Chapter 82: The Mysterious Formation of Kindness and Authority (I)

  Shi Jin hastily put on his armor, took up Zhang Qiang's bow, and brought two quivers of arrows. He then stood with Shi Chuan once again beside the arrow embrasure on top of the city gate.

  At this time, looking at the official soldiers in the distance, they were seen to be coming with torches, covering the sky and the earth. The vanguard had already set up their formation three hundred steps outside the city, with thousands of shields and swords lined up in rows, winding and stretching out to both sides. Behind them was a massive cavalry corps, each holding torches, like a fiery red carpet unfolding from near to far. And this was only the vanguard of the official army, with more troops continuously coming behind. The flames lit up the sky, the soldiers' blades stood densely, making the brothers defending the city look at each other in shock, even Shi Jin's face changed slightly.

  Just as it was tense to the point where even breathing seemed superfluous, Shi Qian suddenly leaned in close to Shi Jin and whispered, "Brother, take a look at their arrogant attitude, do you think it's necessary to mobilize so many troops?"

  Shi Jin was originally in a heavy mood, looking at such a large array, he was suddenly intimidated by the government soldiers, thinking that the decisive battle had arrived, his hands were clenched tightly. But after Shi Yan's smile and chat, Shi Jin suddenly came back to his senses from an extremely vigilant state.

  With such a strong military force, they could have launched a surprise attack on the city under the cover of night. Shi Jin may not have read any military books, but he had heard his master Wang Jin mention many things, and he knew that speed was essential in war, "Attack where they are unprepared, catch them off guard" is the key to capturing a fortress. Moreover, "deception is a common tactic in war". But judging from the current situation, it seems that the government troops are going against conventional wisdom. Displaying their military strength so openly in front of the city, Meng Dou is not drunk, is he? This is not following normal tactics, it's like they're having a military parade.

  Just as Shi Jing was still thinking, the part of the city gate opposite him began to stir, and a group of people emerged from the rear of the troops. Shi Jing borrowed the bright torches of the soldiers to gaze intently at the approaching group, which was divided into five columns advancing in unison. The leader wore a helmet with a frosty sheen, adorned with a sprig of green tassels, and donned a suit of armor with plum blossoms and elm leaves embroidered on it. A red silk sash was tied around his waist, and he wore a white robe with a purple silk belt hanging down from his chest. He rode a majestic horse with the strength of a lion, exuding an aura of grandeur. Shi Jing shifted his gaze to look at the others behind him, where more than ten generals followed closely, their attire and mounts also indicative of their official ranks. Shi Jing looked at them again, then patted the suit he had casually stripped from the soldiers' bodies, feeling that it was too shabby. Once this turmoil passed, he would need to find some black iron to forge a few sets of sturdy armor for his brothers, so as not to lose face in terms of appearance.

  Shi Jin felt that the momentum on the city wall had dropped a bit, but for the sake of military prestige and morale, he still had to take the lead in this verbal sparring! At this moment, the officials and soldiers below the city also formed up and stood firm. Without waiting for them to speak, Shi Jin loudly shouted down at the city below: "Tonight is neither New Year's nor a festival, you official dogs, putting on such a big show, aren't you going to perform a group dance with us brothers to liven things up? But how can you do that without any makeup or powder? Quickly change into some colorful clothes and paint your eyebrows and lips before coming back!" As soon as Shi Jin finished speaking, the city wall erupted in laughter.

  The generals below the city wall all had angry faces, scolding and grumbling, indignant. Just look at the general who was in charge, smiling nonchalantly, raising his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, then sinking his voice deep into his abdomen, using a thick and heavy tone to send his words up to the city tower: "There hasn't been any singing or dancing, if you want to watch, it's not like it's impossible, there are thousands of dancers in the army, you can watch however you want, but..."

  Before the general could finish, Shi Qian interrupted and said: "However, we don't have any money to reward you!" Shi Qian's timely remark was perfectly placed, just as the general finished saying "however", Shi Qian seamlessly picked up where he left off. This sentence made the brothers on the city wall burst out laughing again, and some even took advantage of the situation to shout loudly, which made the government soldiers below feel even more frustrated.

  Unexpectedly, the general not only didn't get angry, but also took advantage of the timing to continue speaking, saying: "No reward money is no big deal, as long as you surrender and hand over your arms, I'll give you tender dancing girls and a share of silver!"

  "Damn you!" "I spit on that! You think I'd surrender?" "Shut your beak and get out of here!" "You want to surrender? Watch as your dad chops you up!"

  Shi Jin looked at his brothers being provoked by the officer's words of surrender, and their emotions surged, shouting and cursing in a chaotic mess on the city wall. Shi Jin raised his hand to his lips and let out a loud whistle. In an instant, the brothers from Mount Liusha fell silent, with only the sound of war horses pawing the ground and torches burning.

  Everyone's eyes were fixed on the great Dangjia, they all looked forward to seeing how their idolized elder brother would scold the officials and soldiers until they were ashamed, and make them humiliate themselves, and raise the prestige of Shaohua Mountain.

  Shi Jin paused for a moment, but unexpectedly changed his expression and said calmly: "Surrendering also requires chips. What benefits do we have? How can our brothers in Shuaishan be settled? At the very least, this surrender title should sound pleasant to the ear!"

  "Haha! Alright, alright, the imperial edict of amnesty will arrive tomorrow. As long as you have a good heart, I, Meng Sen, will be your master. I see that you all have some great skills, follow me and work hard, and I'll definitely ensure that you rise to greatness."

  As soon as Shi Jin heard "Meng Sen", that pair of bright and sharp eyes immediately locked onto him. It turned out that this person was Meng Du Jian, indeed with an extraordinary aura. Tonight he appeared in person at the front line, even if there wasn't any sinister plot, there must be some trickery, not to be underestimated, needing to be guarded against!

  Before Shi Jing had even finished thinking, Meng Dujuan raised his hand and waved it. The shield bearers lined up in front of the formation, one by one, turned their large shields sideways to reveal the archers hiding behind them. They were all drawing their bows taut, waiting for the order to shoot. With a single command, the four rows of soldiers shot arrows simultaneously. The dense arrow feathers, illuminated by the firelight of the government army, flew towards them like a swarm of locusts.

  Shi Jin and the others were all shocked. Just a moment ago, they were talking about surrendering, but in the next second, they started shooting arrows. Even if someone was two-faced, it wouldn't be this fast! Could it be that the old saying "A person who is shameless has no enemies" really came true?

  Shi Jin was shocked, but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Only now did he realize that Meng Dujun, this old fox, had come in person. Shi Jin didn't think he could accomplish anything good. The two armies were separated by three hundred paces, and generally, arrows couldn't fly that far. This was common knowledge; anyone who didn't know it would have died long ago. Anyone who could survive tonight probably knew this. So Meng Dujun's unexpected move was quite embarrassing - not to mention unrighteous, but also lacking in standards, truly shameful. Who knows what kind of official Meng Dujun's father had been? If he knew his son had done something like this, wouldn't the ancestral tomb be smoking...

  Just at this moment, before Shi Jin's thoughts were even finished, those arrows did not follow Shi Jin's expectations, drawing an arc in mid-air and falling to the foot of the city wall, but instead came rushing towards him with a certain terrifying speed!