Fantasy: After transmigrating, I effortlessly became a god.

With Zhang Xinghai gone, Zheng Qian finally got a good night's sleep.

As soon as it was light, Zheng Qian got up to wash and prepare to practice his sword. There was a figure on the upper floor of the shop across the street monitoring Zheng Le Escort Agency. Zheng Qian pretended not to see it and went about his business as usual.

dong dong dong.

Just as Zheng Qian finished washing up, someone knocked on the door. Zhang Tiezhu was still in the kitchen making breakfast, so Zheng Qian had to go open the door himself.

"Good morning, my dear nephew."

He Zuowen, with a gentle smile, stood straight outside the door with a group of people.

"Please come in, Lord He."

Zheng Qian stepped aside to let him in. It seemed that his conversation with Zhang Xinghai yesterday had caused He Zuowen to have some misunderstandings, which led him to come to Zheng Le Escort Agency early in the morning with bags and packages.

“Our two families are close friends, calling me ‘sir’ would be too formal.”

Before Zheng Qian could speak, He Zuowen continued, "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? I haven't either. I went to the mutton rice noodle shop early this morning to buy rice noodles and bring them over so we can eat together."

Three bowls of mutton with a few strands of rice noodles, topped with a thin layer of chili oil, look delicious.

"Thank you!"

He turned and yelled at the kitchen, "Tiezhu, stop cooking! Master He has brought breakfast!"

As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face. Zheng Qian would not refuse He Zuowen's breakfast; it was just a bowl of mutton rice noodles, which was neither excessive nor unreasonable.

After finishing breakfast, He Zuowen took out the patrol inspector's document that Zheng Qian had placed on the table yesterday and began to act like an official.

“Nephew, your appointment as patrol inspector has been announced in the city. From now on, all the constables and soldiers in the entire Lvchang County are at your disposal. You can conduct surprise inspections of every household and every unit without reporting, including my house and the county government office.”

Zheng Qian remained silent. In officialdom, dealings are nothing more than public and private matters. He Zuowen started by talking about official business, so he must have private matters to discuss as well. Sure enough, He Zuowen continued.

"This is Wu Gang. Behind him are a hundred heroes from Wu Family Village. They are all skilled fighters and reliable brothers. From now on, they will be under your command. As for these things, consider them as their food and lodging expenses, since they will be staying at Zheng Le Escort Agency."

See, this is the ultimate way to give gifts: giving something is the same as not giving anything at all, and you're happy while I'm happy too.

My people are coming to stay here for a while. These ginseng, silver, and fine tea are not for you, but for their food and lodging expenses. They might forget to take them with them if they don't use them all.

Nothing wrong?

Brother, you need to be more careful and learn something.

What I gave you wasn't a gift; it was money I spent on your food and your expenses. You don't need to repay the favor; just keep it in mind.

Snapped.

Wu Gang made a fist salute, clasped his hands together with a sound, and respectfully called out.

"Inspector Zheng."

Zheng Qian nodded as a greeting. Wu Gang's temples bulged, his muscles were bulging, and his voice was deep and penetrating. It was obvious that he was a master.

He Zuowen's methods are indeed excellent; he can send away a hundred experts without hesitation.

Just then, Qin Yong and Jin Jindao from Jindao Shop also arrived at Zheng Le Escort Agency.

They timed it perfectly; they must have been waiting outside before dawn, just waiting for Zheng Qian to wake up so they could have breakfast together.

Zheng Qian agreed with He Zuowen's behavior, believing that if a unit lacks the ability to execute, nothing can be accomplished.

Qin Yong nodded to Zheng Qian, then clasped his hands in a respectful greeting to He Zuowen.

"Magistrate He."

He Zuowen looked serious and nodded to Qin Yong, who then took out a map and began to explain the preparations for the city defense battle.

"The Changwu Army has 3,000 men, 2,800 veterans have been recalled, and there are 1,000 martial arts masters. After the city was closed last night, no one was allowed to enter or leave. Just now, we counted 12,000 people in the city, making a total of about 19,000. We also counted 1,267 horses in the city."

The city's defenses include 30,000 catties of oil, 200 sets of bows and arrows, 5,000 arrows, 13,000 broadswords, enough food for 20,000 people for a month, 13 water sources already under protection, and enough medicinal herbs for 10,000 people. This is the current number of personnel and equipment.

Pointing to several locations on the map, Qin Yong continued, "We've discovered outsiders in these places. They're armed and gathered together, so we can conclude they're outposts of the Red Turban Army. Our men are secretly keeping watch. There are about three hundred of them, and they're all at the water sources. To prevent them from poisoning the water, we've assigned fifty men to guard each water source to ensure its safety."

According to reports from scouts at the front, the Red Turban Army has captured Baiyun County and is expected to arrive here in three days. Their army numbers 150,000.

Silence fell. No one spoke. There were 5,800 soldiers and 1,000 martial arts masters, totaling 6,800 people.

With 6,800 men against 150,000, the enemy's numbers were less than a fifth of theirs, making the outcome of the battle a foregone conclusion.

He Zuowen really went to great lengths to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the city gates after Zhang Xinghai left.

After a long silence, He Zuowen spoke.

"Zheng Qian, Qin Yong, and Jin Jindao stay behind; everyone else, leave."

He Zuowen completely trusted Wu Gang; otherwise, he wouldn't have assigned him to Zheng Qian's side, nor would he have let him know about the manpower and resources of Lvchang County.

Letting him know these things is to prepare him mentally so that he can protect Zheng Qian and help him break through the encirclement at any time.

The people from Wujia Village were asked to leave because they were having a meeting.

Meetings with many people are not important; important meetings have few people.

Everyone retreated outside Zheng Le Escort Agency before He Zuowen slowly spoke.

"Our mission is to hold out for three days, the longer the better, without any reinforcements. The three of you are the strongest fighters, so each of you must take on the responsibility of guarding one gate, and I will guard the other gate. We must announce to the outside world that we have reinforcements, and we cannot let the morale of the army be shaken."

This is where He Zuowen's brilliance lies: speaking frankly and openly with his own people, saying, "I trust you all, I have nothing to hide from you, and you should also be willing to risk your lives for me, even if it means dying without regret."

However, in his plan, none of the three could die, especially Zheng Qian.

All because of one person, Zhang Xinghai.

Turning his gaze to Zheng Qian, He Zuowen asked, "Inspector Zheng, do you have any opinions on this city defense battle?"

When Zheng Qian heard He Zuowen call out to Inspector Zheng, he straightened his back; he was about to take it seriously.

Since the title is an official position, one must fulfill one's duties. This is Zheng Qian's requirement for himself. He then took out the map that Zhang Xinghai had left him and spread it on the table.

The three looked at the map in disbelief; it was even more detailed than Qin Yong's military map.

Even the dog hole is marked, especially those red lines on it, they're so eye-catching.

The three of them couldn't help but exchange glances, their minds filled with questions.

This kid is hiding his true abilities; he has such a detailed city map. Could he be planning a rebellion?

Zheng Qian didn't share their ideas. Zhang Xinghai said the red line was his escape route, so Zheng Qian studied it last night and found that the red line was full of possible routes for both offense and defense.

Zhang Xinghai is a lunatic, he's not simple.

Zheng Qian took a sip of the bright red, high-grade tea, cleared his throat, and stood up to speak.

"First, we don't need so many troops to guard the water sources. Three people can guard each water source in three shifts. All the troops can be drawn out to guard the city. The people should also all wait under the city walls and no one should be allowed to wander around the city."

Qin Yong immediately asked, "What if someone poisons us while we're not guarding the area?"

"Put fish in the water source. If the fish live, it means it's not poisonous. If the fish die, abandon the water source. The prerequisite is to wipe out the three hundred Red Turban Army outposts in the city."

Snapped.

Qin Yong's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh excitedly, realizing that this would free up nearly eight hundred soldiers.

Putting fish in the water, that's awesome!

Zheng Qian continued, pointing to the map, "Secondly, the Red Turban Army will come from the west gate. The area in front of the west gate is the most open, so the Red Turban Army will definitely attack the west gate. Brother Qin will lead 2,500 Changwu soldiers to guard the most difficult west gate, Boss Jin will lead 360 brothers from Jin Dao Shop and 1,000 Changwu soldiers to guard the south gate, and I will lead the brothers from Wu Family Village and 1,000 Changwu soldiers to guard the north gate. As for the east gate, Magistrate He will lead 500 martial arts masters and 1,000 Changwu soldiers to guard it. That is where we will retreat."

All three nodded in agreement. Zheng Qian's arrangement was very reasonable. Qin Yong, as the only military officer and the one who knew Changwu Army and Lvchang City best, was assigned to guard the most difficult-to-defend West Gate and would receive the greatest military merit. There was nothing wrong with that.

The East Gate leads to Yan City and is the best escape route. It is guarded by the highest leader and the only civil official, He Zuowen, so there is nothing wrong with that.

Unless the Red Turban Army wanted to kill everyone, they would leave the East Gate open for everyone to escape.

After all, chasing and killing is easier than attacking a city.