As the snow melted, the fighting took a sharp turn from late March.

The tactics of Jiangdu Jianbi Qingye are based on defense and prepare for attrition for a long time. The Luoyang Army and the Beiwang Army had a strong momentum after capturing Luozhou, and the first round of offensives was the most violent. In less than ten days, more than a dozen cities north of Jiangdu fell, and several more surrendered without a fight.

At the same time, with the cavalry of the Northern King Army as the leader and the Luoyang Army cavalry as the auxiliary, a large-scale raid and disturbance battle also began.

The cavalry of the Northern King Army fought with the Xianbei people all the year round, and it was also considered brave, and the cavalry came and went without a shadow and no wind, and for half a month, they disturbed many cities in various parts of Jiangdu and looted a lot of war resources. And Jiangdu's unstable strategy also made these cavalry unscrupulous, outside the city, they can also plunder the population, like bandits, many residents originally thought that they could live outside the city to survive, but in the end they found that they had to enter the city to seek refuge.

With the influx of a large number of people into the city, another wave of migration came from the entire Jiangdu land. This time it is not the migration of the family gate, but the migration of ordinary people, the people will be plundered outside the city, and they have to enter the city, but the city has a certain load, so many people enter the city, and the general city can't accept it, even if it is reluctantly accepted, there are difficulties in resettlement.

On the one hand, there is constant harassment by the enemy, and on the other hand, the people need to be resettled when they enter the city. The people dragged their families to move the entire village or even the entire area, and when they arrived in the city, they could only temporarily build houses to shelter from the wind and rain, and even thatched huts could not be built in poor conditions. And their food and drink are also a problem, and they can't move much food after all. When they got to the city walls, if they didn't have three meals, they would make trouble.

As the population of the city increases, law and order becomes a major problem.

From late March to early April, the Dongwangfu had to face a direct problem, in addition to the rebels' constant nuisance close to the Jiangdu city, and the displacement of people from all over the country. The local government continued to complain about the Dongwang Palace, hoping that the city gate could be closed and the people would not be allowed to enter the city again to increase the pressure.

But the Dongwang Mansion ordered that the people could enter the city, because Han Jian didn't want to give up these people in Jiangdu. Lose the hearts and minds of the people.

Refugees move into the city. The burden of material demand in the city has intensified, food prices have soared again, and the prices of other daily necessities have also risen. Although it is not the first time that Dongwangfu has dealt with such a problem, this time the problem is even more tricky. Because this time there was really no food. It's not like last time, someone is hoarding.

Han Jian at this time. It's also a bit of a mess. The situation of the war is deteriorating, and there is news of the loss of the city almost every day, and the burden on the local area is heavy. The entire Dongwang Mansion has been unable to make ends meet.

The supplies that could have been used for half a year have now been exhausted in just over two months since the official start of the war, and the real war has not even begun. If it goes on like this, Jiang has not been breached, and he has already thrown himself into chaos, waiting to be slaughtered.

The Dongwangfu held a meeting and discussed many countermeasures, but none of them were feasible. Raising supplies has become the biggest problem in dealing with the embarrassment at present.

The temporary resettlement measures made by the Dongwang Mansion were to first respond to the increase in refugees with military rations in each city, and to open porridge fields in each city to help the people. This only temporarily relieved the pressure on the people, because the grain was decreasing day by day, and the grain for the new year could not be sown, just like the surplus grain of the landlord's family, which would always be eaten.

By the beginning of April, Han Song's family mentioned to Han Jian that he could "borrow grain" from the folk gentry through guò connections. was vetoed by Han Jian.

First of all, the relationship between the Eastern Wangfu and the gentry was very unfriendly because of the previous "borrowing grain" from the Southern Qi, and now rashly borrowing grain will only make the gentry think that Jiangdu is unsustainable, and there is a great possibility of change.

Han Jian believes that at this time, Jiangdu's grain stocks can still hold out for a while, and before the war becomes more embarrassing, it is necessary to stabilize prices first and not bring some bad news to the people.

After all, Han Song's clan couldn't calm down the big and small troubles in Jiangdu now, so they had to listen to Han Jian first.

At this time, Zhu Tongjing, who suffered a secret loss in Jiangdu last time, stepped across Jiangbei again with great fanfare and came to Jiangdu to "send an envoy".

Zhu Tongjing did very quickly this time, and on the third day of the announcement of the envoy of the Southern Qi Dynasty, on the sixth day of the fourth month, he had already come to the city of Jiangdu. Although Han Jian had received the letter of state from Nanqi in advance, he was still a little surprised by Zhu Tongjing's "hurry", Zhu Tongjing arrived in Jiangdu in just over two days after entering the border of the Wei Dynasty, during which it can be said that there was no rest, Han Jian suspected that he simply rode a horse and ran non-stop for thirty hours.

This time Zhu Tongjing came, in terms of the size of the envoy was much larger than the last time, only Zhu Tongjing and a few entourages entered the city in the early stage, and then came, including the deputy envoy and the entourage, as well as the accompanying guards, there were as many as two or three hundred people.

In terms of reception, Jiangdu's specifications have also been improved. After all, when the Wei Dynasty was in turmoil, Southern Qi, as the Wei Dynasty's biggest enemy for a long time, sent envoys to Jiangdu, which meant to show goodwill, and also made the people feel that the situation might develop in a better direction.

On the ninth day of April, Han Jian met with the envoys of the Southern Qi Dynasty for the first time, and as a formal diplomatic meeting between the two countries, the two sides were in the mansion in the east of the Jiangdu City, that is, at the residence of the provisional imperial court.

There were not many people brought by Zhu Tongjing at this meeting, there were more than a dozen people, and they were all officials called by Nanqi. Among these people, not all of them are from the Empress Dowager of Southern Qi, but also from Xie Rumo's party, from this point, Han Jian can feel that this envoy of Southern Qi is in the name of the Qi Dynasty, not from Zhu Tongjing and the Empress Dowager Party like last time. And Xie Rumo, as a representative of the main battle faction of the Southern Qi Dynasty, was willing to send envoys to come, which should have made compromises to the Empress Dowager Party in some aspects.

Although Han Jian doesn't have much experience in diplomatic talks, he can handle it easily.

Zhu Tongjing was very good at diplomacy and brought a lot of gifts, and the whole meeting was as if Zhu Tongjing was giving gifts. There are for the empress, there are for the East King, there are for Han Jian's aunts, and there are also for Han Jian's newlywed wife, because Han Jian's aunts and wives are numerous, and the gifts have to be given several times.

Han Jian's "enthusiasm" in the face of Zhu Tongjing can only be regarded as a microcosm of Zhu Tongjing's insidious cunning. Anyway, it doesn't involve major events between the two countries, and he "laughs" about how many gifts he gives.

The first meeting did not yield any results, and Zhu Tongjing only presented his credentials, saying that this visit was just an ordinary "friendly visit." But even Bai Ding, who was illiterate in Jiang, also knew that the people of Nanqi had a different purpose for coming this time.

Because of the last time I borrowed grain, many people wondered, did Nanqi send Zhu Tongjing to come this time to receive the city that was exchanged? If Nanqi took over the city, would it send troops to garrison it? At that time, will the soldiers and horses of Southern Qi be ready to aid Jiangdu to defend against the rebels, or will they carve up Jiangdu with the rebels?

There is a lot of discussion among the people, and naturally they can't find an answer.

After the meeting, Han Jian returned to the Dongwang Mansion, and Han Song and Han Cui had been waiting for Han Jian for a long time.

"What is the surname Zhu going to do?" Han Cuishi asked angrily.

Han Jian took a moment to say: "It's not what Zhu Tongjing wants to do, it's what Qi people want to do." The last time they came, they offered to let us join Jiangdu, but I refused. This time, they came, probably for this reason. ”

Han Song and Han Cui were a little shocked, although they had also expected that the people of Nanqi might have a non-part of the mentions, they didn't expect this mention to be so direct.

The last time Zhu Tongjing came, the war in Jiangdu had just started, and it had not yet reached such an urgent point. This time Zhu Tongjing came, the cavalry of the Northern King Army had harassed the city of Jiangdu many times, and the times had changed, and Han Jian expected that Zhu Tongjing would also come with confidence.

Han Songshi asked, "Jian'er, if you feel embarrassed, leave the matter of receiving the envoys of the Qi Dynasty to Taifu Gu." You can take care of military affairs with peace of mind. ”

"It's okay Erniang, I can handle these things." Han Jian said, "Now we can't be allowed to refuse directly, Qi Chaozhong, Xie Rumo and his party have long had the intention of going to war, and this time taking advantage of the civil strife in our court, they can't wait even more." If we give them a chance, it will be very bad for us to be attacked on our backs. ”

"Then drag the ...... first," Han Cuishi said, "The envoy is in my Jiangdu, don't believe that the Qi people dare to send troops?" ”

Han Jian sighed slightly, now that Zhu Tongjing came over this time, it was no longer a simple persuasion, but a threatening envoy.

If Jiang does not agree to his conditions, whether he leaves Jiangdu or not, the Qi people should still send troops.

But Han Jian expected that the possibility of Nanqi sending troops was not big so far.

The main reason is that the war in Jiangbei is still in a stalemate, although Jiangdu looks very wolf under the tactics of the strong wall and clear field, and the whole battle situation is also in the point of being passively beaten. But this does not mean that Jiang Du has no possibility of turning the tables in this battle.

Because at this time, the rear supply pressure of the Beiwang Army and the Luoyang Army was greater, and the Beiwang Army and the Luoyang Army went deep into the hinterland of Jiangdu, which meant that the logistics supply line was longer, and it was more likely to be cut off from the grain route.

"Whether the Qi people send troops or not now will not affect our Jiang for the time being." Han Jian said.

Han Cuishi was a little puzzled, Han Song pointed at Han Jian, and said, "Listen to Jian'er." ”

Han Jian continued: "Now that my Jiangdu is closed, even if a million troops arrive, killing you and me in the land of my Jiangdu, there are two worlds inside and outside the city walls. As long as we can keep the city at peace, we can ignore the enemies outside the city. ”

Han Jian said it easily, but Han Song and Han Cui listened not easily.

It is said that it can be left outside the city alone, but the enemy army really kills it, harasses it day and night, and has to defend the city to deal with the rebellion inside the city, how can it be so easy?

Han Jian only said a general truth, the reason was to reassure Han Song and Han Cui.

"If it really doesn't work, the grain that I didn't borrow last time will be borrowed this time." Han Jian finally said.

Han Song and Han Cui both glanced at each other, although it seemed easy for Han Jian to say this, but they knew that it was so easy for the people of Nanqi to be willing to submit and obediently borrow grain? How many cities can be exchanged for food? (To be continued......)