Chapter 50
Yao Wenjun nodded to indicate that he had remembered it clearly, then lowered his head to study which other cities in the south might be able to unite.
The world has been in chaos for a long time. Although there is a trend of unification after a long period of division, many larger forces will soon fall apart for various reasons, such as the previous Yu land.
The names that different places gave to themselves were also extremely inconsistent. It was common for only two or three cities to call themselves independent countries. Relatively speaking, the "peace" they established was not small.
The forces with more cities to the south of them called themselves "Xi" and "Ji" respectively.
The Ji State had existed longer than the Yu State. Due to its relatively remote location, surrounded by hilly and mountainous terrain, it was rarely attacked, allowing it to thrive. Even if disasters occurred and the surrounding areas plundered, most people would consider it and give up on attacking them.
Xi State and Xinyi were somewhat related. Initially, Xinyi and other areas belonged to the old state, but due to various conflicts, they split into Guan and Xi. It was this turmoil that caused Xinyi, once considered a key location, to become a discarded pawn, falling into the hands of Yao Wenjun and Wen Yi, thus creating a feud.
The Guan State was annexed shortly after its separation, leaving only a few cities holding out. Those seeking peace this time were primarily Guan's former followers. Compared to the Xi State, they were more willing to leave the cities to Wen Yi and his men, with whom they had little grudge, simply to strengthen the forces hostile to the Xi State.
"They are indeed very ambitious. Fortunately, the conflict between the young master and the general is becoming increasingly serious." Song Jin finished the work at hand and took the letters from both sides. "Well, it's not impossible to discuss something with those who support the new master."
It's not that we can't afford the troops, but the pressure of coordinating the war between the two sides will increase several times, and the problem of insufficient generals will become more prominent as the battle line gets longer.
Yao Wenjun and Nan Xun were the main generals, with the remaining three or four lieutenants also serving under Yao Wenjun. The former general from Yu had also returned, but was still stationed in the east.
Song Jin's words were naturally very reasonable, but Wen Yi pondered for a moment and shook his head, "My opinion is that it should be resolved as soon as possible."
Because the cities are distributed in a narrow and long area, there are currently two main hubs, namely Xinyi in the west and where Yao Wenjun is located in the east. Pingyi serves as the center, and most of the important supplies and soldiers are stationed here.
The other cities' leaders were supposed to rotate every two years, though they would be replaced in the event of an emergency. They would also be accompanied by people from the academy, both to learn and to provide oversight.
"These students seem to be reaching the stage where they can stand on their own two feet. Are you planning to find a place for them to practice?"
Yao Wenjun was naturally joking. She moved the markers originally placed on the map and thought about how to quickly deal with the cities here and reduce the possibility of those places uniting to resist.
Hearing this, Wen Yi sighed, which was rare. "It's not entirely about this. If it's not resolved soon, something bad will happen in winter at the latest."
This year's disasters were truly numerous, and experienced people speculated that the winter might be extremely cold. Originally, they had thought that the kangs and various fuels distributed through the caravans would allow ordinary people in those cities to survive, but now the situation was different from previous years.
No matter how well those who supported the young master spoke, they could not conceal the plight of the lack of food due to the natural disaster. The so-called request for peace was only because they were not strong enough to swallow up Wen Yi and others.
Those who can't survive will naturally turn their attention to them. If they fight to the death, the losses will be greater than if they act now. Just like the group of people from the north who came to plunder every winter, for them, if they don't do it, they will not be able to survive.
Actively choosing to go to war can also set the battlefield to the opposite side's territory, reducing the cost of reconstruction and repairs.
As for the cities opposite, they were originally going to be rebuilt, so it didn't matter if they were damaged a little.
The office fell silent for a long time, and Song Jin sighed.
"That's it."
*
All kinds of supplies were prepared in full swing.
After being counted by Sang Yu and others, the food and fodder were distributed to the workshops and made into a format that was convenient for storage and carrying.
The most common corn is mixed with various beans and dried vegetables, ground, fried, dried, and then pressed into a clean bamboo tube. The tube is sealed and kept in a low temperature for a long time without spoiling. Such a bamboo tube can be carried around and can be brewed with hot water. In an emergency, chewing it directly can also relieve hunger.
Of course, this is just for emergency use. Most of the food during the march is freshly cooked porridge and dry biscuits prepared in advance.
Wen Yi was a bit dazed when she went to the workshop, thinking that they had done these things to avoid labor service in the past. Shan, who was standing by and supervising, saw that she was a bit absent-minded and recalled the things he had done when he was the head of the village.
But things have changed and many of the people around me back then have passed away. I don’t know where the group of soldiers who once passed by are now.
But life nowadays is already very good. At least in the past few years, Shan feels that his spirit has improved. He usually goes to crowded places to listen to various stories. He also tends to a small vegetable garden in the yard. His life is fulfilling.
Hearing that help was needed again, he signed up. Although he couldn't be as helpful as Qing Ping and Shu Neng, he was still trying his best.
Yao Wenjun took away a batch of new equipment and drawings, and gave the rest to Nan Xun, who led the team to start the drill.
Some of the people Yao Wenjun had sent back earlier had already arrived outside Pingyi. After everything was prepared, they set off for the nearest city in the south to rest temporarily.
Before leaving, Nanxun and a few others had a small gathering at He Xuan's house. Sang Yu was a little worried, but in the end he didn't say anything and just ate in silence.
"Don't worry." He Xuan stroked his beard with a smile, "You should have some confidence in your senior brother. After all, those people all believed in him."
As he spoke, he poured a bowl of warm water for Sang Yu, which made the usually silent man's hand tremble even when holding the chopsticks. He hurriedly wanted to take the pot himself, but he still couldn't persuade He Xuan, so he could only thank him in a low voice.
Nan Xun relaxed a lot, which was rare for him. He found that his teacher was teasing Sang Yu again and laughed too. However, this made the already embarrassed Sang Yu even more annoyed.
"Eat more. I've really troubled you these past few days." Nan Xun served Sang Yu a lot of hot dishes before he got angry, and finally suppressed the consequences of his previous accidental laughter.
This was not a polite remark. The account books of various baggage movements were already complicated to check, and replacement parts needed to be prepared and accompanying craftsmen arranged.
Generally speaking, there will only be one-third of the regular soldiers in the team, and the others are equivalent to supporting roles in auxiliary transportation. When they are about to be surrounded, they will pick up sticks and fight, but in most cases they will not go to the front line.
Pingyi is a little different from other places. The soldiers are specially trained and are given money and food. They don't need to do farm work on a regular basis. The most they do every day is different exercises. Their physical fitness is much better than those who are serving in the army. Farmers will not be recruited to go to the battlefield unless in special circumstances.
All tasks were handled by these dedicated soldiers, and transportation was mainly carried out by livestock, with very little human labor. However, the carriages would wear out during the journey, so the wear and tear had to be calculated in advance, and some supplies had to be prepared for easy replacement.
What's more, both sides have to prepare this time, and the pressure is several times greater than before.
I don’t know how much time I have spent on calculations these days. I can see that Sang Yu’s eyes are getting a little dark, all because of working overtime during this period.
If it weren't for Wen Yi's arrangement of pressing and relaxing, at least half of the people in the Affairs Office would have collapsed.
It was getting dark outside and lights were turned on in the yard.
In recent years, the few of them haven't communicated much. At most, they would get together to eat something like this.
If Yao Wenjun had not been a student of the teacher, the few of them would have to avoid suspicion now, otherwise there would always be people who would talk behind their backs, even though the forces of various ethnic groups in Pingyi and other cities had been suppressed to the point where they could not recover.
"I thought the teacher would persuade those two to slow down for a while." Nan Xun said, "I've received quite a few messages recently, and some people even sent gifts."
Most of them were valuable, and some were well worth their weight in gold. Even Nan Xun hesitated to refuse them. But in the end, he explained the matter to Song Jin and the others. He wouldn't change anything because of this, but he wasn't sure if others would hesitate.
Surprisingly, Song Jin and the others even urged him to keep all the rare copies. Wen Yi had said, "Maybe they can be preserved better in your hands."
This is not entirely a joke. After many cities were captured, many people would choose to burn these books, calligraphy and paintings rather than leave them to future generations.
However, Nan Xun finally handed the incomplete copies to the library. After they were revised, the manager there personally went there and delivered the newly revised volumes.
It was a bit windy today, so the courtyard wasn't too hot. He Xuan placed his fan on the table and didn't respond to Nan Xun's question.
Nan Xun naturally knew that this meant that He Xuan would not give a clear answer. Fortunately, the main purpose of his trip this time was to command the soldiers. Although he also had the power to dispatch emergencies, the general direction was still determined by Pingyi, and he had enough time to think about these issues.
*
Wen Yi couldn't remember how many times he had stood on the city wall and watched the troops go away.
Most of the people Nanxun brought with him this time were sent back by Yao Wenjun, and a small number were soldiers who were originally guarding Pingyi. After all, there had to be people left to guard the city.
At the city gate, many people were waving flags with special characters written on them. Most people couldn't understand what was written on them, but many people seemed to believe it, so Song Jin and others arranged this ceremony before each dispatch of troops.
Every time at this time, Wen Yi would hesitate. Perhaps even if he did not take the initiative to attack, with the current city walls and defense equipment, it would not be a problem to resist the attack from others. Sending people out would only increase casualties.
Perhaps it is also good to be content with what you have now.
But Wen Yi also saw that many soldiers had no sad expressions on their faces, and even the people watching from both sides of the road were full of pride. At a certain moment, she felt what they were thinking:
“I hope to return to my hometown one day.”
“I want to find my lost relatives. Maybe they are also living in some corner. I want to share what I have now with them.”
"I want to repay the people who helped me during my escape."
"I want to tell them that we live well here..."
Knock knock.
This feeling made her feel a little strange, as if something had been added to her previously calm heart. It had been a long time since she had felt such a clear pulse in her chest.
It turns out that these things are out of reach for many people, but it seems that through their decisions, these dreams that were originally hopeless now have hope of being realized.
She lowered her head and smiled for a while, then let out a long breath.
"Go back."
Wen Yi turned around and walked down the city wall, speaking to the soldiers who followed him.
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