If someone else said that Li Zicheng would be killed in the future, people would probably think that this person was talking nonsense. But when Chen Yongfu said this, everyone present would not have any doubts, because this person's previous record was indeed very good.
He is powerful and can be regarded as the best among the generals in the imperial court.
Chen Yongfu was originally the deputy general in Kaifeng City, following Gao Mingheng to fight against the bandits. Later, when Li Zicheng attacked Kaifeng for the second time, Chen Yongfu shot an arrow in Li Zicheng's left eye, so that the bandits did not capture Kaifeng, and Chen Yongfu was promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief because of his meritorious service.
, currently responsible for the defense of Kaifeng City.
Seeing that everyone had calmed down, Gao Mingheng turned his head and looked at the official Huang Shu who was wearing a blue robe, because compared to the rogue bandits outside the city, there was one more important thing that deserved Gao Mingheng's attention, that is, food.
"Zhong Lin, how much is the food in the city worth now?"
Huang Shu held the position of Kaifeng's official promotion officer and was Kaifeng's second-in-command officer. He was the right person to take charge of this matter. He sighed softly and said: "Your Majesty, although your Majesty has many punishments for the grain dealers at the moment, the people in Kaifeng City
There is indeed not much food left, and the food stores in the city take out every day are simply not enough to eat... The price of a bucket of rice on the black market is one or two taels of silver!"
"One bucket of rice and one tael of silver..."
Gao Mingheng recited it softly, and he did a very simple math problem in his mind, which means that one stone of rice costs ten taels of silver... And before the siege of Kaifeng, one stone of rice in Henan cost four taels of silver, which means
The price increase has more than doubled.
Judging from this price, not to mention ordinary people, even the rich households in the city are afraid that not many people can afford it.
"No, if there is not enough food, I'm afraid there will be big problems in defending the city."
Gao Mingheng shook his head gently, with a very stern look on his face. He knew one thing very well, that is, the people's hearts in Kaifeng are very different now from the two previous sieges. Kaifeng was relatively stable at that time, and the people thought that Li Zicheng's men and women were kidnapped and burned.
He killed and captured Kaifeng and massacred the city, so he was willing to help the officers and soldiers fight against the rogues.
But things are different now. Kaifeng itself has run out of food, and the people are in panic all day long. They are afraid that they no longer have the intention to defend the city, not to mention that Li Zicheng has also sent many spies.
(M..COM)
Going into the city and spreading rumors made many people begin to believe what Li Zicheng said, and they were no longer enthusiastic about defending the city. Especially the poor families, who were hungry and frightened, looked forward to the king entering the city every day.
Kaifeng colleague Su Maozhuo on the side sighed softly: "Master Gao, if the siege cannot be lifted, I'm afraid the price of food will remain high - the rogue bandits are still secretly sending people into the city to deceive people, please take a look.
"
Soon, he took out a piece of paper from his arms and presented it to Gao Mingheng for review.
Gao Mingheng opened the piece of paper and couldn't help but frown. It turned out to be an edict written by someone sent by Li Zicheng.
"It seems that Kaifeng was trapped, and the poor people were not guilty. According to recent reports, hungry people were lying in the streets, and the old and weak were dying in increasing numbers. I came from a peasant family and was well aware of the suffering of the people. I originally sent troops to Henan to express guilt for the people.
, how can you bear to save the nobles and common people and become hungry and floating!"
"Today, I am telling the officials and gentry in the city that starting from tomorrow, women, children, the elderly and the weak will be allowed to pick green leaves after sunrise every day, and they will return to the city before sunset. The rebel patrols will no longer go within the embankment, and those who approach the embankment to pick green leaves will be properly protected.
.If there are brave soldiers from the city wandering around here with the intention of spying and causing trouble, they will be captured and killed without mercy. This is the message!"
Snap——
Gao Mingheng slapped the white paper on the table and said coldly: "Humph, the bandits are causing us problems!"
Everyone looked at each other, sighed and shook their heads. If they agreed to let the women, children, old and weak pick green crops, then the bandits would take the opportunity to seize the city. If they didn't agree, the government couldn't provide food, so they were simply forcing people to starve to death.
At that time, it will definitely cause dissatisfaction among the people throughout the process, and Kaifeng will be half broken by then.
"My lord, we must never agree to the rogue bandit's plot——"
Huang Shu cupped his hands and admonished: "If we let the women and children go out of the city to pick green leaves, I'm afraid the thieves will arrive in an instant!"
Gao Mingheng nodded and said in a deep voice: "I naturally don't know how to be kind to women.
Order the whole city to capture the bandits and collect these scattered papers. No one is allowed to hide them privately. Zhonglin will be responsible for this matter... It has been really hard these days. I will do it in the future.
Please take credit for Zhong Lin!"
"Thank you, sir."
After discussing the matter, Gao Mingheng asked everyone to disperse, and he invited Chen Yongfu into the government office with him.
(M..COM)
He went to the study room and wrote a letter on the spot and handed it to Chen Yongfu.
"General Chen, although the city of Kaifeng can still be defended at the moment, we have to make preparations early. This is a secret message I wrote to His Majesty. I also ask the general to send someone to venture out of the city and bring the secret message to Your Majesty. This Kaifeng
The lives of all the people in the city are entrusted to the general."
Chen Yongfu was suddenly startled. He quickly took the secret note and said softly: "Please rest assured, sir. Fortunately, the general will live up to his mission."
After he finished speaking, there was some hesitation on his face, and he said softly: "There is just one thing, please help me clarify my doubts."
Gao Mingheng stroked his beard and smiled and said: "I understand what you want to ask, but I can't answer you yet. After this battle is over, I will go and ask your Majesty personally."
"General... Thank you very much, sir."
After Chen Yongfu came out of the study with the secret music, Gao Mingheng's face showed a little tiredness. He actually understood one thing in his heart, that is, since the imperial court changed the support plan, there must be a very important reason.
The seal will have no effect at all.
But the reason why he still insisted on writing this secret message and asked Chen Yongfu to send someone to break through to deliver it was to give everyone a hint that they were not alone and that reinforcements would come.
Only in this way can Gao Mingheng do his best to unite the soldiers and civilians in Kaifeng City to fight against the bandits, and there will be a glimmer of hope in the future. Of course, in this process, more people will be sacrificed in this city.
Under the candlelight, Gao Mingheng spread out the memorial, picked up the brush and sucked up the ink, and began to carefully write another memorial - that was his suicide note, and also his arrangement for all subsequent matters.
.
If, unfortunately, Gao Mingheng suddenly dies in the subsequent siege, others can use this method to stabilize the situation and prevent it from completely falling into chaos.
When the sky gradually turned white, Gao Mingheng raised his head slightly, pinched his eyebrows, picked up the memorial, and carefully put it into the secret box.
But at this moment, there was a slight knock on the door, and then someone whispered: "Sir, someone from the capital is here!"