Ninety-three

“Come back!” Li Miao suddenly shouted at Chen Dao over there. “If you dare step out of this room, you will no longer have me as your lord!” Li Miao said calmly to Chen Dao.

Chen Dao stopped in his tracks and turned around.

“Your Majesty, please allow me to go. If we don’t bring back that traitor Chen Nian, Chen Dao cannot forgive his crime!” Chen Dao cupped his fists and said to Li Miao.

“Crime? What crime do you have?” Li Miao asked Chen Dao.

“Indeed, Dao-ge, you are not guilty; the one at fault is this old fool!” Uncle Chen’s face was pale, his eyes dim. This old man was even considering dying to atone for the sin.

“Huh?” Chen Dao thought Li Miao was going to lay the blame on the old uncle and was shocked. “Your Majesty, let this old uncle’s fault be borne by Chen Dao alone!” Chen Dao bowed his head and knelt down.

“What fault does the old uncle have?” Li Miao stepped forward and helped Uncle Chen up.

“Ah?” Uncle Chen was stunned.

“Uncle, this version came to assist Jiang Ting; this is no fault, but rather a great merit. It’s just that the traitor Chen Nian showed up,” Li Miao explained to Uncle Chen. Right now, what was needed was to seek common ground and preserve differences, not to blame teammates.

A teammate as foolish as a pig has already done pig-like things. If you attack him again, if his mood sours or he feels guilty and acts on his own accord, it will be disastrous. So Li Miao could only shift the blame onto the unfamiliar Chen Nian.

“Who is this Chen Nian?” Li Miao asked Chen Dao and Uncle Chen, then learned that Chen Nian was once a troublemaker in Chen Village. Most of the able-bodied men had gone off to join the army, but Chen Nian, afraid of death, stayed behind.

Later, Chen Village fell into decline. To be honest, Chen Nian had actually helped with some affairs in the village, but as the saying goes, a leopard can’t change its spots. If Uncle Chen hadn’t kept an eye on him, Chen Nian would have long since joined the mountain bandits.

Chen Nian was lazy and gluttonous, with no girls willing to marry him, so he remained alone. When the refugees from Chen Village arrived at Jiang Ting, Chen Nian wanted to stay behind, but at that time Li Miao himself could hardly guarantee their safety, so leaving the children behind was the utmost kindness.

Other refugees understood Li Miao’s difficult position, but Chen Nian did not. He had no children, only himself. Staying in Jiang Ting offered a chance to survive; returning to Chen Village meant certain death.

It seemed that Uncle Chen had long seen through his intentions and kept watch to prevent Chen Nian from staying.

This time, Uncle Chen was helping Jiang Ting, and Chen Nian was reluctant because chasing the Songshan bandits meant risking death. The scout mission wasn’t even supposed to be Chen Nian’s; Chen Bang was still around and in good shape.

But for some unknown reason, Chen Nian volunteered.

Then came the current scene. Meiqian’s army had learned the true situation of Jiang Ting from the scout captured in Chen Village.

“He is quite the talent!” Li Miao chuckled bitterly. How had he not discovered such a shameless, brazen, and heartless traitor who could betray his own comrades? A person like this would be wasted outside officialdom.

“Report!” The scout sent by Li Miao brought news that Meiqian’s main force, after learning Jiang Ting’s true situation, had changed course and was charging toward Jiang Ting. Being played like that, it was a wonder they weren’t angry before; now that they knew the truth, anger was inevitable.

Meiqian’s army was less than thirty miles away! Meiqian was coming in fury and would surely quicken the pace. Once they reached Jiang Ting’s walls, a fierce battle was unavoidable.

“Chen Bang, quickly gather the villagers on the city walls; we will share life and death with Jiang Ting!” Uncle Chen showed his courage. Compared to Meiqian’s forces, Jiang Ting was like heaven and earth apart. If fighting broke out on the walls, it would be a death trap.

Yet Uncle Chen still wanted to lead everyone onto the walls.

“Understood, Great Uncle!” Chen Bang nodded honestly and was about to leave the walls to gather the villagers resting in a nearby valley.

“Wait!” Li Miao called out to Chen Bang. “No need to send people to the walls!”

“Your Majesty, do you still resent Chen Village?” Uncle Chen’s face had a faint flush—not from health, but anger. He was still fixated on Chen Nian’s betrayal, especially after learning that Jiang Ting had tricked the Songshan bandits out, and they were the reason Meiqian’s bandits returned.

This weighed heavily on Uncle Chen’s conscience toward Jiang Ting.

The old man had his own steadfastness. Uncle Chen believed he owed Li Miao a debt and was determined to repay it, even if it cost him his life.

“Uncle!” Li Miao smiled wryly. “I’ll call you Uncle just like Chen Dao does.” He knew dealing with such a stubborn old man required care; pushing too hard might make him reckless and cause his death, which wouldn’t help anyone.

Nor could he simply dismiss the old man. He needed to keep him busy. If left idle, well, unless Li Miao killed him, there was no stopping him.

So whether Li Miao liked it or not, he had to play along with Uncle Chen.

“Uncle, having your villagers on Jiang Ting’s walls won’t help at all,” Li Miao explained.

“Your Majesty, do you look down on our old, weak, and sick?” Uncle Chen said angrily.

“No, no, no!” Li Miao hurriedly shook his head. If the old man got a heart attack or stroke from anger, Li Miao would be to blame.

“It’s not that I look down on the villagers around you, Uncle. You see, the people inside Jiang Ting are no better off. The city walls are small; even if your villagers rush over, they can’t fight. If they clog the walls, they’ll be sitting ducks!” Li Miao reasoned gently, surprised at his own skill in comforting an old man.

“But we can’t just do nothing!” Uncle Chen insisted on finding something to do. Li Miao was bitter. What use were these old, weak, and sick? He didn’t want Chen Village’s name tarnished in Jiang Ting, not out of kindness but because their arrival would drain the already scarce supplies. Every mouth had to be fed, and more people meant more eyes watching him—how could he escape then?

But since Uncle Chen was determined to help, Li Miao had no choice but to think of a way.

“There is something to do!” Li Miao said. “Uncle, you and your villagers stay where you are and wait for my orders!”

“Wait for Your Majesty’s orders?” Uncle Chen was surprised.

“Yes. Wait until we break Meiqian’s army. Then you and the villagers will crush the beaten foes!” Li Miao said confidently.

“Crush the beaten foes?” Uncle Chen was more confused. Was Jiang Ting truly strong enough to defeat Meiqian’s Songshan bandits? And then crush the beaten foes? Was this a joke?

“Uncle, you don’t understand! All’s fair in war. We don’t just have the troops you see in Jiang Ting!” Li Miao said.

“Huh?” Uncle Chen was even more puzzled. “Other troops? I didn’t know.”

“Do I have to report that to you?” Li Miao thought. “Uncle, have you seen General Zhang Xun of the Zhong Kingdom’s army?”

Uncle Chen glanced over twice, clearly skeptical.

“No!” he answered.

“Well, General Zhang Xun is my ambush force!” Li Miao boasted without hesitation.

“Ambush force?”

“Yes! Ambush force. These Songshan bandits have been plaguing the area for years, committing countless evils in the Jianghuai region. I’ve long wanted to wipe them out but lacked the chance. Now the bandit Meiqian has come out himself, so it’s no fault of mine!”

“Ah, so Your Majesty has long had a plan?” Uncle Chen finally believed him.

“Of course. So, Uncle, rest assured. You don’t need to worry about Jiang Ting. You and your villagers just watch the show and wait for my order to crush the defeated!” Li Miao coaxed.

“Is that really true, Dao-ge?” Uncle Chen even turned to look at Chen Dao.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Chen Dao was about to deny it but saw Li Miao’s nearly murderous gaze and hurriedly nodded. His face flushed red—this was the first time he had lied to his uncle.

“Alright, then I’ll wait in the city for Your Majesty’s good news! Chen Bang, tell the villagers to stay outside and wait for His Majesty’s orders!” Uncle Chen instructed.

“Understood, Uncle!” Chen Bang was about to leave but was stopped by Li Miao.

“Brother-in-law, send someone to load several carts of grain for Chen Bang to take out!”

“Grain?” Huang Yi was stunned. “Your Majesty, the city’s supplies are nearly depleted! The warehouse is almost empty now. Taking out more grain?”

“Your Majesty, this is impossible. The city’s grain must be saved for the soldiers,” Uncle Chen also hesitated.

“Uncle, don’t refuse. I know your people in Chen Village also lack food. How can they fight on empty stomachs? Don’t worry, General Zhang Xun has ample supplies. After we defeat the Songshan bandits, there will be as much grain as needed. If there’s any leftover, we can store it!” Li Miao reassured Uncle Chen.

“How could the grain go to waste? It will be eaten! Your Majesty’s great kindness leaves Chen Village with nothing to repay you. Thank you!” Uncle Chen’s eyes welled with tears as he knelt down. Grain was life-saving food; Li Miao had saved Chen Village once again.

“Go quickly!” Li Miao said to Chen Bang. “Uncle, you should rest now.”

Huang Yi soon loaded three carts of grain for Chen Bang. Though not much, it was nearly half the warehouse’s supply—the absolute limit for Jiang Ting.

Chen Bang, though simple-minded, understood one thing clearly: this “Your Majesty” was very kind to Chen Village. He had seen the nearly empty warehouse and how reluctant some were to take the little grain left. Giving away their last resources to others—what else could he be but a good man?

“This Your Majesty and Uncle are both good people!” Chen Bang silently praised Li Miao, wondering how Li Miao would react if he knew.

Chen Bang left with the grain. Li Miao even had several of Chen Village’s young militia accompany Chen Bang to help carry the supplies.

“Brother Miao, Brother Miao!” While Li Miao was still pondering how to confront the enemy, Huang Yi, the brother-in-law, called out, seemingly wanting to say something.

“Hm?” Li Miao frowned. Did this brother-in-law have news or a plan?

He approached, and sure enough, Huang Yi did not disappoint. His first words were, “Brother Miao, did Zhang Xun really ambush Meiqian’s bandits?”

Huang Yi winked as he asked.

Li Miao rolled his eyes inwardly. Did Zhang Xun really set an ambush? What was the true situation in Jiang Ting? Didn’t Huang Yi already know? What Li Miao said was just to reassure Uncle Chen, who half-believed it. But Huang Yi fully believed it.

He had fallen into the trap that this was a stratagem to entrap and annihilate Meiqian’s Songshan bandits. Huang Yi was already thinking about how to plunder the bandits after their defeat, eyeing their wealth.

Li Miao didn’t bother explaining further. Huang Yi was known as one of the cowardly duo; the other member needed no mention.

That such a coward was so optimistic indicated one thing: confidence. If he, who feared death, was so hopeful, what did others have to worry about?

Hence, Huang Yi also served to bolster morale.