Reborn and returned, sisters swapped

Chapter 122 You've really worked hard.

Gu Jinyan looked in the direction he was pointing and vaguely saw several figures moving slowly and silently along the city wall, seemingly searching for something.

Lin Zixuan lowered his voice and said, "They are trying to climb over and sneak into the city."

These men were agile and clearly had received special training; they belonged to an elite squad within the enemy army.

Gu Jinyan held his breath, a hint of tension flashing in his eyes.

Seeing Lin Zixuan's composed expression, as if he had already handled the situation with ease, she couldn't help but ask softly, "How should we deal with this?"

Lin Zixuan said slowly, "Don't rush, observe first."

Once they approach the base of the city wall, we can ambush them and annihilate these infiltrated enemy troops in one fell swoop, thereby deterring the main enemy force behind us.

Gu Jinyan nodded, a sense of admiration rising in his heart.

Lin Zixuan remained calm and observant during the tense battle, and was able to quickly devise a counterattack strategy. Her composure and resourcefulness were truly admirable.

Soon, the enemy soldiers quietly arrived at the bottom of the city wall, where archers were already hidden in the shadows, ready for battle.

Lin Zixuan gave a low signal, and the archers quickly drew their bows, aiming at the position where the enemy was about to climb.

Once the enemy had climbed halfway up, Lin Zixuan decisively ordered, "Fire!"

Dozens of arrows flew out at the same time, accompanied by screams. The enemy soldiers who were climbing fell to the ground, their blood staining the bluestone slabs at the foot of the wall.

Seeing the unfavorable situation, the remaining enemy troops quickly retreated. Soldiers on the city walls cheered softly, encouraged by this minor victory.

Lin Zixuan remained vigilant, whispering, "We must not let our guard down. The enemy's harassment doesn't stop there; they may have other tricks up their sleeves."

Gu Jinyan watched him calmly give orders and felt a surge of admiration.

She suddenly realized that the battle was not only about head-on combat, but also about maintaining rationality and patience.

Lin Zixuan brought her not only specific tactical arrangements, but also an insight into the overall battlefield situation.

Suddenly, the sound of bugles came from the enemy camp in the distance again, this time more urgent than before, as if urging something.

Lin Zixuan's eyes turned slightly cold as he said in a low voice, "The enemy's main force may be observing from the rear. If they see that the harassment has failed, they may launch a probing attack."

Sure enough, the faint sounds of troops moving could be heard in the darkness, and the enemy army began to slowly advance towards Hesha City.

Lin Zixuan quickly organized the soldiers into formations and ordered the archers to patrol every section of the city wall to ensure that no slightest movement was missed.

Gu Jinyan assisted from the side, combining her knowledge of military strategy with the situation on the ground, and discussed countermeasures with Lin Zixuan.

She suddenly realized that she was no longer a simple logistics soldier, but a link in this battle, bearing the responsibility for the safety of Hersha City.

"Jinyan, the defense map you drew comes in handy. Take a look here—"

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As Lin Zixuan pointed to the city defense map, he explained in a low voice how to deal with the upcoming enemy charge.

Gu Jinyan flipped through the defense map she had compiled, compared it with the terrain in front of her, and worked with Lin Zixuan to refine each defensive measure.

"Split the archers into two layers."

Lin Zixuan pointed to the varying heights of the city wall and said in a deep voice, "A squad of archers is positioned at the lower level to provide cover for the enemy charging at close range."

The other team, positioned at higher ground, aimed at distant targets to guard against a surprise attack from afar.

Following Lin Zixuan's instructions, the soldiers regrouped the archers and put them in their positions.

To enhance vigilance, he also specifically assigned two alert soldiers to keep watch from high vantage points and be responsible for issuing early warning signals.

"The enemy is used to ramming and climbing. This time we need to take advantage of the terrain disadvantage and defend instead of attacking."

Lin Zixuan looked at the city gate and directed the soldiers to place large stones and iron hooks on both sides of the city wall.

The iron hooks were secured with long ropes to prevent enemy troops from suddenly climbing or throwing them.

Gu Jinyan suggested adding some obstacles to make it difficult for the enemy to approach the city wall. So she and the soldiers piled up rubble and traps under the city wall. Once the enemy tried to get close, they would trigger the spike traps and cause casualties to the enemy.

"If the enemy gets close, light the oil and burn them directly," Lin Zixuan whispered to Gu Jinyan.

They instructed soldiers to sprinkle oil near the city gates and vulnerable areas, and prepared several barrels of fuel oil.

Once the enemy breaks through the outer perimeter, this fuel can be quickly ignited, forming a wall of fire that forces the enemy back.

Gu Jinyan also kept this strategy in mind and paid special attention to the location of the oil barrels to ensure that they would not be discovered by the enemy in advance.

"We also need to guard against the enemy's feint attack," Lin Zixuan reminded.

They reinforced manpower in the main defensive area, but at the same time deployed several small squads to hide on the east side.

If the enemy launches a feint attack from this point, we can immediately counterattack, harassing the enemy on a small scale to confuse their vision.

Gu Jinyan suggested that before the enemy actually launched their attack, a small number of soldiers should pretend to be panicked and retreat, creating the illusion that the defensive line was unstable and attracting the enemy to lower their guard.

If the enemy becomes careless, she and Lin Zixuan can send soldiers who have been lying in ambush to flank them and achieve the effect of an ambush.

Lin Zixuan agreed with the strategy and personally arranged for several soldiers skilled in disguise to lie in ambush in the bushes outside the city wall, so that they could launch a surprise attack once the enemy got close.

“Once the enemy attacks, they won’t just attack from one direction. We need to ensure that all areas are seamlessly connected.”

Gu Jinyan directed the deployment of additional patrols, planning the patrol routes into a network to ensure that the line of sight between them remained unobstructed at all times.

If a section of the defense line is attacked, other patrolling soldiers can provide timely support and reinforcements, reducing the vulnerability.

As defensive measures were gradually implemented, the defenses of Hersha City became increasingly robust.

Lin Zixuan and Gu Jinyan repeatedly inspected every deployment point and made careful adjustments to ensure that the soldiers performed their duties.

Under these measures, the soldiers on the city wall gradually calmed down, waiting for the enemy to arrive.

Soon, as expected, the enemy squad began to approach, attempting to harass the enemy, but was repeatedly thwarted by the impenetrable defenses.

Under Lin Zixuan's command, the archers launched a well-organized counterattack, and the wall of fire oil ignited at a critical moment, blocking the enemy's attack route.

Ultimately, the enemy's repeated attempts to probe the city failed, and they had no choice but to retreat, leaving behind several corpses and the regret of returning empty-handed at the foot of Hesha City.

As the first rays of dawn pierced through the eastern clouds and fell upon the city of Hersha, the soldiers on the city walls had already completed their handover and welcomed the dawn of a new day.

Gu Jinyan stood quietly on the city wall, watching the enemy figures gradually disappear into the darkness in the distance.

As night deepened, the campfire in the camp flickered gently. The soldiers, having finished a day of training, gathered in twos and threes to chat and laugh.

Some took advantage of the darkness to close their eyes and rest, preparing for the upcoming night watch.

After inspecting the city wall's defenses, Gu Jinyan and Lin Zixuan were preparing to return to their camp to rest when they heard cheers coming from not far away, accompanied by the excited discussion of several soldiers.

"General Huang is truly remarkable! I heard that he led a small team to ambush enemy scouts in the mountains."

"He even killed several enemies! He's a true hero in our army!" one soldier said excitedly, and the others nodded in agreement.

“Isn’t that right? The generals even went to praise General Huang. He truly deserves to be called a hero on the front lines,” another soldier chimed in.

Gu Jinyan frowned slightly, puzzled.

She recalled the intelligence from that day and didn't seem to have heard any news about a large-scale operation by enemy scouts. How could such an ambush have suddenly occurred?

She turned to look at Lin Zixuan, only to see that he was expressionless, but a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.

"Jinyan, let's go check the situation," Lin Zixuan said in a deep voice.

Gu Jinyan nodded, and the two walked straight toward Huang Qing's tent.

Just as they reached the entrance of the tent, they heard Huang Qing's triumphant laughter coming from inside: "Haha, this time we've really given the enemy a taste of their own medicine!"

"I led my brothers out of the city and captured several enemies without much effort. I'm sure I'll get the credit for that." His voice wasn't loud, but it was full of confidence and pride.

Lin Zixuan did not go in, but instead gestured to Gu Jinyan to remain calm.

They bypassed the tents and headed straight for the wounded soldiers' camp.

Along the way, they encountered many soldiers discussing Huang Qing's achievements, and even some generals praised him.

Gu Jinyan felt increasingly uneasy as he listened. If what Huang Qing said was true, such a victory should have alerted the enemy, so why was there no movement in the border patrol reports?

Upon arriving at the wounded soldiers' camp, Gu Jinyan saw several injured soldiers lying on beds, some with bandages wrapped around their arms and others with bandages wrapped around their legs.

But everyone's expression seemed somewhat unnatural.

She approached gently and said in a low voice, "Brothers, I heard that you followed General Huang out of the city to ambush the enemy. You must have worked very hard."

Upon seeing her, several soldiers quickly bowed and politely replied, "You flatter us, young lady. It was thanks to General Huang's excellent command that we were fortunate enough to win."

Their tone was somewhat stiff, as if they were unwilling to talk more.

Gu Jinyan noticed something was amiss and looked them over.

She noticed that some people's injuries didn't seem serious, more like superficial wounds, which made her even more puzzled.

She decided not to question him directly, but instead changed the subject and asked softly, "Were these wounds sustained while fighting the enemy?"

One of the soldiers paused slightly, seemingly flustered, and subconsciously looked at his comrade beside him.

His companion quickly said, "Yes, the enemy is very cunning. We fought hard and barely managed to injure them." As he spoke, he avoided Gu Jinyan's gaze.

Gu Jinyan's heart stirred, and he decided to probe a few more times.

She asked in a low voice, "During the battle, did you sense any signs of a large-scale enemy operation?"

I've been thinking, if it were just a small scout squad, it doesn't seem like it would have caused such casualties for you."