Zhougong Town.
Xu Mulin closed his eyes. If he remembered correctly, the first time he came to Zhougong Town with Chen Sheng and five horsemen to collect grain.
Although the Zhougong Town at that time was in ruins, at least it still had the breath of life.
But in front of me, under the heavy dark clouds, Zhougong Town was completely transformed into a deserted city.
"My boss, there is no problem." Zhou Zun, who entered the town to investigate, rushed out from the entrance of the town.
"Enter the city." Xu Mu breathed out.
Nearly three thousand people and horses carefully followed the road in front of the town and moved forward slowly.
"They're all dead bodies."
"This big rat is so fat that it looks like a puppy." Si Hu stabbed the chopping knife and turned the big rat into meat paste.
At this moment, at least a thousand giant rats were suddenly alerted, forming a frantic tide of rats and burrowing into the nearest hole.
"Chen Sheng, bring some people to collect the corpses. Don't use fire. Dig a hole and bury them first."
The three thousand of them still have to rest in the town. If the bodies are not disposed of in time, they will get sick sooner or later.
"Feng Qiu, if I remember correctly, there is a large grain store to the east with many rice warehouses. Take the wounded to settle first."
Feng Qiu nodded and walked forward with the carriage.
"Mr. Chen, take some people with you and go to the town to look for any survivors."
The chances are slim, but you have to do it anyway.
After making arrangements, Xu Mu breathed a sigh of relief. In his heart, he just hoped that Beidi wouldn't come too early, and at least let them nurse their soaked bodies first.
Both Hezhou City and these three thousand people who are determined to die need time to breathe.
"Master, do you want these fire-breaking stones to be put down on the carriage?"
The Benghuoshi is the cart obtained from the ambush of the baggage train. If there is a catapult, it can exert its greatest power.
"No, park the carriage in a sheltered area and lay out more hay to avoid getting wet."
After uttering a sentence, Xu Mu rubbed his neck and relaxed for a moment, only to realize that his whole body was exhausted.
As Xu Mu expected, the few rice warehouses left by profiteers in the grain store were pretty good. Of course, all the stored grains and polished rice were emptied.
Xu Mu simply knocked down the partition between the rice warehouses, allowing the three thousand people to sit together and finally have a place to stay temporarily.
After carefully setting up several bonfires, boiling hot water, and cooking the dry food they collected, when the alluring aroma of wheat drifted up, a slight smile appeared on the faces of the nearly three thousand people.
"My boss, there are no living people left. The houses in the town are full of rotting corpses." Chen Jiaqiao sighed and led the people back to the rice warehouse.
Xu Mu was not surprised by this result.
"Mr. Chen, sit down and have something to eat first."
Outside the rice warehouse, it was still stormy.
In the rice warehouse, the heroes who rarely relaxed for a while began to fall asleep soundly after eating early to wash away the fatigue of the past few days.
"Zhou Zun and Zhou Luo, you two should work harder and take turns staying on duty at night."
"Don't worry, boss."
Zhou Zun and Zhou Luo all handed over their hands without saying a word.
Xu Mu walked out of the rice warehouse, looked at the dark world outside and the color of wind and rain, and fell into silence for a long time.
…
In the early morning, the sky was only slightly bright. In the huge rice warehouse, people have opened their eyes and stood up one after another, started to put on their robes and armor, and wiped their weapons.
The dozens of injured people accompanying him were in significantly better condition after a night in a dry environment and a good night's sleep.
"Master, do you want to leave the deserted town?"
"I won't leave for now." Xu Mu calmed down. If you guessed it right, there are people outside looking for them.
The road from Wangzhou to Hezhou was neither too small nor too big. It was more than a hundred miles away, and even if it included dead villages and towns in all directions, it wouldn't take long for them to be found.
If encountered in the wild, the death will be even worse. On the contrary, in the deserted town, there is still a glimmer of hope.
Of course, staying in a deserted town is not a foolproof strategy.
"Mr. Chen, please tell me about the situation in Wangzhou."
"Wangzhou? There is no information. What does the boss want to do?"
"If Wangzhou is desirable, I want to capture Wangzhou City." Xu Mu's tone was serious, not joking.
Hezhou is the front line, and Beidi has piled almost all its troops there. Only a few baggage trains and patrols remained.
"Hit Wangzhou..." Feng Qiu next to him swallowed hard.
"Master, we only have less than three thousand troops."
"I know." Xu Mu lowered his voice, "If something cannot be done, naturally we won't consider it. But if there is hope, after we capture Wangzhou, the war may turn around."
"Master, what do you say?"
Xu Mu exhaled, picked up a dead branch and broke it off. A section was placed on the left, and after a certain distance, a section was placed on the right.
"One section is Hezhou, and the other section is Wangzhou. If we take Wangzhou, and Hezhou is also defended."
"So, these hundreds of thousands of Beidi troops are blocked between the two ends." Feng Qiu took a closer look and his face became ecstatic.
Chen Jiaqiao was not good at the art of war, but after thinking about it seriously, he couldn't help but become brighter.
"When the hundreds of thousands of troops run out of food and fodder, there will definitely be changes."
Xu Mu nodded. There were probably no villages or farms in the more than 100 miles between Hezhou and Wangzhou, and even the towns were deserted.
If Beidi's hundreds of thousands of troops can really be blocked, these Di dogs will reap the consequences.
"If Wangzhou is taken down, there will definitely be reinforcements from Beidi in the future. On the other hand, three thousand people like us can only defend Wangzhou City without reinforcements."
"At least, we have to wait until the hundreds of thousands of Di people who were besieged mutinied due to hunger and were unable to fight anymore, and were killed by the Hezhou army out of the city. In this way, the siege of Hezhou will be solved."
The idea is beautiful, but Xu Mu knows that there are too many factors involved.
Feng Qiu and Chen Jiaqiao looked at each other slightly, their eyes full of disbelief. The little boss who could make such a dangerous plan must have such amazing thoughts.
"It's not put into action, it's just a discussion." Xu Mu softened his tone, fearing that his two generals would be frightened.
"My boss, the most important thing right now is to find out the information about Wangzhou City first." Chen Jiaqiao thought for a while and spoke.
Xu Mu nodded. With three thousand men and horses, no matter what step we take in the future, intelligence will be the top priority.
"You two, I plan to go to Wangzhou in person."
It was not because of recklessness, but because among the three of them, he was the most familiar with the situation in Wangzhou City.
"My boss, I'll just go." Feng Qiu became anxious, and according to what the troops said, Xu Mu is a general of the three armies, how could he leave the camp hastily.
"There are not many worries. If I don't come back for three days, you two will take the remaining heroes and return to Tuotou Mountain. If the matter is urgent, you can retreat to the wilderness behind the town, where you can still hibernate for a while."
Feng Qiu and Chen Jiaqiao suddenly looked heavy.
"How many people will the host bring?"
"Three hundred riders." Xu Mu spit out a number. There are too many people, and the target is easily exposed. Moreover, he is not going to engage in an encounter, but to explore the reality of Wangzhou City.
If we stop moving forward, Xu Mu believes that when the Beidi people's baggage is gathered again and the grain road is reopened, the entire Hezhou City will usher in a new round of defense battle.
