The people marched to the southeast and the army marched to the northwest. Liu Zhang mounted his horse again, and Fa Zheng rode side by side, marching between the hunting armies.
"Lord, how are you? I'm right, Fan Lixiang is quite skilled in the art." Fazheng glanced at Fan Lixiang behind him and lowered his voice to Liu Zhang.
"Don't be too happy too early. Food is the most important thing for the people. If we don't let them have enough to eat, it will be useless no matter how we try to win them over."
"What do you plan to do, my lord?"
"Let's capture Xiangyang first and then talk about it, Jia."
The army crossed the Xiangjiang River and only saw the Jingzhou soldiers' cavalry without any resistance. The investigation revealed that Xu Shu had withdrawn all his troops into the city and stationed them in Xiangyang and ancient Xiangyang respectively.
Xiangyang City was originally located to the west of present-day Xiangyang. After Liu Biao pacified Jingzhou, he built a new city in the east and designated it as the prefecture of Jingzhou. Now that Xiangyang City is now present, all residents moved into the new city and the original city site was built into a military fortress.
The Sichuan army arrived so quickly that Xu Shu had not expected it. Before he had time to train his soldiers, the Sichuan army had already set up camps on three sides outside Xiangyang City, encompassing Xiangyang and ancient Xiangyang. Xu Shu could only deploy half of the sailors plus the original defeated soldiers.
, and 5,000 servants from various clans who voluntarily gathered, totaling 50,000, to defend Xiangyang and ancient Xiangyang respectively, once again forming a cornering force.
Liu Biaoxi
After all I's elite soldiers were killed, the Jingzhou soldiers were left with new recruits and sailors who didn't know how to fight on land. They had almost no combat power. Xu Shu did not dare to take these people out to attack the Sichuan army's camp, and the heavy rain continued, so the Sichuan army could not
Attacking the city, the two sides fell into a stalemate.
Heavy rain seventh
i.
Raindrops were pounding on the roof. Liu Zhang and Fa Zheng were sitting across from each other in a private house. Half of the tents had been demolished, and the soldiers were worried that they would have no place to stay. When they arrived in Xiangyang, they realized that they had really worried too much. After Xu Shu's instigation,
As soon as the Sichuan Army's flag arrived, the people of Xiangyang fled. Most entered Xiangyang City, a few entered ancient Xiangyang, and some could not enter the city because the Sichuan Army arrived too quickly, so they crossed the Han River and fled to the new fields of Fancheng.
As a result, the Sichuan troops lived in civilian houses, which were much more comfortable than tents.
"Lord, this time Deng Zhi brought many new siege equipment. The range of catapults and crossbows is much longer than before, and the sample ladders are also lengthened. As long as the heavy rain stops, we can attack the city. But
." Fazheng paused as he spoke: "After many people in Baichuan who originally had no land returned, because their families had moved away and they had no wages, the new county magistrate Jiang Wan sent them to build siege equipment. Now that it is raining heavily, I'm afraid
It will cause quite a lot of obstacles.”
"Tell the secretary to give them more wages. In addition, ask the military doctor to ensure the supply of medicines for the workers first, urge them to take a hot bath before going to bed, and provide three meals. They must bring a bowl of ginger soup with each meal. They are not allowed to drink it." Liu Zhang
Sitting opposite Fazheng, these few
i It has been raining, and I felt refreshed at first, but now I am getting more and more irritable.
"Yes" Fazheng responded, and at this time two women walked in, one was Xiao Furong, and the other was dressed as a peasant woman. She looked in her twenties, her face was still delicate and elegant, her hair was a little messy, and it was tied with a rag.
The woman's name was Sang Ye. When the Sichuan troops stationed in the village, they thought there was no one in the village. It took a day and night before they discovered a woman hiding in the cellar.
Sang Ye claimed to be from Jingnan and married to Xiangyang. This is the house where Liu Zhang now lives for six years. The owner was from a wealthy family with a well-educated family. However, because he was from a poor family background and had no heirs, the owner treated Sang Ye very well.
Ye was very mean, not only doing things like the servants, but also often beating and scolding him. Sang Ye couldn't bear it, so when all his master's family fled to ancient Xiangyang for refuge, he secretly hid in the cellar.
At first, Mulberry, who was covered in dirt, was a little scared when she saw Liu Zhang and the tiger and wolf soldiers of the Sichuan Army. Later, she found that although Liu Zhang had a cold face, he was still easy-going and did not chase her away. Moreover, the lady beside Liu Zhang often talked to her.
, and slowly got used to it.
Xiao Furong and Sang Ye each held a cup of tea. Xiao Furong smiled and said: "This is the sheep nǎi tea I learned to make from Sister Ye. You can drink it and try it."
When the two cups of tea were placed on the table, Liu Zhang wanted to pick up the mulberry leaf cup, but finally chose Xiao Furong's cup, not because he was afraid that Xiao Furong would be sad, but because there was no need for Fa Zheng to suffer.
"Well, it tastes good." Liu Zhang sighed and said to Fa Zheng, "right."
Fazheng nodded. His drink was indeed delicious. No one but himself knew about Liu Zhang's drink.
"Then drink more." Xiao Furong said to Liu Zhang excitedly.
"By the way, Xiaozhi, when I opened the brocade bag, Gao Pei said it was written by that talkative black-faced soldier. Heavy Rain Seven
i will never end, today
i is already seventh
i, the heavy rain shows no sign of slowing down. If it weren't for him, I'm afraid we would have to spend this month in Baichuan. Xu Shu would have time to train his troops. It seems that this man is a great talent. When will you call him over?
Take a look." Liu Zhang put down his tea cup and said to Fa Zheng seriously.
Fazheng nodded: "This person may indeed be a great talent. I will go back and check his background, and then bring him to meet the lord. Maybe we can get a great talent."
"Yes." Liu Zhang nodded.
Xiao Furong stood aside feeling depressed.
At this moment, a soldier entered the house, rainwater flowing on his raincoat, and said: "My lord, something bad has happened. The Yangtze and Xiangjiang rivers have burst their banks one after another, and floods have occurred on both sides. General Huang Zhong, the prefect of Liangqiao, and the county magistrate Jiang Wan
They all asked for disaster relief."
"What?" Liu Zhang stood up suddenly, his face changing color instantly.
"Immediately ordered Huang Zhong to open a warehouse to release grain and provide relief..."
"Lord."
Before Liu Zhang finished speaking, Fazheng interrupted Liu Zhang and said: "My lord, just provide relief to Wuling, Changsha and Xiangjiang. Jiangling, please wait a moment."
"Why should we be treated differently?" Liu Zhang looked at Fa Zhengdao.
Fa Zheng paused for a moment. He didn't want to say anything at first, but finally said: "My lord, Fa Zheng is not willing to see the victims displaced, but my lord, have you ever thought about where the food we have been using since the war started? A hundred thousand troops.
The consumption is a huge number, all of which are supplied by Jiangling's original grain reserves.
Xiangyang City is high and deep. Even if the heavy rain stops and the ground is muddy and the walls are slippery, it will not be conquered in a short time. We still need a lot of food. However, in the territory of Jingzhou we occupy, it is not an exaggeration to say that ten rooms and nine empty rooms can be conquered in two years.
There can be no taxes within the city. If Jiangling runs out of grain and grass, we will have to transport grain from Chengdu, thousands of miles away. Then the consumption on the road will be more than the current military expenditure.
The people in Wuling, Changsha and along the Xiangjiang River have basically returned home. If we don't provide disaster relief, we will be disappointed. But in Jiangling, not only has the people's support not recovered, we have to leave Huang Zhong and more than 10,000 troops to guard it, and the population is huge.
The food can help five Changshas and twenty Wulings, but we cannot take care of everything and can only make choices."
After Fa Zheng finished speaking quickly, Liu Zhang remained silent, Xiao Furong and Sang Ye looked at him, and the soldiers knelt on the ground waiting for orders.
After a long time, Liu Zhang said slowly: "Order Huang Zhong to open a warehouse to store grain and provide relief to all victims, all of whom will be treated equally. I also order Huang Quan of Yizhou to transfer grain to Jiangling."
"Lord..."
"The people have failed me, and I will not fail the people." Liu Zhang interrupted Fa Zheng's words, turned around and entered the house.
Fazheng waved his sleeves and exclaimed, "My lord, when will you get rid of the problem of being tight on the outside and broad on the inside." Fazheng walked up to the soldier, bent down and said quickly: "Go and pass on the lord's order. By the way,
Give Huang Zhong a word and tell him to collect grain from the Jiangling clan at half price. If anyone dares to disobey, his clan will be exterminated and his family will be confiscated."
"Yes." The soldier frowned and agreed loudly.
The soldiers left, Fa Zheng stood up and sighed: "Even so, the food and grass will not last much longer."
i. The city of Xiangyang is high and the pond is deep. Can we hold on until we can capture Xiangyang..."
Fazheng shook his head and left. Originally, because the Sichuan army quickly reached the outskirts of Xiangyang, victory was almost certain, but he did not expect that a disaster would come from heaven. Transporting grain from Jiangling and transporting grain from Chengdu was by no means as simple as increasing the distance.
Only Xiao Furong and Mulberry Leaf were left in the room. Xiao Furong sighed, sat where Liu Zhang had been sitting just now, and picked up the tea cup Liu Zhang drank from.
"Why did Madam sigh?" Sang Ye asked standing aside.
Xiao Furong glanced at the side door, shook her head, and said nothing. Sangye followed Xiao Furong's eyes, understood what Xiao Furong meant, and said to Xiao Furong: "Actually, madam, you don't have to worry, war is a man's business.
We just need to take good care of the men. If the madam is unhappy, the adults will be even more unhappy. Do you think so, madam?"
Xiao Furong turned to look at Sang Ye, who smiled slightly at her. Only then did Xiao Furong feel that Sang Ye was right. She should be happier, otherwise Liu Zhang would become even more angry when he saw her unhappy look.
Be infected.
Xiao Furong pulled Sang Ye to sit next to her and said to Sang Ye: "Sister Ye, how can you take good care of a man?"
Sang Ye and Xiao Furong were sitting side by side on the seats, feeling a little unnatural. After all, he and Xiao Furong had different identities. However, seeing Xiao Furong's pretty face looking like she was waiting for advice and there was no one else here, Sang Ye reluctantly let go.
The restraints were lifted.
"My wife is not an ordinary person. She is different from the women's ethics that ordinary people abide by. You have someone to take care of your life. It is enough that you can feel your presence when you need to understand and care about me. For the rest, you only need to act like a lady."
It would be nice to look like a state shepherd’s wife.”
Sang Ye actually didn't know what Mrs. Zhou Mu was like, but from a peasant woman's perspective, she was just an upgraded version of those noble ladies. She talked to Xiao Furong and envied Xiao Furong in her heart.
These few
i get along, Sang Ye can feel that Liu Zhang and Xiao Furong love each other. In this era, it is almost impossible for men to be as tolerant of a woman as Liu Zhang was. Moreover, Sang Ye saw it when he gave the order to the soldier who reported the disaster just now.
"The people have failed me, but I will not fail the people." Liu Zhang, as a high official, is also a good official. (To be continued.