Seeing the dagger on the table and the expression on Li Mao's face, Wang Yuanji knelt at his feet almost without hesitation.
Although he was the Commander of Military Affairs, Li Mao, the Prefect of Zhending, also held the position of Pacification Commissioner of Western Hebei Circuit!
In the entire Western Hebei Circuit, he was the solid number 3 figure!
Aside from Xu Churen, who was far away in Yuancheng, and the Transport Commissioner of Hebei Circuit, he was the next in line!
Especially now, in a state of war, although Wang Yuanji was the Commander of Military Affairs of Zhending County, if Li Mao wanted to kill him, it would only take a word!
"Good! This is the statement I want from you. Although Zhending Prefecture is not some dragon's den or tiger's lair, since they dare to come, I will take a substantial piece of flesh from them!"
Li Mao said as he picked up the teacup in front of him and drank it down in one go.
"Your subordinate will follow your every command!"
"Very good! Let's go, follow me to the city walls!"
After taking a deep look at Wang Yuanji, Li Mao put the dagger back into his sleeve, tidied his robes, and turned to walk out of the study.
With Li Mao leading the way, Wang Yuanji felt as if he suddenly had a backbone.
After all, Zhending Prefecture was the administrative seat of Western Hebei Circuit, and historically there was the saying "Flowery Zhending Prefecture, Splendid Taiyuan City."
Zhending Prefecture administered nine counties: Zhending, Gaocheng, Luancheng, Yuanshi, Jingxing, Huolu, Pingshan, Xinghang, and Lingshou.
Even though the people's livelihood had been declining in recent years, the population still numbered over 90,000 households, with the military and civilian population in Zhending city alone reaching nearly 200,000.
As the seat of the Western Hebei Circuit, the Song Dynasty court had not spared any effort in fortifying Zhending over the years.
Although the assassins were surrounded by the Jin people, if they were determined to defend the city, it would not be easy for the Jin people to breach it in a short period!
"The Lord is here! The Lord is here!"
Just as the soldiers on the city wall were running around like headless chickens, a few trusted soldiers following Li Mao immediately shouted loudly.
"The Lord is here!"
Seeing Li Mao appear in his scarlet robe, the soldiers on the city wall let out a cheer.
Although he was merely a weak scholar, with his arrival, everyone suddenly felt a sense of direction.
"My Lord!"
"My Lord!"
As he slowly walked onto the city wall, all the soldiers began to bow to Li Mao repeatedly.
"Brothers! You are all well done!"
Looking at the soldiers with tears in their eyes, Li Mao always wore a faint smile.
"My Lord, the Jin people have surrounded us tightly, and we cannot get out!"
Finally, with the neighing of horses and men outside the city, someone asked the most pressing question at the moment.
"Aren't they just some mere Jin people? Zhending has been surrounded before, hasn't it? A city that the Khitans couldn't conquer, how can these people attack it?"
Although Li Mao had never personally led troops, after all, he had served as the Pacification Commissioner of Western Hebei Circuit for so many years. Of course, he understood that the most important thing at this moment was to stabilize morale!
Zhending City had high walls and deep moats. If a real fight broke out, they might not be without a chance to fight.
However, if the morale could not be maintained, then the city would be useless!
"But My Lord, they all say these Jin people are much more formidable than the Khitans, and some even say they are impervious to blades and spears, and that they can chant spells to travel a thousand li with men and horses after chanting!"
Although Li Mao was trying his best to appease the people, facing the Jin soldiers who had routed the Khitan army with just a few thousand men, the soldiers were still filled with fear.
"Hahahaha, who spread such nonsense? How is that possible? Watch closely!"
Hearing the soldiers' words, Li Mao suddenly laughed, snatched a bow and arrow from a soldier, and prepared to shoot at the Jin cavalry below the city in front of the soldiers.
"My Lord, let me do it!"
Seeing this, Wang Yuanji quickly stepped forward and said in a low voice.
As a military officer, he naturally knew that Li Mao was trying to boost morale.
However, he was still a scholar, and Wang Yuanji was a bit worried that if he missed, it might have the opposite effect.
Although they had an advantage in shooting targets from the city wall to the ground, the opponents were cavalry, and if he missed, it would be rather embarrassing!
"No need, I haven't drawn a bow in many years, and today is a good chance to try and see if my archery has regressed!"
Seeing Wang Yuanji volunteer, Li Mao was secretly pleased, but he did not hand over the bow and arrow directly.
After exchanging pleasantries with the soldiers in a half-joking manner, he immediately took a deep breath, drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and shot it at a Jin cavalryman below the city who was shouting.
The Jin cavalrymen had captured several cities almost without bloodshed, and then routed Tan Zhen's army of over a hundred thousand on the road.
They were currently arrogant and thought that by shouting a few insults, Zhending City would be like the cities before, and they could take whatever they wanted.
But unexpectedly, someone on the city wall dared to shoot at them. The soldier didn't even have time to react before Li Mao pierced his throat with an arrow, causing him to fall off his horse!
"Retreat! Quickly retreat!"
Seeing one of their companions shot dead, the cavalry immediately became alert.
After all, they were too close to the city wall. If another volley of arrows came, they would have nowhere to run!
They came to show off their might, not to die!
"Hahahaha, just a bunch of cowardly rats, did you all see clearly? They are impervious to blades and spears? Can travel a thousand li? Hahahaha!"
After hitting his target with one arrow, Li Mao immediately burst into laughter.
"Long live the Lord! Long live the Great Song!"
Seeing his arrow hit its mark, Wang Yuanji immediately led the cheers.
"Long live the Lord! Long live the Great Song!"
"Long live the Lord! Long live the Great Song!"
The soldiers who had witnessed this scene quickly joined in the cheers.
Seeing the fear on the soldiers' faces gradually subside, Li Mao finally felt a lot more relieved.
Although they still didn't have much chance of winning now, they at least had the strength to fight!
Unless these Jin people could procure enough siege weapons from elsewhere, even if they were invincible in open combat, as long as he didn't leave the city, the Jin people could do nothing to them before their supplies ran out!
"Brothers, did you all see? These Jin people are not as good as the Khitans! The Khitans at least knew how to build cloud ladders, look at them? Besides that big backside which facilitates riding horses, what else do they have? Without siege weapons, to breach the city, even immortals would have to shed some flesh!"