Chapter 225: Running out of ammunition and food is not far away
The rebels who were forced into northern Yuzhou were preceded by soldiers and horses from Jizhou stationed at the border between Yuzhou and Jizhou, and they were closely followed by soldiers and horses from the imperial court. It can be said that there were wolves in front of them and tigers in the back.
They took advantage of the heavy snowfall in the cold winter to rest and recuperate. However, everyone had a truce in the cold winter, and they were also sad. During the autumn harvest, they were chased by the imperial soldiers and fled in panic, and they had no time to harvest the grain.
Now they are temporarily stationed in the northern county of Yuzhou, but the surrounding villages have been searched several times, and no matter how hard they squeeze, they can't find any food.
In this cold winter with insufficient food, there were constant complaints among the rebels. The old thieves in the team had not been hungry for several years. When they tasted this hunger this time, one can imagine how big they are.
of resentment.
Zhenghe is currently the leader of the largest rebel force in the north.
His name is Zhenghe, and what he did is sorry for his parents giving him such a meaningful name.
Facing the generals who came down to beg for food, he rubbed his hair irritably and glared at the generals standing in front of him: "Even if you cut me alive today, I won't be able to bring out a grain of food. I already said I wanted food."
Figure out your own solution, I don't care if you steal or rob, but don't come to me!"
"General, we can't think of a way now. Food is the basis for survival. How can you let your brothers survive without food?"
"Since General Lu was beheaded by imperial soldiers in Yuzhou City, you have the highest official position in Yuzhou. If we don't ask you for food, who can we ask for?"
"That's right, I said at the beginning that I couldn't escape to the north. Now I am sandwiched between the imperial troops and the Jizhou troops. It is difficult to rendezvous with the Yanzhou troops. If you ask me, when the spring flowers bloom and the ice and snow melt, we will become
The soldiers and horses of Jizhou and the soldiers and horses of the imperial court are lambs waiting to be slaughtered!"
Everyone was talking to each other, and Zhenghe's brows became tighter and tighter, and he yelled: "Shut up! Don't bring up the old things again in front of me. It was our decision to flee north in the first place? The imperial court was surrounded by three troops.
Is it our choice to leave only one exit to the north for us to escape?"
When everyone saw that he was really angry, they immediately fell silent.
Zhenghe glanced at them and angrily said: "If you think you can, stand up, I will definitely write a letter to the general and promote him to general, and he will be equal to me!"
After hearing this, some of the people below were really moved. Zhenghe glanced at them and snorted: "If you think you are capable and want to be a general, you can stand up. As long as you stand up, I will immediately
Allocate 20,000 soldiers and horses to let him break out of the siege in the east. If he can bring us back to Yanzhou, we will be grateful!"
When everyone heard that the prerequisite for becoming a general was to be a pawn, their initial thoughts were instantly shattered. Compared with being a general, they cared more about their own lives!
"Why aren't you talking?" Zhenghe walked around them, and seeing that they were all honest, he couldn't help but soften his tone: "I know it's uncomfortable to be hungry. It's freezing and snowy and you can't find anything to eat, but it's snowing heavily outside.
What can we do if the mountains are closed? We can’t go to Jizhou to grab food in the snow, right?”
"Even if we want to grab grain from Jizhou, we have to do it without the soldiers and horses of Jizhou being aware of it. So do we have to be very quick with our troops? But who here can guarantee that we can march quickly when the mountains are blocked by heavy snow?"
After hearing this, the generals turned their heads countless times but could not think of any way to do this.
"General, brothers only drink a bowl of gruel every day. It's really hard to hold on in this winter. If you don't have enough to eat for a long time, brothers are really afraid that one day they will fall asleep and never wake up again!"
"Yes, General, sitting still and waiting for death is not an option. We must take some action, otherwise the brothers below will not be able to appease them!"
After listening to their words, Zhenghe pondered for a moment and said: "What you said makes sense. Why don't you lead a few teams of troops to the next door county to see if they have any food there?"
When the generals heard this, they really wanted to roll their eyes. They were so hungry that they had no strength and it was difficult to run to the next county.
Who has the energy to run to the next county next door to grab food?
But judging from the current situation, this is not a solution. If they do nothing, the brothers below will really be unable to hold back.
When your troops mutiny, I'm afraid the imperial troops will wake up laughing in the middle of the night!——
Chuqiuting, a small town near Shan County.
A team of 1,000 rebels was stationed here. Since this place has no mountains or rivers, it is relatively remote, and wars rarely affect it. Considering the current chaotic situation, their place is considered a paradise.
The general of this team was named Ying Weizhong, who was from Yu County. After the rebels occupied Yuzhou, he was assigned to garrison in a remote place called Chu Qiuting.
Since he was stationed here, he has been paying special attention to the situation outside.
The situation in the world is unpredictable and dizzying!
"General, general, Kaocheng County has been robbed!"
Tan Ma, who went out to find out the news, came back.
When Ying Weizhong heard this, he was shocked and stood up from his seat, "Kaocheng County was robbed. Who did it? Could it be the imperial court? No, the imperial troops and horses today are strictly disciplined and will not occupy the common people.
Needless to say, could it be that another group of bandits have gathered in this area?"
When Tan Ma heard this, he knew that the general had misunderstood. He waved his hands hurriedly and gasped: "No, they are not bandits. They are the troops originally stationed in Qiao County. Later, they were chased by the imperial soldiers and horses all the way to northern Henan. I want to find out clearly.
Well, the reason why they appeared in Kaocheng County is because their team has almost run out of ammunition and food, and they have to come out to grab food!"
Ying Wei's eyes were filled with gunfire, and he smiled sarcastically: "The general has always wanted to replace him. How can military discipline compete with the imperial troops? Regardless of the strength of the army, as far as the people are concerned, our team is slightly inferior.
A bargain!"
Those who lose the hearts of the people will lose the world. This saying is not just rhetoric.
If their team keeps treating the people like this, will there be people with lofty ideals in the world who will join them in the future? Will the people still support them?
The answer is obvious!
The general below was worried and asked: "General, what should we do now? Will they come to us?"
Ying Weizhong snorted coldly: "Even if they come, we don't have enough food to supply them. Nowadays, everyone is in trouble, who can care about anyone else!"
Although it can be said like this, the general below is still worried and suggested: "General, I'm afraid they will forcefully conscript us. What if we don't obey and they just start looting? I think to be on the safe side, we should hide the food."
It’s better to get up!”
Ying Weizhong sighed, sat down again, and frowned: "I'm afraid that if our food is hidden, the people will suffer in the end. There are many villages in the Chu Qiuting area, and there are more and more villages in each area.
You always have some food, but according to their greedy nature, when they are about to starve to death, they will not let the people go, and will plunder whatever food they have!"
The people's food was looted and taken away. Without food to save their lives, the people would eventually have no choice but to starve to death and freeze to death.
In troubled times, life is as cheap as grass. Looking at the sky, I can only sigh.
The general below was anxious, "General, you won't give our food to them for the sake of the people, will you? According to what you just said, they are too greedy. Even if they get our food, they will still plunder the people's food. For
For them, if they search for more food this time, they can save themselves one less trip in this cold winter."
Ying Weizhong frowned and looked at the generals below who were jumping around. He raised his hands helplessly and said, "Sit down, everyone. Food is the food for brothers to survive. How could I give it to them regardless of my brothers?"
"Just don't mean it that way, General!"
The generals breathed a sigh of relief.
As soon as they were relieved, everyone was helpless again!
"General, now the soldiers and horses of the imperial court call us rebels, and we are not tolerated by the world. I thought that by besieging the capital last year, the general's great cause would be accomplished. But now it seems that the world's situation is like looking at flowers in the smoke, and we cannot see the real situation."
This general had some unsaid words. In his opinion, it would be as difficult for a general to achieve hegemony as ascending to heaven!
Since you know that there is no future for you following the general, why do you continue to be a thief against your will?
Why don't they abandon the secret and turn to the light, take advantage of the chaos in the world, strive for merit, and get a legitimate military position to honor their ancestors?
Everyone understood the underlying meaning of this general's words, but everyone hesitated in making the final decision.
Everyone looked at each other and fell silent.
Zhenghe's troops had gained something in Kaocheng County, and the team wanted to move forward. However, they learned from the map that a team of theirs was stationed at Chu Qiuting, fifty miles away, so they guessed that even if there was food here, it would have been long gone.
After being raided by this team, it would be useless for them to go to this jurisdiction again.
"General, the food collected is enough for us to eat until the snow melts. Do you think we should return now or go to Chu Qiuting to meet another group of brothers?"
Zhenghe looked at the snowy scene in the distance and said lightly: "Go back!"
This food can last them until the ice and snow melt, so why should he bother to grab it?
When the ice and snow melted, he immediately fled eastward, trying to escape back to Yanzhou and join the general's team before the enemy could react.
When he arrived in Yanzhou, the sky was high enough for birds to fly, and the sea was wide enough for fish to leap, and even the soldiers and horses of the imperial court could not do anything to him.
Zhenghe's imagination was wonderful, but what he never expected was that they were robbing the people of food here, and his base camp was experiencing the same experience as the people of Kaocheng.
Xia Jing led the northern soldiers who had been training for half a month and glided hundreds of miles into the base camp of the northern Henan rebels.
What she also never expected was that there were not many rebels stationed in this county.
This made Xia Jing think that she had gone to the wrong place, or that the rebels had suffered heavy casualties and were killed in battle? Or were they starved to death and frozen to death?
After entering the county seat, Xia Jing entered the archery tower on the city wall. Inside was the resting place for the generals defending the city. There was a stove inside, which was very warm in this windy and snowy weather.
The cold wind is biting and the snow is flying. When I climb up to the north and look at the sky and the earth, the mountains are like the sea and the peaks are undulating. It feels very special to look down at the sky and the earth, but it's cold!
Xia Jing doesn't like to be cool in the cold wind because her body needs to keep warm first.
Sha Yuliang rushed to the city tower and reported to her: "Mother, we have figured out why there are not many rebels left in this county. It is because they have run out of food, and other rebels have gone out to plunder the people's food!
"
Xia Jing instantly became angry, "A dog can't change its habit of eating shit! It's easy to change a country's nature, but it's hard to change its nature. It only took a long time for the puppet dynasty to be established, and it's back to its old ways!"
"Empress, should we go after them, or else the people in the county below will suffer?" Sha Yuliang asked.
Xia Jing glanced at him and said, "The method you mentioned is thankless and takes a lot of effort. You can ask someone to find out which direction the rebels who went out went. If the direction is determined, we will follow several routes into the city.
Ambush on the main road and let them fall into the trap, which saves effort and catches them off guard!"
There are tens of thousands of roads outside the city. How can these few men and horses go out to search for enemies? It is better to stay still than to move. It is better to wait for work and wait for the rabbit!
After hearing this, Sha Yuliang happily agreed: "I will make arrangements now!"
Ye Fei, who was standing behind, saw Xia Jing looking out the window and said, "This county has been destroyed by the rebels. I don't know if the people can survive until spring comes."
This topic was very heavy, but Xia Jing looked back at Ye Fei and couldn't help but laugh when she saw his red and swollen bridge of nose. The reason why the bridge of his nose was injured was because his skiing skills were not up to par on the way here.
When I caught up with her, I failed to control my speed and hit a tree beside the road. My nose was bleeding profusely. I finally stopped the bleeding. The red and swollen nose would not go away for the time being.
This look was very funny, and Ye Fei was also uncomfortable with it. He lowered his head and hummed: "Empress!"
"Pfft!"
Xia Jing couldn't help laughing, "Let's go, the city should be almost cleaned up by now, let's go see what's going on in the city!"
Ye Fei habitually wanted to scratch his nose, but as soon as his hand touched his nose, the pain caused him to frown slightly. The injury to his nose was really painful. The pain stretched to the nerves, and half of his skull hurt.
After the rebels were cleared, the streets in the city became more deserted. In the winter, there were almost no ordinary people on the streets. The doors and windows of the houses on both sides of the streets were closed. But Xia Jing knew that many people must be watching the outside through the cracks in the doors.
Condition.
"Mother, the entire county government and official warehouses have been checked, and there are only about a few hundred tons of grain left, and they are all coarse grains!"
At this time, Ding Dazhuang ran over to report that after entering the city, he was responsible for searching for food and property. After his careful search, he found that the rebels' food supply was almost at the end. Not to mention the property for the time being, jewelry and other items must be taken back and slowly liquidated.
Xia Jing raised her eyebrows, "That's all it really is. It seems that they are running out of ammunition and food, and that's not an exaggeration. The situation is true!"
Ding Dazhuang nodded: "The rebels were so hungry that they were just skin and bones. The news cannot be wrong!"
"Even the rebels were so hungry that they were left with nothing but skin and bones. You can imagine what the situation of the people in the area is like!" Xia Jing was filled with anger and turned around to order: "Dazhuang, please order someone to use these grains to cook a few pots of porridge.
Place it on the main street and notify the people in the city to come and get the porridge."
There is only this amount of food. If there is more, Xia Jing hopes that every common person will get some food, so that they can persist for a while longer!
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