Chapter 976

Hu Baobao hadn't reacted yet, Fifth Lord swiftly dumped the dishes on the table into his pack and shouted at Hu Baobao: "Hurry, get me out of the city!"

Hu Baobao suddenly reacted and grabbed Fifth Lord, "Fifth Lord, what are you running off for at this critical juncture? You're a strategist; shouldn't you stay and help me at a time like this?"

"I'm just here to deliver a message; I have many other things to do, and I'm willing but unable. If there's nothing else urgent, I would certainly stay to help you. Once the city is besieged, the important matter I bear will be delayed." Fifth Lord shouted anxiously, "Stop the nonsense and hurry up and get me out of the city!"

Hu Baobao clung to Fifth Lord's arm and wouldn't let go, "Fifth Lord, at least tell me what I should do."

Fifth Lord was furious, helplessly turned to the subordinate who had come to report and barked, "Just how many troops have arrived?"

"Tens of thousands, all cavalry. Although I haven't gone to see them myself, I sent someone. But the Wild Dogs lot can't even tell clearly whether they're Chen Wuji's troops; they can only confirm there's a Great Banner, a military flag bearing the character Chen, and their armor is all black." The messenger said quickly.

"What the hell is there to doubt? Great Banner, Chen-character military flag, armor all black—aside from Chen Wuji, who else in Nanyue Jun has such a force? This isn't just Chen Wuji's troops; it's Chen Wuji himself leading them!" Fifth Lord shouted urgently, "That Wild Dogs bunch not only have bad eyesight, they've got brain problems too—they still won't confirm it!"

"Head of the Hu Family, I can't guess why Chen Wuji has suddenly set his sights on the Refugee Settlement, but don't fight—there's no chance of winning. Do everything you can to withdraw the troops, pull the forces into the mountains. If you truly can't escape, then surrender."

"Surrender?!" Hu Baobao exclaimed, "Fifth Lord, do I look like someone who betrays his master for glory? I've already thrown my lot in with the master; even if I die, I'll be the master's ghost soldier!"

……

Fifth Lord looked at Hu Baobao as if he were an idiot and said, "What I mean is, pretend to surrender and wait for an opportunity to act. Since Chen Wuji is personally leading the troops, he's definitely brought elite forces; with just the manpower of the Refugee Settlement, it's nowhere near enough to stand against him."

"Is that really all we can do?" Hu Baobao asked, unwilling to give up.

Fifth Lord was on the verge of tears from frustration, "I'm telling you, Hu Baobao, in this situation, what more tactics do you want to hear? We're already trapped like turtles in a jar, the strength disparity is huge, we have no other choice."

"All right, I'll see you off first… no, Fifth Lord, I'm going with you!" Hu Baobao's mind shifted, and he decisively said, "No news has come from the north; we'll break out and head into the mountains!"

……

Fifth Lord instantly felt like dying.

He stared at Hu Baobao like he was an idiot and asked, "Want to guess why there's no enemy to the north?"

Surround three sides, leave one open?

Or what?

Well, if that's the case, how do you get out, sir?

I'm just an old beggar; running away when I see fighting is perfectly normal, right?

"Exactly!" Hu Baobao muttered, his eyes shifting, and suddenly an idea struck him: "Fifth Lord, I know what to do now—I'll have some people disguise as beggars to escort you out of the city, letting them scout the situation outside the north gate; if there's no ambush, I'll break out."

Fifth Lord thought it over, nodded seriously, "Your plan is indeed good—move out quickly!"

"All right, all right, someone—quick, get me a set of ragged clothes, and you few, hurry up and dress up as beggars." Hu Baobao shouted at the top of his lungs, then quickly messed up his hair, rubbed it roughly a few times, stuck his hand into the charcoal brazier used for cooking meat, disregarding whether the residual heat would burn, grabbed a handful of ash and smeared it on his face.

Fifth Lord: ……

"Are you planning to abandon your subordinates?" Fifth Lord asked gloomily, his eyes unfriendly.

Hu Baobao punched Fifth Lord, "Old fogey, quit spouting nonsense—I'm just personally scouting the danger for the troops. You'd better not throw baseless accusations at me, or I'll go complain to the master about your dirty tricks."

……

Fifth Lord was speechless; given the urgent situation, he didn't have time to say more and hurriedly took off.

Hu Baobao grabbed Fifth Lord's arm again, "Wait, I'm not done getting ready yet!"

……

At this point Fifth Lord was already wanting to curse and insult Hu Baobao's ancestors eighteen generations back.

This little bastard!

……

Inside an unnamed inn, whose only sign was a banner bearing the two characters for "tavern", which sold alcohol and offered lodging.

Wang Yu hurriedly found Guo Shuhan, who was leisurely watching children play games in the courtyard, and said, "Qingming, for some unknown reason the city has suddenly become noisy; I heard it might be troops surrounding the city—send someone to check it out."

Guo Shuhan already knew what was going on, but upon hearing this she feigned surprise and asked, "Someone's attacking the Refugee Settlement? Which lord is so bored as to come fight this place?"

These past days, Guo Shuhan, worried about his friend, had kept Wang Yu here to discuss their future plans in more detail; they rented the courtyard of this tavern, and in order to keep Wang Yu occupied, Guo Shuhan nearly wore out the military manuals in his own carriage.

"I don't know; the locals say all sorts of things, some of it exaggerated. And there are rumors that tens of thousands of cavalry have come from outside the city—sounds like sheer nonsense, sending that many cavalry to attack such a place would be like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken." Wang Yu shook his head, "But it's definitely true that someone is attacking the city—send someone to have a look."

"Fine, I'll send people; you gather your forces and guard this courtyard." Guo Shuhan readily agreed, "Once hostilities begin, the city will surely descend into chaos, and who knows—some clueless lot might come looting."

Okay!

Both of them had come in disguise, and they brought only a few attendants.

Besides his younger sister, Guo Shuhan had only about ten personal attendants; Wang Yu brought even fewer—just seven or eight.

After a brief agreement, they went their separate ways.

About half an hour later, the scout Guo Shuhan had sent out returned, bringing him some extremely unexpected news.

Outside the city turned out to be somewhere between ten thousand and twenty thousand cavalry, and every rider had two horses.

Even Marquis Zhenyuan's move is excessively grand.

Guo Shuhan gave Wang Yu a very subtle glance, and suddenly felt a twinge of jealousy.

That bastard, his face is also way too big!

He had personally gone to Guiling Xian to see Chen Wuji, yet hadn't even managed to attend a proper banquet, but this guy—Chen Wuji had sent nearly twenty thousand cavalry to receive him.

Tsk tsk, comparing people to people really can make you furious.

"Around twenty thousand cavalry? You're not joking, are you?!" Wang Yu was stunned, his face visibly paling with panic, and he could no longer stay calm.

It wasn't that he lacked courage; rather, the sight of twenty thousand cavalry, each with two horses, appearing in such a place was simply too shocking to believe.

It felt like wielding a horse-slaying blade to skewer meat.