The next morning, shang'er and his men prepare to attack Mingzhu. They plan to open the scholar's room and kill him. Then they'll attack the equatorians, who are waiting for them. . They'll also attack the people of Mingzhu if they don't surrender the scholar. The first thing they're going to do is kill the scholar, since he's the one who's going to pay for his arrogance. They also plan to attack the hutongs if they try to resist, since that's just a pre-emptive strike. They have a package waiting for Mingzhu in the middle of the room. The hutong commander, xiahouxing, is also in the room, and he tells Mingzhu not to worry. He's a former commander of an iron eagle troop, and his sword is 422 pounds long, 5 feet long, and made of black steel. The commander of the Iron Eagle troop says that Mingzhu is the greatest enemy of the word-smiths, since they can't even cut through his sword. He also says that he sent someone on horseback to tell a nearby camp, but he doesn't have a problem killing all three of them. Mingzhu says that his recent battle with shuang-er was too much for his energy, and if the enemy troops arrive, he won't be able to fight them effectively. He wants to strike a deal with them, since both of their lives are at stake. The people of the enemy troop are too conceited to realize that the truth is out there, and Mingzhu will be blamed for