Chapter 187

Spring has arrived.

The first to notice this was not the farmer on the field of Qingzhou, not the soldiers on the head of the plain city, or even the wild goose quietly returning north, but Fang Ping, a small official who was tired of the city.

This small city located in the easternmost part of Leling is cold and cold, and Fang Ping, who has lived here for generations, has long been accustomed to this kind of life. The proximity to the sea meant that the land was not fertile, and there was not as much food as in other parts of Qingzhou, so they had to bear the modest taxes and the rulers' insatiable demand for seafood. Like other small cities by the sea, they have to hand over a lot of dried shrimp and salted fish every year, and if any nobleman, whether he lives in Luoyang or Qingzhou, gets a beauty who needs pearls to set off his beauty, or if this nobleman himself is such a beauty, then these small towns also need to send a large number of fishermen to the sea to collect pearl mussels.

The poor people would go out to sea before the weather warmed, jump into the biting waters, dive to the bottom of the sea, hold their breath, and search for pearls and mussels inch by inch, which was indeed a life-and-death work, some of them went down shortly and returned empty-handed, some of them might have some gains, and some of them plunged headlong into the sea, and it took a long time for them to come to the surface, and even when the wind and waves came, even their pearl-diving boats would capsize.

So Fang Ping would sigh, one sympathizing with the poor fishermen, and the other sympathizing with himself, because he had to constantly search for the fishermen's family whether there were any children who were adults and could go to the sea, and to drive them away, and continue to collect pearl mussels for the nobles.

Those who lived in the broken shacks by the sea were driven by leather whips, scolded, and under his watch, one by one walked onto the fishing boats, praying that the sea god would let them come back, but perhaps it would be better not to return.

Maybe there is a brand new country on the other side of the sea, which can keep these people fed and clothed, and no longer be bullied and frightened, as for whether to reach that country through the belly of a fish, or a light boat, Fang Ping's knowledge is not very deep, and he does not know the answer to this question.

Whenever he received such a job, Fang Ping would secretly go to the winery two streets south of the county government to get a little wine to drink, no need for any snacks, just a plate of salt beans, drinking a little turbid wine can calm his mood better, and then continue to go back to face these trivial matters that he needs to deal with every day.

But this spring is different.

The plain city sent some craftsmen to build grain cellars in the city, these grain cellars are about three zhang deep, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, with green plaster mud as the bottom, tiles covering the roof, and neat workmanship. The officials from Pingyuan City conveyed the meaning of the nobles, first build forty pieces, and if it is not enough, then build sixty pieces.

Before that, the most arrogant people in the city only hoarded three taels of rice. You must know that a single piece of rice is about 3,000 stones, and ordinary people will never see so much food in their lives!

In order to rush the work, almost all the civilians inside and outside the city were requisitioned to repair the grain cellars, regardless of gender, so that the countryside that had experienced a war became more lonely, only the old man and the child walked on the fields, and even the cooking smoke gradually went out.

But for those fishermen, this labor is probably not so difficult, Fang Ping thought, at least they don't have to be driven to the sea to pearl diving.

They only need to build those dozens of granaries step by step, driven by the foreman, and then slowly move the grain from the plain country and the grain from the grain ships that are tired of going south into the granaries.

…… If there is any difficulty in this errand, it may be that one day in the future, these men will need to transport grain to the north-southeast North Sea, where an army of more than 10,000 men has slowly been gathered on the border of the North Sea, and they need supplies, just as babies need their parents.

But babies don't thank their parents, and Yuan Tan doesn't care about the fate of these people in the past, present, or future.

Compared with the people who are tired of the city, the people of the city don't seem to have a better fate.

This small city is located in the northwest of Beihai country, only more than 200 miles away from the plain, when Yuan Tan attacked Qingzhou last year, the warriors in the city of Qiancheng have already run almost, some went to Xuzhou, some went to Yanzhou, and some did not wait for Yuan Tan to call, and they ran to Jizhou. When those warriors left, they naturally did not go on the road alone, but also took their servants and even their subordinates. Therefore, when Lu Hangyu took over this small city, it was really sparsely populated to a certain extent, there were young and middle-aged people, but there were not many, but there were many old people who couldn't hurry.

The Han Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, but when life and death were at stake, scholars were allowed to bring their elderly parents, but those servants were not allowed to bring their parents, leaving them to stay in the cold home and endure the long winter.

You Heng, who was sent here, wanted to scold those selfish and ruthless slave owners, but he really couldn't spare the time-

He needed to buy time, and he couldn't waste an hour, and when the snow melted and the earth warmed up, he had no time to sit in the pavilion like he did last year, admiring the snow, eating barbecue, and doing a job.

When Yuan Tan's army crossed the Yellow River and entered the Beihai, Qiancheng was the first small city they saw, and Lu Xuanyu asked for reinforcement of the city defenses, the walls were seven feet high, and the additional trenches had to be dug, these requirements were not easy for Qiancheng, so You Heng felt particularly tricky.

Tian Yu and Tai Shi Ci had different opinions on the issue of Qiancheng's city defense, and even in the afternoon when the willow tree gradually became a little green, gently swinging its branches, and wanted to ask people to stop and take a look at its beautiful figure, they did not notice this beautiful scenery at all, but were engrossed in trying to convince each other.

"The Qingzhou Plain is thousands of miles, there is no danger to rely on, you have 100,000 soldiers and horses along the river, and Yuan Tan can also bypass Yanzhou," Tai Shici said, "At this time, the recruitment of people to reinforce thousands of times is just a drop in the bucket in the overall situation." ”

"Even so, it can frustrate its sharpness," Tian Yu said, "Drama City, Lonely City!" There are only a thousand arch guards, how can they not be defended? ”

"Yuan Tan bypassed, what is the use of your fortification?"

"Can't you fight on both sides?"

"How many soldiers and horses do you have left in the city to dare to go out of the city to attack Yuan Tan?"

The two men argued for a moment, then looked at her.

She was silent for a moment.

Beihai County is a drama city, this city was repaired by her in the autumn and winter of last year, and now the spring has begun to reinforce again, although it is not as good as Chang'an in Luoyang, and it is not as good as Shouchun Yecheng, but it is still a strong city.

There are three years of grain stockpiles, thousands of elite soldiers, and the support of the two counties of Langya in the East China Sea, although the Beihai Xiang Kong Rong did not succeed at all in defending the city, but he stayed here anyway and did not ask to escape to Xiapi, so Lu Hangyu barely added one more, and it can be regarded as a passable county guard.

But this is far from enough, because the terrain of Qingzhou is very unfavorable for her.

This is a vast plain, divided into two by the Yellow River at will, the north is the plain, the south is the North Sea, and it is difficult to see even a dirt mountain on the land of thousands of miles, so this is the place where the army fights a decisive battle, and it is impossible to rely on the right time and place, and it is impractical to use other small cities to defend the drama city and block the offensive.

Imagine that there are only two cities on the plain of a thousand miles, the first one is built impregnable, but it has no value, and all the valuable loot is in the second city - who will fight the first city? Three-year-old children also know how to detour.

Just like Tai Shi Ci and Tian Yu argued, unless a soldier and horse were placed in Qianchengli, then they suddenly rushed out to attack Yuan Tan's army on both sides, but a new problem arose:

Yuan Tan himself has 5,000 soldiers, 5,000 new Qingzhou soldiers, Yuan Shao transferred 5,000 Xiongnu soldiers with him, and Lu Hangyu has a total of 5,000 troops in his hands, how else can she divide the troops?

But she was reluctant to give up the thousand times.

Except for the water in front of the city, the drama city is a lonely city on the Beihai Plain, and she needs to mobilize all resources and make all preparations.

…… And one more important thing.

"Isn't it time to harvest the wheat?" She asked suddenly.

Tian Yu and Tai Shici glanced at each other.

"The sun has not yet arrived," Tian Yu said, "and there is still more than a month." ”

Tai Shi Ci smiled, "If the winter wheat is about to ripen, how can Yuan Tan endure it?" ”

Yuan Tan was indeed thinking about this question.

He asked the farmers from Beihai about the ripening time of the winter wheat, and then began to study the itinerary for this trip.

The Qianli Plain of Qingzhou means that there is no shortage of farmland here, and as long as there is a war, how can the people afford to support themselves. Although the successive years of attacking, resulting in "no grass in the wild", he has indeed never entered the North Sea, and the farmers here can still reclaim the wasteland peacefully, sow seeds and harvest, so there is farmland in the North Sea, and there is also grain.

The winter wheat still has more than a month to mature, and this road really does not need to be walked for a month to walk, and it is not yet March, and the weather is still a little cold, and it is also a hard thing for the soldiers to go out at this time.

Yuan Tan thought of this, got up from the very thick fur, and walked out of the Chinese military tent.

The ground was still a little hard, but the soldiers had come out to drill and smash on the ground. Many people's faces have frostbite that has not disappeared, and the cold wind blowing in early spring makes it stand out.

He watched the camp in silence for a moment, until the guard standing in front of the tent door spoke carefully.

"General, the wind is biting, be careful of catching a cold."

Yuan Tan turned around and glanced at the guard.

He was dressed in half-used leather armor and wore a pair of halberds at his waist, and he was about thirty years old, when he was healthy.

But even such a sturdy guard had such striking chilblains on his face, brown, with a small opening and a new pink flesh mixed inside.

I don't know why, an inexplicable emotion suddenly rose in Yuan Tan's heart, like guilt, like anger, but more like excitement.

"Do you want to go home?"

The guards were stunned, "General? ”

"You haven't been home for more than a year," Yuan Tan said, "the army is about to leave again, do you want to go home?" ”

There was no hint of anticipation on that face.

"Where the general is, the villain is there." The guard said.

The people who can follow Yuan Tan have more or less figured out the temperament of this eldest prince, and they can also guess a little bit of his thoughts.

If this guard was really grateful and prostrate on the ground, wanting to solemnly thank the eldest prince for his grace, then what Yuan Tan gave him would definitely not be what he wanted.

He had killed two of his own guards with his own hands, and after that, all the guards knew how to respond to the monarch's words—no matter what they thought in their hearts.

But Yuan Tan didn't realize this at all, he felt that the guilt and anger in his heart had been transformed into a high spirit.

"You're good," he grinned, "and when I conquer Beihai, the golden silk children in the city will be at your disposal!" ”

"The villain doesn't dare!" The guard hurriedly saluted, "As long as you can follow the general, the villain will be satisfied!" ”

Although the expedition was hard at this time, Yuan Tan thought, but his soldiers did not resent him, they were so loyal, so combative, and he would repay them wholeheartedly - he took a deep breath of the still cold air, which seemed to have a trace of blood and scorching after the destruction of Beihai City.

…… That's the smell of the victors.

Yuan Tan was sure at that moment that he would not wait for the winter wheat in Beihai to ripen, he wanted to come to the city, while attacking the city, while harvesting the winter wheat, his strength was several times that of Kong Rong Lu Lian, he did have this confidence.

The young general withdrew his gaze from the guards.

"Pass the order down, raise the account!"

Chapter 188

When the people gradually gathered in Qiancheng, and this dilapidated small city was gradually repaired and reinforced, showing a different spirit, the nearby merchants also followed into this small city, some of these people sold firewood, rice, oil and salt, and some sold cloth, they looked tall, short, fat and thin, and their clothes were gray because of travel, so they did not look eye-catching.

Several sheep dealers, driven dozens of sheep, also followed them, waiting slowly to be inspected before entering the city, the leader of them was a tall and thin middle-aged man, this man was dressed in a torn leather jacket, his complexion was sallow, and his high cheekbones were stained with two red marks, which were indeed traces of the wind and sun outside, and he habitually put his hands in his sleeves, and looked a little looped when he walked. Only he did not drive the sheep, but led a horse.

Such a merchant leader was usually very talkative, so he walked to the trench that was being dug, and the polite conversation of the same overseer did not attract anyone's attention, and even the little overseer did not find it unusual, but was more than willing to inquire about the movement outside because he had come from afar.

Where did he come from?

He came from the direction of Jishui.

Why came out?

When they heard that there was going to be a war, everyone rushed out.

Where did Yuan Tan's army go?

He didn't know either, but along the way, he could always see the knight galloping on Pegasus, and he didn't know which side it was.

What's new?

When it comes to this, he knows a lot. The sheep dealer's eyebrows fluttered, and Yuan Tan took a fancy to the beautiful daughter of a family in the plain, because he was violent, and the girl was angry and committed suicide by throwing herself into the river, and was rescued by a young fisherman, which caused a series of bizarre incidents.

These things are not at all close to the war on the plains, but aren't they more true? A sheep dealer knows what war is? Does an overseer know what war is? After they had listened so attentively to his few vulgar and obscene stories, even the guards of the city, who were checking on the rest of the merchants, felt very familiar with this man, so they did not examine him very closely, but after receiving him a few dozen of the money to enter the city, they let him and his shepherds into the city with their flocks.

The sallow-faced man entered the city without looking back, nor looking around, his steps were steady, his eyes were very plain, and occasionally he would turn around in front of the stalls selling goods, and from time to time he would come up to ask the price, and from time to time he would hear others ask him about the price of those sheep.

"I'm going to the theater with these sheep," he said, "and the nobles here are almost gone, where will anyone buy my sheep?" ”

"Not necessarily," said the zealous idler, "how do you know that you have been ordered to repair the city, and that he does not want to buy these sheep?" ”

"Him?" The yellow-faced man asked curiously, "Can he make a good price?" ”

"He has the money to repair the city wall, how can he not have the money to buy your sheep!"

So the yellow-faced man nodded in agreement, "Dare to ask, how can I meet that you to do it?" My women and children are still outside the city, and they walk slowly, but these beasts cannot stand the hunger, and now the grass does not grow much, so they can only hurry forward, alas, if they can sell this flock of sheep, alas, alas......"

His face was full of the sincerity and hope of the northerners, and no one could doubt that he was now full of only one thing, and that was what price his sheep could be sold.

In fact, this yellow-faced man doesn't care about any of this at all.

He didn't care about the flock, and there were no women and children outside the city, he called himself Wu Si, but even the name was fake.

In fact, he didn't want to fake his name, but his name was so awkward that anyone could tell that something was wrong.