In Liangzhou City, there is a scene of decay on the streets. Houses have collapsed, the snow has not been cleaned, and an unknown body lies dead on the roadside. The clothes on the body have been stripped off, and the flesh on the thighs has disappeared, leaving only white bones.
.
In the yard on the roadside, a group of refugees were sitting around a fire. The bonfire was lit with broken doors, windows, tables and chairs, and long strips of meat were grilled on it. Everyone's expression was cold and dull. They were standing there.
Cannibalism, eating meat cut from corpses.
All the rats, wild dogs, sparrows and even earthworms were eaten, and all the bark, grass, roots and cotton wadding that could fill the belly were eaten. I don’t know how many people starved to death, and how many people died of swelling due to eating indigestible food. The remaining people struggled to survive.
, they can only do things like animals and feed on people.
The government was no longer able to take care of them. Even the front-line soldiers had no food to eat. What's more, these refugees did not complain or make trouble. They just died silently and persisted silently. Some people hanged themselves when they couldn't hold on any longer. This paragraph
No one has counted how many people died in Liangzhou at that time, and no one is in the mood to do so.
At the beginning of the food shortage, gold, silver and jewelry could still be exchanged for food. Greedy people would often use the rations released by the government to exchange for silver. Later, the government stopped releasing food and the porridge sheds were closed. There was a sharp shortage of food. No matter how much gold and silver there was,
There is no food left in exchange. There are so many yellow-flowered girls selling themselves with straw signs posted on the roadside, but no one is buying them. Now it is a problem to feed oneself. Who has the thought?
In short, Liangzhou has reached the edge of collapse and psychological collapse. Zhou Ze'an, who is in charge of the city's affairs, knows that the situation is serious but can do nothing. He can only send more soldiers to defend important areas. As for the people who cannot contribute to the city's defense, they can only be left to fend for themselves.
Destroyed itself.
The ghost-like dead streets suddenly had a glimmer of life. The loud noise coming from the top of the city made them take to the streets to wait and see. The news soon came that this was the army's counterattack. A moment later, a more exciting news came.
Come, the porridge shed has reopened! Dashuai Zhang has brought food again!
This was Zhou Ze'an's idea. Although the grain reserve was prepared by the old prefect, this kindness must be attributed to Yuan Feng, so that the people can be grateful and have public support when fighting for Liangzhou in the future.
His idea worked very well. The refugees who crowded in front of the porridge shed all thanked Marshal Zhang for his kindness. They knelt in a large area in the dark. Several elderly people held porridge bowls and shouted tremblingly: "Marshuai Zhang, you are a great benefactor!"
The voice was elongated, tears were flowing, and the crowd also made the same voice: "Dashuai Zhang is our great benefactor!"
Zhou Ze'an nodded with satisfaction and told the people making the porridge: "The porridge should be thinner and use less wheat grains. Their stomachs can't stand it if it's too thick."
Although a large grain depot has been dug out, who knows how long Liangzhou will be besieged. It is better to use this food sparingly. The people can just give them something to eat and hang on to their lives without starving to death.
…
The Turkic camp outside the city, the closest thing to Liangzhou City is the Huihui artillery position and several camps guarding the position. Now the place has become a mess. The distance is too close, and the bullets are indispensable, and their camp has been torn apart.
Although there were only four cannons turned upside down, the sound of the cannons shook the heavens and the earth, and the whistle of the cannonballs piercing the air was extremely terrifying, causing great panic to the Turkic soldiers, who trampled on each other and killed many people.
In a short time, a group of men and horses drove over from the Chinese army camp ten miles away. The horses whirred and breathed out white air. The knights shouted at the top of their lungs and waved their flags to gather up the scattered soldiers. Timur Khan calmly
Looking at the messy Huihui artillery position, he narrowed his eyes and looked up at the head of Liangzhou City.
At this time, a red sun was rising from the east, just hanging on the top of Liangzhou City. The light shone on the earth. When the fire appeared on the city, the whole earth was shaking. The war horses were frightened and couldn't help kicking their hooves.
"Khan, be careful!" Several guards rushed over and grabbed Timur's horse. At the same time, a cannonball fell not far from Timur. The splashed mud could even collapse to Timur's body.
The cannonballs bounced all the way, destroying everything, and were unstoppable. In the end, even the naked eye could see the flight of the cannonballs, and still killed several people.
Timur remained calm and composed. He pointed at the riding crop and said, "Bring that thing." The guards ran over on horseback and finally carried the cannonball over. Timur stretched out his hand to touch it, and quickly raised his finger.
After withdrawing it, the cannonballs were still hot. Although the emperor, who had been fighting for many years, maintained his composure on the surface, he was actually in a state of confusion inside. He even forgot that the cannonballs he had just fired were all hot.
The cannonballs are round, heavy, of excellent craftsmanship, and made of fine iron. The sound when fired is even more shocking. According to Timur's experience, there must be a lot of gunpowder, at least thirty kilograms! Liangzhou people actually have this magic.
Why haven't you taken out this weapon earlier? Is there any hidden secret in it?
As people get older, they become less courageous. In everything, safety comes first. Before the situation is clear, it is better to temporarily withdraw the troops. Timur immediately ordered the entire army to retreat, and the Chinese army camp was moved from ten miles to twenty miles to Liangzhou.
Not a single soldier should be left within five miles.
The Turks finally retreated, and there was another burst of cheers at the top of Liangzhou City. The excited soldiers beat each other and hugged each other. Although the war was not over yet, at least they could see the hope of victory.
In the side hall of the government office, there are several oak barrels in front of Ye Tianxing. It is said that the barrels are filled with aged wine and nectar transported from the Bordeaux region of Europe in the far west. They are so expensive that even the princes and nobles will spend a lot of money.
It was hard to find a glass. Ye Tianxing, an old drunkard, was so greedy that he rubbed his hands together. Finally, he waited for the servant to wipe the luminous cup, then he poured half of the cup, shook it, closed his eyes slightly, and smelled the fragrance of the wine. After a long while, he finally poured out the cup.
He took a small sip and tasted the taste with his taste buds.
Ye Tianxing spat the wine on the ground with a "poof", widened his eyes and asked: "Old Cao, what did you make for me to drink? Just mix it with grape skins and wash the pot with water."
Cao Yanhui smiled and said, "This is what you want to drink, and I'm not forcing you to drink it."
Ye Tianxing said curiously: "They say that you, Cao Yanhui, have a cellar of old wine, but why does it taste the same as the wine in Chang'an neighborhood? Don't bully me because I don't know how to taste wine. I, Ye Tianxing, have tasted it all over the Central Plains."
Cao Yanhui said: "How could I deliberately deceive you? In fact, what is circulating in the market is just a rumor made by my people. On the surface, my mansion looks magnificent and full of rare treasures. In fact, many of them are fake. The same is true for wine. The real thing is
All the good wines are sold to the Central Plains."
"Really?" Ye Tianxing looked at the luminous cup in his hand carefully, and after a long time he smiled and said: "Sure enough, even this luminous cup is a fake, humph, isn't the piece of Hetian jade on your hat also a fake?
"
Cao Yanhui smiled profoundly, took off the piece of beautiful jade from his hat and held it in his hand: "You are right, it is really a fake."
"I said, Lao Cao, what are you doing? Where did all the money go?" Ye Tianxing asked curiously.
Cao Yanhui pointed to the six guns that had not been transported outside and said: "Don't you think these things cost nothing? One gun weighs ten thousand kilograms! They are all made of copper. What is copper? That is cast
Money is the material of money. Have you ever calculated how many copper coins can be made from one hundred thousand kilograms of copper? Putting aside those things, the molds for these cannons alone are more expensive than the cannons themselves, and the money spent on the craftsmen is also quite a lot. None of them costs tens of thousands.
Two yuan’s settlement allowance.”
"There is also the city wall in Liangzhou. The bricks and stones are all transported from the Central Plains. I don't look down on the weathered stones in the Gobi Desert. The joints between the wall bricks are made of glutinous rice juice and lime mortar.
The mixture, I don’t know, hundreds of thousands of kilograms of Jiangnan’s best glutinous rice was used, as well as the grain stored in the basement, and I don’t know how much money was spent just on the cured meat. Although Longxi has abundant water and grass, it can’t reach the level of Jiangnan.
How wealthy you are, do you think it’s easy for me to run these things?”
"Everyone else thinks that the magistrate of Liangzhou is rich, but in fact who knows that this is just a donkey shit egg on the outside. In fact, I really don't have much money saved, and what little money I have is spent on these things."
Ye Tianxing was stunned when he heard this, and after a while he said, "Did you already know that today would happen?"
Cao Yanhui sighed, stood up and said: "How can I have that ability? This is what Emperor Wu told me. Although I was just a small clerk at that time, I remember his words clearly, Timu
My son will become a great weapon, and he will definitely invade our Central Plains. It’s a pity that Emperor Wu...sigh." Cao Yanhui burst into tears, as if he was immersed in endless past events.
Speaking of Emperor Wu, Ye Tianxing was also in awe. He stood up and just wanted to comfort Lao Cao. Suddenly there was a noise outside and dense footsteps approaching. The door of the side hall opened and Yuan Feng walked in, with a happy look on his face: "
Report to the old prefect that the Turks have retreated!"
Although Yuan Feng is young, his beard is unkempt at this time, and his shirt has not been changed for at least a month. It is all stained with blood. He looks like a standard general who has fought a hundred battles. In the eyes of some people, he is majestic.
, in the eyes of other people, he is ferocious, terrifying and dirty. For example, the second young master Cao Xiu sees him this way. He has no good impression of Yuan Feng at all. In addition, he bit Yuan Feng last time and is always worried.
He wanted to take revenge. As soon as Yuan Feng entered the door, he hid behind his father and timidly looked at the bad guy with his eyes exposed.
"Just retreat. I counted just now. The four cannons fired a total of twenty-eight. Twenty-eight can force the Turks back. Not bad!" Cao Yanhui praised.
"Isn't that right? We bombarded Timur's old camp ten miles away. He was so frightened that he personally went into battle. The younger one aimed at his big gun and fired a cannon. Unfortunately, it missed the target, otherwise he would have been killed." Artilleryman
Mr. Qian Gou Sheng said with unfinished content.
Cao Yanhui nodded and said: "Yes, after you improve your artillery skills, why worry about the Turks being undefeated? By the way, which cannon did you use to bombard the Turks?"
"Back to the old magistrate, I used the mighty and invincible general." Yuan Feng said.
"Wrong, wrong, the Divine Cannon can't hit far. If you want to shoot far, you still have to use the Far Power Cannon."