Ge Zhong really did as he was told and raised a thousand shi of grain and fodder, most of which were forcibly confiscated from the people.

Yan Sikong observed the city for two days. When Ge Zhong prepared all the food and fodder, Yan Sikong privately told Feng Ye: "Send your own people to weigh it."

Feng Ye said: "Don't worry, I have already sent someone to check it out, but time is tight, Lord Liang urged me to transport it immediately, so I can only do it casually."

When the grain and fodder arrive at the camp, they have to be counted. If there is not enough, it is the fault of the grain transport officer. Feng Ye is in charge of the transportation this time. Even if the amount is not enough, Zhao Fuyi cannot do anything to Feng Ye. That would give an advantage to those who take advantage of the situation.

There were 400 bags of grain among the thousand shi of grain and fodder. Feng Ye ordered people to weigh 40 bags at random, but surprisingly every bag was underweight. Some were missing a little, and some were even missing 10 to 20 kilograms. If one bag was counted as missing 10 kilograms, it would be a big hole.

Feng Ye's face was extremely ugly, but he was not surprised. Every time when grain was transported, there would always be people from all walks of life who would steal grain and fodder under various pretexts, and no dynasty or country was "immune" to this. Originally, with King Jingyuan in charge of Datong, the grain and fodder transported to Datong rarely encountered such things. If someone was really not afraid of death, he would have killed one to serve as a warning to others, but now he was in someone else's city and could not exercise the power of life and death at will.

Feng Ye discussed it with Yan Sikong, who said, "The military situation is critical at this time, and we still have to rely on Ge Zhong to collect food and grass. In my opinion, you should be patient. When you get to the camp, report the situation to General Zhao. He won't blame you."

Feng Ye snorted coldly: "The war situation is critical, and this Ge Zhong did not forget to take advantage of the opportunity. I'm afraid he has been busy with this on weekdays."

"The court salary is meager. Without this 'income', I can't even support my family." Yan Sikong smiled bitterly, "I can only turn a blind eye to it."

Three years as a clean prefecture official can earn 100,000 silver coins. This is not an exaggeration. This official is divided into pastoral officials and pastoral officials. Pastoral officials are directly facing the people, such as prefects, county magistrates, county secretaries and other seventh, eighth and ninth grade officials. Although they are small officials, they are in charge of taxation and corvée labor. Corruption starts from this bottom. Pastoral officials are high officials. Although they cannot directly exploit the people, they have the power of promotion, reward and punishment, so they are not short of respect from pastoral officials. This is true for both the upper and lower levels. If someone claims to be noble and breaks the rules, he may even be killed. In such a dark environment, those who take less and do more are called clean officials.

The corruption among officials had infected every vein of the imperial court, and the disease had long since become incurable and no cure could cure it.

Of course, under the current circumstances, Ge Zhong's behavior seemed a bit hateful. Yan Sikong had watched the clerks paying taxes in the city these past two days in a very irregular manner. This was the result of the upper-level behavior, so he guessed that Ge Zhong was usually very greedy. Sure enough, this evil beast did not disappoint him.

Feng Ye discussed the matter with Liang Guang. Liang Guang was also furious, but he also thought that he should be patient. After all, Jingzhou was Ge Zhong's territory, and it was not convenient to offend him at this time.

Feng Ye set out with the food and fodder that was seriously short of weight. Liang Guang had to go to Ge Zhong's house to speak well of him and ask him to raise more food and fodder.

Yan Sikong watched coldly from the side, watching Ge Zhong step by step walk into the death trap he had set.

——

Ge Zhong's letter did delay King Liang for a few days. Yan Sikong was not worried that King Liang would find the cat stuff on the letter. Even if he did, given his suspicious and conceited character, King Liang would not believe it and would be more cautious instead.

But the battle of Dongting Lake was ultimately unavoidable. They deployed troops in many places in the city to prevent the remnants of King Liang from causing chaos, while at the same time eagerly awaiting battle reports from the front.

The King of Liang launched an attack on a foggy morning. Sixty-two Zhao warships were destroyed, and nearly ten thousand were killed or wounded. The navy was severely damaged and had to retreat fifty miles.

After receiving this battle report, everyone felt heavy-hearted.

Strictly speaking, this was the first direct confrontation between the army that was suppressing the rebellion and the army of King Liang. Kuizhou surrendered without a fight, Yueyang and Jingzhou were both siege and defense battles, and this naval showdown on Dongting Lake was a direct collision between the enemy and us, and the result was so devastating.

The worries in Yan Sikong's heart were even greater than the day he ran out of water and was trapped in the city.

Because once the rebel army was defeated, all the casualties of the soldiers and the suffering of the people would be attributed to him. Unfortunately, he was not familiar with naval warfare and did not dare to make plans for the rebel army easily.

In the beginning, he set up such a huge situation, not only for revenge, but also for a very important purpose, which was to reduce the power of the vassal kings. As long as the most powerful King Liang was eliminated, the other vassal kings would not dare to rebel. At that time, the problem of royal family expenses that had troubled Dasheng for more than 200 years would be fundamentally solved. Once the reduction of the power of the vassal kings was successful, it would greatly enrich the national treasury, and disaster relief, military expenses, and salaries, all of which were difficult problems that made the court stretched to the limit, would be solved. It can be said that as long as there was money, internal and external troubles could be quelled. At present, reducing the power of the vassal kings was the only feasible way.

But this move also has a biggest risk, that is, if Prince Liang wins, even though the current emperor is corrupt and incompetent and does not deserve sympathy for usurping the throne, it is not Yan Sikong's intention to cause war throughout the world.

No matter what, the situation has reached a critical point. To achieve great success, great sacrifices must be made. He must do his utmost to win this battle.

Several people discussed countermeasures and all of them had their eyes on the relatives of the King of Liang. The King of Liang left his nephew and grandson to guard the city. Both of them were captured when the city was broken. Considering that they were all royal relatives, they were still treated with courtesy.

Feng Ye chopped off the head of Liang Wang's nephew, forced Liang Wang's grandson to write a blood oath, and sent the oath to the rebel camp, giving him three days to surrender. If he did not surrender within three days, he would kill his grandson.

Their move was intended to delay time and wait for the Jiujiang navy to arrive for assistance.

As expected, the King of Liang did not attack during those three days and instead sent envoys to negotiate, giving the defeated rebel army time to rest and recover.

Liang Guang negotiated with the envoy and continued to delay.

Feng Ye had been transporting supplies to and from the front lines, and was also in charge of security inside and outside the city. He had not had a good rest for several days and nights. That night, he actually fell asleep while eating.

Yan Sikong looked at Feng Ye's dark circles under his eyes, his furrowed brows, and his young and handsome face full of weariness. He couldn't help but feel distressed. He pushed Feng Ye and said, "Feng Ye, if you're sleepy, go to sleep on the bed."

Feng Ye woke up with a start. He shook his head vigorously and smiled: "It's nothing, just taking a nap."

"You've been so tired these days, and your injuries haven't healed yet."

"It's just a flesh wound, it's no longer a problem." Feng Ye took a bite of the food and said self-deprecatingly, "I remember falling asleep on horseback when I was a kid following my father and brothers on the march. Some soldiers were so tired that they could fall asleep while standing, so it's not surprising that I fell asleep while sitting."

Yan Sikong gently stroked Feng Ye's cheek and couldn't help but reveal his worries: "Feng Ye, can we win?"

Feng Ye rubbed his palm: "Don't worry, we will definitely win."

Yan Sikong sighed deeply in his heart. Feng Ye only knew that he was worried about the war situation, but he didn't know that his worry was not only because he was a minister of Dasheng, but also because he secretly instigated the rebellion of King Liang. If this war was lost, all the sacrifices would be meaningless. Such a sense of guilt would be difficult to digest even if he had a heart of stone.

Feng Ye put down his bowl and chopsticks: "Are you full?"

"I am full."

"Let me take you to see the stars."

Yan Sikong laughed: "You are so tired, take a rest as soon as possible."

Feng Ye looked out the window: "It's dark tonight and the weather is cool, it's a good time to watch the stars, let's go." Feng Ye smiled and pulled Yan Sikong up.

“You really are…”

The two of them walked up to the attic, Feng Ye pushed open the dusty window frame, and the two of them walked out and sat side by side on the eaves.

Above the vast dark blue sky, the stars are scattered all over the sky, shining with the moon, emitting a deep and tranquil beauty that is intoxicating.

Yan Sikong said with emotion: "The capital is full of lights, it's rare to see such a starry twilight."

"When you are in a temple or a military camp, you probably don't have the energy to look up at the stars."

Yan Sikong smiled bitterly: "Yes."

Feng Ye put his arm around Yan Sikong's shoulders, and the two of them leaned close to each other, quietly looking at the starry Milky Way.

"Kong'er, I really hope I can watch the stars like this with you for the rest of my life."

Yan Sikong's breathing stagnated, and he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart without any warning, so painful that he had to bend down slightly.

Feng Ye noticed his abnormality: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Yan Sikong forced a smile. "Yes, the situation is turbulent and the world is in turmoil. Just sitting side by side like this and looking at the stars... is not easy."

He could already see the near future. If Ge Zhong's affairs were exposed, Feng Ye would doubt him with his wisdom. He couldn't pretend and hide in front of Feng Ye forever. When necessary, he would show his edge and pierce the enemy. When that time came, would Feng Ye still treat him without reservation as he did now?

It is hard to imagine how Feng Ye, who looked at him with such affection and joy, would look at the real Yan Sikong one day.

The road he is taking is destined to be one that cannot be turned back, and no one will walk with him. Sooner or later, he and Feng Ye will part ways. When that time comes, what will happen to Feng Ye, and what will happen to him?

Whenever he thought about it, he felt extremely uncomfortable.

He likes Feng Ye, but that's all he can do.