Chapter 352

Chen Wuji's prepared breakfast for the soldiers was not lavish, but it was substantial.

Each person got a bowl of congee, a large piece of meat, and a piece of flatbread.

These all came from the selfless support of the Gu, Li, and Xue families.

The Li family's provisions haven't been finished yet; they should be enough for Chen Wuji to feed these over a thousand soldiers for about two more days, after which the Gu and Xue families can contribute their modest strength.

In wartime, when conditions allow, Chen Wuji wants the soldiers to eat better.

But the provincial troops' cooking skills are truly limited; expecting them to produce a dish with perfect color, aroma, and flavor is really asking too much—even with good ingredients, they can only manage this much.

Originally in Chen Wuji's plan, breakfast was not congee but soup.

The meat wasn't just boiled meat with salt and seasoning tossed in randomly; it was supposed to be braised meat. The flatbread should have scallions mixed in, and occasionally some sweetened with brown sugar as a treat.

Sugar is really too expensive; even Chen Wuji can't afford more of it.

Unfortunately, limited by the provincial troops' cooking skills, these foods could only remain Chen Wuji's plan.

Chen Wuji didn't want meat; he just took a bowl of congee and a piece of flatbread, squatted at the base of the city wall, basking in the rising morning sun as he ate. The congee and flatbread weren't tasty, but Chen Wuji enjoyed it thoroughly.

I don't know if it's because eating while squatting at the city wall base makes it more flavorful.

An alcohol gourd was set aside, then a somewhat weary voice sounded: "Keep an eye on it for me, don't sneak a drink—today's alcohol is limited, and there's none to share with you. I'm going to get a bowl of congee."

Chen Wuji looked up and saw only Qin Feng's somewhat slumped back heading toward the porridge stall.

After staying up all night, that carefree, breezy fellow couldn't stay breezy anymore—his shoulders slumped, his back bent, his steps almost dragging on the ground.

Moments later, Qin Feng walked over with a piece of meat in his mouth, a bowl of congee in his left hand, and two flatbreads stacked in his right, and squatted down beside Chen Wuji.

He set the congee bowl on the ground, carefully placed the flatbread on top of it, then began to tackle that large piece of mutton, taking a bite of meat then a sip of wine—Qin Feng ate with the bearing of Wu Song crossing Jingyang Ridge.

"Goddamn tired… but satisfying!"

Chen Wuji laughed: "Lord Qin, are you tired or satisfied?"

"Last night I was tired, but eating and drinking meat feels satisfying!" Qin Feng said vaguely, "I got the people for you—barely a thousand, damn it—do you know how I rounded up these thousand?"

"Knocking door to door?"

"Not bad, you old brat at least know my hardships—going door to door, using threats and lures, I've tried every trick, good or bad." Qin Feng sighed, "Being this lousy county magistrate, the laborers constantly want to flee into monastic life."

"Become a Daoist?" Chen Wuji asked.

"Of course I'm a Daoist—I can't stand those bald donkeys, each eating better than me, big-headed and fat-eared, they don't look like renunciates at all. Not killing them is already merciful on my part, yet they dare dream of getting me to join—impossible!"

Chen Wuji slurped a mouthful of clear congee, "You don't look like a Daoist, but being a knight-errant would suit you."

"Been there, done that—boring." Qin Feng tipped his head back, gulped seven or eight mouthfuls of wine in a row, then set down the gourd with a satisfied expression, took a bite of meat, and complained, "This meat is cooked terribly—such a waste of good meat."

"Made by the provincial troops, their skills are limited—just make do." Chen Wuji set aside his empty congee bowl, stretched, and said, "Today's weather is really nice, perfect for killing and arson."

Qin Feng burst out laughing, "If you can break out today, I'll personally beat the drum for you!"

"Isn't that what you should be doing?" Chen Wuji countered.

Qin Feng rolled his eyes, picked up the congee bowl, buried his head and slurped it down, not responding to Chen Wuji.

The soldiers not far away, watching Chen Wuji and Qin Feng eat so naturally while squatting at the city wall base, wore expressions that grew stranger and stranger.

"I've seen plenty of officials, but I've never seen anyone this casual before—these two… really don't look like officials; who has officials squatting at the city wall base to eat?"

"They're both good officials!"

"It's a shame that good officials don't meet good times. Otherwise we might still enjoy a spell of good days—one who loves the people like his own children, one who loves the soldiers like his own children—but fate has dealt us this instead."

"It's indeed a pity, but perhaps it's also a blessing for us folks."

"Where's the blessing? Who knows—after this meal we might end up corpses; is that a blessing? I sure don't want any such blessing."

"Even without Magistrate Qin and Deputy Commander Chen, we'd have a ninety-nine percent chance of not escaping this soldier disaster; those big families planning rebellion would surely drag us along."

"Old Master Song has eaten more salt than we have, so he sees farther than we do. Fortunately, having these two lords leading us to guard the city means at least our families are safe."

"But my family is outside the city…"

A voice suddenly rang out.

"So we must help the two lords and hold Yunan."

…

After breakfast, Qin Feng tossed and turned most of the night, exhausting every means to bring nearly a thousand able-bodied young men up onto the city wall.

They were divided into four groups, assigned respectively under Qian Yong, Chen Bao's family, Wu Bu Yong, and Xiong Paozi, to be integrated via the old leading the new as quickly as possible.

More accurately, this should be half-old leading the new.

Apart from the provincial troops at Tianchi Pass, the rest of Chen Wuji's retainers are far from being veteran soldiers; they're also quite new and formidable.

While arrangements were being made here in a flurry, the city wall suddenly heard urgent gong beats.

The enemy troops have come!

Chen Wuji, who had been sitting at the base of the city wall chatting idly with a few provincial troops, sprang to his feet and hurriedly climbed onto the wall.

"They're here!" Xu Zengyi said with a somewhat solemn expression.

Chen Wuji gazed at the scene outside the city and murmured, "They really went all out."

"They can even build such complex cloud carriages—we still underestimated their foundations." Xu Zengyi said, "Can Deputy Commander Chen build such cloud ladders?"

"No."

"Then we're done—the Chen clan's foundation actually falls short of a few criminal-official petty clans." Xu Zengyi shook his head back and forth.

Chen Wuji gave a sideways glance, "I can't, but that doesn't mean no one in the Chen clan can; if we can't even build this, what's there to talk about being a martial-house lineage?"

In the midst of their completely off-topic chat, the enemy forces outside were rapidly advancing.

Vast and boundless-looking, the enemy army, with countless banners raised, wielding all sorts of miscellaneous weapons, pushed forward two towering cloud carriages like high buildings, moving slowly.

This army looks like a haphazardly assembled four-not-a-thing.

They push siege engines—cloud carriages reaching over ten zhang high—yet the soldiers lack even a decent weapon; they're filled with large quantities of farm tools, and their armor ratio is pitifully low, not a single piece.

But their numbers are truly many.

At a rough glance, there are at least ten thousand people.