Chapter 42 The Sword Hanging Over Your Head

Chapter 42 The Sword Hanging Over Your Head

Chapter 42 The Sword Hanging Over Your Head
After Mi Huang went to Luoyang, he came back the next day, but he didn't find out anything.

Afterwards, from late October to the end of November, he traveled back and forth between the inner city and Biyong from time to time.

The situation outside is relatively calm.

The Jizhou soldiers did not make any movement, which might have a lot to do with the fact that the commander Lu Ji was unable to control the situation.

Zhang Fang is quite active.

He suffered a defeat in October, with more than 5,000 of his soldiers killed. If the previous losses were taken into account, he now had only about 53,000 to 54,000 men left who could move.

But he just wouldn't leave.

Wherever I fall, there I will get up. After retreating to Shisanli Bridge, he reorganized his troops and fought back to the west of the city. He built a strong camp and fought with the king's army.

Sima Yi did not expect Zhang Fang to be so persistent. In a rage, he sent troops to attack his camp repeatedly, but apart from causing unnecessary casualties, he gained little.

Although the Western soldiers were beaten so badly that they dared not go out into battle, they still stubbornly stayed in the west of the city.

During this period of time, Shao Xun had been doing two things: reorganizing the troops and collecting food and fodder.

His current troop already far exceeds the establishment of a single building.

Originally, there were slightly more children and teenagers than three teams, but now they almost made up the entire staffing of three teams, and there were not many casualties or deaths from illness.

In addition, there were nearly 700 soldiers left, with complicated sources, and Shao Xun made a brief distinction between them.

He had considered before that the servants and soldiers of the wealthy families who were recruited should not be let go, and he still thought so now. But after the war was over, he would not force them to stay. One reason was that it would offend people, and the other reason was more important: these people had families, and they were not willing to abandon their wives and children to risk their lives. If he forced them to stay, they would not be able to stay, and they might desert and run away, which would affect their morale.

Of course, if he voluntarily stayed to serve as a soldier, that would be another matter. Everyone’s living environment is different, and we cannot rule out this possibility. What if he is not satisfied with being a slave and wants to change his way of life?

The same applies to veteran soldiers who are forcibly incorporated into the army.

They are usually the backbone of their families, and being forced to serve in the army is miserable enough. They may still miss their relatives and worry about what happened to their families. After all, you can't expect other troops to pass through the border without harming anyone, right?
In short, a forced melon is not sweet. It may quench thirst now, but it will only corrupt the military's morale and increase negative energy in the future. It is better to disband them after the war is over.

There were about two hundred people of this type, divided into four separate teams.

The remaining 500 people joined the army for different reasons, but basically all of them volunteered.

Shao Xun told them very clearly that since they had become recruits, they had to keep their words and not be indecisive, otherwise they would be punished by military law.

These people were organized into ten teams, with relatively good equipment and high morale. Shao Xun gave most of the gold and silk rewards he received to them, leaving the other four teams with only a small amount.

There is a difference between close and distant relatives; that's just how it is.

******
In early December, Shao Xun led his men out of the garrison to collect food and fodder.

In addition to the old players, there are also several newly promoted team leaders, such as Zhang Gu, Yao Yuan, Yu An, etc.

In the previous battle, the two team leaders Liu Tong and Zhong Huaner died. Now that the team has been expanded, there are many more opportunities.

Zhang Gu is from Luoyang, the protagonist of the broken engagement incident, and he was born a butcher.

Yao Yuan was a refugee from Guanxi who knew some farming skills and could even ride a horse. Shao Xun suspected that he was a Qiang. But Yao Yuan denied it, saying that he was from Chang'an and not from the Yao family of Nan'an.

Shao Xun agreed with this statement.

He is just a low-level military officer. Why would he hide his identity?

Yu An was the son of a merchant, and he even had a courtesy name, "Jingnan".

Shao Xun was even more curious about him and asked him many times if he really wanted to join the army or go back to inherit the family property.

Yu An said frankly that he had no share in the family property. He was born out of wedlock, his mother died early, and after his father died of illness, he was kicked out of the house. Apart from joining the army to seek wealth and fame, there was really no other place for him to go.

Shao Xun did not comment on this.

Yu An can read, which is very important. With this ability, it is not too difficult to make ends meet, so why does he do this business that can get him killed? Thinking about his situation, it seems to make sense.

But this road may not be easy.

In today's world, there are only a few states and counties that can live in peace and stability. Wars are extremely frequent, and it is difficult to give you time to grow.

Shao Xun read history books in later generations and found that people like Shi Le and Shi Hu would often gather hundreds of thousands of troops, but in fact most of them were poorly trained young men and it was really hard to call them military men.

When noobs of this level fight each other, it's normal to win or lose. There's a lot of uncertainty and you can end up dead if you're not careful.

He had been in Luoyang for more than a year and had experienced two battles. At least one-third of his original soldiers had been replaced, and the offensive and defensive battle with Meng Chao's troops was the most brutal.

In fact, he knew that Meng Chao's troops were ordinary and not strong. If his troops were more elite, he could defeat his 3,000 men with only a few hundred men, or even chase them and fight, and the casualties would be much smaller.

But this is unrealistic.

He seemed to be pushed by something and could not stop. After training a few soldiers with great difficulty, they were immediately sent into the war for consumption, and then new soldiers were sent in, and everything started from scratch.

It hurts. Suddenly there was a loud noise ahead, mixed with people crying and shouting.

Shao Xun walked over quickly, only to see squad leader Chen Yougen and team leader Li Chong ordering their men to tie up a group of people.

"Where are the soldiers from?" Shao Xun took a look and asked.

"A male conscripted from Heyin County." Li Chonghui said.

Shao Xun looked at them carefully.

Indeed, their clothes were of various kinds and their equipment was very messy; it was not a well-organized army.

The royal army is short of troops. This is the truth and there is nothing to hide.

The Luoyang Central Army had only so many people, which was totally insufficient to support a wide front. Therefore, before the battle, Sima Yi recruited a large number of hereditary soldiers from Sizhou and even farmers to expand the army and prepare for war.

These Heyin soldiers should be the ones who were summoned.

"The equipment has been taken down, let the people go." Shao Xun waved his hand and ordered.

Then, he looked at the carriages lined up on the street and asked, "How much food did you get?"

"About two hundred stones." Li Zhong was not sure and only gave a rough number.

After that, he complained again: "It's getting harder and harder to get food, and some people are snatching it away."

Shao Xun nodded.

The whole Luoyang is short of food now, and scramble for it is inevitable.

In the past month, as the situation has eased a little, the city has sent them a thousand stones of millet and wheat, as well as some arrows, bowstrings and other consumables.

Wu Qian inquired privately and learned that there was also a food shortage in the city. After delivering the 1,000 stones of food, he would find a way out on his own.

Shao Xun immediately and keenly judged that after losing the supplies from other states to Beijing, Luoyang’s grain reserves were being consumed rapidly and had to be used sparingly.

He paid great attention to collecting food and fodder since he first moved into Biyong.

There were almost no competitors at that time. Countless wealthy families and powerful people fled. They could take away their valuables but not food, so they became an important source of supplies for their people.

But after fighting for so long, the consumption was indeed great. The troops stationed outside the city probably did not get enough supplies and had to find ways on their own. Today, there are more and more competitors and the competition is becoming more and more fierce.

Whether there is a war or not, people still need to eat.

Sima Yi seemed to have a great advantage in this battle, with a very good casualty ratio, but there was one fatal flaw: he failed to break the blockade.

In fact, Shao Xun was very puzzled. After the Battle of Jianchun Gate, why didn't he take advantage of the favorable opportunity when the enemy had just been defeated, the commander Lu Ji was incapacitated, and the army was leaderless, to pull out all the capable troops and fight a decisive battle with the enemy with the momentum of a great victory?
As long as we win the decisive battle and open up external connections, the predicament of material shortage will be greatly alleviated.

But now almost two months have passed, the enemy has slowly adjusted and reappointed Qian Xiu as their commander. They began to dig deep trenches and build high fortifications, step by step, block all the post roads and rivers, and still tightly surround Luoyang City. If this continues, they can wear Luoyang out by attrition, right?
This battle is only good for a quick victory, not for a long-term struggle. Sima Yi couldn't even figure this out? Or maybe he felt unsure, so he delayed and waited for changes, hoping that the enemy's backyard would catch fire and cause chaos without fighting?
There is too little information to make a judgement.

But the lack of food is always like a sword hanging over our heads, and we don’t know when it will fall. Over time, morale will drop, and it will be difficult to win the battle.

"How many days can the army's stored food last?" Shao Xun asked.

Li Zhong shook his head and said he didn’t know.

Chen Yougen's face lit up with joy. He knew nothing, but he happened to know how to solve this problem!
"Master Du, yesterday the old man Wu Qian said that the food in the camp was less than three months' worth and that it would be best to slaughter a batch of draft horses." Chen Yougen smiled and said, "We got some more today, which is almost enough for three months."

"It's only three months." Shao Xun sighed and said, "Who knows how long this war will last."

"Du Bo, in my opinion, why are you still working for the court? Why not gather these hundreds of brothers and leave at night? Let's go to Sizhou, Yuzhou or anywhere else and occupy a county town. Then you can drink and eat meat whenever you want. Even the young lady from aristocratic family that you like to sleep with can be picked and chosen." Chen Yougen said nonchalantly.

"Shut up." Shao Xun pushed Chen Yougen and said angrily.

He glanced at Li Chong out of the corner of his eye.

When Li Zhong heard this, he just lowered his head and said nothing.

He came from the central army of Luoyang and might still have some loyalty to the court. Shao Xun was unsure of his attitude.

What did he rely on to command Li Zhong to fight? This is a question worth studying in detail.

Some people's values ​​have long been established and are indeed not easy to change.

If Li Chong is like this, what about the soldiers?
After all, they are not his own private soldiers, although Shao Xun has been trying every means to deepen his influence and turn more people into his "brainless fans".

It will take some time!

"Let's go back to the camp first." He waved his hand and said.

(End of this chapter)