…
April 22, Liulicheng.
Nan Zhen was lying on the city wall, looking at the smoke rising from the Han army camp in the distance, and couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
The same is true for the surrounding noble widow defenders. They look very weak. Many of them have irregular signs of swelling on their arms and cheeks due to a long-term lack of salt intake.
Everything that has happened today has completely changed from the moment we entered Liuli City.
First of all, there was the food problem, which quickly became apparent after the army entered Liuli City.
In fact, Bai Qi's calculations were indeed conservative. Due to the lack of oil and water, a widowed soldier consumed two liters of rice and wheat a day, about three kilograms. The food consumption of 650,000 soldiers alone was a full 13,000 liters a day. stone.
The 280,000 stones of food and grass that the army brought with them when they entered the city had been exhausted a month ago, and they still relied on killing horses to survive until now.
But now, the horse meat has been eaten up, and everything edible in the city has been looted. Even the nobles in the city are starving.
In fact, when Nan Zhen saw that the Han army was so strong, he entered Liuli City, intending to wait until Bai Qi ran out of food and retreat before attacking decisively.
But I never thought that Bai Qi's army was not short of food, and the main force of Guiwu fighting at home was already in a situation of food shortage.
The fall of Turbine Fortress directly caused the rear supply line to be completely cut off by the Han army.
In the final analysis, Nanzhen was still underestimating the enemy. If a portion of the 600,000-strong army were divided and set up camps along the way to coordinate with Turbine City, there would be no possibility of running out of food.
But it's too late to say anything now. The 600,000 soldiers under him are starving with him. If he doesn't find a way, even if Bai Qi doesn't attack, these hungry soldiers with green eyes will take the initiative to mutiny.
"Alas~ Bai Qi bullies people too much!"
Nan Zhuang scolded angrily, turned around and walked down the city wall.
And what he saw along the way were hungry defenders who were no longer human.
"We can't go on like this with Bai Qi. Once hundreds of thousands of people mutiny... I will never allow such a thing to happen. I will take the initiative and take advantage of the opportunity now!"
Nanzhuang's eyes were firm and he made up his mind immediately.
"That's it. In a few days, we will have a showdown with Bai Qi!"
…
It was lunch time in the Han army camp.
"Look at this sheep, it's really fat."
Tian Yan tore off a freshly roasted lamb leg, smiled and greeted Lu Yu and Xia Yu, then took out his dagger, cut off the meat from the lamb leg piece by piece, and then dipped it in some salt and the bean paste that he brought with the army. , it tastes extremely delicious.
Xia Yu just finished eating half of the mutton leg until only the skeleton was left, sucked his greasy fingers, and smiled at Tian Yan with a satisfied look on his face.
Lu Yu wiped out the minced mutton in front of the plate, then grabbed a bottle of water and poured it into his mouth. He then stroked his long beard to ensure that it was not too greasy and would affect his image.
And in the best position, the appearance of King Huai Wei Ji was simply insulting to the gentleness.
I saw him holding the roasted leg of lamb, which was charred on the outside and tender on the inside, and started to bite it. The way he looked at it was like the reincarnation of a hungry ghost.
On the other hand, Bai Qi was a lot more polite. He basically didn't touch the minced mutton that was delivered to him, and just drank the freshly brewed hot tea.
After a long time, the sound of chewing in the tent gradually subsided, and these Han generals gradually recovered their magnanimity and dignity as superiors.
Bai Qi asked: "Is there any movement among the noble widows in the city?"
Tian Yan: "Reporting to Commander Bai, hundreds of thousands of troops are still huddled in the city. My subordinates sent out several waves of scouts to investigate, but they are unable to know the specific situation in the city.
However, even if it is impossible to detect the specific information in the city, it can be analyzed from the surface that the life of the noble widow army is very difficult.
At least, Mo Jiang hasn't seen smoke burning on the city wall for a long time. "
Bai Qi smiled and said: "Isn't this nonsense? You will burn smoke after running out of ammunition and food? Unless you are hungry and ready to eat people."
Xia Yu took the words: "Commander Bai, my subordinates have ordered people to throw letters of surrender into the city to disturb the enemy's morale. I believe it won't be long before someone takes the risk and surrenders. Then ask them about the situation in the city. Do you understand everything?”
Tian Yan looked suspicious and asked, "Will you really come to surrender? What if they decide to fight our army to the death?"
Bai Qi shook his head: "If there are only thousands or tens of thousands of defenders in the city, this strategy will have little effect, but if hundreds of thousands of people are in desperate situation at the same time,
This kind of fight to the end is absolutely impossible. After all, in that situation, no matter how good the general is, there is no guarantee that he can continue to restrain his subordinates.
The noble widow army cannot, even if our Han army encounters such a situation, there is no guarantee! "
Lu Yu expressed his approval: "I understand what Commander Bai means, so the troops will stay here and wait for the widow to surrender."
Everyone agreed and felt that the most appropriate strategy at the moment was to wait for work. Anyway, there was enough food and grass, so it would not be a problem to spend a few more months.
At this time, Wei Ji spoke: "Hey, the generals are about to perform meritorious service. I am very happy in my heart. However, it seems a bit redundant for me to go out with the army this time."
Bai Qi heard this and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, please don't say that. After defeating the enemy, how to appease the remaining countries around your widow will require your full help."
Wei Ji narrowed his eyes and said, "Well, I don't have the power to restrain a chicken. How dare I deal with a group of barbarians?"
Bai Qi: "Oh~ Your Majesty, please stop being so modest. Your Majesty has already mentioned that your Majesty's negotiation skills are the second among all the big men, so no one dares to compete for the first place.
After the noble widow is defeated, Dashi, Anxi and other countries will definitely come to inquire about the latest situation of our army. It is not a problem for us and other military personnel to go into battle to kill the enemy.
But I’m afraid that negotiating with others is nowhere near as good as the prince’s case…”
"Hey, hey, it's easy to talk..." Wei Jile said with a smile, "This king is very helpful to me, so I will reluctantly do it and talk to those barbarians when the time comes."
"Thank you, Your Majesty..."
"Easy to say, easy to say..."
And what Wei Ji was thinking about was how to make a huge profit from the group of countries in Zhongzhou that were trying to avoid rat attacks.
This was Liu Ce's tacit approval. As long as Wei Ji could extort money from foreign countries or enemy troops... Oh, no, it should be said that the money obtained from filial piety can be at Wei Ji's disposal.
Wei Ji also followed Liu Ce over the years, and got a lot of money under the false pretence of the fox and the tiger. However, in the end, all the money was taken away by his princess Shen Bi. Even the real estate shares and shop shares were firmly controlled by Shen Bi.
Then, the monthly pocket money he received was only two silver dollars.
And if you want to get these two silver coins, it depends on Wei Ji's performance. Even if he gets it, he will be asked where he will use it...
In other words, Wei Ji was busy and lonely. Although the family was rich, it was more honorable for the family to respond before and after going out.
But... this doesn't seem to have anything to do with me.
Because I am still very poor, I always eat and drink when I go out. As a prince, what can I do with two silver dollars a month? This made him very unhappy, very dissatisfied, and very unbalanced.
So this time, he had decided to make a fortune for himself, and even if he died, he would not let Shen Bi know about it.
At this time, someone outside the tent came to report: "Reporting to Commander Bai, two noble widow soldiers have come to surrender!"
