The fifth day of scavenging

The small city of Guanshi County in Qing State is no longer as peaceful as it once was. While it was besieged by the Zheng State army, a plague broke out and spread throughout the city overnight!

If it weren't for this plague, the Sheng family army stationed here would still be able to fight against the Zheng army, and if given more time, they could even force the enemy to retreat.

But then, this plague broke out!

The plague doesn't discriminate! Not only the people in the city, but even the Sheng family army fell one after another.

The remaining troops had to manage city affairs, fight epidemics, and defend against foreign enemies. Even if each soldier were divided into ten, it wouldn't be enough!

The only saving grace was that the enemy troops outside the city, perhaps fearing they would contract the plague within, did not intend to launch a full-scale attack. Instead, they simply surrounded the city and occasionally sent troops to harass it.

But this has made things extremely difficult for the current Sheng family army.

To make matters worse, due to a shortage of manpower, their defenses were breached by the enemy two days ago, allowing two people to infiltrate and set fire to the grain supplies in the county!

The flames were soaring into the sky, and despite everyone's best efforts to save them, they could only salvage a few scattered pieces.

Even with the addition of another small storage site and the grain stored in the homes of the people in the county, it would not be enough to sustain the entire county for more than half a month.

What's more, this is a frugal way of eating.

However, the Sheng family army was meant to defend against enemy forces that could attack from outside the city at any time. If the soldiers were not fed, they might not even have the strength to hold their weapons. What difference would that make from simply opening the city gates and handing over Guanshi County to the enemy?

General Sheng Lu was filled with worry when he thought about the various problems in the city.

"Cough, cough." The general coughed twice, clutching his chest, and frowned as he beckoned to his personal guard to ask, "Any news of reinforcements?"

The personal guards were aware of the plea for help that the army had desperately tried to send out after breaking through the enemy's defenses a few days earlier.

only……

He shook his head: "We haven't received any news yet."

The guards felt that, regardless of whether the letter requesting help had been successfully sent out, even if it had reached the king, the crisis in their Guanshi County was essentially unsolvable.

The city closest to Guanshi County did not have a large army stationed there. Even if they came, they would be unable to provide any relief and might even be wiped out by the enemy forces on the periphery.

The only force capable of fighting the enemy is the Hong family army, which is currently engaged in battle with the Ling Kingdom.

Before the Zheng army besieged Guanshi County, they heard news that the Hong family army had already reached the capital of Ling and would soon destroy Ling. But what happened next, they had no way of knowing.

Leaving aside whether the Hong family army has finished its work or whether it can come to support them from the battlefield, given the distance from the capital of Ling Kingdom to this place, even if the Hong family army were to rush over immediately, they would have to work non-stop and ride at top speed to arrive within half a month.

However, it might be possible for a small raiding squad to travel at this speed, but for the entire army to achieve this speed is simply a pipe dream!

If the main force can't arrive, what good can a small raiding squad do?

Even if the JSGs brought much-needed food to the city and had the ability to deliver it, how much could they possibly carry to ensure their speed of travel?

In conclusion, after much deliberation, Guanshi County is in grave danger. Sheng Family Army is in grave danger!

If even his personal guards could think of this, how could General Sheng Lu not have thought of it?

The more he understood, the more unwilling he became.

If it weren't for this plague, if it weren't for the plague!!

Heaven is going to destroy my Sheng family army!

"Cough cough cough!" The general's cough became increasingly uncontrollable due to his grief.

The guards rushed forward to pour water and comfort him: "General, don't worry, don't worry. If you can't hold on, what will happen to all the soldiers and civilians in the city?"

"Yes, yes, I have to hold on, I can't fall yet. Until the very last moment, my Sheng family army will never give up!"

General Sheng Lu gulped down a cup of water, unfolded the border defense map again, and carefully considered what other ways there might be to break through the current predicament.

Just then, a voice came from outside the gate: "General, there's a situation at the city gate... Please go and check it out!"

His voice was filled with urgency.

"At the city gate?!" Upon hearing this, General Sheng Lu immediately stood up and hurriedly walked out.

Could it be that the enemy is attacking again?! It couldn't be reinforcements arriving, could it?!

As the general walked towards the city gate, he asked the messenger, "What happened?"

In the short time it took to say just those two sentences, General Sheng Lu, who had already placed his command post near the city gate, saw the group of people gathered at the gate.

They were all people from Guanshi County.

The elderly make up the largest group.

General Sheng Lu suddenly had a bad feeling.

The soldier who delivered the report already had red eyes, and not only him, but everyone near the city gate had a face full of grief.

The soldier, choking back tears, said to General Sheng Lu, "These old men just gathered together, begging us to open the city gates and let them out..."

Before the soldier could finish speaking, the general angrily rebuked him: "Nonsense!"

“The enemy is swarming the outside. If our civilians go out, they will die. Do they really think they can break out of the enemy camp and survive?”

However, the soldier shook his head: "No, no, General. The old men said... they knew the city was short of food and didn't want to burden the Sheng family army, so they volunteered..."

I would voluntarily die.

The soldier simply couldn't bring himself to say the last two words.

Even without him saying it, General Sheng Lu already understood what he was going to say.

The general was completely stunned.

The old people at the city gate, who were still trying to get the guards to open the gate, all gathered around to see General Sheng Lu appear.

There were at least twenty elderly people in this group. They all had smiles on their faces, and they didn't look like they were going out to commit suicide at all. Instead, they looked like they had made an appointment to go to the market together.

One of the old men approached the general and said earnestly, "General, we've lived long enough to live. Now that the city is in crisis, we old folks can neither fight on the front lines nor take care of our children and grandchildren. We can't help even if we wanted to. So let's not waste these few grains of food and let the soldiers eat well and get through this period. Maybe reinforcements will come soon!"

"Yes, yes, I've lived my whole life in Guanshi County, just an ordinary person, and I haven't done anything for the county. Now that the county is facing a life-or-death situation, let me be of some use."

Another elderly person said.

"Hahaha, yes, yes, when I get down there, I can brag to those old guys who went there first!" The old man laughed with great pride.

"With no children of my own, I would have died somewhere long ago if it weren't for the county government taking care of me. Now is the time when the county needs me, and there is no reason for me to back down!"

“My children and grandchildren have all grown up, and I have no more worries.”

"I heard from my son that the army has developed a new explosive weapon, but it explodes too quickly and can only be detonated manually, which is why it hasn't been put into use yet. Since we're all going to die anyway, why don't the general let us carry that weapon with us? Maybe we can take one or two of them down with us!"

"Hey, Old Man Li, that's a great idea! I never thought that an old woman like me could still go into battle and fight a bit in my old age!"

"Yes, yes, General, this is killing two birds with one stone!"

"General, let us go."

"General!"

"General!"

The general's eyes welled up with tears as he listened to the old people's earnest pleas.

There were soldiers who had no connection with the elderly, as well as neighbors who had brought them there at the elderly's request, and even the elderly's own children!

The elderly people had not consulted with their relatives before making this decision, but now, listening to and looking at the elderly people in front of them, none of them could say a word.

They were all in tears.

General Sheng Lu gritted his teeth and refused: "No! My Sheng family army is holding out here so that everyone can survive! How can we agree to such a thing!"

However, the old men had already made up their minds. When the general disagreed, they asked in return, "But there isn't enough food in the county. If we don't do this, how long can we hold on? We are all doing this voluntarily. If we old folks can help the rest of the county hold on a little longer, then we won't have died in vain."

The general was speechless: "Food, the food problem..."

However, no matter how quick-witted the general was during the sieges and battles, he could not think of any solution at this moment.

But how can I let the people I'm protecting die!

They'll only die when all of Sheng's army is wiped out!

Just as the general was about to order his men to tie up the old people and take them back, a sudden cry of alarm rang out from the city tower.

"General, look! Reinforcements have arrived!"

Reinforcements?!

These two words were like a huge stone thrown into the hearts of the crowd, instantly creating towering waves in the crowd.

General Sheng Lu waved his hand and shouted loudly, "Reinforcements have arrived! We are all saved! No one is going to die. Now all of you go back obediently and wait for good news!"

As he spoke, he strode eagerly up the city wall.

The elderly people left standing there looked at each other in bewilderment, and after a moment, they all cheered.

After all, if they could avoid death, they would rather live on.

The people returned to the city full of hope, bringing news of the arrival of reinforcements, which immediately enlivened the somber atmosphere in the city.

Unlike the people who were full of hope, General Sheng Lu's expectations were dashed the moment he saw the reinforcements from the city wall.

Reinforcements did arrive somewhere within the enemy's encirclement, but judging from their condition, they were not the large army he had expected. They were likely just a small, urgent squad, with no more than a hundred men.

How could such a small team possibly resolve the crisis in the county!

Even so, the arrival of reinforcements is good news, at least it stops the elderly from thinking about suicide.

While comforting himself, the general reorganized his troops and ordered them to leave the city to meet with reinforcements.

The enemy didn't seem afraid of such a small squad coming in, and their attack was weak. Soon, General Sheng Lu joined up with the reinforcements and returned to the city together.

It wasn't until the city gates closed that General Sheng Lu had the mind to take a closer look at the people in this troop.

Upon looking, he spotted someone he knew.

"Yuan De, the military advisor? You personally led the troops here?" General Sheng Lu asked in surprise.

Now that Zhong Yuande had arrived, General Sheng Lu naturally knew that this team belonged to the Hong family army. However, knowing the military advisor's position by Hong Kang's side, why would he entrust him with such a dangerous mission—a raiding party with a high probability of no return?

Thinking this, General Sheng Lu's gaze swept over the rest of the squad.

Upon closer inspection, he suddenly noticed something peculiar about the group.

Although the entire team was led by Zhong Yuande, the positioning and posture of everyone clearly told General Shenglu that they were not protecting Zhong Yuande, but rather—

A snow-haired boy?

Just as General Sheng Lu was becoming increasingly puzzled, he heard Zhong Yuande say, "General Sheng, we have brought you grain. Let's hand it over first. There is quite a lot of it."

Sheng Lu glanced at Zhong Yuande, then at the other soldiers in his squad who didn't even have a large bundle.

grain?

a lot of?

Could it be that Zhong Yuande was drugged along the way and his mind is no longer clear?!