Online Game: Me, with Unparalleled Comprehension

Zhao Mingyuan came out of the secret room and returned to his study. He summoned the steward and ordered him to gather the family's private soldiers and retainers.

Li Demao also left through the secret passage and returned to his own residence, where he too began to mobilize his troops.

The atmosphere in the city began to become subtle.

Meanwhile, in a restaurant in the center of Yingzhou City, Li Hu was sitting in a private room on the second floor, leaning against the window, slowly sipping a cup of tea.

The street downstairs was bustling with people, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

But Li Hu kept his eyes on those furtive figures.

He had already sent people to keep an eye on the scouts who ran back from the direction of the city gate.

A player dressed in a gray outfit walked up the stairs quickly. He stood in front of Li Hu and said in a low voice, "Captain Li, those two aristocratic men really couldn't sit still. They started making their move as soon as Wu Changfeng left."

Li Hu put down his teacup, his face expressionless, and nodded: "Understood. Go and inform Xiong Batian to be on guard and prepare accordingly."

The man responded, turned around, walked to the window, flipped over, and leaped out, using his lightness skill to leave through the window.

His figure leaped and bounded across the rooftop a few times before quickly disappearing from sight.

Li Hu stood up, walked to the window, and looked down. The street was quiet, everything as usual.

But things were already starting to stir up in the shadows.

He turned to look at the other people sitting in the private room. They were all his military players, dressed in tight-fitting clothes, with swords at their waists and calm expressions.

"You all should go and prepare as well," Li Hu said calmly. "Meet the people who are coming. If you can't handle them, I'll signal you to bring reinforcements from the gentry in the city."

Several people stood up at the same time, clasped their hands in greeting, and replied, "Understood, Captain Li."

After saying that, they filed out of the private room and went their separate ways.

Li Hu sat down again, picked up his teacup, and took another sip.

He glanced at the sky outside the window; the sun had already risen, and the sunlight shone brightly on the street.

Wu Feng's tactic of luring the snake out of its hole was indeed effective.

The snake moved as soon as the person left.

The next question is how big these two snakes are, and whether we can catch them both in one fell swoop.

While undercurrents were swirling in Yingzhou City, Wu Feng and his men had already arrived in Yong'an County.

The county town came into view ahead. The city walls were not high, and were grayish, only about two or three zhang high.

Several guards stood at the city gate, holding long spears, leaning lazily against the gate.

You can see people moving around on the city wall, but they are few and far between and don't seem very energetic.

Wu Feng reined in his horse and gestured for the people behind him to stop.

The procession of over a thousand people stopped on the official road and lined up in several rows.

The dust kicked up by the horses' hooves had not yet settled and was still floating in the morning light.

The people on the city wall quickly spotted them.

A large group of people came over, a dark mass, the sound of their horses' hooves making the ground tremble.

The soldiers guarding the city instantly changed their expressions. Someone shouted at the top of their lungs, and chaos erupted at the city gate.

Several guards hurriedly herded the civilians still standing outside the city gate inside, and then together pushed the two heavy wooden doors shut with a creaking sound.

The bolt was inserted, and several more pieces of wood were added to hold it in place.

People on the city wall started running, and someone rang the alarm bell, the clanging sound echoing over the county town.

More soldiers poured out of the city's barracks and ran towards the city walls, some carrying swords and spears, others carrying bows and arrows, making a ruckus but moving quickly.

Wu Feng, mounted on his horse, looked at the city wall opposite him, his expression unchanged.

As soon as the alarm bell rang, the county garrison commander and even the county magistrate gathered on the city wall.

The magistrate was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a green official robe and a black gauze hat. He stood behind the crenellations of the city wall, his face pale, his hands resting on the bricks of the wall, looking out of the city.

The garrison commander stood beside him, a man in his early thirties, dressed in full armor with a long sword hanging at his waist. His brows were furrowed as he looked at the dark mass of troops outside the city, his lips pressed tightly together.

The county magistrate's assistant stood behind him. He was short, hunched over, his eyes darting around, and his expression was not good.

Behind the three men stood a dozen or so guards, some holding knives, some holding guns, and two carrying bows and arrows. Their expressions were all rather unnatural.

The guards on the city wall ran around, some hiding behind the crenellations, others placing their quivers at their feet, nocking arrows, and pointing them out of the city.

Wu Feng rode on his horse, with more than a thousand people behind him standing in several rows on the official road.

The dust kicked up by the horses' hooves had not yet settled and was still floating in the morning light.

He pulled on the reins and rode his horse a few steps forward, getting closer to the city gate.

The people on the city wall saw him riding alone, and they gripped their bows and arrows even tighter. Several of them had already drawn their bows fully, with the arrowheads aimed at him.

Wu Feng raised his head and looked up at the top of the city wall.

His gaze swept across the faces of the county magistrate, the garrison commander, and the county assistant, and then looked at the guards on both sides holding bows and arrows.

He shouted, his voice not loud, but filled with internal energy, so that everyone on the city wall could hear him clearly.

"I am Wu Changfeng, the governor of Yingzhou. Yong'an County is under siege, and you cannot hold it. Surrender outside the city and you will be spared. I have no intention of causing too much bloodshed, so I will give you a way out. Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy."

The sound echoed between the city walls and the official road, unhurried but each word carrying weight.

There was a moment of silence on the city wall.

The garrison commander loosened his grip on the hilt of his sword, then tightened it again, and turned to glance at the magistrate.

The magistrate's face turned even paler, his lips moved but he couldn't utter a word.

The county magistrate peeked out from behind the county magistrate, glanced outside the city, and quickly withdrew, his hands gripping his sleeves so tightly his knuckles turned white.

The garrison commander turned to look at the magistrate again and said in a low voice, "Sir, there are at least a thousand men outside the city, while we only have four hundred or so garrison troops inside. We can't win."

The magistrate swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

His hands, gripping the brick wall, were trembling; his fingernails dug into the cracks, and his knuckles turned white.

The defender continued, lowering his voice even further: "How about... we lower the stakes?"

The magistrate turned his head sharply, staring at the guard, his eyes bloodshot.

"Surrender?" The magistrate's voice shrieked. "How will we explain this to the Liao Kingdom? Our families are in their hands. If we surrender, what will they do?"

The garrison commander opened his mouth, but said nothing more.

The county magistrate whispered from behind, "Sir, why don't we hold the line for now? There are still a few hundred men in the city. The city walls aren't high, but they can hold them off for a while. They've come from afar without siege equipment, so they won't be able to get up there anytime soon."

The magistrate took a deep breath, his chest heaving a few times.

He turned to look outside the city. Wu Feng was still on his horse, standing alone in front of the city gate, while the large army behind him remained stationary in the distance.

The magistrate gritted his teeth, and the flesh on his face twitched twice.

He suddenly raised his hand, waved it towards the archers on the city wall, and shouted hoarsely, "Loose the arrows! Shoot him dead!"

The garrison commander was stunned for a moment, wanting to say something, but the magistrate had already spoken.

Upon hearing the order, some archers hesitated for a moment, while others immediately released their bowstrings.

More than a dozen arrows shot down from the city wall, whistling through the air, flying towards Wu Feng's direction.

Wu Feng watched the arrows fly towards him, his face expressionless.

He pulled on the reins, turned the horse around, and patted its rump with his right hand.

The black horse neighed and galloped onto the official road, its hooves kicking up a cloud of dust.