knife

Chapter 373 Chaos in Chang'an

With the war fought to this extent, there's not much more to say.

Besides negotiating, what else can we do but bring our captured brothers back?

If you really don't care about their lives, I'm afraid the troops under your command will not say anything, but they will become disloyal to their commander.
Fortunately, everyone has chips in their hands.

Then there is something to talk about.

So Luo Liang and Linghu Shili stood in the very center of the battlefield.

"Five hundred for three hundred? I'm at a disadvantage. So you have to leave me all the armor and weapons of those five hundred men!"

"Your three hundred men are cavalry. Do you still want the horses? If you don't want the horses, I'll take the loss and leave you the armor and weapons!"

For cavalrymen, horses are not weapons, but partners, so naturally they need horses.

"Three hundred men and three hundred horses returned unharmed."

"That's impossible. Quite a few died that night! Not a single one of my five hundred brothers survived?"

"not enough!"

"Then what's the point of saying anything!"

"People who die can't be brought back to life, and if there are too few horses, you have to make up for it."

“The remains of my dead brothers must be returned to me.”

The two generals were arguing meticulously in the center of the battlefield, while the armies on the city walls and in the distance were locked in a tense standoff, ready to fight again if the negotiations broke down.

Even if both sides reach an agreement, once the exchange is completed, everyone still has to get to work.

At noon, the deal was struck, and the two sides began exchanging prisoners.

The prisoners in the city were grouped into groups of ten. They had not removed their armor, but naturally, they had no other weapons. Each person's left hand was tied with a rope. The ten prisoners filed out of the city in single file and stopped at the center line of the battlefield.

Meanwhile, inside the Linghu clan's camp outside, there were groups of six people and six horses. However, what was somewhat comical was that although the people were riding horses, the horses' legs were tied with ropes, so they could only move forward in small, shuffling steps. If they tried to run, they would immediately fall over.

Both sides were very cautious.

At the center line of the battlefield, prisoners from both sides passed each other, glaring at each other, yet all were covered in dust and ashamed, and could only walk towards their comrades with embarrassed expressions.

Being taken prisoner is certainly not a glorious thing.

Zhou Mi returned in the last group. He was the only one in the group. The other four horses carried the bodies of the fallen soldiers. When he returned to the city, Zhou Mi knelt down with a thud, overwhelmed with shame: "General Luo, I should have died in battle, not lived a cowardly life. But I was caught in their net and didn't even have time to commit suicide."

Luo Liang pulled Zhou Mi up and said, "What nonsense are you spouting? It's best that you came back alive. The right thing to do is to fight side by side and kill more enemies. How can we die without any value? Besides, if anyone is to blame, it's me, the commander, who made a mistake in planning and put my own brothers in a desperate situation. If we really want to investigate, the first responsibility lies with me!"

Zhou Mi wanted to say something more, but then he heard the rumbling sound of war drums.

Linghu Shili couldn't wait even a moment longer; as soon as the prisoner exchange was completed, he immediately launched an attack.

Zhou Mi turned and ran towards the city wall. At this moment, no amount of words could compare to showing his actions.

Stepping onto the city wall, one could see countless enemies in the distance carrying ladders, pushing siege engines and battering rams, shouting as they charged towards Chadian City.

"Beat the drums! Archers, prepare!" the officers roared hoarsely.

Another great battle soon broke out.

Outside Chang'an, the densely packed thatched huts stretched as far as the eye could see. As the fighting continued in the surrounding areas and its reach expanded, more and more people were fleeing to Chang'an.

Chang'an was heavily guarded, with a large number of soldiers stationed at each city gate to prevent these refugees from having any intention of storming the city gates.

Zhang Qingyun stood in front of a large pot, holding a long-handled spoon and slowly stirring the contents.

"This is way too watery!" Zhang Qingyun frowned as she scooped up the rice with a spoon and looked at the sparse grains of rice.

Luo Ying said, "Miss Qingyun, we are saving their lives, not feeding them! At this time of year, there's nowhere to even find wild vegetables. A bowl of rice porridge like this is already a rare treat!"

"Besides us, how many other relief tents are there?"

“The government has set up dozens of tents, but I went to see them. They’re not as plentiful as yours. There are also quite a few pavilions and gardens giving alms, and of course, some wealthy families are doing the same,” Luo Ying said. “But the fighting on the outskirts is getting more and more intense, and the number of people fleeing here will only increase.” Zhang Qingyun nodded, went into the tent, and sat down.

The sound of clappers rang out outside. The refugees, who had been sitting in the snow looking pale and like the living dead, suddenly came to life. They got up and rushed towards the relief tents. Seeing the surging crowd, Luo Ying's expression changed. With a wave of his hand, more than a dozen guards immediately stood in front of the tents, their steel swords drawn, watching the surging refugees with predatory eyes.

"Line up! Line up!" the porridge distributor shouted hoarsely.

Fortunately, these people were not blinded by hunger. Under the manager's roar and the indiscriminate beatings with the poles in his hands, they finally lined up. A bowl of porridge so thin that you could see your reflection in it was their food for the day.

How much food do we have left?

“There is still some grain transported from Yongfeng Granary, but the fighting there is getting more and more intense, making it increasingly difficult to transport the grain to Chang'an. Not only Linghu Ye's army, but also bandits along the way, and even refugees, are trying to steal the grain. So, three days ago, no grain has been able to enter Chang'an,” Luo Ying said.

"Wei Zhengdao will definitely not allow any disturbance to the Ever-Normal Granaries inside Chang'an!"

“Of course, that’s his lifeline. Without grain, how can he control the army?” Luo Ying shook his head and said, “Now, with the government’s deliberate control and even indulgence, grain prices in Chang’an are soaring. Wei Zhengdao is forcing those people in Chang’an who are useless to him to leave the city and flee!”

Soldiers receive rations from above and do not need money. Although each person has a daily ration, if they are frugal and their families are not large, they will not starve to death. This alone is enough for the Wei family to maintain firm control over all the troops.

As long as there is even the slightest hope, soldiers will fight tooth and nail to protect the little bit of benefit they can obtain, unless they are driven to desperation.

This small amount of food was enough to keep his family from starving.

Others need to buy food, but even if they can buy it, the price is enough to drive everyone to despair.

The phenomenon of families having no food to last the next day is becoming a reality.

Whether the money you work hard to earn tomorrow will be enough to buy food tomorrow is uncertain.

No matter how tightly the city gates were guarded, there were always some shady ways to smuggle people into the city. These people needed to eat and survive, so they either committed crimes or took on hard labor. Their entry immediately caused the city's labor costs to plummet, almost to rock bottom.

In the past, people in the city worked to support their families, but now those who have fled to the city are all alone, with only one person to feed and no one else to worry about, so prices naturally cannot rise.

Of course, the city's security is also deteriorating day by day.

Those with connections in the city have already begun to flee.

Under the organization of both the Black Ice Platform and the Zhi Qiu Academy, batches of people are being evacuated to Shu. However, those who can leave are mostly young and strong, skilled workers, and people who are useful to Shu. Even if Zhang Qingyun wants to save more people, there must always be a priority in doing things.

"The imperial court is recruiting soldiers," Luo Ying continued. "As time goes on, those who can't survive will only have the option of joining the army, but the number of people who can join the army is also limited. After a period of hunger, most of those who still have the strength to join the army are certainly not good people. There will be more and more vicious people in the army. There will indeed be more people, but the fighting power will not necessarily increase. Even if it does increase, I'm afraid the military discipline will not be able to be guaranteed."

“Chang’an actually has enough grain, enough to last at least a year. It’s just that Wei Zhengdao is using grain as a weapon to achieve his goals!” Zhang Qingyun said.

Luo Ying glanced at Zhang Qingyun and said, "Wei Zhengdao will only leave behind people who are useful to him in Chang'an. He will force those who are useless to leave voluntarily. But I'm worried that this could cause a civil unrest..."

Looking at the densely packed tents outside, Luo Ying felt a little worried.

Zhang Qingyun pointed behind him to the towering city walls, the gleaming swords and spears, the dense array of crossbows, and the towering catapults. Even if Linghu Ye's army came, let alone some refugees, they would be helpless against such a well-defended city for the time being.

If things really get out of control, I'm afraid there will be rivers of blood.

“A couple of days ago, someone reported that refugees have started selling their children, and the buyers of these children include not only powerful and wealthy families and prominent merchants, but also some underworld figures,” Zhang Qingyun said. “If these children fall into their hands, their fate will be dire!”

"What does the dean mean?"

"Since they're going to be bought anyway, let's send some people to buy some too! Especially those that have fallen into the hands of gangsters, don't be polite, just snatch them!"

“What do we need so many children for? They’re just a burden now!” Luo Ying exclaimed in surprise.

"The current predicament in Chang'an is partly our fault. Whether we can do our part or not, these children will always have a way out if we send them to Sichuan or beyond the Great Wall in the future! If we can train a few useful ones from among them, then we will have gained something."

"understood."

As the two were talking, a commotion suddenly broke out outside. They got up and went outside the shed, only to see flames raging in the northwest, with thick smoke rising straight into the sky.

Moments later, news came that the refugees there were fighting for food, and because there was no army to quell the fighting, the dead and wounded were everywhere.

"Several of the Zhuo family's stewards who were distributing porridge there have died, and I heard that one of the head stewards surnamed Zhuo also died. Now, I'm afraid there will be fewer families in the city willing to come out and distribute porridge!"

"Outside the city, things will get more and more chaotic!" Zhang Qingyun sighed softly.

(End of this chapter)