The enemy troops in the military camp refused to surrender, so Li Zhiyun had no choice but to order the artillery fire. The soldiers in the artillery battalion skillfully operated the red cannon, loading the shells, filling the gunpowder, and lighting the fuse. With a loud bang, flames erupted from the muzzle, the shells flew out, and landed accurately in the barracks. Suddenly, there were flames everywhere. , filled with smoke.
The fierce bombardment collapsed the gate of the barracks and knocked down the courtyard wall. The entire barracks was exposed to people's eyes. They saw enemy soldiers running around in panic. With the huge explosion, many soldiers were blown into pieces. The fragments and broken limbs were lifted into the air by the air waves, and then fell back down. The barracks were either blown up or burst into flames.
As more shells fell, the entire barracks was engulfed in flames and smoke. The people who were watching were dumbfounded. They saw the broken arms and legs flying into the air with their own eyes, and they were stunned with fear. In their eyes, these people wandering around the wooden wheel carts were not ordinary soldiers at all, but a group of heavenly soldiers and generals. They speculated that those Rakshasa must be eating women and children, which aroused the Jade Emperor's anger. The Jade Emperor sent heavenly soldiers and generals to kill the evil spirits with thunder and lightning. Rakshasa is a Buddhist term referring to evil spirits that eat human flesh.
After the shelling stopped and the smoke cleared, the New Army soldiers rushed into the barracks with shouts, used firecrackers to eliminate the remaining enemy soldiers, and occupied the entire barracks.
The new army captured Champion City, gained a foothold, and stationed themselves in the city. The larger barracks had been completely destroyed by artillery fire, and the team could only live in another barracks.
The next morning, Li Zhiyun took Zhang Zheng, Cai Hu and Yinggu to the street. People were coming and going on the street. There were many more pedestrians than in the previous days, and many shops were open. It seems that after the gang of man-eating demons were eliminated, the city has returned to its former vitality and bustle.
After everyone walked for a while, a man suddenly walked over from the side and bowed to Li Zhiyun: "Brother, are you a god?" Li Zhiyun took a quick look and saw that it was the old man he met in front of Zhuzi's house that day. He quickly returned the gift and said with a smile: "Old man, you are mistaken. I am not a god."
"And you are?"
Zhang Zheng on the side introduced: "He is the King of Chu of the Tang Dynasty."
"It turns out to be the prince, no wonder he is so powerful!"
Li Zhiyun looked at the other party and smiled: "Old man, what is your surname?" The old man replied: "The villain's surname is Hu, and he is a merchant in the city. The prince eliminated the gang of man-eating evil spirits and rescued the women and children. The common people praised it..."
The two of them walked and talked. At this time, a man in his thirties walked over from the opposite side. The man staggered as he walked. He fell to the ground and lay there motionless. Li Zhiyun ran over quickly and looked down. He saw that the man was in ragged clothes, skinny as a stick, with a sallow complexion and his eyes closed. He knelt down and tried it under his nose with his fingers. He was already out of breath.
Li Zhiyun stood up and asked puzzledly: "How did this man die so well?" Old Uncle Hu sighed and said: "He died of hunger. Every household in the city is short of food. How could someone like him starve to death?" There are dozens of people every day." Upon hearing this, Li Zhiyun turned around and looked at the other person in surprise: "Is it so serious?" Mr. Hu nodded with a heavy face.
After returning to the barracks, Li Zhiyun summoned two subordinate officers, Scarface and several other generals to the lobby. Everyone sat around a table. He got straight to the point: "Everyone, we have occupied the Champion City, and this has become our base..." Scarface interrupted him in confusion: "Your Majesty, what is a base?"
"It is the territory we have occupied for a long time." Li Zhiyun said, "If we want to take root here, we must get the support and support of the people. Now the people in the city are short of food, and dozens of people starve to death every day. We cannot sit idly by and do nothing. ! The ancients said that to run an army, you must first have enough food, and to have enough food, you must first feed the people. Therefore, I plan to pull out half of the food to help the people."
The new army came to Huaixi this time and brought a large amount of food and grass. They wiped out 5,000 Turkic troops on the Mayi Ancient Road, and also seized a lot of grain and horses. Except for half of it, they gave it to Li Zhongwen and brought the rest. Therefore, the New Army currently has enough food to last for several months.
Scarface heard that he was going to pull out food to help the people, and he was worried: "Your Majesty, this is military ration. If the food is donated, what will the brothers eat in the future?"
"I have already considered this." Li Zhiyun said, "Zhu Can has caused suffering to the people in this area. Along the way, I saw many villages turned into ruins, and large tracts of fertile land were left uncultivated. New There are three thousand brothers in the army, and most of them can grow crops. We can do it ourselves and have enough food and clothing."
"You mean farming?" Scarface said, "But even if we plant now, the autumn grain harvest will have to wait until a few months later. We're afraid we won't be able to survive by that time."
"This is not difficult to solve." Li Zhiyun said, "We can first plant some fast-growing vegetables and eat them with the grain. There are many ditches and ponds in this area, so there must be fish and shrimp in the water. We can mobilize the brothers to fish for shrimps. . In addition, I asked Mr. Hu that there are several large mountains within the boundaries of Champion County, such as Tangshan, Yushan, Xingshan and Zhulian Mountains. The mountains are lush with trees and there are many wild animals. We can organize brothers to go hunting in the mountains and collect edible fruits. , as a supplement.”
Li Zhiyun kept talking. The generals present were all farmers before joining the army. They cultivated fields, fished and hunted shrimps, and even hunted in the mountains. They were all experts. Their blood boiled with excitement and they were eager to have a big fight right away. Therefore, Li Zhiyun's proposal was quickly approved.
After Zhu Can's army occupied Champion City, the county officials were either killed or fled, leaving the people in the city without management. Li Zhiyun asked Mr. Hu to recommend a highly respected sage, appointed him as the county magistrate, and asked him to recruit some county government officials.
After the grain transferred by the New Army was transported to the county government, the officials of the county government, together with the Li Zheng of each district, registered the household population and distributed the grain per head. Li Zhiyun took Zhang Zheng, Cai Hu and two other guards, and asked the two guards to carry a bag of grain, and everyone came to Zhuzi's house together.
As soon as Li Zhiyun stepped into the yard, he saw that Old Uncle Hu was also there. He was talking to Zhuzhu's mother in the yard. As soon as Mr. Hu saw him, he quickly greeted him, pointed at him and said to Mrs. Zhuzhu: "Sister-in-law, this is the King of Chu of the Tang Dynasty who saved your daughter-in-law and grandson."
Zhuzi and his wife ran out of the house after hearing the sound. Li Zhiyun took a look and found that Zhuzi's wife was the first woman to take the child out of the palace that night. She also recognized Li Zhiyun, and quickly stepped forward and knelt down, saying excitedly, "Benefactor, thank you for saving me and the child." When Zhu Zhu and his mother saw him, they immediately knelt on the ground.
Li Zhiyun quickly stepped forward to help the old woman up, and then asked Zhu Zhu and his wife to get up quickly. He smiled and said to the old woman: "Mom, your family is running out of food, right? No, I have brought you a bag of grain." After that, he asked the two guards to carry the grain into the house.
Mrs. Zhuzhu thanked her profusely and invited Li Zhiyun and others into the house. Li Zhiyun walked in and took a look. The room was very simple and there was no decent furniture. Zhu Zhu brought an old stool, wiped it with his sleeves, asked Li Zhiyun to sit down, and asked his wife to pour water.
Zhuzi's wife poured a bowl of cold water into a pottery bowl with a cracked mouth, and came over to bring it to Li Zhiyun. Li Zhiyun didn't mind it either, so he took it and drank a few sips. When he put down the bowl, Zhu Zhu smiled and asked: "Your Majesty, can I join the Tang army?"
"Oh? Why do you want to be a soldier?" Li Zhiyun asked with interest.
"By becoming a soldier, I can protect my wife and children from being snatched away and eaten by demons!"
"Then can you find a few more people?"
"Yes! Many of my friends want to join Datang's army."
Zhu Zhu's words reminded Li Zhiyun. He thought that if a popular armed force could be formed, even if the new army left, Zhu Can's army would not dare to harm the people again.
After Li Zhiyun returned to the barracks, he immediately asked Scarface to send people to set up recruitment stations on the streets. Within a few days, more than 2,000 people were recruited. He named this armed force the "Self-Defense Force." When the New Army attacked the barracks, they captured a lot of weapons. Although many of them were damaged by bombing, many were repaired and still usable. These weapons were all equipped to the Self-Defense Forces. Li Zhiyun also selected a group of officers from the New Army and assigned them to train the Self-Defense Forces.
Because the New Army provided food to the people, no one in the city starved to death anymore. Scarface arranged for people to buy farm tools and seeds. After everything was ready, the new army left one battalion to guard the Champion City with the Self-Defense Forces. The other three battalions left the city, set up camp in the remote wilderness, and began to cultivate the ownerless land. of wasteland.
Except for some merchants and handicraftsmen, the residents in the city had fields outside the city. When they saw that the Tang Dynasty's troops were planting crops outside the city, they also picked up farm tools and went to their own fields to work hard. There were also some people who were originally villagers from nearby villages who moved to the city to avoid the war. At this time, they also returned to their villages to repair damaged houses and take care of the crops in the fields.
As a result, within dozens or even hundreds of miles of Champion City, what was once a desolate and deserted field was once again transformed into a vibrant field of hope.
The place Li Zhiyun selected for the new army to farm was Yingjiazhai in Xingshan, twenty miles away from the city. The reason why he chose to farm there was because he did not want to compete with the people for land. He wanted to let the people cultivate the fertile land around the county.
There used to be several villages in the Yingjiazhai area, but they were all in ruins due to the war. In addition to the already barren fields, there are also large areas of wasteland that have never been cultivated. If all of them were cultivated, tens of thousands of acres of fertile land could be obtained. However, the farming season waits for no one, so the New Army had no choice but to select some land that was easier to cultivate and cultivated seven to eight thousand acres first.
