Chapter Fourteen: No Natural Barrier

[Alert! Warning: Host has triggered a deep crisis!]

[The promise made by Lu Xiaoyuan naturally carries great risks, and now those risks have materialized. You accepted the mission to organize the refugees outside Wangjiang City, but you have also been dragged down by them.]

[Even the elite imperial guards of the Liang Dynasty cannot stop the Northern Barbarians’ iron cavalry, and you are supposed to select so-called strong men from among the refugees to form the Zhenyi Battalion—your combat strength is nothing but a joke. Moreover, you don't even have time to organize the refugees.]

[Faced with the Northern Barbarians’ pressure, if you abandon the refugees and flee, you will bear the guilt of dereliction of duty, lose any place to stand within the Liang Dynasty, and the entire northern populace will despise you, subjecting you to endless pursuit. If you stay in Wangjiang to resist, with no real fighting power, the only outcome is to be slaughtered alongside the refugees.]

[The host is facing a critical turning point in destiny that has escalated sharply. Please choose your response strategy carefully. Survive this crisis and transform your destiny to receive massive system rewards, unlocking the system’s mall and additional features.]

Upon hearing the sudden dire news, only Xue Chengqian remained calm and composed.

Even after further system alerts, he showed little emotional fluctuation.

The harshest environment forged his resolve at an astonishing pace.

Since there was no retreat from the start, worsening circumstances would not alter the decision he had already made.

All his focus was fixed on the north, on how to solve this nearly unsolvable crisis.

...

Outside Wangjiang City, a massive gathering of refugees had already appeared, with corpses floating everywhere.

Unexpectedly, overnight tens of thousands more refugees fled to Wangjiang, bringing utterly despairing news.

Since Luo Fang’s arrival, everyone had become numb.

They were in a state of chaos, mechanically providing shelter to the refugees out of instinct.

Up until now, Luo Fang still maintained a semblance of authority, and the refugee order outside Wangjiang City barely held together—thanks entirely to Xue Chengqian’s presence.

Xue Chengqian knew that everyone, including Luo Fang, had lost confidence in confronting the crisis.

He also knew that mere words alone could not restore hope.

Therefore, his choice was to keep everyone busy.

Since they could not regain spirit, they would instead numb themselves! Only frantic activity could keep them from dwelling on the grim fate awaiting them.

---

Luo Fang, a rugged man, had shouted himself hoarse over the course of a day.

Only after placing the newly arrived refugees on the outskirts did he join Xue Chengqian and the others to discuss plans.

“Xue kid, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't even dare imagine what the situation outside Wangjiang City would be like now.”

Xue Chengqian smiled faintly. “Luo Boss, have you regained your fighting spirit?”

Luo Fang could only respond with a bitter smile.

“Fighting spirit? No, I’m just too busy to think about what comes next, or what to do when the Northern Barbarians come at us.”

Realizing such words would crush morale, Luo Fang quickly forced himself to rally and glanced around.

“So far, people like the Tooth Woman haven’t taken advantage to stir trouble. Seems they understand fighting us now is pointless and would only earn Lu Xiaoyuan’s ire.”

“Their threats can be put aside for the moment. The real question is: how do we deal with the Northern Barbarians?”

The assembled military families lowered their heads, all out of temper.

Kang Yu, seething with rage, stepped forward.

“What the hell are you all doing? You used to brag about avenging yourselves, fighting the Northern Barbarians no matter what. Now that they’ve really come to Wangjiang, you’re all silent?”

“I’d rather die now under the Northern Barbarians’ blades than see you all look like this!”

Wang Huzi, who usually liked to show off in front of Kang Yu, shrank under the rebuke.

“Um, Kang Yu, you’ve said it already. We don’t chicken out on the battlefield, but none of us ever served as commanders when we guarded the border with Luo Boss. Asking us to come up with a plan now... that’s a tough ask.”

“I’ve only got one thing to say: Luo Boss, you tell us what to do, and the brothers will follow.”

By the end, even his own voice dropped.

Luo Fang waved his hand.

“Kang Yu, don’t get ahead of yourself. Wang Huzi’s words are a bit weak, but he’s right. Even I, Luo Fang, have never been a commander and don’t know how to deploy troops.”

“But Xue kid, I can tell you have some ideas in your head. Whether they work or not, say them out loud so we can consider.”

---

Xue Chengqian took up the responsibility without hesitation.

Now that everyone had finished their busy work and began to think, if no hope or way out appeared, even the most united military families might see many brothers no longer willing to follow Luo Fang to their deaths.

“Since we’ve decided to rely on Wangjiang to resist the Northern Barbarians, and want to save ourselves and as many refugees as we can, we must know our enemy and ourselves.”

Wang Huzi interrupted disdainfully.

“What good ideas do you think you have? Isn’t that just stating the obvious?”

“Know the enemy? The Northern Barbarians move like the wind. Apart from what the refugees they drive ahead tell us—that they’re about to reach Wangjiang—we know nothing else about their forces.”

“Know ourselves... Luo Boss, why don’t you ask Captain Song to plead with Lu Xiaoyuan to send troops outside the city?”

Luo Fang snapped irritably, “That’s nonsense! If begging worked, I’d have done it already!”

Though proud, Luo Fang had no qualms about humbling himself to beg for his and his brothers’ survival—especially since the big shots were all inside Wangjiang City; asking them wasn’t a disgrace.

“Xue kid already analyzed it. Lu Xiaoyuan doesn’t care about the lives of the refugees outside. That’s why he gave us empty promises and dumped all the refugees on us!”

“Besides, the new batch of refugees arrived a day ago. The city should have gotten word by now, but look—has anything changed inside Wangjiang?”

Wang Huzi, having been scolded harshly by his leader, quickly stepped aside.

Xue Chengqian smiled and said, “Wang Huzi’s right. We only know the Northern Barbarians are coming from the northwest and will soon be at Wangjiang. Beyond that, we know nothing.”

“But we know Wangjiang City well. Built on a plain, to stop the Northern Barbarians, there are only two things we can rely on: first, the tall city walls; second, the natural barrier of the Nujiang River.”

“Lu Xiaoyuan forbids the refugees from entering the city, so the walls are his stronghold. But we brothers don’t have the fortune to use them, so the only real defense we have is the Nujiang River!”

Luo Fang and Kang Yu had hoped for some clever scheme, but after Xue Chengqian finished, even they couldn’t hide their disappointment.

Kang Yu said bluntly, sneering, “Are you stupid? The Nujiang is already frozen! Otherwise, how do you think this batch of refugees crossed directly from the opposite bank to right outside Wangjiang City?”

“The Northern Barbarians don’t need to commandeer boats to cross; they just ride their horses across the ice and can trample us all to death!”