Linyi County is a large county. It is the seat of the state government of Yizhou and is also a famous commercial center. Whether goods from Haizhou go north to Qilu, or goods from Qilu go south to Xuzhou and Haizhou, Linyi County must be transited.
Linyi County has become a famous bulk cargo distribution center in southern Qilu.
Linyi County has a population of nearly 200,000, half of whom come from other places to do business or are related to business, such as workers brought by businessmen, as well as warehouse, transportation, moving and other labor forces.
Various businesses are also emerging. There are hundreds of shops, restaurants, inns, brothels, music houses, gambling houses, etc., and there are nearly a hundred restaurants alone.
It is the prosperous commerce that makes Linyi County a famous Xiong County in the mountainous areas of southern Qilu.
Linyi County's city has a circumference of thirty miles, and the city wall is three feet high. There is a large military camp inside the city. At this time, the military camp is noisy. Ten thousand troops from Yanzhou have just arrived in the county. The soldiers are burying pots for cooking, and the generals are making arrangements.
Military quarters.
The commander-in-chief Pan Ling is a veteran who has participated in the Battle of the Central Plains in the feudal towns and has rich experience. He is very concerned about issues, not only the defense of the city, but also the supply of food, fodder and other ingredients.
The governor Zhao Yunong accompanied Pan Ling, who inspected the city defenses and inquired about other situations.
"General Meng Song left me a letter before he left, saying that there are still 40,000 shi of grain in the warehouse in the city. Isn't this quantity a problem?"
Zhao Yunong smiled bitterly and said: "There is no problem with the total amount of 40,000 shi, but 10,000 shi are grain from the official warehouse. They are used to provide relief to the people and cannot be counted as military rations."
"We will discuss this question later. Besides food, what other supplies are there?"
"In addition to grain, there are 80,000 tons of fodder. All other materials are gone. The King of Qi does not allow states to store money, grain and materials. These grains are just taxes collected. If it were normal, they would have been sent to Licheng long ago."
“Aren’t there any pigs, sheep or vegetables?”
Zhao Yunong was startled and quickly explained: "This does not belong to money, food and materials. The government can prepare some."
"How did Meng Song organize it before?"
Zhao Yunong sighed and said: "He bought it with money, but until now, he still owes more than a dozen businessmen thousands of dollars and has not paid. Now that he is gone, the businessmen are asking the government for money and pestering us every day. We
There is no other way!”
Pan Ling was a little confused, but he didn't expect that Meng Song would leave him in such a mess.
He pondered for a moment and said: "First try your best to raise a group of pigs and sheep! Later I will report to the Holy One and ask him to send a batch of military expenses, settle all the debts, and then resume supply."
"This is best. I will try my best to raise a group of pigs and sheep."
"Is there any situation with the Jin army in Yizhou recently?"
Zhao Yunong's heart skipped a beat, and he asked pretending to be puzzled: "How could the general think of asking this question? There are no Jin troops in Yizhou!"
"I heard some rumors in the city in the afternoon that Jin troops appeared in Yizhou."
Zhao Yunong secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: "The rumors in the city actually refer to the general's 10,000 troops. Everyone didn't know it was the army from Yanzhou. They thought it was the Jin army, so there are many rumors."
This explanation was reasonable and reasonable, and Pan Ling felt relieved immediately. He nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Ambassador Zhao. It's getting late. Ambassador Zhao, please go back and rest. We'll talk about anything tomorrow."
"Okay! I'll take my leave now."
Zhao Yunong said goodbye and left, and Pan Ling immediately deployed night defenses. Five hundred soldiers were stationed at each of the two gates in the south city, and twenty teams of ten men were deployed at night to patrol the city to maintain order at night.
Pan Ling has experience. He arrived today and did not understand many situations, so he deployed more cautiously at night.
Night gradually fell and the city gates closed. Normally, the city would be very lively after nightfall, but the atmosphere in the city was a bit tense these two days. Many shops closed early. After nightfall, every house closed its doors and the streets became deserted.
.
The northeastern corner of the county is a famous slum area in Linyi County. All kinds of coolie laborers live in three neighborhoods with their families. There are tens of thousands of people. The houses are small and dense, but the rent is very cheap. It is popular with the lower class.
welcome.
After nightfall, the gate of the square is also closed, but the square is still very lively. There are many small shops and hawkers here who continue to do business. There are shouts and hawking sounds one after another, mainly serving side dishes and food, and the residents in the square are also busy.
Buy some snacks on the street and take them home.
In one of the slums called Gou'erfang, it is connected with the City God's Temple covering an area of dozens of acres. From the slums, you can directly enter the City God's Temple, and then go out from the City God's Temple to the street, making the gate of Gou'erfang useless.
.
After Hai Shi, the place gradually became quiet, and many people turned on their lights and went to bed. Poor people had no nightlife, so sleeping was the best nightlife.
As the lights went out one by one, the whole square became dark. At this time, people began to appear. More than a dozen people, more than 20 people, and more than 30 people appeared in batches and rushed to the City God's Temple.
go.
By the first watch, the square of the City God's Temple was already crowded with people, and the front and rear doors were locked. Unless they were making noise, no one would have known that there would be so many people in the City God's Temple, as many as three thousand people.
These three thousand people were a secret army left by Yang Mi in the city. Yang Meng did not lead the army into the city. He got information on the way to Linyi County with his army. Yanzhou's 10,000 troops were also marching towards Linyi County.
Come.
He immediately thought of a brilliant strategy. With the help of the governor Zhao Yunong, he sent three thousand people disguised as porters to live in Gouerfang. At the same time, weapons and armor were also transported into the city in the name of government supplies.
They entered the city two days earlier than Zhu Si's army, and the three thousand soldiers quickly blended into the tens of thousands of poor people.
The chief general of the Jin army who commanded these 3,000 people was named Wei Rulin. He was promoted to the rank of Zhonglang General through meritorious deeds. He was less than thirty years old and was an outstanding young general. In the past two years, many young generals of the Jin army have stood out. Wei Rulin is
One of them.
It was very quiet inside the City God's Temple. Everything was going on silently. The soldiers began to put on their armor, pick up their weapons, and then lined up. Everyone sat down to rest and wait.
The candles in the inner hall of City God Miao were brightly lit, and several captains gathered around the general Wei Rulin. Wei Rulin said to everyone: "Our mission is not the military camp, but the South City Gate. In addition, we must set up an ambush near the South City Gate. If there is a patrol,
Get close and annihilate them in one fell swoop."
Wei Rulin pointed to the sketch on the table and said: "This is the sketch near the south city gate. It is not difficult to seize the city gate. The key is to control the nearby neighborhoods and ensure not to alert the enemy camp, so I decided to divide the troops into two groups, General Wu!"
A general immediately clasped his fists and said, "The last general is here!"
"You lead 500 soldiers to blockade the main street under the South City Gate and nearby alleys to prevent the enemy from escaping!"
"I humbly obey my orders!"
Wei Rulin then said to the two captains: "Each of you will lead 300 people and use the ladder to climb up the city from both ends of the south city. I'm worried that the patrol soldiers on the south city will run away when the situation is bad. You are responsible for intercepting them!"
"Follow the order!" the two captains agreed together.
Wei Rulin's eyes turned to a tall young captain and said: "Captain Yi, you are the most skilled in martial arts here. I will give you a hundred lightning soldiers. You are responsible for controlling the alarm bell and not allowing it to ring!"
The Lightning Soldiers are special soldiers. They are 3,000 elites selected by Yao Jin from the 80,000 Hebei Army. They are well treated, equipped with excellent equipment, and have extremely strong combat effectiveness. The chief general of the Lightning Army was appointed by King Guo Song of Jin, and Wei Rulin is the deputy general of the Lightning Army.
, this time he led the three thousand troops lurking into the city, one thousand of them were the Lightning Army.
Captain Yi was also a captain in the Lightning Army. He immediately bowed and said: "Follow the order!"
Wei Rulin looked at the night and saw that it was almost the second watch. Generally, the changing of the guard time was around the third watch, so the third watch was a dangerous area, while the second watch and fourth watch were relatively stable.
He said to everyone: "Let the brothers pack up and set off!"
Everyone rushed out of the inner hall and went to greet their own troops. Wei Rulin blew out the candles in one breath and strode out.