Liu Xiang asked in confusion: "Why is there such a shortage of food?"
Sun Yi was so angry that he clenched his fists and trembled with anger. He was unable to speak for a moment. Wei Li behind him spoke up and said: "General Qi, the county magistrate colluded with powerful people to pretend to be a Yellow Turban to cross the border and plunder. The family's food and property had been robbed, and a certain class had no food to survive the winter, so they thought of joining the general, fighting with the army, and earning some rice."
"Is this true for Fan Yuting, or is it true for all the rural pavilions in the county?"
Sun Yi had already recovered, so he answered: "Most of the rural pavilions were robbed, and the powerful people in the city took the opportunity to raise the price of grain. A bushel of corn has been sold for 120 yuan, and the price has increased six times. Although there was a drought in May this year, But it passed quickly, and what was originally a good year turned out to be met with man-made disasters."
(In the Han Dynasty, a dou was a volume, a dou was ten liters, ten dou was a dendrobium, and one dendrobium weighed about one stone. One stone was one hundred and twenty kilograms, which is about equal to more than fifty-nine kilograms in modern times, or nearly sixty kilograms. )
Liu Xiang had not seen the refugees in Beixin City in Fanyang. Maybe they all fled south after hearing about the war?
He turned back and asked Zhao Yun: "When Zilong goes north, will he encounter refugees fleeing to the south?"
Zhao Yun nodded: "There are groups of refugees going south. One person doesn't have much food and grass, and they don't dare to help them."
Liu Xiang nodded. This Beixin City is like a powder keg. Do you want to detonate it?
In his original plan, he would not attack Beixin City now.
After preparing to join Zhao Yun, they would train new soldiers for a few more days, then turn around to capture Gu'an and Qiu, return to join the Zuo army, and only after taking Zhuoxian would they consider going south.
But he discovered the fighter plane, and it would be a pity to give up.
The plan might as well have changed, which made Liu Xiang a little distressed.
He thought for a moment and asked, "Does Mr. Sun want to kill the county magistrate with his own hands?"
"How can I not think about it, I wish I could eat his flesh and sleep on his skin!"
"I have a plan, and I need Sun Lang's help. If this plan comes true, the county magistrate will leave it to you to deal with it, and the food shortage problem can also be solved. I will give you whatever reward Sun Lang wants."
Sun Yi knew that what Liu Xiang was going to do when he made a wish to him must be very dangerous. But he was determined to fight with the army, and even wanted to be the first to die, so he was already prepared to die in battle.
He looked at each other with his two companions and said, "General, please give me the order."
Liu Xiang smiled and reassured him: "This plan is not complicated, and I will not let Sun Lang die. It just needs local talents to do it well. Sun Lang doesn't need to worry."
After speaking, he stretched out a finger and continued: "The first step is that I will lead the troops back to Fanyang and lower the alert in the city. Sun Lang needs to contact people to strengthen his strength."
He extended a second finger: "The second step is to gather people and sneak into the city. I can also send troops to cooperate. You can pretend to be in the city to take refuge. After you enter the city, I will surround the city with a large number of troops. Then, find opportunities to cooperate inside and outside to seize the city. .”
Liu Xiang really felt that it was neither complicated nor difficult. The key was to have local people, preferably those with some reputation, who could work together both inside and outside the city.
Sun Yi thought about it and said with a bit of embarrassment: "Sun can indeed contact some people, but there is no rice in his hand, so he can't gather many people. Moreover, there are not enough weapons, so he can't create much chaos. I'm afraid it will delay the general's important affairs. .”
Liu Xiang sneered in his heart, he was trying to get some benefits, Sun Yi was not an honest person.
"I will leave a batch of food, grass and weapons. Our army will set off today. Tomorrow you will take the manpower to carry it twenty miles north of the city."
Sun Yi seemed to have made a decision and bowed his hands: "Thank you for your trust, General. I can gather more than a thousand men and fight to the death to seize the city gate and help the general seize the city."
Liu Xiang felt that Sun Yi didn't understand what he meant, so he said, "Sun Lang wants to broaden his horizons. There are 100,000 people in Beixin City in one county, right?"
Sun Yi didn't know, but Tian Cheng next to him answered affirmatively: "Just a little more."
"Many people fled due to food shortage, and even more stayed behind. There are always 50,000 to 70,000 people inside and outside the county. How many of them are short of food for the winter? It is difficult to win over 3,000 to 5,000 to 5,000 people in the name of seizing the city to release food.
Really? People who originally lived in the city didn’t need to make excuses to sneak in. Thinking about it like this, does Sun Lang still think he has to fight hard? "
Sun Yi was very confused, could things be so simple?
Of course, Liu Xiang would not tell the truth to Sun Yi. All he wanted was chaos in the city, and he did not expect Sun Yi and the others to seize the city gate and enlarge the army to enter the city.
He ignored Sun Yi's confused look and turned around to ask Zhao Yun: "Zilong, how much food is left in the army?"
"There are still more than 800 stones of food left."
Liu Xiang turned to Sun Yi and said: "I will leave you six hundred stones of grain and a thousand ring-headed knives. Within seven days, at least three thousand men and horses will be gathered. After seven days, I will march to the city and wait for Sun Lang in the city.
Rise up."
After being deceived by Liu Xiang, Sun Yi made up some things on his own, and became impassioned. He said loudly: "I will definitely complete the general's entrustment and help the general seize the county seat."
Liu Xiang was going to encourage Sun Yi, so he followed his words and said: "If Sun Lang makes great contributions, tens of thousands of people in Beixin City will all inherit Lang Jun's kindness. If Sun Lang is willing to serve as an official, I am willing to recruit Lang Jun as the county captain.
It can be considered as having a background.”
Sun Yi thanked him: "Thank you so much, general."
After agreeing on a time and a secret signal, Sun Yi and the others led the people out of the camp.
"Break camp and set off. Today we will arrive twenty miles north of the city to set up camp." Liu Xiang ordered the troops to set off.
We have to travel thirty-five miles in one afternoon, so time is still very tight.
In order to make it easier to travel quickly, and to let the county magistrate of Beixincheng know that Liu Xiang had returned to the army, he decided to choose the main road, which had to pass through the county town.
In order to cover the rapid march of the infantry, he personally led the cavalry and came to the gate of Beixin City again.
Just like last time, the west gate is still blocked.
Observing this city for the second time, Liu Xiang still felt strange.
There is nothing strange about the city. It is a typical small northern city, with a circumference of four miles, a wall three feet high, four city gates, and a double-story gatehouse on the gate. What is strange is the state of the defenders, who do not feel like they are facing an enemy at all.
Regardless of whether the army is strong or weak, when facing the enemy, it must always be on alert and have a sense of nervousness about going to war, either excitement or fear.
Passing by the city twice, these defenders gave the impression that they were lazy, lacked energy, and didn't care about anything.
What the hell is this?
Liu Xiang sat in the car, puzzled. The forest was really big and there were all kinds of birds.
While he was thinking, the gate of Beixin City opened.
Um?
Going out of the city to start a war?
Then let's have a fight.
It wasn't Liu Xiang Tuoda who led a pure cavalry force. He would fight if he could fight, and run away if he couldn't fight. He was not afraid at all, and the other side did not retreat even if he was used.
He only needed to delay a little, and the infantry behind him could get into position.
Unless there are more cavalry than him rushing out of the city.
He did not believe that there were large groups of cavalry in the inland counties. Even if there were cavalry, they would have been dragged away by Zou Jing long ago.
Liu Xiang guessed correctly that there was no large group of cavalry in Beixin City.
The large group of infantry did not leave the city.
A few people came out, holding white banners with the word "surrender".
He looked at several people kneeling in front of the car, holding up albums and seals.
He couldn't help but sigh in his heart: The experience of this day was a bit of a turning point.
Things in the world are unpredictable and difficult to predict, and plans cannot change quickly.