Chapter 9: The Battle of Yunhe County and Summer Farming
When He Qinglan brought Qiu Tang back to Yunhe County, the people of Yunhe County were preparing for the first "Battle to Defend Yunhe County".
Gu Lanying and her sisters traveled between the city and its outskirts, calling out to the people: "According to reliable news from Qingyang County, the rebel army there plans to attack and occupy our Yunhe County to seize the Goddess's blessing!"
"Gentlemen! Gentlemen! We must rise up and resist! We must drive them out!"
At their call, the people of Yunhe County learned that war was imminent, and the atmosphere became tense.
The city defense team intensified their training. Hu Dazhu and Xiang Yuesheng actively prepared for the expedition while also arranging for people to keep watch at the border between Yunhe County and Qingyang County, reporting the situation at any time so that they could respond promptly.
Dr. Xu led the doctors in the city to prepare for the military rescue mission, and women with good physical fitness also participated.
Cheng Hui and others worked with the city's residents to prepare supplies and mobilized them to be ready to go to the front lines at any time, replenishing the front-line troops.
He Qinglan sent Qiu Tang to the academy to learn to read first.
Then he met with Cheng Hui.
Cheng Hui: "The message was delivered by someone from Qingyang County. We immediately arranged for someone to check and confirmed it was true."
Cheng Hui: "Don't worry, we will definitely not let those guys get close to the county town!"
He Qinglan stared at Cheng Hui for a few seconds and said, "I will provide them with food."
Cheng Hui's eyes lit up, "The border area between the two counties could also work..."
He Qinglan nodded.
Cheng Hui was overjoyed.
He Qinglan said, "I will also provide the herbs."
Cheng Hui's eyes lit up, and he cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you, Goddess."
That night, the city defense team and medical team, totaling more than 3,000 people, set off from Yunhe County and headed straight for the border between Yunhe County and Qingyang County.
The following morning at 9:00 AM, they engaged in battle with a rebel army of over a thousand refugees who had come from the direction of Qingyang County.
Xiang Yuesheng's military strategy was not for nothing, nor was his training during this period. They had prepared an ambush in advance, luring the refugee army into their encirclement, after which the ambushers would emerge from the surrounding mountains!
"Charge! Charge!"
Knives, swords, spears, wooden clubs, and hoes were all swung at the other side.
The sounds of fighting echoed throughout the entire mountain valley.
The refugee army was indeed ruthless, and their hands were stained with blood.
However, in terms of physical fitness alone, they are absolutely no match for the city defense team members who only eat two meals a day.
Under the weapons, one enemy after another fell.
The defenders were also wounded by the enemy.
Both sides were fighting fiercely.
Hu Dazhu stood on high ground and ordered, "Li Erqiang, take your men and flank us from the left!"
"Wang Hu, lead your team to rescue the injured and take them to Doctor Xu!"
"Zhang Chao's troops captured prisoners."
"David He led his men to collect enemy weapons."
...
Xiang Yuesheng said, "Chen Hua, go and announce that those who surrender will not be killed."
"You may enter my Yunhe County and receive the blessings of the goddess just like the people of Yunhe County! Two meals of noodles every day!"
"yes!"
...
By the time Ning Huai'an received the news, the battle was already over.
The second-in-command said, "This is just the first time. In the future, many more people will definitely be eyeing Yunhe County."
The refugee army.
Surrounding counties and prefectures.
Troops stationed in other states and counties.
No one would be envious of a "goddess" who can provide an endless supply of food.
He said to Ning Huai'an, "Huai'an, we need to make plans as soon as possible."
Ning Huai'an nodded, "I know."
"Have everyone pack their things, we're heading to Yunhe County."
The second-in-command's expression turned serious. "Yes."
The strength of the refugee army was weaker than Cheng Hui and others had anticipated.
The city guards killed one half, captured another half, and released the third half.
They ate a bowl of pickled cabbage and beef noodles on the battlefield, and then quickly returned to Yunhe County with the wounded and prisoners.
On the way, Hu Dazhu and Xiang Yuesheng reviewed the situation.
"The training is very effective and should be continued."
"We don't have enough weapons, we need to find a way to replenish them, especially arrows."
"We need to prepare defensive equipment for the city. This group of people isn't very good, but what if they encounter stronger bandits next time and launch a surprise attack on Yunhe County?"
Early on, news of the defeat of the refugee army was relayed back to Yunhe County.
Cheng Hui and the others, along with the local people, went out of the city to welcome him with great joy.
The two sides met a mile outside the city, and the cheers were deafening.
After returning to the city, Hu Dazhu and Xiang Yuesheng went to see He Qinglan.
"Goddess, we have driven back this band of refugees, but... we have brought back prisoners."
Xiang Yuesheng was very happy. "I heard that if you join us, you can eat porridge and noodles. Many enemy troops lost their fighting power and surrendered on their own initiative."
"They originally joined the refugee army to survive."
Hu Dazhu said, "However, we killed the ringleaders."
They certainly couldn't let the leader live.
To catch the thief, first catch the king.
He Qinglan offered rare words of encouragement, "Well done, keep it up."
The two were immediately thrilled.
"Don't worry, we will definitely do our best!"
He Qinglan changed the subject, "I have a batch of seeds here, and we can start preparing for planting."
Hu Dazhu: "?"
He Qinglan looked at them and said, "I will not stay in this world for a hundred or a thousand years."
Xiang Yuesheng was suddenly jolted.
The goddess can provide them with food.
But the goddess will not provide them with food forever.
Therefore, we still need to cultivate the land ourselves, otherwise what will our descendants eat?
He Qinglan provides seeds suitable for planting in July and August, such as corn, peppers, cucumbers, bitter melons, water spinach, edamame, and green beans.
The selected skilled farmers received the seeds.
Leafy vegetables, root vegetables, and legumes—some of these were crops they had never heard of before.
He Qinglan took it all in stride, saying, "It's alright, go ahead and plant them. Even if they die, it doesn't matter. We won't starve you."
The goddess is still offering free steamed buns, mantou (steamed bread), eggs, soy milk, steamed rice noodles, rice noodles, mung bean noodles, and noodles.
"yes!"
The farmers were determined to grow these seeds!
"We can't just dig up soil and plant crops." Cheng Hui and others quickly convened a meeting to discuss this.
"Irrigation must also keep up."
You mean digging an irrigation ditch?
"We can't just ask the goddess to grant us rain when we're short of water, can we? What if," Cheng Hui said wistfully, "the goddess is no longer here in the future..."
"..."
"We also lack oxen for plowing, and this problem needs to be solved."
"How do we solve this? Where do we go to rob someone?"
In any case, summer plowing has begun.
The people organized themselves and dug up the land around Yunhe County, planting the seeds given by the goddess.
Afterwards, each plot of land was assigned to a specific person to take care of it, implementing a land responsibility system: several people were responsible for one plot of land, and several people were responsible for one field.
Weeding, watering, fertilizing, and pest control.
We must also be wary of sabotage.
When Ning Huai'an arrived in Yunhe County with several hundred bandits and civilians from Meishan, the people of Yunhe County and the city's garrison were engaged in the "Second Battle of Yunhe County".
This time, the enemy is the magistrate of Tianshui County in the east.
Without hesitation, Ning Huai'an immediately arranged for the people to hide, and he led his bandit brothers into the battle.
The magistrate of Tianshui County sent troops stationed in the county seat.
This group of enemies was much stronger than the previous refugee army, and they used better weapons.
However, the Yunhe County garrison, backed by the county seat and supported by manpower and supplies, was superior to the enemy, which was capable of long-range combat.
Moreover, they had to protect the people in the city, as well as the crops that had just been planted.
They cannot afford to lose.
A note from the author:
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1. I searched online for "what crops to plant in summer".
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