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At the end of August, the Mid-Autumn Festival harvest was completed. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

In mid-September, Liu Xiu arrived in Ji County. Liu Xiu has always been not very concerned about this kind of thing, General Wei, which is inferior to the three dukes, higher than the general of Jiuqing, has a considerable scale of honor guards, for most people, this is a due glory, naturally as long as there is an opportunity to put it as much as possible, Liu Xiu did not think so, in his previous life, he was very disdainful of some leaders who claimed to be close to the people, but they actually opened the way, and the style of left and right obedience was very disdainful.

After all, the mentality of hiding in the dark, hoping that no one notices him, is still stubbornly retained in the depths of his consciousness. However, this time is different, this time there is Jian Shuo of the prison army with him, Liu Xiu can't be too shabby. The Han Dynasty paid great attention to official authority, believing that this was part of etiquette and should not be taken lightly, so there were many relevant regulations, such as officials traveling in horse-drawn carriages, and they could not ride horses casually, even if they were military generals. It is against the regulations to ride a war horse through the market like Liu Xiu, but he has the favor of the Son of Heaven, and those who impeached him dare not provoke him for this kind of thing.

General Wei has a building - something like an umbrella cover, there are four people who advocate - blowing and playing and singing to strengthen the momentum, there are horsemen - handsome and mighty, in order to show the prestige of the army, when Liu Xiu entered Jiuyuan City, Lu Bu and Zhao Yun acted as such a horn, this front and back hugging dozens of people lined up, plus Zhang Fei led the guard Jing cavalry, Xu Yu led the Hushi battalion to lead the front and back, Yu Fuluo's Hun guard cavalry followed, but the team of six or seven thousand people was stunned to pull out a few miles, the front could not see the head, the back could not see the tail, The banner is solicited, people are like tigers, horses are like dragons, and with the majestic military music, it is also majestic, attracting many people to watch from afar.

Jian Shuo was very excited, he had seen a larger guard of honor before, but he was following behind the Son of Heaven, holding the dust tail in his hand, no one would notice his existence, and today was different, he was the supervisor sent by the Son of Heaven, although these guard of honor were all General Wei's, but he was also honored, look at the eyes of those General Wei's subordinates, and the sergeants could feel all this.

These people are not as bold as Liu Xiu, so easy-going, and can talk to Jian Shuo on an equal footing, they look at Jian Shuo with awe, of course, with a little disdain. However, Jian Shuo enjoys the awe, and that bit of disdain can be handled calmly, hasn't he always been despised? However, this made him cherish General Wei's friendship even more.

Thinking about it, it seems that only Liu Xiu doesn't care about his status as a eunuch, no matter how deep the others hide, there will be some of them, and Jian Shuo is sensitive enough, no matter how deep the disdain is hidden, he can feel it. But here in Liu Xiu, he didn't feel disdain, but on the contrary, he had some respect. Jian Shuo occasionally heard Liu Xiu say that the hair and skin of the body, the parents who receive it, if they don't take that step, who wants to harm their bodies? Except for those who committed crimes and were punished to rot, most of the eunuchs entered the palace for the prosperity of their families, and no matter what others said, they were great sacrifices for their families.

Jian Shuo agrees with this very much, the Jian family is an insignificant small family in Luoyang, if he hadn't entered the palace as a eunuch, how could the Jian family be today? He can't have his own flesh and blood, but he is the biggest hero of the Jian family, and in the future, he will definitely inherit a child from his younger brother Jian Wu to him and inherit his title.

If only he could earn a knighthood.

Jian Shuo is full of confidence, he believes that with his martial arts, it is easy to follow the invincible General Wei, and it is easy to make some achievements. It's just that when he thinks of the war, Jian Shuo can't help but be a little angry. A few days ago, he followed Bi Lanweifu to visit Chang'an's Gu City, and sure enough, he found a lot of traces of Guanzhong Haoqiang selling grain to Nanyang merchants, while Liu Xiu was worried about Song Jian's lack of sufficient military food.

Jian Shuo once suggested that Liu Xiu forcibly expropriate the grain, but Liu Xiu refused. Liu Xiu said that since the signing of the contract between the state and the local family, what I represent is the imperial court, what I represent is the Son of Heaven, and people cannot stand without trust, not to mention the imperial court, the Son of Heaven? I can forcibly levy it, but it hurts the face of the Son of Heaven, and I can't do it. As for the war, then it depends on the rice pot, and you can't just destroy the contract because of the immediate needs of the moment, if this is the case, the new policy of the state cannot go to this day.

Jian Shuo was a little suspicious, he didn't care about the New Deal, he only cared about whether he could make contributions. Because of food restrictions, when Liu Xiu set out from Chang'an this time, he only brought his own 3,000 personal guard battalions and Zhang He and Xiahou Yuan's private soldiers of less than 1,000, plus more than 2,000 troops composed of heroes and strongmen in the passes, a total of less than 7,000 people, with these 7,000 people to crusade against Song Jian is obviously not enough, Jian Shuo can only hope that Liu Xiu's Liangzhou Hanqiang battalion can now have enough people.

When passing through the street pavilion, Captain Longshan, the captain of the first battalion of the Liangzhou Han Army, Lu Yi, followed with his troops, but the number was not large, only more than 800 people, fortunately, it seemed that these people had a spirit of iron-blooded warriors, which made Jian Shuo feel a little relieved. He also knew more or less the reason why some soldiers were not in Jing, especially when Liu Xiu was now short of money and food.

Ji County has arrived. Liangzhou Assassin Shi Meng Tuo took the Peng officials of the Assassin Mansion, and Hanyang Taishou Fan Jin took the Peng officials of the Taishou Mansion out of the city to greet each other. There were also several generals with them, who stood with their swords in their helmets and armor, laughing loudly and with pride.

Liu Xiu introduced Jian Shuo to Meng Tuo and Fan Jin, Meng Tuo stepped forward silently to salute, but Fan Jin snorted, arched his hand, turned his eyes away, and never looked at Jian Shuo again. Jian Shuo's face was a little embarrassed, but it was not easy to attack, so he had to keep Fan Jin's name in mind first. However, as soon as he heard that Fan Jin and the famous party member Fan Fan were the same sect, he could only sigh, such a person, you kill him is equivalent to helping him, but you can't scare him at all.

Liu Xiu immediately introduced those generals, namely Jiang Wu and Sima Yanwen, captains of the Tianshui Battalion in the Liangzhou Han Army, Yang Ding, captain of the Anding Battalion, and Li Meng, captain of the Beidi Battalion.

Jiang Wu glanced at Jian Shuo, smirked twice, and when he turned to Liu Xiu, he changed to a respectful smile: "My lord, the Zhangye Battalion and the Wuwei Battalion have rushed to Great Xia, where they will meet the general. ”

"Very well, how is the grain and grass prepared?"

"About two months' rations." Jiang Wu's voice lowered, glanced at Meng Tuo and Fan Jin next to him, and didn't say anything more. Liu Xiu turned his head and frowned: "Only two months of grain and grass? ”

Fan Jin sighed helplessly, and Yu stopped talking. Meng Tuo stepped forward and persuaded: "My lord, relax, we are still thinking of a way." ”

Liu Xiu snorted unhappily, his originally good mood suddenly dropped a little, he forcibly suppressed his unhappiness, and entered the city accompanied by Meng Tuo and Fan Jin. Meng Tuo originally arranged a banquet, but Liu Xiu also pushed it away first, and asked them to take the account book first, and there was really only enough military food for two months for 10,000 troops.

Jian Shuo was very disappointed, even more disappointed than Liu Xiu, Liu Xiu now has a total of more than 20,000 Han and Qiang troops, but Liangzhou only has 10,000 troops for two months' military rations, even if you add the grain transported from Guanzhong, it will probably not exceed three months, can you take Baishi City in three months and kill Song Jian? It would take a month for this army to travel back and forth on the road.

"General, this is also a helpless thing, there are many cavalry under the general's command, accounting for seventy percent, the consumption of a war horse is equivalent to five or six soldiers, how many people are there in Liangzhou, I am already about to go to the people's homes to grab food, general, you have to leave them some life food, and leave some seeds next year."

"Don't say it, I never let you go to the people's houses to grab food." Liu Xiu interrupted Meng Tuo's words and tapped the account book with his fingers, "Take me to the treasury to see if there are really these numbers." ”

Meng Tuo patted his chest and said, "My lord, just look, if you have one grain less, you cut off my head." ”

Liu Xiu snorted, got up and left. Although Jian Shuo was so hungry that his stomach was croaking, he was also worried about the serious shortage of food at this time, so he hurriedly followed. He also knew that Meng Tuo had only gotten this Liangzhou assassin by going through Zhang Rang's door, for fear that he would rely on Zhang Rang's relationship to deliberately embarrass Liu Xiu, and greed for military rations from Mexico, which would affect his own meritorious service, but Meng Tuo really wanted to do this, what could he do? Can he contradict Zhang Rang for this?

Jian Shuo walked all the way and weighed all the way. After Cao Jie's death, Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong's status in the palace rose rapidly, and now they have become the leaders of the eunuchs, and their status is close to that of Cao Jie back then. Although he is also favored by the Son of Heaven, he does not have the same foundation as Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong, and he is not as smart as Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong.

When he arrived at the granary, looking at the tall granaries, Jian Shuo's heart rose to his throat, and he even regretted it a little, he felt that Liu Xiu brought him here, and it was likely that he would use his identity to dispose of Meng Tuo, if the amount of food was really insufficient, Liu Xiu could not go on the expedition, so what should I do? If Meng Tuo is not punished because of Zhang Rang's relationship, then Liu Xiu can push the responsibility cleanly, if Meng Tuo is punished, not to mention whether the food can be made up for this, just say Zhang Rang's side, how will he deal with it?

"Count." Liu Xiu pointed to the granaries and instructed the guards around him. The guards answered, moved over the ladder, climbed to a granary, poked their heads in, looked at it, jumped in again, and picked it up with all their might.

"What is this for?" Jian Shuo asked puzzled.

"Peel off the grain on top and see if it's real grain underneath." Liu Xiu introduced softly, "Some corrupt officials will mix grass or poor grain in it, and cover it with a layer of good grain, in order to get through the trick and see how they can find it." ”

Jian Shuo sighed, nodded again and again, but found that Liu Xiu's eyes were not on the granary, but secretly glanced at Meng Tuo and the others, and couldn't help but be a little curious, and hurriedly asked. Liu Xiu said with a smile: "The granary is so high, how can it be all opened, but as long as people have ghosts in their hearts, they will inevitably be a little nervous when they see our move." Flipping through the top is just a temptation, and if their eyes are not right, then we really need to find out. ”

Jian Shuo looked at Meng Tuo and the others, and saw that although they were in a heavy mood, there was no panic on their faces, and they didn't seem to be worried about Liu Xiu's inspection. He couldn't help but feel a little relieved, as long as Meng Tuo was not greedy for ink, he at least didn't have to conflict with Zhang Rang.

"My lord, I've checked it, it's all good food." More than a dozen guards came back one after another to report, and some of them still held a handful of golden wheat in their hands. Liu Xiu took it, put two into his mouth and bit it open, handed some to Jian Shuo and said, "Taste it, this is this year's new wheat, it tastes good." ”

Jian Shuo suspiciously took two pills and put them in his mouth and bit them open, and an indescribable taste spread in his mouth. At this time, ordinary people eat wheat directly to cook wheat grains into wheat rice, wheat rice and rice are different, can not be kneaded into a ball, the taste is very bad, Jian Shuo also ate it when he was a child, and was deeply impressed by the feeling of wheat grains scraping his throat. Later, when I entered the palace, when I ate wheat again, it was ground into flour, and now I suddenly tasted raw wheat, and the memory of poverty in my childhood suddenly came like a flood that burst the embankment, surging, and this memory came so suddenly, so violently, my nose was sore, and I almost shed tears.

"What's wrong? Not tasty? Liu Xiu laughed and threw two more in his mouth: "You have to get used to it, if you don't have time to cook on the battlefield, it is inevitable to eat raw wheat." ”

Jian Shuo shook his head embarrassedly: "No, I just remembered when I was a child." ”

Liu Xiu was stunned for a moment, then reached out and patted Jian Shuo's shoulder for comfort.

After inspecting the granary, Liu Xiu and the others returned to the Assassin's Mansion and enjoyed the reception banquet prepared by Meng Tuo, and the most talked about during the banquet was of course the question of how to raise food, the food was insufficient, and this battle was definitely unwanted. Jian Shuo couldn't do anything about it, and listened quietly on the side, he watched Liu Xiu discuss with Meng Tuo and others for a long time for military rations, but in the end there was still no obvious result, and he couldn't help but be a little worried.

But he also has no choice, Liangzhou is barren, this is a fact, with the existing population and arable land in Liangzhou, Meng Tuo has done his best to raise these grains. In the past, the conquest of the Qiang people was all allocated by the imperial court from the Central Plains, but now the imperial court has no time to take care of itself, and it has to rely on Sanfu and Liangzhou to raise it themselves, which is not ordinarily difficult. Although Guanzhong said that he began to Tuntian, this year's harvest was also good, but the money spent by the Son of Heaven on his western tour was all borrowed from Guanzhong Haoqiang with the grain harvested in the autumn as collateral, and now that the debt is repaid, there is not much left.

Jian Shuo thought of the grain sold to Nanyang again, and the green tendons on his forehead couldn't help jumping suddenly.

After the banquet, Liu Xiu and Jian Shuo sat opposite each other, drinking tea in silence, both of them were in a very heavy mood, and they were not even interested in talking. Jian Shuo was nervous, and finally couldn't help asking, "General Wei, what should I do next?" ”

Liu Xiu raised his hand, rubbed his eyebrows, and sighed: "The difficulty is even greater than I imagined." ”

"Then ......" Jian Shuo was so worried that he almost blurted out, but when he saw Liu Xiu's sad face, he didn't dare to say it again, he was really afraid that Liu Xiu would tell him that this battle couldn't be fought now.

"However, I promised the Son of Heaven to do my best, and I can't retreat before I see White Rock City." Liu Xiu said slowly: "I thought of Di Dao to see the situation." ”

Jian Shuo breathed a sigh of relief and didn't say anything more.

"However, judging from the situation of food preparations, if you want to break through White Rock City this year, it is really a little too reluctant, and I can't act rashly, after all, as soon as this army is dispatched, consumption is inevitable." Liu Xiu turned the cup in his hand and hesitated for a moment: "In case you can't act, in front of the Son of Heaven, please ask the adults to say a few kind words." ”

Jian Shuo said: "General Wei, don't worry, it's not your fault either. Your Majesty is also clear about the situation in Liangzhou, and he will not force General Wei to act against the sky. He forced a laugh, "After all, it only snows on this snowy mountain, not food." ”

Liu Xiu couldn't help laughing and praised: "Master Jian, you have the potential to be a general." Under such circumstances, it is not easy to be so easy. ”

"Really?" Jian Shuo was also a little proud, and he could get a compliment from Liu Xiu, he felt that he might really have some potential as a famous general.

Half a month later, Liu Xiu and his entourage arrived at Didao, Wuwei Battalion Captain Duan Xuan, Sima Jiayun, Zhangye Battalion Captain Guo Yan, Liangzhou Qiang Army's Tianlu Battalion Captain Tianlu, Golden Deer Battalion Captain Li Wenhou, and Winged Snake Battalion Captain Beigong Boyu have also arrived, and the camp is lined up outside Didao City, and the tents are like blooming mushrooms, decorating the grass that has turned yellow.

More than a dozen people sat in the tent, and when Sima Fu Xie explained the situation, the lively atmosphere of the reunion after the farewell suddenly disappeared, and everyone looked at each other, and their faces showed embarrassment. Three months of military rations, how could it be possible to break through White Stone City, at this moment, the Heavenly Wolf stood up: "General Wei, there is a news, I think it is better to tell the general first." ”

Liu Xiu glanced at him, was silent for a moment, and grinned bitterly: "It shouldn't be good news to see you like this, but people can't always pick good news to listen to, and cover their ears when they encounter bad news." You say, I'll see how bad it can go. ”

The wolf bared his teeth, revealing his flesh-red gums. "I went hunting in Xitian Mountain some time ago, and I heard that Song Jian was recruiting Qiang people from various tribes to help."

When Jian Shuo heard this, his heart suddenly chuckled, and he subconsciously turned his gaze to Liu Xiu. Liu Xiu was also obviously stunned, but soon regained his composure, but the worry in his eyes was even stronger. He turned his head and looked at Beigong Boyu and Li Wenhou: "Have you heard similar news?" ”

Beigong Boyu and Li Wenhou nodded in unison: "We have also heard similar news, but it has not been confirmed, and I don't know if it is true or not." ”

Liu Xiu said to Li Jun, the captain of the scout battalion: "Yifeng, immediately send out the scout battalion to see how many Qiang people are near Baishi City." ”

Li Jun bowed down and received the order: "Oh." ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, the times are difficult, Your Majesty is worried, and he is looking forward to our victory. Although Song Jian is located in the west, he is called the king, and he dares to call him the king of Pinghan, which is contempt for the imperial court. If we can't even exterminate him, where is the face of the court? Liu Xiu said unhurriedly: "Although there are many difficulties in front of us and the situation is very unfavorable to us, but to say a thousand things and ten thousand, the battle will depend on people in the end." There is no endless road, and I hope that you will work together, do not have any worries, and make bold suggestions, maybe we can find a solution to the problem. ”

Liu Xiu turned his head and smiled at Jian Shuo: "Master Jian, did you say?" ”

Jian Shuo nodded again and again: "General Wei is in adversity, but he still has the imperial court in his heart, and his ambition is unfalling, which is admirable." ”

The generals looked at each other, their mouths responding, but their morale was obviously insufficient.

Li Jun quickly sent back the news, the Qiang tribes of more than 70 people, large and small, and the army of 80,000, have now surrounded Baishi City tightly. Among them, there are not only the remnants of Zhongqiang from the Great and Small Elm Valleys, but also the Baimaqiang from Minshan Mountain that thundered in June.

Hearing the news, Jian Shuo was poured a basin of cold water from head to toe, and his whole body was cold.