Han Mo watched as Jiang Yan quickly mounted his horse, leading his brothers in pursuit.
"Three thousand guan, anyone who doesn't want to earn it can go home and coax their wives and children!"
Wu Lin chuckled, also mounting his horse, and then led his hundred Imperial Guard brothers in a mad dash after Han Mo towards Lijia Village.
It proved that under the influence of money and alcohol, a person's courage could be infinitely amplified.
Humans always had a herd mentality. Seeing so many people already following, the rest no longer hesitated.
Although these local Hebei soldiers had not trained for a long time, riding a horse was one of the essential skills for men in this era.
More and more people mounted their horses and followed behind them, galloping towards Lijia Village.
Hearing the sound of hooves behind him, Han Mo finally felt relieved.
"I have a task for you. Take your men and infiltrate Lijia Village. An hour later, when you see fire in the east, set the place ablaze!"
"But son-in-law, what about your safety if we leave?"
Hearing Han Mo's words, Jiang Yan immediately objected. After all, ensuring Han Mo's safety was their top priority, and everything else could wait.
"Don't you hear the hooves behind us? With so many people, what are you afraid of? Besides, my martial arts skills are not bad. If we were to fight to the death, the outcome would still be uncertain!"
Although Han Mo didn't want to dispatch the last of his defensive forces, he couldn't think of anyone else who could complete this task besides Jiang Yan and his men at this moment.
The ordinary soldiers might be able to handle fighting, but they were likely incapable of such a secret infiltration and arson.
"But what if..."
"Your son-in-law is blessed with great fortune, how could anything happen? Don't worry, with General Wu here, my safety will be absolutely fine!"
Han Mo was pressed for time. It would take at least half an hour to get from here to Lijia Village.
It was already May, and by the fifth watch, the sky would be dimly lit.
Han Mo only had a little over an hour left.
After tonight, it would be wishful thinking to attempt a surprise attack under the cover of chaos.
After all, Zhou Ding had come out in the middle of the night, and he only had three days. If they were to make a move, it would be tomorrow or the day after, always within these two nights.
By calculating, tonight was Han Mo's last chance.
He doubted that even if he beat Li Mao'er to death, he wouldn't have thought that Han Mo would send people to sneak attack tonight.
"Then son-in-law, you must take care of yourself, otherwise, I won't be able to explain it to Madam!"
Seeing Han Mo's persistence, Jiang Yan said no more. After all, they were all seasoned veterans.
If Han Mo hadn't been pushed to this point, why would he resort to such a risky tactic?
"Don't worry, but you also have to ensure your own safety. When the fire starts, break out to the south!"
"Don't worry, son-in-law, we'll leave first!"
Jiang Yan and his men quickly disappeared into the darkness. Wu Lin and Lü Ying finally caught up.
Under the light of the torches, the three exchanged glances, nodded, and then buried their heads and continued on their way.
Half an hour later, the seven hundred soldiers led by Han Mo finally reached the outskirts of Lijia Village.
"Sir, that's Lijia Village ahead. How should we attack?"
Lü Ying and Wu Lin cautiously approached and asked in low voices.
"Commander Lü, do we only have this few men? I'm stating this upfront, if anyone dares to retreat once the battle begins, don't blame me for settling accounts afterward!"
As they were about to engage in a real, bloody fight, Han Mo once again looked at Lü Ying.
"Sir, please give me your orders. I, Lü Ying, made mistakes before, and now that I have the opportunity to follow you, I will not let it go. I will say it again, I am willing to die for you!"
Lü Ying understood that Han Mo was testing his loyalty, so he did not hesitate and cupped his fists towards Han Mo.
"Very good. In that case, I'll give you two hundred men. You go around to the north, and when the village catches fire, charge south from the north!"
"Yes!"
Lü Ying agreed without a second thought.
It was too late to turn back now; they had to fight for survival.
Zhang Huai was already dead. As long as this battle was won, he would be reborn from the ashes, so he was naturally unwilling to miss this opportunity.
"Second Brother, I'll give you two hundred men too. When the village catches fire later, you will charge in from the west and head straight for Li Mao'er's camp!"
"This way, I will only take ten Imperial Guard soldiers, and leave the rest to you!"
Wu Lin knew that it was time to fight for their lives, so he could only do his best to protect Han Mo.
Compared to the local soldiers whose attitudes were ambiguous, the Imperial Guard soldiers they brought back from Bianliang were undoubtedly more trustworthy.
"Then I won't be polite, but, Second Brother, you a moment..."
Han Mo knew in his heart that although his martial arts skills were not bad, fighting on the battlefield was completely different from fighting one-on-one.
Wu Lin was a famous fierce general, and also one of the Seven Kings of the Southern Song Dynasty in the future. He certainly wouldn't die so ignominiously here.
However, he himself was truly uncertain, so he agreed without thinking, but at the last moment, he still gave Wu Lin a strategy.
"Then I'll go prepare!"
Wu Lin took a deep breath, then led about ten Imperial Guard soldiers and selected two hundred men, heading west.
"Sir!"
After Wu Lin left, Cui Wenhao directly led several soldiers to guard Han Mo, seemingly having received orders from Wu Lin before he left.
"Tell the brothers that we will attack from the east!"
In the dark night, the entire Lijia Village was like an invisible giant beast, silently crouching on the ground.
Han Mo led the remaining three hundred soldiers and quietly arrived at the east side of the village.
Although this was Li Mao'er's stronghold, it was precisely because of this that even the patrolling bandits didn't take it seriously.