Great Han Empire

Chapter 135
The clear sky, the tender sun, the white clouds, the black and white mountains, and the silver river.Everything in winter seems so peaceful and comfortable.

Wei Zheng stood on the tower, looking at the frozen Weishui River, expressionless.

After failing to ambush the Leopard Army, Chu Feiyan rushed to Changshan with the main force without saying a word.Now there are only 5000 people in Nulu City and 2000 people in Anxi City.Although there are not many troops, defending the city is different from attacking the city. These troops are enough.

The leopard army drilled their horses all day long in the Liwu camp, and there was no sign of preparing to attack.According to reports from the scouts, the enemy is practicing the combined attack tactics of infantry and cavalry every day, and it seems that they have no plans to attack the city. So far, they have not seen a single siege machine brought from the rear.Did the Leopard Army give up attacking Nulu City?

The news from Changshan was very bad.The leader of the Yellow Turban Army, Bai Rao, has not been able to solve the supply problem completely, and his troops are still at the foot of the Taihang Mountains and have not arrived at the battlefield for a long time.

Feng Yi, the prefect of Julu County who restrained the Yellow Turban Army in Handan, heard that Guo Dian's troops were retreating every step of the way, so he hurriedly retreated to Gaoyi City and divided his troops to rescue them.After Guo Dian received reinforcements, he immediately launched a counterattack, and the Yellow Turban Army was beaten back step by step.Zhang Niujiao's troops have now retreated to Zhending City.

Due to Zhang Niujiao's prestige and Chu Feiyan's strength, although the leaders of the Yellow Turban Army temporarily bowed to Zhang Niujiao's orders, the internal conflicts between them were not resolved at all, and there was a lack of sincere trust and tacit cooperation among the various troops.Now the situation of the Yellow Turban Army is getting more and more severe. If things go on like this, something will happen.

Because the Yellow Turban Army and the official army fought again, the refugees near Zhending City had nowhere to settle, so they had to brave the severe cold and rush northward to Zhongshan, where there was no war yet.Now there are tens of thousands of refugees inside and outside Nulu City.The corpses of refugees who died of starvation, freezing and disease can be seen everywhere.

Wei Zheng ordered his subordinates to set up ten stoves in the city and outside the city, and cook gruel once in the morning and afternoon to help the victims, so as to reduce the deaths of the people as much as possible.This is the only way the Yellow Turbans can help them.

"My lord, the gruel in the morning is gone, but at least half of the people haven't eaten it. The refugees are making noise inside and outside the city. What should we do?" Said in front of the government.

Wei Zheng withdrew his gaze from looking at the Huanshui River, smiled wryly and said, "What do you say? What can I do?"

"My lord, let's put some more grain out. The number of refugees has flocked here in the past few days, and more and more people have come here. No matter how much water is mixed with that grain, it's not enough to eat." The grain release officer begged in a low voice.

Wei Zheng slowly squatted down, looked at the painful face of the food delivery officer, and said helplessly: "Once the officers and troops attack the city, it is not a matter of a day or two, but a matter of dozens of days or months. At that time What do soldiers eat? Drink water to survive?"

"My lord, if this continues, tens of thousands of people will die inside and outside the city. My lord, can you bear it? They are just like us, poor people, and they are all the same." The food delivery officer shouted loudly.

"No way." Wei Zheng dropped a sentence forcefully, and walked down the city wall without thinking.

Under the city gate, on the streets, there are refugees fleeing everywhere, all in ragged clothes and hungry stomachs, the wailing of the old people and the crying of children are horrible.Wei Zheng's heart twitched, and he could hardly control his emotions, so he wanted to open a warehouse to release food.But he did not have this right, nor did he have that much food.

"Drive them out of the city, drive them away." Wei Zheng suddenly turned around and shouted to the attendants behind him.

The attendants were stunned.

"My lord, drive them out, more people will freeze to death in the night. My lord..." a bold servant shouted.

"Order the soldiers to disperse all over the city immediately, and drive away all the refugees." Wei Zheng gave the guard a cold look, and said again without any emotion.

"My lord, you want them to die." An older attendant shouted after him.

"If the officers and soldiers come to attack the city now, so many people are crowded in the city, and we can't even find a way to carry weapons, how can we defend the city?" Wei Zheng was silent for a while, and continued, "Maybe, we won't live for a few more days .”

The attendants were silent.

Nulu City suddenly fell into madness.

The soldiers in the city helplessly drove the refugees away, and the refugees in the city naturally didn't want to leave the city.In the cold outside the city, without warm clothes, without food, it is a strange thing not to die.There was an uproar in the city immediately.When the refugees outside the city heard that the soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army were going to drive them away, they were worried that the soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army would close the city gate at any time, so they rushed into the city.When I go out of the city during the day, I mainly want to get a bowl of porridge to drink, and they are crowded in the city, let alone drink it.

For a time, inside and outside the city, under the city gate, and on the streets, there were dense crowds everywhere, the noise, hissing, and deafening.The soldiers guarding the city gate were afraid of being killed by the angry refugees, so they all retreated to the corridors of the city wall.

After a short time, the city gate was completely blocked.Those outside the city will come in, and those inside the city will be driven out.Then several streets leading to the city gate were blocked by crowds.

The refugees were so crowded that they had nowhere to go, and began to climb the corridors towards the city wall.The Yellow Turban soldiers defending the city were still holding knives and guns to stop them at first, but they were pushed back again and again by the surging crowd and couldn't gain a foothold.The flow of people suddenly found the outlet, and immediately climbed quickly from both sides of the city gate to the city wall.If you don't leave the city gate, you will probably be squeezed to death.

The city tower was gradually filled with refugees, and they continued to extend towards the city walls on both sides.Soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army were helpless in the face of the unarmed refugees.There is no way I can’t get enough to eat, and now I’m not even allowed to sleep in the city at night, so how can I live.

All of a sudden, the refugees outside the city seemed to have gone crazy. From the woods, hills, and flat ground hundreds of steps away, they screamed desperately, ran, and fled in all directions.Seeing that the entrance of the city gate was tightly blocked, they turned around and ran along the moat.Some of the refugees near the city gate ran away because of fear, although they couldn't understand it;

The ground began to tremble, the remaining snow on the dry grass began to shake, and the snow on the branches began to fall. In the distance, there was a faint and louder roar.

A fiery red black panther banner suddenly rushed into people's eyes.

Wei Zheng sat in the study of the government office, looking at the documents sent by Fan Li.

Fan Li guarded Anxi with 2000 troops.Due to Fen Li's wrong method of luring the enemy, it directly caused the failure of Chongyun Mountain's ambush operation.Chu Feiyan didn't blame him, not even a word of scolding.Chu Feiyan looked up to the sky and sighed.Leaving Anxi and Nulu, he didn't say a word.Fan Li guarding Anxi and Wei Zheng guarding Nulu were all arranged by him in advance.He didn't say a word from beginning to end, looking depressed.Fan Li was in great pain and kept blaming himself.

Wei Zheng was awakened by the sound of footsteps approaching from afar.He tensed up involuntarily, his heart beat a few times at once, and then a few more times.

Wei Zheng laughed to himself.The more battles you fought, the less courageous you became.

"My lord, the Leopard Army is coming in..."

The roar passed through the yard, through the window, and rushed into Wei Zheng's ears.

Wei Zheng's mind went blank and he froze.

He suddenly lost all sound in his ears, only the beating sound of his own heart could be clearly heard, one after another, like the sound of war drums, heavy and thick, the sound hit hard in his heart.

Like a frightened wild horse, his guards slammed open the door with a bang, bringing in a gust of cold wind.

"grown ups……"

Wei Zheng's face was pale, and he glanced at him calmly, still holding the scroll of bamboo slips in his hand.

"grown ups……"

"My lord, the leopards suddenly appeared at the west city gate with an army of cavalry. At that time, we were driving away the refugees. There was chaos inside and outside the city, and there was no defense at all. Now they have rushed into the west city." Wei Zheng bowed his head as if he didn't hear it. Look at the things in your hands.

"My lord, let's go, we still have time to evacuate."

Wei Zheng looked up at him again, and said slowly, "You guys run away. I'm too tired, too tired."

Li Hong stood on the tower, looking at the refugees inside and outside the city, hearing the miserable and helpless cries, his heart was bleeding.

Fighting, this is the consequence of fighting, this is the consequence of the Yellow Turban Army rising up.Is this kind of scene what the Yellow Turban Army wants to see, is it what Zhang Niujiao likes to see?Li Hong really felt unable to answer.

Zhang Chun's anger and the judge's contempt kept rolling in his mind.Those who joined the Yellow Turban Army fought because they were poor, because they were unfair, and because they were inferior.But are those who killed the Yellow Turbans right? Is it just?So why are some people born noble, rich, and able to do whatever they want; while others are born lowly, poor, and humiliated.Why are people in the world different?Why can rich people exploit poor people?Why can powerful people trample and kill lowly people at will?Is there a distinction between high and low before people are born?

Li Hong didn't understand.He was a slave himself, he knew what poverty was, and subconsciously he thought the Yellow Turbans had done nothing wrong.But the reality is cruel. The Yellow Turban Army did not use any effective means to improve all this. On the contrary, they were like locusts. Wherever they went, they burned, killed, looted, and destroyed everything with extremely bloody and cruel means.As a result, the poor are even poorer, and those who oppress them pick up the butcher knife more fiercely and slaughter wantonly.

The Yellow Turban Army was destroyed violently because of hatred, not only destroying itself, but also destroying the enemy, and even destroying this unjust world.The blue sky is dead, and the yellow sky should stand.Now Cang Tian is dying, and Huang Tian is also dying.But in the end, it is the innocent people, thousands of untouchables, who bear the consequences of this destruction.

Is what the Yellow Turbans are doing right?It is indeed right.It took revenge, it vented its hatred, it took revenge on the unjust God.wrong?It is also wrong.All its gains are based on the suffering of thousands of people, on the lives and blood and tears of innocent people. Together with the enemy, it has pushed countless people into the darkness of even more serious disasters. dark.

The Yellow Turban Army has been preparing for more than ten years and premeditated for a long time. Why is there no way to improve the lives of the people through violence, but the only way to destroy everything through violence?Zhang Jiao and Zhang Niu Jiao are not ordinary people, they are both talented and powerful, why didn't they think of this step?Or thought of it but don't have time to do it?
Probably the enemy was too ruthless, and they didn't give them time and opportunity at all.Think about Huangfu Song killing more than 20 of them, and himself, killing 10,000+ of them.Think about Jianpei's resolute and stubborn face, that deep-rooted and unshakable thought, and think about how many powerful bureaucrats and powerful families like Shenpei are there in the world.Ren Huangjinjun has three heads and six arms, and he can only parry, but has no power to fight back.

Li Hong suddenly felt that he had no ability to change everything in front of him.Millions of Yellow Turban soldiers are powerless to shake this unjust sky, so what can they do?You are just a speck of dust in the world, a speck of dust that goes with the wind, a tiny speck of dust that has no effect.Whether it is the common people, the Yellow Turban Army, the bureaucrats of the aristocratic family, or the Han Dynasty, it has nothing to do with me.Li Hong was suddenly disheartened and had no more thoughts.

"The people..."

The shout woke up Li Hong.He withdrew his mind from contemplation, and looked at Xian Yufu.

"My people, Nulu City has been controlled by us. Sima Weizheng of the Yellow Turban Army surrendered. More than 2000 soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army were captured, and the rest fled in disorder."

"What's our loss?" Li Hong asked eagerly.

"No loss." Xian Yufu said with a smile, "Master Captain has a clever plan, we took down the entire Nulu City without a single shot." He gave Li Hong a thumbs up in admiration, "Fight after you , even if you don’t accept me.”

Li Hong pushed his hand away, put his arms around his shoulder and said with a smile: "Brother Yuxing, don't praise me, and discuss something with you, do you think it's okay?"

Xian Yufu looked at him vigilantly, stroked his three long beards, and asked, "Tell me."

"Open the warehouse and release the grain."

Xian Yufu pondered for a long time.He looked at the refugees in and out of the city, and said in embarrassment: "Son, you have used up all the food, how will you solve the army's salary and supplies? Master Muguo of Jizhou knows that you have conquered Zhongshan and captured Nulu. We have taken a lot of spoils from the Yellow Turban Army. Given Jizhou’s financial constraints, I’m afraid he won’t give us any more military pay and food.”

Li Hong asked strangely: "Is it wrong for me to provide food for disaster relief? Why doesn't he give me military pay and food? Jizhou doesn't have it. Can he ask the court and the emperor for it?"

"The people..." Xian Yufu broke away from his hand, faced him, and said solemnly, "The situation is different now. Whether it is Jizhou or the imperial court, the finances are very tight. Because of the war, whether it is the Yellow Turban Army or For us, the consumption of materials has increased exponentially. Do you know how much a hu of grain is worth now?"

"Then what should they do? Watch them starve to death?" Li Hong pointed at the refugees below the city and shouted sharply.

"Silent people, we can cook a little porridge every day to help them like the Yellow Turban Army. That's the only way." Xian Yufu knew Li Hong's temperament. Although Li Hong lost his temper, he didn't care and insisted on his principles.He is now a meritorious service officer in Youzhou Prefecture, and he has to be responsible for some things.

"Then someone will starve to death." Li Hong shouted.

"Without troops, more people will starve to death. Do you know that? Last winter, 10,000+ people starved to death in Jizhou. Who opened a warehouse to release food? Even the famous General Huangfu did not open a warehouse to release food." food?"

Li Hong asked in surprise, "Why?"

"Because they are full, they will soon join the Yellow Turban Army to attack us." Assistant Manager Xianyu said bluntly.

Li Hongda scolded: "Fart. There are old people, women and children down there. How many strong men are there? Open warehouses to release food."

Xian Yu was in a hurry, grabbed him, and said loudly: "If you do this, someone will immediately write to the court, accusing you of sympathizing with the Yellow Turban Army, or even colluding with the Yellow Turban Army. It's indiscriminate, grab it first and then talk."

Li Hong was so angry that he raised his hand and roared, "I'll release the food, who dares to catch me!"

"Order the troops, open the warehouse and release the food!"

Wei Zheng saw a soldier with disheveled hair striding into the courtyard.This man was tall and mighty, with a fierce murderous aura all over his body.His clothes are thin, and the leather armor on his body is not only worn out, but also covered with pudding.

Wei Zheng's heartbeat suddenly increased.Is he the guard next to Leopard, who came to interrogate himself.Then he heard the sturdy soldier and the guard guarding the door of his study talking and laughing loudly, as if they were familiar with each other.

Wei Zheng gently opened the door.

"I'm Li Hong, and I came here specifically to find Sima Xuxu."

Wei Zheng was taken aback.He is a leopard.

While hesitating, Li Hong had strode in.Wei Zheng was about to kneel in a hurry, Li Hong grabbed his shoulder and said with a smile, "Forget it, I still have something to ask of you."

This attack on Nulu City had been planned by Li Hong for a long time.

Both Zhao Yun and Zhang Yun were familiar with the terrain and roads of Zhongshan Kingdom. The more than 100 soldiers Li Han brought out from Changshan Kingdom were all locals, and their accents and habits were the same as the locals.Taking advantage of the fact that they would not be suspected, Li Hong asked Zheng Xin, Tie Yue, and Lei Zi to rush with them to the county town and village near Nulu City, and instigated and summoned the refugees along the way, and all gathered in Nulu City to beg for help. food.Once Nulu City is overcrowded, the vigilance of the Yellow Turban Army will drop, and Zheng Xin and the others will find an opportunity to seize control of the city gate.

Li Hong ordered Yushi and Xianyuyin to stay in the Liwu Camp and go out for training every day to paralyze the scouts of the Yellow Turban Army.He secretly rushed to Nulu City with Xian Yufu and Yan Rou.Considering the possibility of street fighting with the Yellow Turban Army after capturing the city gate, Li Hong deliberately brought along the Yanzhao Trilogy, which is mainly composed of infantry.

Li Hong and Zheng Xin made an appointment to launch a surprise attack around the time of breakfast in the morning, when there were the most refugees and the most chaotic.Unexpectedly, at this moment, Wei Zheng ordered the soldiers to drive the refugees out of the city.The extreme chaos of the scene helped the Leopard Army a lot.

The leopard army occupied Nulu City without bloodshed.

"Twice, why are you so lucky?" Sitting opposite Li Hong, Wei Zheng asked with a wry smile.

"Twice?" Li Hong asked strangely, "When did we fight each other?"

"In Chongyun Mountain, Chu Shuai ambushed 5 horses, just waiting for you to go over."

Li Hong shivered all over, and a chill rushed from his vest to his forehead.His face became very ugly.

"If it wasn't for the idiot Fan Li who led the people along, how dare you say that your army is no more than Chongyun Mountain?"

Li Hong smiled wryly.Good luck, really good luck.

"I'm looking for you because of this barrier."

(End of this chapter)