Chapter 180 The disaster situation in Suzhou deteriorated sharply
It was snowing heavily, and it was the eleventh day when the Northern Liang army left Suzhou.
Cai Yan and Zhang Feng, who first arrived in the city, were woken up early in the morning.
Lin Bei came to invite the two of them in person.
"General Lin, what happened?" Zhang Feng ran out while still wearing his belt.
Cai Yan was also next door. The two lived next to each other for a while, but they got up immediately after receiving a knock on the door.
Lin Bei waited for both of them to come out before he said:
"Eight people froze to death last night and two died of starvation."
"Someone died so soon?" Both of them were panicked.
Because hunger will spread, and starving people to death is a signal.
Even with the coordination of the Yulin Army, what is supposed to come is coming. This is something that cannot be resisted.
"Go take a look." Cai Yan frowned.
Under the leadership of the Yulin Army soldiers, Lin Bei led the two of them to a dilapidated City God's Temple in the city.
The temple is grand and looks very large. You can tell at a glance that there used to be a lot of incense here, but no one cares about it now.
As soon as he approached the Chenghuang Temple, Cai Yan discovered that the walls on both sides of the temple were bare.
"Master Cai," Lin Bei explained when he saw that he had discovered this, "someone was trying to steal the wall a few days ago."
Zhang Feng also noticed this and asked: "Is this wall skin made of batter?"
"Rice paste." Lin Beidao.
Cai Yan and Zhang Feng looked at each other and immediately realized the seriousness of the matter. The people were already hungry to this extent, which meant that there was nothing they could do at home or in the wild.
In this feudal and superstitious era, no common people are willing to come to temples to grab food unless they have to.
Now even the walls of the City God's Temple have been stripped clean by the people, which shows that the people in the city have become completely hungry.
"General, my lords, please."
In the Chenghuang Temple, a soldier came out and invited the three people in.
As soon as he went in and took a look, Cai Yan's throat moved slightly and he almost vomited.
Zhang Feng, on the other hand, was much calmer, but there was also a chill in his eyes, and he said in surprise: "The corpse..."
Lin Bei nodded: "This is exactly why I asked you two to come here."
Walking into the main hall, I looked at the one or two withered bones that had been torn clean of flesh and blood. The blood on the ground had long dried, and only the heads were still hanging on the bodies.
The deputy general of the Yulin Army had been waiting here early, and after handing over his hand, he suppressed his nausea:
"General, Master Cai, Master Zhang... There are already signs of this in the city. I'm afraid it won't be too far away before a real mob appears."
Lin Bei looked at the two of them: "If the food and grass provided by the court for disaster relief do not come again, the city will reappear the situation of people cannibalizing people in the ancient tribal period."
Not will, but already happened.
It's just an example now. If two days pass, those who haven't starved to death will also be driven crazy.
People cannot bear hunger. When hungry, all ethics and morals will be forgotten. Survival is the only thought.
"Are there no small towns or villages near Suzhou? Can some be recruited from those places for emergency response?" Cai Yan did not want to see such a blood-stained history reappear.
The deputy general shook his head:
"There are more refugees and hungry people outside the city. Our soldiers went hunting without any harvest, and the game here is almost exhausted."
"Our Yulin Army has been operating in Suzhou for more than ten days. It has been hard enough. Even the soldiers have saved a lot of food... If this continues, the military camp will run out of food."
Lin Bei said seriously: "Now the soldiers are also suffering from hunger, but they still have reason and rely on the law and military power to suppress the demons in their hearts. If only three to five days pass... I don't know if they will still listen to me.
instructions."
In a few days, the military camp will also run out of food, which is what Lin Bei is most worried about.
Once such a situation occurs, and the mob and the Yulin army bomb the camp, it will definitely be a devastating blow to Suzhou. At that time, I am afraid that a group of people who will do whatever it takes to survive will gather together.
As for what to do when we get together, it's self-evident.
"But what can we do..." Zhang Feng shook his head, "Zhezi was sent back to Beijing the day before yesterday. I'm afraid he hasn't arrived yet."
"We can only hope that the Young Master can bring some food from Ganzhou."
"Where are Liangzhou and Lizhou?" Cai Yan couldn't bear it, hoping that there would be support there.
But he saw Lin Bei and the deputy general shaking their heads.
The deputy general said: "Master Cai, the official rations of Liangzhou Prefecture have been evacuated and the people in the city have been helped. Otherwise, Suzhou would have been starved to death."
"As for Lizhou and Liangzhou, they cannot force too much. Luoyang deliberately created such a situation. If we transfer too much food and grass from Lizhou and Liangzhou... Luoyang will definitely attack Lizhou or Liangzhou, and then the defenders will
We can't hold on until reinforcements arrive." Lin Bei shook his head.
The two people, who were not familiar with martial arts, immediately understood that they could not touch the food of Lizhou and Liangzhou.
"Can we just wait for the young master and not be able to do anything?" Cai Yan was unwilling to accept it.
Zhang Feng said calmly: "I'm afraid this is the case. We have no other choice but to wait for rescue."
At this time, a soldier came on horseback, dismounted not far away, and ran to report.
The deputy general went over, his eyes widened after hearing this, and he turned around with a complicated expression.
"What's wrong?" Lin Bei asked.
The deputy general said: "The scouts outside the city found someone in the mass grave..."
"..." There was no need to finish, the three of them were silent.
Zhang Feng: "The situation is more serious than what we just considered."
"In two days at most, a large number of mobs will appear." Cai Yan came to a terrible result based on previous experience in disaster areas.
Lin Bei:
"If a large number of mobs appear in Suzhou, the Yulin army only has more than 6,000 people. They are tired and thin and cannot suppress them."
Upon hearing Lin Bei's words, Cai Yan's eyes suddenly lit up and he said:
"I suddenly thought of a way."
Zhang Feng shook his head: "I know what you are thinking, but none of us dare to make this decision."
"What are you two talking about?" Lin Bei and the deputy general still didn't understand.
Cai Yan gritted his teeth and said: "Kill the horse!"
As soon as these words came out, the deputy general shouted: "Impossible, Mr. Cai, do you know what you are talking about?!"
Lin Bei started to think about it.
Seeing that the general was a little shaken, the deputy general said quickly: "General, you can't kill the horse, absolutely not!"
The war horses that the Yulin Army went to the north were all the property of the Yulin Army. When they left the capital, each ministry even raised some war horses for the Yulin Army.
Horses were changed along the way, plus some natural damage, and now the Habayashi Army has less than 7,000 horses, which can barely support one horse per person.
"General Lin, the people in the city are more important right now." Cai Yu said earnestly. He couldn't bear to see anyone starve to death or have people eat people.
Lin Bei also shook his head: "Even if we kill horses, we can only supply the military camp, and we can't care about anything else."
"Why?" Cai Yan asked.
"I want to protect the soldiers of the Yulin Army first, and then the rest, because only when the Yulin Army maintains its combat effectiveness can it face all emergencies." Lin Bei said seriously.
Cai Yan: "What else can happen? As long as there is food in the city, it will not get worse."
Facing this naive censor, Lin Bei and Zhang Feng looked at each other and shook their heads secretly.
It would be great if that was the case. Lin Bei secretly sighed. When the Yulin army first entered the city, they killed many people who took the opportunity to cause trouble before quelling the hidden dangers in the city.
In the face of disaster, it is very naive and stupid to overestimate the human morality of the public.
"Master Cai, if there are thieves attacking the city, or if there are remnants of the Beiliang army harassing Suzhou, will our Yulin army go hungry and fight to the death?" Lin Bei's tone became a little serious.
"You are just speculating, but the situation in front of you is real and there is no need to delay!" Cai Yan argued with reason.
Zhang Feng: "Master Cai! You and I are just patrol envoys, not the presiding ones."
Zhang Feng reminded Cai Yan not to interfere too much in the decision-making of the Yulin Army, as this would be beyond his duties.
The deputy general of the Yulin Army was silent on the side. As long as the coach's mind was not wrong, he would not stand in a stalemate with the patrolling envoy at this time.
Lin Beidao: "We still hope that the young master will arrive as soon as possible."
"Report..."
Another soldier came on horseback, dismounted and said excitedly:
"Report to the general, caravans have appeared in the direction of Ganzhou and north of Suzhou. I sent someone to ask if they are delivering food!"
"What?" Everyone was overjoyed.
The deputy general smiled: "General, that's great, there's no need to kill the horse!"
For cavalry, horses are their second life. Unless they really want to starve to death, no one will think of killing the horse.
Cai Yan cupped his hands and knelt on the ground to thank God: "God has eyes!"
"Young Master came so soon?" Zhang Feng was a little confused.
On the day when the Yulin Army entered Suzhou, the young division rushed from Lizhou to Ganzhou, and the journey took two days no matter how fast it was.
When raising food in Ganzhou, no matter how quickly the first batch is collected, it still takes a day.
It will take at least nine or even more than ten days to set off from Ganzhou and arrive in Suzhou.
In other words, no matter how fast the grain team of the Young Division is, it will take two or three days before the first batch of grain can be delivered.
"I'm afraid it's not the Young Division's grain team." Lin Bei also judged.
"Will the people around come to help?" Zhang Feng just finished speaking and shook his head.
At this time, there is little news. If other places in the surrounding areas receive news of the disaster in Suzhou, it may be a few days later, and they won't be able to send people there so quickly.
What's more important is that no one except the government granary has any surplus grain during this season.
