knife

Chapter 780 Defend
The sun had been high in the sky for a while, and smoke was rising from every household in the village below. Farmers who had gone to work in the fields that morning were carrying their hoes and heading home.

Two meals a day, this time is the time for the first proper meal of the day. After eating and resting for a while, it's time to start another busy day. It's the spring plowing season right now, and it's normal to be busy from before dawn until the middle of the night.

The best time of year is spring.

For farmers, they dare not miss the most important season of the year.

Tao Silang carried his hoe, humming a little tune as he walked home. Unlike other families, he was a bachelor, accompanied only by a big yellow dog. He was the kind of person who, with just the dog and himself, was well-fed and had no worries about the rest of the family.

Looking at the wisps of smoke rising from other houses and the big yellow dog running happily out of the village entrance to greet him, Tao Silang felt that he should find a wife.

Unlike other families burdened with heavy responsibilities, Tao Silang was a lone wolf, yet he was frugal and thrifty, and his granary was always full. Several widows in the neighborhood were eyeing him, but Tao Silang felt that although he was old, he could still have a son and was unwilling to raise another family's child.

I heard there's fighting again, but Tao Silang thinks the war is far removed from our village. Unlike other places, this village is far from bustling, easily accessible areas, hidden deep in the mountains. It's not like there haven't been battles here before; the soldiers are too lazy to come here—it's a losing proposition for them. However, quite a few refugees have come to our village. Several old bachelors in the village have reportedly found wives, and now that the fighting has broken out again, surely it's their turn to get married.

He reached out to touch the big yellow dog's head, but his hand touched nothing. The big yellow dog walked past Tao Silang and started barking loudly into the distance.

Tao Silang was taken aback and turned to look at the direction where the big yellow dog was barking.

Before the eyes could see anything, a clattering sound came from the ears. The big yellow dog ran forward a short distance, continuing to bark.

Next, Tao Silang's eyes widened as he saw a large group of fully armed soldiers riding warhorses galloping along the country road.

Oh no, he's a soldier.

Soldiers are like bandits!

This is a saying passed down from our elders.

Although no soldiers have come here in recent years, it doesn't mean they haven't come before.

Their village is a typical poor and remote place, not a good place at all. What good could come of soldiers coming here?
Moreover, judging from the soldiers' attire, they were not the regular soldiers he had seen in the county; they looked more like barbarians.

Tao Silang was startled and turned to run back into his house.

The sound of horses' hooves was urgent behind him. Tao Silang turned around and saw that his big yellow dog, oblivious to his own fate, was still standing by the roadside with its fur standing on end, barking with its head raised.

The lead soldier grinned and brandished his whip. With a sideways movement, he lashed the big yellow dog hard with the whip, sending it rolling several times on the ground before it got up, whimpering, and fled into the distance.

Tao Silang's house was right on the edge of the village. He had just escaped into his house and hadn't even had time to close the door when a loud crash and a huge recoil force sent him sprawling to the ground. A cavalryman had actually mounted his horse and charged straight into the courtyard, followed by several others.

Faced with the gleaming steel blades, Tao Silang cowered in the corner of the house, not daring to move. He watched as the soldiers rushed into his house, followed by cheers from inside.

Tao Silang's granary is still full!
At this time of year, there are quite a few people whose granaries are still full.

A dozen or so bags of grain were quickly carried out of the house, and Tao Silang was also dragged out, bound hand and foot. Screams of men and women echoed through the village. Tao Silang was tied to a large tree by the roadside, his eyelids twitching wildly as he watched the soldiers rush into house after house. Men and women were all bound and dragged out like him, but there wasn't a single old person or child among them.

Some soldiers were carrying knives, their knives stained with blood, and no one knew who had suffered the consequences.

Some oxcarts, mule carts, and donkey carts were brought over, and bags of grain were loaded onto them. Then, Tao Silang and the other strong men and women were tied to Sizi and forced by the soldiers to walk out of the village.

Behind them came the pitiful cries of the old man and the child, but under the threat of the soldiers' knives and guns, they dared not do anything but cry out.

Tao Silang had no relatives to care for, but when he turned around, he saw his big yellow dog poking its head out from the bushes by the tree, staring at him longingly. Its head was covered in bloodstains, from the whipping wounds it had suffered earlier. Tao Silang felt a pang of sadness, fearing that he would never see his big yellow dog again.

After traveling for an unknown amount of time, Tao Silang finally saw a huge city. Along the way, many other people who were also bound gathered together. After three days on the road, Tao Silang finally understood some things.

They were captured by the Chu army stationed in Liyang County.

It was these same Chu troops who robbed them of their grain.

This city is now the city of Liyang County.

A war is about to break out in Liyang County, and it's no wonder these people were captured at this time.

Tao Silang's heart was filled with fear.

Of course, these people couldn't enter the city.

These makeshift shacks outside the city were prepared for them. They came here first to build the outer defenses of Liyang County, and then to serve as shields when the enemy attacked.

"Great Chief, are we really going to defend Liyang City to the death?" Chu Quan, the Southwest Wolf Soldier General, looked at Na Wei and asked, "Aren't we going to avenge Gan Ba ​​and the Divine Witch? How many people did they have? We have a full 50,000 wolf soldiers here!"

Na Wei looked noticeably haggard. In the past few days, one nightmare after another had come his way. First, the naval commander Chen Yan was assassinated, and hundreds of warships were burned to the ground. Then came the Danyang City upheaval, where Gan Ba ​​and Shen Wu died tragically, and tens of thousands of Southwest Wolf Soldiers were now trapped in Liyang County.

Of course, he wanted to return to Danyang City to avenge the witch, but could he succeed? Jiang Qian's army was right before him. If he dared to leave Liyang City carelessly, the enemy would likely follow immediately, turning this hundreds-of-miles retreat into a route of collapse. Moreover, the enemy's plan for the Danyang City incident was so meticulous that they had probably already prepared for his return attack. Even if he managed to shake off Jiang Qian and return to Danyang, could he take down a fortified city that was already prepared?

If we delay for even a few days, Jiang Qian will definitely catch up, and then we'll be truly doomed.

Weighing the pros and cons, only holding Liyang City offers a glimmer of hope.

However, now that Danyang City is no longer supplying food and provisions, we have to rely entirely on ourselves.

This is why the Southwest Wolf Army's scouts swept through Liyang County, leaving no stone unturned, not even sparing remote villages.

"Hold fast to Liyang City and wait for things to change in the north!" Na Wei said. "I have already sent someone to Chang'an. I told Linghu Ye that I am willing to submit to him!"

(End of this chapter)