In late autumn, grass and trees are extremely easy to burn. Even in Xu He's village, people are very wary of open fires. They not only set up a large number of fire breaks, but also issued repeated orders not to light outdoor fires.

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, fire breaks have been one of the ways to put out fires. During the Battle of Junji Mountain in the Western Han Dynasty, Li Ling used fire to fight fire and burned a fire break to prevent the fire from spreading.

But the situation in the battle at Junji Mountain was different from the current situation. At that time, Li Ling was in a valley, and the vegetation around it was not too dense, so he could use fire to create an open space.

Woniu Mountain is covered by dense forests. If you want to create a fire break by burning fire, you will be playing with fire and burning yourself to death first.

As for manual felling, if you want to cut a fire break that can protect 200,000 people, you will probably have to cut down all the trees on the top of the mountain.

Not only trees, but also countless weeds, basil, thorns, low shrubs, etc. How huge is the amount of work?

So when Xu He heard the army's plan, he knew that this battle was inevitable.

But he was still a little hesitant.

Do the officers and soldiers really dare to risk the disdain of the world and burn to death 200,000 people?

Just unbelievable.

You must know that the Han Empire could hardly tolerate a situation like massacre of a city.

According to the Biography of Geng Yan in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Geng Yanfan conquered forty-six counties and massacred three hundred cities without any setbacks.

It sounds scary, but in fact, the word "Slaughter the City Three Hundred" here does not mean massacre of all the people in the city, but it means the conquest of three hundred cities.

After all, in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were only a thousand county towns in the world, and a real massacre of 300 people in the city. It was almost impossible for Geng Yan alone to massacre a third of the people.

Therefore, the truly recorded massacre of a city in the Eastern Han Dynasty is the massacre of Chengdu by the Wu Han Dynasty.

Because a friend of Wu Han came to Xi, Cen Peng was assassinated by an assassin sent by Gongsun Shu. He himself was defeated twice and almost died. Therefore, Wu Han hated Gongsun Shu deeply and finally decided to massacre the city.

Moreover, there is no record of the massacre of the people in the Wu Han Dynasty. They only wiped out the Gongsun Shu and Yancen clans, then set off troops to loot and burn the palaces, and allowed the soldiers to do whatever they wanted in the city.

Even so, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu was furious and scolded Wu Han and his deputy Liu Shang, scolding them both.

From this point of view, we can know that Liu Xiu actually disliked the massacre of the city.

Because this is the most unpopular method of attack.

Throughout the history of the Eastern Han Dynasty, this was the only time it could be considered a massacre.

Even though Xu He had never read a book, the story of the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai was passed down from ancient times. The deeds of Emperor Guangwu's kindness to the people? It was also deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. How could he not believe it? The officers and soldiers would really do this.

Therefore, when the letter from the officers and soldiers arrived, Xu He still hesitated and said: "The officers and soldiers... wouldn't be so cruel. Would Liu Bei really do that? In the name of his benevolence and righteousness..."

The subordinates hurriedly persuaded: "Has the general forgotten about Huangfu Song?"

"But Huangfu Song didn't massacre the city either."

Xu He retorted.

The subordinate smiled bitterly and said: "General, don't forget? Now the people in the second county of Banyang Changguo have all surrendered to us. Their identity is no longer citizens, but thieves."

Are they thieves?

Xu He shivered all over. Even in the late autumn when the day was still hot, his body felt bitingly cold, and a cool air rose from the soles of his feet.

yes.

He almost forgot.

His identity is a Yellow Turban thief.

So are the people who belong to themselves still the people?

In the eyes of everyone in the world, I'm afraid they are all rebel traitors. Even if they are all killed, no one will say Liu Bei is cruel.

Officers and soldiers kill thieves? It’s only natural!

And isn't it possible that the one who makes them endure all this is themselves?

Is it you? Drag them into the abyss!

Thinking of this, Xu He no longer dared to think any more.

Because he was afraid that he could not bear it anymore, he immediately ran out and surrendered to the officers and soldiers.

In that case, all the people can be saved.

But his life or death? Who knows?

When it’s not the last minute, everyone takes chances.

This situation? It is also commonly known as the coffin without tears.

Even though he knew that the army might really set fire to the mountain, Xu He was comforting himself.

Maybe this is just a conspiracy, a threat, a trick...

After a sleepless night, the weather on the second day was a bit gloomy, but the temperature was still muggy.

Xu He came to the mountainside with a pair of panda eyes and a slightly pale face.

"General."

When the soldiers saw him, they all moved out of the way.

The terrain of the mountainside pass is narrow, and even though the army cannot come up, it is not easy for the Yellow Turban bandits to station too many soldiers.

Therefore, less than 10,000 people were stationed along the entire pass and connected to the Fangshan Road corridor.

Yesterday, the officers and soldiers threatened to set fire to the mountain. Xu He had ordered all 50,000 soldiers to be dispatched, leaving the remaining 10,000 to guard the mountain stronghold. Now the mountainside is densely packed with people.

Because the roads could not be squeezed, the soldiers had to crowd into the mountains and forests. There were people standing on all slopes, crowding among the trees, and stepping on the dead leaves.

Seeing this situation made Xu He's heart twitch.

If the army really sets fire to the mountain, I am afraid that no one here will be able to escape, and they will all be burned to death.

"How are the officers and soldiers doing?"

Xu He tried his best to put away the messy thoughts in his mind and cheered up to ask around.

One of his subordinates said: "The officers and soldiers should have just finished their morning meal at this time, and there is no movement yet."

"Explore again."

Xu He gave the order.

"only."

The soldiers took the order and went forward.

While the spies were observing the outside, Xu He was also observing the situation below on the mountainside.

He was originally a woodcutter and part-time hunter in the mountains. He was familiar with everything in the mountains and forests, but now he felt a sense of incompatibility.

Before the officers and soldiers didn't say they were going to set fire to the mountain, Xu He didn't feel it. When the officers and soldiers told him what they were going to do, he discovered something unusual.

The officers and soldiers actually cleared away all the vegetation near the foot of the mountain, leaving a gap of about 200 feet between them and the foot of the mountain, covered with loess and mud.

Their rear camp is a mountain stream. The widest part of the stream is about four or five feet, and the narrowest part is also two or three feet. The deepest point of the water is about one or two feet. The shallow part is just over a person's ankle. But one thing is certain, that is

Enough to shelter 30,000 people from the fire.

If the mountain is really set on fire, the central open space can not only isolate the fire, but the stream behind the army camp can also prevent the fire. Moreover, the east wind is blowing today... If a fire is really set...

Xu He became more and more frightened as he watched.

Everything under the mountain made him feel that the officers and soldiers had already planned it.

Because any conditions and factors are full of disadvantages for him. With the fire, the cliffs on all sides of Woniu Mountain will either be burned to death or fall to death. I am afraid that there will be no survivors!

"General, general?"

His hands called in his ears and pushed gently.

Xu He woke up with a start and said blankly: "What's wrong?"

The subordinate said in confusion: "The officers and soldiers have left the camp. I just asked the general how to deal with the enemy."

"oh......"

Xu He came to his senses, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and said, "Let's see what the officers and soldiers are planning first."

After calming down, Xu He opened his eyes wide and tried his best to see the movements of the officers and soldiers below.

Just four to five hundred meters down the mountain, I saw officers and soldiers coming out of the camp like ants.

Since it was daytime, Xu He couldn't see clearly the situation of the officers and soldiers. He could only vaguely see that each officer and soldier seemed to be holding something in his hand.

"what is that?"

Xu He couldn't help but ask.

But no matter how good your eyesight is, you can only see a group of small black dots from such a long distance, and naturally you can't see anything clearly.

After a while, a spy reported back anxiously: "General, it's not good, general, the officers and soldiers have a lot of torches in their hands, as if they are setting fire to the mountain."

"What, set fire to the mountain?"

"How can the officers and soldiers do this?"

"General, what should we do? If we set a fire, we will all die."

"Why don't we just go down the mountain and fight."

"Maybe we have another way..."

Almost instantly, all the surrounding Yellow Turban soldiers exploded.

Originally, only Xu He and a few of his cronies knew about the army's plan to set fire.
To be continued...