"But..."
"Alright, sir, rest assured, there won't be any 'buts'."
Han Mo understood Shao Bowen's concerns perfectly.
After all, Wang Xiang had been a prime minister, and he still held some prestige among the scholars. If Han Mo pushed too hard in this matter, it might have some adverse effects on his own future.
However, the problem was that Han Mo's time was extremely tight, and the conflict between him and Wang Xiang was irreconcilable.
If Han Mo wanted to develop his own influence, he had to gain an absolute advantage in the struggle against Wang Xiang.
After all, the officialdom was a place where the strong preyed on the weak. If Han Mo couldn't prove himself to be a strong person, how could he ensure the loyalty of his subordinates?
No matter the consideration, Han Mo could not possibly reconcile with Wang Xiang.
"It's good that you have a plan, sir!"
After a moment of silence, Shao Bowen finally spoke.
"Thank you for your advice, sir. However, I already have a plan for this matter. You must be tired these past couple of days, why not go back and get some rest!"
"That sounds good. The sounds of shouting and killing from the city walls are indeed a bit harsh. It's a good time to catch some sleep now! I'm already eager to see the scene of the rebel army's defeat!"
Seeing Han Mo's confident demeanor, Shao Bowen smiled wryly and then said,
"I think after tomorrow, we might be even busier!"
Although Shao Bowen was joking, Han Mo said with a hint of meaning.
"Oh? Does my lord have a grand plan?"
"You will know when the time comes, sir!"
Han Mo smiled and didn't say any more.
"Hahahaha, if that's the case, then we'll talk when the time comes!"
After a few more wry smiles, Shao Bowen said no more, stretched his arms, and turned directly towards his tent.
Hearing that the rebel army had temporarily retreated, the common people in the city spontaneously organized themselves and went to the city walls to help the soldiers clear the corpses.
From a distance, watching the bodies being thrown down from the city walls one by one, Lü Shinang's eyes were almost spitting fire.
After holding on for two days and one night, they were finally about to see results, but unexpectedly, they were caught off guard by Han Shizhong.
This completely disrupted all his plans. He hated Han Shizhong to the bone, but he had no good way to deal with him.
Thinking that his nearly 20,000-strong army had been routed by a mere 800 men, Lü Shinang wished he could drag all the useless men under his command out and execute them.
If it weren't for the fact that he was in urgent need of manpower, he wouldn't have kept any of these guys around him.
"Useless! A bunch of useless people!"
Seeing Lü Shinang raging, the generals around him lowered their heads.
"General, the brothers are really too tired, which is why that Han took advantage..."
Seeing Lü Shinang getting angrier and angrier, his nephew Lü Biao quickly stepped forward and said in a low voice.
"Too tired? Do the Song troops not need to eat or sleep? Are they not tired?"
It was better that Lü Biao didn't speak. His words made Lü Shinang even more angry.
After all, they had the absolute advantage in numbers, and when attacking, more than half of the men were always resting.
Although their rest was not that good, it was much better than the Song troops on the city walls.
At this moment, he actually used this as an excuse, which made Lü Shinang somewhat unbearable.
"Your subordinate doesn't mean that. What my subordinate means is, since things have already come to this, why don't we let the brothers rest well? We will regroup and make a comeback tomorrow morning. Your subordinate is willing to lead his own troops to be the first to charge the city walls!"
Seeing Lü Shinang's murderous glare, Lü Biao trembled all over and immediately wanted to change the subject.
"Good! It's rare for you to have such filial piety and courage. Tomorrow morning, I, the general, will personally beat the drums to cheer you on!"
Hearing Lü Shinang say this, Lü Biao was actually stunned. This wasn't right, this script didn't seem to be written like this.
According to the normal procedure, shouldn't Lü Shinang have dissuaded him, saying he was too young or something?
But why didn't he dissuade him, instead agreeing to let him lead his troops to attack the city?
Even though he was extremely unwilling in his heart, the words had already been spoken, and Lü Shinang had already agreed. Now, even if he didn't want to go, he had to.
"Yes..."
After staring resentfully at Lü Shinang for a long time, Lü Biao responded with a look of grief and indignation.
Meanwhile, on an island fifteen miles east of Mingzhou, Wang Bing was meticulously studying a topographical map of the Mingzhou area.
"General, do you think my lord can hold Mingzhou City? It's been two days, and I don't know how things are going in Mingzhou..."
"Don't worry, Lord Han is unparalleled in his wisdom and would never do something he's not sure of."
Compared to the generals around him, Wang Bing clearly trusted Han Mo more.
Although he hadn't been in contact with Han Mo for a long time, everything Han Mo had done recently had made Wang Bing look at him with admiration.
At times, Wang Bing even secretly rejoiced that he hadn't stood on Han Mo's opposite side, but had clearly stated his position to him early on. Otherwise, having such a formidable enemy facing him, he probably wouldn't even be able to sleep soundly.
"That's what you say, but there are still 30,000 rebel troops outside Mingzhou City, just relying on those new recruits..."
"Alright, it's all happened now, what's the use of saying this? Although those new recruits are indeed not up to much, there are still hundreds of thousands of civilians in the city. If the civilians are mobilized to defend the city at all costs, it should be fine for three days!"
Although Wang Bing was also very worried about whether Han Mo could hold on, at this moment, he could only think of the best-case scenario. After all, if Mingzhou fell, he would be the first to bear the brunt!
"My lord is right. Let's just hope that heaven will bless Lord Han and the hundreds of thousands of civilians in Mingzhou City!"
Although Wang Bing spoke with great confidence, after everyone dispersed, he looked towards Mingzhou again, and his heart was filled with worry...
My lord, oh my lord, you must hold on!