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

"Let's just charge in!" Jiang Xiuwen said excitedly, his ego inflated to the extreme, truly believing that these three thousand men could wipe out the Mountain City Lord.

"If I told you that the enemy had 5,000 elite troops lying in ambush on both flanks and 3,000 garrison troops inside the city, would you believe me, Uncle?" Lin Pingzhen really didn't want to waste his breath on Jiang Xiuwen; talking was a waste of energy.

"I believe it, I believe it completely!" Jiang Xiuwen nodded vigorously, his playful smile completely different from before.

Jiang Xiuwen is straightforward. If he dislikes someone, he will always find fault with that person. If he admires someone, he will find even their excrement smelling good.

He used to hate Lin Ping, but now he admires him, resulting in two opposite outcomes.

"Husband, were you just lying to your uncle?" Jiang Yunying asked softly.

Lin Ping shook his head. "Every word is true. All eight thousand private soldiers of the Mountain City Prefecture have gathered here. It seems they don't want us to go back alive."

"Don't worry, my husband, Yunying will definitely protect you." Jiang Yunying gripped the hilt of her sword, scanning her surroundings warily, not allowing anyone to approach Lin Ping, not even a fly.

Jiang Yunying's serious expression was truly adorable. Lin Ping held her tightly clenched hands and said, "If the enemy wanted to make a move, they wouldn't have waited until now. They have reservations, after all, the roads behind are wide, and our army can come and go freely."

"Oh..." Jiang Yunying pouted and nodded, half understanding, but she felt that Lin Ping had other intentions.

"I'm going to test you, my wife, with a question," Lin Ping said seriously.

"Okay, let's go!" Jiang Yunying rolled up her sleeves, as if she were going to the battlefield.

Lin Ping was speechless, but he felt that Jiang Yunying was so cute that it was heartbreaking. He didn't beat around the bush with her and asked, "Since there are 8,000 troops in Yancheng, how many private troops are there in Shancheng?"

Jiang Yunying counted on her ten slender, white fingers, muttering to herself, before finally replying, "Two thousand left!"

"And what if we subtract the thousand we wiped out?" Lin Ping revealed a sinister smile.

Jiang Yunying suddenly realized, and exclaimed in astonishment, "So, my husband sent Pang Xingji and the others with a purpose?"

The answer was obvious. Lin Ping had already told Pang Xingji the specific plan, but he didn't make it public for fear of making a mistake in his guess. Now that he found that a large number of troops had been gathered in Yancheng, he was relieved.

"What are you two muttering about? Go to sleep now, and I'd love to hold my grandson." Jiang Xiuwen said unhappily, wishing Jiang Yunying would give birth to Lin Ping's child immediately.

Lin Ping is indeed intelligent, but he is an outsider after all. However, the child born to Jiang Yunying belongs to the City Lord's Mansion. Even if he inherits some genes, he can lead the City Lord's Mansion to prosperity. No wonder Jiang Xiuwen is anxious.

"What kind of behavior is it for a young girl to be wielding swords and spears all day long? Having a child is the most important thing right now," Jiang Xiuwen added, seemingly thinking that Jiang Yunying's sword-wielding was inappropriate.

Lin Ping finally believed Jiang Xiuwen's words. He really did pull Jiang Yunying into his room. However, consummating their marriage in broad daylight seemed to... suit his wishes.

Jiang Yunying covered her face, not knowing how to answer.

"That's right, Prince Consort and Princess, hurry up and go to sleep, we can't hear you!" The nearby private soldiers also started to cheer, all of them admiring Lin Ping from the bottom of their hearts. Not only could he handle the icy Jiang Yunying, but he could also handle the hot-tempered Jiang Xiuwen.

"As the ancients said, there is a time for eating..." Lin Ping made a lewd joke in a serious tone. Some of the more perceptive private soldiers laughed heartily, while Jiang Yunying hid to the side and muttered, "What does this have to do with eating?"

Lin Ping wished Jiang Yunying was a virtuous wife who would cook him noodles every day.

At this moment, the city lord and others had already entered the city gate, looking back from time to time, hoping that Jiang Xiuwen would lead his army to charge in.

"Father, why don't you lead the troops out and kill them!" Lian Gui couldn't contain himself any longer, and at the same time, he wanted to avenge his thousand loyal followers.

"You good-for-nothing! You're more trouble than you're worth!" The Mountain City Lord slapped Lian Gui across the face, leaving a bright red handprint. The pain contorted the man's face.

Lian Gui covered his face, feeling wronged and not daring to speak or argue back.

The mountain city lord launched into another scathing reprimand: "Do you want to implicate your father in dishonesty? Dishonesty is worse than death."

As the Mountain City Lord said, this battle for the city lord has attracted much attention, not only because of the two major camps, but also because of the complex forces involved. If the Mountain City Lord were to launch an attack, it would surely leave a bad impression.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have made those thousand archers change their clothes, and in the end, Jiang Xiuwen called them petty thieves, so even in death he couldn't rest in peace.

Lian Gui nodded, feeling wronged, and roughly understood what the Mountain City Lord meant.

The governor standing next to him had a livid face and was coughing incessantly, as if he were choking on phlegm.

The city lord then realized that the governor's real name was Qi Wuxin, and his words were not just veiled insults, but outright blatant abuse.

"Brother Lian, what are you going to do?" Wu Xin finally coughed up the phlegm, which landed squarely on the Mountain City Lord's boot, as a form of retaliation.

The mountain city lord was not angry. He carefully analyzed, "Jiang Xiuwen is very cunning. He deliberately occupies the key road. We will not gain anything by attacking rashly. Moreover, Jiang Xiuwu is not here. Even if we wipe out these people, it will not be of much use."

The loss of three thousand private soldiers is not fatal for a city lord; as long as there are sufficient weapons and equipment, the military households in the city can replenish them immediately.

This is also the main reason why the lord of the mountain city did not launch an attack immediately.

"Therefore, we must wait, delay as much as possible, and create an encirclement around them. Jiang Xiuwen will definitely request reinforcements. At that time, Jiangcheng will be sparsely defended, and the governor's guards will be of good use." The gloom on the mountain city lord's face was enough to blot out the sun, indicating that he was a shrewd and calculating person.

"Excellent!" Wu Xin slapped his thigh excitedly. "The five thousand guards from Xuzhou and the five thousand guards from Shancheng have arrived at the border of Jiangcheng Prefecture. The Jiangcheng Prefect has also assembled three thousand strong yamen runners, just waiting for the moment when the city lord's city is empty!"

"Hmph, Jiang Xiuwu, your death is near!" The Mountain City Lord grinned and gritted his teeth, his expression extremely ferocious.

"Don't worry, Father, they can't escape!" Lian Ping said, patting his chest, finally managing to outmaneuver Lian Gui.

Most of the private troops in the city are his confidants, and they will certainly earn a lot of credit when the time comes. We must take this opportunity to completely suppress Lian Gui.

"Yes, this time you can't let your father down again." The Lord of the Mountain City nodded with some relief. Even if Lian Gui was incompetent, there was still his eldest son, Lian Ping.

Before they knew it, it was evening. At Jiang Xiuwen's insistence, Lin Ping once again slept in the same tent as Jiang Yunying. The old rascal was actually pressing his ear against the tent, listening to the sounds inside.