Mo Zhengxing looked at Wu Shuangren with concern. "Commander, are you going to lead the team yourself?"
"Certainly."
But your injury...
It's alright.
Wu Shuangren waved his hand.
Half an hour later, the drill ground was filled with over a thousand people.
Ten battalions, a thousand militiamen, stood in neat square formations, their spear tips gleaming coldly in the morning light.
Some veterans from the First, Second, and Third Battalions were wearing full sets of leather armor, while the rest of the militia did not.
Wu Shuangren currently only has a little over two hundred sets of leather armor, which can only be given to the three strongest battalions first.
He also put on a leather armor, and then put on an iron armor over it to protect his torso.
The Fish-Dragon Saber hung at his waist, and the long sword was held in his hand.
A guard led in a captured black warhorse. Wu Shuangren mounted the horse, rode into the training ground, and raised his longsword.
"Set off--"
The militiamen marched out of the drill ground in neat formation.
Wu Shuangren spurred his horse to the front of the formation, and Xu Nanzhi was already standing there at the edge of the training ground.
"Shuangren."
Wu Shuangren reined in his horse.
Xu Nanzhi walked to the front of the horse. "Mother can go with you."
Wu Shuangren shook her head. "Mother, you wait here for me to come back for lunch."
After saying that, he smiled, waved to Xu Nanzhi, and rode away.
Behind him, a thousand militiamen followed in formation, and the procession filed out of the city gate and passed through West River Market along the main street.
The shops on both sides of the street had already opened their doors, and people looked on with surprise and doubt at the sight.
"Is Militia Commander Wu going out to fight again?"
Who are they going to deal with this time?
"I wonder who's going to be unlucky next."
"..."
The thousand-strong force passed through West River Market and headed towards West River County along the official road. In the morning sun, the gleaming spear tips stretched out like a flowing river of steel.
Slowly grind forward!
Zhang Clan, West River County.
When the news arrived, Zhang He was eating porridge.
The butler stumbled in. "Master, something terrible has happened! The Fist Academy's people are attacking!"
Zhang He slammed the bowl of porridge in his hand to the ground, splattering porridge and broken porcelain shards everywhere. He stood up and grabbed the butler by the collar. "How many people? Who's leading the group?"
"Up, over a thousand people!"
The steward, breathless, said, "It was Wu Shuangren leading the team himself. They've already left West River Market and are heading this way along the official road!"
Zhang He released the butler and felt a wave of dizziness.
The fact that Wu Shuangren personally led the team indicates that the ambush by Mist Hidden Temple was unsuccessful, and now the other side is coming to settle scores!
"Go, summon all the heads of each department!"
Zhang He roared.
A moment later, the heads of the Zhang Clan branches gathered together and sat in the main hall with Zhang He to discuss the matter.
The atmosphere in the hall was heavy. Zhang He sat in the main seat, his face ashen.
Zhang Yan from the second branch was the first to accuse, "Brother, you promised us that Mist Hidden Temple would definitely eliminate Wu Shuangren! And what happened? Now they've brought over a thousand men to attack us, what are you planning to do?!"
Zhang He suppressed his anger. "Second brother, I didn't arrange the ambush; it was a scheme set up by the Mist Hidden Temple. Even if there's revenge, Wu Shuangren should seek revenge against the Mist Hidden Temple."
Zhang Yan stared intently at him. "Brother, you really didn't send anyone to participate?"
The lobby fell silent, and everyone looked at Zhang He.
Zhang He met everyone's gazes, clenching and unclenching his teeth.
He took a deep breath and slowly said, "I didn't send anyone to participate in the ambush. I just... had someone keep an eye on the time when the Fist Academy sent messages in West River Market, and pass some information to Mist Hidden Temple. But Wu Shuangren could never have caught any evidence!"
Zhang Yuan from the third branch shook his head. "Brother, maybe they never intended to find evidence; they just want to pin this on us?"
"He dares?!"
Zhang He was furious. "Without any evidence, what right does he have to attack? Is he trying to rebel?!"
"The question now isn't whether Wu dares to make a move. What if he really does? Are we willing to take the gamble?"
Zhang Ming, from the fourth branch, spoke up, "Brother, let's send someone to the county government for help. After all, our local militia belongs to West River County, and we can't let outsiders bully us! If the county government sends someone to intervene, and that Wu fellow dares to make a move, that would be tantamount to rebellion!"
Zhang He said irritably, "I already sent someone to the county government office before you arrived."
As a powerful local family, the Zhang Clan usually didn't give much face to the county government. Zhang He had also bribed many officials, both openly and secretly, and considered himself the number one person in West River County.
But now, at this critical juncture of life and death, we still need to ask those officials in the county government for help.
Because no matter how arrogant he may be in ordinary times, he ultimately cannot represent the imperial court.
Now, he needs to use the imperial court's authority to intimidate the enemy!
In the main hall, no one spoke, waiting for a reply from the county government.
A moment later, a person strode into the lobby.
He is Zhang He's brother-in-law, Feng Zhihong.
"How?"
Zhang He stood up and looked at Feng Zhihong with anticipation.
Feng Zhihong said with a mournful face, "Brother-in-law, the county magistrate refused to see me. He only had Adviser Zhou, tell me that this was an internal conflict within the West River County militia, and the county government had no jurisdiction over it!"
"What did you say?!"
These words made the others uneasy, and their expressions changed drastically.
"Wu Shuangren's militia isn't even from our Xi Province! What do you mean by 'internal conflict within the West River County militia'?!"
"Yes, has the magistrate lost his mind?"
"..."
Feng Zhihong looked at the group helplessly. "Adviser Zhou said that a few days ago, the local militia in West River County started recruiting people in West River Market."
"Fart!"
"Nonsense!"
"Who agreed to this?!"
The lobby erupted in chaos, the shouts of cursing nearly lifting the roof off!
Zhang He's forehead veins bulged, and his fists were clenched tightly.
He knew from the beginning that Wu Shuangren was recruiting people in West River Market under the guise of the West River County militia.
However, he assumed that Wu Shuangren had acted on his own initiative, and since he already knew that Mist Hidden Temple would ambush the other party, he didn't take the matter to heart.
But seeing the county government's reaction, he was shocked to realize that Wu Shuangren had secretly arranged this with them!
"Where are the county magistrate, the registrar, and the county commandant?"
Zhang He grabbed Feng Zhihong's arm, "Have you asked them all? What did these officials say?"
Feng Zhihong's voice was already trembling with tears. "Brother-in-law, I've already asked all the officials, but none of them will see me. They just say that everything is up to the magistrate to decide!"
Zhang He released his brother-in-law, took a step back, and swayed slightly.
"Brother-in-law!"
"I'm fine..."
Zhang He waved his hand.
He turned to look at the others, hoping to get some support and help.
Without exception, everyone else looked at him with fear.
"Big brother, what do we do now?"
"If the county government doesn't intervene, we definitely can't defeat Wu Shuangren!"
"Why don't we withdraw all our troops back to the county seat? I refuse to believe that guy surnamed Wu would dare to lead troops to attack the county seat again!"
Someone suggested.
Zhang He glared at the other man, gritting his teeth. "Withdraw?!"
"Yes..."
"Do you know that the county government has already assigned the title of militia commander of West River County to Wu Shuangren? Once we withdraw, the militia commander of West River County will no longer belong to the Zhang family, but to the Wu family!"
Zhang He roared in the lobby.
"..."
Everyone was stunned by his sudden outburst of rage and looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Then, brother, what do you think we can do now?"
"Yes, brother, would it be better to let them kill all the soldiers we've worked so hard to train?"
"There are quite a few members of the Zhang Clan in the militia!"
"..."
The people in charge all offered their rebuttals.
Zhang He felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at these people.
When it comes to dividing up the silver and vying for profits, everyone becomes quite opinionated and eager to be the first to act.
Now that we've reached a life-or-death moment, not one of these people has the courage to stand up and face the enemy with me?
A series of hurried footsteps interrupted the argument.
A servant rushed into the main hall. "Master, the Fist Academy's men are less than five li away from our militia's camp!"
"Knew."
After his initial anger subsided, Zhang He calmed down.
His gaze swept over the people present, and he said, word by word, "I'll take my men out of the city right now and guard the militia's camp. If that Wu fellow dares to fight, I'll fight him to the death!"
As soon as he finished speaking, several people immediately objected:
"No way, bro, we can't beat them!"
"Brother, don't be impulsive!"
"There are so many of our own people in the militia, what if they die?"
"..."
Zhang He snorted coldly, ignoring the others' attempts to stop him, and strode out.
West River County, County Government Office.
Guo Jiwang sat in his study, still drinking.
Zhou Zhengqing strode in, cupped his hands, and said, "Sir, Zhang He has led his men out of the city."