The reunion of old friends naturally brings endless joy, but this reunion comes at the wrong time. It is at the end of the road, and even the greetings exchanged are somewhat melancholy.
Tianchang is not far from Yangzhou, and people from the two places often visit each other, and have many contacts with relatives and friends. Yangzhou is short of food, and Tianchang is not much better. It’s just that Tianchang is a small county, and there are more people farming than in the county seat.
There were a lot of people, and the villagers always had a way to get some miscellaneous things to satisfy their hunger, so it was not as noisy as in Yangzhou.
However, after the heavy snowfall, the days became more and more difficult. Some people secretly spread rumors that a large porridge shed was opened in front of the Yangzhou government office to give alms to the homeless. So some people from Tianchang took the trouble to rush to Yangzhou just for the porridge for two meals a day.
As the county magistrate, Li Chong quickly got the news. After careful inquiry, he found out that a food envoy named Su Jin came from Yangzhou. It was he who was in charge of the relief work. Li Chong was surprised and happy.
I deliberately found a free day and rushed to Yangzhou Mansion to pay my respects. Unexpectedly, when I arrived at Yangzhou Mansion, I was poured a ladle of cold water on my head. There were rumors everywhere that the grain transported by the grain envoy to Yangzhou had been robbed.
Although Song Xiang kept silent about the matter, Li Chong still got confirmation from his anxious eyes and tightened brows; after learning that Su Jin led a thousand troops from Yangzhou to Bagong Mountain to collect food, Li Chong
Hurry back to the county government to organize manpower. The Bagong Mountain bandits are well-known for their ferocity. Su Jin doesn't understand military affairs at all. I'm afraid he won't be able to get a favor this time, so he has to help him no matter what.
Su Jin was very moved after listening to Li Chong's narration; a friend in need is a friend indeed, his imprisonment in Luzhou and the disaster before him had fully proved that Li Chong was someone he could make friends with. Ironically, Da
The state capital was indifferent, but the small county town gathered a mixed army of soldiers to come to the rescue. I don't know whether to be happy or sad.
"Brother Zhaoting, did you just say that the people of Yangzhou Prefecture already know about this matter?" Su Jin did not want to plunge Yangzhou into chaos because of this matter.
"Yes, the people in Yangzhou are talking a lot. When I arrived in Yangzhou Mansion, I was wearing casual clothes, and the streets were full of people talking about it. It's no wonder, how could such a big thing be concealed?"
Su Jin frowned and said, "This is what I don't want to see the most. If the food cannot be recovered now, and if chaos breaks out in the backyard, we will have to return to Yangzhou to maintain public order. That will be troublesome."
"Prefect Song has been working hard to explain and ease the situation, but I don't think there is much hope. Everyone knows that there is not much food in Yangzhou Prefecture." Li Chong didn't have any good ideas.
Su Jin paced back and forth, everyone looked at his slightly tired figure, anxious and helpless. The atmosphere in the tent was extremely solemn, and the air was a bit suffocating.
Su Jin suddenly stopped, looked at Old Shopkeeper Zhang and said, "Old Shopkeeper, how much food does our family have?"
Zhang Rongqin said: "It has been sold in limited quantities at low prices, and now there are still about 60,000 shi."
Su Jin said: "Old shopkeeper, please do something for me. Go back to Luzhou immediately and transfer 50,000 shi of grain to Yangzhou. These 50,000 shi of grain will buy me five or six days when it arrives in Yangzhou. This will make it easier for me to plan here. Otherwise, Yangzhou
Once the city runs out of food, I won't be able to hold on here any longer."
Zhang Rongqin frowned and said: "But... Yangzhou is a bottomless pit. The situation here has not improved. Even Luzhou and Shouzhou are unwilling to send troops to help. What should we do?"
Su Jindao: "Don't worry about it here. After you arrive in Yangzhou, you have to do a good job of explaining it. Just say that everything goes well here and that these 50,000 shi of grain are part of the grain recaptured from the hands of the bandits. And tell the people that I will be there soon."
Invade the bandit's nest and take back all the food. Let everyone live in peace and not let me get distracted."
Before Zhang Rongqin could hesitate, Yan Biyun said softly: "Old shopkeeper, do as he says, and Su Jin will definitely find a solution."
Zhang Rongqin had no choice but to agree, and without further ado, once the old shopkeeper agreed, he left in a hurry. Su Jin stayed with him for lunch, but the old shopkeeper refused, so Su Jin had to send a hundred soldiers to be followed by a Dutou commander.
The old shopkeeper hurried back to Luzhou.
After seeing off the old shopkeeper, Su Jin's mood improved slightly. After lunch, Su Jin took Li Chong, Pan Jiang, and seven or eight others to the front of the mountain to observe the situation. Su Jin had not been paying attention these days.
He carefully observed the terrain of Bagong Mountain. Firstly, he did not understand military affairs at all. Secondly, he was counting on the arrival of reinforcements from the two states and letting the generals who led the troops make up their minds. Now that the foreign aid was in vain, he could only rely on his own efforts.
Everyone came to two miles outside the mountain pass. It would be very dangerous to go further. The two towering arrow towers at the mountain pass could shoot arrows four hundred steps away. If there was a crossbow, it would be at least a thousand steps away.
The journey is getting closer to the danger of life.
Everyone looked up and saw a winding path at the mountain pass that spiraled up into the dense forest mist on the mountainside. There were many arrow towers along the path, and there were two or three arrow towers every few dozen steps. There were also arrow towers at slightly steeper places.
There are horizontal fence fortifications, and the large stones piled up above the fortifications are clearly visible. If we attack by force, we may not be able to hide from the arrow towers, but we will not be able to hide from these rolling logs and stones.
There are either dense forests or cliffs on both sides of the trail. There is no other way. The pass occupied by the bandits is really easy to defend and difficult to attack. No wonder several previous attacks have failed. Hundreds of bandits guard such a pass.
Even if there are tens of thousands of officers and soldiers attacking, it will be of no avail, and the formation cannot be deployed at all.
Li Chong sighed: "This terrain is really impregnable. If we could have surrounded it before, they would have been surrounded for a year and a half without food and collapsed. But now, let alone no time, there is plenty of time. The bandits have done this."
I bought half a million shi of food into the mountains, and I'm afraid I won't starve to death if I don't come out in three to five years."
Su Jin also scratched his head and asked: "I wonder if there is a way back into the mountain. If we attack from behind, it should be effective."
A Dutou said: "I have reported to the special envoy, sir. There is a way out, but it is of no avail."
Su Jin said: "How?"
Na Dutou said: "I have a relative in my humble position who collects medicine in the mountains. I asked him about the terrain of Bagong Mountain a few months ago when the bandits were suppressing the area. He told me that the mountain occupied by the bandits was du li
Chengfeng, there are roads into the mountains in the north of Shandong, but they can only go to the foot of the cliff behind the bandit's nest. The cliff is hundreds of feet high, and no birds or animals can stand on it, let alone a large group of people who are on the mountain. He once went to collect medicine.
After passing there, I stayed on the cliff for a long time by relying on a long rope. The rocks on the cliff were as sharp as knives, and I almost cut the rope and lost my life, so I'm afraid it will be even more difficult to take the back route."
Su Jin was in a depressed mood, silently staring at the pass in a daze. The bandits at the pass were trying their best to tease the soldiers on the arrow tower fortifications, taunting them, shouting and laughing, but did not take the officers and soldiers seriously.
Pan Jiang cursed angrily and said to Su Jin: "Your Majesty, since the strategy is useless, why don't we just go hard? I don't believe it. More than a thousand of us can't attack this pass."
Li Chong hurriedly waved his hands and said: "No! The success of a forceful attack is not high. If the casualties are too large, there will be no way out. Not attacking will still have a deterrent effect. Once defeated, there will be no chance."
Pan Jiang spread his hands and said, "What should we do? Can't everyone just stare at each other here?"
Just when Li Zhong was about to explain, Su Jin suddenly waved his hand and said: "Go back to camp and don't get into unnecessary arguments. I think I have some clues. I need to calm down and think about it. I will discuss the plan with you in detail in the evening."
Su Jin locked himself in the tent and leaned on the quilt quietly to think. Li Zhong's words of "deterrence" made Su Jin seem to catch something, like lightning in the dark clouds that instantly illuminated the sky, but suddenly it was
Return to darkness.
"Deterrence. If you don't fight, you will be defeated. There will be no chance." Su Jin recited these words over and over in his mind, searching hard for the slightest clue, and gradually became bold.
A plan came to mind. The boldness of this plan made him sweat on his forehead.
If you can't fight, you have to fight, and if you can't get the food back, your own will be dead, and the people of Yangzhou will be dead too. The Yan Shu family will also be in trouble, the Yan family, the Su family will be in trouble, and even Song Xiang, Gou Dasheng and others will be in trouble.
If you are unlucky, the consequences are too serious, so you must not give up.
But if you can't fight hard, the consequences will be even worse. At the very least, hundreds of lives will be lost in vain. So the only way now is - peace!
Peace requires a bargaining chip. Without overwhelming deterrence, it would be strange for the bandits to negotiate with you. With just these thousand officers and soldiers, it is impossible to scare the bandits. Without chips, peace talks are just a joke. The problem now is to have
Enough bargaining chips forced the bandits to negotiate peace with him.
Su Jin's eyes lit up, and he suddenly thought of a wonderful idea.dd