Fufeng Song

Lu Yao is currently in a deserted house in the south of Jinyang City. Since entering Jinyang City, Lu Yao and his subordinates have been stationed here.

The winter sun finally got rid of the entanglement of the cold wind, and shone lazily on the courtyard, casting mottled light and shadow all over the place.The courtyards that were entered several times before and after were full of soldiers. The training had not yet started, and most of the soldiers were sheltering from the cold in their houses. Noisy voices came from every room.

Lu Yao got up very early. He practiced marksmanship a few times back and forth in the courtyard. He felt hot all over, so he leaned the spear against the courtyard wall, fetched a bucket of water from the well in the corner of the courtyard, splashed it on his face, and then Throw the bucket back into the well.

The bone-chilling well water refreshed his spirit. Lu Yao walked out of the yard all the way, and all the soldiers along the way saluted him respectfully.Lu Yao returned the salute with a smile, and gave a few words of encouragement to the wounded who were injured in the Banqiao battle a few days ago.

The usual sequence of military establishments in the Great Jin Dynasty inherited the system of the Han and Wei dynasties, but it was quite different.The main change is that the original titles of Ministry, Qu, and Tun were gradually abandoned, and replaced by the five-level units of Army, Building, Team, Shi, and Wu.Lu Yao was originally the leader of the Bingzhou Army, commanding 2000 troops.Yu Yue Shigong's current army is not large. Lu Yao, the new general, actually commanded no more than two hundred troops when he reorganized the army in Jicheng, which is much smaller than before.After the Battle of Banqiao, Yue Shigong took in more than 2000 Zahu captives, and more than [-] remaining Bingzhou Army troops successively came to vote.Yue Shigong broke them up and organized them into various troops.

Lu Yao was rewarded for his meritorious service in killing the enemy on the battlefield, and received additional awards from Yue Shigong. Not only did he reward him with gold and silk, but he was also allowed to give priority to selecting personnel to enrich the army.Compared with military merit, such rewards are too generous, which makes many generals who followed Yue Shigong to Bingzhou very jealous.If it weren't for the fact that Yue Shigong had accumulated prestige for a long time, I'm afraid many strange words would come out.

After this, Lu Yao's team expanded to nearly 500 people, reaching the standard of a building, including many elite soldiers.For the convenience of commanding, Lu Yao created a new team, led by others himself.The subordinates of Xue Tong and Shen Jin have also expanded to 120 people.This establishment is much higher than a normal team of 50 people, but there is a real shortage of experienced officers in front of him, and Lu Yao is unwilling to choose random candidates, so he can only make up for it temporarily and adjust it later.

Most of the newly joined soldiers are brave and strong, which makes the original veterans feel quite threatened. The two sides often cause conflicts due to some trivial matters, and the grassroots officers are all overwhelmed.Lu Yao was not worried. In his opinion, if this contradiction was properly used, it would actually help the general to gain a firmer grip on the troops.

Every time when arbitrating conflicts between soldiers, Lu Yao upholds a fair and impartial attitude to adjudicate the affairs, and quickly gained the trust of the soldiers.And when he easily overturned more than [-] wild and unruly soldiers with a stick in his hand, no one in the entire barracks dared to question his authority.

Now that it was Shen's time, Deng Gang led people to set up a big pot on the open space outside the courtyard, and boiled a pot full of miscellaneous grain porridge.Xue Tong had already been holding a bowl, waiting impatiently for the meal to be served.The soldiers are gathering here in twos and threes from various houses, and everyone has a relaxed expression on their faces.

It has been more than ten days since the capture of Jinyang. The seemingly powerful Huns fled in embarrassment under Liu Kun's soldiers, and the Jin army recovered the entire Taiyuan Kingdom almost without bloodshed.

Such a brilliant victory greatly inspired the soldiers, and the hearts of the people were excited for a while.Many of the recruits who joined the army in Bingzhou had a deep hatred against the Xiongnu, and their desire for revenge was also ignited by victory. These days, some people declared that they would send troops south to attack the main force of the Xiongnu with the Luoyang Imperial Army; Shi went to destroy Shan Yuting.But these suggestions are not even qualified to be presented at the military meeting.Yue Shigong has no intention of continuing to use troops at all. The reason is very simple: firstly, the cold weather is not conducive to dispatching troops.Second, there is a lack of food in the army.

Last year, there was a severe drought in Bingzhou and severe famine.Since the beginning of this year, the Xiongnu fought repeatedly with the soldiers and horses of the imperial court, and the people fled one after another. Large tracts of land were abandoned and no crops were harvested. The treasuries in various places were already empty. Human level.

Liu Kun entered the army on light horses, and did not carry much food and grass. Fortunately, the cities in Shangdang County were not affected by the persecution, and they received the full support of several groups of refugees who came to seek refuge. rations.

Jinyang has been a frontier city since the Qin Dynasty. It controls mountains and rivers and has a prosperous household registration. It has always been regarded as the root of Bingzhou. Therefore, the shogunate expected to collect a certain amount of grain and fodder after capturing Jinyang. However, no one expected that Jinyang City was actually dilapidated. It's unbearable to such a degree: the entire Jinyang city has no more than a thousand households at most, less than [-]% of its peak; most of the buildings were burned down, and the treasury, city and jail were all turned into white ground; the city was overgrown with thorns , There are beasts appearing in the ruins; walking along the road, the corpses and even bones of the dead can be seen everywhere-how does this look like the government office of Bingzhou?It's clearly a ghost town!In such a city, how could it be possible to collect enough rations to support the next battle?

Yue Shigong called a military meeting to discuss this matter a few days ago, and the generals discussed it a lot, but they couldn't come up with an idea for a while.However, the spies reported good news: the famine in the southern part of Bingzhou was even more serious than Jinyang, and the main force of the Huns had to stay in Hedong for a long time to eat.The small number of Huns who stayed in Bingzhou had a very difficult life, and even the livestock they kept starved to death in large numbers. I am afraid that until the next autumn harvest, the Huns will not be able to carry out large-scale military operations.As a result, temporary peace miraculously appeared in the northern part of Bingzhou, which was supposed to be raging with war.

For the fighting men who have been licking blood at the knife head for many years, this period of time is really leisurely and comfortable.It's just that due to the lack of military rations, they can only eat half full in the past two days, which really makes the big bellies a headache.

"Old Deng, this kind of half-cooked food has been eaten for a few meals, and the brothers feel that the military supply is incompetent! What are you doing, old man?" Gao Xiang sat by the stove with a golden knife. , looked sideways at Deng Gang and sneered again and again.He was used to being pampered by his old boss, and he still behaved like a general who was in charge of the army, offending people when he opened his mouth.

Deng Gang was a rare and kind elder. He waved his hands and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Didn't you say it a few days ago, because of the rugged mountain roads in Bingzhou, the army rations will arrive a few days later, so let's make do with it. Time will naturally be enough for you to eat."

Gao Xiang had a contemptuous look on his face: "I'm fighting with my head pinned to my trouser belt, but you can't even bear to eat a full meal!" He was about to complain loudly when Lu Yao stood between him and Deng Gang, holding his hands Li took a big bowl and said to Deng Gang, "Old Deng, give me one." Gao Xiang was somewhat in awe of his immediate superior, so he didn't dare to say more at the moment.

Holding a large spoon, Deng Gang filled a bowl of porridge for Lu Yao.This porridge is a mixture of corn, red beans, and dried mulberries. It has a rough and sour taste, making it difficult to swallow.

Lu Yao didn't want the soldiers to see him drinking porridge with a sad face, so he turned back to the house with the bowl in his hand, walked a few steps, and suddenly said to Gao Xiang: "Shen Jin has been busy hunting these days, and he has gained a lot. Why don't you take a few brothers who are good at archery and go for a stroll in the mountains outside the city in the afternoon, if you can hunt some yellow sheep, roe deer and the like, you can make a tooth sacrifice? It's better than making noise here."

Gao Xiang agreed sullenly.

Deng Gang was busy serving porridge for the other soldiers, and nodded, "What the general said is true! Very true!"

Lu Yao returned to his courtyard in a few steps, and the sound of footsteps behind him was Xue Tong following.

Xue Tong said in a low voice: "Gao Xiang is bad because of his mouth. He is actually a solid-eyed guy. Daoming should not be as knowledgeable as him."

Lu Yao nodded and said: "Why should I argue with him. Tell Gao Xiang a message for me, so that he will stop talking nonsense in the future. There is a temporary shortage of food in the army. Brothers, I will be wronged for a few days. Officers at all levels must suppress it Yijing, it is not appropriate to complain publicly."

Xue Tong nodded.

After being silent for a while, Xue Tong said in a low voice: "I have been in contact with Yue Shigong's old subordinates for the past few days, and only then did I know some inside information. However, the imperial court not only did not award rewards, but instead deprived most of Yue Shigong's troops and handed them over to the commanders of Gaomi King Sima Lue, Dongying Company Ma Teng and other clan princes; and transferred them to Bingzhou. Therefore, the generals under Yue Shigong I had some complaints."

He sighed and said: "Since the restoration of Jinyang, what I have seen and heard is horrifying. I heard many soldiers complaining that Jinyang was originally a place to make contributions, but who knows that it is actually a place of death without food and wages. , Jedi. Many people scolded Dongying Company Ma Tengyu for being incompetent, ruining the situation, and leaving them a mess; they didn't even please the rest of the Bingzhou Army with us. Some officers even rumored that the Northward Jin Yangdu Daoming is the bad idea you gave Yue Shigong, so he criticizes you... Sigh, the words are ugly."

"Those generals are all proud soldiers who have been with Yue Shigong for a long time, and they don't pay attention to the ghosts of us Huns. If they take their anger against Dongying Gong on us, we will be full of resentment. , Brother Paoze who died countless times in battle, who can he vent his anger on?" Xue Tong couldn't help feeling a little annoyed when he said this.

Lu Yao smiled wryly and waved his hands: "Old Xue, bear with it. It will get better slowly. Yue Shigong entered Bingzhou on a light ride, with only a thousand soldiers in his entourage. If you want to defeat the Xiongnu, how can you get rid of us Bingzhou army?" The old department? At present, due to the difficulty in supplying food and fodder, everyone is anxious and angry. As long as the food and fodder are available, these grievances will naturally disappear."

He looked at the cloudy porridge soup in the bowl, frowned and hesitated for a while, finally raised his neck and gulped it down, and continued: "Furthermore, although the current situation is difficult, there may not be no solution. It's just that the more Shi Gong's subordinates don't know enough about the situation in Bingzhou, so they don't know where to start. In fact, Bingzhou may not have food, but the food and salaries don't come from the counties."

Xue Tong widened his eyes and said, "Isn't the payment of food and salaries in the county? Where is it?"

Lu Yao was about to explain in detail when he suddenly heard shouts outside the courtyard.

Xue Tong asked, "What's the noise?"

Before the words were finished, a soldier rushed into the yard, gasping for breath: "It's not good...it's not good...fight...it's fighting!" fell to the ground.

Xue Tong frowned and helped the soldier up. He was extremely tall and powerful. He was not so much a supporter as a lifter: "Zhao Lu, why are you panicking? Speak slowly! Who is fighting with whom?" gone?"

The man named Zhao Lu was a middle-aged soldier with a face full of wind and frost.He yelled repeatedly: "It's Captain Shen! Captain Shen is fighting with the soldiers patrolling the city!"

Lu Yao put the bowl in his hand, and asked in a deep voice: "What's going on? Didn't Shen Jin take people out of the city to hunt? Why would he fight with the soldiers in the city?"

Zhao Lu calmed down and replied: "Mr. Shen went to the mountains early in the morning. He brought a lot of people, and he had all the ropes and the like. So when he arrived at Sishi, he hunted four gazelles, two deer, pheasants, hares, etc. Waiting for a lot of prey. General, I haven't seen it yet, those gazelles are so fat..."

Xue Tong slapped him on the back of the head: "You bastard! Stop talking nonsense and get to the point!"

It turns out that Zhao Lu's personality is a bit indifferent, and he is also a talker, so he opens his mouth and digresses.Fortunately, he was slapped down by Xue Tong's iron-like slap, and he woke up immediately, only to hear him shake up his spirits, and said in one breath: "Captain Shen came back with prey and was stopped by the soldiers who were patrolling the city at the west gate. They have to deal with it." Captain Runchen refused, so the soldiers uttered insults and wanted to grab the prey, and a fight broke out, and I came here to report the news!"

Lu Yao and Xue Tong looked at each other.Lu Yao frowned and said, "Pawns patrolling the city? Aren't they all Liu Yan's subordinates?"

Xue Tong said angrily: "The second-generation ancestor with a small belly came to provoke and disturb again, it is really hateful!" He rushed out of the courtyard door like a whirlwind, and shouted: "Prepare the horse! Prepare the horse! Pick up fifty more brothers, follow me !"