Chapter 359: Don’t Call This Rabbit a Ragtag Mob
Chapter 359: Don’t Call This Rabbit a Ragtag Mob
Seeing so many people gathered by the dock, Bai Yuan chuckled. “Lord Feng, look—we’ve got over three thousand here! Quite a sizable number.”
Feng Jun: “But what we have is a mob of three thousand, and Wang Jiayin’s got fifty thousand!”
“Wow, calling who a ragtag mob!?” Ground Rabbit tailing behind Bai Yuan felt offended. Originally assigned to guard Gao Yiye, he’d been handed over to Bai Yuan and quietly followed to Qiachuan Port. He’d stayed low-key till now, causing no trouble, but hearing Feng Jun call them a ragtag mob—how could he endure that?
Stepping forward, Ground Rabbit huffed, “Lord Feng, though you’re a high official, don’t underestimate the Gaojia Village Militia! I, the top fighter of the militia, known throughout jianghu as Ground Rabbit, am unmatched in martial prowess—’One Sword Shines Coldly Across Forty States’! Calling me ragtag—wouldn’t that be disrespectful?”
His utterly confident stance, cocky tone, and puffed-up posture made Feng Jun pause and scrutinize Ground Rabbit head to toe. Perhaps… he really is skilled?
Feng Jun clasped his fists respectfully. “My apologies for the earlier thoughtless words. Might Hero Rabbit share his thoughts on the present situation?”
Hearing this, Bai Yuan sighed inwardly: Oh no, the rabbit’s about to reveal his true feathers.
Feeling proud that even a county magistrate would “seek his wisdom,” Ground Rabbit tilted his nose skyward. “Lord Feng, you’ve counted the enemy forces wrong. Wang Jiayin doesn’t have fifty thousand men.”
Feng Jun: “This figure comes from official military intelligence. How could it be wrong?”
Ground Rabbit reasoned, “He might field fifty thousand on land, but attacking our port along the Yellow River? Impossible. How many come depends entirely on how many boats he has.”
Feng Jun paused, then lit up. “Brilliant point, Hero Rabbit! Hahaha! How could Wang Jiayin have so many ships? Boats are scarce on these tricky river currents! Even plundering along the way, he’d never gather vessels for fifty thousand. At best, he sends a vanguard.”
Ground Rabbit swelled with pride. “Exactly! He won’t send more than ten thousand. With over three thousand of us defending the wooden palisade by the shore, he’d need five times our number—at least fifteen thousand—to breach landings. How could we possibly lose!?”
Feng Jun thought: This self-styled Ground Rabbit… actually makes sense. Calculated and reasoned, not empty bluster.
“Hahaha!” Feng Jun laughed heartily. “This puts my worries to rest!”
The moment his laugh ended, noise erupted among the thousand-odd porters building the cement road and cement fortress. Someone shouted, “War’s coming!?”
“They brought so many militia—must mean battle!”
“Is it those rogue bandits!?”
“Yikes!”
“Well, I’m outta here!”
“Me too! I didn’t sign up to fight!”
Amid the clamor, over a thousand porters suddenly stampeded chaotically northwest, vanishing entirely in moments.
Only the Heyang County militia’s thousand-plus remained, alongside Wang Er’s hundred and Bai Yuan’s hundred—barely two thousand total.
Feng Jun wiped his brow. “We’ve got two thousand left. Hero Rabbit, you said they’d need five times our strength to take us… so, ten thousand makes five times exactly, no?”
Sweat poured down Ground Rabbit’s forehead.
Bai Yuan couldn’t help but laugh. At it again, that rabbit!
“Enough messing around—deploy the cannons!” Bai Yuan commanded. “Set up our two cannons, aimed at the Yellow River.”
The militia sprang into action.
At that moment, distant hoofbeats drummed the ground—Three Hundred Cavalry Troops charged from the northwest. Leading them rode a woman built like an ox, resembling a mounted gorilla: Zao Ying herself. From afar, she bellowed, “Mr. Bai! Is all well at the port? By the Deity’s order, I’ve brought reinforcements! Instructor He’s infantry troops will trail hours behind.”
Bai Yuan turned and beamed. “Commander Zao! You came right in time—Wang Jiayin’s fleet hasn’t arrived!”
Surveying the unexpected cavalry, Feng Jun gaped. Highgarden’s got cavalry too!? Just how formidable are they?
Zao Ying declared, “My troops aren’t suited for dock defense! I’ll scout north along the Yellow River’s west bank!”
Bai Yuan nodded. “Scouting it is! We entrust that to you, Commander Zao!”
Zao Ying saluted from her saddle, yanked the reins, and galloped north along the river. Her three hundred trailed like the wind, vanishing swiftly.
Feng Jun couldn’t hold back. “You even have a cavalry unit!? And who was that heroine?”
Bai Yuan smiled lightly. “That’s Commander Zao of our village—in charge of cavalry training. Fine riding skills, wouldn’t you say?”
Feng Jun pressed, “Chengcheng County isn’t horse country. Where’d you get that many warhorses?”
Bai Yuan chuckled conspiratorially. “Bought ’em.”
Feng Jun: “Hundreds of warhorses… that’s an immense fortune.”
With practiced flair, Bai Yuan snapped open his fan, partially veiling his face to reveal the characters 君子 (“noble man”) as he replied loftily, “The Li Family has ample assets.”
Feng Jun: “…”
Ample? This is national-treasury level wealth!
Somehow, his confidence surged. With backing like this… maybe we really can stop Wang Jiayin. Fine—if soldiers come, we’ll block; if floodwaters rise, we’ll build dams! Enough fearing phantoms.
Feng Jun hurriedly directed militia to build scaffolding against the palisade—platforms where archers could ascend and fire. Without them, the flimsy wooden wall offered little beyond visual concealment.
Several militia instructors dashed about, shouting assignments.
Meanwhile, Bai Yuan approached Bai Shui Wang Er. “Your men… should likely avoid this fight. Freshly split from Wang Jiayin and now battling him head-on? It might breach loyalty in jianghu.”
Wang Er shook his head grimly. “I showed him loyalty. But when his brother-in-law Zhang Liwei and clansman Wang Guozhong tried to kill me, the disloyal one became him—not me. My men fight freely. Chengcheng County shelters Wangjia Village, our home ground. Defending one’s hometown? That justification stands anywhere.”