Before dawn the next day, all five thousand soldiers went out of the city to harvest wheat. There were about 3,000 hectares of wheat fields around Jiuyuan County, half of which were official fields. The wheat fields of the people of Feng'an County were also concentrated in Jiuyuan County.
In fact, when Magistrate Xie informed the people of the county about Guo Song's order, the entire county was in a state of excitement. There were many opponents and few supporters, and the public was almost in a rage. Although the wheat was not fully mature and the impact was not great, the people
There have been too many doubts about Guo Song, so when Guo Song proposed to harvest wheat immediately, many people instinctively became dissatisfied with him.
The wheat belongs to oneself. If you don't want to harvest it, the government can't force it. Guo Song no longer forced the people, but ordered the army to seize the official fields first.
Thousands of people watched from a distance as the soldiers harvested wheat. At first, everyone looked on with cold eyes. But soon, some people began to waver. What if the Xueyantuo people really came to kill them? If they didn't harvest wheat, wouldn't they be the whole country?
Robbed by the Xue Yantuo people?
Thinking about it calmly, the people also realized that the risk was too great, and the losses from harvesting wheat ten days early were actually not big. Soon more than a hundred people were shaken and started to rush to harvest wheat.
By the fourth day, half of the people had joined the team to harvest wheat.
Just that afternoon, Li Ji's scouts brought back important information. They discovered Xue Yantuo's scouting post at the fork of the Yellow River in the west of the Hetao, with about a hundred people.
This news spread quickly in Jiuyuan County, and the people all over the city suddenly panicked. They all knew what it meant when enemy sentries appeared. Those people who did not participate in the wheat harvesting began to blame each other, and they did not care about the darkness.
He dragged his family and his family to the wheat fields to harvest wheat.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the top of the city, dyeing Jiuyuan City with a layer of gold. Guo Song stood on the top of the city holding a halberd, looking at the countless small black spots in the wheat fields in the distance. Those are the people who are harvesting wheat.
Most of Guantian has been harvested, and it should be completed before the enemy comes.
But it's hard to tell the people who just went to cut the wheat today. Unless the soldiers went to help them cut the wheat, it would be difficult for the soldiers to prepare for war.
"Your Majesty, please leave them alone. If they let them be self-righteous and disobey advice, they deserve the loss!" Liang Wu said angrily from the side.
Guo Song shook his head, "You can't think of things like this. If their wheat fields are really ruined by the Xueyantuo people, it will cause division among the people and cause dissatisfaction. The most important thing for defending the city is to unite as one. We won't help them."
Harvesting wheat, how can they help us defend the city?"
After Guo Song finished speaking, he turned back to the soldiers and said, "Go and tell Magistrate Xie that once the wheat harvest in Guantian is finished, I will arrange for three thousand soldiers to help the people harvest wheat."
"Follow the order!"
The soldier agreed and ran away.
Just then, a black spot appeared in the distant sky, and a soldier shouted, "The scout general is back!"
General Scouting was the nickname the soldiers gave to Mengzi. A trip to the Western Regions made the soldiers develop deep feelings for Mengzi.
Guo Song also saw the Mengzi flying slowly towards him, and he felt a little worried in his heart. Normally, under no circumstances, the Mengzi would fly in circles and gradually get closer to this side. But now that it was flying in a straight line, it meant that it had discovered the enemy's situation.
The Tang army's scouts discovered that the enemy's sentinels were just a precursor, and once Mengzi discovered something, it would be a large group of cavalry coming towards this direction.
Mengzi circled twice above Guo Song's head, folded his wings and landed on his shoulders. Guo Song lovingly touched the back of Mengzi's neck. The hairless chicken turned into an eagle soaring thousands of miles. He pushed up gently.
, "Go!"
Mengzi flapped his wings and flew towards the tallest and largest pitch pine tree in the city. It was a tree planted in the pre-Qin era and has been around for nearly a thousand years. Its thick trunk and dense pine branches are more than twenty feet high, like a sacred tree.
The tree is where Mengzi's new home is, occupying an eagle's nest.
Next to him, Liang Wu asked nervously: "How far away is the enemy?"
"Judging from Mengzi's anxiety, the enemy is probably on the edge of the Yellow River, which is where their logistics troops were stationed last time. They usually don't cross the river at night. They should cross the river early tomorrow morning. At that time, our scouts should also
Found."
Liang Wu hesitated and said, "Could it be that they are going to attack Lingzhou?"
"impossible!"
Guo Song categorically rejected Liang Wu's speculation, "Since our scouts have discovered their outpost spies, their target must be Fengzhou."
"How many days will it take to get to us?"
Guo Song thought for a while and said: "Including the time it takes them to cross the river, they will move at full speed and they will reach us in about three days."
Guo Song immediately ordered: "Send a light alarm!"
The alarm is for the army and ordinary people, and is divided into four types: slow, light, urgent, and urgent. Slow is an early warning. Guo Song had already issued an early warning when he discovered that the enemy was probing the sentry. Once it is clear that the enemy is coming, the warning will be sent within two days.
In about three days, a light alarm will be issued. If the enemy is only one day away from the city, an emergency alarm will be issued. If the enemy is within a hundred miles, an emergency alarm will be issued.
The bell rang from the bell tower in the city, "Dang! Dang! Dang -"
The sound of the bell was heard throughout the city, and everyone's expressions changed. As expected, Guo Song guessed that the Xue Yantuo people were really coming to kill them.
........
In the county government office, Xie Changzhi formally apologized to Guo Song, "The lower official was short-sighted and did not do his best to stop the people's criticism of Guo Shijun, which damaged Guo Shijun's reputation. The lower official has the responsibility to apologize to Guo Shijun!"
Guo Song waved his hand, "In the face of the facts, these rumors will not damage my reputation, but will prove my foresight. But now is not the time to talk about this. I want to discuss with the county magistrate how the army and the people can work together to defeat the invasion of the Xue Yantuo people.
."
Xie Changzhi thought for a while and said: "This matter involves too much, why don't you convene the four major households tomorrow morning, and let everyone sit down and discuss together to come up with a solid plan?"
Guo Song still admires Magistrate Xie very much. He is very smart and considers problems carefully and thoughtfully. However, because he was born in a poor family and has no background, he has never had the opportunity to be promoted. He served as magistrate in Feng'an County for eight years and was transferred here last year.
If Jiuyuan County continues to be the county magistrate, he will have to serve as the county magistrate for at least another seven years.
Guo Song nodded, "We will follow County Magistrate Xie's suggestion, but tomorrow will be a bit late. Can we all sit down and discuss it tonight?"
"Okay! Then tonight."
........
At night, the lights in the county government hall were brightly lit, and more than twenty important figures from the military, government, and civilian parties gathered together to discuss a defense plan against the invasion of Xue Yantuo people.
In addition to Guo Song, there are also Guo Song's newly appointed military recorder Xue Changshou, his staff Cao Wannian, and three important military generals, Li Ji, Ma Wei and Lu Mingbo.
The generals who surrendered the city in Hezhong were all former generals of the Shence Army.
These two people met Guo Song on the night when Guo Ziyi took over the Shence Army. They all knew that Guo Song was a confidant of the emperor and had a deep relationship with Guo Ziyi. For this reason, the two of them were very respectful to Guo Song and accepted Guo Song.
After receiving the order, they immediately led their troops to Jiuyuan County.
Guo Song slowly told everyone: "According to the latest intelligence, the Xueyantuo people should cross the Yellow River tomorrow morning, and then run for about two and a half days to arrive here. They will probably arrive in Jiuyuan County around noon the day after tomorrow."
The patriarchs of the four wealthy families looked at each other. Leng Qian, the patriarch of the Leng family, asked uneasily: "What about the wheat fields outside the city?"
"How many wheat fields are there yet to be harvested?" Guo Song asked.
"About a thousand hectares left?"
Guo Song asked again: "How many days does normal harvesting take?"
"If we harvest day and night, it will take five to six days!"
The four family patriarchs all looked at Guo Song nervously. After all, they were a little unreasonable. They didn't believe Guo Song before, and Guo Song could have refused.
Guo Song turned around and asked Xue Changshou: "When will the wheat in Guantian be harvested?"
"Report to the envoy, it will be over tomorrow morning."
Guo Song immediately said: "After the official fields are over, all the soldiers will do their best to help the people harvest wheat, and try to complete the harvest in two days!"
The four clan chiefs were overjoyed and stood up together to thank Guo Song, "Thank you for helping us regardless of past grudges."
Guo Song gently waved his hand and said with a smile: "Don't mention the past things anymore. From now on, we must unite as one, and the army and the people will work together to defend Jiuyuan County."
"Shijun Guo is right!"
Leng Qian, the head of the Leng clan, the leader of the four powerful families, was the first to express his stance, "If the city is destroyed, none of us will survive, and our wives and daughters will be kidnapped by the Xue Yantuo people. We can only fight with our backs against the odds and fully assist Guo Shijun to defend Jiuyuan County."
!”
The other three clan heads also expressed their support.
Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "Since everyone has reached a consensus, let me talk about my plan to defend the city."