"I know why they are doing this," he continued, "but I want to hear from you. Do we have any past grudges with them?"
Jin Quan spoke first. "None that we actively pursued," he said. "We competed in trade, but nothing that justifies this level of hostility."
Jin Su stepped forward slightly. "They're not acting out of anger," she said. "This is calculated. They want control."
Jin Sang scoffed lightly. "Then why not just attack directly?" Jin Quan asked. "Because they can't win that way," Luo He replied.
Silence followed. "Because they tried and failed," said Luo He. "When?" Jin Quan asked. "I knew the night attack was done by a well-trained family force, or else where would thieves learn to play siege?" said Jin Su.
Luo He pointed at the map. "This is their territory," he said, marking areas across the parchment. "They are striking at our outer villages, not the core."
"So we defend the villages," Jin Sang said urgently, having just arrived from Pirate Island. "Send smaller units, fast response teams," Luo He said, shaking his head.
"They'll isolate and capture them." Jin Quan leaned forward. "Then we reinforce one village heavily," he suggested. "Turn it into a trap."
"Possible," Luo He said, "but they may simply avoid it and strike elsewhere." Jin Quan looked toward his wife. "Mother, you were the brains in the family before me. What are your ideas?"
Jin Su spoke again. "Then we move the people," she said. "Relocate them closer to our strongholds. Let them take the villages, we can rebuild them once more."
Mulan nodded slightly. "That protects lives." "But it concedes territory," Jin Sang added. "And shows weakness." "Yes," Jin Quan finished.
A brief silence filled the room. Mulan finally spoke. "Then we track them," she said. "Find their main force and destroy it." Luo He looked at her.
"They won't reveal it so easily." Jin Sang smirked slightly. "Then we burn their villages," said Jin Su. "See how they like it."
Mulan laughed slightly. "But it is not very good how you plan to do it." Jin Su fell silent. "No," Mulan said seriously.
"That makes us the same as them," Jin Mulan added. "And strengthens their narrative," Luo He said calmly. Jin Quan sighed.
"Then what are we missing?" he asked.
Luo He didn't answer immediately. His eyes moved slowly across the map, village by village, pattern by pattern.
"They are testing us," he said finally.
Everyone looked at him. "They want to see how we respond," he continued. "If we panic, we lose. If we split, we weaken. If we chase, we get trapped."
Mulan crossed her arms. "So what do we do?" Luo He's gaze sharpened. "We let them think it's working." Silence fell.
"For now," he added. "We protect what we must quietly. We observe everything. And we wait."
"For what?" Jin Sang asked. Luo He's voice dropped slightly. "For them to overextend. They will strike at something bigger, something they think we cannot ignore."
A faint smile appeared. "And when they do," his eyes hardened. "We end it."
"We have many things we can't ignore," Luo He said, his gaze fixed on the map.
"So we make sure they target the one thing we want them to think is critical to us."
Jin Mulan frowned slightly. "And how do we do that?" "We show them," Luo He replied calmly, "firsthand how devastating it is when something vital to a family's power is destroyed."
A brief pause followed. "I've already sent a few of my trusted men to begin." Jin Su stepped closer, curiosity lighting her eyes. "So you're saying we guide their next move?"
"Yes," Luo He said. "We don't chase them. We lead them. As Mother Su said," Luo He continued. "Our best option is a counterattack." Jin Sang smirked.
"Finally." "But not by burning villages," Luo He added, his tone firm. "We destroy their dam."
The room went silent. "Their fields depend on it," he explained. "If it's destroyed, their land floods. Crops are ruined for weeks, maybe months.
Without proper irrigation, recovery will be slow." Jin Quan's eyes widened slightly. "That would cripple them." "And no one can directly blame us," Luo He said.
"Only suspicion." Jin Su almost stepped forward in excitement. "That's brilliant!" she said. "It's weakening them without exposing us!"
She turned to the others, her voice quickening as she understood more. "Then the common people will believe it's divine punishment," she added.
"A curse for what they did to our innocent villagers." Her eyes shone. "But the Xu family head, he'll know." Luo He nodded slightly. "He won't stay still," he said. Jin Su continued, now fully engaged.
"He'll try to do the same to us, to our dam." Jin Sang laughed. "Let him try." "It's not that simple," Luo He said calmly. He tapped the table lightly.
"It takes minutes for us with my explosives. But for them it requires labor, time, and exposure."
Jin Mulan's eyes sharpened. "They'll still try," she said. "Yes," Luo He replied. "For revenge." "And when they do," Jin Su continued, catching on completely. "They'll commit a large force to it, maybe even all their men to ensure success."
Luo He's gaze hardened. "Their army will gather at one point." Silence filled the room as the realization settled. Jin Quan slowly exhaled. "And that's when we strike." Luo He nodded.
"We let them think we are passive," he said. "We let them believe they are winning." His eyes turned cold. "And then we end them with one swift blow to the serpent's head."
"Father-in-law," Luo He said calmly, pointing at the map, "take about three hundred of our most elite men. Set up a hidden camp," Luo He continued, his finger tracing both sides of the dam.
"One on each side. Stay concealed."
"When all their forces gather, close both exits." His eyes hardened slightly. "And start taking lives."
Jin Quan nodded slowly, understanding the weight of the plan. "It will be done."
Two days later, the Xu family forces arrived at the dam.
The massive structure stood between hills, holding back a vast body of water. The sound of rushing currents echoed faintly, the air thick with moisture and tension.
One by one, Xu soldiers gathered. At first, a few hundred men. Then more. Torches lit the area as they prepared tools and equipment to destroy the structure.
"They're taking the bait," one Jin scout whispered from the shadows, hidden among the hills. Jin Quan waited, his eyes steady as stone.
Three hundred elite soldiers, silent as stone, watched from both sides. "Hold," he said quietly. Hours passed. More Xu troops arrived. The number climbed to 800 and beyond. Jin Quan's eyes narrowed.
"Now." The attack began. Arrows rained down from the darkness. Blades flashed in torchlight. The Xu troops were caught off guard, their formation broken instantly as chaos spread.
"Ambush!" "Defend the dam!" But just as the battle turned, the sound of thunder echoed from the distance. Cavalry.
Jin Quan's expression tightened.
From the horizon, 800 Xu light cavalry charged forward, followed by another 1,000 infantry reinforcements. The battlefield shifted instantly.
What was once an ambush became another ambush, but now favorable towards the Xu family. "Hold the line!" Jin Quan roared. The Xu forces began to recover, their numbers swelling.
Steel clashed. Men shouted. The narrow terrain became a slaughter ground. Then another sound. Louder. Heavier.
From the forest, a new force appeared. Jin Mulan and Luo He, leading 1,000 fully armored heavy cavalry. The ground trembled beneath their charge. Armor gleamed under the fading light.
Their formation was tight, disciplined, and unstoppable. "Charge," Luo He said fiercely. They surged forward like a steel wave.
The Xu cavalry met them, lightly armored and unprepared. The impact was devastating. Horses crashed into horses. Men were thrown aside. Blades cut through weak defenses.
"Break them!" Jin Mulan shouted, riding at the front, her armor covering her slightly changed body from her two months of pregnancy.
The Xu cavalry collapsed under the pressure. Panic spread instantly. "They're too strong!" "Retreat!" Men and horses fled in all directions, their formation completely shattered.
The charge didn't stop. It rolled straight into the Xu infantry, already shaken by the ambush and now broken by the cavalry. Their spirit collapsed.
"Hold!" a Xu commander tried to shout, but his voice was drowned in chaos. The battlefield turned one-sided. Jin forces pressed forward relentlessly.
No gaps. No hesitation. By the time the fighting ended, the ground was covered in bodies. Nearly 2,000 Xu soldiers lay dead. On the Jin side, only 312 men had fallen.
At the end, about 400 Xu soldiers were taken as prisoners, among them a nephew of the Xu family leader, the man who had commanded their forces on the battlefield.
That very night, Luo He moved again. Under the cover of darkness, he gathered a small, carefully selected task force. Each man was dressed like a pirate, with rough clothing, unmarked weapons, and faces partially concealed.