Fu Shanhe

Chapter 336 News Flying All Over the Sky

"The situation in the world has changed, and the layout of the Guanzhong region must be accelerated.

We have no foundation there and can only rely on local anti-Yu forces.

Provide the rebels with whatever they need.

At all costs, let Guanzhong be in chaos!"

Wei Hao said with a serious face.

The plan to seize Guanzhong was a long-term plan, but his strategic goal in the short term was to seize Shu.

If you want to seize control of Shu, you must first take Hanzhong. This is the experience left by our ancestors.

The Southeast Volunteer Army suffered a setback and the situation was precarious. He had to speed up the progress.

Once Wu and Chu are defeated, the court's strategic focus will shift to Shu.

“Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will personally catch this matter.

Within half a year, we will surely be able to set off an anti-Yu wave in Guanzhong!"

Xu Yanyu immediately assured.

Since the rebel army entered Sichuan, Shaanxi has strengthened the defense of Hanzhong.

If Guanzhong is not in chaos, it is almost impossible to capture Hanzhong.

If we cannot take Hanzhong and keep our territory under our control, it will be a joke.

……

Under the city of Wuchang, the charge horn sounded again.

Wei Jiarui couldn’t remember how many times he had sieged the city, but the ground had already been dyed red.

The bodies of the fallen soldiers were loaded onto boat after boat.

The cruel war made Wei Jiarui numb.

In his eyes, the deaths of soldiers were just a set of cold numbers.

In troubled times, the least valuable thing is human life.

If soldiers died, they could be recruited from the public.

He can pay any price to win.

"Your Majesty, it is getting dark now. It is time to call off the troops."

Fang Kecheng reminded gently.

Under the policy of strong attack, many troops responsible for siege missions were fully staffed in the morning, but their strength was reduced by more than half by the evening.

Even if the personnel losses were replenished in time, the impact on military morale was irreversible.

No matter what kind of troops they are, once they are dragged to the battlefield and fight, they will basically be destroyed.

If we want to recover, it is not possible to do so simply by replenishing personnel.

The first to suffer losses were naturally the side armed forces.

Most of the unstable factors in the past were consumed in the war.

This wave of killing with a borrowed knife can be said to be perfect.

Unfortunately, this is not what Wei Jiarui wants.

There are plenty of opportunities to eliminate dissidents, so there is no need to sacrifice so many troops.

"Pass the order down, sound the retreat.

Tell the logistics department to give out more wine and meat to appease the troops."

Wei Jiarui said with a complicated expression.

At this point in the war, he has no way out.

Either try your best and win the Battle of Wuchang, or be defeated and return home to continue being a bandit.

Having caused such a big fuss before, no matter where you go in the future, you will be wiped out by the imperial court with all your strength.

Countless people are waiting to use his head in exchange for career advancement.

"Sir, obey the order!"

Fang Kecheng agreed immediately.

There is not much they can do now except to appease the troops.

The government army's defense line seemed shaky, but no matter how they attacked, they could not break through.

The cruelest thing is to see hope but end up in failure.

……

Inside Wuchang City.

The fragrant aroma of meat wafting from the rebel camp stimulated the taste buds of the defending soldiers.

Li Mu, who was patrolling the defense line, vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

Logically speaking, after the war reached a stalemate, the rebels should have encountered logistical problems.

It's understandable to improve the meal occasionally by stewing meat.

This went on for several days in a row. Even if Jiangxi was rich, it didn't have so many livestock.

"Pass the order down and have the people below prepare some food to feed the soldiers guarding the city."

With doubts, Li Mu gave the order.

There are naturally meat reserves in the city, but it is not the pork, beef, or mutton that everyone likes, but mainly fish.

And this fish is pickled.

If you want to supply fresh meat, that is only possible in the post-industrial era.

With current refrigeration technology, the cost of preservation is much higher than the meat itself.

The lack of pork, beef and mutton does not affect the government army's logistics being stronger than that of the rebels.

The garrisons grew cash crops and sold all the vegetable oil and sugar they extracted to the government troops.

During the war, the supply of one or two ounces of oil per person per day was enough to satisfy everyone in this era. (37.3 grams)
Even if the rebels stewed meat for several days in a row, it only whetted everyone's appetite but did not yet shake the morale of the army.

"As ordered!"

After saying this, Wu Dage immediately sent someone to convey the order.

……

“Uncle, there’s something wrong with the rebels’ logistics supply, they can’t have so much meat.

The opportunity to undermine the enemy's morale has arrived.

You can inform those families, now it's their turn to show off!"

After returning to the camp, Li Mu immediately said to Li Yuan.

As the government troops gained the upper hand on the battlefield, the number of families willing to pay to buy lives continued to increase.

This is the price that must be paid for a failed speculative action.

However, just paying money is not enough, we also have to cut ties with the rebels.

"You mean the rebels are eating people?"

Li Yuan asked with a serious expression.

In troubled times, cannibalism is nothing new.

However, those were only a minority. The real large-scale cannibalism occurred mainly during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

In modern times, with the popularization of Confucian culture, this behavior has been banned.

There is a clear provision in the Dayu law that anyone who eats human flesh will be put to death!

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers eating human flesh together, such a morally corrupt thing happening in reality is really too horrifying.

“Apart from this explanation, there is no reasonable source for the rebels’ meat.

Even if Wei Ni mobilized all the livestock in Jiangxi and Zhejiang to the front line, they could not afford such squandering.

I guess someone in the rebel camp also noticed something was wrong.

If this news gets out, there will definitely be chaos within the enemy camp.

If we tinker with the inside a little more, even if we can't cause a large-scale mutiny, we can at least shake the enemy's morale.

If everything goes well, we will defeat the enemy in the next few days."

As he spoke, a cold light flashed in Li Mu's eyes.

This was the first time he wanted to kill someone after serving in the army for so long.

He had seen many perverse things, but this was the first time he had encountered something that challenged his bottom line.

If it is not suppressed with thundering means, countless followers will follow suit.

"Okay, I'll make arrangements right away!"

Li Yuan nodded and said.

Not only Li Mu couldn't tolerate anything that challenged his bottom line, he also couldn't accept it.

Through eye contact, the two men understood each other's intentions and decided to kill each other this time.

All participants must not be spared.

The remaining rebel soldiers must also be kept under strict supervision after the war.

……

Rebel camp.

"Seventh Young Master, this is a letter from home."

Fang Kecheng took the secret letter from the servant and opened it in front of the two maids. There was nothing surprising, it was full of daily greetings.

"Go prepare some hot water. I want to take a bath."

After sending away the spies around him, Fang Kecheng spilled tea on the letter, revealing rows of small words on the back of the letter.

After reading the letter, he took it to the candle and lit it without any hesitation.

After completing the work of destroying the body and covering up the evidence, Fang Kecheng recovered quickly.

Serving as an official in the State of Chu seemed to be an accident, but in fact it was all arranged by the family behind the scenes.

Betting separately is the usual practice of the aristocratic families.

The name and identity used now are all fake. The real Fang Kecheng died long ago.

According to the established script, he will continue to live under the identity of Fang Kecheng.

Even if a new dynasty is established, the identity cannot be restored.

After achieving success, he used the power in his hands to secretly protect his family.

In return, his family members in the clan will be given special training.

Even if the force he joined failed in the struggle for supremacy in troubled times, his family would not be implicated.

However, all this was broken with the arrival of the letter.

The family's small actions were discovered by the court, and now he is needed to cut ties with the rebels.

Anyway, it was Fang Kecheng who participated in the treason, and it had nothing to do with him, Yang.

Theoretically, as long as he completes this mission, he can restore his previous identity and return to his previous life.

But this is only in theory.

In the State of Chu, he was the powerful Minister of War, and his words could decide the life and death of countless people.

When he returned to his clan, he was just a down-and-out scholar.

Perhaps the elders in the tribe would reward him with some property and land in recognition of his contributions, but his life would certainly not be comparable to what it is now.

If he was unlucky, he would die in the chaos before returning to his tribe.

"Hey!"

After sighing, Fang Kecheng made the decision helplessly.

It wasn't that he wanted to betray the King of Chu, it was simply that the King of Chu was seeking his own death.

Even if you suffer a military failure, you can still seek to make a comeback.

Since ancient times, the fight for the world has rarely been smooth sailing.

It is normal to encounter setbacks along the way.

But once the human heart is lost, it can never be found again!
Using human flesh as military rations, such a shameful act, was actually discovered by the imperial court.

Once such a thing is exposed, he will definitely be labeled as a "big devil".

No one with any sense in the world would join such a notorious leader.

This is not an era of moral decline. From the moment the secret was leaked, the King of Chu was doomed to have no chance of ruling the country.

……

It was not only Fang Kecheng who was in torment. Many senior officers in the Chu army were engaged in fierce psychological struggles.

Wei Jiarui is really nice to them.

Treat people with respect and respect, and provide them with all kinds of benefits. Everyone is very satisfied with their status and position in the State of Chu.

If they had not encountered any sudden changes, they would most likely have followed this "wise leader" for the rest of their lives.

Even if he failed in his fight for the world, he had accomplished something great and his knowledge was worth it.

Unfortunately, there are not so many ifs in reality.

On one side is the King of Chu who allows them to realize their ambitions, and on the other side is the family who gave birth to them.

Now I am caught between the two, and no matter what choice I make, I will have to betray one side.

……

Late at night, in the rebel camp.

“Have you noticed that the meat tastes a little strange in recent days?
It’s definitely not pork, nor lamb, and certainly not beef!”

As soon as the young man opened his mouth, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.

The meat didn't taste right, and they noticed that.

Being a soldier in the State of Chu was also a tough job.

You can make do with whole grains to barely fill your stomach, but don't count on meat.

It's not that the King of Chu was stingy, it's mainly because the Chu army was too large and the domestic animal husbandry was underdeveloped.

The limited meat supply is given priority to the generals above.

These soldiers may not even be able to eat meat once a month.

If the food is improved, you will usually be given a bowl of broth.

"Zhang Laosi, you are just bored.

If it's not pork or mutton, could it be beef? You talk as if you have eaten beef before.

No matter what kind of meat it is, being able to eat meat these days is the greatest happiness.

If it weren't for the prince's kindness, we wouldn't have had a chance to win!"

A companion beside him started to scold.

Being at the bottom of the military, and having not seen meat for a long time, I was happy to have something to eat, and had no intention of caring what kind of meat it was.

"Wang Qi, you can't say that.

Zhang Laosi was right, there was indeed something wrong with the meat.

Have you noticed that the old soldiers in the camp don’t eat much?

I’ve seen them vomit in private, as if they had eaten something disgusting.”

As soon as the bearded man finished speaking, everyone's faces changed drastically.

They had seen similar scenes before.

I didn’t think there was anything wrong at first, but now that everyone has pointed it out, I instantly realized something was wrong.

“Besides pork, mutton, and beef, it can’t be horse meat, right?
Those are all precious treasures, but no one is willing to eat them.

Otherwise, we can go ask Old Liu next door. He is old and knowledgeable, so he should be able to..."

Wang Qi was halfway through his words when he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Old Liu, who seemed to have always been active, suddenly became silent in recent days.

The more enthusiastic you were about eating in the past, the more slow you are now.

He also laughed at Old Liu for not being active when eating.

“Brother Wang, there is indeed something wrong with the meat in recent days.

I once ate a bone that looked like a finger, and you still…"

As soon as the thin young man said this, everyone's faces turned pale.

There were people who ate human flesh during disaster years, but those are just legends.

These people have lived in the rice-rich areas of Huguang and Jiangxi since childhood, and their lives are relatively good.

In addition to farming at home, they can also go out to work, which gives them far more options than people in other areas.

Even when faced with a disaster, the situation was better than in other areas and did not reach the point where people had to eat their own children.

After the war broke out, they either actively or passively joined the rebel army.

It is not difficult to fill your stomach by robbing the gentry.

As long as people can have enough food to eat, their moral bottom line can be maintained.

All of a sudden, they reached the point of cannibalism, which was a serious violation of their previous education.

In the blink of an eye, several people felt nauseous and vomited one after another.

Similar scenes continued to play out in the camp.

The news of cannibalism spread quickly in the camp, causing a sensation.

The widespread news soon attracted the attention of the rebel generals.

By the time the news reached the King of Chu, it was already noon the next day.

……

The tent of the King of Chu.

“Who is spreading rumors in the camp?”

"Why didn't you stop it immediately?"

Wei Jiarui asked with a lack of confidence.

Rumors are not scary, the truth is the sharp knife.

Using human flesh to make military rations was originally a top secret in the military, and only very few people knew about it.

Now that everything has been mixed up, everyone knows the truth.

“Your Majesty, we have tried to dispel the rumors, but the effect was not good.

Or should we open the storehouse and let the soldiers in to check to calm the troops?"

Fang Kecheng offered a bad idea without batting an eyelid.

(End of this chapter)