Chapter 66: Incapable

After Sun Qian was sent away, most of the hair that needed to be cut in the city had been cut.

Black Bear climbed up the city wall to look at the city, and Gan Ning rushed over after hearing the news.

There were probably more than 4,000 people in the city, and there was no time to make a detailed count.

They had been roughly divided into three teams, one team consisting of more than 900 prisoners, volunteers and wounded soldiers, one team consisting of women and children, and another team consisting of more than 500 young and strong residents who refused to serve.

After arriving in Wancheng, the escort troops will move to Nanxiang County with the volunteer prisoner team and their families, carrying supplies, to reunite with Liu Ye and his family who stayed behind.

Black Bear didn't bother to care how Liu Qi would settle these people who came to his doorstep. Anyway, these people would not have a good ending if they stayed in Duyang.

Whether it was a battle between Liu Bei and Xiahou Dun, or Liu Bei withdrawing his troops, they had to pass through Duyang.

An orderly army could cause damage to Duyang simply by conscripting manpower and material resources, while a disorderly and rebellious army would cause a devastating blow to the scattered settlements of the people in the countryside.

As for the crops in the surrounding fields... I can’t care about them anymore. As long as people are alive, that’s enough.

The officials and civilians in the city were divided into rough teams, and the women and children were the first to set out with food. Zhang Ding led two teams of one hundred people to escort them one in front and one behind.

Behind them were more than 200 ox carts and wheelbarrows of the volunteer prisoners' team, as well as a group of militiamen in the city who refused to serve.

The two teams were escorted by two teams of one hundred men led by Xuan Liang; finally, the team of wounded soldiers and prisoners was handed over to Chen Yang, who was responsible for escorting them.

Xuan Liang and Zhang Ding were qualified for the posts of military marquis and military secretary, but the soldiers under their command lacked training.

Although their morale is high and their obedience is very good, they are seriously lacking in experience in fighting in large armies.

Therefore, escorting the 600 people back to the rear to protect their families is one thing, and it can also help Yi Ji unify Nanxiang County and prepare for the next march to Wugu Pass.

They were busy until dark before they evacuated Duyang, leaving only 500 people under Gan Ning, more than 100 cavalrymen led by Xu Lin, and more than 200 people under Wang Wei.

More than 800 people, with nearly 200 horses and 17 cows, carried supplies for ten days and set out at night.

An empty Duyang City was left in its original place, with no one else except a dozen soldiers who stayed behind.

Jackdaw said, torches are sparse.

There was only one torch for every team of fifty people, and the team moved slowly.

Xu Lin led a hundred cavalrymen to follow behind. If any soldiers were accidentally injured during the march, they would be carried onto the horses to prevent them from falling behind.

At the front of the team, the godly general Lu Bu led four leather-armored Taoist soldiers holding torches to explore the way.

If there are traps or ambushes, they will be the first to fall into them.

Two or three miles away were nearly a hundred knights led by Black Bear, followed by the infantry led by Gan Ning and Wang Wei.

After a night battle, the morale of Gan Ning's troops also became fanatical.

Therefore, morale was high and morale was high during the march, and physical strength recovered quickly.

It was dry everywhere, but after nightfall the mountain breeze in Jackdaw Road was cool.

Everyone was wearing armor and walking. The military doctor Li Feng also wore sleeveless double-crotch armor and sat on the ox cart with his eyes closed and dozed.

He clearly wanted to practice the way of prolonging life taught by the founder of Medical Science, but after all the trouble he ended up becoming a military doctor.

Li Feng was exhausted after bandaging the injured soldiers last night and treating the injured defenders during the day.

But he could still accept this kind of fatigue.

They marched all night and stopped only at dawn.

The men and horses were tired, so they rested along the Wanluo Road.

This stretch of road has been in disrepair for a long time and is uneven due to rain.

However, the protective trees planted on both sides of the highway grew lushly, and there was also a tributary of the Lishui River accompanying the highway, but the river was shallow.

Xu Lin led his men to guard the periphery, while the black bear leaned against a tree trunk and closed his eyes to take a nap.

My physical endurance is getting stronger and stronger, but I still feel tired. I guess other people are tired too.

But this is the way the world is. If you are unwilling to work hard, you will be surpassed and eaten up by others.

In times of peace and prosperity, you refuse to be inward-looking, but you live in poverty without starving to death.

In this chaotic world, you refuse to be introverted and yet want to live a life superior to others...how is this possible?

From the moment you refuse to engage in involution, you and your descendants may become low-level consumables and slaves until your family line becomes extinct.

As he pondered, the black bear fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, he saw soldiers piling up stones to build a dam on the river, gathering a pool of waist-deep water, and nearly half of the people were playing in the water to escape the heat.

Under the shade of the trees along the road, those who took a bath first cooked rice.

Gan Ning, who had just finished bathing and put on his leather armor, came over and saw Black Bear waking up. He sat cross-legged beside him and said with a smile, "General Qu, the morale can be used."

Seeing Gan Ning's forced smile, Black Bear asked, "Does Xingba have any concerns?" "A little bit. I want to protect my troops more than becoming famous."

Gan Ning saw that Black Bear was concentrating on thinking, and fearing misunderstanding, he immediately explained: "Before, I pursued fame in order to establish myself in the world and do something. Now that I follow him, I will eventually achieve my great cause. This matter of fame has become a trivial matter. It is more than 300 miles from Wankou to Xudu. If we are not careful, we will be surrounded by Cao's army."

Objectively speaking, it is no longer allowed to take the risk of going to Xudu.

Gan Ning continued, "If we kill Cao's generals around Xudu, he will become Cao's mortal enemy. If we go to Guanzhong, we will also be attacked fiercely by Cao, which will not be conducive to his survival and will only benefit Hebei."

Seeing that Black Bear was listening attentively, Gan Ning simply finished speaking out his concerns: "According to his commander, Yuan Shang is both civil and military, his only shortcoming is his age, and Hebei has not recovered its vitality. If he can defend Hebei for three years, will he be able to counterattack Cao Cao?"

"Yes, I said that. Yuan Shang's talent is ten times better than Liu Qi's. Does Xingba want to sit on the mountain and watch the fight?"

"Yes, compared to you, Cao Cao is old, and his eldest son Cao Ang died young. His family has suffered disasters during the transition from the old to the new. What I mean is that we should attack and defeat Luyang and capture Lu Zhao's troops, and then withdraw. We might as well take advantage of Cao Cao's prime to weaken Yuan Shang's rising talent, and take advantage of the conflict between Yuan and Cao to seize Guanzhong as our base, and then intervene when the victory or defeat is about to be decided."

Gan Ning smiled as he spoke: "If you don't fight for a while, the world will belong to you. Guanzhong is exhausted now. If you rest for 20 years, when the troops come out of Hulao, how can Guandong resist you?"

Black Bear’s age and last night’s casualties are the source of Gan Ning’s confidence.

Black Bear looked at the thirty-six-year-old Gan Ning and shook his head slightly: "I agree with Xingba's opinion, but Xingba is now in his prime. If he retreats so easily, it will be difficult for him to become famous in the Central Plains again."

After thinking for a while, Black Bear smiled and said, "Well, let's go to Luyang first to observe the situation and wait for an opportunity to fight Cao's army. If we succeed, we will retreat. At worst, we can cooperate with Liu Yuzhou."

Not long after Black Bear and Gan Ning finished their discussion, Xu Lin came over quickly, sat cross-legged on the dusty ground beside him and said directly: "General Qu, after repeated investigations, there is no human habitation within a radius of 20 miles to the northeast. The villages and fields are all deserted. I have arranged secret sentries. If the Luyang garrison sends scouts, our army will be able to detect it."

Luyang is a large county, and the chief official is the county magistrate, not the county head.

But when the heroes were fighting against Dong Zhuo, Luyang was Yuan Shu's front-line base.

There were frequent large-scale military movements around Luyang, and the villages near the road had long been dilapidated.

In recent years, Cao's army has fought deep into Nanyang several times, scaring away the last bit of population in Luyang.

Cao's military operations were heavily dependent on water transportation. The distance between Wancheng and Ye County was nearly 300 miles, which was not feasible for water transportation. Therefore, land transportation using human and animal power was necessary.

Strictly speaking, military rations had to be transported by land from Yan County to Wancheng. This route was on the Jingyu Chidao, a full 400 miles!
Four hundred miles of distance, the more Cao’s troops are dispatched, the greater the pressure on logistics and transportation!
Before Cao's army attacked Zhang Xiu, in order to ensure the stability of the food supply route, it was necessary to recruit young and strong men from nearby areas.

After being recruited several times, those who escaped back must move away and run far away.

Yuan Shu and Cao Cao created this uninhabited area, which saved the army from having to worry about concealment.

Lu Zhao, the defender of Luyang, almost died at the hands of Liu Bei in his early years. How could he dare to be negligent at this moment?

He climbed up the city wall to inspect it, and saw the Chenliu soldiers under his command sitting in groups of three or five on the city wall to rest. Many soldiers built triangular sheds on the city wall using door panels and wooden doors to cool off.

It can also block arrows, so Lu Zhao just leaves it alone.

After so many years of chaos, the composition of Lu Zhao's troops has become more and more diverse. From the original Chenliu folks, there are now people from several counties and kingdoms in the western part of Yanzhou.

Fortunately, in order to facilitate command, soldiers with consistent accents will be assigned together as much as possible.

He inspected the city wall and looked at the banks of the Fushui River, which was five miles south of the city. The Fushui River ran east-west, and on both sides were continuous paddy fields with thriving green rice seedlings.

This was the result of his two years of stationing in Luyang. The fields outside the city had long been ownerless.

Lu Zhao integrated these fields and renovated the ditches to distribute irrigation water.

If Lu Zhao had not been short of manpower, he could have cultivated more paddy fields.

Last year, Luyang produced more than 200,000 shi of rice. He and his troops ate 80,000 shi if they ate as much as they could; this year's output should be at least close to 300,000 shi.

At this moment, Lu Zhao became worried and wondered whether he should destroy the seedlings.

If Liu Biao and Liu Bei attack together, the rice outside the city will fall into the hands of the other side...that would be really bad.

Even if only half of the output was obtained, more than 100,000 shi of grain would fall into the hands of the coalition forces of the two Lius. The food replenished on the spot would be enough for 30,000 to 40,000 people to fight for two or three months.

If it really comes to that, even if he defends Luyang, he will be held accountable after the war.

But who could have thought that Liu Bei would suddenly attack?
While Lu Zhao was feeling worried and hesitant, a group of knights came from the north along the Wanluo Road, looking exhausted.

After walking around the city to the south gate, one of the knights approached with an official document held high: "Here is the letter from Henan Yin Jun!"

"Put down the basket!"

Upon seeing this, Lu Zhao shouted to his left and right, and immediately a bamboo basket dropped down. The knight approached the city gate, put the documents in, and then retreated.

The hanging basket was pulled to the top of the city wall. Lu Zhao waited for a while before his chief secretary arrived. The two of them checked the clay seal together before opening the military book.

In the book, Xiahou Dun ordered Lu Yang to pound rice for the army because Liu Bei arrived too quickly. Upon hearing the news, Xiahou Dun abandoned his baggage and chose to travel light.

It will arrive tonight!
Seeing this, Lu Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and said to the chief secretary, "Return the book."

It’s just food. Luyang doesn’t lack food this year!
Given Xiahou Dun's status, even if he led his troops into Luyang City and spent the night there, Lu Zhao would not dare to refuse.

If we hand over the power of the front line to Xiahou Dun, even if something goes wrong, it will be a secondary responsibility.

(End of this chapter)