Chapter 777: The Kings of Lost Nations All Have the Same Attitude

The night is gradually dispersing and the morning light is about to rise.

The wind and rain howled all night long, and no one in the city could sleep.

When the sun rose, the rain intensified. Fan Shicheng, who had been busy all night, fell to the ground when his legs went weak when he heard the news from the ferry.

"Intercepted?"

Fan Shicheng said in disbelief: "The river is blocked, and the ferry is really not washed away?"

"without……"

Gui Sheng got the news first and sat on the ground, panting heavily, saying, "The General of the Cavalry has drawn a line above the ferry, ordering everyone to swear to die and not to retreat even a single step."

"Last night, there were crowds of people using sandbags. I don't know how many things were thrown into the water, but the water that was surging up was blocked again!"

A ferry crossing stretches for hundreds of miles, and any breach of the dam would be a catastrophic disaster.

The water level collapsed several times last night, and the King of Hell raised his sickle to kill people several times, but in the end, it was pushed back safely by the power of everyone.

Gui Sheng gave a smile that was more twisted than tears, baring his teeth as he said, "I heard the news over there that the General of the Cavalry is leading his men to build a hundred-mile sand wall along the ferry to block the water flow."

"As long as this 100-mile sand wall is built and can keep the water out of the ferry, and the water inside the city doesn't drown people, we'll have won most of our battle against nature."

Fan Shicheng felt as if he was extremely hungry. He opened his mouth and bit into a mouthful of sour apricots. His throat and eyes were sour and astringent. He opened his mouth with a sobbing tone: "So, can you keep it?"

"We can hold it!"

Xu Mingyang strode in from outside, saying without stopping: "General Yuan's reinforcements have arrived and will enter the city in half an hour!"

"So many people can't control a flood. Do you really think all these men, young and old, are useless?"

Xu Mingyang yelled and quickly ran away, shouting at Old Man Hua who had been moved to the back: "Uncle Hua!"

“This way!”

Yuancai brought a lot of people with him. If they all entered Nanyun, it would be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It is unnecessary.

Therefore, after discussing with Xu Yu, Yuan Cai divided his army into several columns and rushed to the places where there was a shortage of manpower in batches as quickly as possible. There were 6,000 people entering Nanyun at a time.

Suddenly, there were six thousand more strong men, and the problems of resting places and food to fill their stomachs had to be solved immediately.

Xu Mingyang spoke quickly, "General Yuan and his men arrived in a hurry and didn't have time to bring much food and fodder. General Huoqi ordered us to provide what's needed during the flood relief efforts. Do you have enough?"

“Enough, enough, enough!”

Before Old Man Hua could say anything, Gui Sheng raised his hand and answered, "I can't say anything else, but I'll provide you with enough food, medicine, and clothes!"

"Another 6,000 men would be enough!"

Fan Shicheng exclaimed, "We'll take care of the rest too!"

"Third Young Master, please tell the Cavalry General that wherever the Nanxun Chamber of Commerce is present, the army that risks its life to save people from disaster will not be allowed to suffer any more than a flood!"

"Not only Nan Yun, but other places have also been prepared long ago. Whenever the general needs to give an order, we will not dare to disobey!"

Xu Mingyang said hello to Fan Shicheng and Gui Sheng, and hurried out without staying any longer.

Yuancai arrived a moment earlier than expected.

Before entering the city, Yuan Cai looked at the bulging food and fodder bags on the waists of the accompanying soldiers, and a small wrinkle appeared between his eyebrows.

"When did we have so much food?"

Yuancai brought his troops here and stayed for a long time, during which he always acted with ease.

In fact, few people know that the army does not have abundant food and fodder.

Emperor Yongshun was a foolish ruler, and the mess he inherited from the previous emperor was mostly caused by corrupt officials in the court.

Although the army was in the name of suppressing the rebellion, it had always been short of military pay and food. It had been more than a month since the last batch of food arrived.

There shouldn't be so many.

The military advisor who followed Yuan Cai smiled bitterly and said, "The general is well aware of the situation in the army. We can't provide so much food."

"So what is this?"

"I'll pass the order down and perform a fake trick for outsiders to see."

The military advisor said sadly, "It is not a good idea to seek the skin of a tiger. Even if we have to do it, we have to be on guard."

"General, think about it. If someone discovers that we are running low on food and fodder, wouldn't that give them another opportunity to take advantage?"

So before setting off, the military advisor ordered the soldiers to find ways to fill their ration bags.

At least from the outside, they have everything.

Yuancai was stunned for a moment, and after a while, he swallowed the sour taste in his mouth.

But before this complex emotion could spread in his heart, Xu Yu rode his horse out of the city gate.

Yuan Cai's expression was slightly stern. "It is my great honor to have the General of the Cavalry come out of the city to greet me."

"General Yuan understands the righteousness of the cause and comes to help. It is only right that I show more courtesy."

Xu Yu sat on his horse, cupped his fists, smiled, turned the reins, and said straight to the point: "The flood is raging, and General Yuan has arrived just in time."

"please!"

Xu Yu didn't say much nonsense, and Yuan Cai didn't want to say much either.

The two hit it off immediately and rushed to the precarious ferry together. They dismounted and began to make tense arrangements without waiting to stand still.

The turbid waves rushing down from the river are getting more and more violent.

The hundreds-mile-long sand wall built by human hands stretches out layer by layer, repeatedly washed by huge waves, but it never retreats a single step.

Beneath the surging waves, accompanied by the sound of rain falling overhead, no one could hear what they were saying unless they got close and shouted at the top of their lungs in the other person's ear.

The people brought by Yuancai made up for the shortage of manpower in time, and those who had fought at the ferry all night finally had a chance to catch their breath.

Chen Jingan sat on the sandy ground, panting and bumping Xu Yu's arm. "You know what, this guy is quite different from the drunkards we're used to seeing."

Do not seek power or personal gain. Even if the master you are loyal to is not a wise ruler, you still have the suffering people in your heart.

Under the reign of Emperor Yongshun, such people were rare.

Xu Yu took a sip of water and didn't respond.

Chen Jing'an's stomach was rumbling. He turned around and saw the ration bags that had been temporarily unloaded to carry sandbags. They had piled up like a small mountain not far away. He reached out and grabbed one, opened it, and said, "Let me get some food to fill my stomach first."

"When the food comes later, I'll pack it back for them. I..."

Chen Jing'an's hand that was taking out the bag suddenly froze, and he looked at the handful of hay with a complicated expression.

Xu Yu glanced sideways and said, "Take out another one."

Chen Jing'an grabbed the next one without saying a word, opened it and found that it was mostly filled with hay.

After opening several bags in succession, the contents found were all pretty much the same: mostly hay to fill the bags, and the only edible dry food were pitiful crumbs.

Chen Jing'an put down the light bag with a stammer, "Bai Ziyu sent me a message earlier, saying that Emperor Yongshun, listening to the advice of some sage, even as war raged, disregarded the opinions of his ministers and embarked on a massive construction project, intending to build an incredibly luxurious palace or temple in Kyoto."

"You're willing to spend so much money on building a garden, only to feed the rebel army with hay?"

Even though he had known for a long time that the imperial court was corrupt, it had come to this critical juncture, yet he could still sit back and relax. Who wouldn't admire him after hearing this?

Xu Yu rested his head on the haystack with one hand, closed his eyes and said, "The strategies for building a country may be different, but the rulers who destroyed their country all adopted the same attitude."

"What's so rare about this?"

If Emperor Yongshun had not been so ambitious, the attack of the Lingnan army might not have been so smooth.

In this case, they should also thank Emperor Yongshun.

Chen Jing'an stuffed the hay back into his ration bag with a groan and said in a low voice, "I think Yuan Cai is quite a character. Didn't you try to recruit him?"

"We're all from the same tribe, eating the same food and drinking the same water. Why can't we just sit down and talk it out? Why does this have to involve bloodshed?"

"You can go and persuade him."

Xu Yu's tone was unusually complex, and he said without blinking, "As long as he's willing, I can do anything else."

Chen Jing'an stared blankly for a moment, then sighed softly, "They say that in troubled times, the most feared thing is to encounter stubborn people. It's true."

"These days, it's hard for a stubborn person to live and it's hard to live long."

Xu Yu curled his lips and was too lazy to say anything more. He only raised his eyebrows and stood up when he heard the noise coming from not far away.

Sang Yanyou rushed to the front and saw that Xu Yu and Chen Jingan didn't bother to call for help. He turned around and shouted to the people he brought with him: "This way!"

"Send everything you brought here! Quick!"

A large group of people carried large baskets full of things on shoulder poles or wooden sticks, took them down from the carriage, and placed them at the place designated by Sang Yanyou.

Sang Yanyou wiped his face, which was covered with traces of rain or sweat, then raised the gong and struck it loudly, shouting at Xu Yu, "Brother-in-law!"

"Bring people over for dinner!"