Border Soldiers: My granaries are full of grain and meat, and I guard this region.

Three days later, a message from Qing Shi Ao shook the entire county government.

Zhong Shao looked at the message in his hand and trembled uncontrollably.

Zhao Tongchuan, who was standing nearby, quickly stepped forward and asked, "Military Advisor Zhong, what happened? Could it be that the Rong have attacked?"

Zhong Shao shook his head and simply handed the document in his hand to Zhao Tongchuan.

Zhao Tongchuan took it and was immediately stunned, his eyes widening in surprise.

"This, this!"

Zhong Shao took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

"Guards! Summon Qi Feng immediately!"

Qi Feng was adjusting the newly installed condenser pipe in the backyard of Ye Family Restaurant.

Now, he no longer needs to supervise the brewing process every day. He has transformed the original simple brewing tools into a standardized process, and he has also taught the extraction techniques to the Yu Yourong and Ye Lin sisters. The three of them can take turns watching the machine every day.

The original large iron pot was transformed by a blacksmith into something resembling a furnace, with a thin iron pipe extending into the passageway, leading to the raw liquor.

The fire burned continuously in the furnace. Once the furnace lid was closed, another condenser pipe connected to the furnace lid and angled downwards into a container.

Once the fire is turned on, the raw liquor inside the furnace will continuously evaporate, condense, and become distilled liquor, which drips into the vessel.

Ye Ling Shuang and her sister, along with Yu You Rong, only need to refill the original liquor every two incense sticks.

Just after Qi Feng finished adjusting the condenser tube, Wang Chong rushed to Ye Family Restaurant and found Qi Feng.

"Brother Qi, Military Advisor Zhong requests your immediate attention; something has happened!"

Qi Feng was taken aback upon hearing this, and then asked unhurriedly:

"What happened? Why are you in such a panic? Could it be that the Great Rong have attacked?"

Wang Chong shook his head.

"This... I don't know. Military Advisor Zhong only said that he has important matters to discuss with you and asked you to come over immediately."

Qi Feng nodded, his expression unchanged, and calmly went to the county government office.

When they arrived at the county government office, Zhong Shao and Zhao Tongchuan were in the back hall. The map on the table was spread out, and Zhong Shao had drawn the location of Qing Shi Ao over and over again. A striking ink line connected Qing Shi Ao and Fuxing County.

Qi Feng glanced at the two men; both Zhong Shao and Zhao Tongchuan looked extremely grim.

"Military Advisor Zhong, could it be that the Great Rong have attacked?"

Zhong Shao shook his head.

"This morning, a group of Rong cavalry was spotted near Qingshi'ao. There were only twelve of them wandering around west of Qingshi'ao. Recently, the villages near Qingshi'ao have been deserted. This group of Rong cavalry has grown increasingly greedy and has already crossed Qingshi'ao towards Fuxing County."

"After receiving the scouts' message, I immediately dispatched a hundred-man squad from Duma Village to investigate. I figured that since it was only twelve men, a hundred men would be enough. I even gave them the twelve warhorses that Duma Village had left."

Qi Feng narrowed his eyes slightly, already guessing what had happened: "What was the result?"

Zhong Shao sighed, feeling disappointed and frustrated.

"That hundred-man squad fought the twelve riders for less than half an hour on the east side of Qing Shi Ao, and they were completely scattered! More than a dozen died, more than twenty were wounded, and the rest all ran back, even losing six horses! Da Rong only had twelve riders, yet they managed to scatter this hundred-man squad!"

Zhong Shao grew angrier as he spoke, his face turning red and his fists clenched tightly.

Zhao Tongchuan rolled his Adam's apple and moved his lips as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't speak, afraid of making Zhong Shao even angrier.

Duma Village has long been located around Fuxing County. As the magistrate of Fuxing County, Zhao Tongchuan has the obligation and responsibility to supervise Duma Village's training. However, this victory only highlights his inaction.

After listening to Zhong Shao's words, Qi Feng's expression did not change. He walked to the map and looked at the location of Qing Shi Ao. He gestured with his hand to indicate the distance from Qing Shi Ao to Fuxing County. Along the way, Qi Feng also saw Qi Family Village sandwiched in the middle.

"What about the twelve scouts?"

Zhong Shao squinted.

"They've continued eastward. After driving away the people from Duma Village, that group became even more arrogant and continued eastward. Judging by the time, they're probably almost at Qijia Village now."

The atmosphere was quiet for a while. Qi Feng stood in front of the map without saying a word, his finger pressed on the location of Qi Family Village, his eyes fixed on the distance from Qing Shi Ao to Qi Family Village.

Qijia Village had just been reinforced, and the walls had been raised less than three days ago, but if it were to resist those twelve riders, it would probably only be able to hold out for a while.

Zhao Tongchuan finally spoke, his voice trembling slightly.

"The hundred garrison soldiers of Duma Village have been scattered, and what about Qijia Village..."

Zhao Tongchuan didn't continue, but his meaning was already clear.

Qijia Village has only a little over a hundred households, all of whom are farmers. They simply cannot withstand the well-equipped vanguard cavalry of the Great Rong.

If a decision isn't made soon, Qijia Village may be plunged into bloodshed.

Zhong Shao and Zhao Tongchuan both focused their attention on Qi Feng, knowing that Qi Feng came from Qi Family Village.

Qi Feng was silent for a moment, then asked:

"How many of the men who fled from Duma Village are still capable of fighting?"

Zhong Shao began to speak:

"There are only thirty or forty men left who can stand up, but their morale has completely collapsed, and they can't be counted on anymore."

Qi Feng nodded, his tone calm.

Are those thirty county soldiers still around?

"They're all at the drill ground."

After saying that, Zhong Shao stepped forward and grabbed Qi Feng's arm.

"Brother Qi, if you're willing to lead troops to intercept them, I'll provide you with whatever you need! I don't require you to kill them, I just ask that you force them back and protect Qi Family Village!"

Qi Feng nodded.

"Then prepare a set of fine leather armor for each of them. The swords shouldn't be dull, the spears shouldn't be worn out, and the bows must be top-notch!"

"Then prepare a few more carriages and get to Qijia Village as quickly as possible. I just finished repairing the barricades and walls around Qijia Village a few days ago. If those twelve scouts haven't arrived yet, we can still go there now. Even if they do arrive, the walls and barricades around Qijia Village will buy us some time."

After saying that, Qi Feng turned and left.

"We need to be quick, time waits for no one!"

Hearing Qi Feng's words, Zhong Shao and Zhao Tongchuan recovered from their shock.

They originally thought Qi Feng would refuse, but they never expected that Qi Feng would actually have the courage to take on this task.

However, when they thought about Qi Feng's usual way of training the county soldiers, Zhong Shao and Zhao Tongchuan became worried again.

Zhong Shao shook his head. He had no one else he could rely on, so he could only trust Qi Feng.

Suppressing his unease, Zhong Shao spoke to Zhao Tongchuan:

"Alright, I'll go to the storeroom right away and prepare the leather armor and weapons for those thirty men. Magistrate Zhao, please have someone prepare carriages at the city gate. Everything is up to Brother Qi's arrangements!"

Zhao Tongchuan nodded, and the two immediately set off, ready to fully cooperate with Qi Feng.