After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Chapter 185 Counterattack

Seeing the Red Army approaching, Gu Lin did not leave the city again, and instead summoned Ning Fangshi, Yu Ercheng and others who were staying at the White Porcelain Factory in the suburbs back to the city.

The Red Army crossed the river faster than they had imagined. Two days after Gu Lin and Zheng Hao's conversation, the Red Army set up camp dozens of miles outside Jibei Prefecture.

At that time, a messenger came to the military camp with a message. Zheng Hao gave the young man a few instructions and then left immediately.

Seeing the commotion outside, Gu Lin stayed inside the mansion and didn't go out unnecessarily. He called Guard Chen over and asked, "What's the situation outside?"

Guard Chen clasped his hands in a solemn gesture: "The Red Army generals went into battle and hurled insults. General Chen of the Zhenhong Army went out of the city to fight back, but was ultimately defeated and killed by the enemy. After that, no one in the Zhenhong Army dared to leave the city and hid behind the city walls."

The hot-blooded guard Chen felt extremely humiliated by these words. As a person who dared to shout and curse in front of the battle, apart from one general who dared to step forward to fight, the others cowered in the city.

Gu Lin's heart sank slightly. Today was only the first day of the battle, and the Zhenhong Army was already showing signs of weakness. He had thought that no matter how bad the Zhenhong Army was, they could hold out for two or three days. If they were like this during the day, what would happen if the Red-Clad Army launched a surprise attack at night...?

Gu Lin pondered how to deal with the situation. He couldn't interfere with the overall situation, but he had to figure out how to escape when the city fell.

Ask Gu Lin how he feels right now, whether he regrets refusing Zheng Hao's offer to send him away from Jibei Prefecture.

The young man lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze firm. He had no regrets; he couldn't bear to abandon his family and leave.

Suddenly, a loud voice came from afar: "Husband, the urn is finished!"

Gu Lin turned around and saw Yu Ercheng running towards him from a distance.

After Yu Ercheng and Ning Fangshi returned, Ning Fangshi continued to fire white porcelain, while Yu Ercheng was sent by Gu Lin to work with Da Zhuo to make urn-shaped vessels. After several days of continuous attempts, they finally succeeded in making them when the enemy was at the gates.

He got up and walked towards the other person, asking, "How did the experiment go? Have you succeeded?"

Yu Ercheng nodded repeatedly and said, "We've tried them all and only kept the urn after confirming there were no problems."

"A total of one hundred urns, Master, how are we going to deliver them to Lord Zheng?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Lin frowned and paced back and forth. After a moment, he turned to Guard Chen and said, "Send someone to deliver a letter to Lord Zheng, saying that the goods are ready and how to send them to him."

Guard Chen clasped his hands in agreement and then left.

Then, Gu Lin said to Er Cheng, "Find all the horse-drawn carriages, oxcarts, and donkey carts in the manor, and load them with all the urns that can fit. When the messenger returns, you must immediately deliver the urns according to Lord Zheng's orders."

"Yes." Yu Ercheng immediately withdrew.

In the military camp.

The soldiers looked grim. They had just lost a comrade. Although they were not saddened by the death of the fallen soldier, the Red Army's aggressive advance made them feel a sense of shared fate and fear that they would be next.

Morale plummeted, a far cry from the carefree days of singing, dancing, drinking, and feasting in the army just days before. Zheng Hao coldly observed these Daqian generals, who were rotten to the core.

General Yu slammed his hand on the hard table and roared, "What are you all doing looking so dejected? Cheer up!"

One of the generals couldn't help but speak up: "General, the Red-Clad Army is too fierce. We are no match for them. As long as we survive, we can always fight again. Perhaps we should..."

"Shut up!"

General Yu shouted, his gaze sweeping over everyone present with a sinister look. He warned, "Let me make this clear from the start: Jibei Prefecture must not fall. If anyone dares to shake the morale of the army or back down, don't blame me for disregarding brotherhood."

"By order of this general, anyone who deserts in the face of battle and undermines the morale of the army shall be executed without mercy!"

The general who had spoken earlier dared not utter another word.

All the generals felt a chill run down their spines and clasped their fists in unison: "Your subordinates obey orders!"

General Yu continued, "According to the previously agreed-upon strategy, all generals should go to the city gates they are responsible for guarding. In case of emergency, they should immediately send messengers to request reinforcements!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the generals got up and left the camp one after another with their soldiers.

As the military supervisor, Zheng Hao should have stayed in the camp, but he volunteered to follow a general to the city wall. With the enemy in front, General Yu had no energy to deal with the other party and politely said, "Swords and spears have no eyes on the battlefield, Lord Zheng, please be careful."

Zheng Hao stepped out of the tent, and Da Zhuo came forward to greet him. Zheng Hao raised his eyes slightly, and Da Zhuo followed behind Lord Zheng as they left the military camp.

Zheng Hao asked, "What happened?"

Da Zhuo immediately replied, "My husband sent a message saying that the urn has been made and he is asking where it should be sent, sir."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Hao loosened his grip slightly and whispered a few instructions to Da Zhuo. Da Zhuo immediately turned and left.

The messenger returned with Da Zhuo, who usually stayed by Zheng Hao's side and rarely left. Thinking of the Red Army's relentless advance and the Red Army's weakness and incompetence, Gu Lin's heart sank and he stood up.

Da Zhuo stepped forward: "My lord, the master ordered me to return and transport the urn to the city wall."

Upon hearing this, Gu Lin's heart, which had been pounding, suddenly calmed down. He calmed his rapid breathing, his voice as usual, showing no sign of anything amiss.

“The urns are numerous and heavy, so I’ll have Ercheng and the guards help you transport them.”

When Zheng Hao left the mansion, he left the guards he had brought from the capital with Gu Lin, allowing him to do as he pleased. However, his real purpose was to prepare for the worst. If the city fell, he would have Guard Chen take the opportunity to escort Gu Lin out of Jibei Prefecture.

Da Zhuo said, "I also brought back some helpers, along with my husband's guards, to see if we can transport the urn to the city wall in one go, so as to avoid making too much noise and attracting attention by making multiple trips."

Gu Lin thought it made sense, so he called Yu Ercheng over and asked him to take Da Zhuo and the others to load the urns.

One after another, horse-drawn carriages and oxcarts drove toward the city wall, making quite a commotion. When the soldier came to report, Zheng Hao was talking with General Chang.

A soldier stepped forward and reported, "Lord Zheng, your family has sent some things over."

After the soldier finished speaking, the young man, who had been looking aloof, softened considerably.

General Chang frowned deeply upon seeing this. With a formidable enemy at hand, how could he be so sentimental? He had thought the supervisor before him was quite different from those sent by the court before, but it seemed that old habits die hard.

General Chang said coldly, "My family is looking for me. Lord Zheng, please go ahead and attend to your business. I'll be leaving now."

Zheng Hao spoke up: "General Chang, please wait."

"The things that my family sent were not just for Hao, but for all the Red Army soldiers in the town."

Upon hearing this, General Chang paused, his gaze returning to the young man.

Knowing the other party's prejudice against him, Zheng Hao said, "If General Chang does not believe me, he can have someone present the items for him to see."

Military men never hesitate when they act. Seeing that Zheng Hao was not joking, General Chang ordered his soldiers, "Why don't you bring up the things that Lord Zheng's family sent over?"

Hearing General Chang's orders, the soldiers were on the verge of tears: "The things sent from Lord Zheng's house are numerous and heavy, probably more than a dozen carts, and they've all been transported to a corner of the city wall. There's simply no way to deliver them all."

General Chang raised an eyebrow.

Seeing this, Zheng Hao invited again, "General Chang, would you like to come with me to take a look?"

"Let's go!" General Chang said without hesitation.

When the two arrived at the city wall, they saw that every few dozen steps there were small black pottery urns with small mouths and large bellies placed in the corner of the wall. These were not all of them. General Chang saw more than a dozen men carrying urns off the carriage one after another.

The soldiers guarding the city wall looked on with curiosity, but because of military orders, they dared not show it too obviously.

General Chang turned to Zheng Hao and asked, "Lord Zheng, what are these things?"

Without being explicitly stated, Zheng Hao could see the resistance and disgust in the other party's eyes, clearly regarding him as someone who was ignorant, only knew how to have fun, and was disrupting the morale of the army.

As the enemy approached, Zheng Hao, unconcerned about their misunderstanding, pointed to the pottery and explained, "This is called a 'urn listener.' Burying it underground allows you to detect the movements of the enemy three miles away."

General Chang, who had initially shown a repulsive expression, paused after hearing Zheng Hao's words. Seeing this, Zheng Hao continued explaining the use of the urn without changing his expression. Compared to Zheng Hao's nonchalant demeanor upon first learning about the urn, General Chang's expression grew increasingly tense as the other spoke, his tiger-like eyes fixed intently on the young supervisor: "Is what Lord Zheng says true?"

General Chang had been on the battlefield for many years and had seen all kinds of weapons. He really didn't believe that there was anything that could detect the enemy's movements without losing a single soldier. If this were true, they would no longer be helpless when facing the Red Army's tunnel warfare, and could even launch a counterattack.

Although he had not personally tested the function of the urn, Zheng Hao trusted the young man. Anyone would hide something from or deceive him, but Gu Lin was the only one he would not.

Zheng Hao remained calm and said indifferently, "General Chang, you'll know once you try."

General Chang narrowed his tiger-like eyes: "Men!"

A soldier stepped forward, and General Chang instructed him, "According to Lord Zheng's explanation, go and test the effectiveness of the urn listening device."

The soldier obeyed the order and went to the urn a few steps away. He then lay down on the urn. When the people around saw this, they all stopped talking or walked quietly. The soldier lying on the urn changed from relaxed to tense. After a moment, he got up and left the urn, and came to General Chang and Supervisor Zheng.

"How is it?" General Chang asked in a deep voice.

The soldier truthfully reported his findings and feelings: "General, this thing can indeed hear sounds outside the city, but the distance is limited, at most five miles away. Moreover, due to the noise during the day, I can't hear it very clearly. If it were at night, the sound from the jar would be much better."

After speaking, General Chang turned to look at the young military supervisor. Zheng Hao looked at him as usual, and seeing the young man's calm and composed attitude, the disgust and rejection in General Chang's eyes faded considerably.

He said to Zheng Hao, "Thank you for your hard work guarding the city gate with me tonight, Lord Zheng."

Zheng Hao smiled slightly and said, "With a formidable enemy at hand, it is only right to accept the emperor's bounty."

night.

The sky was dark and there wasn't a single twinkling star, so as not to let the enemy discover the situation inside the city. Apart from a few torches burning, there was no other light on the high city walls.

In a corner of the city wall, a group of people were gathered together. Several soldiers with keen eyesight lay prone on the surface of the urn, listening intently with their eyes closed. The soldiers and officers around them stared intently at them, not daring to make a sound, for fear of disturbing their investigation of the enemy's situation.

General Chang stood among several generals, holding a knife in one hand, his palm incessantly rubbing the hilt. As time passed, beneath his seemingly calm exterior lay a heart pounding with anxiety.

Suddenly, a soldier stood up, and General Chang's piercing eyes shot over as he asked, "What noise did you hear?"

The soldier walked over, his face beaming with delight. He whispered to General Chang, "I heard some movement underground."

As soon as these words were spoken, the people present fell silent. They looked at each other in disbelief, unable to believe that what they were seeing could actually hear the sounds of the enemy.

Immediately afterwards, soldiers stood up one after another to report the situation, all saying that there was movement underground, and even specifying the exact location and distance.

General Chang's inner turmoil was no less than theirs, but as a general, his composure was comparable to that of the court officials.

General Chang raised his hand to stop the increasingly loud noise. After everyone calmed down from their excitement, he said in a deep voice, "Everyone to your positions, proceed according to the plan we made during the day!"

"Yes!"

Compared to their previous fear and apprehension towards the Red Army, they gradually gained courage now that they had the upper hand.

They had tracked down the enemy's movements; what did they have to fear?

As they spoke, Zheng Hao stood calmly to the side, while General Chang turned his head away, unsure how to express himself.

Military men are straightforward and not as delicate as scholars. It is harder for them to express their heartfelt feelings than to climb to heaven. Zheng Hao did not make things difficult for them: "Tonight, General Chang will have to work hard to defend the city. After this battle is won, General Hao will invite me for tea."

Seeing that the young military supervisor was broad-minded and did not dwell on his previous mistakes, General Chang felt relieved and apologized first: "It was I who was blind to your greatness. I apologize to Lord Zheng here."

Zheng Hao said, "General Chang is selfless and devoted to the public good, and I can understand that."

General Chang's hearty face relaxed, and he laughed heartily, "The tea wasn't enough to satisfy you. After this victory, I, Chang, will invite Lord Zheng to a hearty drink and let him taste the wine of Jibei Prefecture!"

Zheng Hao readily accepted: "Great!"

As night fell, there was no movement outside the city, but Zheng Hao and General Chang still did not leave. They remained where they were, waiting for the Red-Clad Army to make its move.

Suddenly, the soldier lying on the surface of the urn raised his hand and made a gesture in this direction. At the same time, Zheng Hao heard a noise coming from underground a few steps away.

His eyes deepened.

When the underground commotion grew closer and closer, loud enough to be heard without even needing a jar, Zheng Hao and General Chang exchanged glances and nodded slightly.

General Chang raised his hand, signaling to the soldiers who were already holding boiling oil pots and juicy broth. Immediately, the soldiers, each holding an iron pot, poured the contents of the pots into a pit that had been dug in the ground.

Suddenly, in the silent darkness, one earth-shattering scream after another came from underground, along with the sizzling sound of boiling oil being poured onto the ground or onto flesh, making one's mouth ache and go weak.