When the morning fog rises, surrounding the high mountains and low hills near Xiangping, there are company camps all over the mountains and plains.
As the temperature gradually increased, the smell of blood and putrid smell that had been slightly solidified at night gradually began to rise again and spread in the air. It even felt like the air was turning gray-green with the naked eye.
The war fever that lasted for many days has subsided, and what separates the two sides is not the city wall, but the corpses rotting around the city wall.
On the land from the military camp where the Ding Ling people besieged the city to the Xiangping city wall, there were countless corpses and various weapons, arrows, and damaged wooden instruments stuck on the ground or on the corpses, forming a hell-like area.
The scenery is a warm and dead atmosphere.
All the bright red blood has long turned into black and purple. Some of the rotting corpses have bulging bellies, like balloons that will explode at a touch. Purple blood vessels appear on the same black and livid skin, and then
There were also maggots crawling around, as if little demons from hell were about to be born among these bulging corpses.
Occasionally, some small groups of cavalry would come out of Ding Ling's camp, and then go further away from the battlefield. I don't know if they were going to perform patrol missions, or to capture more unlucky people to fill this hell.
middle.
Attracted by these rotting corpses, a large number of birds, animals, rats, flies, etc., enjoy a feast for days on the land in the middle as if there is no one around. Occasionally, due to the bites of these gluttonous guys,
Even if the rotten heads or limbs fall off due to collision, these fat-bellied guys will not let them escape. They will just stare at them with blood-red eyes and look at them casually, as if they are laughing at the stupidity of human beings.
At first, the Ding Ling people would attack the city among the corpses without fear of death, but then they stopped coming.
Those rotten smells that turned the air dark green seemed to be able to directly invade the body of a living person without contact, making the Ding Ling people who had no knowledge of virus defense at all not sure how to avoid getting sick.
In this way, Gongsun Kang was fortunate that they were temporarily out of the battle. What protected them was not their bravery or the arrival of reinforcements, but the ordinary people of Liaodong who died. Even if they died, they looked like
As we continue to protect the land of Liaodong, even if the leaders of this land are idiots, they still contribute everything they have without any regrets, from birth to death.
Unable to eliminate the epidemic, the Ding Ling people temporarily suspended the idea of attacking and asked the besieging soldiers to withdraw from the dangerous area to make repairs and plan for follow-up.
Although the Ding Ling people no longer continue to attack the city, it does not mean that there will always be peace in Xiangping City.
At the same time, city walls could not stop the invasion of disease.
Through the infiltration of water sources and mosquitoes and flies, various diseases have gradually appeared in Xiangping City, and the diseases can also infect each other, causing the city to lose its population almost every day, and this kind of casualties is simply worthless, which makes it even more frustrating.
People will inevitably become depressed and their morale will collapse.
If it weren't for the fact that the Dingling people were also afraid of the disease and could not attack one or two more times, Xiangping might have fallen.
Just when Gongsun Kang was almost desperate, a sudden turn of events occurred.
It’s raining in Liaodong.
And it’s a rare heavy rain!
The pouring rain carried the dark clouds all over the sky, blocking out the sky and the sun. The occasional flashes of lightning and thunder made the area chaotic and restless.
Upon seeing this, Gongsun Kang quickly passed the resolution and took advantage of the rain to break out of the encirclement.
On a night of heavy rain, Gongsun Kang opened the city gate, leaving behind the Gongsun family's long-standing foundation in Xiangping, leaving behind the people who supported him, and leaving behind those servants and followers who were still eager to be protected by Gongsun, no matter what.
They ran wildly and fled, fearing that they would be entangled by the Ding Ling people who were pursuing them in the rain. It was not until the next morning that they stopped exhausted in the Qianshanshiling area and waited for the soldiers under their command to join forces one after another.
During the short rest, Gongsun Kang recalled that only half a year ago, they were still domineering in Liaodong. It felt like a world away. With such a sigh, he waited until the sky was getting brighter and waited for nearly two hours to count the number of soldiers.
, Gongsun Kang only knew that when he broke out, he brought out nearly 5,000 Gongsun soldiers. At this time, the number that could be organized one after another was less than 500!
Some of the disappeared soldiers died in the pursuit of the Ding Ling people, some were captured, and some fell behind one after another while running away. What Gongsun can expect at the moment is that these stragglers are willing to return one after another.
But in fact, among these stragglers, the vast majority of them will probably never come back, but flee into the mountains.
The cruel fact is before our eyes. The once glorious Gongsun Kang, the son of the King of Liaodong, is now like a frightened mouse, constantly fleeing south along the peninsula, fleeing to Lelang, and fleeing to the unknown.
abyss.
In the sixth year of Taixing, early autumn.
The once glorious Gongsun regime in Liaodong fell apart, and may soon breathe its last breath.
(:3)
When Gongsun's regime collapsed in the north, Jiangdong in the south was also facing a catastrophe.
In a place like Yangzhou, a land of plenty, we encountered a drought.
There should be enough water for farmers to grow and fill their crops, forming plump fruits. However, continuous droughts have caused water shortages in many places. The decline in river water levels has also prevented some ditches from being effectively replenished. The relatively high terrain requires reliance on
It is inevitable that problems will arise in the field ridges supplied by water conservancy.
This is a situation that is rare in Jiangdong for ten years, well, maybe even longer.
And what comes earlier than the bad situation of possible reduction in autumn harvest is the boiling and gushing growth of grain prices like boiling water.
Just like some big players had already made plans in advance before some good or bad news came out in the National Casino in later generations, in Jiangdong now, when ordinary people realize that drought may cause harm to their harvest this year
When the impact hit, these ordinary people were shocked to realize that compared to what they would face in the autumn, the current food prices were already sharpening their swords, leaving them covered with cuts and bruises.
There is always a long queue outside Mipu.
Every time the rice shop clerk takes off the water tag, wipes it and then refills it, it always attracts countless whines and curses.
The price of ordinary millet quickly soared from four to five hundred qian to one or two thousand qian, and then dropped slightly when the government opened grain warehouses to stabilize grain prices. However, after the grain in the official warehouses poured out like a flood and collapsed embankments,
The price of food rose in response, costing four to five thousand yuan!
The era of grain speculation for all people in Jiangdong has arrived.
At this moment on the ground in Jiangdong, food has become as valuable as gold.
It was in this atmosphere that the powerful noble families and local wealthy families held a gluttonous feast.
Unlike the ordinary farmers and women outside the city who were wailing all over the fields, eating grass roots, chewing tree bark and swallowing soil, in the big cities of Jiangdong, for example, the fireworks venues in Wujun and other places became extremely popular.
Those powerful people who calculate that their granaries will be converted into gold, silver, and copper coins, which are rising crazily every day, are looking forward to the drought lasting longer, and at the same time seem to feel that the money they picked up for free is not wasted, and is used for entertainment and luxury.
Consumption has increased more and more.
At the same time, because the number of farmers selling their sons and daughters has also increased, these fireworks venues can not only flatter people and drive up the price comparison, but also send people to various places to collect the next batch of thin horse seedlings. Every day at dusk,
It was the busiest time in the restaurant and the flower house. The old madam was holding on until her voice became hoarse while welcoming guests. She was smiling so hard that the powder on her face couldn't hold on, and it would fall off whenever she moved.
There are also many young romantics who are jealous in brothels and restaurants and beat out the brains of dogs and pigs. Most of them are injured, with bruises on the nose and face as the upper limit, but there are also a few who are not careful and are beaten to death by mistake.
It would make a lot of noise and become the source of laughter and conversation for several days. Then in the blink of an eye, these young scholars would be attracted by the remarks about the top ten courtesans in brothels, the top ten famous fireworks, dong er, the top ten techniques of painting boats, etc., and wink and wink.
Brothers who call themselves brothers should take a step to speak.
This is the best place in Jiangdong.
This is the style of a noble and powerful family.
In the minds of these Jiangdong gentry children, what does it matter if hundreds of ordinary people die? Thousands of people, hundreds of thousands, millions, are just numbers. As long as they can still sing and dance, then it will be a peaceful and prosperous age.
Young nobles have strong energy and blood, so they can't help but get involved with flowers and plants. However, most of the older people, or those in charge of the family who have passed the situation of insufficient blood supply to the brain, do not put their minds on pure things.
Instead, they exchanged information with each other early on and then met privately and secretly to discuss.
When grain prices rose, it was actually not the autumn harvest yet, and Jiangdong was densely covered with water networks. Strictly speaking, the places that were seriously affected by the disaster and failed to harvest grains were not the majority, but the sudden rise in grain prices caused market chaos.
, the people's hearts were turbulent, so that farmers had no intention of farming, and the people in the city were restless and rioting.
Next, according to the customary operation method of the powerful nobles, food prices will continue to be high for a period of time, and then wait until the autumn harvest.
At that time, the truly fatal situation will come.
After receiving Sun Quan's edict, bigwigs from all over Jiangdong rushed to Wu County to discuss countermeasures.
Lu Su also came all the way from Chaisang. When he was approaching Wu County, there was a sudden commotion on the road, and soon there were curses, shouts and cries mixed in.
Lu Su and his party were blocked and stopped.
Lu Su sent guards to investigate, and found out that there was a car ahead carrying some grain. It was said that it was going to be sold in the city. Because the price of grain was high and there was chaos and unrest, he also invited a few guards to accompany him, but it turned out that it was not going to happen.
Thinking about the road ahead, I don’t know whether the vehicle ran into the pit or the axle was in disrepair. As a result, the vehicle tipped over and the food was spilled.
In this way, it's like gold rolling all over the ground!
It is inevitable that some people will be tempted, grab it and run away.
Then there are those who are jealous, picking up the fallen items from the ground, and eventually they end up snatching the remaining items from the overturned vehicles.
The owner and guards of the vehicle stepped forward to guard them with weapons. However, after the people were red-eyed and in a herd state, how could they pay attention to the threats of those few people? Under the control, no one listened at all, but some people shouted at them.
Guards in vehicles were used to blow away sand and throw rocks, and they were still able to snatch the enemy without missing a beat.
Then there was blood and people died. The mob who were looting became frightened and ran away again with a bang.
But the damage has been done, and there will be no resurrection of the dead.
After Lu Su heard this, he closed his eyes and his beard trembled slightly. In the end, he just ordered the guards to clear the way. He did not get out of the car to seek justice for the owner of the vehicle or the killed passers-by, commenting on right and wrong, but continued on.
Move forward.
With the scolding of the guards, the road became clear again.
Amidst the sound of wheels, Lu Su saw the bright red bloodstains on the side of the road, and saw a woman in ragged clothes hugging the male corpse and howling, and beside it there were children also wearing ragged clothes.
The male corpse's clothes may have been frightened, or he may have been ignorant of life and death. He looked around with a hollow and fearful expression, and his eyes met Lu Su's gaze.
Lu Su didn't have to get out of the car to roughly deduce what happened.
This family of three were obviously farmers who were affected by the disaster. They might have fled or might be seeking relatives. However, they encountered such an incident where their vehicle overturned on the way. And the man certainly did not rush to grab food immediately.
After all, his hands and feet were quick and his mind was quick. He had already run away after he had robbed him. But after hesitating for a long time, in the battle between heaven and man, maybe he was really hungry, maybe he couldn't bear the suffering of his wife and children, or maybe it was because there were so many people behind him to rob him.
, the man finally joined the looting process.
But the fleeing man didn’t know that even if the vehicle guard wanted to kill him, he would still choose his target. Which one would be easier to kill, the one with ragged clothes, sallow face and skinny muscles, or the one with a fleshy face, big muscles and round waist?
Just like the targets of these noble families in Jiangdong, they would definitely choose the same.
Obviously, Sun Quan could not control the situation.
If Sun Quan can control it, then there is no need to call Lu Su and others back in a hurry
So Lu Su is very worried now.
Just like the farmer man just now, if he had taken action from the beginning, he might have escaped long ago. Or if he had not taken action and stayed away from the incident, he probably would not have been killed. Instead, he procrastinated, hesitated, and thought about it after a while.
If you try it, you may fall into other people's calculations!
Speed up! Lu Su did not go to see that sad scene, because he knew that if there was a slight delay on the road, I am afraid that more families in Jiangdong would suffer misfortune and their wives and children would be separated!
On the other side, Sun Quan was frowning and furious at Lu Yi, who was kneeling down and bowing.
However, this boundless anger cannot be eaten as food, nor can it immediately solve the thorny problems currently arising in Jiangdong.
Before, Sun Quan returned to Jiangdong with great pride, and then he was still immersed in the dream of how to clean up the nobles of Jiangdong. As a result, he was poured a basin of cold water on his face, no, it was ice water!
From knowing that there was a drought in Jiangdong, to the skyrocketing food prices, and then realizing the seriousness of it, Sun Quan's mood deteriorated all the way, just like a heavy holding of a liquor fund for later generations.
Sun Quan initially imagined that he would hold a grand celebration, well, of course it would be a celebration where he finally won and was promoted to an official position, and he would use the momentum to suppress the Jiangdong nobles at the celebration, so that these guys would be obedient and follow suit.
You can solve the food price problem with your hands
However, in the blink of an eye, the situation deteriorated.
The order to open warehouses to stabilize grain prices failed to achieve Sun Quan's ideal effect at all. On the contrary, it made the people know that the grain warehouses were empty, which caused uncontrollable panic!
The rush for food, reluctance to sell, and hoarding of food in various places have caused food prices to remain high!
The order of production and life in Jiangdong has completely collapsed.
Refugees began to appear.
Those farmers who were originally farmers have become refugees, which means that the acres they farmed have been abandoned! Even if they wait until autumn, there will be no harvest!
Urgent documents from all over the country were falling like hailstones. All the documents were written in bold and heavy fonts to express the critical situation, so that Sun Quan, the leader of Jiangdong, could pay attention and come up with countermeasures as soon as possible.
This is nothing new, and it is not a scene that only occurs in Jiangdong, Han Dynasty.
Natural disasters can easily turn into man-made disasters, and once they spread, even if some officials will be dealt with afterwards, they will never be beaten to death with a stick.
There are procedures for establishing authority. What's more, if these officials are dismissed and held accountable, who will be asked to restore order and restart production?
There are only so many people in Jiangdong, the only intellectuals who can handle paperwork and keep accounts! They are all relatives, all married, and all members of the same family!
Sun Quan still had in his hands the wounded and wounded soldiers and their families who were crying out for compensation, the meritorious soldiers and generals who were waiting for their rewards, the laborers who needed to be paid for food and money, and the various weapons and weapons that needed to be repaired and rebuilt.
Boat
If we don’t pay these, how can we call it a victory? Without rewards, how can soldiers be loyal? If we don’t pay them, how can we make soldiers risk their lives in the future?
All in all, Sun Quan originally thought that he would be able to catch up with the autumn harvest soon after returning, and that he would be able to do well, but now he has completely failed!
Not only was there no harvest, but additional payments were required. When Yang Yi tallied up all the required accounts one by one and reported them to Sun Quan, Sun Quan took a quick look and felt that his head was spinning.
There was a buzz, as if the patient's family received a huge bill in the hospital.
If these fees are not paid, Jiangdong will collapse immediately!
And if you pay these fees, it means that not only will you have to spit out all the profits you finally made from the battle, but you will even have to put up your savings over the years!
Incompetent person! Sun Quan was furious, veins popped out on his forehead, he pointed at Lu Yi and yelled, "I left you to work in Jiangdong school, this is how you repay me?!"
At such a moment, Sun Quan had the urge to pick up the sword on the weapon rack next to him and stab Lu Yi through a transparent hole with one sword!
