Chapter 1217 Ambush Don’t Eat Too Much


    ?In Linjin City, the battles at the top of the city during these days were naturally extremely cruel. Even the busyness and misery in the city were not much better than the bloodshed. Before the war, the refugees who entered the city and lived in the surrounding areas, all those who had the strength, were recruited with hot porridge for one meal a day, and formed into a team that carried the city defense equipment and bows and arrows, and carried out the waves. The supplies were moved onto the city, and the wounded and injured soldiers were moved down the city wall one by one, and piled in sheds built on the city roots.


    Some mud-tile houses near the city wall have been temporarily demolished. The demolished planks, wooden beams and bricks have all been used to defend the city, leaving only half of the yellow mud wall standing alone on the ground.


    This is the practice of this era. For the owner of the house, there is no room for negotiation. With the sword and gun in front of him, if he dares to say more than half a word, he will be beheaded as a collaborator, and he will not even need to make compensation afterwards.


    Shops on both sides of the main streets in the city are closed. Even if they are ordered to open, the grain stores guarded by special soldiers will only open for half an hour at noon during the day, and then close immediately when the hour comes. Food prices have already It has risen to the point where five Jiaozi of the usual face value is required for a small bucket. Even so, the five shi of 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. Since the city gate is not open anyway, even firewood is used a little less, not to mention the vegetables and other things that were originally outside the city.


    In the main streets and unattended alleys, the refugees from Guanzhong who were fleeing the military disaster outside the city were squatting or half-lying, huddled under the corners of the walls and houses. Those who went to the city to help still had something to eat, and those who were not recruited were left. They didn''t even have a bite to eat, so they could only fill their stomachs with well water, and then tear apart the bark and grass roots and chew them randomly. Some of them couldn''t even collect the bark and grass roots, so they could only look for some white clay. Mix with water and form into a ball, then swallow whole.


    In Anpingfang in the city, things were much better. At least no soldiers from the Western Expedition came to the door. At the gate of the square, there were also some servants from various families helping to maintain order and prevent stray people from entering.


    These are some of Zuo Fengyi''s rich tribesmen who do not live in Wubao in the countryside, and there are some reserves in the Gaomen compound. Even if it is twenty or thirty days, let alone three or two days, these people may not be hungry. However, in order to prevent the refugees in the city from coveting them, self-organized patrol teams patrolled the square day and night. If they saw unfamiliar faces wandering around the square, they would take them down without saying a word and send them to the government office.


    On the street where the government office is located, there are always soldiers stained with blood, running from the city wall from time to time, and then taking the written approval from the government office, and rushing out again, with a murderous atmosphere, even Even looking at it from a distance makes me feel intimidated.


    Xu Shu''s military background was similar to that of a military general. He had a burly figure. He also learned some martial arts when he was young. Naturally, he was not afraid of battle. He wore a helmet and a military uniform and went to the front lines of the city to supervise the battles. Other civil servants in the city , they are not as capable as Xu Shu, some even have cramps in their legs and stomachs when they see blood, so they can only stay in the government office and not see them for a long time.


    At this time, in the government office, in addition to several civil servants, there was another person, who was tall and round, sitting in front of the hall. In front of him stood a gleaming crescent halberd, and two short halberds were crossed behind his back. He was extremely sturdy. But he has five strands of beard, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a dignified appearance. This combination of handsomeness and martial courage is none other than Taishi Ci.


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


    ?Originally, Taishi Ci could sit in the hall, but Taishi Ci insisted on sitting in front of the hall, sitting under everyone''s gaze.


    After all, Taishi Ci was Taishi Ming''s cousin, and Taishi Ming had a deep friendship with Fei Qian, Pang Tong, Xu Shu and others under Lushan. With such a relationship, he was naturally closer than ordinary people. Xu Shu came in person Supervising the formation of the city wall, the important task of guarding the city naturally fell on Tai Shici. The position of Sima of Zuo Fengyi County Army was enough to temporarily mobilize any soldiers in the city.


    At a time when the storm outside the city was turbulent and people in the city were panicking, Taishi Ci was the anchor of stability in Linjin City. Even the busy civil servants at the side of the government office naturally felt at ease when they saw Taishi Ci in full military uniform. A little bit less panic when dealing with things.


    "Sima, we have recruited more than a thousand people recently, so we can save money, but the consumption of grain and grass is astonishing! The public stock of grain is only a small amount every day, but not much. And the attached wheat fields can be harvested after autumn, but this is The city is under siege, and we don''t know when it will be released. If this continues, I''m afraid we won''t be able to hold on for long!" Cangcao left the side room, approached Taishi Ci, and reported in a low voice.


    “How long can it last?” Tai Shici asked.


    Cang Cao said: "If we calculate based on the current consumption, the public treasury will be exhausted in twenty days or ten days. If we use a small bucket, we can still support it for a few more days."


    "I know." Taishi Ci nodded and said, "The army has always used big battles. You cannot change it without authorization, otherwise things will easily happen... I will discuss the matter of food and grass with the envoy."


    Kurasao nodded and then retreated.


    ??Cang Cao left, but the great craftsman in the city came with a frown on his face. "Sima, your Majesty ordered the weapons to replenish the city... There are some in the armor warehouse, just call them, but the number of arrows... The blacksmith in the city has been up all night, repairing and hammering, but it is still insufficient. There are still 30,000 arrows. difference…"


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


    The great craftsman in the city bowed his hand in agreement, took two steps, and then turned back and said: "...There is another thing, which is quite strange... The envoy also explained it before... In this **** battle at the top of the city, the weapons were naturally damaged a lot, but this In the past two days, Ding Zhuang has sent less repairs than the previous two days..."


    Taishi Ci was sitting calmly at first, but after hearing the master''s words, he thought for a moment, and immediately said to the master in a solemn voice and in a low voice: "Don''t make it loud, and speak carefully!"


    Although Taishi Ci was a military commander, he was not rough-minded, 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 various subordinates to Cao Cao, but to let him approve and review the affairs of various subordinates. It is to use Tai Shici''s hand to eliminate hidden dangers in the city.


    ?How many fortified cities fell, not because of damage to the walls or because of a shortage of soldiers, but because of the internal and external cooperation. Linjin was originally the administrative seat of Zuo Fengyi. There are so many people in this city. Is it possible to investigate them all in a short time?


    ??In addition, when the Huchuquan military front came, many people took refuge in the city. It is hard to say whether there were some people with ulterior motives among them. Therefore, no matter how fierce the battle on the city was, Xu Shu did not use Taishi Ci, because both Xu Shu and Taishi Ci knew that only by exposing the hidden dangers in the city and completely eliminating them can people truly feel at ease.


    ?These past few days, Taishi Ci was sitting in the government office. What made him headache and irritated was not the continuous trivial matters, but the hidden dangers in the city. There were no signs of them, which made Taishi Ci quite tangled for a while.


    For several days in a row, although the city was a bit dirty, it was still more or less within the normal range. There were no bad signs, and no attempts to cause trouble were seen. Even if there were occasional fights, they were just between refugees. A few people were just fighting, and a few patrol officers stopped it without even sending out soldiers.


    Could it be that Xu Shu and himself were worrying too much?


    Could it be that there are no problems in the city to begin with?


    However, Taishi Ci, who had been fighting on the **** battlefield for several years, always felt a little uneasy in his heart. If the Zheng family in Guanzhong rebelled, he would unite with Huchuquan and go south, but he would not make any arrangements in Jin City. , how can people believe this?


    Therefore, when the great craftsman in the city reported that the number of weapons was reduced, Taishi Ci was immediately moved and realized that it was the work of spies who had sneaked into the city, so he immediately paid attention to it. The reason is very simple. In the Han Dynasty, all residents in the city had household registration, and those who might have some weapons were the focus of attention on weekdays, especially Anpingfang.


    Anpingfang not only has its servants patrolling inside, but people from Xu Shu and Taishi Ci are also watching outside day and night. Some of the more than ten wealthy families in Anpingfang have served as officials under Xu Shu, and not all of them may be killed by the Zheng family. Because of the bribery, he is even more aware of these key relationships. Whenever there is any trouble or encounters other people, he will contact the government office immediately to remove himself.


    ??So although there are servants and weapons in Anpingfang, they are under the most strict surveillance. If there is any movement, a team of soldiers and horses left in the city will arrive immediately and cannot move at all.


    On the contrary, before the arrival of Huchuquan, this wave of refugees poured into Linjin City. Firstly, there was no time to check their identities. Secondly, these people who fled may not all be able to take proof of their past with them. Could it be that Can''t we arrest all these people who have no identity?


    But one thing, both Xu Shu and Tai Shici knew, was that although these refugees could sneak into the city, they would definitely not be able to carry weapons with them, so they would either go to the hiding place to retrieve the weapons, or steal the weapons from the soldiers guarding the city. , anyway, once the war starts, there will naturally be some chaos, especially if there are casualties of soldiers, and of course there will be fallen weapons...


    At the moment, it seems that these people have chosen the method of stealing.


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


    Although the weapons sent for repair are usually some damaged but slightly chipped swords, or the spears with broken wooden handles, they can be put back into use with a little tidying up. Who can say that there are gaps in the swords? Can’t kill people?


    After seeing off the great craftsman, Taishi Ci immediately called the iron hook in charge of inspection in the city.


    The surname of Iron Hook is Tie. Even he himself has forgotten the exact name. As for the name Hook, it is because he has an iron hook installed on his right forearm and his surname is Tie, so he simply calls him Iron Hook. He was originally a cavalry scout, but during the battle against Xianbei in the Western Expedition, his right forearm was cut off by the Xianbei people. With his strong body, he was lucky enough to survive the infection period, so he retired and became a local inspection officer. With the pace of the expedition to the west, he also moved from Bingbei to Guanzhong, and changed from an inspection team leader to the person in charge of the security of a city.


    Most of the patrolmen in the city, including Tie Gou Zi, followed Fei Qian all the way from Bingbei. Naturally, both suffered losses and prosperity. At least Tie Gou Zi still remembered that Fei Qian, the general who conquered the west, personally gave Tie Gou Zi Helped with bandages…


    ?Maybe it was Tie Gou Zi who was bragging, but at least it shows that the loyalty of Tie Gou Zi and others is much better than that of ordinary soldiers.


    Tiegouzi worked as a scout, and the requirements for a scout are to be bold, careful, and sharp-eyed, and to judge the direction and number of soldiers from clues. A careless guy cannot be a scout, so he changed his job from scout to Inspection, except for some difficulties in cultural classes, other problems are not big.


    When Iron Hook came and heard about this, he immediately frowned, thought for a moment and said: "There are a lot of homeless people in the city, all in the alleys and streets, and there are also a lot of young people recruited in the past few days. To investigate...or not at the city gate We are secretly arranging manpower. Anyway, these thieves must be targeting the city gate..."


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


    "In this case, we have to patrol among these refugees!" Iron Hook waved the iron hook in his right hand and said, "I think we can start from the area around Anpingfang first!"


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


    "Something strange?" Iron Hook slapped the iron hook on the palm of his left hand a few times. He suddenly thought of something, his eyes lit up and he said, "It''s true! 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 this. If you urinate and defecate casually on the streets of Pingyang, you will be fined immediately if you can''t do it. Those who have no money will have to serve.


    "...So the city also follows the example of merging with the north..." Tie Gouzi said in a deep voice, "Yesterday at dusk, when a certain person was inspecting the neighborhood, he caught a few homeless people who had been killed in the street. Originally, he thought it was just to replace some of the city''s craftsmen. Labor, now that I think about it, food has been restricted in this city for many days, and the average refugee has no food or clothing. There are even those who swallow earth and have bloated stomachs. There is nothing left to pull out! And where does this food come from? It must be given secretly by someone in the city!"


    (End of this chapter)