"Grandfather, listening to your tone, it seems that what we have done is very unjust, right?"

Gao Hai's face suddenly fell, and he retorted to Zu Zhao angrily.

Zu Zhao snorted coldly, and said unceremoniously: "Since we accept the recruitment of the county government, we are duty-bound. Now you have not received any order from the county government to send you to return, you have not done everything you can to suppress the rebellion, and what is even more ridiculous is that you still do not think it is unjust. Truly shameless! ”

Gao Hai and the other riders were furious, and they all glared angrily.

A young man who couldn't bear his temperament stepped forward, raised the spear in his hand and pointed it at Zu Zhao, and scolded: "Ah, you stinky erection of the shaft, I will wait for you to give you three points before I call you Zu Gongzi, who doesn't know that your Zu Zhao is now a guilty body!" Hmph, even you, a yellow-mouthed erector, are qualified to teach me a lesson? ”

Zu Cheng, Gu Linar and the others behind Zu Zhao immediately stepped forward, and they also didn't give any good looks, pressing the blades around them one by one, and they had the urge to pull out the blades at any time. In the blink of an eye, the originally peaceful encounter formed a sword-like situation in the blink of an eye. Not only Zu Cheng and Gu Linar, who were close to Zu Zhao, but also the Xu Wuxian Volunteer Brigade in the rear, could only hear the sound of disputes in front of them, and they all looked like they were ready to make a move.

After all, Gao Hai and the others are few people, and even if all the volunteers in Wuzhong County are present, I am afraid that they may not be the opponents of Xu Wuxian's volunteers. The total number of thieves and volunteers in Wuzhong County is not large, and there is no strong support from a military family like Zujiazhuang, the number of knights alone is less than a hundred, and the weapons and equipment are not as good as Zujiazhuang. The atmosphere just changed, and the people who were waiting to be angry before suddenly changed their faces again, and they all subconsciously retreated for a while.

The young man with the gun felt threatened and realized that his companions were retreating, but he still had no intention of giving in. He let out a low roar defiantly at Zu Zhao, the anger in his eyes was enough to burn the rock to ashes in an instant, and even the pony seemed to feel the emotions of his master when he sat down, and hissed with a restless restless roar.

"Isn't it great that you have a lot of people? Hmph, I'm still afraid that you won't succeed. ”

This young man's figure is not a tiger's back, but it can definitely be called Kong Wu powerful. The green tendons on the forehead and arms are all raised, which shows that they are good hands with strength. Especially the low roar, although the voice is low, it exudes a wolf nature.

Zu Zhao couldn't help frowning slightly when he heard the other party's self-reported name as "Gao Huan", he remembered that Gao Lan, who was praised by later generations and called "Hebei Siting Zhu" with Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Zhang He, once used the name Gao Huan. It's a pity that there are few records in the history books about this famous general who can be called Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Zhang He, only that he originally served under Yuan Shao, and after the battle of Guandu, he was framed by Guo Tu, and in a fit of anger, he led the army to surrender to Cao.

Judging from the face and momentum of this person in front of him, it is quite similar to Gao Ran of the "Hebei Four Courtyard Pillars", anyway, there is no record in the annals of history where Gao Ran is from, or it is not impossible that he was born in Youbeiping County, Youzhou. He just heard that "Gao" is the surname of Wuzhong County, and there was Gao Hai before, and Gao Huan at this time, so it can be seen that the Wuzhong Volunteer who rushed to the county government this time was led by the Gao family.

In comparison, although this Gao Huan is the first person, knowing that the others behind him are retreating, he still does not lose his momentum, which is really more admirable than Gao Hai, who seems to be the leader.

Zu Zhao was very angry at the Wuzhong County Yiyong retreating without a fight, originally the county was in chaos, it was the lack of counterinsurgency forces, Wuzhong County Yiyong said much, but this retreat is bound to have a great impact. But even so, he didn't intend to intercept the team of Wuzhong County here at all, forcing them to return the way they came, it was nothing more than a few sarcastic words to vent his hatred.

He sneered at Gao Huan, and said disdainfully: "If you are so ruthless, it is better to go into battle and kill one or two traitors." Hmph, you have no end and no man, why should I have the same knowledge as you. You just have to go back to Wuwan and close the door to defend yourself, there are no eggs under the nest, and I, Xu Wuerlang, can help you fight for a few days of leisure as much as possible. ”

With that, he ignored these people and waved everyone to continue on their way.

I have to say that Zu Zhao's sarcastic words are simply to the bone and marrow, and Gao Huan, Gao Hai and others almost gritted their teeth. It's a pity that this is the case, they have already withdrawn from the county government, compared to these Xu Wuxian Yiyong, who knew that the road ahead was dangerous, but continued to rush to the county government without hesitation, they were really ashamed.

Originally, among the four hundred volunteers in Xu Wuxian, I heard that the county government had fallen into a heavy siege, and even the volunteers of Wuzhong County were so frightened that they fled back, and many people were more or less worried in their hearts. But it was precisely because of Zu Zhao's remarks that everyone was praised at once, and it was in front of the righteous and brave people of Wuzhong County, which was really happy, so instead of no one flinching, they were all in good spirits. When the team passed by with these endless county volunteers, they all held their heads high and looked high-spirited.

After Zu Zhao and his party gradually moved away, Gao Huan was really aggrieved in his heart, twisted his horse and came to Gao Hai, and said angrily: "Big brother, are we humiliating like this?" ”

Gao Hai stared at the figure of Xu Wuxian and his party that gradually disappeared into the distance, and he also had many thoughts in his heart. After a moment of hesitation, he sighed and said, "Xu Wuxian These people are just trying to save face, and when they go to the county government and see the trend of thieves, they will inevitably retreat." Hmph, we are not greedy for life and afraid of death, but the thieves are so powerful that they see that there are almost more than 10,000. We are only a few hundred people, if we can enter the city and help defend the city, but the problem is that we can't enter the city now, so why bother with a drop in the bucket! ”

Gao Huan was still unwilling, he didn't want to go home empty-handed like this, but he couldn't make his own decisions. At this time, Xu Wuxian and his party were humiliated in public, and they were even more passionate in their throats. He gritted his teeth and said, "What's the matter, it's just a rabble, aren't we even as good as those people in Xu Wu?" ”

Gao Hai's face was very bad, he glared at Gao Huan rather gloomily, and scolded angrily: "Do you have a part to speak here?" Now that I have decided, there is no need to say anything else. What can Xu Wu do with those people, wait until they can enter the gate of the county government. Hmph, who wouldn't say some cruel things now, if you really feel wronged, then simply follow them, but let you see with your own eyes how these big words go back on their word. ”

Gao Huan gritted his teeth, and was embarrassed by Gao Hai's reprimand, but he had no way to defend it, so he could only stubbornly press the stuffy breath in his stomach. It's just that for a moment, he really wanted to be angry, turn the reins and turn the horse's head, and chase after Zu Zhao and his party, no matter where Xu Wu's gang goes, so that he can prove that he is not a coward.

After Gao Hai said what he had just said, he kicked the horse's stomach hatefully, and continued to walk towards Wuzhong County with the others. The righteous warriors who were walking behind them hesitated, and their hesitation was naturally not whether to turn their heads and kill the thief, but they had not yet figured out what had just happened.

Gao Huan turned his head to look at the southern section of the official road, and then looked back at Gao Hai's back without looking back, and finally sighed helplessly, and followed in the direction of Gao Hai.

It was 19 February, and Pinggang County, the capital of Youbeiping County, was besieged by the Yellow Turban thieves for eight days.

The streets and alleys of the city are full of panic and turmoil. Everywhere you can see the figure of soldiers coming and going, running to the direction of the north city gate for a while, running to the direction of the south city gate for a while, killing the enemy in the east city yesterday, and rushing to the west city to help today. Everything is chaotic, and everything is so cramped and unsettled.

The more turmoil there is, the more rumors spread.

The people in the city are all anxiously concerned about the situation outside the city, how terrible those yellow turban thieves are, and when and when the county government will be able to repel these thieves. With the blatant declaration of rebellion on the sixth day of February, many things suddenly became a little unreasonable. Since Zonghai, Deng Mao, and Yuhu attacked Nancheng repeatedly, the common people have been aware of the growth of the thieves, and they are even more pessimistic about the conjecture of the thieves besieging the city.

This sentiment soon engulfed the entire city and continued to spread like a virus, even to the point of becoming entrenched.

From unoptimistic to disappointed, from disappointed to desperate, the change of mood is only a matter of time.

Even though the Taishou Mansion was still able to maintain its determination to live and die with the city, the daily reports of war damage and internal attrition would add a bit of dilemma and frustration to this determination. It's like a person who is extremely resolute, suffering mental torture all the time, and the devastating feeling of despair approaching is devouring everyone's will as if it were being savored.

Strictly speaking, the defensive strength in the city is not the biggest problem, and when it comes to the critical moment of a battle, the Taishou Mansion can order the whole city to go up to the city wall at any time to defend against the enemy. Although there are only just over 10,000 households in the entire Pinggang County, a considerable part of them have long since fallen outside the city, but the population in the city is still as high as 17,000 or 8,000. The traitors besieging the city were all peasant rabble, which was comparable to the fighting power of mobilizing the common people in the city to participate in the war.

However, the real problem is in the area of food and grass.

The siege of the city is not about dividing troops from all sides to attack the city gates, consuming the city's defenses, and waiting for an opportunity to rush into the city gates. The real purpose is to cut off the material aid in the city until the necessary materials for the survival of the city are exhausted, so that the fortified city is self-defeating. This is obviously easier than risking a siege without sophisticated siege equipment.

The current reserve of grain and grass in the whole city of Pinggang County is extremely limited, although the Taishou Mansion has made corresponding preventive preparations in advance long before the city is trapped, on the one hand, it asks for help from the state capital and neighboring counties, and on the other hand, it collects the surplus grain and grass in the whole city for emergencies. But after all, the time was too short, and the grain and grass were robbed when Wen Chou led the army to the expedition before, so he couldn't get his wish after all.

According to the latest estimate of the Taishou Mansion, I am afraid that the existing grain and grass in the city can only last less than a month and a half, and this is still under the premise of ignoring and underestimating some of the people in the city who need relief. It is conceivable that in the next month and a half, if the besieging thieves do not retreat, people will inevitably starve to death.

Liu Cheng, the eldest prince of Taishoufu, was very worried about all kinds of situations in the city, but he still had some hope in his heart.

In his opinion, Yuyang County will inevitably send reinforcements to support as promised, and at least try to find ways to provide some grain and grass for Pinggang County. Although such an idea has been questioned and refuted by many subordinates no more than once or twice. As early as when Pinggang County had not yet been completely sealed by thieves, the state government ordered several times that all the grain and grass allocated and supported by Yuyang County had problems without exception.

Zhao Yu, the county leader, would talk about this matter almost every day, the purpose was to advise the eldest prince Liu Chengwan not to place too much hope on Yuyang County, and the top priority was to contact the volunteers of the counties in the county, and it was best to organize several counteroffences to try to open up the channel with the outside world. Not only Zhao Yu meant this, Wen Chou, Zhou Zhi and others were also in favor of trying to take the initiative, once the siege was too serious, the deeper it became, there would be no chance to turn the tables.

What's more, everyone has already noticed that the eldest prince Liu Cheng has no sharpness at all, perhaps because of the scholar's character, or because he has the so-called only hope in his heart.

In the evening of this day, Zhou Zhi, Wen Chou and others rushed back to Taishou Mansion from the front line.

The two fought bloodily for a whole day, except for Zhou Zhi's slightly better situation in Xicheng, Wen Chou didn't have time to change his clothes and armor, and his body was covered with some bloodstains. As soon as the two of them crossed the threshold of the front hall, they heard Zhao Yu, the county magistrate, Shi Sun Gaozheng, and Liu Cheng, who lived behind the big case, arguing.

I only heard Sun Gao persuade hard: "Liu Gongzi, this matter must not be allowed, this, isn't this equivalent to self-destructive strength?" ”

Zhao Yu sighed, his face was grim, and he said solemnly: "I really don't know why Gongzi suddenly has such a thought, the army in the city is already in short supply, but he still has to divide troops to do such a meaningless and risky thing!" ”

Liu is over twenty-five years old, with red lips and white teeth, and at first glance he is a pampered son who has never suffered any hard work. He and Zhao Yu and Sun Gao had been arguing about the matter in front of them for a long time, and they had impatient thoughts at all, and after listening to Zhao Yu's words, he was angry for a while, and said angrily: "You, hmph, are you going to be angry with me?" One by one, I have been telling me to send troops to break through the siege all day long, and today I asked you to come to discuss this matter, and I tried every means to dissuade you. Why, isn't it that the words are playing tricks on me? ”——

[Hebei Siting Pillar is a concept in Zhang Guoliang's commentary on the Three Kingdoms. He was the four generals under the account of Yuan Shao, the great warlord who seized Hebei in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the four bravest generals in Hebei. They are Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Gao Ran. During the modern Republic of China, bandits took this as the basis of the historical background and developed an internal organizational system with four beams and eight pillars. In the Three Kingdoms period, it was regarded as the four fierce generals under Yuan Shao, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Gao Lan. and eight famous strategists Tian Feng, Fu Zhu, Xu You, Feng Ji, Guo Tu, Xian Pei, Xun Chen, and Xin Bi (Xin Xianying's father). 】