Chapter 106 Difficulties in Advance and Retreat
Nanxiang County, a riverside camp outside the city.

Zhen Mi, wearing a caged hat, and Gan Ning's wife, Xiong, randomly checked the recently sewn grain bags.

The width of the cloth is two feet and two inches, and the length is four feet.

In order to facilitate cutting and avoid wasting materials, Zhen Mi implemented Black Bear's plan.

Black Bear's original plan was to make a cloth bag with a fixed volume in order to make it easier to calculate food.

But in this case, there will be waste in cutting fabric.

Zhen Mi tested it several times and finally decided on the specifications of the cloth bag, which was two feet and one inch wide and four feet high.

After being cut, a piece of fine linen can be made into just five linen bags, with an average capacity of more than two stones.

Tighten the bag mouth and the volume of a bag will fluctuate slightly around two stones.

In terms of weight, a bag of rice weighs about 28 kilograms; if it is filled with husked rice, it can weigh 37 kilograms.

She not only made bags made of linen, but also made a batch of double-layer bags made of silk and linen.

Silk is the inner layer and linen is the outer layer, so that hulled rice can be transported and the pain of pounding rice at the front line can be saved.

At present, it is only used for emergency purposes. After hemp is cultivated on a large scale in the future, burlap will definitely need to be woven to make larger and stronger burlap bags.

Out of original anti-counterfeiting considerations, Zhen Mi and Xiong were stamping the two types of cloth bags together.

The wooden carving board was smeared with ink and stamped with a black seal of "Nanxiang" and two red seals of "A" and "B".

Nanxiang is the place of origin. The "Jia" character in red is a double-layer husked rice bag, and the "Yi" character in red is husked grains such as rice, wheat and millet.

"Ma'am, the fleet is back!"

A woman with her sleeves rolled up came quickly and shouted with joy.

Zhen Mi stopped stamping, rubbed the cinnabar ink on her hands and said to Xiong: "Sister, watch first. I'll go and take a look."

A fleet brought a lot of supplies yesterday. If there are no other factors, Black Bear will arrive today.

Xiong smiled and said, "Madam, please go quickly."

Zhen Mi immediately turned around and walked quickly out of the bamboo and wooden barracks. During this period, some houses were vacated in Nanxiang County.

Out of caution, only the various wounded were transferred into the city.

Zhen Mi, Liu Ye and others still lived and stationed in the military camp by the river, and cut down bamboo and wood to expand the camp.

During this period, with the hard work of more than 700 people in Lu Chang, a row of suspended bamboo houses have been built near Danshui Wharf for short-term grain storage.

Standing on the river bank, Zhen Mi looked out and saw that the fleet was so huge that there was no end in sight.

Not only the Qingzhou soldiers, Nanxiang soldiers, and Wang Wei's troops came, but also nearly a thousand prisoners of relatively important status.

This group of people will be released only after subsequent supplies arrive.

During this period, they will assist Lu Chang in building various facilities.

In the front row of the fleet, Black Bear was also wearing a Sanxingdui style mask and sitting cross-legged on the bow of the sampan.

His flock of twenty-three geese, big and small, was leading the way in front of him, looking very lively.

The goslings are growing very fast, getting bigger almost every day. The last batch of goslings that have hatched have already grown a tuft of hard feathers on the tip of their tails.

The other goose egg cards are stored and will be summoned out when the opportunity is right so that the big white goose can hatch them.

The incubation time of goose eggs is slightly longer. If the incubation stops halfway and then freezes, the black bear does not want to do such a meaningless experiment.

Although I usually try my best to find loopholes and techniques to exploit the Utopia card, there is no need to test many techniques.

He has even summarized the rules for refining white mana.

Only unconscious things can be purified. The same is true for eggs. Eggs that are about to hatch cannot be purified.

Based on this, it can be inferred that cattle and horses whose placenta have not yet broken after birth cannot be cleansed.

It is even more impossible for humans.

As he was daydreaming, he saw Zhen Mi's green figure appear on the shore.

The black bear stood up, a little impatient.

With patience and restraint, the soldiers on board rowed faster, and the ship sped forward.

The boat crashed into the mud on the shore. The black bear jumped down, hugged Zhen Mi, and sniffed the scent of the hair near her ears.

He pushed her away and raised his hand to lift up her cage scarf, examining her face, and their eyes met.

Zhen Mi choked up for a moment: "I'm glad my husband is back."

Her fate, everything she has, depends on the safety of the black bear.

She was already firmly bound.

"I'm back..."

Black Bear didn't know what to say, as the plan to capture the three counties of Wuguan Road was about to be launched.

I came too late, and many things happened in a hurry.

"I have asked someone to prepare some hot soup. My dear, please take a bath quickly to wash off the dust from the journey."

Zhen Mi took Black Bear's arm and walked towards a nearby suspended wooden building.

The wooden building was newly built during this period, and the black bear could clearly smell the various scents emitted by the tree sap.

Not counting the suspended floor, there is also a second floor. Zhen Mi led the black bear to the second floor.

The interior is paved with neat wooden boards, unlike the original wood style on the exterior.

There was indeed a large bath tub. When they arrived, the two women had just filled four tubs of hot water and then went back downstairs.

Without saying a word, Zhen Mi untied the armor belt for Black Bear, took off the loose leather armor and threw it aside.

The black bear also threw his mask aside, making a crisp sound.

Soon he sank into the hot water, and finally put on the soul ring that he had been thinking about for some time.

At this moment, on the steps of the wooden building, Lu Bu stood with his halberd in his hands and his hands on his waist.

Four Taoist soldiers stood on both sides of it in groups of two.

On both sides of the Xishui River, many people from southern China were also waiting for their families.

Boats came into shore one after another, and as the Nanxiang soldiers disembarked to reunite with their families, there was a sudden noise.

The Qingzhou soldiers' fleet was still rowing upstream in the middle of the river. Their camp was empty and looked deserted.

In the camp, after surrendering their weapons and disarming all kinds of weapons, nearly a hundred Qingzhou soldiers and officers gathered together.

Everyone has a bitter face. Ask yourself, who doesn’t miss their family?
They were the beneficiaries of Cao's army's policy of compulsory wife allocation, and most of them had a wife.

As for where these wives came from, they don’t need to worry about it.

The number of widows who were married off to soldiers each year was one of the important performance evaluation data for county officials under Cao Cao's rule.

This time, except for the youngest group of Qingzhou soldiers, all others were married. But the problem was obvious, Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin were defeated miserably in the Battle of Bowangpo!

How miserable is it?
The casualty list for that day has been lost!

If this list is brought back, the soldiers on the killed list and the soldiers who return later will not be punished.

For others who failed to return and are not on the list, even if you were injured that day or died in the breakout, as long as you did not go back, your family would be implicated.

Fortunately, the list was not taken back!
Moreover, the casualties were so severe that it was difficult to distinguish between the soldiers who died in battle and those who fled through confessions.

At present, Cao Cao is unable to determine whether the officers and soldiers who failed to return to the team were killed in battle, captured, or escaped.

So a very difficult choice was placed before the Qingzhou soldiers: whether to go into exile or go back to accept punishment.

Even if Black Bear releases them, they will still receive necessary punishment.

The worst thing to do is to behead people in order to enforce military discipline.

Liu Bei regarded them as beasts and executed any military officers he captured. Only Xiahou Lan was able to save his life because he was born in Hebei and Zhao Yun proved his innocence.

As for the other Qingzhou soldiers, Liu Bei was too lazy to distinguish between Qingzhou soldiers and Taishan soldiers, so he almost packed them up and sold them cheaply to Black Bear.

It was similar here with Black Bear, they treated the wounded equally, but only accepted young soldiers.

Originally these Qingzhou soldiers were still hesitant, but this battle really made them excited.

Coupled with some rumors and legends that were difficult to verify true or false coming from Jinfan Camp, Changlin Camp and Wang Wei's troops, these Qingzhou soldiers were even more reluctant to leave.

If I go back to accept punishment, my family will be implicated; if I stay here, there will be no shortage of food and my family can barely get by.

Even if his wife was forcibly assigned to other soldiers by the government again... although it was difficult to accept this fate personally, they could still live.

The Qingzhou soldiers had experienced all kinds of hardships in the world, and most of them were ordinary people who were forced to join the bandits.

At that time, the Qingzhou governor Jiao He was too incompetent, and too many innocent people were dragged down. If they didn't want to die, they could only follow the main force and rob along the way.

Is it really true that the Qingzhou soldiers were entirely responsible for the two large-scale massacres in Xuzhou?

These people gathered together, feeling very sad.

One of them sighed, "The matter of the Book of Impermanence is true. Cao Cao cannot determine whether we live or die. The most difficult thing is that if someone goes back and cannot stand the torture and interrogation, he will definitely give out the others."

The other person nodded immediately: "That's right. I feel embarrassed about this, too. No matter how tough the words are, how can the people who go back be tougher than the torture instruments? Either we go together, or none of us go."

Someone else said faintly, "If we all go back, won't that harm you all?"

There was a sudden silence and no one spoke again.

After the Battle of Bowangpo, Black Bear asked Li Feng to recruit the Taiping Dao Taoist priests and young Taoist priests among the captives to assist Li Feng in processing medicinal materials and treating the wounded.

For the Qingzhou soldiers, killing a temporarily assigned military officer was like killing a chicken.

However, the Taoist priests and chief priests who followed the army had a higher status than the military officers.

These Taoists served as an important medium of communication for foreign military officers to smoothly command the Qingzhou soldiers.

The various demands of the Qingzhou soldiers were also fed back to the military officials through Taoist priests.

During normal combat, the Taoists were part-time military doctors who wrote letters for their families on a daily basis; when they returned to the gathering place, the Taoists would also participate in all aspects of life.

If the Taoists stayed and so many of them went back, the Taoists' whereabouts would definitely be revealed and their families would be implicated.

By that time, even if they returned to the resettlement area to reunite with their families, they would still encounter more hostility from Qingzhou soldiers and various local governors.

Perhaps the family’s life will become more difficult.

Cao Cao would not offend the other more than 100,000 Qingzhou soldiers who were serving in shifts just for the sake of these 3,000 people.

Without the collective protection, these 3,000 people would suffer the real torture of the forced labor system.

Instead of like now, where Qingzhou soldiers take turns serving in various parties, they can live with their families for most of the year.

The system of forced labor even frightened them.

Rather than endure the forced labor system, it is better to stay here!
The real staggered labor service system means that you only have two months of free time a year. After deducting the commuting time and the busy farming season, the time you can actually spend with your family is very limited!

The Qingzhou soldiers took turns serving in various parties, and their service time was only about three months each year, not including the round-trip journey.

If you serve beyond your term, you will receive subsidies.

The leaders of the Qingzhou soldiers gathered together and chattered, which scared the troops on guard outside the camp.

The news soon reached Zhang Ding. Zhang Ding did not dare to delay and immediately went to the tallest wooden building on the shore.

In front of the stairs downstairs, Lu Bu saw someone entering the warning area and drew a line on the ground with his spear.

Zhang Ding didn't dare to cross the line. Seeing this, he turned around and left. He found Li Feng on the shore and mentioned the matter.

Li Feng asked Guo Tai, the chief priest of the Taiping Dao, who was beside him: "Fellow Daoist, can you handle this?"

"Haha, this is just a small matter."

Guo Tai was thin, with two long thin moustaches, and he smiled: "Afterwards, fellow Taoist, please say a few good words for me in front of the commander."

"This is a natural thing. The commander is in need of people. We, the like-minded people, should join forces."

Li Feng said some polite words, then looked at Zhang Ding and said, "Captain Zhang, you can go with Guo Jijiu."

"Yes, thank you Mr. Li."

Zhang Ding clasped his fists and bowed, then extended his arms to invite Guo Tai: "Guo Jijiu, please."

"it is good."

Inside the wooden building, the black bear tried to slap white magic power into Zhen Mi's belly, but it dissipated as usual and turned into a card hanging nearby.

With a purely research attitude, Black Bear pondered the various possible conditions under which white mana could be effective on other people.

The only chance is probably at the beginning of conception.

Zhen Mi didn't want to move, her expression was lazy, and she asked with her eyes closed: "When my husband marches to Wuguan, can I accompany the army?"

"it is good."

Seeing that Black Bear agreed so readily, Zhen Mi opened her eyes in surprise.

Black Bear closed his eyes, his mind was empty: "We should be careful of Liu Biao. Yi Ji dare not rebel against Liu Biao. If you stay in Nanxiang, there will be great hidden dangers."

"Once we capture Shang County, we will have an inch of land to stay."

While saying this, Black Bear frowned slightly, and he thought of Liu Bei again.

Now that there is no succession dispute in Jingzhou, the vast majority of people recognize Liu Qi.

Will Liu Bei accept Yuan Tan's invitation and send troops to Wuguan to attack Zhong Yao and Ma Teng, or will he continue to occupy Nanyang County and wait for an opportunity to counterattack the Central Plains?

Liu Qi deceived Liu Bei, saying that he would send troops to help in the battle in the autumn.

Can this fool Liu Bei?
One thing he was very sure of was that Liu Biao and Jingzhou did not like their good ally in Hebei to attack Guanzhong.

A half-dead ally is a good ally.

(End of this chapter)