I asked you to go hunting, and you ended up wearing a yellow robe?

The back hall of the county government office.

Zhao Bingkun slammed the letter on the table, his anger rising.

"Li Long ordered the Black Dragon Village to massacre the entire village, and the looted money and grain were divided 40/60."

"It's all in black and white, and it even bears his personal seal."

"If this person is not eliminated, he may cause great trouble!"

County Magistrate Sun Maocai stood to the side, his face as white as paper.

He took two steps closer and said cautiously, "Your Excellency, shouldn't we... reconsider this matter?"

"Commander Li has two hundred border troops under his command, all of whom are veterans who have seen battle and bloodshed."

"Our county government has a total of fifteen constables and less than a hundred county soldiers, all of whom are greenhorns."

"If we really go head-to-head, isn't that like throwing an egg against a rock?"

Chen Chong abruptly turned his head, stared at Sun Maocai, and angrily asked, "What do you mean by that, Magistrate Sun?"

Sun Maocai hurriedly explained, "Your Excellency, I believe there is still room for maneuver in this matter."

"What Chief Li wants is Constable Qi. If we hand him over and prepare a generous gift, this matter might be resolved peacefully."

"It's better than gambling with the lives of more than 30,000 people in the city."

Chen Chong gripped the knife handle tightly.

"Sun Maocai! Are you even speaking human language?"

"Qi Shan killed bandits! Li Long is the beast who colluded with bandits to massacre the village!"

"You want the county magistrate to hand over Qishan? Have you lost your mind?"

Sun Maocai said, "County Lieutenant Chen, you've led troops before. Don't you understand what two hundred fully armed border soldiers mean? And that's several hundred bandits from Black Dragon Village behind them!"

"I'm not afraid of dying, I'm afraid the 30,000 people of Qingyang County will suffer because of me!"

"Making friends with one person in exchange for a city's worth of people—it's a win-win situation no matter how you look at it!"

Chen Chong continued to curse.

Zhao Bingkun suddenly raised his hand.

The back room fell silent immediately.

The candlelight flickered, casting intermittent light and shadow on half of his face.

He stared at the secret letter on the table and remained silent for a long time.

After a while, Sun Maocai thought he was wavering, so he tentatively spoke again.

"Your Excellency..."

Zhao Bingkun suddenly stood up.

He turned and walked to the wall, taking a sword from the shelf.

A layer of dust settled on the scabbard.

He gripped the hilt of the sword and slowly drew it out.

The sword gleamed coldly in the candlelight.

Sun Maocai was stunned.

Chen Chong was also stunned.

Zhao Bingkun looked down at the sword in his hand and suddenly laughed.

He smiled faintly.

"This sword was a gift from my late teacher when I passed the imperial examination."

"My late teacher said that reading the books of sages and wielding the sword of justice is for the purpose of protecting the people of one's region."

He raised his head and glanced at Sun Maocai.

"Magistrate Sun, you want me to hand over Qishan."

"And then what?"

"If Li Long and the Black Dragon Village dare to massacre a village today, they dare to massacre a city tomorrow."

"If I, Zhao Bingkun, befriend Qi Shan today, I will have to befriend ten commoners tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow I will have to hand over Qingyang County to others."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word hit the ground hard.

"By then, what will you, Sun Maocai, be trying to persuade me to hand over?"

Sun Maocai opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Zhao Bingkun stopped looking at him.

He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and slashed down with a fierce blow.

Click!

A corner of the table was neatly chopped off.

Wood chips flew everywhere.

The candle flame flickered violently.

Zhao Bingkun stood holding a sword, his official robes glowing red in the candlelight.

"I, Zhao Bingkun, have studied the classics for twenty years and served as the magistrate of Qingyang County."

"Li Long is a mere brute who colludes with bandits to slaughter civilians, and now he wants to lead troops into the city to hold the government hostage."

"This is treason."

"If I were to bow down to him, how could I face the 30,000 people of Qingyang County?"

"How can I face the imperial court? How can I face my mentor?"

He plunged his sword into the ground.

The sword hummed.

"Chen Chong!"

Chen Chong suddenly straightened his back.

"exist!"

"Immediately organize the county soldiers, inventory their weapons, distribute weapons to all soldiers, and have them assemble at the drill ground within half an hour!"

"yes!"

Zhao Bingkun looked at Qi Shan.

"Captain Qi."

Qi Shan clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"exist."

"You lead the constables to seal off the four gates, and add two guards to the north gate, so that not a single soldier of the border troops is allowed to enter the city."

"Once the city gates are locked, no one is allowed to open them without my order."

Qi Shan nodded.

"clear."

Zhao Bingkun then looked at Sun Maocai.

"County Magistrate Sun."

Sun Maocai shuddered.

"Your humble servant is here."

"Go to the granary, take stock of the stored grain, prepare enough rations for three days, and deliver them to the guards at each gate."

Sun Maocai's lips trembled, and he lowered his head.

"Your humble servant...yes."

Zhao Bingkun drew his sword and sheathed it.

"Go ahead, everyone."

Chen Chong and Qi Shan turned and walked out.

Meng Da followed closely behind.

Sun Maocai was the last to leave the back hall.

He glanced back as he walked out the door.

Zhao Bingkun stood alone behind the desk, the candlelight casting a long shadow over him.

Sun Maocai withdrew his gaze and strode towards the outside of the county government office.

He did not go to the granary.

He slipped into the alley, circled two streets, and secretly left the city, heading straight for the border army's residence.

Two lanterns hung at the entrance, illuminating the stone lions and making them appear ferocious.

Sun Maocai opened the door and was led into the study by a servant.

Li Long was sitting in a grand chair, drinking tea.

Seeing Sun Maocai enter, he put down his teacup.

"Magistrate Sun, what brings you here so late?"

Sun Maocai wiped his sweat and lowered his voice.

"Commander Li, something terrible has happened."

"Zhao Bingkun understands."

Li Long frowned.

"Know what?"

"Secret message."

Sun Maocai's voice trembled.

"Zhao Bingkun read the secret letter that Qi Shan seized from Heilongzhai."

"He ordered the four gates to be sealed off, preventing the border troops from entering the city."

Li Long's face darkened.

He slowly stood up and stared at Sun Maocai.

"Zhao Bingkun, a mere seventh-rank county magistrate, dares to stop me?"

Sun Maocai was so anxious that he stomped his feet.

"Commander Li, Zhao Bingkun is determined to go against you!"

"He has already ordered Chen Chong to reorganize the county troops, and Qi Shan has led men to seal off the four gates!"

"If you don't act now, things will get out of control after dawn!"

Li Long remained silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"That Zhao Bingkun is something else."

"Since he's courting death, then don't blame me for being impolite."

He turned and took his sword from the wall.

"Pass down the order: the entire army shall march."

"Before dawn, I want to stand in the main hall of the Qingyang County Government Office."

outside the city.

On the north gate tower.

Qi Shan leaned against the edge of the battlement and looked into the distance.

The night was as dark as ink.

The wind blew in from the north, carrying the smell of earth.

Meng Da carried a bundle of spears up to the city wall and leaned the spears against the wall.

"Officer, the logs and stones have been brought up."

"Wang Tiezhu is at the South Gate, Zhang Heng is at the East Gate, and Liu Laosi is guarding the West Gate."

Qi Shan nodded.

Footsteps could be heard coming from below the city gate.

A group of people, carrying torches, shovels, and shoulder poles, surged forward.

The leader was an old man in his fifties.

The old man walked up to Qishan and slammed his carrying pole on the ground.

"Officer Qi, I heard the border troops are coming to attack the county town?"

Qi Shan looked at him.

"Sir, what's going on here...?"

The old man turned around and pointed to the group of people behind him.

"They're all neighbors."

"We heard the county magistrate was going to defend the city, so everyone came."

"We don't fight wars, but we can still do manual labor."

Someone shouted from behind.

"Officer Qi, you've killed so many bandits, you're a capable man, we believe in you!"

Someone else chimed in.

"Yes! We believe you!"

The torches crackled and popped.

Qi Shan looked at the group of people and remained silent for a moment.

He clasped his hands in a fist salute.

Thank you all.

"With you all here, this city gate won't fall."

The voice just fell.

Meng Da suddenly pointed into the distance.

"Officer! Look!"

Qishan looked up.

On the distant horizon, a cluster of torches lit up.

Densely packed, like a fiery dragon.

It is crawling towards the north gate.

Under the torchlight, the reflection of weapons could be faintly seen.

Li Long's border troops were all disguised as bandits.

Everyone on the city wall held their breath.

The torch flickered in the wind.

Qi Shan pressed down on the hilt of the knife, his voice calm.

"Beat the drums."