shuangren was unwilling to say more, he didn't ask any further questions and arranged for the police to move the leather armor from the warehouse and send it out of the city.
When the police officers heard that they were doing business for Militia Commander Wu, they were all very enthusiastic and eager to help!
Soon, all sixty-one relatively intact leather armor sets in the Bo County warehouse were moved out of the city and sent to the local militia outside the city.
With the addition of the fifty-two sets of leather armor that Guo Jiwang took from West River County, Wu Shuangren's militia now has a total of more than four hundred and sixty sets of leather armor.
Wu Shuangren left the city first and met up with Guo Jiwang.
"Is Militia Commander Wu copying me, also managing to trick the county government's warehouse out of its valuables?"
Guo Jiwang said jokingly.
Wu Shuangren laughed, "Not only did we 'trick' Jia into coming, we also 'tricked' people into coming."
"Oh?"
Wu Shuangren then told Guo Jiwang about Xu Jing's situation and recounted Xu Jing's previous behavior.
Guo Jiwang picked up the water bag filled with wine, took a sip, and nodded, saying, "This county magistrate must come from a military family. His elder relative in Yi Prefecture City is probably a military general. In that case, we'll have an extra asset in defending Yi Prefecture City!"
Wu Shuangren nodded; he too guessed that Xu Jing came from a military family.
Half an hour later, the militiamen who had finished eating were ready to go, each carrying five days' worth of rations. The hundred militiamen in Bo County also packed their bags and joined the ranks.
Wu Shuangren assigned these one hundred men to the new recruit camp, led by Feng Ping.
At the city gate, Xu Jing arrived on horseback, followed by eleven riders!
Xu Jing himself was dressed in full leather armor, with a bow and arrows hanging from his saddle, a sword at his waist, and a long spear in his hand.
The eleven riders behind him were all dressed in leather armor and armed with bows and arrows and sabers.
Wu Shuangren, with a smile on his face, rode up to meet them.
Soon, the group of nearly three thousand people set off again and embarked on the official road.
Bo County, county government office.
The clerk reported to Magistrate He Zhixu that Xu Jing had left with his men and Wu Shuangren.
"Snort!"
He Zhixu snorted coldly, "This Xu Jing, he always pretends to be so aloof, but now that the Wu family has risen to power, he's fawning over them like this? These sons of military families really have no shame; no matter how many books they read, they can't understand the way of the sages!"
In his opinion, Xu Jing's claim of leading people out to suppress bandits was simply to help Wu Shuangren deal with Mist Hidden Temple. He even went so far as to break the rules and lend Wu Shuangren the leather armor from the county government's warehouse. It was utterly shameless!
"Bring me a pen. I need to submit a memorial impeaching Xu Jing!"
He Zhixu shouted.
The clerk quickly prepared pen and ink, and cautiously asked, "Sir, do you think Wu Shuangren can defeat Mist Hidden Temple this time? If he really wins, won't the entire Yi Province be at their mercy from now on?"
He Zhixu's face darkened, and he cursed in a low voice:
"It would be better if they all died out there!"
The procession of nearly three thousand people stretched out in a long line along the official road. It was the height of summer, and the sun was scorching. The trees on both sides of the road were wilted by the heat, and cicadas chirped their hearts out in the trees.
The team had been marching for over an hour, and every militiaman's clothes were soaked with sweat.
Xu Jing rode his horse back and forth among the troops. He instructed Wu Shuangren to order each brigade to collect the militiamen's water bags and manage them uniformly. Water would be provided at regular intervals to prevent the militiamen from running out of water due to a lack of restraint.
Upon arriving at a place with a water source, each brigade would take turns sending people to fetch water, and they were not allowed to rush in at once. Furthermore, all water had to be boiled in a pot and cooled completely before it could be drunk; raw water was not allowed to be consumed directly.
During the hottest hours of the day, Xu Jing suggested not to rush the journey to avoid widespread heatstroke within the group.
In addition, it also covered when to stop, when to move, where to rest, how to fetch water, how to arrange the troops to form an effective defensive perimeter during rest periods, how to avoid the heat, and how to deal with militia members suffering from heatstroke...
Xu Jing arranged all these matters in an orderly manner.
Wu Shuangren followed quietly, learning from the sidelines and noting down all the details.
Bai Jinhuan was sent out by him. Among the troops, Guo Jiwang could only be considered half a person who truly understood military strategy and warfare. This county magistrate had certainly read more military books than Bai Jinhuan, but there was still a gap between theory and practice.
Even if Guo Jiwang is a genius, there are some things that he has to experience to become proficient in.
Without Xu Jing, an experienced son of a military family, accompanying us on this mission, the non-combat casualties would certainly have been considerable during the daily forced marches in such sweltering heat!
Yi Province Wharf.
Bai Jinhuan stood at the bow of the ship, watching the three cargo ships slowly approach the shore.
This was the morning of the third day after his departure, and the three cargo ships arrived safely at Yi Province Wharf.
The dockworkers loudly asked if anyone needed help unloading the cargo.
After the ship was anchored, Bai Jinhuan sent someone to dismiss the laborers and immediately selected two skilled veterans who had practiced Internal Skill.
"You two escort Mr. Zhou to Yi Prefecture City; you must ensure his safety."
Bai Jinhuan gave instructions to the two of them.
The two veterans clasped their hands in acceptance of the order and led Zhou Zhengqing off the ship.
Bai Jinhuan then summoned a shrewd squad leader. "Go and pay the 'ferry fee.' This is already an area that Mist Hidden Temple can influence, so don't reveal your identity. Also, tell the person in charge of the dock that our boat will be docked for three days, and we'll pay whatever fee is due."
"Yes."
The company commander disembarked with his men and the money.
Bai Jinhuan was still not at ease, so he relayed the order again, "All squads, stay alert and don't let anyone sneak onto the ship!"
Everything went smoothly from then on. The 'ferry fee' was paid, and the dock manager agreed to let the three cargo ships stay for three days, as long as the money was paid in full.
Nothing happened on the first day. The dock was still bustling in the evening, with laborers carrying sacks up and down the gangplank, their shouts mingling with the sound of the river waves.
Bai Jinhuan arranged for shifts of guards, with ten people on each ship patrolling the deck. He himself sat in his cabin, his Guan Dao leaning against his side, and didn't sleep a wink all night.