Chapter 20 Evacuation

Chapter 20 Evacuation

Chapter 20 Evacuation
"Du Bo." Chen Yougen came hurriedly from the woodshed, looked around, then lowered his voice and said in a mysterious tone: "A war is about to begin."

When the soldiers who were wiping their equipment heard this, their hands and feet slowed down subconsciously.

Shao Xun signaled with his eyes, and soon two people stood up, armed and came out of the woodshed to stand guard.

"Go ahead." He nodded.

"Someone received a letter from home in Yecheng, saying that the King of Chengdu has gathered more than 200,000 soldiers and is marching south in batches to attack Luoyang." Chen Yougen said.

"More than 200,000?" Shao Xun shook his head helplessly.

The Jizhou Military Governorate has a maximum of 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers and horses. It suffered some losses in the past few years, so it would be good to have 30,000 soldiers now.

The so-called more than 200,000 soldiers and horses were more likely to be more than 200,000 young men who were temporarily conscripted. This was actually the mainstream way of warfare at that time: a fight between weaklings.

Of course, this does not mean that the Yecheng army does not have elite troops.

In fact, the combat effectiveness of Jizhou Governor Qu Shibing is in the first echelon among the "Eight Military Regions", which is pretty good.

Moreover, he was not sure whether Sima Ying had reorganized his troops, recruited elite soldiers, and formed a new army. As an ambitious man in troubled times, he should have done so, otherwise he would not be fighting for the world.

Alas, after all, his status is still low, and he cannot obtain effective intelligence, and others may not tell him, so he has to rely on Chen Yougen to obtain such information from the streets.

"When will it take to get from Yecheng to Luoyang?" Shao Xun asked.

"If we go fast, it will take about a month," said Chen Yougen.

"How do you know?"

Chen Yougen was a little embarrassed and stammered, "I've been there."

Shao Xun did not ask why he went to Yecheng. He closed his eyes and thought for a while, then said, "We can't stay in Panyuan anymore. We have to withdraw to Luoyang City as soon as possible."

"That's right." Chen Yougen nodded repeatedly: "Those old men with canes are not fit to fight. Children and teenagers are only fit to be used as food. If we don't retreat back to the city, we will be in danger."

"Are you going to eat people now?" Shao Xun was a little surprised.

The troubled times had just begun, so he could understand sporadic cases of cannibalism, but from what Chen Yougen said, cannibalism had already occurred on a large scale?

"Du Bo, you are an outstanding martial artist and you are fair in your dealings. I admire you. But you should go out more often. There are some places where even bandits and mountain bandits are not willing to rob." Chen Yougen said.

"Why not rob? Are you too poor? Can't you kidnap people and sell them? I heard that many Huns and Jie people in Bingzhou were captured and sold by officials." Shao Xun asked.

"The people in some places are poor and tyrannical. They have nothing but miserable lives." Chen Yougen shook his head and said, "Even if the bandits go there, they may not be able to defeat them. If you are unlucky, they will catch you and sell you as a slave, or use you as food to fill their stomachs. The refugees from Bingzhou and Jizhou have 'beef' in their army, and the supply is quite large. In fact, how can there be so much beef? I'm afraid it's only 10% beef and 80% human flesh."

"It's more chaotic than I imagined." Shao Xun sighed.

My life is indeed too monotonous.

Since coming to Luoyang from Donghai, he has either been on duty in Sikong Mansion or on guard in Pan Garden. His life scene is monotonous, he has little contact with the outside world, and he is indeed isolated from information.

After all, he only saw a small corner of this troubled world, and it was a relatively "gentle" corner at that.

"Yougen, I heard that there are many desperate criminals in the mountains and swamps. Do you understand?" Shao Xun suddenly asked, thinking of what He Lun and Wang Bing had said before.

"How could I not know?" Chen Yougen grinned, as if he wanted to laugh, but when he saw Shao Xun's serious face, he held back his laughter and said, "From Chang'an to Luoyang, from Hanoi to Xiangyang, there are so many bandits that there is almost no forest for them to stay. From what I heard from my brothers in those days, there were thieves on even a small mound. They may not be real thieves, they also farm, but they have definitely done a lot of thieves."

"What are the habits of these people?" Shao Xun asked.

"Du Bo, I know what you mean." Chen Yougen said, "In fact, most of them are defeated soldiers from various states. They can't go home, so they just become bandits. The habit is okay, but it's hard to say after a long time."

"Yes, I understand." Shao Xun nodded and asked, "Are you afraid of the war?"

"It would be a lie to say that you are not afraid." Chen Yougen sighed and said, "But now there is no way to make a living anywhere. What's the point of being afraid? It's better to give it a try. Maybe you can make a name for yourself."

"If everyone is like you, morale will be boosted." Shao Xun said with a smile: "Okay, this time the army from Yecheng and Chang'an is coming, we have no way to avoid it, we can only act according to circumstances. If we really have to go to the battlefield, I'll make it clear in advance, anyone who deserts the battlefield without military orders will be killed."

"Yes." Chen Yougen replied.

Shao Xun turned his gaze to the rest of the people, and they all agreed.

******
Concubine Pei did not stay in Luoyang for long and returned to Pan Garden two days later.

While escorting them along the way, Shao Xun found an opportunity to offer his suggestions.

"I came to Luo this time for this matter." Concubine Pei sighed, her expression became much dimmer, not as energetic as before.

Everyone fears war, especially women.

Don't think that the official army of the Jin Dynasty was very disciplined. In fact, there were few armies with good military discipline in the last years of the dynasty. Rape, looting and all kinds of evil were the norm.

As for the aristocratic families, the private soldiers of the fortresses, the refugees and beggars, they were all in a mess. The chaos of the kings caused serious damage to the local order, and they took the opportunity to stir up trouble, killing many people and capturing countless slaves, not to mention the "stuff" they ate.

"The princess is wise." Shao Xun praised.

It's great to follow such a clear-headed boss. He knows exactly what to do and when, and he doesn't drag his feet. He has a very good character.

"Isn't Du Bo afraid of death? I remember you have only been on the battlefield twice?" Concubine Pei asked.

Shao Xun was a little confused and didn't know how to answer.

Who doesn't fear war?

This is not a game where you click the mouse and the soldiers rush over. This is a game where you have to brave the arrows and stones, stand on the edge of the blade, and fight hard with your life at stake.

In fact, although he spoke passionately to the people below, it was to enforce military discipline and boost morale. In his heart, his emotions fluctuated greatly, after all, time travelers were also afraid of death.

Moreover, this kind of emotional fluctuation cannot be shown to the outside world and can only be endured silently.

"The princess has done me a favor. I have no right to be afraid." Shao Xun said slowly.

These words silenced Concubine Pei.

Shao Xun looked at the blue sky and white clouds in front of him.

There are some things that cannot be told to outsiders.

When he was a child, he was not very courageous - no, maybe he just thought he was not very courageous.

When he was five years old, an old man in the village passed away, and he was taken there by his parents. The body was cold, the face was somewhat hideous, and the hands and feet were dark blue and dark purple. He thought he was very scared, but when he stood in front of the body, he found himself very calm.

When he was in middle school, a relative's house caught fire and someone was burned to death. When people dug out the unrecognizable charred body from the rubble, he watched from a distance in the crowd. He thought he would be very scared because the body's stomach was burned and burst, the internal organs were exposed, and the fingers and toes were fused together, but he found himself very calm. He even put a new piece of clothing on the body of the same age as himself at the request of his parents. When the rotten flesh fell off piece by piece, he found that he was not afraid at all.

After traveling through time, when he was fourteen years old, he suppressed a civil uprising. In this life, his father was old and his brothers and sisters were young, so he went to the battlefield on behalf of his father and personally killed a rioter.

He thought he would be scared, but when his face was covered in blood and he personally cut off the head and tied it around his waist, he found himself calm.

In the dead of night, when he analyzed his inner thoughts, he didn't know where his bottom line was.

When fighting on the battlefield, he would even abandon all distractions and rush forward in a fit of rage.

He felt like a terrible person.

He even suspected at one point that he was a pervert and had a mental illness.

In this world where people are cannibalistic, he is really worried that he will slide step by step into the abyss of perversion.

Therefore, we must find something positive to dilute our negative emotions.

Make great achievements, end the chaotic times, bring peace to the people, abolish many appalling systems of the Jin Dynasty, make society more progressive... and so on.

Without these lofty ideals to illuminate his way and serve as an anchor, he felt like a lonely traveler hesitating in the dark, and would eventually lose his way, be swallowed up by the darkness, and become a cruel person like Shi Hu.

"Can I believe what Shao Jun said?" Concubine Pei asked softly.

"Princess, please wait and see."

"Okay, I believe you."

There was no conversation along the way, and the carriage returned to Pan Garden in the evening.

The order to retreat was quickly spread everywhere, and unsurprisingly caused a small commotion.

But the retreat is not today or tomorrow, there is still a lot to do in the manor.

It will take another day or two to harvest the grain, and many people will have to wield sickles tonight.

The harvested grain must be winnowed and dried in good weather, otherwise it will easily become moldy.

The property and tools in the manor need to be packed up, and the livestock need to be placed somewhere, preferably within the sheep and horse wall outside Luoyang. If not possible, they can be moved into the city, but they have to find a good place.

Finally, where will the thousands of people live? This is a question that needs to be coordinated in advance.

In short, a lot of things need to be dealt with as soon as possible, after all, the enemy will not wait for you.

On June 15, Mi Huang arrived at Pan Garden, and the retreat was imminent.

(End of this chapter)