Chapter 253: Killing Horses and Alleviating Hunger
Chapter 253: Killing horses to relieve hunger
Chapter 253: Killing horses to relieve hunger
If Zhao Li's defenders suddenly recruited three thousand men from the people of Chuzhou Prefecture, this would make Zhao Li feel mixed with joy and sorrow. Fortunately, there were three thousand new men in the defenders who were full of resentment against the Jin people. Strength, what is worrying is that there is only enough food and grass in the city for five days. Without the fish and shrimp in the city's river, the people's life has become more and more difficult. I don't know what happened to the city's river, as long as it is If the soldiers and civilians in Chuzhou Prefecture drank it, some would be poisoned and died, but if the Jin people drank the river water flowing out of the inner city, they would be safe. Some people in the city said that their heads were dropped in the water, and people cannot live without water for a day. In desperation, Only then did they dig a well in the inner city to get water.
Zhao Li really looked like Wu Zixu this time. It turned out that his hair, which was turning gray in a hurry, turned completely white overnight. After racking his brains, he stipulated two military disciplines in the city: "First, distribute military rations in the city to each household. Every household in Chuzhou Prefecture only has three taels of brown rice and miscellaneous grains. Secondly, the military rations are halved. If there are any soldiers who rob the people of their rations, they will be killed immediately."
As soon as Zhao Li's military order came out, the people in the city all burst into tears of gratitude. Each family could barely get through a few days with three taels of brown rice and other grains made into porridge. As soon as the regulation to reduce military rations to supply the people came out, the cook, Ma, was in great embarrassment. .With only half of the usual rations, it is difficult for a clever woman to live without rice. How can the defenders and gold miners have the strength to fight without food? Lao Ma thought for a long time and changed the original three meals to one dry meal. Porridge, but the army's food and grass can only be used for a few days...
Wan Yanchang seemed to be well aware of the Song army's predicament. Every day after three shots, he ordered all the troops to attack the city. The soldiers guarding the city no longer had bows and arrows to fight back against the Jin people, so they picked up stones from the city and threw them at the Jin army. Wan Yanchang only had to shoot and wound more than a hundred people before retreating, leaving the defenders beaten without a chance to fight back. Zhao Li, who was on top of the city, had a swollen face because of hunger. After watching, Yan Chang ordered the surrender troops to retreat a hundred steps away from the city gate and began to bury pots to make rice. The Song soldiers on top of the city turned green when they looked at the Jin army's white rice...
A man is as strong as iron, and he will feel hungry if he doesn't eat a meal. Zhao Li looked at the rampant appearance of the Jin people in the city, and then thought about the fact that his soldiers could only drink rice porridge as thin as soup, and he felt sad. The Jin soldiers' psychological warfare was more destructive than the storming of the city. The fighting spirit of the Song soldiers was invisibly shattered. In an instant, the soldiers' complaints arose everywhere. For three days in a row, the Jin soldiers surrounded the city and called Wan Yanchang to break up. Instead of attacking Chuzhou Prefecture, they drank wine and ate meat on the battlefield. Song soldiers could not even count on brown rice, which was the only meal they had every day. Many soldiers were not full after drinking rice soup. He was so hungry that he passed out. Zhao Li sighed, turned around and walked down the city...
The cook, Lao Ma, was taking half a ladle of water to rinse the pot from the well. Lao Ma poured the water into a porcelain bowl and was about to drink it when Zhao Li saw him. Zhao Li was shocked and said: "Old Ma, this is what you eat every day. ?”
The old horse said in fear: "General, why are you here? I...I...I think there are some rice star seeds in this pot, which can be eaten with well water."
Zhao Li inquired in the kitchen and found out that Lao Ma was reluctant to eat and had been drinking shabu-shabu water to satisfy his hunger in the past few days. Zhao Li waved his hand for Lao Ma to sit down, and after much hesitation he said: "Old Ma, the army is in serious trouble with food and grass now. Not enough. I want to...kill the...war horses in the city and divide the flesh among the soldiers and the common people to survive. After this period...we can only talk about the future." Old Ma looked on silently. Zhao Li couldn't say a word for a long time...
There are a total of hundreds of war horses in the stables in the inner city of Chuzhou Prefecture. The war horses in the inner city are lush with water chestnuts and have never starved. They are fat and strong and stand majestic in the stables. War horses are very spiritual animals.
A loyal war horse on the battlefield will always guard its owner's side. In the eyes of the war horse, Zhao Li's arrival is to let them gallop on the battlefield, and they will chirp and roar non-stop.
The horseherd hurriedly came over to salute Zhao Li, and Zhao Li told the horseman the truth. The horseman touched the head of this horse in the stable and stroked the back of the other horse as if to say goodbye to them. The horseman also knew Chu.
Thousands of people in the state capital are starved to death every day. Now the only ones who can save the people in the city are these war horses...
The cook Lao Ma sighed sadly and took the three horses from the hands of the herdsman. Zhao Li took off the general's robe, tore it into strips of cloth and covered the eyes of the horses, patting them gently.
The horse was carried out of the stable. Many soldiers in the city saw Zhao Ma and the cook leading three horses with general robes on their heads out of the barracks. The people on the streets in the inner city didn't know what Zhao Li was going to do. They were hungry.
He followed Zhao Li with his feet in vain until he reached the open space in the city.
Zhao Li shouted to the people in the city: "The food and grass in Chuzhou Prefecture have been exhausted. Today, we can only kill horses to get meat to survive the crisis. May God bless our Song Dynasty forever and bless the people in Chuzhou Prefecture. Kill the horses!"
The cook, Lao Ma, pulled out his saber and silently prayed for the war horse. He raised his saber with a solemn expression and walked up to the horse. He swallowed and shouted: "I would rather be a peaceful dog than a man in troubled times. I will let you live without it."
Those who died in pain, I just ask you to be reincarnated in the next life and never go through this calamity again!" As he spoke, the old horse, the cook, closed his eyes and cut off the horse's carotid artery with a knife. The war horse neighed several times and collapsed.
After falling down, the hot horse blood spurted out and sprayed, dyeing a large area of loess red...
The other two war horses heard the whines of their companions and knelt down on their front legs one after another. The shirts wrapped around the horses' eyes were immediately soaked into a ball. The surrounding people and the garrison at the top of the city all saw this scene.
Many people were secretly wiping their tears. The cook Lao Ma tightened his grip on the waist knife that was still dripping and bleeding. He could no longer remove his hand and said with a slight trembling: "General... General, this... this
… These two horses are so pitiful, I don’t think we should kill them anymore.”
Zhao Li smiled bitterly and said: "There are still tens of thousands of people in the city who have no food, and the soldiers in the army can no longer lift the stone on the top of the city. The war horses are certainly pitiful, but if they are not killed, what will the people in the city eat?"
Old horse, let's do it!" The cook held up his knife and was stunned for a long time without daring to move. The blood of the dead horse had already accumulated several blood puddles of different sizes on the loess.
Zhao Li looked up to the sky desolately and screamed: "Wan Yanchang, sooner or later I will ask you to pay with your blood. Even if I die and turn into a ghost, I will not let you go. Wan Yanchang, just wait!" Zhao
While yelling, he drew his sword and stabbed the two war horses on the left and right. Blood poured out from the nose of the war horse. Without a groan, its limbs twitched and fell to the ground, and its heartbeat slowly stopped.
The old man disemboweled the three dead horses lying on the ground, cut the skins and skins into fist-sized pieces, and distributed them to the hungry people in the city. In less than an hour and a half, the two horses were thoroughly fucked.
Even the bones were left behind. After the people in the city finished dividing them, the remaining horse was dragged by the soldiers in the kitchen to wash and cook. Zhao Li stood in the city covered with horse blood.
For a long time, it seemed like a moment of silence for the three war horses...
That night, the defenders in the barracks all ate meat that they had not seen for a long time. The cook, Lao Ma, stewed the horse meat until it was crispy and gave it to the wounded. In order to survive, people throughout Chuzhou Prefecture ate the meat that had stood on the battlefield.
The war horse with great merits. The food and grass problem has been temporarily alleviated, but step by step, we are stepping into the trap set by Yi Li...
"What! You said you wanted them to eat the horse meat on purpose? Wouldn't you put something in the horse meat to make them go crazy after eating the horse meat?" Wan Yanchang was surprised.
Looking at On Li and hearing the information that On Li brought back from Song Ying, he was completely puzzled.
After looking at Yan Chang with disdain, Oli said: "Zhao Li and the others are like tigers without teeth. I don't want them to die now. I want them to live. Now they have horse meat to eat, but they can't survive."
In one month, all the horses of the Song Army will be killed. By then, I will watch them eat each other. Once I have accumulated enough grievances and wait for the coming of time, I will be able to use the Tower of the Dead to take away all their souls.
Help you accomplish something against the will of heaven!" Wanyanchang listened to what Oli said with fear, and remained silent as he secretly had murderous intentions towards him. After the success, this person must not be left behind...
Just as O Li expected, all the war horses in Chuzhou Prefecture were killed a month later. After eating the horse meat, the common people and soldiers really could not find food. Wan Yanchang's surrendered troops were like maggots attached to their bones.
He would come to the city every day to provoke, shoot a few Song soldiers and then return to the barracks. He was not in any hurry to attack the city. In order to guard the wild vegetables in the inner city of Chuzhou Prefecture, in the next month, the people and soldiers of Chuzhou Prefecture continued to attack the city.
The bark of the trees has been stripped away. People who have fainted from hunger can be seen everywhere in the city. Their lives are like candles in the wind, and they may never get up again at any time...
Zhao Li found the quartermaster on the top of the city and asked him if there was anything edible in the city. The quartermaster shook his head in embarrassment and said: "The army rations have been exhausted a long time ago, and there is only the five hundred stones rewarded by the emperor left in the granary."
White flour. However, due to the damage caused by the fire, there is not much left of the white flour that is just a good thing but not useful. If it were distributed to every family in the city, they would be able to get one or two taels. A drop in the bucket would not help at all, and besides,
I don’t know how long the siege will last for the Yanjin people. Once the imperial reinforcements arrive, keeping these white noodles may be able to save the last hope of Chuzhou Mansion.” Zhao Li understood what the quartermaster meant. The white noodles in the grain depot will not be available until the Jin people
It was only taken out during the decisive battle. The life and death of the people seemed a bit insignificant compared with Chuzhou Prefecture.
The cook Lao Ma limped in carrying an earthen pot and said: "General, today I caught a few sparrows and made a pot of soup for everyone to try. If you want to make gold, you can't go hungry."
When the soldiers guarding the city heard that there was something to eat, they all coveted the earthen jar in Lao Ma's hand.
Zhao Li frowned and said: "Old Ma, where did the sparrows come from during the continuous war in Chuzhou Prefecture? Why can't I even see a crow? What's wrong with your legs? Could it be that you were hit by a sparrow?"
Ma was asked by Zhao Li and bowed his head in silence, hiding his injured leg behind his back.
Zhao Li walked over and rolled up Lao Ma's trouser legs, and saw that a large piece of meat was missing from Lao Ma's bony thigh. Zhao Li shouted: "Old Ma, are you getting a stab wound? What on earth have you done?"