Chapter 163 Snowstorms
On the 28th day of the 12th month, the second heavy snow turned into a continuous blizzard, the temperature dropped again, and snow disasters occurred in various places.
The roads are blocked and difficult to clear, and it is difficult for states, counties and prefectures to communicate with each other, so they can only take care of themselves.
However, the snowstorm was unexpectedly severe, and the territory of Da Zhao was relatively not that far north. Except for a few border prefectures near the north, it was rare to encounter such a severe snowstorm.
We were not prepared, but natural disasters were merciless and people were freezing to death everywhere.
At first, they were recorded, but later, no one dared to keep any record of them and just treated them all as missing.
The winter for the lower-class people was already difficult, and now it is even more difficult for them to survive.
They had no choice but to brave the severe cold and snow, wrap themselves up in all their clothes and go to the mountains to chop firewood to keep warm.
But there were too many people, there were not many trees in some places, and the snow paths in some places were difficult to walk on, so we couldn't walk far.
Within a few days, even the tree roots were dug up, but the snow kept falling heavier. The limited firewood could not be burned day and night, and some people fell asleep and never woke up again.
Most government officials began to turn a deaf ear and closed their doors, pretending they could not hear the wailing outside.
Inside the mansion, there were still lights, wine, and women everywhere.
Only in Yanzhou, the scene was completely different.
Because Yun Ji had prepared winter supplies in advance, all 50,000 soldiers in the camp received new cotton-padded clothes before the temperature dropped again.
At first, he was disdainful, thinking that Yun Ji was just pretending and would take it back after a few days when it was no longer cold.
It was not until they saw the snow getting thicker, the rivers frozen, and the roads closed that they put on their cotton coats and sighed that Yun Ji was really a prophet.
When he saw that there was still charcoal, his eyes widened and he almost worshipped Yun Ji as a god.
The amount of charcoal was beyond everyone's imagination. I wonder where Yun Ji got so much charcoal from.
Later I learned that Yun Ji had not trained for several days not because he was not pretending to treat everyone equally, but because he had taken his men to quietly cut trees and make charcoal in the mountains.
Although homemade charcoal is not as fine as the ones purchased and produces relatively more smoke and dust, it can save lives during this snowstorm when wood is hard to come by.
Charcoal was not only supplied to the military camp, but also to the people inside and outside Yanzhou City.
Before the road was completely blocked, Yun Ji had already captured the governor of Yanzhou and seized the relief supplies that had been sent to him before the road was blocked from his residence. After several rounds of extortion, there was not much left, but he used this as an accusation against the governor, and all command of Yanzhou was handed over to Yun Ji.
He commanded his soldiers and the city defense forces to bring the people from inside and outside Yanzhou into the city, using ancestral halls, schools, temples and other places as shelters, burning charcoal day and night, and providing quilts, food and hot water.
But they are not being raised in vain. There is still one month left in winter, and it is unknown how long the snowstorm will last. Except for the elderly, the weak and the young, the men have to go out to work and follow the soldiers to cut wood nearby, while the women are responsible for preparing meals.
When the people heard that countless people had frozen to death outside, they were even more grateful to Yun Ji. After all, few officials cared about the lives of ordinary people like them.
Yun Ji's reputation in Yanzhou was rising, but he had no time to listen.
Since news from outside can be transmitted in, news from Yanzhou can naturally be transmitted out.
Although the news has not spread to Shengjing, many people around who know about it have already started to have bad intentions.
Everyone wants to live, but supplies are limited. Even Yun Ji cannot save everyone in the world, he can only save this area.
When refugees from outside come, we can only do our best to provide them with relief.
But gradually, there were very few refugees who could escape, and most of them were criminals.
After all, the snow disaster not only froze the people in the city, but also the bandits hiding in the mountains and forests.
There was no shortage of firewood, but no one went out and could not rob, so there was a shortage of food, and there was no cold resistance. Everyone was shivering with cold.
What's more, there are more than one group of bandits in the mountains, competing with each other for resources, and what they get is not enough.
It was not until I heard that Yanzhou City not only had cotton clothes, but also charcoal and food, all of which were provided free of charge, and I also heard that Yunji had already prepared winter supplies, that I guessed that Yanzhou must have countless resources.
The fighting between the several parties was suspended, and they united to crawl into the city under the cover of darkness and headed straight for the nearest ancestral hall.
They did not dare to confront the entire Yanzhou barracks head-on, and planned to attack the ancestral hall, rob all the supplies inside, capture all the people, and then negotiate with the officials for them.
As soon as they reached the outside of the ancestral hall, they smelled the smoke of charcoal fire. Looking at the places inside where the red light was flickering, they all wanted to rush in and hold the charcoal fire in their arms to keep it warm.
“Wow!”
Just as the bandits were about to rush in to kill, water poured in from all directions.
The clothes quickly froze after being soaked, and all the bandits shivered with cold.
In this moment of trembling, Chen Duo rushed out with his men and surrounded the bandits.
The bandits were not wearing thick clothes and were soaked through, so they were freezing cold. They were no match for the soldiers who were wearing cotton coats and pants and had just drunk hot water.
He was defeated in a few moves.
"Prince Yong was truly a master of prediction. He said they would come in from the west wall, and they did. He said they would attack the ancestral hall, and they did."
"Yes, we told them to get some melted snow water as soon as they came in. When they got here, the water was still warm. Their calculations were spot on, amazing."
"I don't know who said that Prince Yong was just an armchair strategist, but now he's calling him a god."
"You are the same, aren't you? Besides, I didn't know before, but now, thanks to God, Prince Yong is here to command us. Otherwise, we might not be alive. From now on, if anyone says anything bad about my prince, I will kill him."
The soldiers were talking and laughing, but their words were full of admiration for Yun Ji.
Chen Duo felt very unhappy when he heard this. Even his own troops had sided with Yun Ji. After this snow disaster, Yun Ji's position as commander was as secure as a rock.
And I will eventually be outdone by this useless person from Beijing.
I've been at odds with him for a long time. If the Yanzhou military camp is completely under his control, where will I have a place to stand? If I expel him...
Just as he was thinking about it, the bandit who had been caught saw that Shen Duo was distracted, and suddenly stood up, bumped his head towards Shen Duo and shouted: "Brother, hurry up!"
"No! He has gunpowder on him!"
Someone shouted, but Shen Duo was too stunned to react and watched as the man ignited the gunpowder hidden on his body.
“Be careful!”
A sound came from behind, and then Shen Duo was grabbed by the clothes and pulled back quickly, barely avoiding the range of the gunpowder explosion, but the bandit's flesh and blood hit him and splattered with blood.
"Are you okay?"
Yun Ji's voice sounded again behind him. Chen Duo turned around and saw that the other party was still calm, as if he didn't bother to argue with him at all. Embarrassment and anger suddenly surged up.
He shook off Yun Ji's hand and immediately went to see the bandits, who had already taken advantage of the chaos to steal horses and were running away.
He immediately ran towards his horse, jumped on it and led his men in pursuit.
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