"My lord, please come outside and take a look!"
Just as Han Mo was worrying about how Shao Bowen's situation was progressing, Jiang Yan rushed back into the tent, his movements hurried.
"Did something happen?"
Seeing his breathless state, Han Mo frowned and asked.
"A lot of civilians have come from outside, and some have even brought their own weapons. They are all outside asking to see you, saying they want to join the army..."
As Jiang Yan spoke, his face was filled with pride.
Throughout the entire Great Song Dynasty, apart from the Zhong and Zhe families in the northwest, even other military households had never had such an instance of civilians voluntarily joining the army.
Moreover, Han Mo was not a general, but merely an ordinary civil official.
"Join the army?"
Hearing him say this, Han Mo was stunned.
"My lord! My lord!"
"My lord, we have all come to join the army, please permit us to go onto the city walls!"
Upon seeing the scene before him, even Han Mo was startled. The vast drill ground outside was now completely thronged, appearing to be at least a thousand people.
"My esteemed villagers, my esteemed elders, you..."
Listening to their jumbled words, even Han Mo's eyes welled up.
"My lord, the soldiers on the city walls are fighting valiantly. We cannot just watch from below. Please permit us to ascend the city walls!"
"Please permit us to ascend the city walls!"
"Please permit us to ascend the city walls!"
Looking at the fire burning in their eyes, even Han Mo's heart, which had become somewhat numb from the darkness of officialdom, couldn't help but beat fiercely.
"My lord! Public sentiment cannot be defied!"
Hearing the shouts of killing from the city walls, Jiang Yan quickly spoke again.
"I have failed you all. You are all about to go and fight for the court, yet I do not have enough armor to provide for you..."
Han Mo gave a wry smile as he said this.
It was truly ironic that the official army of the Great Song Dynasty could not even muster enough armor.
"My lord, since we are going onto the battlefield, our lives are on the line. Even without armor, we are willing to fight. We implore you to grant our request!"
In reality, these people were clear-headed. How long had Han Mo been here?
Even if the official granaries could not produce armor, it had little to do with Han Mo.
Furthermore, looking at the soldiers on the city walls, who had been fighting valiantly since morning, these people could no longer stand by and do nothing.
"Good! Well said! Guards, bring wine!"
With the situation as it was, and the urgency on the city walls, Han Mo naturally no longer insisted.
"Everyone, I, Han Mo, thank you on behalf of the people of this city!"
After filling everyone's wine bowls, Han Mo took his own wine bowl, drained it in one gulp, and then smashed the bowl in his hand.
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"General, we have been camped here for two days. What if we are blamed by the superiors..."
Fifty li north of Mingzhou City, several of Xin Xingzong's deputy generals were looking at the terrain map of the Mingzhou area.
"What are you afraid of? Since I dare to do this, I naturally have my reasons! Regardless, we have fewer soldiers. With the rebels besieging the city, we will wait for them to fail to take it after a prolonged siege, and then we will launch a decisive attack! This is a basic tenet of military strategy!"
"As for whether that fellow surnamed Han can hold the city, that is his own problem and has nothing to do with me?"
Faced with the doubts of his subordinates, Xin Xingzong was now truly self-righteous.
"But General, I heard that the fellow surnamed Han is a confidant of Zhao Zhen. What if he intentionally..."
"Don't worry, circumstances change. I am well aware of the situation. If he were truly Zhao Zhen's confidant, why would he have been kicked to Mingzhou City at this time?"
"Since the General has made up his mind, your subordinates will not say any more!"
With Xin Xingzong having said all that, how could these deputy generals dare to argue with him any further?
"Alright, tell the brothers to take good care of themselves. We will wait here for the opportune moment. When those rebels are exhausted, it will be the time for us to achieve glory!"
After appeasing his subordinates, Xin Xingzong returned to his tent.
"What is happening in Mingzhou? Lord Chu, I believe you must know some things that I don't?"
"General, you jest. I am merely a strategist under Chancellor Wang. How could I possess such ability?"
"Mr. Chu, let's not play these games between us. If you truly lack this ability, then I see no point in continuing our conversation. I will proceed to lead my troops to Mingzhou City."
Seeing Chu Jianfeng still playing coy at this moment, Xin Xingzong's displeasure grew.
Although he himself disliked Han Mo, without Wang Xiang's instigation, he would not have dared to openly retaliate against Han Mo at this juncture.
"Hahaha, General, you jest. I was merely joking with you! Why are you taking it so seriously?"
Seeing that Xin Xingzong was on the verge of losing his temper, Chu Jianfeng immediately said with a smile.
"Mr. Chu, this joke of yours is not funny at all. It would be better if you joked less in the future!"
"It is my fault. Please do not blame me, General! However, it is better if you do not say such things that strain our relationship in the future. After all, we both benefit from cooperation, do you not agree, General?"
As Chu Jianfeng spoke, he reached into his sleeve, pulled out a letter, and handed it to Xin Xingzong.
"You are right, Mr. Chu. I apologize for my words!"
Xin Xingzong said as he took the letter handed to him by Chu Jianfeng.
After reading the contents of the letter, a satisfied smile appeared on Xin Xingzong's face.
"Hahaha, this fellow surnamed Han is indeed arrogant and conceited. He actually imprisoned Wang Bing? Isn't that crippling himself? Hahaha! It seems our task this time will be much easier!"
"General, we should still perform the charade as planned. Perhaps we should move forward a bit more tomorrow night?"