Thousands of miles of cloudless sky, thousands of miles of rivers and mountains surrounded by cities.
The once lush Suiyang City was now like a wounded lion. Surrounding the lion were a group of hungry wolves waiting for an opportunity. This group of jackals from northern Liaoning were ferocious and terrifying. Bloody and tenacious.
Suiyang City has been besieged for more than seven months, with huge losses inside and no reinforcements from outside. Except for the thirty blank surrenders sent by the Tang Dynasty court, there were not even a single soldier or soldier, not even a bucket of rice. I haven't seen any root hairs either. The entire Suiyang City, from the governor of Zhongcheng to the poor people, is already at the end of its rope, and the way out for survival is becoming increasingly slim.
At the beginning of the first month of the first year, the 6,800 city defenders formed by Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan, after more than seven months of unspecified defense battles, less than 1,700 were left alive. . If it weren't for the cleverness of Master Zhongcheng Zhang Xun and a dozen generals, as well as the bravery of all the city-defending soldiers who were not afraid of death, Suiyang City, which was riddled with holes and in disarray, would have been breached by those thieves long ago, and the entire city would have been destroyed. The city will never escape the fate of being slaughtered.
The weather is not favorable, the location is conducive, and the city is trapped. At present, only the "humanity" of the city is still cohesive, and it can barely hold on until now. However, at this point, the "humanity" factor is about to collapse.
"No food"
This is Suiyang City’s biggest dilemma at the moment.
The so-called attack and battle on the battlefield, Suiyang City has persisted for so long relying on its generous city walls and united soldiers. The ferocious horror of war has been slowly accepted and indifferent to people. Human nature is innately resistant to death. The mystery and horror are no longer so frightening. No matter how fragile you are and fearful of death, if you look at the bloodshed and sacrifices around you day and night, from birth to death so close, your heart will begin to feel numb. If you have seen so many dead people, you will naturally become accustomed to it. , the worst thing is death, what's so great, anyway, I'm not the only one who died, how could dozens of people not die in Suiyang City in Nuo Da! Life at this moment is just a matter of time.
Dying is easy, but living is difficult.
To live, first of all you will be hungry. For the current Suiyang soldiers and civilians, there is one good thing about dying, that is, they don’t have to endure hunger every day. The number of enemies outside the city who had lost their lives due to this battle had already been several times that. For the soldiers guarding the city, they had already had enough money. It's just that the feeling of starving to death is really not easy to bear.
The two young sergeants who left the alley were also hungry at this moment. Originally, it was time for lunch. Although the lunch was still three wotou, it was good to have those three wotou for cushion. At least it doesn't have to be as heart-wrenching and uncomfortable as this.
"Oops, I just made a miscalculation..."
The young master slapped his forehead and complained in annoyance.
"What's wrong?"
The swarthy boy was a little puzzled and didn't understand why the young master suddenly spoke like this.
"I was just being generous. At least I left two pancakes for us. Look at the pancakes in the bag. They are so big and white. I can swallow one in one bite..."
After the young master said this, the two of them felt even more hungry. The more they thought about it, the more hungry they felt. At this moment, the young master couldn't wait to go back immediately. He really wanted to take back two flour pancakes and stuff them into his stomach.
"Hey, forget it, those ladies are much hungrier than us. Those noodles are just for quenching our hunger, but when they are at their house, they are life-saving."
After sighing with emotion, the swarthy boy also changed the subject:
"But having said that, those noodles from the Song family are indeed Baiao. They are much whiter than the ones I ate at your house before. We worked our butts off to lick the blood with our knives and gnawed on the hard, rough, and unsatisfactory black steamed buns. , these sons of bitches lie at home being served by others, but what they eat is white flour and polished rice. I really want to raid their rice warehouse and cut out their tongues. I can guarantee that the rice grains stored in their family will definitely be enough for the two of us. One year!" The calm dark-skinned boy now seemed a little angry because he was hungry.
"One year? Do you think his family is mine? I dare say that the rice hidden in his family will definitely be enough for us to live for ten years!" The young host's family pointed at the analogy while not forgetting to laugh at the shallowness and ignorance of his companions.
"So rich? No way! I think their family doesn't have that much, and they don't dare to hide that much, right?" The swarthy boy looked unbelieving.
The young master looked at this friend whom he had known for more than ten years with contempt, making him feel a little embarrassed, and then he stretched out his hands and gestured:
"As you know, our family only has more than a hundred acres of land in total, and most of it is dry land. The water land is only about ten acres. Even so, when it's time to harvest grain every year, seven or eight hoards will pile up on a hill. Generally speaking, no one should wear a hat. Just a dozen of us can't hold that basket, each one is so tall, and if you wear a hat tip, you think you can eat a few mouthfuls, and you won't be able to finish it until you die. A hoarder.”
When it comes to his own family's property, the young master seems to have returned to the aloof and superior young master he once was. The self-confidence exuding from the inside out cannot be matched by the black-headed follower in front of him.
"..."
The swarthy young man chattered, and really didn't know how to answer this. The young host continued to analyze arrogantly, forgetting to be hungry at this moment, and his whole body was still full of strength.
"As for the situation of my family, it has only become rich since my great-grandfather's time. Moreover, our place is still in the countryside, and our foundation is inherently weak. But these bastards of the Song family are different. It is said that their ancestors are saints. , Teacher Xiansu told us before in class that Sage Weizi was the eldest son of Emperor Yi of the Shang Dynasty, and the eldest brother of Emperor Xin of the later King of Shang Zhou. Hey, King Shang, the legendary unifying human king, even if he is a Weizi Ziqi was just a concubine, but he was still the blood of human kings. Later, he was enfeoffed to Suiyang, Shangqiu, and established the Song Dynasty. A country would have tens of thousands of our families, tens of thousands More than a hundred acres of land. Although it has a long history and is no longer in the Song Dynasty today, after all, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse, and the soup does not change the medicine. The Song family is considered to have the roots of Suiyang City. The master has developed intricately for thousands of years. Although there are always ups and downs, it is not as good as the three melons and two dates in our family. Pulling out the hair can kill us. So think about it, these things Are you extremely rich? I guess today's pancakes are all made for outsiders to see. If there is no war, the steamed buns might be too hard for his dog to eat today. Damn it, we will live. It’s worse than a dog!”
The more Shaodong analyzed it, the more he felt that what he said was right, but when he thought about it again, he felt that what he said was wrong.
"Hey, that's not right. I guess his family has a vast amount of food hidden away. We won't be able to eat it all in a lifetime. No, several lifetimes or dozens of lifetimes..."
The two teenagers were just thinking about it while walking back. After this incident, the remaining households in Nancheng no longer need to go. The commotion just now must have spread to every household. There was not much hope. , it is even more deadly at this moment. If you go any further, you'll only be asking for trouble. It's better to come back and save yourself from traveling the wrong way, expending more energy and making you more likely to get hungry.
The two teenagers did not discuss the beating today at all, as if it was a matter of course. There were orders from above that officers and soldiers were not allowed to disturb the people for no reason, let alone beat people like they did today, and they were still beating the respectable Song family. Two people who were usually cautious and rigid, if they behaved like this today. If the superiors found out, it would be a big trouble. Even a captain might not be able to bear it, let alone these two big-headed soldiers. As the saying goes, one thing more is worse than one thing less. The two of them tacitly understood each other and never mentioned this matter.
In normal times, the two teenagers would never act so recklessly, but the strangeness of today's incident was precisely because the surname of the person who was beaten was "Song".
"Song" is a very common surname. There are more than millions of people with the surname Song in the world. Everyone has a friend named Song, but this "Song" in Suiyang City is different because there is a person in this "Song" family. , this person’s name is:
"Song Yanzong"
This Song Yanzong was exactly the favorite son of the family whom they beat just now, Song Yanzheng. Song Yanzong himself was indeed a very remarkable person. He came from a distinguished family and was humble. He was known as a "child prodigy" when he was young. He read scriptures extensively and could recite poems and articles. In addition, his family had rich resources and could train him. Therefore, he also dabbled in musical chess, calligraphy, painting and tea divination, but because he mainly focused on calligraphy, he was not very familiar with the art of bow and horse warfare. All the Confucian doctors who had taught him were full of praise for this student, praising him that "he will become a great scholar in the future" and he was a well-known scholar. There seems to be great hope in extending the sect and continuing the sect's glory. Yanzong of the Song Dynasty really lived up to expectations. He was not praised as a "child prodigy". Instead, he was always modest and prudent, low-key and unassuming. He had almost no bad habits except studying and learning. He took it as his own responsibility to carry forward the lintel of the Song family all day long. Later, when he was forty-three years old, he became a Jinshi. In this era of "thirty old Mingjing, fifty-year-old Jinshi", the prime minister of a country can only be a Jinshi, not to mention that he can be a Jinshi in high school at that age. He was already a well-known talent at that time. It is precisely because of this reputation that Li Ju, the king of Siguo, personally sent his confidants to ask him to be his adviser to the shogunate. Since then, Song Yanzong has officially entered the official career, with a very high starting point and a promising future. He is truly worthy of being the leader of the contemporary "Song" family in Suiyang.
Originally, such a person was highly respected, not to mention that Song Yanzong rarely used his power to bully others or bully the weak. In the eyes of many people, if a person is strong, it is the most amazing virtue not to bully others at will. Even sometimes, even if the person does something unintentionally or intentionally, and hurts some weak people, the strong person does not express much. , but the weak first reflect and panic, wondering whether they have done something wrong that has tarnished this perfect sage. Sometimes when the weak reflect slowly, a large number of defenders will appear out of thin air. They stand on the radiant moral commanding heights. I condemn you and spur you on, defend the glory of the strong, and make you feel ashamed of yourself.
Strength is truth, weakness is dung!
Human nature is sometimes so black and white, and sometimes it becomes elusive.
This Song Yanzong, who was highly praised by everyone in Suiyang City, was the most despised person among the Suiyang defenders. Suiyang City's biggest dilemma at present is "hungry", and the person who makes the entire Suiyang City starve is precisely the great sage Song Yanzong.
It turns out that just before Suiyang was besieged, the prefect Xu Yuan lived up to his name and was very far-sighted. Although he had great ambitions to serve the country, he knew that he was unable to do so, so he made plans to recruit virtuous people. One of the candidates was Zhang Xun, who was still fighting against the enemy in Yongqiu at that time. Although the two of them were in different places, due to national justice, the two of them had no suspicion and formulated a thorough and complete plan to defend the city through correspondence. Suiyang defended the city, from building fortifications and supplying men and horses, to defending the city strategy and appeasing the people, everything was down to the smallest detail. The two men showed their strengths and made arrangements in a safe and sound manner. Later, after Zhang Xun led his troops to repel the Linghu Chao tribe that attacked Yongqiu County, the strategy shifted to Suiyang City, which had a more important political location. In this way, the two parties gathered together and made a solid deployment for a year. It can be said that everything is ready and waiting for the enemy. The whole city is full of confidence. The time, place and people are favorable, and there is almost no factor of failure.
But the development of things is often so wonderful. Song Yanzong, who was born in Sui Yang, personally sent Sui Yang to the road of death.
At that time, the war was fierce. Li Ju, the Siguo King who enfeoffed Henan County, was appointed as the Henan Jiedu Envoy by Li Heng, Suzong of the Tang Dynasty who had just succeeded to the throne. He was in charge of the entire anti-thief defense line. Suiyang City was a very critical strategic location, guarding " The Tongji Canal, the lifeline of the Tang Dynasty, ensured the reliability of the logistical supply of money and food to Chang'an from Jianghuai and other places. This was a heavy responsibility that could not be missed. Therefore, Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun began to collect grain and cultivate grass a long time ago. Through joint efforts, they raised a total of 240,000 shi of salt and grain, which was enough to provide food and drink for tens of thousands of people in the city for half a year.
However, at that time, the war in Puyang and Jiyin on the anti-thief front line was fierce, and the two cities were short of food and grass. Song Yanzong, as the commander's staff, knew about his own affairs. He offered advice to Li Ju, saying that Suiyang City was full of supplies and food, while Suiyang City had no food for the time being. During the war, Suiyang's food can be used to relieve Yin's difficulties first. After Li Ju thought about it, he felt that this plan was feasible, so he wrote a letter to discuss the matter with Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun. The two were shocked after reading the letter, and hurriedly wrote a letter stating their interests and expressing their painstaking efforts in not being able to borrow food. However, Li Ju was worried about the war in front of Jiyin City, and Song Yanzong was fanning the flames. He repeatedly analyzed how his plan was feasible and feasible. Then Li Ju ignored Zhang Xu's dissuasion and sent someone with a token to haul 100,000 stones of grain and grass from Suiyang City to Jiyin City. God played a big joke on everyone at this moment. As soon as the mighty grain and grass brigade entered Jiyin City, Jiyin's guard surrendered to the enemy, and the rations originally used to resist the thieves just happened to be fed into the mouths of the thieves. , this slap hit Song Yanzong's face, it was extremely loud. When Li Ju heard about this incident, he felt regretful. He wanted to eat Song Yanzong, but the situation was over. Even skinning Song Yanzong alive would not help, so he had to send him away casually, out of sight and out of mind.
The people in Suiyang City were ignorant and didn't know who had cut off their livelihood. The "Song" family also didn't know that it was his family's pride that killed tens of thousands of lives in Suiyang City. The common people use "Master of the Song family" to admonish their nephews; the Song family is still complacent about the blessing of their ancestors, and they can only say a few words about the noble family "Song Yanzong".
In fact, Song Yanzong's ability to act like this can be regarded as a blood inheritance of the Song family. The founding ancestor of the Song family was Yin Qi, the eldest son of Emperor Yi of Shang Dynasty. However, his fate was not good. His mother was not a princess when she gave birth to him, so she could not inherit the throne. Later, he persuaded his brother Di Xin, the same mother and king, but Di Xin refused to listen to his brother's words, so Yin Qi had no choice but to endure it. Later, King Wu of Zhou established the Zhou Dynasty as the Shang Dynasty. Instead of helping his own brother, he surrendered to King Wu of Zhou. After the Sanjian Rebellion, he was named the King of the Song Dynasty by the King of Zhou for his meritorious service. The capital of the fiefdom is today's Suiyang City in Shangqiu. Song Weizi has been shaped into a clear sage in the long history. He was considerate of his subjects, worried about the people, and dared to admonish his king. He was really a virtuous man who was born at the wrong time.
As the saying goes, there are always two sides to everything. Although the seemingly impeccable Song Weizi had a despicable character, few people knew about it. I don’t know whether it was because he missed the Shang throne or because he was driven by fame and fortune. As a direct bloodline member of the Shang family, this influential prince chose to stab him in the back during the Shang-Zhou war. On the eve of the launch of the Battle of Muye in the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Wu of Zhou sent Zhao Gongxi to Gongtou Mountain to find Wei Ziqi. Zhao Gong followed the order of King Wu of Zhou and gave Wei Zi an oath to secretly surrender to the Western Zhou Dynasty. The reward was to let Wei Ziqi surrender secretly. Wei Ziqi served as the head of the princes for generations, observed all the normal sacrificial rituals of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, allowed him to worship the music of mulberry forests, sealed the vast and fertile land of Mengzhu as his county, and allowed Wei Zi to Ziqi enjoyed all the power and status of the orthodox Shang king in his own county. What is said in the history books that he was granted the title of Song Dynasty because of the suppression of the Three Prisons Rebellion was purely a matter of rubbing powder on his face to cover up the truth that it was full of blood and shit. This saint with a long reputation secretly surrendered to his enemy the Western Zhou Dynasty, disintegrated and turned the spearhead, and chose to go against his own brother. He acted in a secretive way, was tactful and calm, and kept to himself. Therefore, he retained a large part of the power of the Yin and Shang Dynasties and indirectly weakened the Shang Zhou. The king's fighting force. The Western Zhou Dynasty rebellion broke out. As the only surviving Yin Shang elder, he used his strong influence among the merchants to stabilize the resistance of some merchants and incited some radical merchants to rebel against their king. Because he helped pave the way for the rebellion of the Western Zhou Dynasty, he became the leader of the princes and the king of the Yin and Shang Dynasties as he wished.
The long river of history is full of story boats. The world only sees the king and the villain who have the last laugh after achieving success and fame, but they cannot see the name of the sage whose name is dyed red with the blood of half a million compatriots.
Human nature can be so unpredictable sometimes.
Just like in Suiyang City now, the people are still praising the great master of the Song family. Only the people guarding the city know that the name of the man who offered advice and took credit for killing countless innocent souls is Song Yanzong. Of course, compared to what his ancestors had done, Song Yanzong still pales in comparison. So when the two young sergeants who knew the inside story met the Song family today, they met their biggest enemies. Again, if you are dealing with a bedbug crawling out of a dung heap, you have to stomp it with your feet. Even if you can't stomp it to death, you will still be able to exhale some bad breath!
Let’s talk about the two teenagers who beat up the Song family. They were so hungry that they couldn’t stand it anymore. After all, beating people is also a strenuous job! This person feels very uncomfortable if he doesn't eat one meal, and he can't bear it if he doesn't eat two meals. But if he is hungry for three or four days, he won't feel so uncomfortable, and he will even forget to be hungry. As the two people walked back slowly, they found a secluded shade and looked around. When no one was around, the dark-skinned boy loosened his armor, reached into his underwear, fiddled with his arms for a while, and took out a piece of oil paper wrapped in a large bag. On a hot day, the outside of the oil paper is covered with sweat from the body. Looking at the oily paper, it looks really unsightly.
The dark-skinned boy wiped the sweat on the outside of the oil paper with his sleeve, and then opened the oil paper package little by little, layer by layer, four layers in total. After opening all the paper packages, only half of it was left. Palm size. Hidden in the oil paper bag were three small sections of dried mutton, which were wrinkled and black, a bit like tree roots. They were the trophies they found from Hu Bing when they were cleaning the battlefield yesterday. The swarthy boy took the largest piece, which was about the thickness of a thumb, and handed it to the young master with great distress. He took the smallest piece and put it in his mouth. The remaining piece was wrapped in oil paper and carried in his arms. , hiding it tightly.
From the beginning to the end, Shaodongjia looked at his companion's actions with a half-smile. He took the other's dried mutton without saying a word or thanking him. He took the whole dried mutton into his mouth, without biting it, and just melted it with saliva. , this time you don’t have to worry about being seen by others by moving your mouth too much like you did in the morning. Anyway, there is no one around, so you can just sit down and enjoy this rare delicious food leisurely.
Although the autumn sun is fierce, it is still very cool under the trees. Although the water in the water bag has been drank up, there are just the right cool breezes. The cool breeze makes the two teenagers feel so comfortable. , nature is also excellent.
There is meat in your mouth and wind beside you. Take a nap and maybe you can have a good dream.
