The concubines in the palace still had time to fight and scheme, which shows that the army's attack on the city was not going smoothly.
But the defense of the city was not going well either - the military discipline of the Royal Guards had been lax for a long time, and although they were large in number, their combat effectiveness was ridiculously poor. Especially when Gu Xiaode was unable to suppress them due to his lack of noble birth, he raised a new Xuanjia Guard and relied on the Xuanjia Guard to gain a foothold. Firstly because of his past grudges and secondly because of his limited energy, he paid little attention to the soldiers and generals in the Royal Forest Army except the Xuanjia Guards.
This not only caused the soldiers in the Imperial Guard to be incompetent, but also the officers to be ignorant.
Later, the Grand Master took the lead and asked the nobles in the city to gather all the private soldiers and guards who were looking after their homes and courtyards, and then dispersed them and incorporated them into the imperial army. Relying on the training and teachings these private soldiers and guards received on a daily basis, they were able to barely hold their ground, which shows how desolate the Imperial Guards are!
This is the city, let’s talk about a few Qinwang’s troops.
The nearest army was that of Su Xiuming and Shen Zang of Yanzhou, which was guarding Yanzhou. It was composed of 20,000 Xiliang troops and 40,000 Donghu troops. In terms of combat strength, it was the elite of the Wei Dynasty today. But the number is too small! And they still have to defend Yanzhou. Even if they desperately want to rescue the imperial capital, they can't get away at all.
In addition, it would take some time for most of Donghu's troops and Xuanjiawei to arrive.
The problem was that even after the day when the two parties were expected to arrive, there was still no sign of anyone.
Xuanjiawei's side was easy to guess. It was probably due to bad luck. When he received the news, he was already engaged in a fierce battle with the refugees and couldn't get away for a while.
But on the Liu family side... Even the Taiwei couldn't guarantee it when asked privately by the Grand Master - Ordinarily, for such a big thing as the imperial capital being besieged, the army in Donghu should not only be dispatched in full force, but at least most of the troops should be mobilized immediately to serve the king. . After all, the Liu family is still the ministers of the Wei Dynasty, and there are still many Liu family members in this imperial capital!
Even though Weiyuan Hou and the Taiwei had an old grudge, aren't Liu Xixun's family, the younger generation whom Weiyuan Hou had cultivated for many years, still in the imperial capital
However, the water inside and outside the city was blocked, and the soldiers were attacking the city every day. The soldiers on the city never noticed any abnormality in the rear of the soldiers in any direction. What on earth is Marquis Weiyuan thinking... At this point, who can not be suspicious
The Xuanjia Guards only had one hundred thousand men, and the baggage they brought was only enough for a few months. They had also fought a battle in Huaxian County, and it was hard to say how many people and baggage they would have when they returned. Without the rescue from Weiyuan Marquis, the imperial capital could only hope to survive the long journey of the Xiliang army. And there are thousands of miles between the imperial capital and Xiliang. After the news was passed, the army could not just set off. It also had to choose its generals, select soldiers, pack bags and prepare food and fodder...
This is if there is no delay over there.
You must know that Mingpeitang has been fighting for more than ten years after Shen Xuan took over. Now all the prestigious people in Mingpeitang's sect are not in Xiliang. What if the tribesmen there have their thoughts... It's hard to say.
The Qingzhou Army may not sit back and watch this situation, but the Qingzhou Army itself is not very easy to escape - Zezhou has not been defeated so far.
Therefore, while the grand master ordered to conceal the fact that King Qin's teacher was late, he privately ordered to collect food in the city and divide it uniformly.
This latter decision was opposed by many people: "People are afraid that this will cause chaos."
In fact, this is only one reason. The other reason is that how can Li Shu have much food in his hands? Those with the largest food reserves are those from high-ranking families. Therefore, after besieging the city, they could still live in fine clothes and fine food. If they are collected together, even if they are allocated more money than the common people, it is better to hold it in their own hands with peace of mind and freedom.
The grand master knew their mentality well and said calmly: "Now that there is chaos, the food reserves are still abundant, and we can still suppress it! If we don't control it, if the Rong people still haven't retreated after a few months, how can we continue? In the end, this city still needs to rely on People are here to guard! If the food in Li Shu's hands is exhausted, how can he be willing to die? If he doesn't give them food, there will be chaos! It's better to exchange food for work and let them help build fortifications in the city, and follow the soldiers in their spare time. The soldiers are training, and the soldiers can be replaced, and it is also for future preparation... Can such a great emperor rely on just a few of us and private soldiers? If it can be done, then it will be up to you! "
He also said that the Duanmu family would take the lead in handing over the stored grain, "and the medicinal materials accumulated by the granddaughter will also be handed over for public use."
Speaking of this, the other companies were silent for a while and then they all agreed one after another.
After all, what if the Grand Master is right and the imperial capital is besieged for a long time? If we don't save some food now, what will we do in the future? A group of people born in Jinxiudui cannot bear the cruelty of cannibalism - if they can bear it, they have to consider their many children and grandchildren.
But a promise is a promise, and the bulk of it has been handed over. No one can be so stupid as not to leave some backup.
But this has played a great role in appeasing the people in the city. Seeing the carts of grain being delivered to the warehouse, piled up like mountains, everyone from the clan to the common people felt at ease despite their panic.
But those people are careless, thinking that it seems that so much food can sustain them for a long time.
People who know how to settle accounts can't rest at ease. Wei Changying looked at the meal reduced to four dishes and one soup on the table. Without moving the chopsticks, he frowned: "Even if it is reduced to this amount, according to the food stored in the warehouse, I'm afraid It will be enough to support the whole city for seven months. After seven months, the Ruorong people still haven't retreated..."
"In seven months, aside from other things, our Xiliang army will definitely arrive." Huang comforted her and said, "After all, the Fifth Young Master and the eldest Sun Young Master are both in Xiliang, not to mention our Young Master is not in the imperial capital either. ! Since the Rong people have heavily besieged the imperial capital, how can they still besiege Yanzhou? Our Lord can definitely break out and join the Xiliang army. Are we still afraid that the Rong people will not retreat? "
Wei Changying thought that even if her husband wanted to join up with the Xiliang army, it would only happen if the Xiliang army arrived nearby. Otherwise, with the few troops Shen Zangfeng has, he can still keep Yanzhou City safe. But the army of Xiliang... She and her husband had stayed in Xiliang for a few years, so she didn't know which of the tribesmen there were not careful
Even Shen Youjia, who had been the captain of Xiliang for more than ten years, was the same.
Shen Cangji and Shen Shuming were both young and spoiled, with insufficient talents. They had not been to Xiliang for many years, and had never experienced war. They had no prestige or foundation there at all. Before, I was respected only because of my father and brother.
If those uncles and uncles have different intentions and join forces to trick our sect...
If he had not considered this possibility, how could his father-in-law Shen Xuan agree to the Grand Master's request? The Shen family brought out the most food this time, because in preparation for the arrival of the 60,000 Xiliang troops, the Shen family had already raised a batch of food and prepared it for fear that the court would delay the supply of food.
Although most of this batch of grain and grass was placed in the manor outside the city, it was also full in the mansion and several other courtyards in the city.
These were all bought by the Shen family themselves with their own money.
If he had confidence in the Xiliang army, Shen Xuan would not pay attention to the Taishi's request.
The biggest hope of the Shen family now is that Shen Zangfeng will not be trapped and die in Yanzhou. In this way, even if Shen Zangji and Shen Shuming were unable to persuade the Xiliang army to leave, Shen Zangfeng could still rush to Xiliang himself. With his prestige in the Xiliang army and the orthodox status of his sect, it was possible to suppress those tribesmen who had dissident intentions and lead a large army to rescue them.
Of course, this time has gone by for a long time - not counting how Shen Zangfeng escaped from Yanzhou.
It was with this in mind that Shen Xuan handed over 70% of the stored grain, hoping that the capital would last longer until his son came to rescue him.
Wei Changying thought about all the messy news he had heard in the past two days, and felt his heart heavy.
After eating and coaxing her two sons for a while, she heard from her servants that the dewdrops had come again.
"Ask her to come in." Wei Changying knew the reason why Luzhu came, and after summoning her, Luzhu cried and asked to come back and become a maid again - she had even asked for it from Nian Chuanxu.
What's the reason? Luzhu said it was because Nian Shenghe had forgotten her a long time ago. Secondly, she was now bullied in the Nian family's backyard. Even the help that Wei Zhangying asked Ni Weiyi to send every month was being bullied from time to time. People stole and robbed... So now she thought it would be better to come back and serve Wei Zhang Ying.
Wei Changying felt guilty for giving the young and beautiful dewdrops to Nian Yuxuan, who knew that he would like the new and dislike the old. Now after hearing the request, he sighed and agreed, saying: "Let Aunt Huang give it to me later." You arrange your errands and go find a place to stay at the back first.”
Lu Lu was so happy that she hurriedly kowtowed to her before leaving.
For Wei Changying, this was just a small matter, but what he didn't expect was that in the next few days, her other dowry workers in shops, inns and other industries, as well as the sons of the Shen family with some respect, all found reasons to want to enter the inner house. Serve.
"Nowadays, every household in the city has limited food rations, but it doesn't mean that people are not fed enough?" After the leader of the Wei Dynasty inquired about the reason, he frowned and said to Huang, "What do they mean? Isn’t it possible that Li Shu hasn’t started to stir up trouble yet, but they did it first?”
Huang sighed: "Right now, there is nothing. But there are rumors in the city that the Taishi ordered the collection of grain reserves from various families and distributed them uniformly. It is because this siege of the imperial capital is not as the madam said before, it will be very serious. It's about to be lifted, but I don't know how long it will be besieged! But the food in the city is always limited... Now it's still being distributed to Li Shu. Once the food is about to be exhausted, it will definitely take care of the clan and high-ranking families like us first. So they are begging to come into the house to serve me, so that they can get the moon first when the time comes."
After a pause, Huang continued, "Maybe Luzhu had this idea, so he went to ask Nian Shengxu for a body bond and came back to Jintong Courtyard."
Wei Changying was silent for a moment and said: "The Rong people are foreigners after all. They have been besieging the city for so long, and the people of Wei Dynasty are not dead. How can we allow them to run wild in the land of Wei Dynasty? These rumors are all nonsense."
Huang asked: "What about these people?"
"You are confused as everyone else says!" Wei Changying turned the bracelet on his wrist and said in a deep voice, "Tell them what I just said and ask them to calm down! After all, they are also servants of our family. There are many common people outside looking at them. What about them! Everything in the city is fine now, what are they causing trouble? Luzhu is a special case... If the people outside are upset because of this, don't expect me to say a word for them!" (To be continued)