Obviously, the epidemic in Henan will not only affect the two states of Yan and Henan. Diseases also appeared in Hebei and Qingxu. A large number of people died in fear, and this year's harvest was also significantly reduced.
Then came another locust plague, with swarms of white-feathered borers rising from Hebei and circling across the entire Central Plains. It was like a gust of pale yellow wind blew up, covering the surrounding fields densely. Farmers may be running around in the fields with brooms, or gathering grass stalks together to light up big smoke, but it's all to no avail. Even the billowing smoke clouds appear small and powerless among the locusts, let alone the farmers. . They could only watch as the locust wind circled for a while, and then blew away to the southeast, leaving only stalks and grain debris on the ground.
In July of the first year of Huangchu, Qi and Han arrived at the most difficult time in the famine year. The autumn grains were almost eaten by locusts, and the official and private food reserves were also exhausted. The Cang army could only survive by frequently fishing for fish and shrimp in the rivers and the East China Sea.
In desperation, Guan Hai had to send people with heavy money to buy grain from Yuan Shao, but the water from far away could not quench his thirst nearby. Guan Hai ordered Fu Zhu, an army commander, to lead the surrounding believers to dig wild vegetable roots in the mountains and forests for food. As time passed, most of the trees in Qingzhou were skinned and cut off by people, but everyone was still hungry, just as if they were withered.
In mid-August, a meteor fell from the sky into the Guishan Mountains, and suddenly there were fires and wolves howling. Everyone in Linzi City saw it, so they spread rumors: "Could it be that our country's destiny has come to an end? Will it be destroyed soon? In this case, it is better to ask for surrender to the west as soon as possible!" Others said: "Not necessarily In this way, it is impossible to say which noble person passed away or which noble person was born!"
But no matter what, this matter greatly troubled the Linzi court, and Guan Hai had to summon his subordinates to discuss how to overcome this difficulty. Tao Qiuxiu thought about it for a long time and suggested to Guan Hai: "Da Sima, a meteor falling to the ground, according to my Taoism, is a sign of the rise and fall of yin and yang. It is also a time when the two qi are fighting. I think this is a warning from the sky. Da Sima It’s time to make up your mind.”
Guan Hai's face was gloomy. He tapped the scabbard of his sword with his hand and said in a deep voice: "You mean, it's time for us to fight to the death? If I don't even obey God's will, then I can't blame others when I die?"
Tao Qiuxiu nodded and said: "Yes, the west has already captured Yuzhou. If it weren't for this year's famine and they come with huge troops next year, can we stop them? Although we are suffering now, the west is suffering even more! This is the last good thing. What a chance! We can only survive if we press the entire army and fight to the death. Once the other side regains its breath, we can only wait to die."
Li Feiyan, who was listening in, took a deep breath, and then asked slowly: "We are just waiting for the weak to attack the strong, what kind of fighting method should we use? If we force the battle, there will be no good ending, right?"
These words caused everyone to think deeply. Yes, they all know the bravery of the Westerners, and their equipment is far more sophisticated than them. How can they win?
Teng Dan suddenly said: "There is indeed a chance."
Guan Hai looked up at him and asked, "What opportunity?"
"Humph," Teng Dan showed a smile. It was obvious that he had thought it through at this moment and felt that his idea was brilliant. He said to everyone: "You should have heard that the West recently announced in two states that there are 800,000 people. Stones, grains and grass will be shipped one after another to help the victims. Eight hundred thousand stones! Even in the land of Guanxi Tianfu, it will not be easy to come up with so much grain and rice. We only need to find the place where they store their grains and seize it in one fell swoop. Next. How can the soldiers in the west fight at that time? Without food, can they fight to fill their stomachs?"
Everyone couldn't help but feel excited when they heard this. Guo Xiaoxian then asked: "Having said that, where is their food and grass? We don't know either!"
Guan Hai waved his hand and said: "This is not a difficult task. Tens of thousands of stones of grain and grass can probably be hidden. I have never heard of eight hundred thousand stones of grain and grass being lost!" After that, he immediately started on the matter. They secretly sent people to Yan and Henan to inquire about the news. There were still many believers remaining in the two states. As expected, they found out the news.
The relief grains transported were divided into three routes, one was left in Aocang, Henan, the other was transported eastward from the river to Dong'a, and then south along the Suishui River to Taiqiu. It is said that Taiqiu has the most grain, estimated to be about 400,000 shi. After all, Taiqiu had been cooking porridge and giving alms outside the city all day long. There were at least 200,000 victims gathered outside the city. When the grain came down from the Sui River, many believers saw it. The news was absolutely untrue.
Although it was different from what was expected, General Geng Cang still felt that he could take action. Even if he can only capture half of the grain and rice, Liu Bei's army is large and his own army is small. If he can defend himself with the city after capturing the grain, Liu Bei will definitely not be able to hold on first. After the consensus was reached, Guan Hai stood up slowly, held his sword and said to everyone: "Teng Changshi said it well, God's will never stops my teaching, so at this time of life and death, he gave me the last chance. I hope that after you go to the battlefield, We all move forward with one heart and never stop!"
Everyone whispered: "Move forward with one heart and never stop!" Their eyes gradually lit up, like candles lit in a dark room.
On this day, there were clouds in the sky over Taiqiu. The clouds stretch across the sky, but are as thin as cocoons. The sun breaks through the clouds, emitting a pale golden light. The sun shines on the dignified green wilderness, and the fallen leaves in the mountains and forests are dark and yellow, showing the crowds of people gathering together to rest.
Although the epidemic is still raging, these refugees show no signs of worry. After all, disease is very close to them, but hunger is even closer. New refugees arrive from all over the country every day. They are all disheveled and they huddle in the newly built huts outside the city, like a layer of gray fog that will not dissipate. Instinct drives them to wake up at one moment and then numbly fight for a bowl of porridge and water. Only when their stomachs don't growl can they have the energy to think about other things.
Fortunately, the grain that arrived was visible, and the rice and noodles gradually calmed them down. But the victims still lived each day numbly. After all, no one wanted to guess what their life would be like tomorrow when they had nothing. It was enough if they could drink another gourd of water today.
It's time to give out porridge again, and white smoke from cooking porridge is rising one after another outside the city. The sweet fragrance in the water vapor attracts people to gather. Because some people had died due to crowding and trampling before, there were many soldiers on the left and right sides of the porridge shed to maintain order and keep people lining up in long queues. In front of the porridge shed, apart from the porridge and soup being cooked, something was a little different. It turned out that there were more government officials promoting the New Deal to the victims.
Because the officials in the Bafu had a Kansai accent, they had a junior official who could speak Kansai speak in front of them. The Bafu promised that after this winter, 30 acres of land for men and 20 acres for women will be allocated to the people. Spring seeds and farm tools will be provided by the Bafu. However, a high tax will be levied in the first four years, about five public and five civilians. Then the tax will be reduced year by year until it returns to normal taxation after ten years.
The victims were in an uproar after hearing this, and some of their discussions were in disbelief, but the official seal on the notice was real. The officials pointed to the largest red seal and said that it was the seal of General Liu Bei and would never lie. After the victims heard about it, they all flocked over to take a look and firmly remembered the appearance of the seal.
While everyone was still discussing this matter, a group of birds suddenly appeared in the forest in the distance. They flew up and made "croak" and "croak" sounds in the sky. It turned out to be a group of crows, which disgusted the victims. But some sensitive people noticed something was wrong. Why did the crows fly up at this time?
Then the ground began to tremble slightly. Before most people could react, some people who were used to seeing soldiers and horses screamed loudly. They said, "There are horse thieves!" But they spoke too late. Soon, It was like waves rising from the undercurrent, and the tremors also made a sound, like distant thunder rolling along the ground. The roosting crows were awakened by this. In their field of vision, a gray-yellow torrent galloped across the plains and crashed into Taiqiu City without hesitation.
Under normal circumstances, these more than ten thousand Geng Cang cavalry would not be able to do any harm to Taiqiu. What's more, after they crossed Mount Tai, the three horses took turns to ride on each other and galloped nearly five hundred miles without sleep. They were extremely tired. Not to mention siege, even with an equal number of infantry, they dare not say victory.
But now the outside of Taiqiu City is full of disaster victims.
The cavalry in the front row fired arrows casually, and the locust-like rain of arrows sprinkled on the crowded crowd. Suddenly there was a scream. The victims trampled on each other and ran away, stepping on the fallen people with a thousand feet, and then walked towards them. Run into the city. Even some soldiers who wanted to resist were trapped by these crowds and could not form a strong resistance at all.
This was exactly what Gengcang's army wanted to see. They carved a path out of the corpses and were led by local believers until they arrived at the east gate of Taiqiu City. The chaos at the east gate was even worse: the soldiers in the city wanted to defend the city against the enemy, but the fleeing victims just wanted to squeeze into the city. The power of fear made them defeat the Han army's swords and guns, and completely blocked the city road. So much so that the city gate cannot be closed.
The Han army was unable to close the door, so Zhang Fang, who was in the vanguard, used a knife to cut a path. With a wailing sound, the Black Mountain Knights successfully entered Taiqiu City. Once the east gate is broken, the city cannot be defended. At this time, even the Han soldiers collapsed and fled with the victims, leaving the city full of grain and rice to Guan Hai.
Sun Meng, the chief scholar of Taiqiu, was originally the son of Sun Rui, the official of Jinwu. This time with the army, he originally wanted to achieve a reputation like Chen Chong, so he asked for this post. Unexpectedly, in one day, Taiqiu was lost to moth thieves. When he thought of the rice noodles piled up like hills in the city, he suddenly lost all hope. His servants persuaded him to flee, but he was unmoved. He only said: "What do I have to do?" Where can I meet the general?" So he stayed in the city, took a knife and went to the street to fight the enemy to the death.
Although the scholar Sun Meng was born tall, he did not know how to use force. Everyone said that he would definitely be ineffective. Unexpectedly, Geng Cang's army was victorious and they didn't have much defense. When he came out with a knife, he actually hacked two people to death one after another. When a dozen knights saw this, they gathered around and shot him. Seven or eight arrows were stuck in his torso, but Shisun Meng was still wielding his knife. At the ninth arrow, a knight finally shot him in the forehead. Shisun Meng was startled, then froze and died.
The county magistrate was dead, and his remaining followers fled in all directions.
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Set a small goal first, such as remembering in 1 second: Shukeju
