Someone ran back and reported, “General, they have no reinforcements. Our men saw them cleaning the battlefield.”

Hearing this, Shi Lei grew even angrier and stamped his foot. “We’ve been tricked!”

“General, let’s kill our way back!”

Shi Lei looked at his utterly exhausted soldiers and pondered for a moment before saying, “Let everyone rest for a bit and eat something. We’ll go at dawn.”

His eyes gleamed viciously. “Do they really think one bluff will scare us away? They’re underestimating us too much.”

Inside the Zhao family stronghold, everyone was scraping up the stones from below the city and hauling them to the tower. Carpenters were banging away with wooden boards and timber, while the vast majority of people collapsed on the ground in sleep.

As dawn broke, women and children pushed food carts out. Seeing them asleep, they didn’t wake them but instead searched for their husbands and fathers. If they found them still alive, they breathed a huge sigh of relief and delivered food to their hands.

If they found them among the corpses lying on the other side, they silently tidied the bodies, tears falling drop by drop, but they didn’t wail loudly.

Zhao Hanzhang stood to the side watching silently for a while, then turned away and ordered in a hoarse voice, “Wake everyone up. Have them eat a full breakfast and prepare for battle.”

Everyone couldn’t help but look at Zhao Ming.

Zhao Ming said, “Follow Sanniang’s orders.”

The crowd was about to withdraw when Zhao Hanzhang suddenly said, “Wait.”

Her gaze swept over them and finally settled on Zhao Ming. “Uncle, having two commanders in one army is most taboo. So before we formally engage in battle, I need you to confirm something with the clan members—from this moment on, everyone inside and outside the stronghold is under my command.”

Zhao Ming: …This blazing ambition—she wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore, was she?

But he only paused briefly before nodding. “Alright!”

He turned to the representatives of each branch. “Pass down the order: from now on, the Zhao clan will only follow Sanniang’s commands.”

The branches were shocked. Someone cried out, “Fifth Brother, how can this be?”

Zhao Ming didn’t explain why, but simply darkened his expression and said sternly, “This is an order. Pass it down!”

The branch representatives looked at Zhao Hanzhang, then finally withdrew and passed down this order.

Zhao Hanzhang nodded with satisfaction, took two large steamed buns, and went up to the tower. While watching the gradually rising sun, she ate her buns.

Fu Tinghan brought up two bowls of water and handed her one.

Zhao Hanzhang took it and drank a mouthful. “Our advantage is that we have cavalry. I plan to use them to their fullest extent.”

“So?”

“I’ve already sent someone out to meet them and told them to hurry. Shi Lei also has a horse. I’ve decided to fight him.”

“Can you beat him?”

Zhao Hanzhang looked down at her hands and clenched her fists. “Not yet. So I’ve decided to bring Uncle Qianli with me.”

“If we both engage Shi Lei, there’ll be no one to command the cavalry.”

Fu Tinghan understood. “You want me to do it?”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “You’ve watched our training, haven’t you? Commands are transmitted through drum beats. Standing on the stronghold, you can survey the whole situation. What I need is for the cavalry to weave through and disrupt their offensive.”

“Only by destroying their confidence can we negotiate with them.”

Fu Tinghan thought for a moment, then nodded and agreed, “Alright.” He did remember the meaning of the drum patterns and could command.

Zhao Hanzhang smiled at him brightly. “I’ll find you a drummer. You just tell him how to beat.”

However, Zhao Ming told her directly, “There isn’t one.”

Zhao Hanzhang was incredulous. “Such a large stronghold, so many household soldiers, and you don’t even have a drummer?”

Zhao Ming replied, “The household soldiers are for defending the stronghold. Their main job is still farming—they’re not real soldiers who charge into battle. Why would we specially train drummers?”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “I have three of them!”

Zhao Ming rubbed his forehead. “Fine, I’ll do the drumming. How do you plan to fight this battle?”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Gather everyone.”

Zhao Ming had someone ring the bell. The clan members and household soldiers who had just eaten their fill took their weapons and crowded into the main street.

Zhao Hanzhang saw they couldn’t even form proper ranks and immediately got a headache.

Zhao Ming said, “Most people haven’t been trained. Most of the household soldiers died in battle.”

Those now standing with swords were farmers who worked the fields. Before today, they might never have even been in a fight, let alone killed anyone or fought in battle.

Zhao Hanzhang called out loudly, “Who knows how to use a long spear?”

About twenty household soldiers stepped forward. Zhao Hanzhang nodded, then asked, “Who knows how to use a shield?”

Only seven or eight household soldiers stepped forward.

Zhao Hanzhang continued, “Who has learned formation tactics?”

This time no one came forward.

Zhao Ming quickly said, “Sanniang, everyone usually just practices with swords and blades. Who would practice military formations?”

Zhao Hanzhang smiled at everyone. “No matter, we can arrange formations now.”

Zhao Hanzhang divided up the spearmen and personally went down to arrange the formation.

However, since they’d never practiced formations before, she didn’t make it too complicated. She simply had them find the five people they were most familiar with to form a squad of five. “You’ll wait here in this battle formation and act on my orders.”

Everyone acknowledged.

Ji Ping, who had gone out to meet the troops, returned with someone. “Sanniang, Commander Zhao and his men have arrived. Following your orders, they’re all hidden in the forest outside.”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “Good. Go down, have your meal, and prepare to coordinate from inside and outside with Zhao Ju shortly.”

“Uncle, I’m leaving the city tower to you.”

Zhao Ming nodded. “Alright.”

He led the remaining men up the tower.

Daylight broke fully, and Shi Lei was also watching the sun. He wiped his mouth and asked, “Any movement from the Zhao family stronghold?”

“Two horses entered the stronghold earlier, then the gate was tightly shut. No one else has gone in or out.”

Shi Lei pondered. “Let’s go. Today we must take down the Zhao family stronghold.”

“Zhao Changyu is famously wealthy. This is his ancestral stronghold—there must be countless gold, silver, and jewels inside. Plundering him once is worth plundering ten others. These casualties are worth it. Let’s go!”

Hearing this, everyone’s spirits lifted. They immediately took their weapons and followed.

After fighting all day yesterday, they’d accumulated some siege tools, such as tree trunks that could ram the stronghold gates.

This time, Shi Lei didn’t wait for his subordinates to charge ahead. Instead, he personally led from the front, riding his horse at the very front to draw fire while having men carry the wooden beam across the ditch to ram the gate.

Zhao Hanzhang peeked out, nocked an arrow, and shot down the foremost man carrying the beam. She ordered, “Don’t worry about Shi Lei. First kill those carrying the beam. Don’t let them approach the gate!”

Arrows then bypassed Shi Lei and rained down like a shower on those carrying the beam and the charging rebel soldiers.

Zhao Hanzhang nocked another arrow and aimed at Shi Lei, who kept leaping and deflecting arrows. The arrow shot out. Shi Lei sensed it and swung his blade to knock it down. Seeing Zhao Hanzhang on the tower, he raised his great blade toward her. “Little girl, didn’t you want to duel with me? Come down!”

Zhao Hanzhang smiled at him and shouted back loudly, “Don’t rush—I’ll come down shortly.”

With that, she signaled to continue shooting arrows and throwing stones at the charging men.

Shi Lei could only keep charging forward, retreating, then charging again. They had many men and weren’t afraid of death. After several charges, they reached the gate and rammed it with the beam a few times. The gate began to shake precariously.

Zhao Hanzhang nodded to Fu Tinghan and Zhao Ming, then turned to go downstairs with her long spear.

—