Online Game: Me, with Unparalleled Comprehension

The front hall was neither too big nor too small, with a long table and a few chairs, and it was fairly clean.

Several servants were wiping the table and setting out the bowls and chopsticks. When they saw him come in, they quickly bowed and greeted him.

Wu Feng waved his hand, telling them to continue their work.

He sat down at the head of the long table and leaned back in his chair.

The servants at the governor's mansion have already been arranged, so it seems that Mu Wanqing and the others have been quite busy.

Serving tea and water, cleaning, running errands and delivering messages—all these tasks have been taken care of.

This saved him a lot of trouble, as he didn't have to keep an eye on everything himself.

With a slight thought, he opened the management interface of Yingzhou City.

A semi-transparent light screen unfolded before my eyes, displaying a series of projects under construction in the building section.

The people involved in internal affairs are all very dedicated.

Although Qian Wencai and Sun Mingyuan were not particularly loyal, they were certainly hardworking.

Wu Feng read through each item one by one and nodded.

He then flipped to the resources section.

Although the stocks of timber, stone, grain, and iron ingots have been depleted, the reserves are substantial and can withstand the strain.

Wu Feng closed the building list, leaned back in his chair, and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest twice.

His mind drifted to something else—the gentry in the city.

These aristocratic families, regardless of the dynasty, were always the same.

The change of dynasties had little impact on them; they could live their lives as long as they had a new master.

They were all incredibly wealthy.

His family had stockpiled grain, silver, and cloth; their warehouses were probably even fuller than the governor's mansion.

That's a pretty good resource.

If we can get them to contribute money and supplies to help defend the city and develop it, that would be the best outcome.

It saves time and effort, and you don't have to do it yourself.

He has already sent Zhang Heng to pay a visit.

Let's see if these people know what's good for them or not.

Those who know what's good for them will voluntarily contribute some grain and silver, and help out by sending some men, and everyone will live in peace.

He will give them the respect they deserve and won't make things difficult for them.

If you don't know what's good for you—

Wu Feng narrowed his eyes.

He wouldn't mind taking direct action.

They robbed their grain and took their silver, using it as military funds to develop the city.

Since these things are just sitting idle in the homes of the gentry, we might as well take them out and use them.

After all, without development, we would be unable to withstand future attacks from the Liao Dynasty.

The Liao Kingdom's favorability has already dropped to the level of mortal enemy; a full-scale manhunt, a bounty, and retaliation are only a matter of time.

If the city doesn't even have enough food and the soldiers haven't been trained when the army arrives, how will it defend itself?

If these aristocratic families were to suddenly defect and become accomplices of the Liao, opening the city gates to let the enemy in, he would be attacked from both inside and outside—

That is absolutely impossible.

Therefore, these aristocratic families only had two options.

We can either provide assistance, contribute money, food, or manpower, and everyone can work together to defend the city.

He either asks for resources or simply takes them.

There is no third way.

Wu Feng snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at the management interface again.

He nodded in satisfaction and closed the management list.

I'm too lazy to look at it anymore.

Everything that needed to be arranged has been arranged, and everything that needed to be thought out has been thought out.

All that's left is to wait for news from Zhang Heng and see what attitude those aristocratic families will have.

Wu Feng leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

The front hall quieted down; the servants' footsteps were very soft as they went in and out, and no one dared to speak loudly.

He just sat there, closed his eyes, and rested for a while.

The dishes have all been served.

Braised pork belly, stewed chicken, steamed fish, stir-fried greens, cold black fungus salad, a large bowl of egg drop soup, two dishes of peanuts, and a plate of braised beef—the table was laden with food.

Wu Feng sat in the main seat, with a bowl and chopsticks set in front of him, and tea already poured.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, put it down, and leaned back in his chair to wait.

Two servants stood at the entrance to the front hall, bowing, ready to serve tea and water at any time.

Before I could finish drinking a cup of tea, I heard footsteps outside.

Li Hu walked in through the door, dressed in a gray outfit, his back ramrod straight.

He saw Wu Feng, nodded, and walked to the other side of the long table to sit down.

"Here we are," Wu Feng said.

Li Hu hummed in agreement, picked up the teapot on the table, poured himself a cup of water, and took a sip.

Wu Feng turned to the servant at the door and said, "Bring the wine up."

A servant responded, turned and ran out. A short while later he came back in with a pot of wine, placed it on the table, and poured a cup for each of them.

Wu Feng picked up his wine glass, glanced at Li Hu, and said, "Eat something first, we can talk while we eat."

Li Hu nodded and picked up his chopsticks.

The two picked up their chopsticks, ate a few bites of food, and drank two glasses of wine.

Wu Feng put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a cloth, and looked at Li Hu.

"What did the research team say?"

Li Hu also put down his chopsticks, took out a piece of paper from his pocket, and spread it out on the table.

The paper was covered with writing, densely packed, and there were also several tables.

He pointed to a line of text on the paper and said, "The research team has analyzed the situation in the Liao Kingdom. We are now mortal enemies, and retaliation is inevitable. But the scale and timing of the retaliation can be calculated."

Wu Feng looked at the paper without saying anything, waiting for Li Hu to continue.

Li Hu's finger moved down a few lines on the paper, his tone becoming serious: "The Liao Kingdom's troop distribution in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun is not even. Most of the elite troops are concentrated in the large prefectures of Youzhou and Yunzhou. In a medium-sized city like Yingzhou, 7,000 troops were already considered a lot. Now that both military camps have been destroyed, if the Liao Kingdom wants to retaliate, they will have to transfer troops from elsewhere."

He paused, then looked up at Wu Feng: "Mobilizing troops takes time. The research team estimates that it will take the Liao Kingdom at least ten days to half a month to assemble a decent army to fight us."

Wu Feng nodded.

This timing was roughly what he had expected.

Ten days to half a month is neither a long nor a short time; it's enough for him to do a lot of things.

Li Hu continued, "Furthermore, our people are also monitoring the Liao Kingdom's movements. The research team has already assigned personnel to keep an eye on the Liao Kingdom's troop movements in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. They will notify us immediately if there is any movement."

Wu Feng hummed in agreement, picked up his wine glass, and took a sip.

"There's one more thing," Li Hu said, tapping the paper again with his finger. "Some players will be arriving soon. Not all 300,000 as previously mentioned, but in batches. The first batch will number around 30,000 to 40,000, and they should arrive in Yingzhou in the next few days."

Wu Feng raised an eyebrow.

With 30,000 to 40,000 troops, plus the more than 1,000 men he currently commands, and Li Hu's fifty-odd second-rate martial artists, they could gather a force of around 40,000.

It's enough to defend a medium-sized city.

"What is the strength of these people?" Wu Feng asked.

Li Hu said, "They are at least third-rate martial artists, ranging from level 20 to 40. Their equipment is average, but they can handle ordinary soldiers."

Wu Feng nodded.

A third-rate martial artist could easily take on three to five ordinary Liao soldiers, though it's hard to say he could fight ten.

Even if only 30,000 out of 40,000 people come, it will still be a considerable force.

Li Hu turned the page of the paper, which had several arrows and squares drawn on it, looking like a simple defense map.

Pointing to the mark on the map, he continued, "There's one more thing. The research team suggests recruiting players in Yingzhou City to fight against the Liao army."

Upon hearing this, Wu Feng leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest twice.

To attract players.

That's a good idea.

Although he has occupied Yingzhou City, there are definitely still many players active in the city.

Some of these players went it alone, some formed small teams, and some joined a small guild.

If they can be organized, they will be a significant asset in dealing with the Liao army.

"How do we win them over?" Wu Feng asked.

Li Hu said, "Just give them silver. Players fight monsters to earn money and equipment. If we can afford it, they'll naturally be willing to help defend the city."

Wu Feng thought for a moment and nodded.

That's a really good idea.

He currently has several hundred thousand taels of silver, and using a portion of it to recruit players is no problem at all.