The weather was already terribly hot, and with the continued severe drought, the sun was even more unbearable. However, in the fields near Yecheng, countless people sweated like rain and buried their heads in the fields. Most of the millet had been harvested, and the stubble was all over the ground. With the footsteps of the scythe ahead, groups of women and children followed behind, picking up the fallen ears of grain before the birds. No one has the energy to care about other people's affairs, and the crops in front of them are the lifeblood of their livelihood.
A loud noise rang in his ears, and a villager looked up at the official road next to him. I saw hundreds of ragged men walking towards the city ahead under the guidance of officers and soldiers. Logically speaking, ordinary village households may not be able to see so many strangers in a few years. Who doesn’t stay in their own fields, facing the loess and turning their backs to the sky for a lifetime? However, this large-scale flow of people did not arouse his surprise, just a glance, and the Nong Han resumed his hard work.
This situation has been very common in recent months. There are disasters everywhere, and there are Hu locusts crossing the border in Yuzhou and Yanzhou. It is said that no grass can grow. More than a hundred people escaped? Earlier, there were people who worried that so many refugees would take away their food rations. Now it's just a casual glance, and at most one sigh, it's too late.
Yes, if you came early, maybe you can still get the job of repairing the city, and now it is estimated that it will be taken to repair the road. Is the road easy to repair? I'm afraid it's a hundred times more tiring than farming!
It's better to be in Yecheng!
Wu Yu, who was walking in the crowd, couldn't hear such a voice. Wearing a tattered shirt that was almost the same as the others, he carefully buried his head to hide his surprise.
Who would have thought that such a scene could still be seen in such a life-threatening disaster
The fields were full of golden ears of grain, and carts after carts of grain were transported to the city. Tall waterwheels stand in the distance, and the canals are vertical and horizontal, and most of them are trickling. Even the farmers who harvested the crops looked much better. This is more than not starving, it's almost like a good year!
Just like that, Yecheng is still taking in refugees? How much grain should there be in the city? Wu Yu's eyes showed greed.
As the general expected, it was really good!
This Wu Yu is one of Shi Le's confidants. At the beginning of the uprising, he was one of the "Eighteen Horsemen". After several fights, half of the brothers who rebelled with Shi Le were killed or injured, but he survived by luck and became a general in the army. After all, there are very few Jin people among the Eighteen Horsemen, and he is more likely to command the refugees and surrender his troops as he has no facial features.
For Shi Le, who is like a benefactor, Wu Yu has always been obedient. And this time mixing with the refugees is precisely for the next goal of the general: Yecheng.
Wu Yu had also fought Yecheng and was a member of the vanguard army, so he was very familiar with this city. It was only when Sima Teng didn't dare to defend the city back then that he quickly lost. If it is really defended, this is the number one fortified city in the North, how can it be easily broken? However, it is not possible to attack hard, but it is not impossible to take advantage of it. If he could sneak into Yecheng and seize the city gate when the general was attacking the city, wouldn't the siege be easy
Therefore, Wu Yu led 800 cronies and mixed into the refugees. In order to pretend to be a real refugee, he brought his subordinates with accents of Yuzhou and Yanzhou, and avoided the cities of Jijun and Dangyin, and went straight to Yecheng. This journey took three or four days. Every day, I could not eat enough, sleep uneasy, and mixed with the refugees, just to make my subordinates more like the people who suffered from the disaster. Now that he was at the foot of Yecheng and was stopped by the soldiers, he was not afraid in his heart. There are 2,000 refugees in this industry, who can see their purpose
Wu Yu hid the pride in his heart, like other frightened and hungry refugees, and walked forward with the brigade. However, it was not the same as imagined. The group of people were not arranged to enter the city immediately, but went to the nearby field in a group to start building roads.
"This is your shovel. If you break it, you won't be able to eat! Go dig sand!"
As soon as he arrived at the place, a small official stuffed the wooden shovel over. Being pushed and staggering for two steps, Wu Yu's heart agitated. He is a general in the army, how many people are stalking, eager to get closer to him, how long has it been since he was treated so weakly? But for the sake of the task, Wu Yu didn't have any seizures, and obediently followed the foreman to the side and started digging sand.
Because of the redistribution, there were only about thirty people left with his cronies. Wu Yu didn't even bother to contact other people, he buried his head and dared to live. Building roads is not an easy job. Grinding stones, dredging sand, and stirring the dusty soil, I worked from dawn to noon, and I was so tired that I was sweating all over my body, and the food in my hands was just gooey in wooden bowls. The bran inside was not completely removed, and the mouth hurt when eating. However, with this kind of thing only suitable for feeding horses, the refugees beside them all devoured it and ate it with gratitude.
Wu Yu had nowhere to vent the anger in his stomach, and he was so hungry that he could not eat, so he could only swallow it. After eating hastily, he rested for another half an hour and resumed his work. Just work from morning to night until the end of the work and return to the grass shed to rest.
I haven't done farm work for a long time, my hands are aching from grinding the wooden shovel, and my shoulders and back are rattling. Wu Yu lay in the haystack and gritted his teeth secretly. Endure this time, and when the generals come to summon their troops, they will be able to make meritorious deeds. As a general under Shi Le, he is also very aware of the practices of the Bingzhou family. Whenever an enemy came, the first thought was to gather the nearby people into the city. The kindness of this woman will eventually bring disaster to Yecheng...
Secretly fantasized about how to enter the city to loot, how to seize the silver, and the legendary Shangdang brocade and white porcelain. In the pain all over, Wu Yu quickly fell asleep.
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"It's time to come, it's finally here." Ge Hong breathed a sigh of relief in the Yecheng prefect's mansion.
For this day, he has been anxious for a long time. Since taking over as the prefect of Wei County, Ge Hong has also tried his best to manage this county. Yecheng is close to the Zhangshui River. After the opening of sea trade in Jizhou, it became an important road connecting the east and the west. I don't know how many cargo ships transit from Yecheng every day. With the soaring business tax, Ge Hong was able to free up his hands, dredge the canals, and build a water moat, so that Ye Capital, which was broken that day, was restored to the atmosphere of Wei Shi.
It is precisely because of the solid work done that when the severe drought came, the impact on Yecheng was reduced accordingly. It has also become an important place for sheltering refugees.
It's just that the people need to be protected, and the jackal cannot be unguarded. Wei County, where he is located, and several nearby counties, are close to Yanzhou. The Shi Le army entrenched there has always been a big problem for his confidants. Gathering fields and raising soldiers, building forts and walls, Ge Hong did not make less preparations, and even made the settlement of refugees a lot more detailed to avoid spies from sneaking in.
These, of course, kept Yecheng safe. But the drought continued, and the situation became more and more deteriorating. How could a thief be able to prevent it? A new military order came from Jinyang.
"Since the spies have sneaked in, within five days, Shi Le will send troops." The man sitting beside him said, "This time is a good opportunity to annihilate the thieves, and we must have the help of Taishou Ge."
"This subordinate officer naturally knows." Ge Hong said, "With General Yi in charge, Yecheng will have no worries."
Sitting in front of Ge Hong was the right Sima of Bingzhou, the Zhenwei general Yiyan. Being able to command the three armies of Shangdang and having the strength to survive a hundred battles, Ge Hong was relieved when he came to Yecheng to sit in town.
It is precisely because of this that the strategy set by this staff headquarters can be realized.
In fact, Shi Le's movements have always been under the monitoring of Xinling. When he left Yuzhou and turned to Sizhou, he immediately reported military intelligence. The rest is not difficult to speculate. Ye City is not an easy city to break through. Using traitors and civil strife is the best way to attack the city.
Even if they were all Jin people with similar accents, the physique and temperament of refugees and thieves were very different. Therefore, when the spies sneaked into Wei County, they were identified immediately. Ge Hong did not hesitate to divide and isolate this group of people. It seems that they are all building roads, but these spies have already arranged a lot of Xinling followers. Once Shi Le strikes, most of these spies will be scattered into the nearby Wubao, where they will be dealt with on the spot. Only a few can actually enter the city and use it as bait.
This strategy is not without boldness. But in the face of an enemy like Shi Le who is cunning and capable of fighting, and who is good at running and attacking, it is the best way.
"I'm afraid the pressure of this battle is not small. The important task of defending the city must be entrusted to Taishou Ge." Yi Yan did not mean to relax. This time when Shi Le joined the bandits, he would not only bring 20,000 to 30,000 people, but probably a large army. The strategy of enticing the enemy has always been accompanied by a lot of risks, so we must not be careful.
"Don't worry, General! The city defense of Ye City was built by me, and I won't embarrass the General!" Liu Gong on the side opened his mouth and accepted this sentence.
This was a bit rude, but Ge Hong did not get angry and smiled: "What Captain Liu said is very true. Ye City is not what it used to be, and it is definitely not something that tens of thousands of soldiers and horses can break through. In this battle, it is up to the general. Decisive!"
He is not afraid of defending the city, but to defeat the enemy, Yiyan needs to lead his troops. If this group of thieves who are comparable to locusts continues to flee, the threat to Sizhou and Jizhou is too great, and it is time for them to stop.
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Day after day, Wu Yu worked so hard that he hardly had time to rest. The road is astonishingly long, and it seems that it will never be repaired. He was anxious and annoyed in his heart, and opened his eyes every day, hoping that the army would crush the realm. However, the real wait until that moment is six days later.
The wolf smoke flew away, and the alarm bell roared. The construction site, which was originally a pool of stagnant water, also panicked. The little official who led the team was quite calm, and immediately gathered the crowd and ran towards Yecheng. Others who were far away also evacuated towards the nearby Wubao.
Wu Yu was overjoyed, his team actually went to Yecheng! In this way, wouldn't it be right in the middle? After giving a few glances to the cronies in the team, he suppressed the excitement in his heart, and stepped into the tall city wall of Ye City with the flow of people.
"Someone will arrange for you to be in the outer city. Once the enemy attacks, they will help the soldiers to carry the rolling woods, buckets and other defensive equipment. Don't worry, you will not be allowed to go to the top of the city."
They are all refugees who have suffered from soldiers and bandits, and now they encounter an enemy attacking the city, how can they not panic? Hearing the small school so comforting, everyone gradually calmed down. Wu Yu remained silent and followed the brigade to the shack under the city.