Magistrate An was, by all calculations, Cheng Susu's savior. Furthermore, he was merely a county magistrate, and at his age, he likely hadn't even killed a chicken. With so many corpses lining the city walls, the fact he hadn't fainted already was a small miracle. Considering this, I dismissed the notion of mocking him and instead nodded, turning to observe the bandits’ movements outside the walls.

The bandits abandoned over a hundred corpses, swiftly decapitating the wounded horses they couldn't carry away before retreating. Their operation was swift; in moments, dust kicked up, and the bandit column vanished into the woods bordering the official road.

Since Magistrate An had entrusted me with the city's defense, I needed to be on high alert. Regardless of whether the bandits attacked again, preparation was essential. By this time, Magistrate An had gathered the yamen runners who were still fit to fight. He had announced to everyone that I would temporarily take command, and all men were to obey my orders without fail.

The fighting capability of these yamen runners was truly unimpressive, and I didn't intend to rely on their crude blades to stop the horsemen. Given the stark imbalance in strength, this battle had to be won through strategy; a head-on clash would only lead to defeat. We held the geographical advantage and the support of the people, and although our active combat personnel were few, we could not ignore the nearly ten thousand civilians sheltering behind us.

With that in mind, I saw no need to be polite with Magistrate An. I glanced over the two dozen retainers and yamen runners. Several who had been stationed at the main gate were either dead or had retreated due to injury. Out of the twenty-odd present, I recognized only four: Ah San and Ah Si, whom I remembered clearly because they had briefly engaged me in combat earlier; and two others, whom I knew casually—let’s call them Ah Mao and Ah Gou—and who knew I was the Escape Pod Captain and had shown me a degree of respect when we last met.

Success or failure notwithstanding, I decided to employ these four to handle a few essential tasks. "Ah Mao, Ah Gou, heed my command."

I had nicknamed those two 'Ah Mao' (Cat) and 'Ah Gou' (Dog) because of their shifty, beady eyes, but by appearance, they both seemed quick-witted enough to be sent out for intelligence gathering; perhaps they weren't the wrong choice after all.

"Subordinate awaits, please command, Your Excellency." Since I was the acting commander, Ah Mao and Ah Gou addressed me as 'Your Excellency.'

I instructed, "You two must leave the city immediately to scout the bandits’ movements, including their losses this time, where they have retreated to, and what they are currently doing—whether they show signs of withdrawal or are gathering strength for another assault. You must ascertain everything. If either of you dares to report even half a lie, I will personally throw you down to the bandits to be hacked apart!"

Ah Mao and Ah Gou, having survived the recent fierce battle, were less fearful than before. They accepted the order: "Your Excellency, rest assured. If we fail to ascertain the facts or provide false reports, we won't return at all; we’ll simply stay outside and let the bandits crush us to death."

"No!" I refused. "You must return first to report what you have confirmed, and then go back out to be trampled by the bandits."

"Ah... Oh, as Your Excellency commands." Ah Mao and Ah Gou descended the city wall using the hoist basket. They crouched low, slipped into the roadside bushes, and vanished in moments. It seemed these two truly had the makings of spies; even their nicknames weren't inaccurate—both cats and dogs are agile creatures.

"Ah San, step forward and receive orders." Having dispatched Ah Mao and Ah Gou, it was time for contingency planning and setting up defenses.

Ah San hesitated for a moment before stepping forward. I commanded him, "You must enter the city at once to conscript laborers. Lead them to the various grain and oil shops to requisition grease—as much as you can get. Bring all of it up to the city wall. Then, while you are at it, find dozens of large cooking cauldrons and bring them up to the wall along with some firewood."

Ah San looked puzzled. "Requisition grease and large cauldrons for what? Are we frying snacks?"

I struck a commanding posture, and Linglong and Daliwan fittingly positioned themselves behind me, appearing even more imposing than Zhang Wenbing had previously. "Do as you are told, and do not ask why. Remember to keep records; document in detail how much is taken from each household. The county government will compensate them at a fair price later."

Magistrate An winced upon hearing the county government would have to pay, but he managed to bite back his objection. Though he didn't know the purpose of the grease, this wartime commander was infinitely better than his nephew, who only knew how to barricade the gate and was useless otherwise. The moment the bandits reached the wall, his nephew had panicked and done nothing. If not for the timely intervention of this other person, the city wall would likely already be awash in blood.

As Ah San was leaving, I specifically instructed him that one particular grain and oil shop in the rear had a surplus of oil, and if others couldn't provide enough, he should go directly there to take what was needed, saving time searching elsewhere.

After Ah San took his orders and left, I called Ah Si forward. "Ah Si, you take one man with you and mobilize the citizens. Gather all the existing rolling logs and stones within the city and bring them up to the city wall. Be careful not to pile them together; spread them out along the base of the wall in various spots."

Ah Si asked no questions, called for a fellow yamen runner he was friendly with, and headed into the city. Magistrate An approached me. "Younger Cousin Zhao, do you have any task for me? You can't just leave me idle. If the court inquires, I will be held accountable."

I replied, "Since Magistrate An is so concerned for the nation and its people, your humble nephew will not stand on ceremony. Go down and utilize your strengths: persuade and rally the common folk to rise up against the bandits. Urge them to contribute whatever strength or money they can, for if the city falls, they certainly won't escape doom."

Magistrate An was delighted; this task was exceedingly easy—it only required moving his lips. Thus, he happily went off to utilize his particular talent.

I assigned the remaining men the tasks of cleaning the battlefield and maintaining vigilance on the walls. Furthermore, we were short on arrows and needed to retrieve more from the county government's storeroom. Thinking back to how the bandits' horses had brazenly charged the gate and even knocked it down, I felt a surge of anger. The city defenses' weaponry lacked sufficient lethality. However, the horses’ excessive speed sometimes drastically reduced the effectiveness of the soldiers' arrow volleys. If we could impede the bandits' speed within the effective range of the bows, their casualty rate would surely increase.

I reviewed ancient Earthling methods for resisting cavalry. Many were impractical here because Feiyu County lacked even a decent blacksmith shop, and forging anything new would take too long. However, cheval de frise, tripwires, and horse traps were perfectly usable.

Cheval de frise is simple to construct, and wood is abundant here. The only hassle would be sharpening the stakes, but it would still be much faster than forging something like a hook-and-sickle spear. Tripwires are even more convenient and practical, but we have too few men; defending the walls leaves no one to set the wires. Horse traps could also be highly effective. Thinking of the official road winding through the woods, laying down a row of traps there could easily cripple dozens of their horses.

Digging horse traps, however, is not a quick job, and those working outside the city would be vulnerable to sudden bandit raids. Since we still don't know if the enemy has truly retreated, I decided to postpone that for now. But we could have the carpenters immediately begin crafting cheval de frise. Putting a hundred or so near the city gate and along the base of the wall would force the bandits to dismount and proceed on foot when they encountered them. With their speed reduced, wouldn't they then be easy targets for our attacks from above?

I couldn't help but chuckle at my own ingenuity. These simple devices could prove invaluable here. This Twin Star planet truly was an interesting place. However, everyone spoke of the Twin City State producing beauties, so why was it that besides one who seemed barely twelve years old, I hadn't seen a single one?

"Brother Zhao, Brother Zhao!"

I snapped back to attention and looked up. "Ah, Brother Sun, how did you get up here? You lost too much blood; your face is deathly pale. You should go down and rest immediately."

"Cough, cough," Head Constable Sun was being carried by two commoners. He coughed twice. "I was worried. I heard you took over the defense just now, which is good. With you here, I feel much more at ease. If there is anything I can do, just ask. After all, I understand the situation in Feiyu County better than you do."

It was perfect timing as I needed carpenters. So, I said to Head Constable Sun, "Brother Sun, are there any carpenters here? This junior would like to find a few to construct something called cheval de frise, and then have men place them outside the city to impede the swift horses of the bandits."

"Cheval de frise?" Head Constable Sun pondered as he spoke. "Brother Zhao, perhaps you can explain it to me first? This must be something to block horses, but I am intensely curious as to how it blocks them. Give me a general outline, and then I will help you find the carpenters."

I raised my hand, pulled three arrows from Linglong's quiver nearby, arranged two of them in a cross shape, and rested the third arrow across the intersection, its arrowhead pointing up and its tail resting on the ground. "The structure is like this, but the middle stake must be sharpened. Those charging horses are too fast for us to shoot effectively, but if they encounter these cheval de frise, they will have to slow down and maneuver around them, or dismount to move them. Otherwise, the sharp point of the middle stake will pierce the horse's chest—even the most spirited steed cannot withstand a chest wound like that."

"Brilliant idea!" Head Constable Sun slapped his thigh, then cried out, "Ow, that hurts!" It turned out his palm strike landed directly on his wound. "Brother Zhao, you truly are remarkable. To devise a weapon so simple yet so effective! Alright, I will go find the carpenters immediately. You continue to hold overall command."

Without waiting for my consent, Head Constable Sun urged the two commoners carrying him down the wall. I called out a couple of reminders, "Brother Sun, make sure these cheval de frise aren't too light or too heavy! If they are too heavy, we won't be able to move them ourselves, but if they are too light, a horse can easily kick them over, rendering them useless."

Head Constable Sun replied, "Don't worry, Brother Zhao, I understand what you mean."

Heh, the people here really love calling each other 'brother'; everyone is so enthusiastic. Head Constable Sun is enthusiastic, Sun Dasheng is enthusiastic, Governor Wu is enthusiastic, Magistrate An is enthusiastic—everyone is enthusiastic toward me. Am I really that popular?

Lunch was brought up to the city wall by the commoners. I had intended to eat something simple with the yamen runners, but before anyone could pick up their chopsticks, Cheng Susu arrived with Zhou Ni, bringing food.

Linglong and Daliwan pulled me away from the crowd of yamen runners, and the six of us formed a small circle around a table. Cheng Susu began setting out the food while asking, "Did the bandits retreat? Wahani at home must be worried sick about her husband, right?"