Our family has been rebelling for generations, and you've become the top scholar in the imperia

"You bastard!"

Commander's Office.

Ding Yitao stared at the letter that had been delivered, then slammed his hand on the table beside him, breaking it in two. His expression was so dark it seemed to drip water.

Not only did some officials lose their jobs, but even the deputy commander who went there was captured by Qin Feng.

What's most outrageous is that this guy actually dared to send a message over.

Three thousand bushels of grain can redeem the deputy commander.

That's right!

That's what it said in the letter: redeem it.

"Who sent this news from the capital? Is this the top scholar? Is this a scholar? This kid is even more despicable than those spineless eunuchs."

Ding Yitao took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

He had painstakingly cultivated this border area for many years, and it could be said that everyone here, from top to bottom, was his man.

"Commander, I believe that we should not make an enemy of Qin Feng in this matter."

Just then.

A staff member stepped forward with a smile and whispered:

"Give them the grain. General Gou only has a little over two thousand men. The rest of the troops were all transferred from the prefecture. Their quality is uneven, and you should know very well how effective they are in actual combat. It will be very difficult for them to stop the grassland warriors."

"Defending the city is no problem, but if they want to break through Pingsha Pass, Wild Boarskin won't be able to do it in a short time. At most, they can just surround it; otherwise, they'll have to use human lives to fill the gap!"

Ding Yitao gritted his teeth and replied.

Of all the great battles, the siege of a city is the most difficult.

It would take several times the number of people to fill the gap before it could be captured.

Although General Gou only has a little over two thousand men, they are the elite of the elite. With these men leading the way, even if the remaining ten thousand soldiers are incompetent, they should be able to defend the city without any problems.

"No!"

The advisor gave a sinister smile and glanced back at the servants in the hall.

"You few, get out. No one is to come in without orders."

"Commander, attacking the grasslands is indeed not easy, but don't forget, the biggest problem in defending a city is food. Not only soldiers, but also laborers are needed to help within the city. Feeding so many people is impossible if the granaries run into problems!"

"It's dry and windy now, so it's hard to say... Some of the soldiers sent from various prefectures have lived here on the border for years, and their families are here too."

Although the words were not explicitly stated.

Ding Yitao immediately understood.

If something goes wrong with the Pingshaguan granary, with wild boar hides surrounding it, it's impossible to send grain there.

It has become a dead city.

It's impossible to hold out for too long, and if there's no food, the soldiers inside will rebel.

However, doing this would be tantamount to sending more than 20,000 people from Pingsha Pass to their deaths.

Ding Yitao frowned and fell into deep thought, unable to make up his mind for a moment.

After the last defeat, he thought that, given the nature of those civil officials in the court, they would surely dissuade the emperor from negotiating with the grasslands and continuing to increase the annual tribute.

No one expected that the emperor not only didn't want to talk, but also directly summoned General Gou to continue fighting the grasslands.

"Commander, the grasslands must be defended. If the grasslands are defeated, the court will definitely investigate the events of the past. Millions of taels of silver are spent every year. Without the grasslands, that money will be gone."

Seeing Ding Yitao's gloomy and uncertain expression, the aide whispered a reminder.

He was very certain.

Neither Ding Yitao nor any of the officials in the entire border prefecture wanted the grasslands to lose.

This includes the civil officials in the imperial court.

If the grasslands lose, the imperial court will lose millions of taels of silver every year.

This is not just one person's problem; it involves countless people.

Moreover, if the grasslands lose, Ding Yitao's position as commander will likely be in jeopardy.

It is precisely because troubles frequently occur on the grasslands that the imperial court, in order to maintain stability, will not change the position of the commander. However, if the grasslands are defeated and no match for the Great Zhou, it is hard to say whether the emperor will replace Ding Yitao.

"Can we find someone to help with this?"

"Humble job!"

"Give the order to all prefectures and counties to gather enough grain, even if they have to sell their property, and send it to Pingsha Pass as soon as possible. Also, send a letter saying that I, the commander, am willing to fully cooperate with Supervisor Qin."

After pondering for a moment, Ding Yitao gritted his teeth and gave the order.

"Your subordinate obeys!"

The advisor bowed and immediately withdrew.

……

Pingsha Pass.

Inside the dusty city, Qin Feng got off the carriage and looked at the dilapidated city walls and the shops with their doors tightly closed. He couldn't help but cover his mouth and nose and sigh.

Soldiers who have come here can be seen everywhere on the streets.

They sat on the ground, each clutching a weapon, staring blankly, seemingly lost in thought.

Compared to General Gou's own two thousand men, these men were hardly soldiers at all; how could they possibly withstand a wild boar's hide?

To be honest, as soon as Qin Feng arrived and got a general idea of ​​what was going on, he even considered running away.

If all 20,000 people are of this quality, we might as well not fight at all.

Let's just surrender.

They were no match at all.

"You're being reckless. Why are you arresting the deputy commander? Have you lost your mind? I just want to protect you. This matter is too serious. Ding Yitao is the commander. Aren't you afraid...?"

General Gou dismounted and looked at the soldiers sitting on the ground in the distance. He couldn't help but wave to the people behind him.

Most of the soldiers assembled from other prefectures were like this.

Even though he punished many people, he still had no will to fight.

"General, if all soldiers are of this quality, I think we should go home. We can't hold out."

Qin Feng shook his head, sighed, and walked towards the soldiers opposite him.

"Where are you from, fellow villager?"

He squatted down in front of one of the older men, and asked with a smile.

"Greetings, sir. I... I'll go train now. I've only rested for a short while, but I'll be moving things right away."

"Don't rush!"

Qin Feng grabbed the other person's cotton armor, felt its texture, and his expression immediately darkened.

empty!

It was empty inside!

"Let me see your weapon."

Taking the knife from the other party and feeling its weight, Qin Feng turned around and looked at General Gou with a puzzled expression.

"General, please give it a try."

talking.

He threw the knife over.

General Gou took it and was stunned; his face darkened.

"Bring me a knife!"

He roared angrily from behind.

After comparing the two knives in his hands, General Gou suddenly raised one of them and slashed at the other.

"Snap!"

The knife Qin Feng handed over snapped in two with a snap, so brittle it was practically unbreakable.

"Which unit are you from? Which prefecture are you from? Cao Bai, follow this fellow villager and gather all the soldiers in his unit, get them armed and equipped!"

There is a problem with the weapon.

And it's a big problem; this is clearly a poorly made weapon.

You want to use this to skin wild boars?

Isn't this a dream?

To put it bluntly, with this weight, it would be difficult to even cut down a tree, let alone a person.

"General Gou, I am the military supervisor, and I will handle matters of military preparedness. I will certainly give the entire army an explanation!"

"A creature like that defending a city is doomed!"

"I'm afraid many soldiers have these kinds of things."

Qin Feng pulled General Gou aside and lowered his voice, saying:

"Let's see how it goes. If it's all this kind of stuff, then we'll have to think of another way."

I don't know why.

General Gou suddenly felt that Qin Feng's tone and gaze had become somewhat frightening.