Chapter Thirty-Five: The Night of the New Year's Eve with a Dark Moon and Strong Winds

  But both sides had their own plans, and they simply waited for the night of the winter solstice to engage in a fierce battle. Those who survived would proudly welcome the new year, while those who lost their lives would have no one to cry out to as they descended into the underworld.

  At noon, Li Jin thought brought back a group of guards disguised as family servants and Zheng Bo to Wohu Village. The Drunken Immortal Building in Changzi County was empty, not even a single wine jar was left behind, all were moved back to the village.

  Li Jinwu and Xu Mantang were still on their way, as the distance from Jinyang to Shangdang was considerable. By the time they returned to Wohu Village, it would probably be the second day of the first month already.

  "There have been signs of mobilization and preparation in multiple locations within the city, and two battalions of county soldiers outside the city barracks also show signs of movement." In the council chamber, Li Jin reported some situations he had discovered to Zhao Xing. "According to the analysis of the situation found by the scouts sent to various places, Zhang Yang is likely to make a big move this time!"

  "Let's put ourselves in Zhang Yang's shoes for a moment. If we were him, how would we deal with the Sleeping Tiger Manor?" Zhao Xing sat there, inspiring everyone to think.

  "The key is to know just how big Zhang Yang's appetite is!" Jia Yu thought to himself.

  "If I were Zhang Yang, I would either make no move or swallow the Sleeping Tiger Manor in one bite!" Zhao Xing replied.

  "What if you were Zhang Biangkun?" Jia Yu continued to ask.

  "Zhang Bingkun is probably most concerned about my Xu family's winery!" Zhao Xing thought along the lines of Jia Yu's hint.

  "I wonder if something has happened at the Rongguo winery, will the Li family just sit back and do nothing?" Jia Yu asked again.

  "Xu's winery has a branch in Li's village, otherwise it would have been taken over by Zhang's family years ago." Zhao Xing said as he suddenly stood up, "I almost forgot about Li's village! If I were County Magistrate Zhu, I would definitely instruct Zhang and Yang to take care of Li's village together! But what method would they use?" Zhao Xing furrowed his brow again.

  "We can think of using 'a gust of wind' to get rid of our opponent, surely the other side can also think of it." Jia Xun said enlighteningly on the side.

  "It's indeed a poisonous move. He might have thought of the pros and cons in his heart, but didn't say it out loud, letting me figure out the answer myself." Zhao Xing admired Jia Yu's cleverness even more in his heart.

  "Li Tiezhu, I order you to immediately leave the village and catch up with the Flying Tiger Camp, and hand this letter over to General Guan Yu!" Zhao Xing immediately took action and wrote a letter, saying to Li Tiezhu. "Li Jinsi, arrange for five guards from the security company to protect Li Tiezhu's safety! Each person will be equipped with two horses, set off immediately!"

  "We obey your orders, sir!" Li Jinsi and Li Tiezhu, two half-grown sons, stood up to answer.

  "Pei Yuanshao, order you to immediately lead the shield-bearing troops to Li's Village and report to the village master, telling him to strengthen his defenses starting today to prevent mountain bandits from raiding the village!"

  "Zhou Cang, I order you to immediately lead the spear-throwing team to the Zhuangmen area to set up a barrier and dig pitfalls. Closely monitor all people and horses entering and exiting. If anyone tries to force their way through, kill them without hesitation!"

  "Wen and Mr., I will dispatch the guard company to you, please arrange for the Qiang Hu family and the Taihang Mountain brothers' families to be settled in the hidden soldier cave. For any shortage of food and supplies, directly find Li Jin Si to make arrangements."

  "I will lead the knife and axe team on behalf of Li Jinwu to patrol the whole village, to calm people's minds and prepare for any unexpected events!"

  As order after order was issued clearly and unmistakably, Zhao Xing remained calm and composed, his image as a commander gradually taking shape in the minds of the people, and also further arousing the desire to fight among the various generals.

  The sky has completely darkened, big red lanterns are hung on the door, festive spring couplets are posted on the door frame, and it's another New Year's Eve.

  "Boom boom crackle", the sound of burning bamboo joints echoed from household to household in the village. In the days when gunpowder was not yet widely used, people would use the sound of burning bamboo joints to scare away the "year" monster that came out on New Year's Eve to eat humans! And for the soldiers of Wohu Village, the upcoming County Governor Zhang Yang was the real "Year Beast".

  "Here!" Jia Yu said calmly.

  "I'm really worried that he won't come tonight and ruin my New Year's mood tomorrow!" Zhao Xing, fully armed, wore a circular helmet of his own design on his head, with a face mask covering the front, only revealing two dark, shining eyes under the light. His right hand held a gun, and behind him was a large black eagle bow. Compared to the boy who stood on the mountain ridge watching the fire burn down the house a year and a half ago, he had changed greatly. He had grown taller and more robust, exuding an aura of intimidation from head to toe.

  "The county magistrate of Shangdang has arrived. You stubborn and unruly villagers, why are you blocking the way and gathering in crowds with weapons?" a small school official came to the front of the village and shouted loudly.

  "County Master has come from afar as a guest, but I've heard that recently the mountain bandit 'One Whirlwind' has been wreaking havoc on our village. Therefore, we have tightened up our defenses. I don't know if County Master has brought a large army to capture the thief?" Zhao Xing replied politely across the barricade.

  "Zhang will lead the troops out of the city tonight, and it is precisely to catch the Taihang thieves. Please ask Master Zhao to cooperate!" Zhang Yang said in a tone of official business.

  "Thanks to the timely precautions of Wotou Village, there are no thieves inside the village at present, so it's not necessary for Governor and his men to bother!" Zhao Xing was still very polite.

  "Recently in the morning, Xu Huan, the gatekeeper of our mansion, came to your villa, but I don't know where he is now?" Zhang Yang continued to beat around the bush.

  "Xu Menting came to the village to visit friends, and suddenly got drunk from drinking too much wine. Now he's still snoring away, not yet sober!" Zhao Xing also didn't mince words.

  "But it was hard work taking care of the farm!" Zhang Yang was very patient.

  "It's all right, it's all right! Since the county master is busy catching thieves, we common people should be at ease. The humble one will take his leave!" Zhao Xing was really not interested in pretending anymore, and he wanted to turn around and leave after apologizing, but he didn't mean to move the roadblock to welcome the army into the village.

  "You, this country bumpkin, don't know what's good for you! The county magistrate has arrived, and instead of welcoming him into the mansion, you're making a racket here. Is it because you have a guilty conscience and don't dare let us enter the mansion to take a look?!" The little schoolmaster scolded Zhao Xing.

  "If the county master and the general have a pleasant time to enter the villa for a while, Zhao Xing welcomes it extremely. However, these many soldiers and horses are not convenient to enter the villa. There are many old people, women and children in my villa, and there are also many children who cannot bear the fright of people shouting and horses neighing!" Zhao Xing had an expression of helplessness!

  "If we must enter the Zhu estate!" The young man's face was gloomy, and upon closer inspection, he turned out to be none other than Zhu County Magistrate's son, Zhu Mourain.

  "Although you have some official rank, it's nothing more than a mere title. If you want to enter the mansion, ask me first if my long spear agrees or not!" Zhao Xing raised his long spear, pointing directly at Zhu Mu Yu, and a fierce killing intent burst out of him without restraint.

  "Hurray for the Master!" Zhou Cang shouted loudly, almost scaring Zhu Mengru off his horse! "Hurray for the Master!..." The family soldiers blocking the entrance of the manor tapped their chest armor with the back of their knives and shouted in unison.

  "Surround the Zhu's house, wait for Zhang to arrive... humph!" Zhū Mù Yǔ turned around and gave orders after failing to gain an advantage in his argument with Zhao Xīng. The county soldiers then surrounded the Wò Hǔ Zhuāng (Tiger Sleeping Villa) on all sides, sealing it off completely.