knife

Chapter 416 When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it.

He Han knelt to one side, a sharp knife spinning rapidly in his hand, turning a cucumber into a long, thin strip. With a few deft touches in the plate, the cucumber strips transformed into tiny green flowers. Finally, a red date was placed inside, and the arrangement was complete.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ping was enthusiastically roasting a suckling pig on the side, holding a seasoning brush in her hand, occasionally dipping it in various seasonings and brushing it onto the suckling pig. The oil dripped into the fire, occasionally splashing up red and yellow sparks, sizzling and filling the air with fragrance.

Picking up a knife, he cut off pieces of the golden-brown roasted pork and placed them on the plate that He Han had just prepared. He arranged the pieces one by one and then pushed them in front of Li Dachui, forming a heart shape.

"Li Bao, try my cooking!" Jiang Ping said with a smile. "A good teacher produces a good student!"

"Let's not brag!" Li Dachui said with a smile. "In my opinion, Brother He's knife skills can surpass all our cooking skills. Brother He, are you a knife expert?"

He Han smiled and shook his head.

"Li Bao, don't assume He Han is a swordsman just because he peels cucumbers well, and don't think you should spar with him," Jiang Ping said. "He Han has been a peak ninth-grade Xuan Yuan cultivator for many years, much stronger than you who just entered the ninth grade. Don't humiliate yourself!"

"That's not necessarily true!" Li Dachui said with a look of dissatisfaction. "My ninth rank was earned through fighting, which is far superior to anything earned through training. Jiang Jiang, the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan is just a realm, not a measure of skill. I've seen someone with the eighth rank of Xuan Yuan kill a guy with the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan."

"How do you know He Han didn't earn his ninth rank through fighting?" Jiang Ping smiled and said to He Han, "He Han, show this country bumpkin from beyond the Great Wall what you've got."

"Farewell! Martial arts are for killing, not for performing!" Li Dachui said. "Although Brother He is your bodyguard, you cannot treat him so lightly!"

"It's alright!" He Han smiled slightly, sitting there motionless. The small knife used to peel cucumbers earlier flew out, seemingly very slowly, circling in the air before flying back and hovering in front of He Han.

Reaching out to take the knife, He Han bowed slightly: "I'll make a fool of myself!"

Li Dachui gave the other person a thumbs up: "Impressive!"

Jiang Ping's eyes widened: "What's so special about this? You're making a fool of yourselves, and you're saying you admire us?"

Li Dachui laughed heartily, picked up a piece of roasted meat, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it heartily: "Mmm, delicious, you've really mastered my skills, wonderful, wonderful!"

Judging from his expression, he had absolutely no intention of explaining the reason to Jiang Ping.

It probably means that you can't talk about ice with a summer insect, and you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you.

Jiang Ping was so angry that she cut off a piece of fatty meat and threw it into Li Dachui's plate.

Li Dachui laughed heartily and ate without being picky, his mouth greasy with oil.

A head peeked in from outside, looked around, and then withdrew. He Han got up and went out. A moment later, he turned back, glanced at Jiang Ping, then at Li Dachui, but said nothing.

“Li Bao is one of us, I trust him, so just say what you have to say!” Jiang Ping rolled her eyes at him.

"Princess, we're in trouble!" He Han said.

"What trouble?" Li Dachui and Jiang Ping asked in unison. As soon as they spoke, they looked at each other and smiled, showing a remarkable understanding between them.

"News has come from Yong'an County that Lin Hong is personally leading three thousand cavalrymen and is heading towards Yongxing. At their speed of advance, they will arrive in Yongxing in two days!" He Han said.

"Two days?" Li Dachui frowned. "Two days isn't enough time to evacuate all the civilians outside."

"Tell them to run!" Jiang Ping said. "With Lin Hong here, I'm afraid their fate will be uncertain."

“The problem is, the people in front of us only left after receiving their rice and money. They waited patiently, hoping for just that. Now you’re telling them to run away and that Lin Hong has brought soldiers to kill them. Do you think they’ll believe you?” Li Dachui shrugged. “I’m afraid they’ll think the government is deceiving them and doesn’t want to give them the money and food.”

“But we didn’t lie to them!” He Han said.

“By the time they realize this, it will all be over!” Li Dachui said, “There will be rivers of blood outside Yongxing City! Unless you, little princess, can stop Lin Hong’s actions.”

"In Lin Hong's eyes, what am I, a powerless little princess, worth?" Jiang Ping said helplessly. "Don't think that just because I can scare Lin Rong and his people, I'm no match for important officials like Lin Hong. He doesn't give me face, and I'm powerless. Should I go and slander him to my sister? I doubt that guy cares at all."

"Now that you mention it, your sister was quite a wise ruler!" Li Dachui said thoughtfully.

"She is the Empress Dowager, not some monarch!"

Li Dachui laughed: "Now, what's the difference between your sister and the emperor? It's just a difference in title." "Princess, let's go!" He Han said, "You are of noble birth; you can't risk your life here. Once the army arrives and a fight breaks out, things could get very difficult!"

“What about the people below the city? We can leave, but if the people below the city don’t leave, they’re doomed. Wouldn’t all the things we did before have been for nothing?” Jiang Ping shook her head and looked at Li Dachui, who was still eating meat heartily on the side, and said, “Li Bao, what do you suggest we do?”

"When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it. In our region outside the Great Wall, when we encounter something like this, we'll just do whatever it takes!"

"Lin Hong's three thousand cavalrymen are formidable in combat. Don't think that just because they are cavalrymen they can't attack cities. Although these three thousand men are paid by the imperial court, they are actually Lin's private army. They can fight on horseback, on foot, and even on boats. The monthly military pay that Lin Hong gives them is several times more than what the imperial court gives them."

“No wonder Yongxing County is practically Lin’s private property. Such huge expenses definitely need to be addressed!” Li Dachui nodded repeatedly. “But while they are strong, we are not weak either! Brother He, I’ve seen your men. Although they only number a hundred, those hundred are worth a thousand!”

“You don’t understand Lin Hong’s army, but I do. With my small force, I can’t win!” He Han shook his head.

"How could you only have this many men?" Li Dachui laughed. "I think the soldiers Zhang Yuan led in the city are quite good, and there are also several thousand private soldiers. If we pick and choose, we can find about a thousand who can charge into battle. Besides, isn't there Su Qi from the Demonic Sect outside the city? He has about a thousand men under his command, so we don't have fewer men than them!"

"Does Su Qi of the Demonic Sect listen to you?"

"I'll talk to them!" Li Dachui wiped his face, revealing a completely different expression. "Besides, I'm a ninth-grade Xuan Yuan cultivator, and Brother He, you're also a ninth-grade Xuan Yuan cultivator. With the two of us at the ninth grade Xuan Yuan leading the charge, can Lin Hong hold his own?"

"I must protect the princess's safety and cannot leave her side!" He Han shook his head: "These hundred guards also cannot leave the princess's side. Moreover, there is absolutely no way the princess will follow us into battle."

Li Dachui turned to look at Jiang Ping.

Jiang Ping asked, "Li Bao, are you planning to take the initiative to leave the city and fight?"

"Not only should we take the initiative to fight outside the city, but we should also ambush them on the way!" Li Dachui said, "Lin Hong probably never expected that we would dare to do such a thing, right?"

"That's a great idea!" Jiang Ping looked at He Han and said, "He Han, let's do it this way. You go and ambush them on the way, and I'll hide in the city with two guards by my side. If you defeat Lin Hong outside, I can rest easy here. If you lose, I can still run away!"

"This……"

"It's settled then!" Jiang Ping said.

"Okay, I'll go talk to Su Qi now. He caused this mess, and he has to clean it up. But Jiang Jiang, after this, we're all friends. So, you can give Zhan Zhao and all that back to them, okay?"

“After we win this battle, I’ll have He Han personally go to Yong’an Prison and bring out that Zhan Zhao. If you want to blame me, I’ll take full responsibility!” Jiang Ping said.

Li Dachui gave a thumbs up: "She is indeed a heroine among women. I will now go out of the city to discuss the matter of joining forces with Su Qi."

Jiang Ping couldn't help but laugh as she watched Li Dachui tear off a pig's leg and walk away, gnawing on it.

Then he took a knife, cut off a small piece, chewed it slowly, and even cut off a piece to hand to He Han: "Try it, I really grilled it well, it's rare that this picky guy likes it!"

He Han carefully took the piece of meat, but did not eat it. Instead, he said, "Miss, Lin Hong made the wrong choice."

"If it's going to rain, it'll rain; if a mother wants to remarry, what can you do?" Jiang Ping sighed. "I gave him the chance, but he chose the one I least wanted to see. He's here to kill us all to silence us. Everyone has to die, including me, the little princess!"

"Am I really going to charge in with Li Dachui?"

"Of course!"

"Is Miss here?"

“Lin Hong wants to kill me, the young princess, but naturally he can’t do it in front of everyone,” Jiang Ping said. “He will definitely send experts to sneak into the city to find an opportunity, to kill me in the chaos. So I gave him this opportunity.”

He Han couldn't help but laugh: "Anyway, Li Dachui was fighting Lin Hong outside at that time, so he couldn't possibly have found out what was happening in the city."

Jiang Ping laughed: "That's right. You keep an eye on him. I'll go to the city and meet this expert under Lin Hong's command. Let's see who he is."

"Someone saw Wang Jun in Yong'an County!"

"If it's him, that's great!" Jiang Ping beamed. "Catch him and send him back to Danyang. I want to see how Xiang Ying explains himself. Wang Jun was his most trusted general. He was also a key player in the last Danyang Incident. It's just that Lin Yunqi didn't catch him and let him escape. This time he's delivered himself to our doorstep. Perfect. Old Xiang has the last bit of stuff he holds, so he has to hand it over to me. Otherwise, I'll kill Wang Jun right in front of him."

(End of this chapter)