weaving

Chapter 1349 Food and Grass!

On the Central Henan Plain in July...

The scorching sun hung high in the sky, like a huge, blazing and merciless fireball, scorching the already devastated land of Henan.

The sky was no longer blue, but rather a pale and depressing color. Not a single cloud was willing to stay there, as if they were also afraid of this purgatory-like scene.

The hot wind, carrying dust and despair, was like the roar of a devil, blowing wantonly across every inch of land.

In the fields, the soil is so dry and cracked that it looks like the criss-crossing grooves on an old man's face. Each crack is like a silent wail from the earth. The farmland that should have been lush and green and full of hope is now barren.

The seedlings had long since turned into withered and yellow stalks under the ravages of drought. They trembled in the hot wind, as if crying out for their tragic fate. The criss-crossing ditches were now dry, leaving only strips of exposed, cracked soil, like the earth's dried-up blood vessels.

Bandits were rampant, burning, killing, looting and causing chaos wherever they went. The war was like the devil's sharp claws, ruthlessly tearing the land apart, and the common people became the most innocent victims.

The entire Central Plains was filled with smoke and gunpowder, corpses were everywhere, blood dyed the dry earth red, and seeped into the cracks. Almost every inch of land was soaked in blood and pain, as if every breath of air was filled with the breath of death and despair.

The drought and locust disasters came together, like twin evil beasts, and have cut off the livelihoods of the people in Henan. Now even tree bark and grass roots cannot be found, and many places have reached the tragic situation of eating their own children.

The war refused to stop, there was no one living within a hundred miles, bones were exposed in the wild, and no roosters crowed for a thousand miles... There was not even a single disaster victim begging in the entire Central Plains.

They had either starved to death or been abducted by the bandits to serve as cannon fodder and menial servants. Of course, some of them sought refuge with relatives and friends in the earthen forts in the valleys, hoping that they would be able to survive this natural and man-made disaster that affected the entire Henan Province.

By late July, the weather was even hotter and more unbearable.

Even the area around Kaifeng, the first of the eight prefectures in Henan and known as "the thoroughfare of eight provinces and as powerful as the two capitals", is no exception.

The harsh climate, rampant bandits, cruel wars, and the raging drought and locust disasters together painted an extremely tragic doomsday picture, extinguishing all sounds in the vast fields outside the city.

This once extremely prosperous land of the Central Plains is now suffering endless suffering, struggling painfully in the abyss of history, waiting for salvation that will come at an unknown time...

…………

On July 26, in Zhuxian Town, Gao Yigong, commander-in-chief of the old camp of the Chuang army and general of the central army, had a look of worry on his face.

As the war intensified, the army's food and fodder consumption continued to increase. However, at such a critical moment, the food supply was cut off by the government troops. Originally, they could rely on going out to the surrounding counties to collect food to alleviate the pressure of food and fodder shortage for the army.

But who would have thought that the evil Yongyi Army would not even leave them a chance to survive. Not only did the various food-collecting teams never return, but even the large group of rebels led by Li Yan were trapped between Chenliu, Tongxu and Qixian, unable to move, let alone collect food.

Seven days ago, Gao Yigong had suggested to Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, "limit the distribution of military rations, implement a rationing system, and if necessary, even consider abandoning the starving people, only giving them some rice soup to keep them alive, and leaving them as cannon fodder."

Looking at the increasingly deflated granary, Gao Yigong was extremely anxious, but he just couldn't do anything about it!
"Come here, prepare the horses."

Upon hearing the order, a personal soldier immediately ran towards the stable in the distance, while the leader of the personal soldier team, Gao Cheng, approached him and asked, "General, it's getting dark, are you going to leave the camp again?"

Gao Yigong glanced at him and said directly: "Call a group of personal soldiers and follow me to the headquarters of the Grand Marshal."

When Gao Cheng heard that he was going to the headquarters of King Chuang, he knew that something important must be going on, so he did not ask any more questions and hurried away to gather his personal guards. …………

"You said the army rations are not enough?"

Facing the questioning from Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, Gao Yigong showed a trace of guilt on his face. He took a step closer to Li Zicheng and whispered, "Grand Marshal, we will be out of food in at most half a month. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless we can open up the food supply route...or defeat the enemy's army."

Li Zicheng's face also looked a little solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "Who knows about this?"

"I have blocked the news. Now people are not allowed to leave the old mansion. It has not spread yet!"

Li Zicheng's expression eased a little. He looked at the moonlight outside the window and was silent for a moment before he loudly ordered outside the tent, "Send someone to invite General Liu to come over."

Wu Ruyi, the commander of the central army who was waiting outside the commander's tent, agreed and arranged for someone to pass the message immediately.

Chief Squadron Liu Zongmin and Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, were not in the same camp. He was in charge of the military affairs surrounding the siege of Xianggong Temple. Although he had never really launched an attack, he had never stopped fighting small battles.

Liu Zongmin's idea was very simple. Even if he did not want to attack the Xianggong Temple for the time being, he could not let the government troops inside have a good rest. He would organize hungry civilians to charge from time to time, and sometimes he would organize a small group of elite troops to test the situation.

The two sides were in a state of stalemate with each other. No matter how the rebel army tried, as long as they did not enter the range of the government army's muskets, there would be no response. But once they entered the range, there would be a rapid burst of "crackling" sounds.

However, the government troops in Xianggong Temple seemed to have learned to be cunning. When they saw that they were just small groups of bandits and hungry civilians, they stopped firing muskets and instead used bows and crossbows to repel them. Even Liu Zongmin was unable to take over Xianggong Temple for the time being.

…………

While waiting for Liu Zongmin, Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, asked Gao Yigong, "Yigong, has there been no news from Li Guo?"

"Grand Marshal, the news I received here is the same as the headquarters. Li Guo has successively captured Xiangcheng, Jiaxian, Baofeng and other cities, but the government troops are very cunning. They retreat every time they engage in a battle, as slippery as a loach. Li Guo can never catch the main force of the government troops."

Li Zicheng turned around suddenly and said, "Isn't there news that... the government troops' target is the old camp in Funiushan?"

Gao Yigong showed a trace of embarrassment on his face, and said: "On the surface, there is such a sign. But the government army is not stupid. Its main force is still confronting us in the new city opposite. Now they can send two special forces to block the grain road and intercept our grain-grabbing troops. It is already very reluctant. How can they have the spare strength to attack the old camp in Funiushan?"

Li Zicheng shook his head, still looking very worried. He asked again, "Is Li Yan also unable to get food and grass?"

"The government troops are mostly cavalry, and they are very rampant. Young Master Li was afraid of being eaten one by one by them, so he didn't dare to send troops to forage, and so far there has been no harvest!"

Li Zicheng had already known about what Gao Yigong had said, but how could he bear to withdraw his troops at this point?

"Wait for Jiexuan for a while, we'll think of a solution when he comes."