Chapter 147
The Daliang army was slow to suppress the rebellion, and since Yichun was not their main target, they arrived even slower. However, the Crown Prince's ban on salt and iron production in Ningzhou, Xuzhou, and Youzhou was issued promptly.
However, the three rebellious regions showed little reaction. Take the Prince of Ruyin, for example; whoever wants to rebel wouldn't be prepared. Xuzhou already has iron ore, but since the Crown Prince has banned it, they can just mine and refine it themselves. As for salt, their stockpiles should last them six months, especially with the high-quality iodized salt they later acquired, which helped them last an additional three months.
The Crown Prince's ban on salt and iron was even less of a problem for Xin Yichun. If the sea salt from Wangya Beach were brought back and processed, it would be enough to feed Xin Yichun's 300,000-plus residents for years. As for iron? Yao Chunnuan dared to say that her knowledge of the distribution of iron ore mines was even more detailed than that of the imperial court. Xin Yichun itself possessed a wealth of high-quality iron ore.
Before the Daliang rebels arrived in Xinyichun, the city lord, after consulting with the higher-ups and considering their impressive strength, decided to send them on a minor mission. After spending two days in the Grand Council, the city lord and his generals decided to launch a surprise attack on Huining, located southeast of Xinyichun.
It was because they looked around and found that among the places adjacent to Xinyichun, Huining was the most suitable place for them to attack at the current time, and the size was also suitable for them to digest.
Yao Chunnuan had been keeping a close eye on the Northern Di for days. When they did make a move, she thought for a moment and sent a letter to Marshal Zhu in the name of the New Yichun City Lord's Mansion. The purpose of this letter was, firstly, to reduce casualties in the Yichun camp, and secondly, to distract Marshal Zhu and his men, preventing them from focusing too much on New Yichun and potentially launching a surprise attack on Huining.
Along with the letter, a dozen craftsmen and several carts of coarse porcelain, coarse bowls and other fragments were sent to the Yichun camp.
Marshal Zhu was quite puzzled by the letter from the Xinyichun City Lord's Mansion. He opened it and found a single suggestion: knowing the Northern Di would invade Yichun, why not ambush them on their way? Don't worry about whether they'd fall for it; just do it now and take as many as you can. The letter also included instructions for the ambush location and trap-setting instructions.
Marshal Zhu was a little surprised after reading it. "Why would those guys from the New Yichun City Lord's Mansion be so kind as to write a letter to give us advice?"
Shi Mei thought to herself that maybe they were just fed up with their previous defensive behavior.
"They regard us as the first line of defense. If our line of defense is broken, they will have to face the Diluo tribe directly. They naturally hope that we can hold out for a while, and preferably drive the Diluo tribe back to their homeland."
Then, Shi Mei thought of the location of their Yichun camp and felt unhappy. "I'm not saying anything, Marshal, but isn't the layout of our Yichun camp reasonable?" The Yichun camp was built in Jiayin County, and the entire northeast of Jiayin County bordered the Northern Di, forming a long line of defense. They faced the Diluo tribe directly. As long as they were not defeated, the Diluo tribe would never enter the heart of Yichun.
Marshal Zhu was also speechless. The original purpose of building it like this was to protect the people of Daliang and to keep all the people of Daliang under his wings.
Who the hell knew that someone would rebel behind them? The key point was that they successfully occupied the territory behind them, leaving their Yichun camp sandwiched between New Yichun and Beidi. When Beidi attacked, wouldn't their Yichun camp be the first to bear the brunt?
Shi Mei sighed. The matter had already come to this point. It was pointless to dwell on it any further. It would be better to consider a more practical issue. "Should we use the method they suggested?"
"Yes!" Marshal Zhu said affirmatively. He believed that they were really helping.
Although Xing Zhangfeng, Yao Chunnuan and others were full of tricks, Marshal Zhu believed that they would not play tricks on him. Because rebellion was rebellion, national justice was national justice, and national justice was above everything else!
If Xing Changfeng, Yao Chunnuan, and the others joined forces with Di Luo to deal with their Yichun camp, they would be disregarding national justice. Such people would not last long, and no one would be willing to follow them. Marshal Zhu believed that they were not such fools.
Since they decided to use their method, Marshal Zhu and Shi Mei read the letter carefully again, especially the part about the trap setting, reading it more carefully.
After reading it, they both gasped.
"This method is so insidious."
"I learned it."
The two men looked at each other and understood the thoughts in each other's eyes. If they were to fight with the Xin Yichun gang in the future, they would have to be careful of this trick of theirs.
The trap Yao Chunnuan had provided to Marshal Zhu was simple. It was a combination of the locations where the Northern Di army had often stopped outside the city gates during their previous attacks on Yichun. They first identified the location and then dug the trap. The trap was then filled with densely packed porcelain shards and barbs. After completing these, they would also restore the road surface.
The key is the restoration technology, which can restore the flat ground to its original state. The most amazing thing is that this newly flat ground is fine for people to stand on or walk on, but if a horse steps on it, it will be a disaster! They can all imagine the horse falling into the trap, getting injured and going crazy.
This trap is enough to make one's scalp tingle just by imagining it.
Marshal Zhu couldn't help but ask, "Are they sure we won't refuse?" Even the craftsmen sent several large carts of fragments of rough porcelain and rough bowls.
Shi Mei: "Should we refuse?"
Marshal Zhu was speechless. "Of course not."
*******
October is the golden autumn and the famous harvest season in Daliang.
After killing and maiming several of his brothers, Wei Xizhe officially became the new king of the Beidi tribe. The Beidi had endured a difficult six months, with many cattle and sheep dying and the tribesmen starving. Having just unified the tribe, Wei Xizhe wanted to send his troops south to recover some lost territory.
When the new king blew the horn of war, the Northern Di people were all excited. The first to respond were the warriors and leaders of each team, who either ran or rushed to gather.
Wei Xizhe sat high up, looking at the warriors and vanguards gathered under the tent. They were all familiar faces, except for the bravest ones who had not come yet.
However, when the guards lowered the curtain of the tent indicating the arrival of all, the warriors he was so familiar with still did not appear.
"Wait, is everyone here?"
"Your Majesty, everyone is here."
Wei Xizhe felt something was wrong, "Where is Gui Fangxiong?"
No one answered.
"Where is Qiu Youzhongshan?"
Still no one answered.
The two people he was asking about were the wildest and most wolf-like guys in the Beidi tribe. In the past, when they heard that they were going to gather to attack Daliang, they would have come to the tent and cheered like ghosts and wolves.
The people below looked at each other in confusion. Finally, Gui Fangxiong's cousin stepped forward to answer the question, "Your Majesty, Gui Fangxiong and Qiu Youzhongshan have been captured by the Daliang people."
"What?!"
"This is the king..."
It was only then that Wei Xizhe realized that during the chaotic period when he and his brothers were fighting for their lives, his tribesmen could not bear the hunger and ran to Yichun to hunt for food.
Once you go, you can't return. Those who have fallen in before you will come back with a message, inviting more people to go. The people are fooled, thinking they can get something for nothing, and rush over. By the time they realize what's wrong, many people have already fallen in.
Wei Xizhe's face turned ugly. "Let's count the number of people who went to Yichun but didn't come back."
When Wei Xizhe got the result, he was almost angry to death. He never expected that the small organized action of the tribesmen to hunt for food spontaneously would actually involve more than 10,000 people!
"What a pity! Gui Fangxiong and Qiu Youzhongshan were both great warriors of our tribe, yet they died in a hunt for food."
"My lord, they are not dead."
"They are not dead?" Yes, we just said they were captured.
"They were captured. I heard from a member of the tribe who managed to escape that the entire group we entered the Yichun village to hunt for food were captured by the Daliang people. And the captives were in a terrible state. They started working at dawn and didn't rest until dark. Not only did they have to clear a lot of wasteland every day, but they weren't even given enough to eat. The member of the tribe who sneaked back was starving to the point of being just skin and bones."
The Di Luo people present felt sympathetic after hearing this. It was so tragic. Daliang's methods were so cruel. They had to work every day without getting enough to eat. It would be better to kill them with a knife.
Wei Xizhe pondered this. This method didn't seem like something Marshal Zhu would use. They had been dealing with Marshal Zhu for years, and he wasn't so ruthless and cunning. Suddenly, he thought of something and asked, "That army that came to our Northern Di and caused chaos at the beginning of the year wasn't from the Yichun camp?"
"No, it's from the Yichun military settlement."
Some people wonder, “What’s the difference between the two?”
Wei Xizhe's subordinates explained, "They used to be the same. Later, I heard they had a falling out and split up, so things are different now."
"Is it possible that the troops who captured our warriors were from the Yichun military camp?" Wei Xizhe still didn't believe that this was done by Marshal Zhu from the Yichun camp.
Gui Fangxiong's cousin replied, "It's hard to say. Too few of our tribesmen escaped. Plus, that person doesn't understand the Central Plains dialect."
"It doesn't matter if they were just captured. This time we will also capture some Central Plains soldiers! Then we can ask them to exchange with us and get back all the warriors of our tribe!" Very good, the new and old grudges can be settled together!
After saying this, Wei Xizhe stood up and called out, "Warriors of the Beidi tribe! Our people have been captured. Should we go and rescue them?"
"Yes!" The roar shook the sky.
Wei Xizhe asked loudly again, "Also, the grain in Daliang is ripe. Should we go harvest it?"
"Yes!" The roar became louder.
Wei Xizhe swiped his arm downwards, "Well, let's have a good rest tonight, and tomorrow morning, we'll gather and attack!"
"Attack! Attack! Attack!"
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