Chapter 345: The Formidable Qin Zhanhong

The letter's final part was written by Qin Zhanhong.

Her tone was unusually solemn; she first told Chen Wuji that strangers had been wandering near the village these past few days, but before she could act, the villagers had quietly dealt with them.

Qin Zhanhong guessed it was probably Chen Bushi who did it with his men.

Chen Wuji could confirm that she was right.

In Xishan Village, besides Qin Zhanhong and Chen Bushi, probably no one else would do such a thing.

This news also made Chen Wuji wary.

Strangers wandering near the village suggest the Gu, Li, and Xue families' alliance also intends to target Xishan Village; although Chen Bushi surely has prepared for this, he should still keep a backup just in case.

One shouldn't think of things too absolutely.

Xu Zengyi had a saying that hit the mark: they are indeed now crossing a single-log bridge.

On a single-log bridge, there is no room for the slightest carelessness.

Chen Wuji shook the coarse fire hemp cloth and continued reading downward.

"After leaving the city, I immediately sent people to secretly investigate the situation of the Gu family and these several households; I obtained some very unfriendly information. These households are raising troops and buying grain, scattering family wealth, purchasing and forcibly seizing grain from the people, as well as iron."

"Their methods are brutal; some pay silver, others openly rob—snatching people, money, and grain. The Xue family is rebuilding their manor; among them, their looting is the fiercest, and the villages near the Xue family have almost been completely seized."

Chen Wuji's face grew a bit more gloomy.

Xue Chou's acting is superb; he almost really believed it.

Once signs of chaos appear in the world, some people's true faces start to show.

"For now, that's all the information I have. If there's any new news, I'll promptly send someone in. Pay attention to identify identities; the password is: On Shenxian Ling, correct: I am a married woman!"

Chen Wuji's vision suddenly went black.

Qin Zhanhong's damned taste for mischief—she must be doing this on purpose to get revenge, right?

Making him declare before countless soldiers that I am a married woman—does that even make sense?

Unfortunately, Chen Wuji had no chance to refute this time and could only grit his teeth and accept.

Chen Wuji gave a bitter smile, shook the fire hemp cloth, and continued reading backward.

"Hehe, isn't the password I came up with full of feeling? Let's relive our first meeting."

"You little troublemaker, considering you've been sleepless every night alone, I specially persuaded my sisters at home to send you some nice things; remember to hold them all in your arms at night, but don't play favorites."

"By the way, there's also a surprise in here that I forcibly ripped off; you can boldly guess what kind of body that belly band originally belonged to. Let me tell you secretly: it's incredibly soft, impossible to hold with one hand, and very fragrant."

Chen Wuji's guess received the most authoritative confirmation.

The belly band came from Xiao Yuji, and it was indeed forcibly ripped off by Qin Zhanhong.

I knew she was capable of doing something like this.

Chen Wuji carefully put the letter away, opened the cabinet, and placed the belly band together with it.

He had no other ulterior thoughts; he just thought that if one day Xiao Yuji, angry and ashamed, wanted to kill him, he could produce this letter to prove his innocence.

After tidying up, Chen Wuji also composed his mood, then left the room with a solemn expression, closing the door behind him.

Chen Li and the Chen Clan's Two Oxen stood like markers on the left and right.

Chen Wuji paused, then lowered his voice to Chen Li: "Eleventh Uncle probably misread; the few restless ones at home entrusted me to have some leisure time to order a set of clothes for them, and bring me a rough pattern."

Chen Li nodded repeatedly, "I never thought it was anything else; clothing is, after all, quite normal."

"Yeah, it's quite normal."

……

The Gu family's troops arrived much sooner than Chen Wuji had anticipated.

By the time he reached the foot of the city, the messenger was already heading down, preparing to find him.

And the Gu family's retainers had already arrived outside the city.

Upon hearing the messenger's words, Chen Wuji rushed up three steps at a time onto the city wall.

"Are they going to attack the city?" Chen Wuji hastily asked Xu Zengyi.

Xu Zengyi gave a calm, light chuckle: "They're just brandishing claws and spouting nonsense. With their thirty-plus cavalry, hundreds of infantry could take this city; I'd offer my head as a ball for them to play with."

"No siege equipment?"

"No, it looks like they're just here to make a show of force."

Chen Wuji walked to the battlement and looked down.

At a spot about an arrow's distance from the city gate, dozens of cavalry and hundreds of disordered infantry stood, almost all spearmen, with hardly any archers in sight.

This group was shouting incoherently about the Chen clan rebelling, urging not to aid Zhou in his tyranny, lest they bring disaster upon wives and children, etc.

Chen Wuji roughly gauged the distance, then reached out to Chen Wushuang: "Give me the bow and arrows."

This hard bow, personally forged by Yang Tiejiang, had always been carried on Chen Wushuang's back.

Although there have been frequent battles lately, Chen Wuji has too much to do, making it inconvenient to constantly carry bow and arrows.

Chen Wushuang handed over the bow and arrows.

Chen Wuji drew the bow, nocked an arrow, took a deep breath, steadied his breathing, and aimed at the figure of the white horse rider leading the Gu family's troops below the city.

The white horse rider indeed looked imposing and carefree.

But the target was also very conspicuous.

Whoosh!

The arrow turned into a black line, shooting off the string and grazing the white horse officer's body before embedding in the ground.

Although Chen Wuji could easily reach arrow's distance, his aim was still a bit off.

The farther the distance, the less precise his vision became.

However, this arrow did frighten the white horse officer quite a bit, causing him to quickly rein his horse and swing to one side.

Chen Wuji silently thought it a pity, put away the bow and arrows, and said, "Let them shout; we should continue preparing whatever we need to prepare."

Xu Zengyi nodded approvingly, "As a commandant, being able to not lose formation at this time already bears the demeanor of a great general."

Chen Wuji gave a light chuckle, "I recall Mr. Xu hates saying such things; lately it seems to have become easier for him to say."

"I really do dislike saying these words, but after all, the commandant is not that seasoned veteran general; the art of battle formation is also something he's only recently picked up; to have such a mindset is indeed not easy; when I say he bears the demeanor of a great general, that is truly not an exaggeration." Xu Zengyi said sincerely.

These same words, if said to an experienced officer, would be useless flattery.

But applied to Chen Wuji, it is truly Xu Zengyi's heartfelt praise.

No matter how outstanding Chen Wuji's performance, he remains young in age, and has only recently taken charge of military affairs—for just the past month.

In just one month, Chen Wuji can already command battles so calmly and composedly; how could this not be considered the bearing of a great general?

Xu Zengyi has seen too many talented people who, upon reaching the battlefield, turn into weaklings.

Strategies and tactics can be learned from paper, but they cannot steady a person's courage nor develop one's resolve.

Xu Zengyi is not boasting; he truly sees the bearing of a great general in Chen Wuji.