Outside Qili Village, the camp of thieves.

"Come out, come out, come out!" The men of the 'Shi Qian' kept driving out the camp with the exiles who had been enveloped in them. These are the old and weak, women and children, and the young and strong men entered the team and ate the soldiers' meals.

"Listen up!" One of the leaders shouted in front of the old and weak, "Half a nest head for each person!" Then take the bag and go fill in the trenches! After filling the trench, come back and give each person two nests and a bowl of porridge! It's everyone, young and old. If you don't go to fill in the trenches, there's nothing! ”

"Master, half a nest is too little, right?" An old man came to the front and bowed and said, "I haven't eaten for a long time, so let's give me a little more." ”

The little boss scolded: "I don't want to eat and go away!" Go to the east and stay! Just half! If you want more, fill in the trench and come back! Whoever doesn't want to, go to the east! ”

The old and weak were so hungry that they didn't dare to say anything more. Even if filling the trenches is a dangerous job, at least you don't have to go hungry anymore. Between hunger and death, they are still more afraid of hunger.

"Send it down!" The little leader saw that these old and weak had stopped, so he waved his hand proudly and ordered.

The little minions carried a basket of nests to the old and weak, and someone specially distributed them, but they broke a nest into two pieces by hand, ranging in size, and it was all up to luck to divide the big ones or the small ones.

"Master, this is too small, isn't it?" An old man with half-white hair looked at less than a third of the nest in his hand and asked cautiously. At this time, the half-sized child who was given a large piece of the nest head immediately devoured it, and was afraid that he would give it to the old man next to him a little.

The little minions didn't even look at it, and scolded impatiently: "Mom @! It's too small! Go to the east and stay! ”

The old man hurriedly stuffed the small nest head into his mouth, chewed hard, and didn't dare to say another half a word.

After distributing all the nest heads, the little leader scolded loudly: "Give them tools!" You can't just eat and not work! ”

The old and weak took the tools issued by the thieves, some got shovels, some got bags, some got a piece of cotton cloth, and some got hoes. They were divided into three groups and taken to the northeast, southwest, and southeast directions on the outskirts of Qilizhai, and were asked to dig on the spot and then transport them to fill in the trenches at the designated locations.

"Quick! Fast! Don't be lazy if you want to eat! The little minion held a waist knife or a whip, and kept scolding and urging among the old and weak.

These old and weak women and children, who were carried by the little dirt - they could not move it even if they got too much, and walked in groups to the designated place, shouting constantly on the way: "Don't shoot arrows, don't shoot arrows." We are forced, forced. Then they poured the earth from their hands into the ditch and went back to fill the trench.

inside the fence.

"Fourth brother, what should I do about this?" Li Mu frowned and asked.

Li Yan stared outside, watching as the old and weak women and children poured dirt into the ditch. After a long while, there was no speech.

Li Zhong also ran over and reported: "Northeast, southwest, and southeast, there are people filling in trenches. What to do? ”

"See the ladder they made?" Li Yan asked.

Li Zhong replied: "No, it's all such old and weak women and children filling in the trenches. ”

"Let the crossbowmen shoot!" Li Mu reminded: "There are more than 100 of them, and they will be able to fill in the road one or two zhang wide in a while, and when the time comes, we will be in danger if we are attacked on three sides!" ”

Li Yan looked back at the people gathered by Wang Dejiang, forty or fifty men, some young and old, holding waist knives, bows and arrows, spears and wooden sticks. These people were concentrated to assist in the defense, but their combat effectiveness was not reassuring. If the thieves were allowed to break in, these people, along with his soldiers, would also be quite dangerous.

"Everyone has seen it, and I can't help it." Li Yan said to these people: "If we let them fill in the trenches, our home will be destroyed." You're going to be outcasts, too! ”

Wang Dejiang held the stick and said firmly: "Childe, we know." Since they want to destroy our home, we don't have to be polite! Now that they are thieves, we don't need to treat them as citizens anymore! ”

Li Yan ordered: "Huang Desheng, Qian Er, each of you take five crossbowmen, go to the northeast and southwest positions, close to twenty paces, no matter who it is, shoot them all!" ”

"Yes!" The two agreed, and went to gather all the people and prepare to go.

Li Yan went over and instructed the crossbowman: "All aim and shoot!" We don't have many crossbow arrows, and one arrow kills an enemy, which is the most! Kill two birds with one stone, the best! ”

"Yes!" All the crossbowmen said yes loudly.

When Huang Desheng and Qian Er left with the people, Li Yan instructed again: "Wang Dejiang, you also divide the people into one point and go and make a strategy for several directions." ”

"Okay, I'll go and assign people." Wang Dejiang agreed, and hurried to assign people.

Li Yan looked at the filling of the trench in front of him again, and the bamboo skewers more than a foot high at the bottom of the trench were no longer visible. He ordered: "Shi Jincai! You command the rest of the crossbowmen, who are responsible for blocking the enemy and filling the trenches here! ”

"No warning?" Li Zhong asked hesitantly, "They were all forced." ”

Li Mu asked disdainfully, "Is it useful?" ”

Li Zhong had nothing to say when asked, so he had to silently follow Li Yan around. Now the three brothers and the three crossbowmen who followed Li Zhong are the mobile troops in the stockade. The remaining pikemen had to guard the security of the gate, and Zhao Datong was in charge.

After they looked around for a while, they heard screams and scolding outside.

"Daddy, Daddy, wake up!"

"Ahh Bao'er run, don't come here! ”

"You bastards! We are also forced, forced! Why can't you give a way out?! ”

……

Frightened by the sudden rain of arrows in Qilizhai, the old and weak who ran back and forth to fill the trench either squatted down or lay down, not daring to approach the trench again.

But the thieves behind them didn't want them to stop, and kept yelling: "Hurry up and fill in the trench!" Otherwise, there will be no food! ”

A few old and weak people who wanted to run backwards were cut down on the spot by the thieves' little minions, pointed bloody knives at them, and shouted: "See?!" That's what it ends like to run away! Just go! Go ahead and fill in the trenches! ”

The old and weak cried in fear, but to no avail, so they took up the dirt bags again and continued to approach the trench carefully. But they didn't dare to cross the corpses in front of them, and those corpses were the red lines drawn for them by the people in the stockade - if they crossed it, they would die!

So the old and weak had to lie on the ground, neither forward nor backward, hiding between the two sides. So at this time, more than twenty paces away from the trench, the ground seemed to be covered with a layer of mixed cloth, blue, white, and gray. People dressed in various clothes lay on the ground, not daring to move.