Food is in short supply, but Shacheng is fortunately still stable, and everyone has been busy for five days, listening to the news on the front line wall every day, it is still calm over there, and the task of gathering the people in the city is almost completed.

After Ruan Mianmian got up that day, he went to the main hall with Mu Ruqing, Jiang Xinyue and Liu Xin'er for breakfast as usual, and the dishes did not change much, one scone for each person, half a bowl of gruel, and two small dishes.

As soon as Ruan Mianmian came over, he noticed that there was a shiny and golden roast chicken leg in his bowl, and the dripping fat was stained on the mouth of the bowl, which was full of aroma, which made Ruan Mianmian, who had not eaten meat for a long time, squint excitedly.

However, Ruan Mianmian still raised his head and asked Mu Ruqing with some doubts: "Brother Mu, what's the matter, add me a chicken leg for no reason?" Then she saw Liu Xin'er and Jiang Xinyue on the side covering their mouths and smiling, and she understood something: "Okay, you all know, but I don't know." Say it quickly, talk about it quickly, and recruit it from the truth. ”

"Mianmian seems to be really tired these days, and I have forgotten my most important birthday, silly girl, you are in time today!" Liu Xin'er couldn't hide her words, so she said it immediately, and stretched out her finger to scratch Ruan Mianmian's nose, her face full of spoiling.

"Hee-hee, I forgot, thank you for bothering to think about it, but the current situation is not good, how can I be embarrassed to monopolize the chicken thighs by myself, it is better to take a knife and cut it into four parts, and each of us can taste it." Ruan Mianmian instructed the maid to get the knife, and she sat down beautifully.

She said that she cut it into four parts, because Ruan Bai is now also following Lu Gui and them to the front line to defend the city, where Ruan Bai is always idle, and he can't go to his heart, so he volunteers to follow people to do some odd jobs on the city wall, which is better than being served in the mansion.

The chicken leg was clamped out and cut, Ruan Mianmian personally divided the largest piece to Mu Ruqing, and gave the other two pieces to Jiang Xinyue and Liu Xin'er, and put the piece with the bone in his bowl, and licked his lips with satisfaction.

Now it's not the happy days when I used to eat a lot of fish and meat in a good taste, the support of the capital is used to intercept the main force of the barbarians, and the supply of grain and grass doesn't know which year and month it can be delivered, to put it mildly, maybe those old fritters in the court are waiting for Shacheng's request for help before they will shoot, otherwise, it can be inferred that they don't know that Shacheng is in trouble, and they are left to fend for themselves.

Ruan Mianmian took two mouthfuls of rice, and he didn't feel very comfortable thinking of this, and he didn't know if the queen mother and the emperor in the palace had received the news of Shacheng, would they know that the wedding party was still in Shacheng? Or, two county lords and one prince, is it enough for them to send a large army to consume the treasury to rescue?

Ruan Mianmian recalled the bits and pieces in the palace, the emperor and the queen mother were indescribably considerate and doting on them, but in business, they were not biological after all, even if they were related, all dynasties and dynasties would inevitably send the princess to thousands of miles away to be with her, Mu Ru had warned her early in the morning that she could enjoy all the benefits of her status as the county lord, but she could never really regard herself as an important person in the palace.

Shaking his head, Ruan Mianmian decided not to think about this, although it is an important day for girls, but now that Shacheng is besieged, even food and clothing are barely satisfied, they can remember, and they have prepared chicken legs, which is already extremely careful.

"Oh no, no, no, the front line is urgent!" Before everyone had eaten a few bites of food, a herald rushed in, shouting loudly before entering the door, and everyone was used to it, almost at the same time put down their chopsticks and got up to let people clean up the table, and then sat up straight to listen to the herald's report.

"What's going on, tell me in detail." Mu Ruqing tapped his fingers on the table, and called for someone to bring a bowl of water to the sweaty soldier to drink.

The soldier drank a bowl of water, only then did he ease his mind a little, and quickly said the news: "Oh no, the barbarian soldiers have changed their siege strategy, moved the team forward a little, and now they are stationed on the other side of the moat, and they no longer use the original way of attacking the city gate, and began to send many soldiers who can swim to cross the moat directly, and then climb the city wall, trying to capture the city, our soldiers have prepared the usual strategy, who knows that they can't deal with it at all!" ”

"What's the usual strategy?" Jiang Xinyue was a little anxious, her hands were clenched into fists, revealing her blue and white joints, which showed how anxious she was.

"Usually, the people under the city tower boiled hot water and sent it to the city wall to be poured, and then the mace that carried wood and smashed nails drove away, and the archers released arrows to force the enemy soldiers back, but they came prepared, and they took turns to fight, and every time they charged, they stopped and rested for a while, so that within two days, our weapons would be exhausted!" The heralds knew that the situation was urgent, so their eyes were full of anticipation, and now everyone knew that these people were the highest authorities in Shacheng except for the generals, and many novel and practical methods were come up with by them, if they had no choice, then they could only wait for Shacheng to be breached.

"It's a tricky thing, if they cross the moat in waves, it will not only broaden the surface of our defense, force us to invest more manpower, but also quickly consume our material reserves, and when we are weak, they will attack the city in a big way, we will definitely not be able to resist, the barbarians are really a good calculation!" Mu Ruqing slapped the table angrily, thinking about what to do.

"Brother Mu, this matter can't wait, you have to come up with a countermeasure and implement it immediately, a delay may affect the overall situation!" Ruan Mianmian looked serious, and raised his eyes solemnly, but he happened to see a maid passing by with a tray outside the door.

"Wait, you come in." Ruan Mianmian beckoned, called the maid in, and asked, "What are you doing here?" ”

"Back to the county lord, it is the rattan grass and spices used to smoke the room." The maid bowed her head and replied.

"Vine grass..."Ruan Mianmian muttered for a moment, but did not make a sound, nor did she let her leave.

Ruan Mianmian knew about rattan grass, which grows in arid places in the north, with small pointed leaves and long branches, crawling in the sand, and can survive as long as there is a little water. The vine grass branches and leaves are small and bitter, so they can't eat or weave things, but some people find that this grass has a faint and fresh aroma, and it is even more fragrant after ignition, as long as it is used to smoke the house, keep and remove all the smells, leaving only a fresh and refreshing grass fragrance, and later the nobles in the capital like to buy rattan grass, which is why Ruan Mianmian will see it.

"Mianmian, when is this, you still care about this, hurry up and find a way." Liu Xin'er shook in front of her eyes, and her voice was anxious and worried.

"Brother Mu, Sister Yue, do you remember when I was in Yipinxiang in the past, I mistakenly drank water soaked in rattan grass?" Ruan Mianmian suddenly raised her head, her eyes brighter than the stars.

"Of course I remember, when the little palace maid finished smoking the house for you, she accidentally fell the ashes of the vine grass in the teacup, and you drank it without paying attention, and the result was sore and weak, we thought it was Liu Xi'er who hurt people again, and asked the doctor to come to know that it was the rattan grass juice that was ingested by mistake, but fortunately, this thing is only slightly poisonous, and it will be no problem to cultivate for a few days." Liu Xin'er told the matter again, but she didn't think it had anything to do with defending the city.

"Yes, at that time, the doctor said that although rattan grass is good, it is slightly toxic, if you eat or touch it for a long time, you will feel itchy, your hands and feet will be weak, and your skin will not feel it." Ruan Mianmian nodded, "Now it seems that rattan grass is a good thing." ”

"Oh? How does this say? Mu Ruqing seemed to think of something, and squinted her eyes and motioned for her to continue. According to Ruan Mianmian, rattan grass should be a natural anesthetic in ancient times, and this thing is only used to smoke the house, but it is overused.

"Rattan grass is the most common in Shacheng, there is naturally no shortage in Shacheng, if the ashes of rattan grass are mixed in hot water and sprinkled in the moat, the barbarian soldiers will not be able to detect it at all, so that when they attack the city, they will inevitably drink and come into contact with the rattan grass unconsciously, and the rattan grass will work quickly, I think they will not have the strength to climb the wall even if they swim through the moat, so that our time and energy will not be too tight." Ruan Mianmian's eyes were firm, she thought this was the best way.

"It's really a good way, herald, I don't know if there is enough vine grass in Shacheng, it will be difficult to tolerate?" Jiang Xinyue nodded frequently, and asked in more detail.

"County Lord, there are not many plants in our Sand City, except for vines and grasses everywhere, and when I came, I saw that there were still some growing under the walls of the General's Mansion!" The herald was grateful to see that they had an idea so quickly.

"Well, then, send an order out at once, so that the people who are now at home will do their best to collect vines and grass, and pay a lot of rewards, and send them to the city wall every time they get together, and let people boil water when they boil it, and then splash it into the moat. If the effect is too slow, scatter the ashes of the vine grass directly into the moat. Jiang Xinyue glanced at Mu Ruqing and knew that he was also in favor, so she immediately gave an order.

"By the way, do we have a well or a river in our city that is connected to a moat?" Mu Ruqing raised his eyebrows, as if he felt that this was not fast enough, and thought of other methods.

"Yes, there are a few abandoned wells near the city wall that are connected to the moat, and then because a lot of new wells were drilled, and the water from those wells was sweeter and clearer, so gradually no one used them, so they were abandoned there."

"Listen to me, pour the ashes of the vine grass directly into the well, and then tell the people not to use the water in it for the time being, since these wells and the moat are interconnected, it will inevitably affect the entire moat, and the speed is faster." Mu Ruqing finally smiled, and the whole person was a lot more relaxed.