A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

Outside the Wangbei Village camp, Zhao Daxuan looked at the refugees pouring in from the other city gates around him with a solemn expression.

"Why are there so many refugees all of a sudden?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Lide chimed in, "I've already asked around. They all heard that joining the army here not only includes room and board, but also a resettlement allowance!"

"The news spread like wildfire, and everyone who heard it rushed over!"

Zhao Daxuan glanced at the densely packed crowd in the camp and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"There are already over five thousand people in the camp, right? What's the maximum number of people they can accommodate?"

Qin Lide thought for a moment.

"If we only consider the space for sleeping and passage, the camp can accommodate up to 10,000 people. It has already accommodated more than 5,000 people, and there are also more than 1,000 new recruits."

"It is estimated that once the camp is filled with 10,000 people, your troops will number around 2,000."

As he spoke, Qin Lide looked at Zhao Daxuan with a somewhat solemn expression.

"There's another problem: once the camp reaches 10,000 people, it won't be able to accommodate any more refugees. What will happen to the other refugees surrounding the camp?"

"Those refugees are now penniless and without food. It might be inappropriate to simply keep them outside the camp!"

"We don't have towering city walls to stop them. If they do something irrational, it'll be difficult to handle!"

Zhao Daxuan also looked at the refugees outside the camp with a solemn expression. He could imagine that if they were starving, they might do something irrational.

"Here's what we'll do: once the camp's quota is filled, we'll tell the other refugees outside the camp that we'll be providing free porridge outside the camp every day. If they have hope of survival, they won't cause any trouble."

Qin Lide nodded. "Indeed, this would save us a lot of trouble, but do we have that much food?"

Zhao Daxuan lowered his voice and said, "Don't worry, the porridge distribution will only take a day or two."

"The Tartar army is running out of food and will take action in the next few days. A major battle is imminent, and many problems will be solved after the battle."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Lide's expression changed. "So fast!"

"Yes, so we need to make preparations quickly these next few days and go all out. These next few days will be the most difficult. But Village Chief Qin, please don't spread this news yet, lest it cause panic."

Qin Lide gave a wry smile, "Alright, alright, I know. This old man will just have to go all out and urge them to finish it as soon as possible."

Zhang Daxuan smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Village Chief Qin. You can get some rest after the battle is over."

Qin Lide waved his hand, shook his head with a wry smile, and left.

As dusk approached that day, Li Shishi and her sister finally completed the installation of the [Steam-Powered Barricade] and the [Steam-Powered Fire Dragon Sprayer].

When Li Shishi and her sister arrived in front of Zhang Daxuan, they breathed a sigh of relief, their foreheads covered in fine beads of sweat.

"Phew, mission accomplished! We've spread out our defenses as much as possible, but there's still a third of the defenses that can only be held back by trenches."

Zhao Daxuan reached into his pocket, took out the tissues he had won from the lucky draw from his personal space, and wiped the sweat from Li Shishi and her sister's foreheads.

"It's alright, just do your best. The camp will finish digging the trenches by tomorrow, and then we'll have the resources to make some regular barricades, which will also be of some use."

Afterwards, Zhao Daxuan escorted the two women back to the Zhao residence in Zhenbei City, and then rushed to the core camp to find Yue Zhenyuan. With the great battle approaching, he still needed to communicate with him to confirm some of the tactics.

"General, according to my prediction, the Tartar army will definitely head towards Zhenbei City after sweeping through the surrounding villages and towns in the next two days."

"Nowadays, the refugees in Wangbei City are mostly concentrated outside the South Gate, and the camp where I am stationed is the most conspicuous outside the city."

"When the Tartar army attacks that camp, will the troops in the city provide support?"

Yue Zhenyuan leaned back in his seat, tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest, and slowly began to speak.

"Commander Zhao, I cannot give you a definite answer right now. But I can tell you that as long as we can confirm that the Tartars have no ambush or traps, the army in the city will naturally come to our aid."

"Moreover, the original purpose of sending you out of the city to garrison was not only to save face for our city guards, but also to create an opportunity for a coordinated attack from within!"

"The army will surely be mobilized when the time is right! In fact, the troops of the other captains have been frequently mobilized in the past few days."

"If they hadn't driven out the Tartar cavalry that were looting outside the city, the area outside the city would probably have been devastated long ago, even without the arrival of the Tartar army."

Zhao Daxuan nodded upon hearing this and smiled as he looked at Yue Zhenyuan.

"That's enough from the general. I will try my best to create a suitable opportunity outside the city. I hope that the people inside the city will pay close attention and seize the fleeting opportunity."

"By the way, General, I would also like to ask your permission to provide me with another thousand sets of armor and arrows. It's so dangerous outside the city; you need to give me more protection!"

Yue Zhenyuan raised an eyebrow. "With so many weapons, can you even use them all?"

"Of course we can use them all! How could we not? I can recruit two thousand men tomorrow, and then we won't have enough weapons!"

Yue Zhenyuan waved his hand helplessly, took out a piece of paper, wrote down the approval note, and handed it to Zhao Daxuan.

"There's not much I can do to help you. A great battle is coming soon, so be careful."

Zhao Daxuan happily accepted the approval slip, nodded his thanks, and said, "Don't worry, General, wait for my good news."

Then, he took the IOU to the supply depot and met the same round-faced warehouse manager as before.

Zhao Daxuan reached out and slapped the approval slip onto the table.

"Oh? It's you again! That's perfect, no need for introductions. This is the general's order: a thousand soldiers and arrows, to be delivered to the camp five kilometers outside the city by tomorrow morning."

The round-faced warehouse manager chuckled as he picked up the approval slip, patted his chest, and assured Zhao Daxuan.

"Lord Zhao, rest assured, it will be delivered to you by tomorrow morning, and it will all be top-quality goods!"

Zhao Daxuan looked at the other person with a strange expression.

The round-faced armory manager, noticing the other's confusion, smiled slightly and said, "Thanks to Lord Zhao, I was just promoted to Assistant Armory Manager today!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Daxuan raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "You're so clever, you deserve to be the Treasury Manager."

After taking a detour around the city and finishing a few things, Zhao Daxuan returned to the Wangbei Village camp. Starting today, he would be spending the night at the camp.

To prevent a midnight attack by the Tartars, we need to be even more cautious as we approach the end of the game.

Fortunately, the night passed peacefully.

The next day, the Tartar raids continued, and even became more frequent.

The increasing number of injured refugees pouring in from other city gates demonstrates just how intense the attacks on those gates were.

In just one morning, the camp was filled with 10,000 people, and Zhao Daxuan's soldiers numbered 2,000.

Five hundred of them were converted into Xuanjia Cavalry by Zhao Daxuan, while the remaining fifteen hundred were all heavy sword and shield soldiers.

However, due to the short timeframe, most soldiers are not fully equipped. Fortunately, the equipment from Bailianfang and the supply battalion has been delivered.

This way, at least everyone would have a weapon, and several hundred scimitars would be given to some civilians in the camp so they could use them when needed.

Of course, these are only temporary loans and must be taken back after the war.

The five hundred Xuanjia cavalry were equipped with scimitars and carried bows and arrows. Their warhorses were also fitted with special iron hooves sent by Bailianfang. If Tartar cavalry attacked around the south gate, they would use them as practice targets.

After leaving behind more than a hundred heads, the Tartar cavalry harassed the refugees outside the south gate less and less.

As dusk approached and the Tartar cavalry retreated, Zhao Daxuan prepared to follow them on horseback.

Before leaving, Zhao Daxuan instructed Li Erlong, "Erlong, I'll go and take a look to see if I can find anything. You'll have to keep a close eye on the camp here."

Having experienced the loss of territory in the north last time, Li Erlong already knew Zhao Daxuan's capabilities, so he did not try to persuade him and nodded heavily.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things, nothing will happen."

Zhao Daxuan nodded, and then followed the retreating Tartar cavalry at a distance using his perception field.