Three Kingdoms

  Chapter 1217 Ambush Don’t Eat Too Much Food

  In Linjin City, these days, the battle at the head of the city is naturally extremely cruel. Even the busyness and misery in the city is not much better than blood and blood. Before the battle, the refugees who entered the city and lived in the shadows, all those who had the strength, were recruited with a meal of hot porridge a day, and formed into a team to carry the defense equipment and bows and arrows. The supplies were moved to the city, and the casualties were moved down the city wall one by one, and piled up in the sheds built on the root of the city.

  Some mud-tiled houses near the city wall have been temporarily demolished. The wooden planks, wooden beams, and bricks and stones that were removed have all become materials for defending the city. Only half of the yellow mud wall is left standing alone on the ground.

  This is the practice of this era. For the owner of the house, there is no room for negotiation. The shining swords and guns are in front of him. If he dares to say a word, he will be beheaded as a collaborator, and he will not even be compensated afterwards.

On both sides of the main street in the city, the shops are closed. Even if they are ordered to open, the grain stores guarded by special soldiers are only open for half an hour at noon in a day, and then they are closed immediately when the hour comes. It takes only five pieces of jiaozi with the same denomination. Even so, the five-shi rice that must be sold under the daily restriction is still in short supply...

  Other firewood, soy sauce, salt, etc., can only be found by the people in the city. Anyway, the city gate is not open, and even firewood is used less, not to mention the vegetables that were originally outside the city.

In the main streets and unattended alleys, the refugees from Guanzhong who escaped from the military disaster outside the city were either squatting, or half lying down, curled up under the corners of the walls and houses. They didn't even have a bite to eat, they could only fill their stomachs with well water, and then chewed on the bark and grass roots. Some of them couldn't even find the bark and grass roots, so they could only look for some white clay. Knead into **** with water and swallow whole.

  In Anpingfang in the city, things are much better, at least no conscripted soldiers have come to the door. At the door of the square, there are also some servants from various families helping to maintain order and prevent people from entering.

These are some of Zuo Fengyi's big families who do not live in Wubao in the countryside, and there are some reserves in the Gaomen compound. Let alone three or two days, even if it is twenty or thirty days, these people may not be hungry. However, in order to prevent refugees in the city from coveting, there are spontaneously organized patrols patrolling the square day and night, and if they see strange faces wandering in the square, they will directly capture them without saying a word and turn them over to the government office.

On the street where the government office is located, there are always blood-stained messengers running over from the city wall from time to time, and then they take the written approval from the government office, and rush out again, with a murderous air, even Looking at it from a distance, I feel timid.

Xu Shu was born as a military general, um, wrong, he is similar to a general, with a burly body, and he also learned some martial arts when he was young. Naturally, he is not afraid of battle. , there is no Xu Shu's ability, and some even have calf cramps when they see **** stools, so they can only stay in the government office, how many times they can't see it.

At this time, in the government office, apart from a few civil servants, there was another person, with big arms and round waist, sitting in front of the hall, with a gleaming crescent halberd standing in front of him, and two short halberds crossed behind him, extremely sturdy, But with five beards, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a dignified appearance, the one who combines beauty and bravery is none other than Tai Shici.

  In the past two days, no matter how fierce the battle on the city was, Xu Shu did not order Tai Shici to support him, but repeatedly emphasized that he must stay in the city.

  Originally, Tai Shici could sit in the hall, but Tai Shici insisted on sitting in front of the hall, under the eyes of everyone.

After all, Tai Shici is Tai Shiming's cousin, and Tai Shiming has a deep friendship with Fei Qian, Pang Tong, Xu Shu and others under Lushan Mountain. With such a relationship, he is naturally closer than ordinary people. Xu Shu came here in person. The city wall supervised the formation, and the heavy duty of guarding the city naturally fell on Tai Shici. The post of Zuo Fengyi County Army Sima was enough to temporarily mobilize any soldiers in the city.

At a time when the wind and rain outside the city are turbulent and people in the city are panicking, Tai Shici is the Dinghai needle in Linjin City. Even the busy civil servants beside the Ming Hall of the government office see Tai Shici in full military uniform, and their hearts are naturally at ease. A little bit, handling affairs is also a little less flustered.

"Sima, more than a thousand people have been conscripted recently, and the salary can be saved, but the consumption of food and grass is astonishing! The public stockpile of grain is only a little less every day, and there is no more, and the attached wheat field can be harvested after autumn, but this The city is under siege, and I don't know when it will be resolved, I'm afraid it won't last long if it goes on like this!" Cang Cao came out of the side room, approached Tai Shi Ci, and reported in a low voice.

   "How long can we last?" Tai Shici asked.

  Cangcao said: "If we calculate according to the current consumption, the public treasury will be exhausted if it takes 20 days at most, or 10 days at least. If we use a small bucket, we can support it for a few more days."

   "I know it." Tai Shici nodded, and said, "The army has always used big fights, and you can't change it without authorization, otherwise accidents will easily happen... Regarding the food and grass, I will discuss it with the envoy."

  Cang Cao nodded, and then backed away.

  Cangcao left, but the master craftsman in the city came frowning. "Sima, the envoy ordered the weapons to mend the city...there are some in the Bingjiacang, just call them, but the number of arrows... the blacksmith in the city has been up all night, repairing and knocking, still not enough, there are still 30,000 arrows difference…"

"As many as you have, give them first!" Tai Shici also understands that arrows can't be used just by cutting a piece of wood casually, and the process is also complicated, so even if you force it, you can't force it, so he said, "Let the craftsman Hurry up and work, once the war is over, there will be a big reward!"

The master craftsman in the city clapped his hands in response, took two steps, then turned back and said: "...there is another thing, which is quite strange... the envoy also explained it before... the **** battle at the top of the city naturally caused a lot of damage to the weapons, but this In the past two days, Ding Zhuang sent a little less repairs than the previous two days..."

  Originally, Tai Shici was sitting peacefully, but when he heard the master's words, he thought for a while, and immediately said to the master with a solemn expression in a low voice: "Don't make a big noise, and speak in detail!"

Although Tai Shici is a military commander, his mind is not rough, otherwise he would not have fled to Liaodong because of the bus memorial. Xu Shu's real intention of keeping him in the city was not to let him approve and review the affairs of Cao Cao, but It is to use Tai Shici's hand to eliminate hidden dangers in the city.

  How many fortified cities are not due to damage to the walls, nor are they falling because of a shortage of soldiers, but because they were broken due to the combination of the inside and the outside. Linjin was originally Zuo Fengyi's administrative office, and there are so many people in this city, so it is possible to investigate all of them in a short while?

  In addition, when the Huchuquan soldiers came, many people who took refuge in the city entered, and it is hard to say whether there are some people with ulterior motives.

  So no matter how fierce the battle on the top of the city was, Xu Shu didn't use Tai Shici, because both Xu Shu and Tai Shici knew that only when the hidden dangers in the city were exposed and completely eliminated could people feel at ease.

  In the past few days, Tai Shici was sitting in the government office, and the headache and irritability were not the continuous trivial matters, but the hidden dangers in the city, without any signs, which made Tai Shici quite entangled for a while.

For several days in a row, although the city was somewhat messy, it was more or less within the normal range. There was no sign of anything bad, nor was there any attempt to disrupt. Even if there were occasional fights, it was nothing more than refugees A few people were just fighting, and even the soldiers didn't need to be dispatched, and a few inspectors stopped it.

   Could Xu Shu and himself be worrying too much?

   Could there be no problems in the city?

However, Tai Shici, who has been struggling on the **** battlefield for several years, always felt a little uneasy in his heart. If the Zheng family in Guanzhong rebelled, they would all unite with Huchuquan and go south, but they would not come to Jincheng to make some arrangements. , how can this be believed?

  So when the master craftsman in the city reported that the number of weapons had decreased, Tai Shici's heart immediately moved, realizing that it was the work of spies who had sneaked into the city, and immediately paid attention to it. The reason is very simple. In the Han Dynasty, all the residents in the city had household registration, and those who might have some weapons were the focus of attention on weekdays, especially Anping Square.

Anpingfang is not only patrolled by its servants inside, but Xu Shu and Tai Shici are also watching outside it day and night. Some of the ten or so big families in Anpingfang have served under Xu Shu's subordinates, and not all of them may be killed by the Zheng family. Buying, so I am more aware of these vital relationships. Whenever there is any disturbance, and when I see idlers, etc., I will contact the government office as soon as possible to remove myself.

  So although there are servants and weapons in Anpingfang, they are under the strictest surveillance. If there is any movement, a team of soldiers and horses left in the city will arrive immediately, unable to move at all.

On the contrary, before the arrival of Huchuquan, this wave of refugees poured into Linjin City, because firstly, there was no time to investigate their identities, and secondly, these people who fled may not all be able to bring their own mistakes with them, could it be Is it impossible to arrest all these people who have lost their identities?

But there is one thing, both Xu Shu and Tai Shici know that although these refugees can sneak into the city, they are definitely not able to carry weapons with them, so either go to the place where the weapons are hidden, or steal the weapons of the soldiers guarding the city Anyway, once the battle starts, there will be some confusion, especially with those casualties, and of course there will be fallen weapons...

  It seems that these people have chosen the way of stealing.

  Of course, it is also possible that the inspection around Anpingfang is too strict, making it impossible to obtain the previously hidden weapons from Anpingfang...

Although the weapons sent for repairs are generally somewhat damaged, but a war knife with a gap, or a spear with a broken wooden handle, can be put into use again with a little tidying up. Who can say that a war knife with a gap Can't kill people?

  After seeing off the master, Tai Shici immediately called Iron Hook, who was in charge of inspection in the city.

  Tie Hook’s surname is Iron, and he himself forgot what it was originally called. As for the name of the hook, because he has an iron hook on his right forearm, and his surname is Tie, so he simply called it Iron Hook. He was originally a cavalry scout, and later in the battle of Zhengxi against Xianbei, the Xianbei people chopped off his right forearm. With his strong body, he was lucky enough to survive the infection period, so he retired and became a local patrol inspector. With the pace of conquering the west, he also went from Bingbei to Guanzhong, from a patrol captain to a city security chief.

Most of the inspections in the city, including Iron Hook, followed Feiqian all the way from Bingbei. Naturally, one was damaged and the other prospered. At least Tie Hook still remembered that Fei Qian, the general of Zhengxi, personally gave Tie Hook helped with bandages...

   Perhaps Iron Hook was bragging, but at least it should be explained that the loyalty of Iron Hook and others is much better than that of ordinary soldiers.

Iron Hook used to be a scout, and the requirement of a scout is to be bold and cautious, have a keen eye, and judge the direction and number of soldiers from clues, etc. A careless guy can't be a scout, so he changed his job from scout to become a scout. In the patrol inspection, except for some difficulties in the culture class, there are no other problems.

When Tie Hook arrived, he frowned immediately when he heard about this, and said after thinking for a moment: "There are a lot of refugees in the city, all over the alleys and streets, and there are also a lot of young men recruited these days. Arranging manpower secretly, anyway, these thieves must be targeting the city gate..."

"That's true, but there are eight gates of different sizes, not to mention that we don't have many people in the city, so it's better to arrest them first..." Tai Shici thought for a while and said, "What's more If we get rid of internal troubles, we can fully support the city wall to resist foreign enemies."

   "In this way, we will patrol among these refugees!" Iron Hook waved the iron hook in his right hand and said, "I think we can start from the surrounding area of ​​Anpingfang first!"

   "Okay. But don't worry now, first think about whether the soldiers on patrol in the past two days have reported anything strange?" Tai Shici asked.

"Something strange?" The iron hook slapped the iron hook on the palm of his left hand a few times, and suddenly thought of something, his eyes lit up, and said, "It really is! Sima, you know that General Zhengxi has some regulations in Bingbei , for example, there are detailed rules for drowning..."

  Tai Shici nodded. He did know about this matter. If you defecate freely on the streets of Pingyang, you will be fined immediately, and those who have no money will have to serve in the military.

"...so the city also follows the example of merging with the north..." Tie Hook said in a deep voice, "at dusk yesterday, when a certain person was inspecting the Lifang, he caught a few refugees who were left behind in the street. They thought it was just to make up for some artisans in the city. Labor, now that I think about it, food has been limited for many days in this city, and the general refugees are even more destitute of food and clothing, and even those who eat soil are distended, so there is nothing to pull out! Those who pull must have food, And where does this food come from? It must be secretly given by someone in the city!"

  (end of this chapter)