Chapter 57: Fight! Fight! Ten Thousand Fights!

Li Ruochen put back on her somewhat battered armor and stood back up. "My brave soldiers, generals fight a hundred battles and die, brave warriors return only after ten years. I do not know how many of us can return alive, but I implore you all to buy a little more time with me."

A soldier with his head half-wrapped in gauze shouted, "If the General does not retreat, we shall fight to the death and never retreat!"

A younger soldier spoke up, "When I first joined the army, I told the General I was homesick. It was the General who gave me ten silver coins to send home. Otherwise, my family would likely have starved to death long ago. Today, I am simply returning this life to the General."

"The General is a young lady of a noble house, yet today she is willing to fight to the death here for the common people. How could we men dare to take even half a step back?"

All six hundred and more men had stood up. Every single one of them bore countless wounds, and sheer willpower was the only reason they were able to stay on their feet.

Everyone's bodies were stained in shades of dark red, soaked through with countless bloodstains. In the entire Great Qian Dynasty, how many armies could be found to match them?

Li Ruochen felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. If these men could be allowed to survive and given time, they might one day forge another invincible iron army for Great Qian.

Now, all of that had vanished into thin air. In this northwestern frontier, military manpower was already desperately scarce, let alone the fact that those high-and-mighty lords never cared about this desolate place at all.

How much wealth could the entire northwestern region possibly generate?

Compared to those prosperous and fertile lands, it was simply not worth mentioning.

To expect those lords, who only knew how to look down from above, to care about this place was nothing short of a delusional joke.

Li Ruochen bowed deeply to everyone. "Thank you all for being willing to die with me. But before we die, we must let these barbarians know our valor!"

"Fight! Fight! Ten thousand fights!"

The cries originating from the depths of their souls intertwined, and Li Ruochen charged once again.

Meanwhile, the soldier who had been sent back earlier to deliver the news finally arrived at Qingyuan County. By the time he reached the city gates, the horse he rode was already foaming at the mouth and convulsing on the ground, clearly beyond saving.

When the guards watching the city gates saw this blood-soaked frontier soldier, an ominous premonition stirred deep within their hearts.

And this frontier soldier kept repeating the news of the border defenses being breached, his hand tightly clutching a blood-written letter.

The city guards immediately reported the matter to Lin Changhe and Wang Mingyuan.

As the chief military commander and the head of the civil officials of Qingyuan County, Lin Changhe and Wang Mingyuan met at the county yamen at the very first moment. Wang Mingyuan was already reading that blood-written letter.

When Wang Mingyuan finished reading, his expression had turned grim. "Changhe, how many men can you mobilize right now?"

Lin Changhe furrowed his brows. "You know our situation here as well as I do. Even if we scrape the bottom of the barrel, we can only muster five hundred men."

"Immediately send men to Jiangyang City to report this matter. No matter what, you must make them send reinforcements."

Lin Changhe summoned one of his personal guards on the spot and instructed him to handle the matter, specifically adding that if the other party showed no intention of dispatching troops, he could directly invoke the name of the Wang family.

As one of the eight great noble clans, the Wang family naturally carried weight. No matter what, the other side would probably still save some face.

Wang Mingyuan immediately unrolled a map—a map stretching all the way from the border to Qingyuan County. "Li Ruochen should be holding the enemy off here right now, but she cannot buy much time. Her forces are simply too small."

Lin Changhe glanced at it and said, "Beyond this point, there are over a hundred villages and four towns, totaling about fifty thousand people in all. It is impossible to evacuate all of them."

Wang Mingyuan swept his finger across the map. "Even five hundred men must go! Changhe, take your men immediately and gather everyone from the surrounding villages to set up a defense line right here."

"If this Kan River is used as a defense line, it probably won't be enough at all. The barbarian army numbers in the tens of thousands; it won't hold them back for long."

Wang Mingyuan said earnestly, "I do not ask for much. Delay them for as many days as we can, and save as many lives as we can."

Lin Changhe laughed heartily. "You, you really are an oddity of the Wang family. If those old fellows heard you say this, there's no telling if they would suspect where such a descendant ever popped out from."

"Stop spouting sarcasm here. I can accept sacrifice and bloodshed, but some things are simply necessary."

Lin Changhe cupped his fists. "I can buy three days at most. After three days, I must withdraw. Is that acceptable?"

Wang Mingyuan smiled faintly. "Three days is already enough. After all, we have at least tried; that is still better than the others."

Without delay, Lin Changhe set out with his own troops and every bailiff from the county yamen.

Along the way, they began conscripting able-bodied laborers directly from every village and town. This time, there was no room for negotiation—all were forcibly drafted. After all, the Kan River was less than ten meters wide and its water was at most one meter deep.

To construct a defense line in the shortest possible time, they had to requisition every single person they could use.

Wang Mingyuan also began visiting the prominent families door-to-door within Qingyuan County.

The first on the list was Huang Wantcai. When Wang Mingyuan arrived at his doorstep, Huang Wantcai showed no surprise.

After all, the Huang family's informants were spread across the entirety of Qingyuan County, so the news brought by the frontier soldier had essentially been witnessed by people, and Wang Mingyuan had not intended to keep the news under wraps anyway.

Inside the main hall, Huang Wantcai sat in the seat of honor. "Lord Wang, you surely haven't come here today just to fleece me alone, have you?"

Wang Mingyuan said calmly, "I know your family is wealthy enough to drip with oil. Besides, if you do not offer some assistance, the others probably won't loosen their purses either."

"Since Lord Wang has paid a personal visit today, I naturally must show some courtesy. I just wonder what demands Lord Wang has, so I can see whether I am able to help."

Wang Mingyuan held up a single finger. "I am not making things difficult for you. You only need to provide me with ten days' worth of grain, and I ask for nothing else."

Huang Wantcai narrowed his eyes and said, "According to your meaning, Lord Wang, there is probably no upper limit on the headcount. Even if you ask me to supply the entire city, am I supposed to swallow my pride and accept it?"

Wang Mingyuan flicked his sleeve. "I have no desire to pursue what you have done in the past, but if you do not know what is good for you, I wouldn't mind investigating things thoroughly."

Huang Wantcai suddenly smiled warmly. "Whatever Lord Wang says goes. The Huang family accepts this matter."