My wife, Wei Gui, was 1.9 meters tall and fought against the Tang dynasty for the throne.

Wuping Granary is located on the east bank of Yongji Canal. The granary is not large, with rammed earth walls that are more than two zhang high. There are watchtowers at the four corners, and a shallow moat was dug outside the walls.

The granary is not large, but it is the largest grain storage point within a radius of hundreds of miles.

Three hundred defenders, for this position, is already considered a large force.

The warehouse supervisor's surname was Zhou, and his given name was Yan. Three days ago, he received a secret order from the Water Conservancy Bureau, which contained only eight words: "Defend if you can, otherwise flee."

"Zhou Jian! A large band of bandits, about two thousand strong, has been spotted to the north, carrying ladders and battering rams, less than ten li from the warehouse!"

Zhou Yan raised his head, his expression unchanged. He closed the grain register, stood up, and said to the captain beside him, "Order the entire granary to prepare for battle. Send someone to the downstream docks to request the escorting troops to come to our aid immediately."

The captain accepted the order and left.

Zhou Yan put on his armor, fastened his belt, and climbed the city wall with his sword in hand.

The vanguard of the rebel army, numbering two thousand, pressed in from the north in a dark mass.

Ladders and battering rams were mixed in with the crowd, flags were scattered, and shouts of battle were deafening.

They arrived quickly, clearly having long coveted Wupingcang, knowing it was the most lucrative piece of the medium-sized granary.

Zhou Yan visually estimated the enemy's troop strength to be 2,000 to 300, a sevenfold difference.

But he remained calm.

Although Wuping Granary is small, it has high walls and deep moats, and is fully equipped with crossbows, rolling logs, and boulders.

"Archers, prepare—" he raised his right hand, his voice steady.

On the city wall, sixty archers drew their bows and nocked their arrows, the tips of which were pointed at the dark mass of people below.

The siege ladders had been erected to the edge of the trench, and the rebel soldiers pushed the battering rams, howling as they charged up.

"put!"

Sixty arrows were fired simultaneously, pouring down like a torrential rain.

The rebels at the forefront were all struck by arrows and fell to the ground, screaming in agony.

But those behind them continued to charge, stepping over the corpses of their comrades. Ladders were erected on the city walls, and soldiers climbed up.

"Roll logs! Boulders! Hot oil!" Zhou Yan shouted the order.

Logs and stones rolled down the city wall, crashing onto the siege ladders, causing them to break and people to fall.

Another ladder was broken by a rolling log, and the people on the ladder were smashed to pieces.

The rebel army launched a fierce attack for almost half an hour, but they couldn't even touch the outer city gate, and the dead and wounded were everywhere.

The rebel leader was overseeing the battle from the rear, his face ashen.

He never expected that such a small place as Wupingcang would be so difficult to conquer.

Just as they were hesitating whether to retreat, the sound of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from the southeast.

The escorting officer led five hundred elite soldiers, rushing from the downstream dock.

They lined up along the riverbank, with archers in front and swordsmen and shieldmen behind, their banners bright and their steps orderly.

"Reinforcements have arrived!" the defenders on the city wall cheered in unison.

The vanguard of the rebel army had already suffered more than half casualties and their morale was low. When they saw the government troops coming from the flank, they were thrown into chaos.

With a wave of his command flag, the guard general ordered five hundred elite soldiers to shout in unison and charge at the rebel army from the flank.

The defenders on the city walls also opened the city gates and charged out.

Caught between internal and external attacks, the vanguard of the rebel army scattered and fled.

Of the two thousand men, nearly a thousand were killed, and the corpses stretched from the trench all the way to the main road.

Zhou Yan stood on the city wall, watching the fleeing rebel army. His expression remained calm, but a hint of solemnity appeared in his eyes.

As night fell, a scout on horseback arrived from outside the city with a report: the main force of the rebel army, numbering five thousand, had reached a point twenty li away and would surely arrive by the next morning.

Zhou Yan summoned two captains for an emergency meeting in the granary hall.

The flickering candlelight cast shifting shadows on the faces of the three people.

"Zhou Jian, where are the reinforcements?" the young captain asked urgently.

Zhou Yan shook his head: "The downstream escort force has a total of 700 men, and 500 came today, which is the limit. The rest have to guard the docks, and we can't spare any more manpower. As for the Water Conservancy Bureau, it's too far away to help in our immediate crisis."

Another captain slammed his fist on the table: "Then let's hold out to the death! Eight hundred against five thousand, let's hold out until the last soldier is left!"

Zhou Yan glanced at him but did not answer immediately.

He recalled the secret order from three days ago—"Defend if you can, retreat if you cannot."

Today we repelled the vanguard, and our duty to defend the position has been fulfilled. On paper, we can now report back.

He stood up, walked to the wall, and looked at the map of Cangcheng's defenses hanging on the wall.

"Tonight, move all the remaining grain, fodder, and weapons from the granary to the escort ships on the canal bank." He turned around, his gaze calm. "The elite troops will hold the city walls and buy time. The rest of the soldiers and laborers will move them overnight."

The young captain was taken aback: "Supervisor Zhou, isn't this tantamount to abandoning the granary?"

Zhou Yan said calmly, "The city can be lost, but the grain cannot. This is the rule of the Supervisor."

The two captains exchanged a glance, said nothing more, and left to carry out their orders.

The warehouse immediately sprang into action.

Soldiers and laborers carried bags of grain from the warehouse to the dock and loaded them onto the empty boats of the escort troops.

The boatmen untied the ropes, the oars sliced ​​through the water, and the boats drifted silently downstream.

On the city wall, Zhou Yan personally supervised the battle.

He ordered his men to light more torches and walk around the city walls to create the illusion of a large troop force. At the same time, he evacuated the old, weak, and wounded soldiers, leaving only a hundred or so elite troops to guard the four sides of the city walls.

The next morning, the main force of the 5,000-strong rebel army arrived at Wupingcang.

A dark, imposing formation spread out from the north, banners obscuring the sun, and swords and spears like a forest.

The rebel leader, mounted on his horse, looked at the sparsely defended troops on the city wall, a smug smile on his lips.

"The vanguard was defeated last night due to underestimating the enemy. Today, five thousand men will press forward; let's see how they defend!"

As the bugle sounded, the rebel army launched a general offensive.

Ramming trucks smashed against doors, ladders were erected against walls, and arrows rained down like locusts.

The defenders on the city walls put up a fierce resistance, with logs and stones being hurled down and pots of hot oil being poured on them, causing heavy casualties among the attacking rebels.

But five thousand men were too many, and with wave after wave of soldiers falling, the defenders on the city walls gradually became overwhelmed.

Zhou Yan stood on the city wall, watching the rebel army surge in like a tide, and knew that the time had come.

"Order to retreat."

He led the last batch of soldiers out of Cangcheng through a pre-prepared passage.

The passage leads directly to the canal bank, where the escort fleet of ships was already waiting.

The soldiers quickly boarded the boats, the oars cutting through the water as they sailed downstream.

Zhou Yan stood at the stern of the boat, watching the city walls of Wupingcang recede into the distance.

On the city wall, the banners of the rebel army are being raised.

He turned around and never looked back.

When the rebel army stormed the city, they were full of confidence that they could seize the mountains of grain and fodder.

Thousands of people rushed into the warehouse, only to find it empty, with piles of moldy, lumpy grain and rusty broken knives.

The leader kicked over a bag of moldy grain, scattering blackened rice grains all over the ground.

He drew his sword and slashed at the wooden pillar, roaring, "I've been tricked again! This corrupt official is even more ruthless than Qing Shi Cang!"

Another leader kicked open a side storeroom, inside which were only a few bundles of rotten straw mats.

He walked out with a livid face and said to the crowd, "Not a single grain of rice."

Inside the tent, the rebel leaders slammed their fists on the table and cursed loudly. Some said they should pursue, while others said they should retreat. It was complete chaos.

The Wuping Granary, which took a tremendous amount of effort and resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, turned out to be an empty warehouse.

The news reached the Water Conservancy Bureau in the evening.

Du Chen sat in the duty room, with a thick stack of account books spread out in front of him.

Li Ju sat opposite him, holding a bowl of tea in her hand, sipping it slowly.

Zhou Xiaoli entered and whispered, "Your Majesty, news from Wupingcang: the rebel army has captured it."

Li Ju put down his teacup: "What about the casualties?"

"The defending troops suffered dozens of wounds and more than ten killed in action, but the main force has safely withdrawn. Supplies—"

Du Chen had already dipped his brush in ink and begun writing in the account book. His brush moved steadily, neither hurried nor slow.

"Wupingcang was attacked by tens of thousands of bandits. The troops fought hard but could not withstand the attack. Their food and weapons were destroyed. The remaining troops of the defending army broke through the encirclement and survived."

After finishing writing, he put down his pen, looked up at Li Ju, and began to write.

Li Ju nodded: "Report it."

Du Chen closed the account book and put it in the cabinet.

The rebel army camp.

When news spread that 5,000 men had secured an empty warehouse, morale plummeted.

The soldiers were hungry, squatting between tents, some gnawing on tree bark, others cursing.

The leaders had a big argument in the tent and parted on bad terms.

Liu Heita, mounted on his horse, reined in his horse and gazed at the distant firelight.

Two thousand elite troops stood in formation on the official road behind him, their swords and spears forming a forest, yet the road was completely silent.

"General, Wupingcang has been captured, but the granary is empty," the scout reported kneelingly.

Liu Heita remained silent for a moment, then his lips twitched slightly.

He recalled that in recent days, from Qingshicang to Liulincang, from Huaidiancang to Wangjiadu, more than ten granaries of various sizes were either empty or filled with sand.

These Sui soldiers were cowardly in open field battles and perfunctory in guarding granaries, but their methods of hiding grain and transporting goods were terrifyingly sophisticated.

"Send the order to change course." He gazed in the direction of Liyang, his eyes deep and unfathomable. "Go to Liyang."

"General, Liyang is a major granary, with at least a thousand soldiers stationed there—"

"So what if we have a thousand?" Liu Heita said coldly, "If we don't take Liyang, we'll all starve. Let's go!"

Two thousand elite troops turned and sped off towards Liyang.

The sound of horses' hooves echoed like muffled thunder in the night.

In the distance, on the canal, another batch of grain ships were quietly sailing towards Wu'an County.

The boatmen did not light any lamps or chant any work songs; only the faint sound of oars cutting through the water could be heard as the boats gradually disappeared into the darkness.