Chapter 181
The army stayed outside Guiyang City for a full fifty-five days.
Nowadays, almost the entire Lingnan region is under the control of Yuzhang, and it is easy to transport military supplies, so there will be no food shortage.
Meanwhile, news of Yuzhang's rebellion had also reached the imperial city.
The emperor was furious and when he sent troops to Yuzhang again, several counties had already turned against him.
I don't know whether they had ulterior motives long ago, or perhaps they saw the world in chaos and the end of the dynasty, so they all chose to follow a good leader.
Yu Ying could not change the chaos of war outside. What she could do was to ensure that more people were saved in these wars.
Fu Wei set out with the army. She and most of the military doctors stayed in the city to guard the wounded. They set out for Guiyang County ten days later.
After joining the main army outside the capital of Guiyang County, there were no wounded soldiers among the army, so she started teaching at the camp.
Let the military doctors enrich their knowledge as much as possible.
Even when it came to suturing, soldiers would come and listen. Having more skills is always a plus. In situations of heavy casualties and a shortage of military doctors, one can easily treat wounds for oneself or others, saving lives.
After the lecture, she and the military doctor went to collect some herbs delivered from Cangwu.
Wei Yong came out of nowhere, approached the female teacher, and whispered, "I heard there's chaos in the city."
Yu Ying looked at Wei Yong, who had become darker but taller and stronger. "Where did you hear that?"
Their camp is still twenty miles away from the Guiyang County seat. Perhaps they would only hear the noise if a fighting broke out inside the Guiyang County seat.
"Just now I saw Captain Gu gather a group of men and head out. Guiyang City must be in chaos by now."
Yu Ying looked towards the direction of Guiyang City.
Yes, it is indeed a mess.
Most people's food reserves have probably been used up long ago, and they are unable to fill their stomachs. If the government does not open the granary at this time, the situation will only get worse.
The prefect of Guiyang County had previously defected to the Nankang Army, but now the general has taken up the banner of loyalty.
The army's morale had long been unstable, and during this period of food shortage, Guiyang was at its most vulnerable. If even one individual wavered, there was a 50% chance that the Yuzhang army could capture Guiyang County without a single casualty.
It’s just this candidate…
Yu Ying could also guess who it was.
It must be a hidden danger.
Thinking of Fu Wei, Yu Ying lowered her head and continued to grind the medicine into powder in order to prepare the hemostatic medicine.
Although the couple were in the same army, they only saw each other every now and then.
As for Fu Zhen in the army, Yu Ying had never seen him since she arrived at the army. She could only convey the news that her family was safe to Fu Zhen through Fu Wei.
A few days later, Zhou Yi sent people to the city to announce that if their envoys could enter the city to negotiate with the county governor, he would send 20 stones of grain into the city. If they could leave the city safely, he would send another 30 stones.
Ten dan of grain, cooked into porridge, can feed a thousand people for four or five days.
There was a food shortage in the city. Not only the common people but even the county officials were tempted to surrender, but they did not dare to directly persuade the county governor to surrender, and used him as an example to scare the monkeys.
Although I dare not persuade him directly, I will try to persuade him in different ways.
"Why not let them enter the city first? No matter what they say, we won't respond. Once we get the food, we can kill them or let them go and take the 30 stone of food."
The county magistrate had a gloomy expression on his face, pursed his lips and said nothing.
The official who was giving the admonition felt uneasy and turned to look at his colleagues.
Other officials explained the current situation in the city without saying anything else: "Forty percent of the food in the city is already left over, and there's no more to share with the people. Not only is there a shortage of food, but there's also a shortage of firewood. Even when we used to provide three taels of rice per head every three days, people were still starving to death. Looting and murder are happening every day."
They all knew that if they decided to defend the city without reinforcements, they would be trapped to death, or the people in the city would revolt and they would be forced to have no way to retreat and would have no choice but to open the city gates.
But the prefect had rebelled once before, and the general still firmly believed that the court would send reinforcements to help.
As for the emperor in the court, he was nothing more than a treacherous minister who usurped the throne. He was treacherous, suspicious and cruel, even worse than the previous emperor.
How could such a monarch send troops to help?
Moreover, they still follow such a cruel monarch. What future do they have?
Not to mention that various parts of the world have risen up one after another, occupied land and claimed to be king, and with the rise of heroes, the world will change hands sooner or later.
They were disappointed with the general, and their dissatisfaction grew with each passing day.
Hearing his subordinates urging him to let people into the city, the general drew his heavy sword and slashed at the square heavy table in front of him. With a loud bang, wood chips scattered everywhere, and a table at the back was chopped into pieces by the sword.
Seven or eight officials were so frightened that their faces turned pale.
The burly bearded man, decked out in armor and possessing immense strength, was truly intimidating. Baring his teeth, he angrily bared his teeth and said, "Have you forgotten how Nankang City was captured? The Yuzhang army is cunning. Letting them into the city would be like inviting a wolf into your house!"
He held a heavy sword in his hand, as if he would chop off anyone's head if they dared to say another word. For a moment, everyone was silent.
The city of Guiyang County rejected the proposal of the Yuzhang Army, and the scouts passed the news back to the main tent.
In the main account, Zhou Yi and his subordinates gathered together to discuss matters.
Hearing that General Guiyang rejected the proposal, everyone turned to Fu Wei. It was he who proposed to use food as a bargaining chip to make General Guiyang agree to let the envoys into the city to negotiate peace.
Fu Wei's expression remained calm. He said, "If it doesn't work once, try it twice. If it doesn't work twice, try it three times. Each time, add 20 dan of grain."
Captain Ji and Fu Wei had always had different auras, and whenever Fu Wei's opinions were to the left, they would confront each other head-on.
Seeing that Fu Wei's proposal was a miscalculation, he scoffed coldly, "If it doesn't work the first time, then the second, third, and fourth time. Do we have to give away all the food in our granary to give Guiyang a chance to fight me?!"
Fu Wei said calmly, "General Xing Zhengrong of Guiyang is a stubborn man. He previously pledged his loyalty to the prefect, and despite all his reluctance, he obeyed his orders. But now that the prefect is no longer there to suppress him, he will remain loyal to the court and will remain stubborn. He may only surrender when his army is truly defeated and has no way to retreat."
Captain Ji angrily said, "Since you know Xing Zhengrong is like this, why did you bother with this?!"
Zhou Yi frowned. He could roughly guess Fu Wei's purpose. Captain Ji was only focused on targeting Fu Wei without thinking about it carefully.
Is he really stupid, or is he just targeting Fu Wei?
He glanced at Captain Ji calmly, then looked at Fu Wei and said, "Tell us what you think."
Fu Wei faced the crowd and said, "After two months of siege, the people are demoralized and few can even afford to eat. The people are aware of my call today, but Xing Zhengrong's refusal to negotiate is equivalent to his refusal to pay sixty dan of grain. Although the people are dissatisfied, they dare not object."
"But if we add more food a second time, with people already starving to death in the city, the people will only become more panicked. If Xing Zhengrong refuses again, their dissatisfaction will only grow, and they will even become rebellious."
"If we refuse again for the third time, the people's dissatisfaction will reach its peak."
"So what?" Captain Ji asked back.
Fu Wei was silent for a moment and looked around at the others.
Everyone else looked at Captain Ji with sullen faces.
The meaning of Fuwei is simple and clear.
When the people are angry, they will rise up in resistance. Internal strife will break out in the city, and the army will be unstable, making it easy to capture the city. It will also save a lot of trouble in stabilizing the people's hearts.
Captain Ji didn't seem to think too deeply about this, but he realized later that everyone was staring at him with strange expressions. He was stunned for a moment: "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
The fifth leader of Muyun Village sneered, "You are so obviously targeting Fu Wei, but what grudge does Fu Wei have against you?"
Captain Ji's face darkened: "What do you mean, you thief?"
As soon as the word "thief" came out, the main tent became eerily quiet.
The Fifth Master suddenly smiled and said slowly, "I understand. You're not just targeting Fu Wei, you're targeting everyone who works for General Zhou Lang. You want to alienate all of us."
Captain Ji's expression suddenly changed: "What are you up to? How dare you slander me like this?!"
He quickly turned around and clasped his hands towards Zhou Yi, who was sitting in the upper seat. "General, don't listen to this thief's nonsense. He is a bandit by birth, and his words cannot be trusted!"
As long as Zhou Yi says a word for his own people, it will chill the hearts of Mu Yunzhai.
Zhou Yi glanced at Captain Ji with a dark look in his eyes.
Captain Ji seemed to sense something and his heart trembled.
After a long pause, Zhou Yi finally spoke: "I remember Captain Ji previously served under General Cao."
General Cao, the younger brother of the wife of the Duke of Yuzhang, and the uncle of the Crown Prince of Zhou.
As soon as the words came out, everyone was suddenly enlightened.
Captain Ji was surprised for a moment, then lowered his head. "Since I joined the army, I have served directly under the Duke of the County. I have never served under the General."
But his slight changes were clearly seen by others.
Zhou Yi didn't miss it either.
Before this, he had no doubt about Captain Ji's identity.
I just thought that he always targeted Fu Wei because he couldn't stand Fu Wei and was jealous of him.
Later, Fu Weidao behaved strangely. He seemed to be straightforward and would blurt out anything without thinking.
But he always spoke hastily and without regard for the consequences, which made his colleagues very angry over time.
But since he is a direct subordinate of the Duke of County, he cannot be really brave but not wise. I am afraid he has other purposes.
In Yuzhang, the people on the side of Prince Zhou and the mistress of the Zhou family are on the opposite side of Zhou Yi.
Fu Wei suggested to trick this person, and sure enough, his identity was revealed.
"Captain Ji doesn't need to come for the next meeting." Zhou Yi didn't listen to his explanation and just spoke lightly.
Captain Ji suddenly looked up and met those eyes that understood everything, and all the words he wanted to say were choked in his throat.
But he still said, "The Duke ordered me to assist the general. If the general makes a decision without the Duke's permission, the Duke may not be happy."
Zhou Yi, who had been sitting just now, stood up, walked slowly to Captain Ji, reached out and patted his shoulder with great force, and then pinched his shoulder.
"Don't use your father's influence to pressure me. You and I both know exactly who you're working for. I didn't point it out before because I didn't want to demoralize the troops, but Captain Ji seems to be going too far."
"Those who speak rudely and wantonly disrupt the proceedings will be punished according to military law, with a sentence of twenty military sticks."
"Don't be stupid again. I'll have people keep an eye on you. If you do anything that endangers the army, my men will show no mercy."
Captain Ji felt a pain in his shoulder as Zhou Yi tightened his grip, and he dared not act rashly again.
General Cao has a masked cavalry under his command.
He was among them, and when he was in office, he didn't use his current name and never showed his face. How could Zhou Yi know?!
If the news gets to the Duke of the County, his life will be in danger.
Captain Ji said, "The general not only protected Fu Wei, but also valued him. I was just jealous and resentful, so I kept targeting him. But why did the general slander me by saying that I had served under the general?!"
General Zhou glanced at him and suddenly smiled. "It's just my suspicion. Why are you so nervous, Captain Ji?"
"It's just a suspicion. I won't tell my father. But if Captain Ji continues to obstruct the meeting, then I have reason to suspect that Captain Ji is a spy."
Having said that, he withdrew his hand.
Captain Ji suddenly felt a lump of blood in his throat. Having come to this, he could only say with a cold face, "General Lang simply wants to exclude me. To be frank, I will definitely not be here to discuss matters again!"
He bowed and turned around to leave the tent.
He looked extremely angry, but he was the only one who understood the anxiety in his heart.
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