With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

Lin Ye was leaning on the railing, gazing into the distance at the somewhat flimsy city wall. Not far away, Lin Qiang was leading his soldiers to move logs and stones to reinforce the city's defenses.

Just then, a spirited young man walked steadily to his side and clasped his hands in a salute.

"Zhu Shaowei, the garrison commander of Jingbian, greets Lord Lin."

Lin Ye turned his head upon hearing the voice, his gaze falling on the person who had come.

Zhu Shaowei was only twenty-five years old, with a tall and straight figure like a pine tree. The uniform of a Northern Han military officer looked perfectly natural on him, instead exuding the heroic spirit of a seasoned general.

Looking at that young yet resolute face, Lin Ye felt a surge of emotion and thought of his own father.

My father was also a captain back then, but he paled in comparison to this one.

In my memory, my father was already in his early thirties when he broke through to the second-rate martial artist level and was appointed as a captain. This Zhu Shaowei, on the other hand, was already shouldering this important responsibility at a young age. His talent and experience are both top-notch.

"Zhu Shaowei?" Lin Ye was slightly taken aback, then remembered the refined and cultured magistrate in the city, and asked in confusion, "May I ask who Magistrate Zhu Shaofeng is?"

"That's my elder brother," Zhu Shaowei replied frankly, then straightened his back and looked intently at Lin Ye.

"My brother and I are both natives of Jingbian. We were born and raised here. This city is our root, and we vow to live and die with this city."

Lin Ye gazed into his unwavering, resolute eyes, a rare warmth appearing on her lips, and patted his shoulder.

"Commander Zhu, rest assured. The blood feud between Lin Ye and the Northern Xiongnu is also irreconcilable."

A few days ago in Lulong City, I already fought a battle with the Northern Xiongnu. On my way to Jingbian, I just wiped out a group of Northern Xiongnu vanguard who were raiding villages and towns.

As he spoke, Lin Ye turned to the side and pointed to the Lin family soldiers who were resting below the city wall. Although the cavalrymen had been simply washed, large patches of dark red bloodstains that had not yet dried remained in the gaps of their armor and at the hem of their battle robes.

"Look, the bloodstains on the soldiers are the marks left by that battle."

Lin Ye knew perfectly well that Zhu Shaowei's act of introducing himself and emphasizing his vow to defend Jingbian to the death was a stunt.

He was simply worried that he and his guest army were merely following orders, and that when faced with the overwhelming force of the Northern Xiongnu army, they would put on a show of resistance before abandoning the city.

After all, Jingbian County was not Lin family territory, and there were historical precedents of garrisoned lords easily abandoning other cities to preserve their strength.

His concerns were perfectly understandable, and Lin Ye didn't blame him.

Moreover, Lin Ye had done his homework before coming here.

Jingbian County originally had 4,000 garrison troops, but 1,000 were transferred to support other areas after the start of the war, leaving only 3,000 in the city.

Although nominally under his control, it was actually this Captain Zhu in front of him who led the troops in drills and became familiar with the city's defenses.

If he harbors resentment and outwardly complies while inwardly resisting, it will have a significant impact on the overall defensive situation.

Fortunately, judging from his words and actions just now, he is a sincere man who only wants to protect his country and his home, rather than a person who holds a position without doing his job.

When Zhu Shaowei heard Lin Ye's declaration of fighting to the death, and followed his guidance to see the Lin family soldiers standing tall like pine trees, their armor stained with blood and their expressions exhausted, his doubts immediately dissipated.

He clasped his hands in a fist salute again, this time with a noticeably warmer attitude. "Your humble servant has been rude! With Lord Lin's words, I am relieved. Your humble servant is willing to follow Lord Lin's orders and assist General Lin in the defense!"

Having said that, Zhu Shaowei did not hesitate any longer and immediately took the order to convey Lin Ye's instructions. He directed the garrison of Jingbian County to quickly coordinate with the Lin family army and begin the final pre-battle deployment in an orderly manner.

"Our intelligence network has not yet penetrated deep into the heart of the Northern Plains; we just conducted a brief reconnaissance in the county town."

The guard whispered to Lin Ye, "The Zhu brothers are the most prominent family in Jingbian County. Although they don't have a hideout, their influence is extremely deep."

County Magistrate Zhu Shaofeng concurrently served as the head of the household, primarily responsible for people's livelihood and government affairs, while Colonel Zhu Shaowei was in charge of military affairs.

Both men had an excellent reputation in Jingbian. They did not use their power to oppress the people. On the contrary, under Zhu Shaofeng's governance, although the area was located on the border, the people lived in peace and stability and had a decent life.

Moreover, they had repeatedly led their troops to repel small groups of Northern Xiongnu harassment, demonstrating a very firm will to resist the Xiongnu.

Upon hearing this, Lin Ye secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

What we fear most is local officials who are afraid of the enemy or who outwardly comply but inwardly defy them. Now it seems that the Zhu brothers are rare pragmatists.

At the same time, Zhu Shaowei was also secretly inquiring about Lin Ye's background from the Lin family army.

At Lin Qiang's instruction, the soldiers recounted without reservation Lin Ye's heroic performance in defending Lulong City, the fierce battle in which the Lin family army fought to the death, and even mentioned the deep-seated blood feud between the Lin family and the Northern Xiongnu.

A young lord with two lairs could have lived a life of wealth and honor, but he volunteered to go to the front lines to fight against the Xiongnu.

After hearing these details, the Zhu brothers finally felt relieved and their doubts disappeared. They then cooperated even more actively with the Lin family army in deployment and joint training.

Just as the Lin family army and the Jingbian garrison had initially established trust and began to conduct joint drills and refine their tactics on the city walls.

Dozens of miles away, on the banks of that river, a new cavalry unit from the Northern Xiongnu had already arrived at the old battlefield littered with corpses.

This was a large army of five thousand Northern Xiongnu cavalry, a dark mass that covered the riverbank and surrounded the old battlefield.

In the center of the battlefield lay the remains of the Northern Xiongnu vanguard, left behind by Lin Ye and his men when they retreated. Some of the corpses were swollen and white from being soaked in the river, emitting a foul stench under the scorching sun.

A young Northern Xiongnu man who looked to be no more than twenty years old stepped forward from the crowd, his brows revealing a sinister and ruthless nature that was inconsistent with his age. He was surrounded by several centurions and commanders.

A centurion in charge of surveying the scene stepped forward quickly, bowed, and reported: "Lieutenant, this is our vanguard."

Judging from the traces at the scene, they were resting when they were attacked without any warning.

The first to attack were high-ranking martial artists, all riding Dao soldiers. There were claw marks unique to the Cracked Claw Wolf King. Some people were even cut in half at the waist by immense force; judging from the marks, it was probably the work of a first-rate martial artist.

Only after the warriors cleared the way did large numbers of cavalry follow to reap the rewards.

He paused, then pointed to the simple grave by the river. "That holds the remains of some women from the Northern Han Dynasty. They were likely captured by our vanguard and silenced during the retreat."

The young man, referred to as "Little Captain," narrowed his eyes and asked in a cold voice, "Can you determine which direction they went?"

A centurion rode forward and chimed in, "Judging from the direction the hoofprints are heading, they should be going to Jingbian County."

It was an inconspicuous little county town. We had sent small groups of troops to probe it before, but they were all driven back; there was nothing of value in it, so we eventually gave up on it.

"Hmph, very good." The junior captain's lips curled into a cruel smile. "Let's use it as a starting point to avenge our fallen clansmen!"

The more fiercely the Han people resist, the more we must raze their cities to the ground.

Moreover, a small town that has never been plundered must be very wealthy, having accumulated so much riches over the years; it absolutely cannot be let go.

The centurions surrounding the area, as well as the leaders of the small tribes who were allied with the Northern Xiongnu, immediately had their eyes light up with greed upon hearing the word "wealth."

They burst into boisterous laughter, as if the small town of Jingbian was already theirs for the taking.