Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

The entire battle lasted no more than fifteen minutes, just as the sun, as large as a disc, rose into the sky.

In this battle, more than a thousand enemy soldiers were annihilated, while our own losses were negligible, with only five or six soldiers seriously wounded.

Lin Ping personally bandaged and stitched up the wounds of these people, and applied the little penicillin he had left to reduce inflammation and kill bacteria.

These men were extremely grateful and bowed in thanks. The thousands of private soldiers looked at Lin Ping with new respect and regarded him as an idol.

Jiang Yunying didn't say it, but she was proud in her heart. After all, Lin Ping was her husband, and he listened to her every word.

Jiang Xiuwen grinned from ear to ear, patting Lin Ping's shoulder repeatedly and calling him "nephew-in-law," eagerly awaiting the next battle between the two sides.

Nearly 5,000 men were lying in ambush on both sides of Yancheng, 50 miles away, while there were 3,000 garrison troops inside the city.

At that moment, the city gates were wide open, and three men wearing fish-scale armor and tiger-striped helmets rode out on sturdy steeds.

"Greetings, Father." The three dismounted, bowed, and paid their respects.

Approaching them was a man clad in golden armor and helmet, even his warhorse was armored, with only its four legs exposed.

The man slapped the horse's back hard, and his heavy body was lifted into the air before landing steadily on the ground, clearly indicating that he was a master.

"What's the situation at the Chaohe Bridge?" the man asked coldly, not even showing a smile in front of his son.

"Reporting to Father, the grand formation was set up two days ago, just waiting for the private army of Jiangcheng Prefecture to walk right into the trap!" Lian Gui, kneeling on the far left, answered first, looking rather like he was asking for credit.

The three people kneeling on the ground were clearly the three sons of the Mountain City Lord, while the dignified man was the Mountain City Lord himself.

These three are busy with their own things every day and it is difficult for them to get together, which shows how much importance they attach to the competition for the city lord.

"Very good." The city lord nodded in satisfaction, which was the greatest praise he could give to Lian Gui.

Lian Ping, the eldest son, was somewhat displeased. His trusted men were mostly cavalrymen, not skilled in ambush tactics, and his second brother had stolen the limelight. If those thousand crossbowmen could truly stop the Jiangcheng Prefecture's private army from participating in the battle, Lian Gui would have accomplished a great feat, directly surpassing him in status. Whether he could then smoothly inherit the position of city lord was a real question.

"Hahaha! I heard that Brother Bi has already set up a large force on the other side of the Chaohe Bridge. I reckon that Jiang Xiuwu won't be able to get through either!" A man wearing a scarlet robe with lions painted on it laughed heartily.

This man was accompanied by eight guards in silver helmets and armor, and behind him was a personal guard of over a hundred men. His imposing presence was in no way inferior to that of the city lord.

"Your Excellency Governor, it is an honor to have you here. I have failed to greet you properly!" The city lord greeted him with a smile.

This man was the governor of the Jiangbei region, a second-rank official. Nominally, he was responsible for inspecting the military, political, and civil affairs of the entire Jiangbei region, but in reality, he controlled most of the guards.

In other words, his presence would take away some of the power of the Commandant, or even completely sideline the Commandant.

However, judging from the conversation between the mountain city lord and the governor, the two seem to have reached a certain level of consensus, or even become inseparable.

"Greetings, Uncle Wu." The three princes bowed respectfully, addressing each other as "Uncle," which fully demonstrated the friendly relationship between the two sides.

"Yes, not bad. Like father, like son. My brother has a worthy successor." The governor nodded in praise.

"I wonder what your son is like now..." the Mountain City Lord asked in a low voice, having naturally heard about what had happened in Jiangcheng Prefecture.

On that day, various forces joined forces in an attempt to eliminate the city lord's mansion. Who would have thought that Lin Ping would suddenly appear and defeat them in a few words? Even the governor's second son was arrested and imprisoned, and there has been no news of him since.

"Hmph, this unfilial son actually offended Commandant Xia. He deserves to die. He's been locked up in his mansion to reflect on his mistakes." The governor said angrily. He had gone to great lengths to get Wu Dongxi out of trouble.

"Where did a mere Jinyiwei captain get such great abilities?" The city lord was full of doubt. He had heard Lian Ping mention this person before. Although he had some courage, he shouldn't be able to give a governor a headache.

"A mere captain?" the governor sneered. "Has my brother been living too comfortably all these years? He can't even guess her true identity."

"Could it be?" The city lord's eyes widened instantly, but he dared not utter the next few words.

Lian Ping and the others were completely confused, but they knew they shouldn't ask questions they shouldn't ask, and if they encountered Xia Linglong again in the future, they would simply avoid her.

"Alright, let's stop here. Let's just wait quietly for that scoundrel Jiang Xiuwu." The governor's voice was cheerful again, as he was certain that Jiang Chengfu's private army would not arrive as scheduled.

"Brother Wu, rest assured, my thousand archers are all elites, and they occupy advantageous terrain and are arranged in formation. Even if Jiang Xiuwu leads five thousand troops, he won't be able to break through unless he fights to the death," the Mountain City Lord said, patting his chest.

He wasn't boasting. After all, the width of the tidal bridge was limited, allowing at most three people to walk side by side. It was impossible for them to break through the ambush of a thousand archers. As long as the archers had enough crossbow bolts, they could completely hold off an army of five thousand.

Unless the enemy fights with their lives on the line, it would be impossible to break through without losing two or three thousand men.

"Good, good!" The governor nodded repeatedly, and even congratulated the city lord of the mountain city. "In this way, Jiang Xiuwu has voluntarily given up. He is not qualified to compete for the position of Commander-in-Chief and the land of Yancheng."

"Report..." Just then, a scout rode his warhorse at full speed, not slowing down even as he approached the city lord.

Just as the warhorse was about to charge at the city lord and the governor, Lian Ping instantly stepped in front of them, piercing the horse's belly with his spear. The scout on the horse was sent flying into the air, landing face-first on the ground and sliding for a full five meters. If he hadn't been wearing armor, he would probably have been torn to shreds.

"You'd better find a reason not to kill you!" The Mountain City Lord's eyes flashed with murderous intent.

He was a man who valued his reputation highly and would not allow his subordinates to make the slightest mistake in front of the governor, let alone startle him.

The scout, lying on the ground, was so frightened that his limbs went limp, and a strong stench of urine filled the air around him.

"Reporting...to...the city lord..." the scout stammered, his body visibly trembling.

"Speak quickly!" Lian Ping kicked him, his anger simmering with nowhere to vent, and this guy was just unlucky.

In the face of life and death, the scout straightened his tongue, knelt down, and said, "The enemy... has arrived."

"Haha, good timing!" The city lord said to the governor with a boastful tone, "I was just afraid they wouldn't dare to cross the bridge."

The Mountain City Lord's ideal scenario was for the enemy to charge desperately, resulting in their complete annihilation, ideally with Jiang Xiuwu himself also eliminated. Then, a useless heir could ascend the throne, completely at his mercy.

"We've...we've crossed the bridge!" the scout stammered, still unable to finish a sentence.