Shi Chen glanced at the other person but didn't say anything.
Qian Fan snorted coldly, "I've been thinking about what you said carefully, and damn it... it does make some sense!"
Shi Chen chuckled but remained silent.
Qian Fan pulled him close and whispered in his ear, "What I mean is, you can't just say something this reasonable to the people in our Fifth Battalion; you have to let the other battalions hear it too!"
Shi Chen was startled and turned to look at him.
Qian Fan laughed and said, "You're right, everyone has to work together towards the same goal!"
Shi Chen finally smiled, "Alright, go and make the arrangements. Send someone to contact the other battalions."
In the end, the more than 1,000 Militia Private of the Fifth Battalion turned around and headed back towards Linwen County!
Yi Prefecture City.
The fastest group of people from Linwen County had already entered the city. Guo Jiwang ordered the north gate to be opened and arranged for Militia Private to guard the gate, allowing people to enter the city in an orderly manner.
He required all people entering the city to register, and anyone who came alone was temporarily taken to another place for unified guard until their identity was verified before being released.
Before the great battle, he had to prevent spies from infiltrating the city.
He had already divided up several areas within the city and set up temporary camps for the people of Linwen County to settle in.
The government would send officials to deliver food and daily necessities to these people.
"Sir, the number of people in the second group entering the city is incorrect."
Zhou Zhengqing found Guo Jiwang and reported to him.
Guo Jiwang looked at him. "The number of people is not right?"
Zhou Zhengqing said, "The Yi Province Militia militia, who were supposed to return with these people, didn't number back."
Guo Jiwang frowned. "What do you mean?"
Zhou Zhengqing said, "I've already sent people to inquire. Most of the soldiers in the Fourth Battalion, Fifth Battalion, and Seventh Battalion didn't accompany the civilians into the city. They all turned back, saying they were going to support Militia Commander Wu!"
Guo Jiwang jumped up. "What did you say?!"
Zhou Zhengqing looked at him. "Sir, it's true. I've confirmed it repeatedly, and several Militia Private are saying the same thing."
Guo Jiwang somewhat lost in thought.
Why did he so strongly oppose Wu Shuangren leading troops to rescue people?
The reason why the Yi Province Militia appeared to be large and powerful was that they had only been training together for less than half a month, and most of them came from different places and had their own agendas.
Wu Shuangren said he would take the initiative to send troops, and when he assigned tasks, he only asked the other battalions to help the civilians evacuate, without any combat missions.
With this prerequisite in mind, the other battalions were willing to follow and rescue people.
If Wu Shuangren had dared to say he would lead all the members of the Yi Province Militia in a direct battle against the Mount Liang army in the open, the Yi Province Militia might have been disbanded on the spot!
Fighting in a large city is completely different from fighting a large army in the open field.
Guo Jiwang couldn't understand what had happened in just a few days to cause such a drastic change in the men of several battalions.
Rationally, he could understand the reasons behind it. But emotionally, he found it difficult to trust people's hearts.
"Grown ups?"
Zhou Zhengqing shouted.
Guo Jiwang came to his senses. "You need to do a few things immediately. First, send people to spread the word about this matter, so that the entire Yi Prefecture City knows about it, as well as the other counties and villages."
Second, prepare torches, carts, donkey carts, oxcarts... and have the government send officers to assist in arranging as many people as possible to go out of the city to pick up the people of Linwen County. It is imperative to bring all the people into the city tonight!
Third, send someone to tell Wu Shuangren not to act rashly and to prioritize preserving his strength!
Zhou Zhengqing noted everything down and then went to take care of his business.
Guo Jiwang stood at the door of his study, gazing at the distant sky, lost in thought.
On the official road, Wu Shuangren obtained intelligence from the scouts:
"Commander, Shi Chen commander of the Fifth Battalion of the Yi Province Militia, has returned with Fifth Battalion men!"
Wu Shuangren was stunned. Why did he bring people back?
A moment later, Wu Shuangren met Shi Chen.
In front of Wu Shuangren, Shi Chen lost the self-assuredness he displayed in front of his own brothers, and instead became somewhat uneasy.
"Commander, the civilians escorted by the Fifth Battalion are only a dozen miles from the city. They'll definitely be able to get into the city tonight. I just wanted to bring the brothers back to help. You said it yourself, saving the people of Yi Province is everyone's responsibility in the Yi Province Militia."
"..."
"I also sent someone to notify the other battalions... but I don't know if they'll come back."
Shi Chen became increasingly guilty as he spoke.
"..."
Wu Shuangren ultimately did not blame Shi Chen for acting on his own initiative, but with only one battalion returning, he still could not lead the rest of the troops to stay and fight back.
We still need to leave.
However, with the help of the more than 1,000 fresh troops from the Fifth Battalion, the speed of the retreat was greatly increased.
Shi Chen's arrival with the Fifth Battalion was indeed a great help.
On the way back, the Militia Private one after another.
Wu Shuangren finally learned the whole story—
It wasn't just Shi Chen's Fifth Battalion that wanted to come back and help; some people in the other battalions also had the same idea.
However, these people did not have Shi Chen's high status or strong influence, so they could only keep their thoughts to themselves.
It wasn't until Shi Chen first proposed that he, as the battalion commander, lead the entire Fifth Battalion back. Only after the other battalions received the news did more and more people step forward to express their support, and so the remaining battalions gradually decided to return to help!
Wu Shuangren said to Guo Jiwang, "Everyone has a scale in their heart."
When he did what he said, he actually led his men to rescue the people of Linwen County, and it wasn't just for show; when he didn't hesitate to send his elite troops to cover the rear, while letting the rest of the battalions retreat first.
The scales in everyone's hearts are also constantly weighing more and more.
In fact, from the day the Yi Province Militia was established, from the day Wu Shuangren publicly announced the reward and punishment system, publicly distributed money to soldiers who had performed meritorious service, allocated land and houses, and led everyone in a moment of silence for the fallen soldiers...
The scales in everyone's hearts were slowly tipping in his favor.
At this moment, the scales have completely tipped!
That night, Wu Shuangren ordered the team to stop and set up camp to rest.
People continued to arrive throughout the night, and the group was growing larger and larger.
The next morning, the crowd of over 4,000 people had grown to over 7,000!
This Yi Province Militia has only been training together for less than half a month; their numbers have not increased, and their coordination has not improved.
But morale is high!
Requesting monthly votes
? 162 Testing the Waters
At 3:45 AM, it was just dawn.
The Mount Liang camp was bustling with activity, with over six thousand men having breakfast.
Inside the tent, Wu Yan awaited intelligence from the scouts.
Wu Shuangren and his men marched even faster than he had anticipated. By the time the Mount Liang forces caught up with them last night, it was already completely dark.
Just as Xu Jing had predicted, Wu Yan did not allow Lu Yulin to lead his men directly into the night battle.
There are too many variables in night battles, and some soldiers suffer from night blindness, which could easily lead to complete chaos and turn an advantage into a disadvantage. Therefore, Wu Yan chose to remain still and set up camp for the night.
As for the night raid, Wu Yan sent a small group of elite troops to infiltrate and probe the enemy. They found that the enemy's defenses were tight and there were no obvious weaknesses, so he gave up.
A night's rest would certainly allow Wu Shuangren and the others to recover some of their strength, but the damage from a major battle cannot be recovered in just one night.
Their side had fresh troops and a numerical advantage, plus Lu Yulin was there, and they also brought Guan Sheng, a First Rate expert.
Guan Sheng was the commander of Mount Liang's cavalry, and his horsemanship was second only to Lu Yulin!
Since the focus in Ya Province was on defending the city, Song Hai sent Guan Sheng with over a thousand Mount Liang cavalry to Yi Province along with Lu Yulin.
This time, Lu Yulin dispatched 5,000 elite troops ahead, of which more than 1,000 were cavalry led by Guan Sheng!
With this lineup, Wu Yan doesn't think his side will lose.
"Report!"
Wu Yan didn't have to wait long before the scouts he had sent out returned.
"Reporting to the strategist, our reconnaissance indicates that the enemy camp has at least six thousand troops!"
How could that be?
Upon hearing this, Wu Yan paled.
He had assumed that Wu Shuangren would leave a small force to ambush them layer by layer, using a drastic measure to cover the main force's retreat.
In this way, we can calmly devour the small number of elite troops he left behind, and then send cavalry to pursue and harass them, forcing them to divide their forces time and time again.
Unexpectedly, the number of people in the enemy camp not only did not decrease, but actually increased?!
Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?
Wu Yan asked.
The scout replied, "Several of our brothers have counted them, and the numbers they reported are roughly the same. Moreover, many people in the enemy camp move and form ranks in a very organized manner, unlike ordinary civilians in disguise."
The scouts Wu Yan sent out were all Mount Liang masters with excellent agility and skills in climbing and leaping through the mountains and forests.
Instead of taking the official road, these people took a detour through the mountains and forests to reach higher ground and observe the enemy's camp from above.
Such observations are unlikely to be wrong.
Wu Yan immediately got up to go find Lu Yulin.
A moment later, in the tent.
Lu Yulin, Wu Yan, Yan Xiaobing, Liang An, Lin Qian, and Guan Sheng, these big bosses Guan Sheng gathered together.
Zhigang was recovering from his injury, so he didn't come. Given the severity of his injury, it's unlikely he'll be able to play again.
Wu Yan relayed the intelligence gathered by the scouts to the others present.
"The number of people in the enemy camp has increased rather than decreased. There's only one possibility: the other battalions that were sent out to help the people of Linwen County evacuate have all returned!"
Wu Yan in a deep voice.
Lu Yulin frowned. "Wu Shuangren's Yi Province Militia has been established for less than half a month, and most of its troops come from various parts of Yi Province. These people all have their own agendas. How did Wu Shuangren manage to get them to cooperate so well?"
He and Wu Yan had previously analyzed that Wu Shuangren's initiative to send troops this time was to cover the retreat of the people of Linwen County. Such a move would certainly not be welcomed by local strongmen, militias, and militias from other places.
The safest and least risky strategy is to defend the city. Launching an offensive and engaging the Mount Liang army in open battle is far too risky!
Putting himself in Wu Shuangren, Lu Yulin knew that if he were a powerful figure from another part of Yi Province, he would never agree to take his hard-earned troops on such an adventure.
So what's going on now?
"Perhaps it was Wu Shuangren of great rewards that lured the powerful figures from other parts of Yi Province back with their troops to gamble with him?"
Liang An guessed.
Yan Xiaobing asked with a puzzled expression, "What kind of benefit could be more important than the lives of my men?"
Guan Sheng, a tall man in heavy armor wielding a Guan Dao (a type of halberd), spoke up in a Guan Sheng, booming voice:
"Grand Marshal, Strategist, regardless of their intentions, their forces have increased rather than decreased, clearly indicating they intend to fight us. In that case, let me lead the cavalry to probe their intentions first. Whether they are bluffing, putting on a show, or truly have the courage to fight us head-on, we'll find out soon enough!"
In fact, he had volunteered from the beginning to lead the cavalry ahead to catch up with the vanguard and find an opportunity to deal with Wu Shuangren's men.
But Wu Yan refused.