Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

Zhao Xie quickly shook his head, "I never intended for the Imperial Guards to cooperate. The Imperial City Guard has never relied on sheer numbers to solve cases. We've been setting up this for so long, just waiting for Master Wang and Feng Jian to step forward on their own."

"The enemy hasn't even made a move yet, and we've already thrown ourselves into disarray, giving the bandits an opportunity to exploit us..."

Li Hang's voice deepened, "Changyan, this is not an ordinary case. If seven or eight hundred bandits attack and the city falls, your Imperial City Guard can bear the responsibility, but I, a mere county magistrate, cannot, nor can the four thousand people of the county!"

Zhao Xie stared at him. "Jingzhai, whether you can take the blame or not depends on how you fight. You asked me to arrest Jingchen and Master Wang, which is like cutting off branches. What I want is to uproot Mr. Yan's big tree."

"Prefect Wang sent only me to Puzhou for this very reason. If you report this now, and the news leaks out, Mr. Yan will back down, and this case will be solved forever."

Just as Li Hang was about to speak, Zhao Xie raised his hand to stop him.

"Jingzhai, to tell you the truth, before I came here, Chief Wang gave me a piece of advice: if things don't go well, Juancheng can be abandoned."

Li Hang's expression changed.

Zhang Sanlang's face also darkened.

Although Sun Jizu could still sit still, his gaze toward Zhao Xie was already hostile.

Zhao Xie stared at Li Hang, "What the nun at Yongning Nunnery heard is exactly the same as what the Investigation Division found. Wang Duzhi personally oversaw Mr. Yan's lead and registered him with the Investigation Division, but unfortunately, his identity is special, and we cannot act rashly without solid evidence."

"None of us know how many years this scheme has been in the works. As far as I know, this person's influence has penetrated into twenty or thirty prefectures. How many counties and prefectures have their people, and how many government offices have undercover agents like Feng Jian?"

"This case is in my hands, and I'm determined to get to the bottom of it. Even if things fail and Juancheng is destroyed, it's better than waiting for dozens of prefectures to rebel."

He paused, his voice lower but still firm, "Jingzhai, you are the magistrate of Juancheng County, it is only natural that you care about the people of the entire county. I am from the Imperial City Guard, I am concerned about the bigger picture."

"Today, to protect Juancheng, we're forcing Mr. Yan to retreat. But this time next year, it won't be just a few hundred defeated soldiers attacking your city gates; it will be tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, wreaking havoc on the land. At that point, it won't just be the people of one county who die! I can't afford to gamble!"

The air in the room grew increasingly tense.

Li Hang suddenly turned his head to look at Zhang Sanlang, "Shouli, what do you think?"

Zhang Sanlang lowered his eyelids and did not answer immediately.

He knew why Li Hang had asked him that question.

Of the four, Li Hang was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and Zhao Xie was the deputy commander of the Imperial City Guard. They were not from the imperial family, but must have been orphans of meritorious officials who were granted the surname.

Even Sun Jizu, who came from an even lower background, is now a county magistrate with military merit.

All three were officials, but he was the only clerk.

Officials focus on the big picture, on victory or defeat, and on the numbers reported afterward.

The clerk's daily tasks included handling the names on the fish-scale register, the rice and salt on the miscellaneous ration book, and knocking on every door when it came time to collect taxes.

Behind every name is a face.

He knew that Old Chen, who made tofu on East Street, had bad legs; he knew that there were twelve laborers and three widows crammed into a shack by the dock; he knew that at the end of Jinshi Lane, there was a family that owed two years' worth of summer taxes and only had half a jar of salt on their stove.

He could see these people's faces even when he closed his eyes.

The city gates were breached; officials could ride away on horseback, while the families of clerks remained in the alleys.

Zhang Sanlang's home was also in Jinshi Lane.

My daughter, Ximei, is ten years old, and my son, Qingge, is only six.

There are also Huangfu Yun, the Lin sisters, Wang Yue'e, and other living, breathing people, his relatives, neighbors, and friends who have been with him day and night for a year, whose fates will all be changed...

A pang of pain shot through him, and he abruptly raised his head. "Your concerns are valid. This matter has indeed exceeded Juancheng's capabilities. If anything goes wrong, the entire city's inhabitants will be the first to suffer. We will all be implicated as well."

Li Hang nodded slightly.

Seeing the two standing together, Zhao Xie frowned and turned to Sun Jizu.

He raised his voice slightly, with an aggressive tone, "County Commandant Sun, you're a man who's been on the battlefield."

"You know best what kind of bandits they are. These people are mainly deserters from the local militia who fled after last year's defeat. They're cowardly as rabbits. No matter how many there are, they're still spineless thugs. With you killing a few leaders in front of them, they'll surely scatter..."

He stared intently at Sun Jizu as he said this, his eyes seeming to encourage him, or perhaps to provoke him.

Li Hang didn't interrupt; he also looked at Sun Jizu.

The one-armed county constable had barely spoken since he entered the room, his back ramrod straight, his single arm resting on his knee, and his face expressionless.

Li Hang had always had confidence in Sun Jizu, and this confidence did not need to be confirmed with words.

However, given the current disparity in troop strength between the enemy and ourselves, whether the preemptive strikes we have already prepared can withstand the attack remains to be seen, and we'll have to hear what this veteran general has to say.

Meeting the gazes of the three men, Sun Jizu finally spoke, "I have heard everything you three just said."

"Your Excellency seeks stability, while Mr. Zhao seeks complete success. Each has their own reasons. I am a rough man and do not understand those grand principles; I will only speak of what I can do."

He raised his one arm off his knee and made a gesture.

"I've been training those hundred archers for the past few months, and they've made some progress. They practice archery for an hour every day, swordsmanship for an hour, marching drills in the afternoon, and night combat drills at dusk."

"They have a weak foundation, but they are willing to endure hardship. Their biggest problem right now is that they have never seen bloodshed. There is no other way but to fight them. As long as they survive this direct confrontation with the bandits, they will become an elite force after the battle, no less capable than the five hundred imperial guards in the prefecture."

He spoke casually about the Imperial Guards of Puyang, adding, "Furthermore, after taking office, I specifically surveyed the surrounding terrain..."

He spread his palms out and gestured to the name, "The autumn sacrifice is held at the Altar of the God of Earth and Grain. That place is outside the west gate of the city, and it is open on all sides. On one side of the official road is an earthen slope, which is covered with miscellaneous trees and can hide people."

"On the other side was a dry ditch, more than ten feet deep and twenty feet wide, with a bottom full of gravel. In front of the altar was an open area, which looked flat and had no cover on all sides. Once a person entered this area, they would be within range of crossbows from all directions..."

Li Hang listened intently, tapping his finger on the table.

Sun Jizu's tone turned somber, as if he were still in the army. "The enemy is numerous and not skilled in attacking cities. If we attack the city gate, only five or six people can open the gate at the very front."

"If we can't utilize our numerical advantage, we'll end up fighting a piecemeal battle, which is a major taboo in the military. I heard from Zhang Yashi that Feng Jian is a cunning fellow, and that so-called Master Wang has also served in the army, so naturally he wouldn't make such a foolish mistake."

"But the Altar of the God of Soil and Grain is different. The officials of the whole city go out to perform the autumn sacrifice. In their eyes, it's like a piece of fat meat delivered to their mouths. As long as they surround the Altar of the God of Soil and Grain and capture the magistrate and all the officials, Juancheng will fall without a fight."

"Therefore, they will definitely come to the Altar of Earth and Grain!"

Li Hang nodded; this was the consensus reached by the four of them after much discussion.