Chapter 1596: Assault on the City, Worries
Chapter 1596: Chapter 1596: Assault on the City, Worries
"Are you still planning to continue the journey for the ambush?" Company Commander Liu held a torch, looking at Qin San Lang’s face, said, "No, no, Company Commander Qin, you should rest first, otherwise you’ll die."
After traveling day and night to Ancang County and fighting in an ambush all day, now his face was full of exhaustion, and his body was somewhat swaying. If he didn’t rest, he might truly collapse from exhaustion.
Upon hearing this, Qin San Lang recalled Xiao Yu’s letter which stated: Don’t just focus on fighting the Rong people, and don’t worry about me, I can protect myself. But you, don’t overexert yourself, overexertion could lead to sudden death, and I don’t want to become a widow.
At the end of the letter, she drew a weird pattern, resembling a tearful fish... Uh, Qin San Lang thought of that pattern and couldn’t help but laugh; Xiao Yu was always so adorable.
Company Commander Liu saw him suddenly laughing and was startled, taking a step back, and hurriedly asked, "Company Commander Qin, have you gone mad from exhaustion?"
Otherwise, how could he suddenly laugh foolishly, just like the madman Shi from the county town.
Qin San Lang collected his laughter and said, "Company Commander Liu is right, we should go back and rest for a while."
Company Commander Liu was delighted upon hearing this, and quickly said, "That’s more like it, you can only continue the journey to kill Rong people after a good rest. Let’s go, let’s head back to the county government."
A few hundred people headed towards the county government.
Chief Commander Yao was very diligent, watching with his own eyes as the city gate closed and was bolted with iron before leading the cavalry away.
"Company Commander Qin is back!" Magistrate Luo had been busy all day, sending his family back to the County Magistrate Mansion before returning to the county government office to handle affairs. Seeing Qin San Lang and his men return, he was very pleased and asked, "The Rong people won’t attack again, will they?"
Qin San Lang replied, "The Rong army that left won’t return, but later there might be more Rong army coming from Long’an Prefecture to support Xing’an Prefecture. However, the Rong people’s attack on Xing’an Prefecture has already caused quite a stir, and General Xu will definitely send troops for reinforcements. As long as Lord County Magistrate closes the doors to govern the county before the battle is over, it will suffice."
Too lazy to answer Magistrate Luo’s questions one by one, Qin Sanlang said everything in one go.
Closing the doors to govern the county is a common practice in the Northwest, ensuring the county’s safety by opening the city gates only once every three to five days during wartime, allowing people who wish to leave to depart, while closing the doors to govern for the rest of the time.
He added, "Magistrate Luo, send the food over for the soldiers to eat, so they can rest after their meal."
"Yes, yes, yes, I’ll have the government officials bring the food over for you right away." Magistrate Luo immediately ordered Squad Leader Liu to take care of it.
Soon, dozens of government officials arrived with loads of meat, vegetable porridge, and steamed buns.
As soon as they stabilized the load, the soldiers pounced on the food, scooping up meat and vegetable porridge into bowls, and within a few moments, all the food was consumed.
"More, more, get more food!" Hong Dao shouted loudly, stuffing the remaining half of a steamed bun into his mouth before starting to doze off while waiting for new food, but fell asleep as soon as the government officials brought fresh food.
The other soldiers were the same, falling asleep immediately after drinking a bowl of meat and vegetable highland barley porridge and eating a couple of steamed buns.
Magistrate Luo looked at the soldiers sprawled across the front courtyard, corridors, and public hall of the county office, feeling troubled, and said, "Company Commander Qin, this..."
"No need to worry about them, let them sleep. Bring some quilts to cover them and light a few fires beside them to prevent them from catching a cold," Qin San Lang ordered after drinking another bowl of meat and vegetable highland barley porridge, then asked Magistrate Luo, "Is Old Master Shi San well?"
"I’m good, just woke up. But you need to have a good sleep." Old Master Shi San, although worried about the Rong people’s attack on the county, didn’t want to hold Qin San Lang back, so he took sleeping pills and slept for an entire day to restore his energy, enabling him to continue the journey with Qin San Lang and the others.
He added, "Magistrate Luo has already sent someone to inform Copper County’s magistrate about the Rong people’s attack. Our men also set off early. You should have a good sleep, and by the time you lead the troops to Copper County, their traps should be dug, not delaying your ambush of the Rong people."
Even though Old Master Shi San was a scholar, he was very capable in handling affairs, and Qin San Lang entrusted him with sending someone in advance to the next county to deliver the message. Hearing this, Qin San Lang felt somewhat assured and said, "That’s good, I’ll go sleep then."
Old Master Shi San replied, "Go sleep in the side room; Magistrate Luo has already prepared the room for you all."
"Alright." Qin San Lang nodded and told Xie Cheng, Chief Commander Yao and others, "You all go rest, too, we will continue our journey in four hours."
They needed to compete for time with the Rong people; a brief sleep was sufficient, and four hours was enough.
"Yes." Xie Cheng and the others responded, each going to the room prepared by Magistrate Luo for them to sleep.
Qin San Lang’s room in the back courtyard of the government office was specifically for guests with official positions and was relatively quiet. But as soon as he lay down, he thought of Gu Jinli, worried about her helpless appearance in Xing’an Prefecture. With his mind filled with concerns, he couldn’t fall asleep after lying down for more than a quarter of an hour.
Helplessly, he had to get up and take a pill to calm his nerves before finally falling asleep.
They went to bed early, around 7-9 p.m., and got up on time four hours later, which was still the middle of the night.
In the county office, the lights were bright, and government officials brought prepared breakfast for the soldiers, along with dry rations and water for them to take on the journey.
Clang, clang, clang!
"Company Commander Qin orders: gather on the main street in front of the county office in thirty minutes! All my comrades, quickly pack up and prepare to depart!" Zhang Tu shouted while leading soldiers from a smaller unit, the entire county office echoed with their shouts.
Thirty minutes later, all soldiers capable of continuing the journey were gathered on the main street in front of the county office.
As for those injured, they were left behind to recuperate.
Qin San Lang sat on horseback, overlooking soldiers filling the entire street and addressed them with a single sentence, "Remember how we dealt with the Rong people yesterday violently; the Rong people aren’t terrifying, they are flesh and blood too. As long as we dare to fight hard, the Rong people will become souls under our blades."
"Hoo, hoo, hoo!" The soldiers responded to Qin San Lang with three roars.
The sound was deafening, leaving Company Commander Liu feeling inspired, immediately requesting permission from Magistrate Luo, "Lord County Magistrate, Copper County is our neighbor, we’ve always been on good terms. Please allow me to lead troops to fight the Rong people."
Magistrate Luo’s face darkened as he suppressed his anger, "You are a Company Commander of the Military Office in Ancang County. If you lead the troops away, what will happen to Ancang County?"
County Captain Liu, brought out for sending Qin San Lang and his men off, felt like strangling Company Commander Liu upon hearing this.
You better calm down.
It’s fine if you’re useless in fighting, but you shouldn’t have such a death wish. You want to die? Fine, wait until I cultivate another Company Commander for the Liu family to replace you!
After being reprimanded by Magistrate Luo, Company Commander Liu felt very wronged and reluctantly bid farewell to Qin San Lang and the others at the West City Gate.
Once the soldiers exited the city gate, Company Commander Liu wanted to go further but was stopped by Qin San Lang, "No need to send us off, go back immediately and close the city gate. Don’t leave it open or the lurking Rong people might sneak in."
"What did you say? Are there still Rong people lurking in Ancang County’s territory? Didn’t they leave?" Magistrate Luo trembled at the mention of the Rong people, wishing these beasts could leave Ancang County and go harm elsewhere.
Qin San Lang replied, "It’s not easy for the Rong people to sneak into Great Chu, so they will definitely leave some spies behind to keep gathering information. So from this moment on, we must constantly be on guard against Rong spies within Chu Territory."
He then turned to Company Commander Liu, "Therefore, you don’t need to follow us to Copper County to fight the Rong people; Ancang County is equally important, and the common people in the county need you."