Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family-Chapter 887: A Method
Chapter 887 -887: A Method
The trusted soldiers didn’t hold back, stepping forward to deliver a vicious beating.
Seeing that the “spy” was still not talking, a short blade swiftly slid across, cutting open the opponent’s chest.
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The severe pain in the chest terrified the man, and he couldn’t care about anything else anymore, yelling out in panic, “Ah! — Don’t kill me, don’t kill me, I’ll talk! I’ll talk, isn’t that enough…”
The shouting also reached Liu Sisi’s ears, causing her to frown in concern; if the noise spread, it would be bad!
The trusted soldier had obviously realized the issue, and another moved quickly to cover the spy’s mouth.
“It looks like you really want to die! Daring to scream like that, fine! Since you wish for death, I’ll grant it…” While speaking, he pushed the short blade forward…
Thump!
“Mmmph… Mmmph, mmmph…” A series of muffled grunts followed.
Liu Sisi jumped in fright! Was the “spy” just killed like that? It’s a pity; nothing was interrogated out of him.
“If you don’t want to die, then speak quickly!”
The trusted soldiers continued their beating.
“Ptooey, ptooey… I’ll talk, I’ll tell everything…”
The “spy” spat out two mouthfuls of fresh blood, and his pained voice came through again.
Liu Sisi slightly furrowed her brow, only then realizing that the “spy” had knelt on the ground, confessing bit by bit.
She sighed, unable to bear watching any longer, and turned to walk in the other direction.
The situation with the interrogation elsewhere was similar, and the state of this “spy” was not any better. Understanding that now was not the time for womanly compassion, Liu Sisi silently returned to her previous spot to wait.
Not long after, Zhang Peng and Qi Yuanzheng led four trusted soldiers back, holding two sets of clothes in their hands.
“Everything has been asked. Under Zhao Heng’s command, General Meng led fifty thousand horsemen surrounding Yingchang City, and the grain and grass seem to be right below our slope. It is said that a married woman known as Mrs. Cui is in charge of the grain and grass. They also said that Mrs. Cui is particularly capable, and General Meng is utterly obedient to her, even taking her wherever he goes. As for whether there is any backup, the positions of the two spies were too minor, they had no access and were unclear.”
“Mrs. Cui? Who would have thought, General Gu is so deeply affectionate, eh,” Liu Sisi mused, racking her brains but unable to figure out who this Mrs. Cui was that followed General Meng so closely; she had never heard of her before and guessed she might be a wife picked up after he had left home.
Liu Sisi speculated silently.
Who could have imagined that someone like Shopkeeper Gu could show such deep affection, taking his wife to the battlefield, would Nan Tianzong agree?
Perhaps… could it be Madam Thirteen from those years ago? Suddenly, Liu Sisi had this possibility emerge in her mind.
Madam Thirteen was once one of the Four Grandmasters of Li Sect, so if she had become General Gu’s wife, it wouldn’t be impossible.
Thinking of her determined and pretty face, Liu Sisi sighed to herself, thinking it was a sheer waste of a fresh flower to be stuck on a pile of cow dung, lamenting that someone like Shopkeeper Gu was not deserving of her.
“Sister-in-law, it’s getting dark soon, what should we do now?”
Zhang Peng asked Liu Sisi for her opinion.
Liu Sisi didn’t say much but instead asked Zhang Peng and Qi Yuanzheng, “You’ve seen the situation at hand, do you have any thoughts?”
After contemplating for a moment, Qi Yuanzheng spoke first, “At the moment, Dong Xian in the city must already know about the situation in West City, but there’s no sign of activity in the city. It seems they want to engage in a war of attrition with us. Having once been a commander in charge of defending a city, I naturally understand their thinking. I fear we’ll have to find a way into the city ourselves.”
“We have only about two hundred brothers here, and even if we could reach the walls of the city without a scratch, what if the city gate remains closed? What then?” Zhang Peng asked with a worried expression.
Liu Sisi waved her hand dismissively, “How to make the soldiers guarding the walls open the city gate is a minor issue; the real question is whether our two hundred brothers can withstand a three-sided siege while waiting for the other side to open the gate.”
Zhang Peng bowed his head and thought silently for a moment. “Before we left, the Old Master Marquis gave us more than a dozen thunder devices, and we currently also have two strong crossbows. Theoretically, even if we have to fight hard, we still have the strength for battle. It’s just that…”
They certainly had the strength for battle, but the difficult part lay in protecting Liu Sisi, a delicate woman, ensuring they could safely fight their way in and then out again. That would be far from easy.
“A hard fight would certainly result in heavy casualties, and we are too few in number here. We cannot afford the loss of even one brother,” Liu Sisi wanted to minimize the casualties as much as possible.
“Actually, all five thousand of the Old Master Marquis’s trusted soldiers are fully equipped with the strongest weapons and armor. It’s just that it was completely unforeseen that we would be engaged in battle, so the Old Master Marquis only brought a thousand trusted soldiers with him. Moreover, most people have not yet practiced with the new strong crossbows and are not yet proficient…”
Liu Sisi thought it over; these strong crossbows could each send out ten iron crossbow arrows simultaneously. With two crossbows, two people could shoot while another two helped load the arrows quickly. As for the others, they could use ordinary bolts to provide cover, and the thunder devices should also come into play.
Once the thunder devices sounded, Dong Xian inside the city would have to go up to the tower to look. In doing so… it would conveniently facilitate the contingency plans she had in mind.
After carefully considering everything, Liu Sisi lowered her voice.
“I have an idea, let everyone hear it, and if the method proves ineffective, we’ll continue our discussion. Right now, only the three of us can make decisions, so we can’t bother with other formalities.”
Zhang Peng trusted Liu Sisi implicitly and urged her, “If you have any ideas, sister-in-law, just speak up. It’s a critical time now, no need to hold back.”
Qi Yuanzheng had long been aware of Liu Sisi’s capabilities and continuously nodded in agreement.
Liu Sisi was pleased, as she had been worried they might have reservations about her being a woman. If that were the case, her suggestions might not carry much weight.
Indeed, Liu Sisi had got it all wrong!
Never mind her status as the wife of the Old Master Marquis, just her status as a Princess alone could command the respect of everyone present. All here harbored a blind loyalty and would naturally treat her with the utmost respect as a Princess, not to mention as their Madam Marquis, thus obliterating any reason they would have to countermand her.
“Here’s what I am thinking: you both mentioned earlier a lot of things, and I have also surveyed the surrounding terrain. Don’t we have two strong crossbows in our possession? When night falls, we can replace the iron bolts with Fire Arrows and launch them directly at their tents and grain stockpile down below. Once the tents and provisions catch fire, their camp will be thrown into chaos. In the confusion, we take action, breaking through their defenses…”
Liu Sisi went on at length about her plan, and Zhang Peng along with Qi Yuanzheng nodded along, agreeing repeatedly.
Neither of them had anticipated Liu Sisi being able to analyze the situation so thoroughly. They looked at her with newfound respect.
