Luo Jingyun hastily ate some dry food, and then under the leadership of Zhou Changzhong, the head of Yilong County, he and Wang Xingwu went upstairs to the city, walked through the streets and alleys, and comprehensively checked the situation of Jincheng Walled.

Jincheng Walled City used to be a county and a county government, the scale is not large, but it is a cottage with very complete facilities and beautiful buildings. In addition to the ancestral hall and stage that must be in each county, there are also production and living facilities such as ponds, drying fields, and cangtun in the village. The county government not only has a three-entry courtyard, but also a small garden with a pond. It's just that the flowers and plants have disappeared and have become a vegetable field. The houses of several squires are also exquisite and elegant, which is quite a bit of a legacy in the wilderness.

However, leaving the center of the stockade and walking under the walls of the city is another world.

I saw dense simple shacks crowded together, hundreds or thousands, and I couldn't count them at all. A few branches, a few pieces of bark, and a few feet of coarse cloth enclose a sheltered home from the wind and rain. Some of the unclothed women sat in the shacks, their eyes empty and weak. There are also many yellow-skinned children with large and round heads, but short and small bodies. When they saw the officers and soldiers who had previously delivered the food coming, they just stared with their big bright and hopeful eyes, and stretched out their bony hands as best they could. A few bold teenagers even ran forward and knelt on the side of the road, putting a broken bowl on their heads, hoping that the officers and soldiers passing by would be kind enough to put a few grains of grain in the bowl.

The tragic situation of the city ruthlessly stirred the hearts of the group.

Luo Jingyun knew that when people reached this point, they had already reached the edge of the cliff. In Changping Mountain, he and Chen Youfu were deeply impressed by the violent charge of the local tyrants. More than 2,000 people fell in front of the battle line twenty or thirty zhang wide, but the local tyrants still disregarded life and death. Why? Why do the local tyrants not hesitate to live and die? Luo Jingyun asked himself.

Today he finally understood. When the local thugs come out to grab things, it is a battle of life and death for them. It's better to die for life than to sit and wait for death! The pre-war combat effectiveness of five to one was estimated to almost cause a catastrophe!

"Has the food been delivered?" Luo Jingyun rubbed his damp eyes and sternly questioned his subordinates.

"It's gone!" Zhou Changzhong hurriedly returned, "According to the orders of the prison army, regardless of men, women, old and children, see the heads of the two (Note 1)!" ”

"Why isn't there smoke?" Luo Jingyun was already roaring, "If you don't eat today, you will die again at night!" Did you know it? ”

"The little one asked. They didn't dare to eat it. I'm afraid that if I eat it today, it will be gone tomorrow! ”

Zhou Changzhong's answer made Luo Jingyun, who had always been articulate, speechless. The people's fears are rooted in their expectations of the future. And this expectation points to an even darker hell.

"Company Commander Wang, what can you do?" Luo Jingyun asked Wang Xingwu, "Is our rice enough?" ”

Wang Xingwu understood the meaning of the prison guard's questioning. He had also experienced the dilemma of not having a meal for several days, and knew how uncomfortable it was to be hungry, like a fire burning his heart and boiling oil to fry his lungs. However, he was a military commander, and it was his primary duty to ensure the combat effectiveness of his soldiers at all times in areas where the situation of the enemy and the enemy was unknown. If the soldiers are not fed and lose the battle, then these hungry people will lose their last chance to save themselves.

"One of us carried 20 catties of grain, and the total was only 2,000 catties. I am afraid that there are two thousand men in this city, and in three days they will ,......."

"More than that! The two adults, since the thieves entered Sichuan last year, have fled into the Yilong people in the village one after another, no less than 3,000 households, more than 9,000 people. In the past few months, most of the old and weak have died, and now there are more than 1,900 households and more than 4,700 people, more than 960 men and more than 1,490 healthy women who can go to the city. The two adults just saw that there was no grain of rice in the county warehouse, and even Lord Bi was out of food for more than ten days. The gentry surnamed Deng, Huang, and Zhou in the city have released all the surplus grain, and the people in the walled city are already exhausted......"

What to do? Zhou Changzhong's detailed report made Luo Jingyun's head move quickly. Relying on the New Deal Dam to transport grain for relief, or simply migrating to eat in the New Deal Dam, although feasible in the short term, is difficult to sustain for a long time. Although Xinzheng Dam is somewhat rich in food, it does not have much left except for the necessary military food reserves. As soon as these 5,000 people go, they will soon empty the New Deal Dam. Luo Jingyun did not have as much experience in dealing with large-scale refugees as Li Chongwen, and he was a little helpless for a while.

Wang Xingwu hesitated for a moment, and finally came over: "Prison army, I have an idea!" ”

This Wang Xingwu is quick in thinking and brave in battle, but he always has a bit of a slave shadow in front of Shangguan, which makes Luo Jingyun, who likes to be unrestrained, feel very uncomfortable.

"Company Commander Wang, if you have something to say, it's okay to talk about it." Luo Jingyun Road.

"The lower officials thought that the prince had set a policy to protect the country and the people, and that protecting the country was nothing more than military affairs, and that reassuring the people was nothing more than people's livelihood. The pipe said, Cang Liao knows the etiquette. From this, it is inferred that the untruthfulness of the warehouse must be degraded in etiquette. Now Yilong County is full of bandits and smoke; The people fled and there were no warehouses. Today's plan, we still have to use the method of setting up Wangzhuang all over the Shu Wangfu, with soldiers in the people, soldiers in agriculture, farming in peacetime, and drawing into an army in wartime. In this way, we have both food and soldiers. The lower officials thought that although the Jincheng Walled City was dangerous, it was too close to Bazhou, and there were still many local rioters around it, so it was not appropriate to set up a Wangzhuang Tunken ...... for the time being."

With the permission of Shangguan, Wang Xingwu gushed his thoughts. He said that when he went up the Jialing River, he saw that there were many shallow hills and low mountains along the river, and grain was planted at the bottom of the hills, but the top of the hill was a barren grass and weeds. Since there are so many wastelands along the river, there must be a lot of idle wasteland in Yilong and southern counties. These wastelands should be used as much as possible, and crops should be planted wherever the gentle slopes can be cultivated. He also said that when he was in the Peng County Farm Protection Team, Shizi issued a decree calling for the promotion of drought-resistant and high-yielding maize, sorghum and red vetch in mountainous and hilly areas. Since the will of the prince, he suggested that he should find a few suitable ownerless wastelands near the Xinzheng Dam to open Wangzhuang, and move the old and weak women in the city to Wangzhuang. As for Ding Nan in the Jincheng Walled City, he formed a city guard team in the name of the county government to defend the walled city. In this way, not only can greatly reduce the grain consumption of Jincheng Walled, but also can obtain the grain harvest as soon as possible, so that Wangzhuang can bloom everywhere in northern Sichuan. In this way, the rear support of the caravan is no longer a point of Xinzheng Dam, but a large area of Wangzhuang in Baoning and Shunqing.

It seems that this Wang Xingwu is not only familiar with being able to fight, but also with his brother-in-law's political and civil policies, and his understanding of the meaning is even deeper than his own. No wonder his brother-in-law commented on him as "both military and political"! Luo Jingyun put away his contempt for Wang Xingwu and seriously thought about his suggestion.

Seeing Luo Jingyun frowning and thinking, Wang Xingwu didn't dare to interrupt. Before he left, he heard that the Third Company was originally the first merit of the Battle of Changpingshan, but the battalion commander's proposal was temporarily suppressed by the supervising army. He didn't know the reason for the prison army's suppression, but he knew the weight of the prison army's words. He even wondered if it was because of his humble background that the prison army intended to give the first credit to Lin Yan, an officer from the left guard.

Wang Xingwu was thinking about his own thoughts, and suddenly heard Luo Jianjun's loud praise: "Company Commander Wang's proposal is very good!" The men who were able to fight stayed, and the women and children moved away. ”

Luo Jianjun then issued a series of military orders: "We must move to the new deal dam as soon as possible!" The sooner the better! Let's go after eating! When you arrive at the New Deal Dam, you have a chance to turn around! Tan Jin immediately gave an order to let the soldiers cook, and at least let each citizen eat two taels of dry rice before leaving, so that they could have the strength to walk! Xu Yinshou, you rode the horse of the prison army back to Changping Mountain, and borrowed five stones of grain from Father Zhu. Tomorrow, the people of Jincheng Walled City will pass by Changping Mountain, and they will use these five stone grains to continue their lives! Company Commander Wang, order the second platoon to escort you! ”

Luo Jingyun issued several military orders in a row. Seeing that everyone was suddenly busy, he felt that his tense nerves relaxed slightly. Seeing that Zhou Changzhong, the head of the ya, was still standing next to him, as if he had something to say, he asked him if he had any opinions to report.

"When the Shu Wangfu saves the people of the city from life and death, it is a great kindness and a great virtue, and it will never be forgotten! The people will obey the orders of the adults. It's just that Ding Zhuang in the city ...... I don't want to ......" Zhou Changzhong swallowed.

"Jincheng Walled City is so important, how can there be no Ding Zhuang guards?" Luo Jingyun's face sank suddenly, "If the local tyrant makes a comeback, Yilong County will not be protected, and how can Wang Zhuang cultivate with peace of mind!" ”

Zhou Changzhong slammed and knelt down straight, but his knees were weak, and his neck was not soft, "My lord misunderstood!" The meaning of the villain is that we are all willing to be the soldiers of the palace, not the county government! ”

As a field army, the caravan has high requirements for the physical condition of its soldiers. Zhou Yatou called the strong men in the county, Luo Jingyun saw it when he went to the city, all of them were like Zhou Yatou, shriveled and black and thin, with frivolous steps, and he was hungry for a long time. However, when Luo Jingyun saw Chen Youfu and other draft labels in the human market for the first time, they were also like this. As long as they are given a few full meals and their bodies are replenished with enough nutrients, they will soon be rejuvenated.

Ding Zhuang of Jincheng Walled City volunteered to join the caravan, and Luo Jingyun couldn't ask for it. After the bloody battle of Changping Mountain, the caravan was reduced a lot, and it was in need of new replenishment. The expansion of the occupied areas also requires the expansion of the northward detachment and the strengthening of its strength.

It happened that Wang Xingwu arranged for the matter to come back, and Luo Jingyun opened his mouth to ask for his opinion. Wang Xingwu was very simple and agreed directly. But he insisted on making further selections from Ding Zhuang, preferably those who were young, had killed local tyrants, and had family members who entered Wangzhuang. Luo Jingyun understood Wang Xingwu's intentions, and he made a supplement, instructing those Ding Zhuang who were not selected to be organized into a city protection team. These people who would rather starve to death than surrender to the tyrants, in the words of his brother-in-law, are "all bright and naked!" ”

……

As the sun set, the women and children, the old and weak, who were about to be transferred, embarked on the road to the Xinzheng Dam in a sighing farewell. After eating some food, people finally have their spirits. The man's son and father became a soldier in the royal palace and earned a military salary, and the family members had a bottom in their hearts and renewed hope for the future. The happiest were the children, who, as soon as they had eaten a rice ball, regained their instincts and began to play in the crowd.

The journey is not long, less than 100 miles, and there is Changping Mountain to meet on the way, and Xinzheng Dam will also send people to support. For this group of people who have suffered so much, this is the last test before they are freed from the sea of suffering.

Luo Jingyun solemnly handed over the main hall seal of Yilong County to Wang Xingwu, and led the third battalion, four companies, and a platoon of the caravan and two hundred recruits to leave Yilong County. Soon after, he will join the people of the Li family of the New Deal to inspect the salt works of Beiyuan Temple.

He had already decided in his heart that the Beiyuan Temple could not return to the old pattern controlled by one or several families. As an important salt-producing area, Beiyuan Temple must become a supporting force in the strategy of protecting the country and the people. It's just that how to do it specifically, this teenager is still at a loss. Of course, the Li family can come up with ideas, but they are stakeholders, and ideas can only be used as references. It was his brother-in-law and sister who really made the decision.

For Zhu Pingjin's ability to solve various complex problems, Luo Jingyun has an infinite trust.

Note 1: One liter of ten, two of them is less than three taels.