Xu Mulin closed his eyes. If he remembered correctly, the first time he came to Zhougong Town with Chen Sheng and five horsemen to collect grain.
Although the Zhougong Town at that time was in ruins, at least it still had the breath of life.
But in front of me, under the dark clouds, Zhougong Town was completely transformed into a deserted city.
"My boss, there is no problem." Zhou Zun, who entered the town to investigate, rushed out from the entrance of the town.
"Enter the city." Xu Mu exhaled.
Nearly three thousand people and horses carefully followed the road in front of the town and moved forward slowly.
"They're all dead bodies."
"This big rat is so fat that it looks like a puppy." Si Hu stabbed the machete and turned the big rat into meat paste.
At this moment, at least a thousand giant rats were suddenly alerted, forming a frantic tide of rats and burrowing into the nearest hole.
"Chen Sheng, bring some people to collect the corpses. Don't use fire. Dig a hole and bury them first."
The three thousand of them still have to rest in the town. If the bodies are not disposed of in time, they will get sick sooner or later.
"Feng Qiu, if I remember correctly, there is a large grain store to the east with many rice warehouses. Take the wounded to settle first."
Feng Qiu nodded and walked forward with the carriage.
"Mr. Chen, take some people with you and go to the town to look for any survivors."
The chances are slim, but you have to do it anyway.
After making arrangements, Xu Mu breathed a sigh of relief. In his heart, he just hoped that Beidi would not come too early, and at least let them recuperate his soaked body.
Both Hezhou City and these three thousand desperate people need time to breathe.
"Master, do you want these collapsing firestones to be put down on the carriage?"
The Benghuoshi is the cart obtained from the ambush of the baggage train. If there is a catapult, it can exert its greatest power.
"No, park the carriage in a sheltered area and lay out more hay to avoid getting wet."
After uttering a sentence, Xu Mu rubbed his neck and relaxed for a moment, only to realize that his whole body was exhausted.
As Xu Mu expected, the few rice warehouses left by profiteers in grain stores were quite good. Of course, all the grains and polished rice stored in them had been emptied.
Xu Mu simply knocked down the partition between the rice warehouses, allowing the three thousand people to sit together and finally have a place to stay temporarily.
Several bonfires were carefully raised, hot water was boiled, and dry food was boiled. When the alluring aroma of wheat wafted up, a slight smile appeared on the faces of nearly three thousand people.
"My boss, there are no living people left. The houses in the town are full of rotting corpses." Chen Jiaqiao sighed and led the people back to the rice warehouse.
Xu Mu was not surprised by this result.
"Mr. Chen, sit down and have something to eat first."
Outside the rice warehouse, it was still stormy.
In the rice warehouse, the heroes who rarely relaxed for a while began to fall asleep soundly after eating early to wash away the fatigue of the past few days.
"Zhou Zun and Zhou Luo, you two should work harder and take turns staying on duty at night."
"Don't worry, boss."
Zhou Zun and Zhou Luo all handed over their hands without saying a word.
Xu Mu walked out of the rice barn, looked at the dark world outside and the color of the wind and rain, and fell into silence for a long time.
…
In the early morning, the sky was only getting slightly brighter. In the huge rice warehouse, one after another people opened their eyes and stood up, began to put on their robes and armor, and wiped their weapons.
The dozens of injured people accompanying him were in significantly better condition after a night in a dry environment and a good night's sleep.
"Master, do you want to leave the deserted town?"
"I won't leave for now." Xu Mu calmed down. If he guessed correctly, there were people outside looking for them.
The road from Wangzhou to Hezhou is neither small nor large. It is more than a hundred miles away, and even if it covers dead villages and towns in all directions, it won't take long for them to be found.
If you encounter someone in the wild, you will die more miserably. On the contrary, in a deserted town or small town, there is still a glimmer of hope.
Of course, staying in a deserted town is not a foolproof strategy.
"Mr. Chen, can you tell me about the situation in Wangzhou?"
"Wangzhou? There is no information. What does the boss want to do?"
"If Wangzhou is desirable, I want to capture Wangzhou City." Xu Mu's tone was serious, not joking.
Hezhou is the front line, and Beidi has piled almost all the army there, leaving only a few baggage teams and patrol teams.
"Hit Wangzhou..." Feng Qiu next to him swallowed hard.
"Master, we only have less than three thousand troops."
"I know." Xu Mu lowered his voice, "If something cannot be done, naturally we will not consider it. But if there is hope, after we capture Wangzhou, the war may turn around."
"Master, what do you say?"
Xu Mu exhaled, picked up a dead branch and broke it off. He placed a section on the left side, and after a certain distance, he also placed a section on the right side.
"One section is Hezhou, and the other section is Wangzhou. If we take Wangzhou, and Hezhou is also defended."
"So, these hundreds of thousands of Beidi troops are blocked between the two ends." Feng Qiu took a closer look and his face became ecstatic.
Chen Jiaqiao was not good at the art of war, but after thinking about it seriously, he couldn't help but become brighter.
"When the hundreds of thousands of troops run out of food and fodder, things will definitely change."
Xu Mu nodded. In the more than 100 miles of road between Hezhou and Wangzhou, there are probably no villages or farms, and even the towns are deserted.
If Beidi's hundreds of thousands of troops can really be blocked, these Di dogs will reap the consequences.
"If Wangzhou is taken down, there will definitely be reinforcements from Beidi in the future. On the other hand, we and the three thousand people can only defend Wangzhou City without reinforcements."
"At least, we have to wait until the hundreds of thousands of Di people who were besieged, mutiny due to hunger, unable to fight anymore, and are killed by the Hezhou army out of the city. In this way, the siege of Hezhou will be solved."
The idea is beautiful, but Xu Mu knows that there are too many factors involved.
Feng Qiu and Chen Jiaqiao looked at each other slightly, their eyes full of disbelief. The young master who could decide such a dangerous plan must have such amazing thoughts.
"It's not done yet, it's just a discussion." Xu Mu softened his tone, fearing that his two generals would be frightened.
"My boss, the most important thing right now is to find out the information about Wangzhou City first." Chen Jiaqiao thought for a while before speaking.
Xu Mu nodded. With three thousand men and horses, no matter what step we take in the future, intelligence will be the top priority.
"You two, I plan to go to Wangzhou myself."
It's not because of recklessness, but because among the three of them, he is the most familiar with the situation in Wangzhou City.
"My boss, I'll just go." Feng Qiu became anxious, and according to what the troops said, Xu Mu is a general of the three armies, how could he leave the camp hastily.
"You don't have to worry too much. If I don't come back for three days, you two will take the remaining heroes and return to Tuotou Mountain. If the matter is urgent, you can first retreat to the wild fields behind the town, where you can still hibernate for a while."
Feng Qiu and Chen Jiaqiao suddenly looked heavy.
"How many people will the host bring?"
"Three hundred riders." Xu Mu spit out a number. If there were too many people, the target would be easily exposed. Moreover, he was not going to engage in an encounter, but to explore the reality of Wangzhou City.
If we stop moving forward, Xu Mu believes that when the Beidi people's baggage is gathered again and the grain road is reopened, the entire Hezhou City will usher in a new round of defense battle.