Chapter 937

First Volume, Chapter 937: Enemy and Us Differ by a Factor of Ten

A malnourished infant means the mother isn't getting enough food, her milk is insufficient, and even mother and child go hungry—enough to imagine how miserable everyone else must be.

"Where is the child's mother?"

"Though she'll be staying with us now, she's still just a child; no one can replace her biological mother."

Facing Qin Feng's question, Li Xiaolan quickly replied: "She came back with us; after eating breakfast, she went back to rest—probably exhausted from all this time."

Qin Feng nodded and added: "Having two extra mouths around isn't a problem, but we must be careful. After all, this mother and child are common people; sudden fortune may make them swell with pride, and if they pull any more stupid stunts, this joke will go too far. So, feel free to like them—but don't spoil them."

Hearing this, Li Xiaolan's gaze shifted repeatedly as she exclaimed in surprise: "Feng'er, your tone doesn't sound like an unmarried young master—it sounds more like…"

Li Xiaolan didn't finish; after all, Qin Feng was still young, and under the constant watch of the Four Sisters, there could be no illegitimate children—his experience must come from broad exposure and accumulated wisdom.

Qin Feng knew exactly what she meant and laughed as he explained: "Haha, I've seen too much of the world's coldness and human nature. If you really want to say it, I'm still a child—I've never been a father."

A child?

Shen Qingci burst out laughing, realized her lapse, then immediately scowled and snapped: "You're still a child? Pfft, so shameless!"

"All of Bei Di sees you as a flood or a ferocious beast—there's never been a child like you in this world."

Hearing this, Qin Feng frowned and slapped his chest, declaring firmly: "A man remains a boy till death!"

Since the infant was still small and slept often, Qin Feng deliberately lowered his voice—but just then, a shout erupted outside the County Yamen: it was Ning Hu's voice.

Qin Feng frowned; wasn't Ning Hu supposed to be recovering from his injuries? Why was he out again?

Qin Feng stepped out of the County Yamen and found Ning Hu, hands on hips, directing soldiers as they hauled supply trains up the City Wall.

"Hurry up! The enemy could arrive at any moment—we're short-handed, so each man must do the work of two. It's bound to be tiring, but when mealtime comes, open wide and eat your fill!"

Qin Feng reached out and slapped Ning Hu on the shoulder—unluckily, right on his wound—making the man grimace and hiss in pain.

Ning Hu was about to curse, but when he saw it was Qin Feng, he instantly switched to a grin.

"Haha, Brother Qin, you're not playing with the baby in the Back Courtyard—what are you doing out here?"

Playing with the baby?

Qin Feng snorted irritably: "I was going to ask you the same thing—why aren't you resting and recovering?"

Earlier, Ning Hu had been ambushed by Old Wu, with an Iron Needle piercing his shoulder—a serious wound. Yet this man was practically indestructible; barely any time had passed, and he was already bouncing around again.

Sometimes, even Qin Feng envied Ning Hu's iron bones.

Ning Hu lifted his chin, adopting a carefree posture: "This little wound? Not worth mentioning. Besides, Zhang Zhenhai and Liu Ming are worse off—they've woken up but are still extremely weak and need constant care from a Physician. With everyone short-handed in the city, if I hide in the back, who else can help you?"

"Don't think I don't know—you collapsed suddenly last night."

As he said this, Ning Hu's voice grew heavier, his eyes filled with worry and anger—he blamed Qin Feng for treating his own body so carelessly. After all, Qin Feng was the pillar of them all; anyone could fall, but Qin Feng could not.

Facing Ning Hu's reprimand, Qin Feng rubbed his nose and said nothing.

"What's the current situation?"

Ning Hu crossed his arms, watching squads of soldiers march toward the City Wall, and said gravely: "There's one good news and one bad news—which do you want first?"

What time is this, and this brat is still beating around the bush!

Qin Feng snapped: "The good news!"

Though it was good news, Ning Hu sighed: "According to scouts and Jianxie inside the Night Owl's ranks, the Enemy Army is still assembling. At this pace, a major force won't arrive for half a month. But… light cavalry don't count."

"You know full well what light cavalry are capable of."

Qin Feng nodded. Light cavalry's greatest advantage was mobility—they could rapidly gather large forces and launch immediate attacks. Based on timing, the Enemy Army's light cavalry had likely already surrounded Changshui County completely. Now, only scouts and Jianxie could still move outside the city.

Anyone leaving the County City risked being ambushed and slaughtered by light cavalry.

In short, even though the enemy hadn't yet arrived at the gates, Changshui County had already become a "dead city"—no one could leave the City Gate without permission.

According to Qin Feng's intelligence, at least five thousand light cavalry were active around Changshui County.

In truth… the military siege had already begun—just not yet opened with battle.

Qin Feng took a deep breath, steadied his emotions, and asked: "What's the bad news?"

Ning Hu frowned, his earlier levity gone, his tone grave: "The disparity between enemy and us is extreme."

"Even as winter intensifies, the Di King wouldn't waste resources mobilizing troops from the provinces—after all, we're few, and the Jingji Garrison alone could easily handle us. The Di King has no reason to send extra forces."

"Yet even so… the entire Jingji Garrison numbers eighty thousand! Even if only twenty percent are deployed, that's sixteen thousand troops."

"And we have… only one thousand eight hundred."

"Even these one thousand eight hundred are the result of our covert operations since arriving at the Di Royal Capital."

Qin Feng originally brought only a thousand men, but over time, small groups of soldiers had "smuggled" themselves into Bei Di to join Qin Feng's army.

Especially after establishing Changshui County, they became even more brazen—at their peak, their numbers exceeded two thousand!

But after the battle at Qingshan County, they lost one hundred thirty-seven comrades, and the scouts sent out were blocked by enemy light cavalry and couldn't return—so now, only one thousand eight hundred soldiers in Changshui County remain combat-ready.

As defenders relying on a City, holding off ten times the enemy isn't impossible—but the problem is… the enemy is the Jingji Garrison… all Elite Troops!

Whether in morale or equipment, they are incomparable to ordinary Tuntian Soldiers.

Most crucially, the enemy must possess heavy siege equipment.