Chapter 350: Siege

Magistrate Tian glanced over but didn’t answer. Instead, he barked an urgent order to the servant beside him, “Quick, summon the Second and Third Lords^[1] here!”

Yan Lao’er felt a chill run down his spine.

The Northern Rong’s attack didn’t seem particularly fierce, yet the tension was rising fast. Something was off.

“Magistrate, could it be something happened to the messengers seeking reinforcements? Should we send someone else?” Yan Lao’er suggested.

Magistrate Tian said gravely, “With the border defenses breached and the Northern Rong invading the interior, Crouching Tiger has the city walls for support. According to past procedures, several Guard Stations will recover lost ground, rally their forces, and pursue the Rong raiders within the borders. After clearing the countryside, they’ll come to reinforce this city.”

Yan Lao’er asked a critical question.

“So do they regain the border first, or clear the countryside first?”

“Both are priorities, neither comes before the other. It depends on the situation, and the commanding officers must decide based on that,” Magistrate Tian replied, his expression dark.

“So in other words, the Border Army still hasn’t freed up their hands…” Yan Lao’er pressed further. “What do you think is tying them down?”

“If they had already begun clearing out the Rong raiders, why would so many enemy troops be gathered outside Crouching Tiger City?”

Yan Lao’er immediately understood what the magistrate meant.

If the border had truly been reclaimed, the Northern Rong forces trapped inside our territory would be cut off with no way out. They’d be like fish in a barrel, waiting to be captured—why would they flock toward Crouching Tiger?

They’d be trying to break through and escape back instead.

Besides, if the Border Army had any room to spare, they would’ve at least sent a message, even if they couldn’t send troops. A shout from a distance would’ve been something.

But there wasn’t a single sign. How could anyone not think the worst?

“Magistrate, are we just going to wait on the Border Army? Why not seek aid elsewhere?” Yan Lao’er asked.

“You think I haven’t tried?” Magistrate Tian closed his eyes briefly, then fell silent.

Only when the Second and Third Lords arrived in a rush did discussion resume.

The three elders came together and immediately launched into a heated debate.

Standing nearby, Yan Lao’er heard everything and finally understood what was going on.

The magistrate believed the Northern Rong hadn’t come lightly this time and that they couldn’t count on the messengers getting through safely. They had to prepare for the possibility of them being intercepted. Added to that, the border forces were still silent, the Rong outside the city were acting strangely, and the situation was slipping from their grasp. He advocated lighting the Signal Tower and calling for aid.

But the other two disagreed. They argued that the Signal Tower couldn’t be lit so lightly—once the smoke rose, it would mean Crouching Tiger City was in extreme peril. Dragonxing, Fengming, Yongning, Gufeng, and Changping would all be obligated to send reinforcements.

Especially Dragonxing and Fengming. If they dispatched heavy troops, it would leave the border unguarded and vulnerable to further attacks.

Crouching Tiger sat near Xizhou. If the signal fire rose, Xizhou would send troops as well.

When soldiers move, provisions must go first.

There’s tacit understanding between the prefectures: when the Rong are repelled, those who received reinforcements must repay the grain and supplies.

When the time came, they wouldn’t be stingy. But the Second and Third Lords had served in Crouching Tiger far longer than the magistrate. They felt this Northern Rong raid hadn’t yet reached the level of full-scale emergency that warranted lighting the signal fire.

They did agree on the risk of messengers getting killed, and proposed sending more people to seek aid.

Magistrate Tian grew agitated. He led the two of them up onto the city wall and told them to look down.

Second and Third Master weren’t fools like Yan Xu either. If they had to go up, then so be it.

After checking, they came back down and the arguing resumed.

Both sides stuck to their own version of the story. It was clear the Eldest Master was outnumbered and could barely hold his ground in the shouting match.

Yan Lao’er stood nearby, anxious beyond words.

He had completely forgotten about this fast method of sending messages.

Still, he truly understood Second and Third Master’s hesitation. If this turned out to be a false alarm and things weren’t as urgent as expected, lighting the wolf smoke^[2] signal would cost them a bit of supplies at best. But if it was actually a Northern Rong scheme to lure the tiger away from its mountain^[3], they’d be walking right into the trap.

So whether to send the signal had to be considered carefully.

But how could anyone judge what was happening outside the walls right now?!

They were surrounded on all sides.

Just as the masters were arguing heatedly and ignoring everything else—

The Northern Rong army launched their assault!

A whistling arrow shot into the sky, its shrill call slicing through the night.

Inside and outside the city, both forces reacted as if someone had flipped the switch for war.

The Northern Rong charged like a tidal wave, braving the rain of arrows and falling firestones^[4] to advance. They hurled iron hooks toward the city walls, only to have them chopped down by border soldiers defending the ramparts. Before they could even remove one hook, another would come flying. One struck a soldier directly—he was yanked off the wall before he even had time to react…

Northern Rong archers, deadly accurate, loosed arrows at the city’s defenders. Each shot more vicious than the last. As the front line crept closer to Crouching Tiger City, their bows gained the advantage. Both sides traded volleys. The dead piled up with every arrow.

The Northern Rong were desperate. Even if it meant heavy casualties, they were determined to take the city.

But Crouching Tiger would not surrender quietly.

The border troops were battle-hardened. Fresh fighters climbed up even as fallen comrades were carried down. Arrows, blades, and supplies flowed without pause to the front lines.

The three masters had no time to argue anymore.

“Quick, boil water and load it into jars!”

“Where are the iron shavings? Send them up with the fire oil!”

“Summon the civilian laborers, have them help defend!”

Clang, clang, clang, clang…

The war drums pounded again—not to announce a Northern Rong sighting this time, but to call the people to help defend the city.

Crowds streamed out, each knowing what they had to do.

With the people joining in, the border troops managed to hold the line against the Northern Rong’s ferocious assault.

But a heavy gloom hung over everyone.

Because the Northern Rong assault hadn’t let up for a second. It felt endless.

Second and Third Master had never seen anything like this. At last, they made their decision.

Light the wolf smoke!

…

Xiao’an Village stood at full alert!

Yan Yu didn’t care whether her orders were unbecoming of someone her age.

Right now, survival was all that mattered.

Gathering everyone at just one or two Arrow Towers wouldn’t work.

They’d be packed to bursting. People would barely be able to move.

Each tower could only hold a limited number of defenders. Even if the others had crossbows, they wouldn’t be able to squeeze in. A huge waste.

Dividing the defenders evenly among the five Arrow Towers was the best plan.

They could cover each other and create a pattern of linked support.

But they couldn’t rely on just the five towers.

They needed people to coordinate outside too. If the towers got surrounded, they’d all be doomed.

Every household set their mule carts and donkey carts in motion, including the Yan Family’s ox cart.

They hauled grain and timber to every single Arrow Tower.

The first reason was to preserve as much grain as possible.

The second was because there weren’t enough Bamboo Arrows, so everyone had to bring whatever they had at home—kitchen knives, sickles, that sort of thing—and start sharpening them on the spot…

It was a desperate tactic, but the only one they had.

They had already tried to gather every arrow scattered on the ground, but when they thought about how many Northern Rong might show up, it still felt woefully insufficient.

Every single wooden plank from every household had been taken down, not one left behind.

The villagers of Xiao’an Village had come to realize just how useful door panels were. They could block arrows, fend off blades, and in a pinch, someone could charge forward, shielded by the door itself.

If they couldn’t crush the enemy with it, they could still stab them once they were down.

From the last battle, they’d picked up a fair number of knives and bows. Once distributed, it helped ease the shortage of Bamboo Crossbows in Xiao’an Village enormously.

Door panels in front, Bamboo Crossbows and strong bows behind, and at least two knives per team…

Yan Yu was satisfied. This was the strongest setup Xiao’an Village could field at the moment.

(End of chapter)