mtlumby2d Chapter 370: Closing the City
Chapter 370: Closing the City
Wang Jinyi thought silently: Only true love can withstand the trivialities of daily life, and only true love can make people not feel lonely in this strange world.
Yes! Where does my loneliness come from?
Wang Wenbin's servant reported at the door that his cousin had gone out and came back quickly.
"Don't worry, I have something to tell you. The city gates were closed this morning and haven't been opened since."
Wang Jinyi pulled himself together from his thoughts and said:
"Send someone to the four city gates to check whether they are all closed. Tell them not to make any noise and report back as soon as possible!"
Wang Wenbin looked at his cousin and went out to prepare the arrangements without saying anything.
Everyone in the room was silent, and the three cousins each had their own thoughts.
The clan woman asked leisurely, "What kind of warning is this? What does Jin'er think?"
“Some time ago, I heard that there were barbarians knocking on the Beiyu Pass. Now it is possible that they are trying to divert attention and lure the enemy away, making it easier for them to attack Beiyu Pass.
Another possibility is that the attack at Beiyukou was just a false move, and they were all for the purpose of attacking Beining City? There are only these two possibilities!"
The eyes of the master and servants in the room were focused on the young lady who was calmly analyzing the situation.
Wang Jinyi raised her drooping eyes, looked around at everyone, slowly stood up, stretched out a hand, and someone behind her handed a paper roll to her.
A faint smile appeared on Wang Jinyi's face. Did you see it? This is called telepathy. Yuqing is now Chunchun's first-level assistant. As long as she waves her hand, she knows what the master wants!
Wang Jinyi walked to a table in the center of the hall and unfolded the map in his hand. "Everyone come."
"This is the map I drew when I came back from Beiyukou last time. It's not very accurate, but it explains the situation!"
Everyone in the room surrounded her and lay on the map, looking at it carefully. Outside the hall, the head of the Beining family stopped when he heard the word "map".
Later, he pushed open the door to the flower hall and heard a group of young people asking in unison: "Cousin, where is this?"
"Cousin, what are the numbers on these circles?"
"Why are there colors? What do these colors represent?"
Not only the three cousins were curious, but also the clan wife. She asked with a look of recognition, "You guessed in advance that the barbarians would come this winter? Is this a specially drawn map?!"
"Master, you think too highly of me. I just like to be prepared for any eventuality and make predictions in advance, so I drew the map."
“My hand-drawing is inaccurate because there is no surveying. These continuous circles are contour lines, and the colors are used to distinguish between mountains, land and water.
Normally, I should draw a river, but I didn’t have the opportunity to inspect it on site, so I can only mark the water flow like this. The symmetrical lines are official roads…”
As he pointed at the map and explained, a voice suddenly interrupted, startling everyone.
"Manjusri, go to the study in the front yard and bring the map on the north wall here. Manjusri...you two go and call all the students in the front yard to come here and tell them it was my idea."
"Great-uncle, you?"
"Bei Ning is a border town after all. As men who grew up here, we should have a sense of crisis. Let's take this opportunity to let them understand the basic common sense of being a Bei Ning person."
The flower hall was quickly transformed into a meeting room among the flowers and trees. The owner of the house saw the servants carrying a coffee table to the flower hall and started talking.
"Stop for a moment. Move out everything except the chairs. The servants should return to their positions. Leave four people at the door to answer the call. The rest should wait outside."
The hall became much quieter after a few breaths. More than a dozen students from the front yard came in, greeted the head of the family, and exchanged polite greetings with Wang Jinyi. The head of the family cleared his throat and
“I am interrupting your studies today because something has happened that all the men know about.
The barbarians from Beiyukou are knocking on the gate, and war is imminent. To defend against the enemy, the four gates of Beining City are closed today."
As the patriarch spoke, his eyes swept across the faces of his children and grandchildren. Seeing that they were all listening attentively and waiting for the next words, he continued:
“Although you are just students, there is no fool in the Wang family who only reads books and does not pay attention to what is happening outside.
Today I want to remind you of two things: first, study peacefully and calm the hearts of those around you. Second, if anyone has ulterior motives and deliberately incites civil unrest, report it to the city defense department after explaining it to your family.
"Just now, the second Miss Xunyang wanted to talk about her views on the closure of the city and the northern barbarians' knocking on the gate. We all listened in."
After saying that, he signaled Wang Jinyi that she could start speaking.
Originally, he just wanted to have a casual chat with his cousins, but he didn't expect it to be so formal. Wang Jinyi himself also took it seriously and asked Wang Wenbin and Wang Wenshu to unfold the map and hold it.
Wang Jinyi pointed at the map, first talking about the mountains, rivers, roads and cities, then the usefulness of contour lines, and slowly got to the point.
"Beiyukou is located to the north of Bac Ninh City, and is the only way for the barbarians to go south. If the barbarians break through Bac Ninh City, they will go straight into the heart of Daqi. Bac Ninh City is the first city to be attacked by the enemy.
For Daqi, guarding Beiyukou can provide support at the rear, and attacking the enemy can provide military supplies for the front.
We must not lose Bac Ninh City."
The head of the family nodded approvingly, thinking of the words of the clan leader, "...It's a pity that she is a girl, but fortunately she was born in our Wang family. Being a girl of our Wang family, she will become a helper of the Wang family..."
Wang Jinyi thought that since everyone had stopped classes to listen to her lecture, she might as well do something practical.
She paused and continued, "The contour lines on the map can help us determine the height of the terrain, and the colors distinguish between mountains, rivers, and plains. These are the basis for choosing a battlefield and determining offense and defense. Even if you are running away in a chaotic situation, you still need to know the situation!"
The patriarch gestured with his hand, and Wang Jinyi stopped and listened to him:
"From today on, you will familiarize yourself with the map every afternoon and discuss the changing trends of the situation. Treat it as learning the art of war."
When the students heard this, they gathered around and discussed in low voices while looking at the map.
Wang Jinyi asked, "If you were a general of the Northern Barbarians, and you led twice as many soldiers as the guards, how would you start a war? What if it was five times? What if it was ten times? What if your country had limited military strength? What would you do?"
Just then, someone hurried into the flower hall and whispered in the owner's ear. For a moment, everyone in the flower hall looked over there and there was complete silence.
After the visitor left, the family head stood up and said, "All four city gates are closed, the city defense soldiers are patrolling, and some businesses are closing down. It seems that the situation is more tense than we expected."
Wang Jinyi's eyes flashed with worry, and he murmured to himself: "It seems that the barbarians have made some moves."
The head of the family asked in a deep voice: "You are all the future heads of the family. Think about what you should do in this situation."
The hall fell into silence for a moment.
The head of the family looked at the students' faces and sighed when he saw that they were all evasive. He then turned slightly and met Wang Jinyi's burning gaze. His eyes lit up, "Does the Second Miss Xunyang have any ideas?"
The fanatical military fan from her previous life, Chen Zhiyuan, appeared in Wang Jinyi's mind.