Liu An didn't say anything. He jerked his horse's butt and walked toward the woods at the foot of the post. Wang Wenzuo followed closely behind. The thin snow on the ground cracked under the horses' hooves, like brittle bones. The fresh wind blew and the fallen leaves rustled. The trees were very close to each other, blocking the slanting sunlight. Liu An seemed to feel countless cold fingers running along his back. Climb up slowly.
"Damn Baekje people!" Liu An cursed in a low voice: "Why do you leave such a large forest next to the capital?"
"I heard from Sancho that there are gods living in this forest!" Wang Wenzuo replied: "So King Baekje ordered that it is forbidden to cut firewood and hunt here! In order to avoid disturbing the gods and attracting retribution, they will go to the forest to offer sacrifices every spring and autumn. !”
Liu An spat, his mount snorted, and stepped up on the spot. The trees in front of him were so dense that there were no gaps. He shook his head helplessly: "Sanlang, you are right, there are indeed not enough manpower, but so The dense forest cannot accommodate the large army, but it is a pity that the enemy does not lack the wood needed to build siege equipment!"
Wang Wenzuo lifted the reins and glanced at the dense forest in front of him. The cold wind passed through the gaps in the forest, bringing a mysterious atmosphere, pulling at his leather robe and penetrating his chest. He was not surprised at all why the Baekje people believed that this dense forest was the abode of gods. Even he would feel trembling deep in his soul when facing this dense forest.
"Sanlang, time is running out, we must hurry up!" Liu An's voice came from behind: "You prepare on the top of the post, and I will go back to prepare the materials and tools. You might as well start earlier!"
Wang Wenzuo returned to the hill, and Sancho was taking a few military slaves to spread quicklime according to his own plan, which was a sign for digging trenches. Thanks to hundreds of years of continuous wars in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the field defense of the Tang army reached a very high level. Generally speaking, the Tang Army's defense policy was to "defend points but not fronts": that is, they did not distribute their forces evenly, but concentrated their forces on a number of key points according to the terrain, while the front defense relied on flanking crossfire and mobile troops. To shoulder the side attack, emphasizing depth and flexibility, this is why Liu An was sent to the high ground outside the city to set up a fence to hold on - if the enemy directly attacks the east gate of Sixi City, the Tang army on the Narzha Hill can attack from the side and rear. Attack the enemy; if the enemy attacks Erzagang, because the hill faces dense forests on both sides, the area where troops can deploy is very narrow, and a small number of defenders can contain a large number of enemy troops, while the Tang army in the city can wait and act at ease. But on the other hand, the defenders on the hills became "bait troops" - bait hung on iron hooks in order to catch big fish in the water.
"This is really not a pleasant position!" Wang Wenzuo murmured to himself. The wind blowing from the woods became even colder. He couldn't help but shudder. He hoped that those Baekje people would walk slower and be more Give yourself some time.
"Sanlang, according to your request, I got all the things you asked for, including burlap, pony tail, and hair!" Shen Faseng said breathlessly: "Are these enough?"
Wang Wenzuo walked up to Master Shen. The basket was filled with bundles of burlap, bristles, and bundles of braids. He squatted down and took out a bundle, pulling hard, and was satisfied with the flexibility and strength of these fibers.
"Very good, weave these into thick ropes according to my requirements. It must be completed within three days!"
"Like this, like me! Mix burlap, horse mane, horse tail and hair into a thick rope! Yes, yes, that's it!"
Yuan Hao carefully imitated the rope maker who was demonstrating, fearing that something would go wrong. The rope maker's hands were covered with calluses, just like the thick ropes in her hands. Yuan Hao couldn't help but secretly think that her hands might become like this one day. Can't help but feel a little frustrated.
"Don't be lazy, or you won't have anything to eat at noon!" The rope maker shook the rope in his hand, making a crisp sound. Yuan Hao quickly lowered her head. As Yuan Fei's youngest sister, she had not fully understood what her new name meant, but she could see the ecstasy and excitement of her mother and sister at that time - her elderly mother I, my sister, and my brother came to the simple Buddha statue and knelt down to pray and give thanks devoutly. Moreover, his brother also brought back rice and cloth, which he had never had before. The only thing that made Yuan Hao a little unhappy was that his brother's hair was gone. Not only that, his, mother and sister's hair was also cut off. His brother said that he wanted to use it to make weapons to fight rebels. Yuan Hao really couldn't understand the relationship between hair and weapons.
Bang bang bang!
No matter how much Yuan Hao was dissatisfied, it was all wiped away by the sound of the rice spoon hitting the barrel. She left the village of slaves and came to the shop in the city. There was a straw bed in the house. Although the work was hard, it was better than the past days. In the terrible winter, people in the village only had one meal of thin porridge a day, and the children had to find ways to find food to satisfy their hunger - field mouse nests, hibernating insect pupae, but now there are three meals a day - mixed with turnips and radishes. Wheat porridge, and sometimes a little salted fish, was heaven to her.
But her brother's food was better. One time when Yuan Fei came to visit her family, she even brought her rice balls - it was the first time in her life that she had eaten rice. The deliciousness made Yuan Hao almost bite her tongue. According to his brother, he eats rice balls every day, but his mother is not so happy. This makes Yuan Hao a little confused. Does his mother think the rice balls are not delicious?
"Eat quickly, eat quickly, keep working after eating, and finish all the work before dark!" The rope maker shouted loudly while banging the rice bucket.
Yuan Hao almost poured the porridge into her stomach, then returned to her seat and began to deal with the thick hemp, hair and horse hair. These things were neither sharp nor pointed. She still cannot understand these ropes and weapons. what is the relationship? When she asked about her brother, Yuan Fei just patted his sister on the head lovingly: "Sister, I can't tell you now, but you will understand then!"
"I hope these ropes can help my brother and defeat the enemy!" Yuan Hao prayed secretly while working: "May the gods and Buddhas bless my brother and our family so that days like this can last forever!"
Outside the east gate, Erzagang.
After six days of hard work, the Tang Army's fence has been largely completed. A wavy trench two meters deep and one and a half meters wide has been dug on the relatively gentle west and north slopes. On the inside of the trench is about Two wooden fences were erected on top of the one-and-a-half-meter-high earthen barrier. The outer wooden fence was two and a half meters high, and the inner one was about one meter high. The space between the two wooden fences was filled with soil and then a wooden walkway was paved. , forming a simple wooden wall. On the outside of the wooden wall, a shallow trench was being dug, which would be used to cushion the enemy's impact.
