It was late at night, and the room was dark. Only the moonlight shining in from the window was the only illumination in the room.
In the darkness, Gou Chen sat in front of the desk, holding his chin with one hand, and tapping his index finger on the desk unconsciously with his other hand.
What kind of person is my future husband?
My aunt said that he was extremely brave, but at the age of sixteen, he had already entered the realm of a super-powerful person. This could only be said to be a gift from God, and it was difficult to explain it with his cultivation talent - because even Gou Chen himself could not do it.
My aunt said that this person has a violent temper and should be handled like a donkey. Never disobey in person, otherwise it will be difficult to tell what this person will do, but after getting to know each other, it may be fine. As for noble birth, in I had to treat it as a joke in front of this person.
At that time, there were several major crimes in the suburbs of Songjing in which more than fifty people were killed. Now it seems that he might have been responsible - but there was no evidence at the time, and it is even less likely that anyone will bring up the old incidents now.
However, although this person did not take human life seriously, he was very kind to the people around him. The few maids who grew up with him had the same daily food and clothing as him. Later, these maids were taught by him, After practicing martial arts, he got rid of his slave status and became a guard of the Lu family.
"Chirp, chirp, chirp—" An oriole the size of a pigeon flew from the window, landed on the table, gently pecked the delicate skin of Gou Chen's elbow, and called twice more.
"Quack, quack—" Then, a crow with wings spread as big as a small eagle also flew in, landed on the table in front of Gou Chen, took two steps back and forth, and looked at the girl Gou Chen sideways.
Most birds cannot see at night, but these two species are certainly not among them.
Gou Chen made a move with one hand, and the cupboard not far away moved automatically. The cupboard door opened, and two plates floated out and landed on the table.
"Xiao Huang, do you think Lu Wu could be him? Looking at how he's causing trouble in the world, maybe it's him." Gou Chen stretched out an index finger like a jade green onion and lightly tapped the man who was pecking at the jade millet. Oriole head asked.
Oriole shook his head.
Gou Chen looked at Crow again.
The crow also shook his head.
Two birds, one big and one small, looked up at Gouchen together.
"Yes, the possibility is too small." Gou Chen whispered to himself.
She shook her head and laughed silently in the darkness.
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Chu State, Yuci Fucheng.
There is an unsettling atmosphere in the city.
In the past few days, bad news came one after another. First, there was a rumor that Fenyuan General Cen Zhan was defeated at Danchen's castle, his entire army was wiped out, and he himself was captured alive;
Soon after, there was another rumor that General Pan Fu of Tonghe Prefecture personally took action, but he was also defeated by the rebels of Nanhe Prefecture. Even General Pan Fu was killed on the spot.
Many big businessmen from out of town came to Yuci Fucheng, bringing more messy news.
For example, Nanhe Prefecture dispatched tens of thousands of troops to attack Yuci Prefecture. They did not attack the city. They just attacked the towns one by one. Every time they arrived in a town, they would surely plunder the big households, which made people panic. Many big households could not stay outside the city. To live, they had to rush in to various cities.
The originally high rents in the city have further increased. Many people who worked as long-term and part-time workers in the city can no longer afford the rent and can only rent houses outside the city. They enter the city early in the morning and leave the city at night, which is very troublesome.
But in reality, the situation is only worse than what ordinary people hear.
"Anzhen was also robbed?" Liu Yuan, the governor of Yuci Mansion, asked, looking up at the roof beams above his head, as if studying the patterns on them.
"Yes, Anzhen, Qingshui Town, Dayuanzhen, and Yueziji have all been robbed." The official in charge of intelligence whispered, for fear of arousing the anger of the troubled master.
These five market towns are all under the rule of Yuci Fucheng. In other words, the bandits from Nanhe Prefecture have crossed Yuanma County and Yushan County and come under the rule of Yuci Fucheng.
"Within one day?" Liu Yuan asked.
"Within a day."
"Only the big ones were robbed?"
"Only the big households were robbed, and the thieves also distributed the food and bulky sundries they stole from the houses of the big households to the small people. Many small people who did not know the righteousness took the initiative to inform them, resulting in heavy casualties among the troops in the various counties. Now I no longer dare to attack easily."
The junior intelligence officer in charge of intelligence explained.
"Except Yuanma County and Yushan County, what is the situation in other counties?" Liu Yuan asked.
The news is already bad enough, and it doesn't matter if it gets a little worse. If one's eyes are closed, it will be a real disaster.
"Everything is in chaos. Except for the six counties near Wangwushan, which are still stable, there are bandits in other counties. The counties have repeatedly dispatched to suppress them, but the effect is not effective. In the three counties near Tonghe Prefecture, there are even bandits during the day. The county is openly provocative.”
"Don't worry about him in Tonghe Mansion for the time being. The situation there is much better than here. How are the casualties in the Intelligence Department?" Liu Yuan asked.
"Fortunately, the thieves don't strictly monitor ordinary people. As long as they don't deliberately approach the thieves, they generally don't kill people."
"Double the bounty of the Intelligence Department during this period." Liu Yuan took his eyes back from the beams on the roof, looked at the junior officer of the Intelligence Department standing in front of him, and waved his hand to let him go down.
When the official left the room, Liu Yuan sighed: "Cen took advantage of me by mistake!"
When a government is in charge, it is natural to have the responsibility to defend the territory. However, Cen Zhan took away 6,000 elite troops and nearly wiped out the entire army. The remaining 3,000 troops will be enough to defend the city of Yuci and must not be released again.
Yuci Fucheng is no better than those small counties below. The city wall is ten miles in radius (circumference), and three thousand people have just stood on the city wall. If we send out more people, even the city wall is not enough, how can we defend the city?
I want to mobilize soldiers from various counties to fight, but I don’t know how to train those troops in Nanhe Prefecture. They fought bravely one by one. The hundred-man team was able to fight until there were only thirty people left without defeat. Three county soldiers were killed or injured. Five, and the team dispersed.
Therefore, the opponent is almost always victorious in small-scale battles. Three teams of county soldiers cannot defeat one team. Even if they send out elite regular troops, they will lose more than they win.
What's worse is that these combat teams, which are based on teams, are unpredictable and extremely flexible. They often look like a team of people, fighting and fighting, and several teams of people emerge from around them, making dumplings on all sides.
That is to say, the other party is not willing to risk casualties and forcefully attack the city. Otherwise, it is not known whether those county towns can be defended.
It's not that Liu Yuan doesn't have a way to solve this dilemma.
In fact, as long as the army slowly advances, two or three brigades of cavalry spread their wings to search, and the custody can make the opponent's wolf pack tactics of breaking up and reuniting inconstantly go bankrupt, and maybe they can defeat them one by one.
However, this tactic must be based on the superiority of troops and cavalry. Now Liu Yuan is running out of men to defend the city, and all the cavalry have been taken away by Fenyuan General Cen Zhan. A clever woman cannot make a meal without straw, and Liu Yuan can only I can stay in Yuci City and sit in the city of sleepiness.
Fortunately, county soldiers cannot go out to fight in the city, but they can still be used to defend the city. At least the county towns have not been lost so far.
This is also related to the fact that large local households have fled into the city.
The thieves in Nanhe Prefecture specialize in robbing large households. They not only rob but also kidnap. Of course, they are war prisoners.
But Liu Yuan knew that some large households did not have private troops and horses, but could only gather some strong men.
These people use sticks and hoes to fight for water and land and organize armed fights. Let them deal with regular people and lend their courage. They don't dare.
