The woodcutter's sudden visit was already surprising enough.
Now they were being told to join him in reclaiming Kaide Prefecture.
In the room, five military leaders, all around forty years old, each with several decades of military experience and at least ten, if not thirty, Jin thief's lives on their hands, were confused.
How did things come to this?
"Old Nine, we need to think this through carefully," said Ding Dashan, not daring to pause for fear of being interrupted by the man, "We don't have many people now; the five nearby forts combined have only a thousand men, and there are another three forts further away with slightly more men. But we can't mobilize them without orders from superiors."
"Do we need orders from superiors to kill Jin dogs?" Old Nine asked, looking at him.
The question was posed as a question, but his tone was declarative.
You woodcutters, not bound by dynasty's orders, of course, don't need commands, but we are government soldiers. The superiors have been telling us to wait for reinforcements and haven't said we should take action.
Of course, without reinforcements, even these few Monkey Men wouldn't dare to make a move.
To put it bluntly, these woodcutters are bandits, except they kill Jin thieves – it's indeed not easy to discuss rules with bandits.
Ding Dashan wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Not to hide it from you, brave man, we've been ordered to wait for reinforcements, and each fort is sheltering nearly a thousand civilians," he sighed, "It's not that we're afraid to die, it's that we dare not die irresponsibly."
They obviously wanted to kill Jin dogs too, but with such a disparity in strength, it wouldn't matter if they died in battle. The key issue was that if they perished, the civilians they were protecting would be doomed as well.
They could only rely on the forts and hold out bitterly until reinforcements arrived.
Army Head Wang and the others nodded in agreement.
"We can't compare to you brave men who can come and go freely and fight exhilaratingly," they said earnestly, "But our hatred towards the Jin thieves is the same."
Old Nine nodded his head.
"In fact, the Duke of Chengguo is aware of our visit," he suddenly said.
The Duke of Chengguo!
Ding Dashan and others were taken aback.
What does this mean? Could it be that they were sent by the Duke of Chengguo?
Could the Duke of Chengguo mobilize them?
So, were they really the Duke's men?
The Duke of Chengguo keeping private soldiers...
The minds of everyone in the room were once again slightly unsettled.
This... Such words shouldn't be spoken carelessly. Did they hear it or not?
"That's the situation. The Jurchen people's massive army is imposing on the northern lands," Old Nine spoke slowly, "And the Duke of Chengguo is also rounding us up again."
Roundup?
Then that's different... Ding Dashan and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
Big brother, could you not speak so concisely, please?
"He said the affairs of the Northern Army are pressing and cannot tolerate the slightest oversight; he forbade us from disturbing the military situation and warfare," Old Nine continued.
This makes sense; that's why the dynasty does not allow the woodcutters to exist. They are undisciplined, act on their whims, and sometimes they could ruin the grand strategy.
After all, battlefield tactics are very strict, and one misstep could lead to the entire war situation collapsing.
The Duke of Chengguo's management of the military, defense of the territory, and response in battle are indeed thorough and considerate.
In the past, when killing Jurchen people, he'd turn a blind eye, but when it comes to a major battle, not a single mistake is permissible.
Ding Dashan and others showed a solemn and respectful demeanor, wanting to praise the Duke of Chengguo's wisdom but swallowing their words considering the woodcutter's identity.
"The Duke of Chengguo is wise," Old Nine said, nodding his head without concealing his admiration, "We hold him in high regard."
Oh, Ding Dashan and the others said to themselves.
Old Nine looked at them but didn't continue speaking immediately, as if waiting for something.
A thought struck Ding Dashan.
"The Duke of Chengguo is wise," he quickly said.
The others caught on too, nodding their heads in turn.
"The Duke of Chengguo is wise."
"The Duke of Chengguo is both brave and strategic."
Only after their words ended did Old Nine nod and continue speaking.
"So we heeded his words and backed off," he said, "The Duke of Chengguo also told us the Northern Jin Soldiers were too numerous; killing a hundred or so wouldn't mean much. If we truly wanted to kill Jin thieves, it would be better to go after a smaller number of Jin thieves – losing one would mean losing a significant piece."
As he spoke, he slapped his thigh, seemingly imitating the Duke of Chengguo's demeanor, stretching out his hand to point.
"So you should go to Kaide Prefecture."
And so they came to Kaide Prefecture.
So that's how it is, Ding Dashan and the others suddenly understood.
"So, as you say about reinforcements, we are the reinforcements," Old Nine said solemnly, looking at them, "As for orders from superiors, killing Jin thieves is an order from the Duke of Chengguo."
It seemed to make sense, and Ding Dashan and the others nodded somewhat confusedly.
"So have we agreed on this?" Old Nine asked, "Are we doing this or not?"
Ding Dashan and the others suddenly snapped back to reality, once again thrown into confusion.
Big brother, this is still too fast.
It's only been two or three sentences.
"This matter is of great importance; let's discuss this properly," Ding Dashan said hurriedly.
Elder Ninth nodded.
"Alright, let us deliberate," he said, sweeping his foot across the ground to outline a square frame, "You all are more familiar with Kaide Prefecture than us, is there any way to infiltrate the city?"
Deliberate, deliberate about this? No, that's not right, is it?
Doesn't this mean we are going to fight?
They couldn't possibly be discussing this, could they?
Everyone seemed a bit dazed, but someone instinctively spoke up.
"The walls of Kaide Prefecture are strong and towering, easy to defend but hard to attack," he said. "But it's not impenetrable."
"Yes," another person quickly added, "there were a few secret passages left from before."
"But those passages have all been destroyed," someone else shook their head, "Originally, there were plans to escort the Magistrate out through these passages, but the Magistrate refused and destroyed them personally, swearing to share the city's fate."
Remembering that terrible event, silence fell in the room.
Such a brutal struggle, did they die in vain? Just to sit back and watch like this?
Ding Dashan suddenly clenched his fists.
"There's still one secret passage," he said.
There's still one?
Everyone looked towards him. Being the guard soldier closest to Kaide Prefecture, Ding Dashan had the best knowledge of the military secrets of the Prefecture. If he said there was one, there surely was one.
But still...
"What good is a secret passage? Only one person can get through at a time, and the city is defended by three thousand stout Jin soldiers," Wang Dashan shook his head as he spoke.
To enter would surely be like a lamb walking into a tiger's den.
"That's why we all need to act together," Elder Ninth said, tapping on the ground with his foot, "We'll go in, slay the guards, open the city gates, and then you all will join in the attack."
Even together, there would be fewer than two thousand people... How could we launch an attack?
Wang Dashan and the others gulped.
Elder Ninth laughed, patting the axe on his back.
"How to attack?" he said. "We fight with our lives."
He stood up.
"We regularly clash with the Jin thieves; these people are fierce and have a strong ability to fight alone, but they have one weakness. Perhaps because of their sparse population, they especially cannot withstand heavy casualties."
This was indeed unheard of; the assembled Army Heads watched him closely.
Elder Ninth looked at them and held up a hand.
"I can tell you, just by killing five hundred Jin thieves, it's enough to scatter their five thousand men," he said.
Kill five hundred to scatter them?
The eyes of the Army Heads lit up.
If that was the case...
Before they could speak, Elder Ninth was already pointing with his foot inside the outline of Kaide Prefecture he drew.
"We'll first set fires here and here, where most of the Jin soldiers stay, and then we'll kill the guard soldiers at the West City Gate," he said.
As he spoke and pointed, the Army Heads instinctively gathered around, just as they were accustomed to following the assignments given by their superiors.
"You will enter the city to confront the enemy, and we will take the opportunity to kill Zhan Tiemu in the chaos," he said.
Zhan Tiemu was the leader of the Jin soldiers in Kaide Prefecture.
To catch the bandit, first catch the king; this principle also applies to the Jurchen people.
Setting the fires would take care of some Jin soldiers and create chaos. Killing Zhan Tiemu would cause the Jin soldiers to lose their leader. Under the cover of night, they were more familiar than the Jin soldiers with the geographical environment, knew where to hide, and how to ambush and fight.
It sounded quite easy when put that way.
The Army Heads' expressions became excited.
Wang Dashan cleared his throat lightly.
"We have only seventeen hundred men," he said. "Moreover, the Jin soldiers are well-equipped and have taken over Kaide Prefecture's arsenal. We have only broken swords and guns, not even decent armor."
This remark was like a cold shower waking everyone up.
The disparity in force and strength was still too great.
Elder Ninth tread on the outlined map on the ground and stood up straight.
"We're starting tomorrow night. You have time to consider," he said. "We'll act this way; when the city gates open, whether you come or not is up to you."
Big brother, you've put it this far, how can we make a decision?
The Army Heads were at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Before they could say anything, Elder Ninth had already started walking out, stopping at the door.
"Oh, there's one more thing," he turned and said, "This is something we're doing on our own, it has nothing to do with the Duke of Chengguo, so as to avoid bringing him trouble or upsetting the grand scheme. Therefore, we hope you can conceal our identities. If we die, pretend this never happened. But if we succeed..."
He looked back at the Army Heads.
"Then it is your brave battle to reclaim lost territory, serving the country, and the people with loyalty," he said.
Upon those words, a flame seemed to ignite in the eyes of the five Army Heads, brightening their gaze.
***********************************
Grateful? The final shot? Thanks to 11 pages, the well-known 'He's Bi' donation, (*^__^*)
Thank you everyone, today's a day off, wishing you a smooth and joyful journey home.