Chapter 517 – Three Fronts Battle (1)
Not long after, scouts closely monitoring the activities of the two counties sent word that they were mulling over troop movements.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Pengji revealed a sly, satisfied smile.
If the Green Garment Army lost their shorts this time, she would write her name, Jiang Pengji, backward!
“Consolidate the troops, tally the men!” she commanded, “Send for the gentlemen and the school officer to come.”
As Wei Ci had anticipated, Jiang Pengji planned to split her forces into two—one group to ambush Jiao Ping County and the other to strike at Mao Lin County.
After conquering the two counties, she would regroup her forces and return to Xiangyang County, coordinating a surprise attack from the rear on the Green Garment Army.
Daring to lay their hands on her territory? If they thought she was easy to bully, she would definitely show them some color!
Jiang Pengji also had a rough plan for the troop division.
Having initially brought out nearly six thousand soldiers, she intended to leave fifteen hundred to guard Cheng’an County. She would take another fifteen hundred elite troops to ambush Jiao Ping County, while the remaining forces would launch a sneak attack on Mao Lin County. Time was of the essence; the faster they acted, the greater the chances of victory.
“… Zixiao, you’re unwell and shouldn’t rush into a swift march. You and Meng Xiaowei will lead the fifteen hundred men stationed at Cheng’an County. The damaged city gate has already been partially repaired, and with the defensive equipment, it can hold for a while. Wen Zheng and I will launch a strong attack on Jiao Ping County, while Han Mei, Nong Qin, and Xiaoyu will lead the remaining troops to ambush Mao Lin County. We must take them down in the shortest time possible!”
Wei Ci couldn’t help but smirk quietly; she really chose Qi Guanrang… Qi Guanrang wouldn’t dare stop her from going wild… but there was no helping it; he could only comply with the orders alongside the others.
Jiang Pengji decisively said, “Let’s set out after nightfall!”
After a hundred days of marching, there was no guarantee that enemy scouts wouldn’t pick up on their movements, so moving under the cover of night was much safer.
Meanwhile, far off in Xiangyang County, Feng Jin was still drowning in a sea of paperwork.
Feng Jin’s recent daily routine could be summed up in eleven words.
Very busy, extremely busy, incredibly busy, super busy!
Under normal circumstances, the workloads of several people piled up on him, and when they said to spend more time with his wife, it was all a lie!
Just how busy was he?
Since the army had departed for battle, he hadn’t stepped foot in his home. Currently, there were only four thousand troops left to garrison Xiangyang County. Though that wasn’t exactly short-staffed, if heavy enemy forces pressed at them, four thousand wouldn’t be enough. Thankfully, his lord still had some conscience.
What conscience?
She hadn’t dragged his treasure, Zhang Ping, along.
Zhang Ping’s woodworking workshop could produce a variety of siege and defensive equipment, which would bolster Xiangyang’s confidence.
At Feng Jin’s signal, Zhang Ping hurried the workshop to manufacture several defensive apparatuses, nearly arming Xiangyang County to the teeth.
Of course, in Zhang Ping’s eyes, this current level of arming was like having teeth made of bronze and iron!
Although Feng Jin was too busy to see his wife, she could come to visit him, carrying their daughter Changsheng, who was now babbling clearly.
“Daddy—Daddy—hug—”
Changsheng, seeing her daddy whom she hadn’t seen for a few days, eagerly asked to be picked up.
Feng Jin rubbed his tired eyes to confirm he wasn’t hallucinating.
He truly heard his daughter’s call and saw his wife and daughter standing at the door of the affairs hall, hesitantly pacing, too shy to approach.
Noticing Wei Jingxian’s concern, he replied, “Come on in; there’s nothing urgent here.”
As he lifted his plump daughter, before he could even sigh, Changsheng climbed onto his thigh and planted a kiss on him.
“Don’t kiss, don’t kiss! This girl doesn’t think it’s dirty…” Feng Jin had been burning the midnight oil for several days, sleeping less than an hour each night, and he looked a bit disheveled. He was worried that his daughter would pick up something dirty.
“Daddy?” Changsheng, feeling rejected, tilted her head in confusion.
Still young, she didn’t know how to explain, so he looked helplessly at Wei Jingxian for help.
Thank goodness his wife understood his awkward situation and reached out to take Changsheng back.
She gently said, “Daddy’s tired, don’t bother him.”
Changsheng nestled in her mother’s arms, with her big watery eyes looking as enchanting as a little deer, softening anyone’s heart.
“Cool, cool—” Changsheng wrapped her little arms around her mother.
Wei Jingxian glanced at the table, startled by the mountain of documents piled up.
“Why are there so many?”
Xiangyang County was just a county, so why were there so many documents to handle?
She recalled that those county magistrates were usually quite leisurely, either walking their birds or playing with dogs, living carefree lives.
Her husband was simply assisting Lan Ting; once Lan Ting deployed, the official duties would temporarily fall to him, so why was he so busy?
Feng Jin massaged his temples, saying, “Spring plowing has just ended, and we need to collect farming tools and plows—these all need to be accounted for… Xiangyang County has become a rare tranquil refuge in the north; daily, there are various refugees wanting to enter the city, and they need to be settled… Many wealthy households, fleeing disaster, have moved their families here, and they want to buy the fine properties under our lord’s name; that also requires handling…”
Xiangyang County was still under construction, growing increasingly prosperous, and various trivial matters were unavoidable.
Looking at the newly built rental houses in the county office, which were so clean and beautiful, many locals felt uncomfortable in their hearts; they also wanted to rebuild their houses. However, if they wanted to do so, they had to bear all material and labor costs themselves; it wasn’t cheap.
Such houses weren’t something you could simply build for money—it required following procedures with the county office, getting approval to burn this batch of blue bricks, specifying the number of blue bricks, before construction could begin… and in the end, everything needed Feng Jin’s signature to agree, or it simply couldn’t be built.
If it were a normal situation, a few people would share the load, but now he was left behind to guard alone, so naturally, it was exhausting.
Besides all these messy affairs, there were also local governance issues and various conflicts, all tedious and troublesome, from neighborhood disputes over small things to quarrels over uneven land distributions. Feng Jin truly wanted to dump these matters on the women’s department of the affairs hall.
However, they were already overwhelmed, and he, as a big man, couldn’t bring himself to trouble a bunch of young ladies.
Seeing his husband’s eyes bloodshot and bags forming under them, Wei Jingxian felt a pang of heartache.
She asked, “Are these documents really urgent?”
Feng Jin paused, his sleep-deprived brain slow to react; it took him a while to understand the meaning behind her words.
“It’s nothing urgent, just very trifling.” Feng Jin replied.
Wei Jingxian thought for a moment, reached for a portion of the documents, and categorized them according to their urgency and importance.
Changsheng, restless in her arms, squirmed, grabbing at her sleeve, and began to play by herself.
After having her afternoon porridge, Changsheng sprawled across Wei Jingxian’s lap, limbs akimbo, her pudgy little legs nearly reaching the table.
From noon until sunset, the mountain of bamboo slips slowly dwindled.
“Thank you, my lady.” Feng Jin rubbed his brow and smiled, bowing to Wei Jingxian.
“Let’s go home.” Wei Jingxian smiled back.
Just as the three were about to stand up, a commotion of footsteps came from outside. Luo Yue rushed in, drenched in sweat, with hurried and chaotic steps.
