Chapter 368 I Want to Climb the City Wall
Xia Dalang swallowed the sour and bitter taste in his heart, forced a smile, and helped his grandparents to "warmly" entertain the neighbors who swarmed to their door.
Others saw it, but they couldn't tell the complicated emotions in Xia Dalang's heart. They just felt that the eldest son of the Xia family was worthy of being a scholar. He spoke and acted in a quiet and gentle manner. Even though it was a happy occasion, he couldn't smile freely. He looked more shy than us peasants.
The old couple quickly decided to rebuild the house and the yard in accordance with the court's requirements. Xia Daohua was so smart and capable, and she earned the title of a county princess. Could her family still be complacent about where they lived?
There was no need to worry too much about repairing the house, as the court already had ready-made craftsmen. But in order to take care of the neighbors, the Xia family also selected some people to help, paid them wages, provided them with two meals, and started construction once Xia Daohua made up her mind and selected the blueprint.
While making the arrangements, he also ordered some food from the restaurant to treat the neighbors to a good meal.
The neighbors were in a better mood. Since there was a well-organized neighborhood, we could benefit from it to some extent! It would be even better if we could get a job; even if we couldn't get a job, we could still have a good meal and cook to our heart's content!
For a moment, almost everyone was satisfied, every family was celebrating, and the street was filled with laughter.
The next day, Xia Daohua met Wang Silang and Li Shisuo among the guests who came to her house to celebrate.
Wang Silang came to discuss the purchase of grain.
We have to stay in the capital for the time being. Our soldiers need food and drink, and we cannot live without food.
However, all the money and valuables on his farm had been looted by Xia Daohua. He had no choice but to take out his personal belongings that were hidden in another house and beg Xia Daohua to sell him some food.
It’s not Wang Silang’s fault for being stubborn.
The Northern Barbarian Army was urgently besieging the city, and seeing that the price of grain was about to soar, the grain shops in the city were waiting and watching. They only took out a small amount of grain every day when they opened to deal with the problem, and closed the gates after selling out.
People like Wang Silang who are in a hurry to purchase large quantities of food are just like fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered!
But, wouldn’t Xia Daohua kill him?
Xia Daohua will never show mercy when it comes to killing Wang Silang.
But in Wang Silang's opinion, the grain sold by Xia Daohua is of high quality, and buying from her is actually much more cost-effective than buying from other grain merchants.
Besides, now is a special period, so why worry about it being a little expensive? What matters is being able to buy it!
Seeing the pair of huge gold ingots that Wang Silang respectfully held up, Xia Daohua did not make things difficult for him and readily agreed to sell the grain.
The two agreed to sell the first batch of grain at twice the current market price.
In the future, we will try our best to follow the market. If the market price of grain goes up, the price of summer rice will also go up.
Wang Silang's face was filled with pain, and he deeply regretted that he had offended this little goblin back then.
Yes, in Wang Silang's mind, he had already identified Xia Daohua as some kind of mountain spirit or tree monster. He thought that she was most likely a demon that had become a spirit. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain how she could easily steal things from the house and how she could easily allocate a large amount of food.
It’s a pity that although he has sent many troops to search all over the capital, he still can’t find even one Taoist priest with real ability, otherwise he would have captured this monster long ago!
He has already sent his confidant to deliver a letter to the Wang family in Luojing, asking the family to help find a Taoist priest who has the ability to slay demons and break through evil spirits. Although distant water cannot quench immediate thirst, it is still a hope.
Unexpectedly, the city gate was suddenly closed just after the confidant who delivered the letter left the city. Even if the family really found a Taoist priest this time, he might be useless - they are at war with the northern barbarians, and no matter how much money they are given, they would not be willing to come!
Xia Daohua couldn't read minds, and although she felt that there was something wrong with Wang Silang's expression, she just thought that he was feeling sorry for the money, so she didn't take it seriously.
Xia Daohua asked Wang Silang to bring his own caravan to transport the grain, and then she waved goodbye and let him go.
Wang Silang couldn't help gritting his teeth, but he had to keep a calm expression on his face so as not to let Xia Daohua see his dissatisfaction. It was very difficult to endure it.
Now Xia Daohua asked him to go back and arrange the fleet, which made him feel relieved.
…
The Northern Barbarians didn't say much. After besieging the city for a few days, they probably received information from spies and learned that there was no chaos in the city, so they stopped resting and started attacking the city.
The northern barbarians were a nomadic people and were not good at attacking cities.
But they used all kinds of conspiracies, intimidation and inducement along the way, sent out and bribed many spies, successively captured several cities, and accumulated a lot of siege experience.
Now they even know how to build catapults and ladders.
Of course, the Northern Barbarians did not have an easy journey - they did not get a good result in Qingzhou County.
However, although the Northern Barbarians suffered a major setback in Qingzhou County, they abandoned Jiaxiang Ridge, bypassed Ping'an County, and broke through Jingzhi Pass, which allowed them to regain their confidence.
Especially the vulnerability of the military households in Thorn Pass gave the Northern Barbarians a great boost in confidence.
As the northern barbarians moved south, they carried with them not only the looted property but also the captured people.
When attacking the city, the northern barbarians let the captured Han people walk in the front, especially the old, the weak, women and children, betting that the officers and soldiers defending the city would not show mercy.
If you can't bear it, open the city and surrender!
If one is cruel enough, it is easy to lower the morale of the soldiers and civilians defending the city because of this harshness and rationality!
The commander of the capital city was from the Imperial Guard and had no connection with Thorn Pass. However, he couldn't help feeling sad when he saw those ordinary people who were originally from other places, or captives of the military households in Thorn Pass, were forced by the northern barbarians to become their accomplices in the siege.
However, as long as their superiors do not give orders, no matter how sad they are, they will not be soft-hearted.
After all, compared with the nine clans of their own, the people outside the city are more important.
The Jingzhao Yin has begun to organize strong men and healthy women to go up to the city to help the imperial guards defend the city.
Although the Xia family recently had a princess, they still had to provide people and money to help defend the city.
When Mrs. Zhou heard about this, she was so excited that she insisted on going up to the city wall herself to help the army cook! But she was stopped by Mr. Xia who dragged her to her death.
Xia Daohua was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
Old lady Zhou had a strong character and hated the Northern Barbarians to the core. The Northern Barbarians forced her to abandon her home and career and flee thousands of miles away. They also killed her most beloved eldest son and almost wiped out her first wife. How could she not hate the Northern Barbarians?
Knowing her background, Xia Daohua had no doubt that the old lady was serious about this.
Zhou's sons couldn't sit still any longer. They couldn't let their mother risk her life while they just sat at home, right? !
So, the Xia family, which had recently produced a Princess Fukuzawa, actually sent several strong laborers like ordinary people to help the imperial guards transport bricks, tiles, wood and stones, carry and run up and down, and help the army defend the city.
Xia Daohua also went to the city wall to take a look.
After witnessing two real and bloody battles, Xia Daohua decided that even if it was not for the sake of fulfilling Zhou's wish, she had to get involved no matter what.
(End of this chapter)
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