CHAPTER 116: CHAPTER 110 CHAOS BEGINS

Zhao Hu said painfully, "Send over the other set of glass cups to him."

The steward stood listening for further instructions, seeing Zhao Hu had nothing more to say, he looked at him with confusion.

Zhao Hu stomped his foot, "I’ve already given him the other set of glass cups. Must I go personally to apologize? He can take them if he wants. If he’s difficult to deal with, does that mean I’m easy to handle?"

The steward then bowed his head and withdrew.

Zhao Hu turned around on the spot twice, finally unable to contain his anger, he shouted, "Someone, prepare the carriage!"

He was going to Shangcai to settle accounts with Zhao Hanzhang!

When Zhao Hu decided to leave, he left immediately, and the steward couldn’t persuade him otherwise, only standing at the fortress gate, watching him go.

Zhao Hu only brought three to five guards and headed out, riding urgently toward Shangcai.

With fast horses, he should be able to reach the estate in Shangcai by nightfall.

Zhao Hu, full of anger, occasionally hit the side of the carriage urging, "Faster, faster, have you not eaten, or has the horse not eaten grass?"

As soon as the words dropped, the coachman suddenly stopped the carriage, and Zhao Hu fell forward due to inertia, hitting the coachman’s back sharply, furious, he shouted, "You idiot, what are you doing?"

"Sir... Sir..." the coachman’s voice trembled as he pointed ahead.

Zhao Hu only had time to lift his head for a glance, the guards had already reacted, immediately jumping off their horses, shouting while grabbing the carriage to turn around, "Sir, it’s a chaotic army!"

The road wasn’t wide enough, but the guards couldn’t afford to slowly turn it, directly pulling it to step into the fields, trampling on the green bean seedlings as they turned it around, then slapped the coachman, "Hurry, drive the carriage!"

The coachman returned to his senses, whipped the reins, and the carriage instantly dashed forward.

The guards protected the carriage as it ran quickly back, shouting loudly to the farmers still working in the fields, "Enemy attack, enemy attack - quickly return to the fortress!"

The wind blew sand into their mouths, the guards spat twice and continued shouting.

Soon, there wasn’t a need for them to shout because the people in the sentry house on top of the fortress also saw the distant dust rising.

The sentry post on the fortress immediately lit the beacon fire and then rang the bell.

The people working in the fields first heard the bell, then lifted their heads toward the fortress to see smoke thick as black ink.

The people in the fields were stunned momentarily, then immediately reacted, carrying farming tools and began running home, "Run quickly, run quickly."

A child lost a shoe and wanted to go back to pick it up, but an adult grabbed their clothing and tucked them under the arm to run, "At a time like this, you want shoes? Run barefoot, be quick!"

Zhao Hu was tossed around continuously, feeling like coughing up blood, he grabbed onto the window, trying to stabilize himself, stuck his head out to look back and saw indistinct figures and horses indeed heading towards them, he cursed loudly, "Where did these wandering troops come from, daring to cause trouble in Xiping..."

They hadn’t traveled far initially, hurrying back with the horses accelerating, soon reaching the fortress gates.

The people at the gate opened the other two doors, letting the carriage and the farmers run inside.

The commotion quickly alarmed Zhao Song and Zhao Ming.

Zhao Ming hastily changed his shoes and ran outside, seeing his father was about to go out in wooden clogs, he quickly stopped him, "Father, it’s better to convene the clan elders to discuss strategies to repel the enemy, I’ll go to the gate to see."

Zhao Ming rode off, reaching the fortress gate, where the troops were already arriving, and the farmers running back from the fields had returned to their homes to change clothes, take up weapons, and run outside.

Zhao’s Fortress troops, during warfare, serve as troops; during leisure, they are trained, and during busy farming seasons, work in the fields.

Zhao Ming climbed the tower, now able to see the chaotic army rushing this way, a dozen horses leading, followed by infantry in a mess, roughly estimating, there’s no less than a thousand people.

Zhao Ming was puzzled, "Where did these people come from?"

Zhao Hu climbed the tower, leaning on a stone pier, gasping, "Have you seen clearly, is it an enemy attack?"

Zhao Ming didn’t answer, Zhao Hu looked for himself, and upon seeing someone waving flags among the chaotic army, he focused and examined, after a while, he asked in surprise, pointing at the flags, "Liu? Which Liu? Why are there two flags, what’s the other word?"

Zhao Ming’s expression slightly changed, tightly clenched his fists, "Can’t see clearly, but as long as it’s not Xiongnu Army Liu Yuan it’s fine."

The chaotic army gradually approached, the fortress’s gate slowly closed, the drawbridge was lifted, and Zhao’s Fortress instantly became an isolated island, staring across a water channel at the approaching chaotic troops.

Zhao Hu tried hard to count people, an experienced scout already said, "Lord, they number about four thousand."

Zhao Hu felt a chill in his heart, almost falling to the ground, "Our fortress troops barely number a thousand, counting all able-bodied men is just over three thousand, can we hold out?"

"Seventh Uncle should go home, leave this to me," Zhao Ming said, "I’ve already sent someone to the county for help, so many chaotic troops suddenly appeared in Xiping County, Governor He and the County Magistrate will send assistance."

Zhao Hu sat down on the ground, looking up, crying, "How is my luck so bad, just got tricked by both you and Third Lady, and now I encounter something like this."

Zhao Ming warned him, "Seventh Uncle, watch your words, now with a major enemy before us, if you disrupt the military spirit, don’t blame me for not showing mercy."

Zhao’s Fortress mobilized, the troops and able-bodied men divided into two parts, first gathering the troops.

Over the years, they occasionally faced assaults from refugees and wandering troops, but the scale was never large. This was the first time so abruptly, such a large number of chaotic troops appeared.

Zhao Ming couldn’t comprehend where these people emerged from.

The Zhao Family had fields and estates everywhere, regardless if they came from Shangcai direction or Yang City direction, they should have received messages.

Zhao Ming turned to face the direction of the county, Zhao’s Fortress wasn’t far from the county, beacon fires here should quickly send messages to the county.

At this moment, they should react, either to rescue or... keep the city gates tightly shut to fend off.

Zhao Ming was deep in thought when he suddenly saw the county direction also lit up with raging beacon fires.

Zhao Ming’s heart sank, dragging Zhao Hu still crying down from the tower, ordering the troops, "Defend the fortress, move the crossbows from the armory."

"Yes."

Zhao Ming dragged Zhao Hu a distance, Zhao Song arrived with the clan elders, "What’s the situation now?"

Zhao Ming casually pointed at a small restaurant on the side, "Let’s go in and talk."

Entering the restaurant, sending out unrelated people, Zhao Ming then said, "Father, Xiping County has also been attacked, the enemy’s numbers are likely substantial. I’m worried, Xiping and the fortress, may not be defendable."

"Xiping is roughly situated in the heart of Ru Nan, so many chaotic troops, how did they enter without a trace?"

Zhao Ming didn’t know, now wasn’t the time to discuss it, Zhao Ming said, "Father, the emergency is to think clearly whether we will hold out to the death or open the door to welcome them."

Zhao Song’s expression was somber, "If we open the doors to welcome them, do you think the Zhao Family can be preserved?"

Zhao Ming, "Sustain for a while, but not forever, we cannot abandon our women and children, nor can the men lose their backbone."