Tian Kui Peak and Long Xu Gou are where?
Guan Xiao Rou and Tang Dong Dong looked completely blank.
But Zheng Fang, Tie Chui, and Xiao Yu all stood up abruptly at the same time.
Guan Xiao Rou and Tang Dong Dong did not know where Tian Kui Peak and Long Xu Gou were, but the three of them knew very clearly.
Tian Kui Peak was close to Hei Shui Gou, and Long Xu Gou was near Hei Feng Ridge. Both were vital locations that could not be lost.
“How many people?” Zheng Fang asked.
“From the intelligence that came back, both sides have several hundred people!” A Ju replied.
“Where exactly are so many bandits coming from?” Tang Dong Dong said through gritted teeth. “When Feng brother returns with the troops, I will definitely tell him to have Liang brother wipe out all the bandits in the entire Xichuan!”
“With court taxes getting heavier and Xichuan hit by disasters again this year, the common people cannot survive. Naturally, more of them turn to banditry.”
Tie Chui said, “On my way back from the capital, the further west into Xichuan I went, the more people crowded the pawnshops in every county town. Prices kept dropping too. Sometimes five or six jin of millet could buy two grown girls.”
Tang Dong Dong sighed upon hearing this and asked, “What do we do about Tian Kui Peak and Long Xu Gou?”
“Tie Niu definitely cannot make it back in time now. Old Zheng and I will have to hold the line.” Tie Chui said helplessly.
Although Jin Feng had been trying his best to train commanders, the Zhen Yuan Escort Agency had been established for too short a time. The talent gap was still huge.
Especially for high-level commanders.
Escort agency commanders were not the same as female managers of the chamber of commerce.
If a female manager made a wrong decision, the worst that happened was losing some money.
But if an escort agency commander made a wrong decision, the price was human lives.
That was why Jin Feng was bold in appointing female managers but extremely cautious when appointing escort agency commanders.
He had thought that with Zheng Fang and the other three holding down the village, they would not need many commanders. So during this campaign to Xichuan, Jin Feng had taken away more than half of the mid-level commanders.
Tie Niu had taken another batch to Shuang Tuo Peak.
Now in Xi He Bay village, apart from Zheng Fang and Tie Chui as the two camp commanders, only two company commanders and two platoon commanders remained.
And both of those company commanders had suffered severe injuries in previous bandit extermination operations. One had his left calf amputated, and the other had lost his entire right leg. They could only stay behind to guard the village and were not fit for another campaign.
So after calculating everything, the only ones who could now be sent out to meet the enemy were Zheng Fang and Tie Chui.
“You two cannot both leave. Otherwise, who will hold down the village?”
Tang Dong Dong immediately voiced her opposition.
“Then what do you think we should do now?” Tie Chui countered. “We cannot send Old Tong and Old Fan, can we? They cannot even ride horses. Are they supposed to fight from a carriage?”
“This…” Tang Dong Dong was at a loss for words.
“Dong Dong, this is the only way at the moment.”
Guan Xiao Rou, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. “Brother Zheng, Brother Tie Chui, just go with peace of mind. In the village, we have Brother Tong, Brother Fan, the three village heads, and us. Nothing will happen!”
People do not grow without facing trials.
Guan Xiao Rou had an introverted personality. Back at her family home, everything had been decided by her father and brother.
After marrying Jin Feng, she had not needed to worry about anything. She only needed to think about how to make Jin Feng happy.
This made Guan Xiao Rou extremely dependent on Jin Feng. Whenever something happened, her first thought was always to ask Jin Feng.
Whatever Jin Feng told her to do, she did.
But now Jin Feng was not here, and so many things had happened one after another in recent days. Guan Xiao Rou seemed to have matured all at once.
When something happened, she no longer felt as helpless as before. Instead, she learned to think for herself and come up with countermeasures.
She had also become much more decisive than before and gradually started to carry herself like a true mistress of the house.
“Since things have come to this, there is no other choice.”
Zheng Fang nodded. “Tie Chui, go prepare. We need to set out as soon as possible!”
“How many men do we take?” Tie Chui asked.
“Take…”
Zheng Fang stopped in his tracks. His expression became extremely grim.
He had been about to say each of them would take one company, but then he remembered that the entire Xi He Bay village only had three companies of escorts left.
If he and Tie Chui each took one company, the remaining people might not even have enough to defend the fortresses around the village.
“Brother Zheng, Brother Tie Chui, each of you take one company.” Guan Xiao Rou said. “Later I will go to the warehouse and get fifty sets of black armour for each of you, plus three crates of hand grenades!”
“If we each take one company, what about the village?” Zheng Fang asked. “One company might not even be enough to guard the fortresses, let alone handle shifts and rest.”
“Otherwise, shall we go to Hei Shui Gou and recruit a batch of bandits?” Tie Chui asked. “That way we can use bandits to fight bandits.”
Tang Dong Dong’s eyes suddenly lit up when she heard this.
Hei Shui Gou held several thousand bandits, all strong young men.
If they could mobilise them, they would no longer have to worry about manpower shortages.
“No, we cannot use bandits!”
Zheng Fang waved his hand decisively and rejected Tie Chui’s suggestion without hesitation. “Many of the imprisoned bandits have had relatives and friends killed by us. They cannot be trusted.”
“We can screen them,” Tie Chui said. “Pick those with high points and good behaviour records.”
“High points and good behaviour do not mean they do not hate us.”
Zheng Fang said, “Moreover, bandits usually have no bottom line. If they turn against us at a critical moment, the consequences would be catastrophic. None of us can bear that responsibility!
Even if we want to recruit from Hei Shui Gou, we must wait until Mr returns with the troops and we have the ability to suppress any uprising in Hei Shui Gou at any time!”
“Brother Zheng is right,” Xiao Yu nodded and said. “Unless absolutely necessary, bandits cannot be used.”
“Then what do we do now with insufficient manpower?” Tie Chui asked.
“I actually have an idea. See if it works.”
Guan Xiao Rou spoke up. “The sisters in the textile factory have been training these days. They may not be able to fight on the front lines, but controlling heavy crossbows and catapults from the fortresses should be no problem.
We can recruit a batch of sisters from the textile factory to work with Company Commander Tong and Company Commander Fan. What do you think?”
“Yes! How did we forget about the textile factory?” Tie Chui slapped his thigh hard. “Mr organised the sports meet precisely to prepare for situations like today!”
The rewards Jin Feng set for the sports meet were truly too generous and tempting for ordinary female workers.
After the sports meet ended, no one had to urge them. The female workers all trained actively, preparing for the spring sports meet next year.
Every morning, behind the escort training teams, long lines of female workers could be seen following along.
The heavy crossbow and catapult training grounds for the escorts always had female workers present too.
Especially the few squads that had performed outstandingly in the sports meet. Their proficiency in operating heavy crossbows and catapults, as well as their coordination, was higher than that of most female escorts.
If it were not for the fact that they all had families and were unwilling to become escorts, A Pei would have poached them long ago.
Although they had not received systematic military training and could not fight on the front lines, helping the escorts stand guard, keep watch, or operate heavy crossbows and catapults from the fortresses was no issue at all.
