Underworld entries, starting with ghost stories.

Wu Qing asked, "Miss, how many cavalry do you think the government troops will have this time?"

Dou Xianniang laughed and said, "Qing-ge'er, don't tease us. This place is all mountain roads. What use would cavalry be to attack our mountain stronghold?"

"It's probably just two or three hundred cavalrymen bringing up the rear."

Wu Qing said, "Exactly! They attack the camp, and we defend it. This is a matter of course for both sides."

"If we launch a surprise attack, after they leave the city, we can send out cavalry to flank them and cut them down two or three times. They will have no choice but to collapse."

Dou Bin shook his head and said, "Brother Qing, although you have brilliant ideas, I'm afraid you're not good at using troops."

"We only have two hundred fine horses. If we launch a flanking attack, their cavalry will block our way, and we will find it difficult to defeat them in one fell swoop."

"At that time, their infantry will take advantage of the ensuing melee to press forward, and our cavalry will have no chance of escaping."

Wu Qing said, "So the prerequisite for victory is to be able to crush the enemy's cavalry in one fell swoop, isn't it?"

Dou Xianniang said, "Qing-ge'er, do you mean that the hundred men you trained can easily defeat an equal number of cavalry on the other side?"

Wu Qing held a fan in his right hand and wrapped his left arm around his right hand, bowing to Dou Xianniang and saying, "That's right. Therefore, this time, Miss needs to personally lead the cavalry to launch a preemptive attack on the enemy."

"The number of government troops is several times that of us. They will not expect us to take the initiative to attack. In addition, the road leading to my village is relatively narrow. They will definitely not form a battle formation after leaving the city gate."

"Their formation moved in a serpentine pattern, making it easy for elite cavalry to break through. When our cavalry suddenly attacked, the enemy could only use their cavalry to block them, and then have their infantry surround them."

"But if we can crush the enemy cavalry in the first step and then charge in, their troops will be thrown into chaos in their panic."

The others looked at each other.

The key to this plan was that the officers and soldiers would never have imagined that their hundred cavalrymen were so formidable.

Not to mention the officers and soldiers, even they themselves couldn't have imagined it.

Dou Kui hesitated for a moment: "Master, what if we can't defeat the enemy cavalry in the first step?"

Wu Qing said, "Then come back and hang me at the gate of the stronghold. That will surely scare away thousands of enemy soldiers."

Dou Xianniang laughed and said, "That's not necessary! Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. If it really doesn't work, we'll think of another way."

That's what they said, but everyone else knew that they only had that many warhorses.

If the plan fails and the warhorses and hundreds of warriors are lost, the entire Wuji Village will undoubtedly be defeated.

At that time, they might still be able to escape, but the people who sought refuge with them would surely be slaughtered.

Although some people have doubts, Dou Xianniang has always acted decisively.

Seeing that she chose to trust the advisor, everyone had no choice but to follow her orders.

Amidst everyone's skepticism, they actually made their plans based on the premise that the one hundred martial artists trained by Wu Qing could instantly defeat an equal number of opponents under Dou Xianniang's leadership.

Seeing how much they trusted him, Wu Qing felt a surge of inexplicable emotion, like spring flowers blooming, welling up inside him.

The group discussed together where to flank the government troops and how to expand the battle.

Dan Ailian was in charge of intelligence and did not understand tactics, so she remained silent.

It was quite speechless to watch as everyone was going to use a thousand soldiers to launch an attack on a government force four times their size, and even start planning how to expand their gains.

Although the enemy's tactics of driving civilians to attack the village were indeed vicious, given the disparity in troop strength, shouldn't we at least insist on defending the village?

I just don't understand these people!

Two more days passed, and finally the day of battle arrived.

Dan Ailian stood atop the village wall, and the villagers carried up many large stones and logs.

She looked up at the sky.

The sky was overcast today, with dark clouds rolling in, pressing down in layers, but there was no sign of rain. Instead, the air around the village felt muggy.

She looked back and saw many people with pale faces. Although they obeyed orders and were ready to carry more wood and stones up at any time, their expressions were blank and their eyes were glazed, and they were all at a loss.

Dan Ailian sighed inwardly.

The last time Wuji Village was destroyed, the village was full of "bandits" who were actually just ordinary people who couldn't survive.

In the end, they were all slaughtered by the government troops. Only a very few escaped from the mountain, but they were chased and killed by the government troops.

At that time, Qingge'er seemed to be the village's clerk.

Of course, Shan Ailian knew that Wuji Village at this moment was definitely different from the previous village.

However, the number of soldiers and generals sent by the government to suppress them also increased, especially those powerful local magnates who spent money to recruit many martial artists.

"Miss Ailian, you should go to the rear," a female soldier beside her advised. "If the government troops attack, it will be a fierce battle here, too dangerous."

Shan Ailian shook her head.

Last night at midnight, Dou Xianniang and her advisor led their only two hundred cavalrymen out of the village and lay in ambush outside the county town.

As dawn approached, another two hundred people left the village as planned.

The village currently has only six or seven hundred soldiers available. If Dou Xianniang and her men cannot achieve a decisive victory outside the city, and the government troops drive the people in to kill them, the village's stubborn resistance will be nothing more than a death throes.

She was wearing a pink and white high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and she felt a pang of resentment at her own weakness, unable to go to the battlefield at this time, and could only suffer in the rear, waiting for news.

Dan Ailian looked into the distance, but the direction of the county town was blocked by the mountains in front of her and could not be seen at all.

To avoid Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang, my father was forced to flee Taiyuan, and his whereabouts are still unknown.

On Gaojibo's side, Sun Anzu is being besieged by a large force, and the situation is very bad.

If this side is defeated and destroyed, she doesn't know where to escape to.

Her heart was pounding wildly. Even though she was standing there motionless, her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest.

Is it really possible for those 600 men who left the village to defeat 4,000 government troops?

She let out a soft breath, trying to calm her heartbeat.

But her heart was racing even faster, and she was swaying unsteadily, unable to stand up straight.

"Miss Ailian, please sit down for a while." The female soldier helped her up and sat her down on a stone next to her. "I heard from the young lady that you have been frail and sickly since childhood. I hope you don't faint here before the news from over there arrives."

Shan Ailian shook her head: "I'm fine."

And so, they waited until noon.

The villagers guarding the village wall began to eat, and the female soldier also served Shan Ailian a bowl of meat soup.

Dan Ailian held the meat soup in both hands and looked up at the sky.

The sky was dark, except for a faint ray of sunlight piercing through the clouds in the very center.

"It's noon!" she said softly. "Strange, at this time, regardless of victory or defeat, there should be news from the front lines."

Suddenly someone shouted, "They're here! They're here!"

Dan Ailian hurriedly put the broth aside, stood up, and looked outside.

Sure enough, a martial artist rode up on a fast horse.

The man rushed down the slope, but the horse's momentum weakened, and it was still quite a distance away.

He looked extremely impatient, whipping his horse a few times to urge it uphill, while simultaneously looking up and shouting in their direction, "Hurry up..."

Someone next to Shan Ailian shouted, "Hurry up what? Speak louder, I didn't hear you."

Seeing that the man was travel-worn and impatient, everyone felt their hearts darken like accumulating clouds.

Shan Ailian gripped the stack of arrows in front of her, swaying unsteadily, her face pale.

The man outside rode closer, and as he drew nearer, he put his hands together in front of his mouth and shouted:

"Hurry to the clerk's courtyard and get his feather fan. He forgot to bring it. I'll take it to him..."