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“There are about ten thousand of them, approximately five or six days’ journey from us, but cavalry could reach us within two or three days.” Wang Dashan took a sip of water and said, “It’s strange that Daqian’s army didn’t travel to other places, but seems to be heading straight towards us.”

Jiang Sanlang speculated, “They probably want to join forces with King Cheng’s rebel army.”

“What should we do?” Clan Leader Chen looked worried, “Our wheat hasn’t been harvested yet.”

Jiang Lao, drawing on his dry pipe, sighed faintly, “Perhaps they want our food.”

With ten thousand people mobilizing, they would consume at least eight thousand pounds of food each day. Would they not snatch food from the common people along the way?

Maybe they even plan to conscript strong men to serve them.

Clan Leader Chen became even more anxious, “What are we waiting for then? We should run.”

Jiang Sanlang shook his head, “Run where? There’s war everywhere. Nowhere is safe.”

“Ah!” Jiang Lao sighed, “If only our village had walls like a town, at least we could hold out until the rescue arrives.”

Yingbao, who had been standing and listening for a long time, suddenly said, “Father, I want to go to the county seat.”

Jiang Sanlang paused, “What for?”

“The County Magistrate Cao Can means ill toward us. He must be eliminated,” Yingbao said with an emotionless face.

Jiang Sanlang immediately got up, yanked his daughter out, and whispered, “What are you talking about? This is adult business.”

His daughter was still a child. If people thought of her as a cold and ruthless person, how would she find a good family in the future?

Yingbao insisted, “We must act swiftly to end this chaos. Father, I assure you, I can kill Cao Can.”

Without a long saber, she might have been unsure. But now that she has the legendary golden sickle, she could easily wipe out Cao Can and all his hundred subordinates.

“As long as we take control of the county seat and shut the city gate, Daqian’s army can’t do anything.” Yingbao affirmed, “Moreover, Cao Can has committed atrocities in the county. The townsfolk and some rich merchants are sure to hate him to the bone. If we appeal to their emotions and reason logically, they will surely help us defend the city.”

After considering for a moment, Jiang Sanlang nodded in agreement, “Alright! But you can’t do this alone. How about having Wang Dashan and Chen Zhu bring some people with you? I’ll go too. It’s safer in numbers.”

“Father, you can’t go.” Yingbao immediately refused, “You need to stay here and get the villagers to harvest the crops quickly. Only harvest the wheat spikes, the rest can wait. Store the grain and livestock in the depths of North Mountain, and take the old and weak there too. Don’t leave them in the village.”

The Daqian army was different from bandits. They were here to recapture cities and territories. They wouldn’t have the time to search the mountains for people. Therefore, the depths of North Mountain would be a good refuge.

Jiang Sanlang was still uneasy, but Yingbao insisted that he stay in the village and take care of the villagers.

In the end, Jiang Sanlang reluctantly agreed to his daughter’s suggestions.

Afterwards, Yingbao selected about twenty people to accompany her to the county seat.

These twenty or so people took three horse carts and several mules, and rode off for the county seat late into the night.

The waystations on the journey were unoccupied. The mail sentries and postmaster were either killed by Cao Can or had run off.

All the mules and other animals had been taken away by Cao Can. The waystations were just empty houses.

After driving throughout the night, they reached the county seat near dawn.

Yingbao and her party did not approach recklessly, but observed it from a distance from a grove of trees.

The city gate was closed tightly, but there were guards on the city walls.

Chen Zhu said, “It looks like they’ve shut the city gate.”

“How are we getting in?” someone asked.

Yingbao replied, “By water.”

“By water? We can’t swim. Moreover, it’s daytime. Surely there’ll be guards watching the waterways.”

Every county seat has a water source. Qinchuan County is no exception, this river is also the lifeblood of the entire county seat.

“You guys wait here while I swim in,” said Yingbao, dressed in a black outfit and disguised as a boy. Her face had been smeared with soot by her mother, making her look quite comical.

Chen Zhu, looking at Yingbao with knitted eyebrows, asked, “Can you manage on your own?”

“Sure. If things go well, I’ll wave my coat as a signal.” Yingbao pulled out a red jacket from nowhere, “Like this one. If you see it, head straight for the city gate. I’ll find a way to open it.”

She pulled a white garment out of her pack, “If I wave this, you guys run immediately, return to the village, and lead the villagers into North Mountain.”

Both Chen Zhu and Wang Dashan were silent for a moment, before finally nodding.

After instructing them, Yingbao turned and ran towards the river.

An hour later, she came to the river, cut some willow branches, made a crude rain cape, then cut some reeds and made tubes to breathe underwater.

Next, she came close to the city walls, and quietly went into the water.

Yingbao clamped her nose with a clip and held a reed tube in her mouth, swimming slowly underwater.

Only when she had swam a considerable distance past the guarded patrol point did she surface.

She climbed onto the bank at a deserted place, rushed into a cave for a rest, then came back out dressed as a young boy.

She smeared some dirt from the ground onto her face to hide her feminine features before heading towards the marketplace.

She needed to find out where Cao Can stayed overnight.

The streets in the county seat were sparsely populated, all passerby were hurrying along.

There were some vendors, but all of them were extremely nervous.

Yingbao took out a copper coin, bought a piece of cake to eat, and bought a bamboo basket from a bamboo shop to carry on her arm.

She went back to the cake vendor and bought all his cakes.

Then, she strolled towards the brothel with the bamboo basket.

On the way, when people tried to buy her cakes, she sold some. Finally, she arrived at a tea house outside the brothel and went inside to sell the cakes.

There was no storyteller there today, and there were only a few customers. But a group of people were whispering about things.

Yingbao moved closer and stood by to eavesdrop.

“Last night, the silk shop on East Street was robbed. Everything was taken, leaving the shop empty. Do you think it was done by one of Cao Can’s men?”

“Who knows? Anyway, the world is in chaos. Good people die young while the wicked prosper.”

“Exactly. I wonder when the Imperial Court will send troops. With the city gates closed off day by day, we commoners are going to be left with nothing by those people.”

After the men took a sip of their tea and sighed for a while, another one added, “Even the Madam of Yihong Building has started to complain, saying her girls have been taken advantage of. A high-ranking official didn’t even pay an appearance fee, it’s unprecedented!”

Another one said, “What’s so surprising about that? Even the top courtesan at Wuchun Yard didn’t get paid. I heard that Cao Can is hosting a banquet tonight, he specifically asked the class leader at Wuchun Yard to select a few girls skilled in the HuXuan dance to entertain a VIP.”

“Really?” A man leaned over to ask, “Where is he hosting the banquet? Can we sneak by and have a look?”

Another man gave him a sideways glance, “Of course in the county government office, considering the current situation, could he host it in a tea house or tavern?”