Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 48 Wang Meng Enters the City
In a shallow pit about a foot square.

The palm-sized fish struggled hard.

The fish's gills open and close constantly, expressing its desire for water.

In the vast universe, although it is just a small fish, it is fighting hard to survive.

A huge sack fell from the sky and landed heavily in the mud.

In a moment, more sacks fell like hail.

The sacks gradually filled the muddy ground at the bottom of the river, piling up like a mountain.

The fish was lucky and the puddle it was in was not crushed.

'Boom! '

Amidst screams, a figure fell from a high place and hit the ground.

After twitching for a moment, there was soon no movement.

More sacks fell, covering the people at the bottom of the river.

My sight moved several feet above the riverbed, and the noisy shouting instantly resounded throughout the world.

Thousands of Han laborers, with hunched and frail bodies, carried sacks filled with soil and struggled forward.

A team of archers composed of the Xiongnu, Tiele and Xianbei people stood at the foot of the city and shot at the defenders.

The Jie people, wearing armor and holding shields, stood at a distance and watched vigilantly.

Anyone who dares to desert the battlefield will be killed on the spot.

"Brothers!"

Wang Meng, holding a sack in his hand, lowered his voice and instructed the people around him.

"The sack is carried on the back to block arrows."

"The defenders are busy shooting at the Hu people and won't pay much attention to us."

"When you get to the moat, remember to jump down holding the sack."

"Find a good place to hide and wait for dark."

His expression was slightly gloomy. "Life and death are determined by fate. Whether or not you can survive depends on your luck."

Wang Meng believed that his knowledge was not inferior to others.

Unfortunately, he was born in a humble family and had no way to advance.

At this moment, he has become a cannon fodder, and his life and death are in the hands of fate. There is nothing he can do.

Fortunately, he also knew that complaining was useless.

Just to survive, you have to fight to the death.

The Jiankun people shouted and scolded, waving their whips.

Wang Meng and his team quickly picked up the sacks and rushed towards Xiangguo City with gritted teeth.

The defenders on the city wall really didn't care too much about these civilian cannon fodders who were filling the ditch.

The defenders focused their main energy on shooting at the miscellaneous Hu people.

A mixed Hu is still a Hu, and can be exchanged for rewards from the master.

Beside each team of archers, there is a desk for observation and recording.

Confirm the number of Zaohu shot and divide the reward equally among the whole team.

In the cruel environment of a siege, it is impossible to leave the city to take heads.

No one could confirm who shot the arrow that hit the enemy on the battlefield where arrows were flying like rain.

In this case, a team of defenders is responsible for an area.

The best option is to divide all the spoils of battle equally among everyone.

In contrast, there is no reward for shooting civilians.

The defenders did not care about filling the trenches. After all, Lin Dao's intention was to lure the Jiehu to attack the city, thereby killing a large number of their manpower.

Under such circumstances, the survival rate of the laborers filling the trenches would naturally increase significantly.

After a thrilling rush to the moat, Wang Meng stuck his head out to look around.

The moat, which was originally several feet deep, was now more than half filled in many places.

He didn't dare to hesitate. He gritted his teeth, grabbed the sack, and jumped towards the landfill.

Crash, roll, fall, collapse, covered in mud.

Wang Meng fell into the mud at the bottom of the river, rolled and crawled to the corner, and grabbed a bag of soil to block himself.

He curled up and waited silently.

The trench-filling battle, which lasted for half a day, ended as the sun set.

The rich aroma of food wafted from the top of the city wall, making Wang Meng, who had only drunk a bowl of porridge before setting off, even hungrier.

There were splashing sounds coming from a shallow puddle not far away.

It turned out to be a fish!

Wang Meng was overjoyed. He rushed over, grabbed the palm-sized fish, and bit it.

The chewing sound makes your teeth ache, and the rustling sound makes your scalp tingle.

Fish scales and bones, and the fishy smell are irresistible.

In the face of hunger that is enough to drive people crazy, these are nothing.

On the city wall separated by a wall.

"Pork and cabbage stewed with vermicelli."

Lin Dao, who came to inspect, greeted the soldiers, "You have worked hard to defend the city, eat as much as you can!"

"Thank you, my Lord, for your reward~~~"

The soldiers, with smiling faces, expressed their sincere gratitude to Lin Dao.

Nothing else to say.

The fact that the lord can feed them is enough to make the soldiers willingly fight for him!
Look at those Han people outside the city.

They are all risking their lives, but they can't even get a full meal.

With such a comparison, the defending soldiers' sense of happiness instantly exploded.

"Today, we're going to record the merits of each department." Lin Dao raised his voice to ensure more people could hear. "We must complete the statistics as soon as possible, and distribute the rewards as soon as possible."

The soldiers saluted again to show their loyalty.

Hearing the noise coming from the top of the city wall, Wang Meng at the bottom of the moat looked up.

After listening for a moment, he confirmed that an important figure from the Qihuo Army was nearby.

He didn't hesitate and shouted loudly.

"Gentlemen on the city wall!"

"We are all Han people, captured by the Hu people."

"We were forced to storm the city and had no intention of becoming an enemy of the Qihuo Army."

"Now trapped in the city, willing to surrender~~~"

The moment he heard shouts from the city, Liu Hu raised his shield and stepped forward to protect Lin Dao.

A group of armored guards surrounded him and tried to lead Lin Dao out of the city.

"Not urgent."

Lin Dao waved his hand and said, "Listen to him."

After Wang Meng finished shouting, Lin Dao responded loudly, "How can you prove that you are not spies?"

"No proof."

Wang Meng stood up and stood barefoot on the muddy riverbed.

"Our lives are worthless, our lives are in your hands." "If they are spies, you can just kill them."

Lin Dao smiled calmly, "From what you say, you seem to be quite cultured."

"Well, come up and talk."

A hanging basket descended, and Wang Meng soon reached the top of the city wall.

There was bright firelight all around, and the rice bucket was filled with fragrant dishes and rice as white as snow.

He allowed his guards to search and tie him up, but his eyes were fixed on the food.

Wang Meng, dressed in tattered clothes and barefoot, indeed had no sharp weapons on him.

The guards who were searching him saw him staring at the rice bucket and said jokingly, "Stop looking at it. You are not qualified to eat it."

Wang Meng frowned slightly, then relaxed his brows. "That's hard to say."

He has confidence in his abilities.

As long as you survive, you will eventually have the opportunity to show your abilities.

One day, he will be able to eat his fill.

Looking at the man who was brought before him, Lin Dao nodded slightly and said, "Tell me, what's the situation on the Jiehu side?"

"The Jiehu are brutal and cruel, and all tribes are suffering. The morale of the army is low."

"In the next few days, we will launch a massive attack on the city."

Lin Dao was stunned. "How did you know that the Jiehu were going to launch a large-scale attack on the city?"

Wang Meng lowered his head and carefully reported, "The army is short of food, but there are too many people."

"Either use it as food or consume it in sieges."

"It's impossible for the Jiehu to consume such a large amount of food and fodder to support so many people."

Lin Dao laughed, "You have good taste."

"General," Wang Meng said, seizing the opportunity, "there are many people like me living under the city walls who cannot bear the oppression of the Jiehu. I beg you to show mercy and take them in."

Lin Dao asked again, "How did you know that he hid in the moat and waited for dark to surrender?"

"It was someone's idea."

Hearing this, Lin Dao calmed down and replied, "Since that's the case, then you can be the leader of the laborers and gather everyone to work in the laborer camp."

"Thank you for your grace, Marshal~~~"

The next day, the Jie Hu launched a large-scale attack on the city.

A large number of ragged civilians, holding sharpened wooden sticks and carrying long ladders, rushed towards the city wall.

For the common people who don’t even have leather armor, the so-called siege has only one purpose.

Consume the defenders' arrows and city defense equipment.

This was the common tactic used by the various Hu peoples during invasions throughout the dynasties, forcing the people to build trenches.

Arrows rained down, and the common people, cannon fodder, fell to the ground in large numbers.

The sounds of wailing and crying filled the whole field.

"These barbarians deserve to die!"

Although he had known that such a scene would happen, when he actually faced it, Lin Dao still found it difficult to suppress the anger in his heart.

Even if it was your own cattle and sheep, you wouldn't drive them to die like this.

These Jiehu beasts must be destroyed!

"Lord~~~"

Seeing Jinlian coming over, Lin Dao's face was slightly stern. "It's a dangerous time to fight. How can you come here?"

Jinlian bowed in fear and said, "I know I was wrong. Please punish me, my lord."

"Get up and talk." Lin Dao simply waved his hand. "What's the matter?"

"My dear," Jinlian said softly, "someone from the village who entered the city last night asked me to bring a message."

Jinlian has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. If someone asks for help sincerely and she thinks it can be useful to her husband, she is willing to help.

But it wouldn't work with Lotus Sun. She was methodical and did everything according to the rules.

"explain."

"That person said, if the Jiehu people were to drive the people to fill the trenches, the common people would definitely not be willing to work for them."

"Master, please arrange for people to call out. Those who abandon their weapons and jump into the trenches to survive will not be killed."

"Huh?" Lin Dao was surprised. "What's his name?"

"This man calls himself Wang Meng."

In the far north, Dragon City.

"I am very pleased to have your presence here." Murong Huang, who proclaimed himself King of Yan, warmly welcomed Xie Yi.

"The king is in high spirits."

"In the south, I drove back the Shi bandits; in the east, I defeated Buyeo; in the north, I annexed Goguryeo; I defeated the rebellious Yuwen tribe and subdued Buyeo."

"The territory has been expanded by three thousand miles, and the population has increased by over one hundred thousand households."

"No wise ruler in ancient times dared to claim to have achieved more than this~~~"

Xie Yi did not mention at all that Murong Huang no longer respected Jiangzuo and proclaimed himself King of Yan.

The words were full of flattery.

Murong Huang was alert in his heart, but he kept laughing on his face.

"Your Excellency, please take your seat immediately. We will not leave until we are drunk today."

The music started and the dancers came in.

The lights are swaying and the figures are enchanting.

"Your Majesty."

After three rounds of drinks, Xie Yi clapped his hands with a smile, "I, your Excellency, have come here with a gift for you, Your Majesty. I hope you will accept it."

Murong Huang smiled again, "Since your Excellency has arrived, it is already a great joy."

"Why waste so much money? I am ashamed."

After some back and forth, Xie Yi quickly presented the gift.

Traditional gold and silver utensils, silk and satin.

Everyone has this thing, so just take a look at it and you're done.

Next are bottled red wine, large barrels of high-proof liquor, glass wine glasses, various canned foods, etc.

Liaodong is a cold and bitter place, so the comforts are naturally not as good as those in the Central Plains.

The people of the Murong family waited for inspection and then enjoyed it curiously.

Everyone praised it.

Even Murong Huang, who had great ambitions and outstanding abilities, was slightly distracted when he looked at the wine swaying in the crystal clear glass wine glass in his hand.

This gift is too heavy.

Murong Ke drank a bowl of white wine and immediately exclaimed that it was very enjoyable.

Murong Chui was fiddling with the can in his hand, his eyes fixed on Xie Yi who was smiling and stroking his beard.

"Your Excellency's gift is too great. How should the Murong clan respond?"

"It's just some food and drink." Xie Yi waved his hand. "Real gifts are not these."

Murong Huang was surprised. "Please explain clearly, Your Excellency."

Xie Yi straightened his sleeves and said sternly, "My king, the opportunity to take over Youzhou is right before our eyes!"

(End of this chapter)