Chapter Forty-One: Great Liang Territory—We Shall Never Yield, Even unto Death!
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“Negotiations? The timing could hardly be more unfortunate.”
Lei Yan’s mouth twitched.
He had only just handed over the military seal, and now the barbarians’ envoy had come to negotiate?
Did these people have dogs’ noses?
“Old Lei, I suspect... Jiang Changhong isn’t the only one secretly colluding with the barbarians.”
Fatty Li spoke with an unusually grave expression.
Lei Yan opened his mouth, then fell silent.
Of course, he understood the reasoning.
He had simply been unwilling to believe it before.
But now the truth lay before him, leaving him no choice but to accept it.
More importantly, he had handed over the military seal. During these negotiations, he no longer possessed the authority to make the final decision.
If the barbarians offered Chen Jun enough benefits to win him over, the consequences would be unimaginable!
For the sake of all those soldiers, he had to go there himself.
“I’ll go see what these negotiations are about.”
Lei Yan rose and headed for the door.
Watching him leave, Fatty Li raised a hand, then slowly lowered it again.
“Old Ghost Lei, you can’t collapse on us again...”
Not long afterward, Su Mu entered carrying a jug of wine.
Seeing Fatty Li’s dejected expression, he looked puzzled.
“What happened?”
Fatty Li immediately told Su Mu the whole story.
Beside the stone table, Su Mu frowned.
Lei Yan handing over the military seal at a time like this was anything but a good thing!
After all, there was a world of difference between the barbarians merely preparing to march an army against them and having their army already at the border!
Even if the other cities fell, so long as Clear River Town remained unconquered, Chen Jun would already have won.
Moreover, Su Mu had a premonition.
The Inspector had most likely already reached an agreement with the barbarians.
Once the barbarians occupied the other seven frontier cities, Chen Jun would lead the Clear River Town garrison in surrender.
That way, the barbarians might be able to seize Clear River Town without sacrificing a single soldier.
As for Chen Jun, holding Clear River Town until the very end would prove his ability. It would be a victory for both sides.
The only ones who would suffer were the common people.
Given the barbarians’ nature, once they occupied Clear River Town, the people’s fate would be worse than that of livestock.
“Commander, what do you intend to do?” Su Mu asked solemnly, his brow furrowed.
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“Old Ghost Lei cannot come to harm. If anything happens to him, the Xilin Army is finished!”
“So, for the time being, I’m entrusting the Tiger Might Battalion to you!”
“As for me, don’t worry about me for now!”
Fatty Li drew a deep breath, his expression grave and resolute.
He looked ready to face death without flinching.
Su Mu raised an eyebrow and patted Fatty Li on the shoulder.
“Commander, you’re imagining the worst.”
“If things really are as we suspect, then we still have time, don’t we?”
“At the very least, Clear River Town can hold out until the other seven frontier cities fall. Only then will Chen Jun lead the Xilin Army away.”
“That will be the true trial.”
At Su Mu’s words, Fatty Li finally understood.
He stared at Su Mu, mouth opening and closing several times before he fell silent.
How could Fatty Li fail to grasp Su Mu’s meaning?
Once the Xilin Army withdrew, the Tiger Might Battalion would have only two choices.
One would be to follow the Xilin Army, abandon Clear River Town, and abandon all its people—
to watch helplessly as they were slaughtered.
The other would be to defend Clear River Town to the death.
Judging from what he knew of Su Mu, their choice would most likely be the latter.
Hold the town to the death...?
“I understand.”
Fatty Li turned and walked away, his steps heavy.
A month from now, they might very well find themselves facing a situation in which—
there would be no reinforcements,
no supplies,
only the Tiger Might Battalion standing alone against the barbarians’ elite forces.
To anyone else, it would be nothing less than throwing an egg against a rock.
Su Mu remained where he stood, lost in thought.
The Tiger Might Battalion had only seven thousand soldiers in total.
When the time came, stopping ten thousand Tiger-Wolf Cavalry would certainly be no easy task.
Even with the city walls, maneuvering against them would be far from simple.
It seemed they had to make preparations early.
“Su Yi, summon Jiang Hongluan and the others. There’s something important I need to assign to them.”
At Su Mu’s command, Su Yi, who had been sitting in the corner, nodded and hurried out.
Not long afterward, Jiang Hongluan and the other four arrived at the training ground.
Seeing Su Mu standing in the middle, all five looked at him curiously.
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“Captain, you called us here in such a hurry. Is something wrong?” Jiang Hongluan asked curiously.
Su Mu nodded and looked at them with a solemn expression.
“The barbarians have sent an envoy.”
“The Inspector is meeting with him now.”
At those words, Jiang Hongluan and the others exchanged glances, their breathing quickening.
“Captain! Could it be that your identity has been exposed?”
“Do the barbarians know that you were the one who gravely wounded the High Priest?”
Su Mu shook his head.
If the barbarians truly knew their identities, they would not have sent an envoy.
They would have led their army straight here and trampled Clear River Town into the ground, to console the High Priest’s spirit in the afterlife.
“They’ve come this time because they likely want to reach an understanding with the Inspector. Once the barbarians breach the other frontier cities, the Inspector may abandon Clear River Town.”
Everyone’s hearts trembled.
At Su Mu’s words, they could already imagine the river of blood that would flow as a result of such a decision.
More importantly, they all had a premonition.
There was a very high chance that the Inspector would agree.
After all, he was not a native of Clear River Town.
As far as he was concerned, so long as Clear River Town could provide him with sufficient value and help him rise another step, the lives of these so-called common people were utterly insignificant.
“Captain! If they withdraw, then we’ll simply defend Clear River Town to the death!”
“These people want to invade Great Liang’s territory? They’ll have to ask us whether we agree first!”
Jiang Hongluan clenched her fists, her expression resolute.
“Exactly! These barbarians dream of invading our territory and our homes! Even if it costs us our lives, we absolutely will not let them succeed!”
Xu Qing, standing nearby, spoke with equal determination.
She, too, looked ready to face death without flinching.
Looking at them, Su Mu sighed with emotion.
“I called you here today to ask for your opinions.”
“If you wish to defend Clear River Town, then the tasks awaiting you over the next month will be extraordinarily arduous.”
At his words, the five exchanged glances and shook their heads.
“We’re not afraid!”
Su Mu drew a deep breath and nodded.
“Good! Since that is your decision, I’ll assign your respective tasks now!”
“A month from now, if these barbarians want to breach Clear River Town, they can forget about it!”