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Arrows showered down at the bandits like rain. Bandits fell one by one, but they kept coming, filling their ranks continuously.

Thankfully, the tunnel wall that Lady Zhang had ordered to be built blocked them, trapping these people in the tunnel.

Despite some breaking through the barrage of arrows and escaping the tunnel, they fell into a huge trap.

Seeing more and more barbarian bandits falling into the trap, Lady Zhang, standing on a high wall not far away, ordered people to pour tung oil into it and set it on fire.

Suddenly, flames shot up into the sky, and screams were nonstop.

Finally, the barbarian bandits noticed something was wrong and had to retreat from the city gate.

Because there were people continuously shooting arrows from atop the city walls, the bandits eventually retreated to their camp to regroup temporarily.

Upon seeing this, Governor Zhang was delighted and immediately ordered people to clean up the enemy corpses at the city gate and collect the arrows and weapons as well.

The bandits were also very cautious. Seeing people moving around the city gate, they charged over on horseback, making the collection task very difficult.

Thankfully, the breach in the city gate was sealed off again. Governor Zhang ordered a count of the bandit corpses and found that over two hundred people had been killed or injured in the tunnel and the trap.

On the other side, at the river, the attack was held off as well. More than two thousand civilians gathered on both sides of the river, successfully repelling the enemy’s rafts with rocks and bricks.

“Well done!” Governor Zhang exclaimed joyfully, taking his wife’s hand and saying: “Many thanks to my wife for her staunch support.”

Lady Zhang smiled slightly: “Without the help of the civilians, I alone would not have been able to repel the bandits. You should thank the townsfolk and all the people in the city.”

“I know,” replied her husband.

After a brief rest at home, Governor Zhang went to the conference hall to discuss matters.

At this time, Grand General Sima and several other officers were sitting in the hall drinking tea. Seeing the governor arriving, they got up to pay their respects.

The governor returned the salute and took his seat at the head of the table.

Grand General Sima was the first to speak: “My lord, the Jurchen chief Wanyan Hashi just sent a letter urging us to surrender. Here it is…”

Saying this, he handed over a letter.

Governor Zhang took it, pulled out the letter, and his eyebrows immediately furrowed as he read.

The letter stated that Daqian’s days were numbered, that Dajin’s military force was unstoppable, and that they already had Tokyo surrounded. From then on, this land would belong to Dajin. Even if Governor Zhang resisted to the end, it would be a lost cause. They suggested he should pledge his allegiance to Dajin.

They further complimented Governor Zhang on his character and wished to recruit him, promising endless wealth and prosperity for him and his family. His present rank would also not be lowered, they assured.

Watching the governor’s expression, Sima added: “The messenger also said that if we stubbornly resist to the end, and the city is eventually taken, no one will be spared. Do you have a plan, my lord?”

Governor Zhang slowly tore up the letter, coldly saying: “Don’t believe the lies of the bandits. Even if we were to open the city gates and welcome them with open arms, they wouldn’t spare our people. Have you not seen the heads hanging from the bandits’ horses? Those were innocent civilians of Daqian. What did they ever do to provoke them?”

Tossing the shredded letter into a nearby incense burner, Governor Zhang scanned the room with piercing eyes. “We are all officials of Daqian, the parents of our people. We eat the king’s grain, and thus, owe him our loyalty. We should never entertain false hopes. Can these barbarians really conquer our vast territory? We must hold this city. I believe that as long as we hold on for a while longer, our reinforcements will arrive soon.”

Sima and several other officials looked at each other, seeing only helplessness in each other’s eyes.

They stood up and bowed to Governor Zhang: “We will follow your orders, my lord.”

A few days later, the city’s poor began to run out of food, and not just the grocery stores closed, but eateries and bars were shutting down as well.

Only a few tea houses remained open, but the daily tea had turned into plain water.

Many people gathered in the tea houses to discuss the war, and some even began to entertain the idea of surrendering to the enemy.

Of course, the middle-aged man who voiced his thoughts was beaten up and thrown out of the tea house.

A few days later, the Wanyan army suddenly increased by a few thousand. This time they concentrated their forces to attack from the main gate and attempted to scale the city wall with siege ladders.

One after another, the ladders were set up against the city wall, only to be pushed down by the city guards armed with long forks.

But the invaders were too many. When one fell, another took his place. Wave after wave of enemy combatants engaged in tireless combat with the soldiers of Daqian.

In addition, the city gate was broken through. Countless bandits poured into the tunnel. Some even managed to knock down the tunnel walls with the aid of their companions.

The people of Jingzhou were stubborn as well, fighting these intruders with iron pitchforks, clubs, and sticks. Both sides suffered heavy casualties.

Huzi and Jiang Wu had also wanted to help, but they were stopped by Lady Zhang.

While both were still children, they had received martial arts training but were no match for the desperate enemy soldiers. Going would be a suicide mission.

Therefore, taking advantage of their good aim, they used slingshots made of cowhide to hit the heads of the enemy combatants, and if they were lucky, they would hit their eyes.

Unknowingly, they saved many civilians.

Yingbao, holding a slingshot, stood with her brother Huzi on the second floor of a nearby wine house, accurately hitting the swarms of people coming their way with bricks.

Lady Zhang was also on this floor, protected by the housekeeper. Watching the bandits not far away, she too was terrified.

“Madam, we should leave right away, we can’t stay here.” The steward was slightly anxious.

Lady Zhang nodded, called Yingbao and the others to leave the wine house from the back door, mount the carriage, and hurried back to the Governor’s Residence.

After returning to the residence, Lady Zhang ordered the servants to set up huge pots to cook rice, adding salt and diced meat into the rice.

Seeing this, Yingbao knew that this food was for the soldiers. So, she quietly infused the water tank and well water with Pupil Spring.

At the city gate, Zhang Min and his father, the elder Zhang, seeing that the city gate had been breached, immediately called many soldiers over for a counterattack.

The officer Sima and other officials each led a group of men to guard the northern and southern waterways.

Zhang Wen, the elder Zhang’s son who was twenty years old and newly wedded, was leading people on the city wall to stop the enemies climbing the siege ladders and had no time to pay attention to the situation below the city wall.

This deadlock continued all day long, the soldiers and civilians didn’t even have time to eat while the enemy forces kept pouring in.

Lady Zhang and the servants rushed over, delivering buckets of rice to the city walls and roadside for the fighting soldiers.

The soldiers who stood down ate hurriedly. Once they finished eating, they picked up their weapons and rushed back to the battlefield, allowing their comrades to stand down.

Interestingly, they felt rejuvenated after eating, their previous fatigue swept away.

Then, Lady Zhang directed the women in the city to carry the wounded soldiers and civilians to a yard at the back, where they could be treated by the medical practitioners.

Yingbao also joined in the effort, pulling along Huzi to help. Whenever they saw someone severely injured, they would treat them with Five Dingzhi.

Huzi and Jiang Wu wanted to join the battle, but Yingbao sternly refused.

“Now is not the time to show off your abilities. You two are saving people by helping here, do you understand?” Yingbao stared sternly at her brother and Huzi.

Huzi and Jiang Wu had never seen Yingbao in such a mood before, they had no choice but to nod in agreement.

However, the sight of the injured was so horrifying. Arms and legs severed was a common sight, with some sustaining gaping wounds in their abdomen, intestines spilling out before being hastily stuffed back in and stitched up by the medical officers.