Chapter 18 Chapter 17 Tiger Tail Mutiny

On the tenth day after I recovered from my illness, the Imperial Army was in real trouble. Now we can only distribute one cake per two people per day.In fact, we can only gather the pancakes we sent out, mix them with the occasional snake-human meat, cook them into a big pot of soup, and pour them into our stomachs.Eating such a pot of soup and water every day, although I feel a little full after eating it, I can even hear the sound of my stomach when I walk around. Sitting in the tent, listening to the sound of the rain hitting the tent, I drank a bowl of this soup sent by Wu Wanling, and wiped away some sweat from my forehead.The soup was boiling hot, but I didn't seem to feel it at all when I drank it.Fortunately, at least there is no shortage of water in the city.It was rainy in southern Xinjiang, and there were wells everywhere in the city, which was a blessing among misfortunes.

After drinking a bowl, I said: "Su Wenyue, you can drink this bowl." The Dragon Scale Army has two bowls of soup per person per day, and the two bowls Wu Wanling gave me were probably specially served last. There are at least one and a half flatbreads in the two bowls.Although I told Wu Wanling that I want to share weal and woe with the Dragon Scale Army, seeing Su Wenyue getting thinner and thinner, I really couldn't refuse Wu Wanling's kindness. Su Wenyue was sewing the torn clothes of the Dragon Scale Army, when she heard my call, she turned her head, smiled lightly, and said, "General, you can eat first."

"I'm full, you can eat." Even though I said so, looking at this bowl of steaming soup, I really want to eat some more.Su Wenyue said: "I can't eat that much, general, you should eat more." I hesitated for a moment and said, "Then I'll eat some more." I poured some of the contents of that bowl into the bowl I just finished eating.Because I was afraid that everything in the soup would sink if it was left for a long time, so I shook it before pouring it.But after pouring like this, I realized that I poured a little too much, almost halfway.I thought about it, poured back some of the contents of my bowl, drank the poured out in one gulp, and said, "Okay, you can eat."

She put down the needle and thread in her hand, walked to the table, looked at the bowl, and said, "General, do you really want it? I still can't eat it." My heart hurts.Even though she said so, she looked at this bowl of soup with gleaming eyes, and it really didn't look like she couldn't eat it.I said: "Eat quickly, eat cleanly, or it will be cold." I poured out a bowl of water and ate up some of the residue in my own bowl.At this moment, she picked up the bowl and drank it unhurriedly. She didn't make any sound when she drank it, which was very funny.I watched her drink the soup, and my heart ached again.

How much did she suffer in the city?Probably since we besieged the city, she hasn't had a full meal.The IRA preyed on people after they ran out of food, first killing the old and the weak, then women and children.If we continue to siege, I'm afraid we don't have to destroy the city, and the city itself will eat up each other. She took two sips, put down the bowl and exhaled, smiled at me and said, "It's delicious." Is it delicious?If that kind of thing is in peacetime, it probably wouldn't even be fed to dogs.I crossed my legs and said, "What did you eat when the Republican Army defended the city?"

Her face sank, and tears dripped from the corners of her eyes.I looked at her, regretting asking her this, she suddenly said: "At first, we ate old rice, then we ate bark, grass roots, and soldiers' horses. Later, there was really nothing to eat, and soldiers rushed everywhere People look for something to eat at home, and kill people if they don’t have anything, we hide at home and don’t dare to go out.” The corner of my mouth twitched.The Republican Army advertised that "civil rights are the most important thing." At the last moment, I am afraid that no one will think of this again.I said, "Then what do you eat?"

She blushed slightly, and said: "I have a fiancé who is an officer in the Republican Army, and he occasionally brings some food. My parents and I rely on this to support us until the end." "and after?" She looked blankly at the sky.It was still raining outside, and in the tent, only the walls of the tent could be seen.She seemed to be looking far away, with tears streaming down her face. "The city was broken that day, and there was chaos everywhere. Our family hid in the house and didn't dare to come out until you... your people rushed into the house."

I didn't say anything more.In Gaojiu City, people like her can be said to be everywhere.I sighed and said, "It would be great if there was no war." Su Wenyue looked at me, a little timidly, as if she didn't know whether I was telling the truth or a lie.Maybe it's too rare for a soldier like me to look forward to no war, and she couldn't believe it.I said again: "Eat, at least you can never be afraid when I'm here." She lowered her head, took another sip, and said, "General, do you want to take me back to the imperial capital?" I can't help but smile wryly.Is it possible to return to the imperial capital now?We are already struggling in the city, and I even doubt whether we can survive until the day when Marquis Wen's reinforcements arrive.I said: "Don't think about it. After the war, wherever you want to go, I will take you there. Do you have any relatives?"

Her complexion was gloomy for a while, and she said: "There is nothing left." Her fiancé probably died on the battlefield.I sighed again, and said: "Don't think so far, if you want to follow me in the future, then marry me." The bowl in her hand dropped onto the desk, but luckily there was not much left in the bowl, so it didn't shake out.She said, "General, what did you say?" "I said, if you want, marry me later." Tears welled up in her eyes again, she lowered her head and drank the soup that was left at the bottom of the bowl desperately.I smiled and said, "Don't choke, drink slowly."

She looked up and looked at me again.As soon as I met her gaze, my heart trembled.What kind of gaze is that, with gratitude and pain, but I can't see any love. A woman like Su Wenyue, even if she is not a celebrity in peacetime, is still a very admirable Xiaojiabiyu.If at that time I said that I wanted her to marry me in such a close-handed and compassionate tone, I'm afraid she would sneer at me.But speaking now, what she hears is probably the same as a gift. Just because of the war. I stood up and said: "Eat, clean up after eating, don't be too tired from work." I went out the door, Su Wenyue had already finished drinking, put down the bowl and said, "General... General Chu, where are you going?"

"I'm going to see my sick brother." I opened the curtain and walked out. Maybe, just ashamed of her grateful eyes.Outside the tent, I thought lightly. The rain is still falling, and the rain hits my battle armor, making a soft sound.In the middle of the rainy season in southern Xinjiang, the rain always falls thinly and densely. It seems that everything is soaked and very uncomfortable. At this time, Yu Dai came out of a tent, saw me, and said, "Commander, it's raining, come in quickly." I walked over and said, "How are the sick brothers doing now?" Snake people will come to attack once a day, but they will leave as soon as they hit, they are always feigning attacks.But this kind of attack method, we are also exhausted. Although we know that the snake man is obviously feinting, we dare not be careless every time. Yu Dai said: "It's not very good. The body temperature has not subsided. The most serious one has not subsided for three days." In the past ten days, nearly ten people in the Dragon Scale Army have also fallen ill, and their symptoms are similar to mine.If it can be well taken care of, it will probably recover immediately.But I still have white rice porridge specially given by Marquis Wu, what can they eat?It's nothing more than drinking a little more soup.I said, "Have you asked the doctor to come and see it?" Yu Dai said: "Doctor Ye has seen it. He said that he has some herbs in the camp. Let me get them today. It will feel better after eating." I said, "Let me go, you watch them." Ye Tai's medical skills are very good, but as it is now, maybe all the imperial troops of the four sects are sick, and he may not be able to manage it.I asked a small army to bring the horses, and said: "General Yu, you, General Jin and General Wu, guard here and don't go out on business." Yu Dai agreed, and I patted my horse out of the camp. The morale of Ximen's defenders is fairly high.Despite Shen Xiping's death in battle and Luan Peng's remonstrance, since Yue Guohua took office, he has taken some gentle measures towards the right army. The prime minister is still the commander of the ten thousand husbands, so the army's morale is still stable. After walking out of the camp, the rain became more dense.I looked back at the continuous barracks, and my eyes were blurred for a while. As soon as he approached the medical camp, he heard a groan. I jumped off my horse, and a soldier came up to meet me and said, "General Chu, you are here too." It was a soldier in the supply battalion.The supply battalion has also been seriously injured since the last retreat at the North Gate, but fortunately, they don't have much to do now, and it doesn't have any impact.I said, "Where is your Master De?" "He's changing the medicine inside." I tied the horse and walked in. The soldier took a towel from one side and said, "General Chu, wipe it off." I wiped my rain-drenched face and looked at the camp.The medical camp was full of people, but half of them were not injured.The disease is already spreading throughout the army, I thought with a little worry.At this time, only someone shouted: "General Chu!" That is Deyang.He wasn't wearing a battle armor, but his battle robe was unbuttoned, revealing half of his body, and a medical officer was changing the gauze for him.I walked over and said, "Master De, hello." "What's the matter," he grinned, "those monsters are so ruthless, I've been hurt for more than ten days, and the injury hasn't healed yet." I smiled.His physique was nowhere near as good as mine, and I was almost healed in seven days, and his wounds were about the same as mine, but it looked like they were just beginning to heal.I said: "Don't worry, Doctor Ye is a good doctor, and he will recover soon. By the way, where is Doctor Ye?" At this time, De Yang's bandages had already been tied up. He put on his battle robe and said, "I was still here just now, isn't that, I was bandaging someone. What the hell, the house leaks happen to be raining all night, and now there are people everywhere in the army." Everyone is sick, if this continues, the whole army will lose its combat effectiveness." The proportion of the Dragon Scale Army is that one in thirty is sick, so the whole army is about 90,000, and 3,000 people are sick.This ratio is not too large, but if there are more sick people, it will indeed affect the combat effectiveness of the army.I was seriously ill myself, and I didn't know the personnel for two days. Those soldiers may not be as seriously ill as I am, but they certainly can't hold weapons when they are sick. I looked at the sick soldiers and said, "Lord De, how much food is left in the army?" I just asked in passing, but De Yang seemed to hear something extremely terrifying, and whispered: "General Chu, don't say it." I was taken aback.Now that there is a shortage of food in the army, besides these, I am afraid that many people will lose their fighting spirit.I said: "Okay. I'll go to Doctor Ye, Mr. De, please sit down first." De Yang said: "General Chu, your old Qi Lie misses you quite a bit, don't you want to go and have a look?" I smiled and said, "How is he now? It's been a while." "He raised a female prisoner in his tent, and the two of them loved each other very much. I'm afraid this kid is also a prostitute, and he forgot about you, the old officer." I can't help Waner.De Yang has never seen Su Wenyue, if he does, he doesn't know what he will say.I bid farewell to Deyang and walked towards Yetai, who was wrapping the wound of a soldier from the vanguard battalion. Before I approached him, suddenly a soldier stood up in front of me and said: "Medical officer, I have been waiting for a long time, why is it still not my turn?" The soldier who was bandaging said, "What's wrong with you? My injury is heavier than yours." The forward battalion soldier was probably new here, and I didn't know him.There was a long knife wound on his chest, and this man was extremely tough, when Ye Tai tore off the blood-stained old gauze, he didn't even frown.The soldier arguing with him said: "Hey, what's so great about the Vanguard Battalion, our Huwei Battalion lagged behind on the battlefield in some way, damn it, you guys get a lot of food, and even the medical battalion is ahead of you." The soldier from the Qianfeng Battalion had already packed his bags, stood up and said, "People from the Huwei Battalion, every time you hide behind us in battle, you still have the face to fight for something. One day you will be like the vanguard!" The battalion can generally make great achievements, so you should eat more, and the vanguard battalion will definitely not have a single complaint." These words vaguely resemble Pu Anli's tone.I was a little displeased when I heard that, and just about to say something, the Huwei battalion soldier jumped up and said, "Damn it, what kind of shit is there in your vanguard battalion? When I was a soldier, I'm afraid you were still breastfeeding." The Huwei battalion did not make as many achievements as the vanguard battalion. The vanguard battalion was Marquis Wu's personal soldiers. They charged and fell all the way, and the vanguard battalion took the lead. Nearly half of the contributions made were in the vanguard battalion.The Huwei battalion soldier didn't have much to say about his merits, so he made a fuss about his age.He was nearly ten years older than the soldiers of the Qianfeng Battalion, so it was nonsense to say that he was breastfeeding, but as soon as he said this, the soldiers of the Qianfeng Battalion were also a little angry, saying: "Damn, what are you?" As soon as they quarreled, almost all the wounded and sick in the medical camp started to scold each other.The Central Army probably still does not distribute rations as equally as the Right Army, and the Vanguard and Reebok Battalions have slightly more.In the past, the Pioneer Battalion and the Reebok Battalion had a lot of attacks, and no one complained about sending out more.Now they are all guarding in the city, so I am afraid that many people will be dissatisfied in their hearts.The medical camp suddenly became chaotic, and the conflicts of the previous camps broke out. In the chaos, some people scolded Lu Gongxing, some scolded Zhu Tianwei, the commander of the Huwei camp, and some even scolded me when they scolded the Qianfeng camp. Two sentences. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have known that the contradictions in the camps had reached such a level.I wanted to maintain order, but at this moment everyone was angry, I yelled twice, how could anyone hear me?At this time, suddenly the Huwei battalion soldier drew out his waist knife with a "choke". In the medical camp, although no one came in with long weapons, most of them still carried waist knives.As soon as he drew out his waist knife, many people immediately drew out their knives, and it seemed that they were about to fight immediately.I was anxious and hummed loudly: "Stop!" My voice was not too loud, but it also made them startled. At this time, there was a loud shout from the door: "Stop!" A tall military officer in his forties strode in, followed by a group of soldiers.This person is Zhu Tianwei, the commander of Huwei Battalion. The five battalions of the Chinese army, although their numbers vary, are all elite.Although the Huwei Battalion is not as good as the two forward Reebok Battalions, how can there be any weak ones in the Chinese Army?Zhu Tianwei also came out of the Vanguard Battalion back then, starting as a junior officer, he has been to the Huwei Battalion because of his military exploits, and has always been known as both wise and brave.As soon as he came in, the soldiers of the Huwei Battalion all lowered their heads, their knives unconsciously retracted into their sheaths. Zhu Tianwei walked up to the soldier who quarreled first, and slapped him hard. With a "snap", half of the soldier's face turned red and swollen.At this time, Lu Gongxing's voice came from the door again: "Stop!" He also rushed in forward and backward.As soon as he entered the door, seeing Zhu Tianwei and I were inside, he was startled, and then said loudly: "All weapons are sheathed, don't move rashly!" He walked up to Zhu Tianwei, saluted and said: "General Zhu, my subordinate is too rude, please forgive me, General Zhu." Zhu Tianwei revealed a hint of sarcasm, and said: "General Lu, you are too polite, how dare people from the Huwei camp argue with your Qianfeng camp, I will definitely deal with him severely." In his words, there was faint dissatisfaction with the Qianfeng camp.Lu Gongxing said: "General Zhu, now the whole army is in troubled times, we must not fight each other, General Zhu, I hope you will forgive the rudeness of these ignorant people in my camp." His words were very sincere and polite, Zhu Tianwei's face twitched, it seemed that he was not unimpressed, and said: "General Lu, I took the brothers from my camp away." He came and went quickly, and after taking his farewell to Yetai, he took a few quarreling Huwei soldiers away.After he left, Lu Gongxing also ordered the soldier who quarreled with the Huwei camp to be escorted back to the camp, and then said to me: "General Chu, you are here too." At this time, I had already asked Ye Tai for herbal medicine, and said, "General Lu, is there such a big conflict in the Fifth Battalion of the Chinese Army?" Lu Gongxing nodded, walked out of the camp with me, and said: "Yes. Among the five battalions, the Qianfeng and Reebok camps received the best treatment a while ago, so they were very jealous of the other battalions. Although the treatment is the same now , but the resentment in the other three battalions has not dissipated, and they are prone to friction." I sigh.It's only been a dozen days since I left the Qianfeng camp. I didn't expect the Chinese army to become like this.I said, "Does the Lord have any other strategies now?" "The east gate is also sealed, so it's hard to fly. Alas, I'm really worried that we won't be able to support Marquis Wen's reinforcements." I said, "By the way, the messenger has returned?" He also heaved a long sigh, and said: "It would be better if I came back. But until today, there is still no news. Maybe those messengers failed to return to the imperial capital at all, and they were caught by the snake man halfway Now, Marquis Wen is still in Beijing looking forward to our class teacher's celebration." I couldn't say a word.If the messenger fails to reach the imperial capital, then we are really waiting to die.Now you can't advance, you can't retreat, the honor of Marquis Wu I, is it really going to be ruined here? Lu Gongxing said at this time: "General Chu, I'm going back to the camp. Are you going back too?" I said: "That's right. Many people in the Dragon Scale Army are sick now, and I'm here to get herbal medicine from Doctor Ye." "It's all the same." Lu Gongxing was a little depressed, he looked at the arrow tower in the wind and rain, where a few soldiers were looking out of the city listlessly. "Miasma and plague are rampant in the army. If this continues, Marquis Wen's reinforcements will come, and I'm afraid it will be too late." I also have this kind of thought, but hearing this kind of thought from Lu Gongxing made me feel even more chilled.Although Lu Gongxing was always cautious about winning and losing, he never lost confidence.But now, he didn't seem to have the confidence to retreat completely. What if I were to die in the city?I used to think of death occasionally on the battlefield, but at that time the thought was just a flash.I don’t have any relatives anymore, and if I die in battle, it’s nothing more than letting the supply camp add a meritorious minister who died in battle to the record book, probably without even paying a pension.Thinking about it now, it is still the case. However, I already have some concerns in my heart. It's not because of Bai Wei Zi Polygonum, nor Su Wenyue, but her. If I want to die in battle, what I most want to see before I die is her. The rain hit my forehead, making me smile and shake my head.As I shook my head, the rain on my hair was shaken off, and my forehead felt cold for a while.I said, "General Lu, you have no confidence in Doctor Ye's medical skills." "It's not that I don't have confidence," he said lightly, "Do you remember what I told you when we first met the snake man?" I said: "Remember, you told me that if the Republican Army tames a group of snakemen, we don't know how to deal with them." He nodded and said: "Exactly. At that time, I was only surprised by the sporadic snake people in the city, thinking that they were beasts that had not been domesticated by the Republican Army. But now, it seems that the snake people were not domesticated by humans." , Those snake people are so smart that they are almost no different from humans, and the Republican Army will never have the ability to domesticate them. Then, the snake people may not have any characters behind them, but appear by themselves." I said, "So what?" He smiled instead at this time, and said: "General Chu, I have always admired your bravery. But to be a general, you need wisdom and courage. You have more than enough courage, but your wisdom is not enough." When he suddenly said these things, I also smiled and said, "Really." "If the snake people are domesticated by someone, then the people behind them must defeat us, and at most they will drive us to extinction. If they appear on their own, what purpose will they have after defeating us?" His words shocked me, and I murmured: "Yes, are they going to kill everyone?" Even though the Republican Army wants to destroy us, if we surrender, we can still have a way out.But if the snake man wanted to kill everyone, he would die after surrendering.And once we are defeated, what will the world look like if the snake people take advantage of the victory to attack? I shivered and didn't dare to think about it anymore.This is, Lu Gongxing said: "General Chu, I'm leaving first." I said, "Okay, goodbye." I jumped on the horse and walked towards the west of the city, but I was still thinking about Lu Gongxing's words. The fourteenth day after I recovered from my illness. It was a rare cloudy day with occasional sunshine.I still went to the medical camp to get a batch of herbs.Ye Tai's medical skills are really brilliant, although those herbal medicines are smelly, bitter and unpalatable, they are very effective. When I came out of the medical camp with two big bags of herbs, I wanted to get on the horse, but I didn't know that the two bags of medicine were too big, and it was difficult to get on the saddle.I was just about to ask someone to help me, when a group of soldiers and horses was approaching from the road, I saw at a glance that the leader of the group of soldiers and horses was the inspector Yuan Kexiang, and said loudly: "General Yuan, please help me." Let's do it." Yuan Kexiang turned his head, saw me, and said with a smile, "General Chu, it's you, long time no see. Are you here to get the medicine?" I nodded and said, "Come and pass it on for me." He jumped off the horse, I gave him the medicine, jumped on the horse, he handed me the medicine again, I hung on the saddle, said: "General Yuan, thank you very much." "Efforts with a little effort are nothing to worry about." He jumped on his horse, and suddenly said to the soldiers beside him: "Brothers, this general is General Chu Xiuhong, the commander of the Dragon Scale Army who is also known as the 'Dragon Front and Two Generals' together with General Qianfeng Yinglu. Take a look." .” I smiled wryly.This reputation seems to haunt me, and even Yuan Kexiang knows it.After Yuan Kexiang said this, his subordinates all saluted and said, "General Chu." Their shouts were in unison. Although the soldiers were all pale, their morale was still high. Although the Dragon Scale Army had made great progress under Wu Wanling's rectification, compared to Yuan Kexiang's small team, their military appearance was still slack some.I immediately bowed back and said, "General Yuan, are you guys going straight today?" He said: "Yes. It's time for the Tongcheng Battalion to change guards. General Zhu ordered me to go and inform first." I looked at his team and couldn't help but admire: "General Yuan, how do you lead the troops? You lead the troops very well." He said: "Soldiers are impermanent, water is impermanent, and warfare is irregular. Soldiers should be like arms and fingers, and orders are prohibited." I chewed the meaning of his words and sighed: "General Yuan, what you said makes sense." He smiled and said, "It's not what I said, it's the words of "Victory Strategy" that I've been used to reading since I was a child." ""Victory Strategy"?" I recalled who mentioned this book in the military academy, but no one seemed to have mentioned it. "Who wrote this book?" "I don't know. It's half of my family's military book. According to the catalogue, there are seven chapters, but only three chapters have been handed down to my family. The writing is very ancient, and I don't know which dynasty's generals passed it down." I said: "There are similar words in Tingtian's "Seven Essentials of the March", saying, "For the general's way, orders are forbidden." However, your military book is more detailed. Do you have that book with you? I want to read it .” Yuan Kexiang said: "This book is at home, I didn't bring it with me. But I know it by heart, I will write it to you sometime." I was overjoyed and said: "Thank you, General Yuan. What else is there in the military book?" Yuan Kexiang said calmly: "There is nothing surprising about it, but there are some words that are very relevant to today's army. It is said in the Xiangshu: "For those who want to win, the plan is the most important, the marching is the speed, and the discussion is the most important." It is dense, but the military power is more expensive." Now in our army, the formation of each army is different, some are based on Wu, and some are based on Shi, so that there are many leaders, orders from the top, and disobedience from the bottom, which is quite chaotic. Ugh." His last long sigh was very pathetic.Yuan Kexiang was young and his rank was low, so he might have had enough of being in the highly hierarchical Chinese Army.I recalled that in the vanguard battalion back then, among the 2,000 vanguards, the centurions had quite a few descendants of honorable ministers, and even Lu Gongxing couldn't command them well. People like Pu Anli and Xing Tiefeng, if I were Forward battalion control, I'm afraid they don't want them to obey my command.The series of "expensive" words that Yuan Kexiang said, in the final analysis, is the "military power and noble one".In the army, even the princes could not fully command the subordinates, otherwise Shen Xiping would not have been explicitly ordered not to act without authorization. At this time, we have reached a fork in the road.I cupped my hands on the horse and said, "General Yuan, I have to take my leave, please write a paragraph right away, and I'll pick it up tonight, okay?" A smile floated on his face, and he said: "General Chu, as a commander, you come to ask me, a small inspector who has never even been to a military academy, for advice. Wouldn't it be ridiculed if you spread the word?" I said sternly: "General Yuan, it's no good for people to say that those who are capable are teachers." His face twitched, and he also cupped his hands to me and said, "Thank you, General Chu. I will write the first chapter silently tonight and present it to General Chu." After he finished speaking, he gave a whip and ran towards the south gate.Although the thirty or so soldiers under him were all infantry, they still ran neatly. I also added a whip, and ran to the Longlin barracks.Na Tingtian's "Seven Essentials of the March" is a must read in the military academy, and I have read it a lot, but Na Tingtian's book tends to describe the way of attack and defense. Luo Hao, who was the most strict in governing the army among the twelve generals at the beginning, did not have military books passed down from generation to generation. If he can get Yuan Kexiang's military books as a supplement, it will really be a good way to make up for shortcomings. Halfway through, there was a loud noise from behind. That was the sound of fire and thunder.Now there are very few fire bombs left, and the fire bombs in every army are clearly ordered not to be used in an emergency. The south gate has used fire bombs. Could it be that the snake people are attacking again?I was taken aback, whipped up and ran to the camp. As soon as he approached the west gate, he saw that it was still calm.I rushed into the tent, and Yu Dai was already waiting for me.He took the herbs, and I said, "General Yu, did the snake man attack just now?" Yu Dai shook his head and said, "No." Did something happen to the south gate? I said, "Go to the telescope and have a look." When I got to the arrow tower, I pointed the telescope at the south gate and looked.From the past, there is nothing unusual about the south gate, but there are many people, and several flags are flying, too far apart, and it is hard to see whose flags are.I put down the binoculars, and Yu Dai who followed me up asked worriedly, "General, what happened?" I shook my head and said, "I don't know either. I hope it's okay." At this time, a horse galloped over and rushed into the camp.I was taken aback and said, "General Yu, go and have a look." It was a messenger who came in, not a thunder drum.He didn't have such a loud voice as Leigu, and when he entered the barracks, he said out of breath, "Attention the right army up and down, strengthen your guard." I ran down the watchtower and said, "What happened?" "Tiger tail mutinied and rushed out of the city!" As soon as he said something, he ran out again, probably to inform the rear army.I was taken aback and couldn't believe my ears. Although Zhu Tianwei was not a first-line general, he was also a member of the first battalion of the Central Army, and Wu Hou single-handedly promoted him to stand alone.If it is said that he is the same as Gao Tiechong and is the traitor of the snake man, then I will not believe it.But why did his Huwei camp suddenly mutiny? I was full of doubts, and Yu Dai came up to him at this moment and said, "General, what's going on?" I said: "Let's go to the city, ask someone to go to the south gate to inquire, and we will prevent the snake man from attacking the city." The snake man didn't change.We guarded until dark before the right army took over.Coming down to the city, the Dragon Scale Army who went to inquire about the news also came back.According to what he said, this afternoon, when the guards were changing in Tongcheng Camp and Huwei Camp, Zhu Tianwei suddenly sent cavalry troops to plunder a storehouse of surplus grain, and also robbed a Skyfire Dragon Chariot to clear the way to drive out of the city.The Tongcheng camp did not dare to stop them, so Zhu Tianwei snatched them out of the city. When Marquis Wu heard the news and ordered Lu Gongxing's vanguard camp to rush out, more than 7,000 people from the Huwei camp rushed out of the south gate. All the people were wiped out, and Lu Gongxing only had time to close the city gate, preventing the snake man from attacking the city.I heard that Zhu Tianwei left a letter to Marquis Wu, saying that he was "reckless, seemingly brave but cowardly". Under the command of Marquis Wu, all the armies had no chance of winning the battle, and the defenders would die. His Huwei battalion had to find its own way out. . The Huwei Battalion, which was looking for a way out, was defeated faster than the troops in the city.Now, I'm afraid that no one will be like Zhu Tianwei, who thinks he can fight a bloody way out of the encirclement of the snake people, but Zhu Tianwei's army was defeated, which greatly injured the vitality of the Chinese army.Now the strength of the Chinese army is less than 30,000, and there is even less food. Yuan Kexiang was also caught in the Huwei battalion and did not participate in the battle. Three days passed after Zhu Tianwei was defeated. With the loss of the Tongcheng Camp, even the defense of the other armies became even more difficult.In the past, the Qianfeng battalion could often receive help from various gates, but after Zhu Tianwei's death, the Chinese army was too busy to take care of themselves, and only sent thousands of people to help guard the north gate, which suffered the most losses. It was difficult to take care of the east and west gates. After defeating a group of snakemen's attacks, I only felt sore all over.Now I feel exhausted every day, as if I don't know tomorrow after today. As soon as he retreated into the camp, he happened to meet Leigu who came to deliver the order.Marquis Wu urgently summoned the generals to discuss matters. This time, only the highest officers of the armies were recruited, and I was specially invited by Marquis Wu to participate. When I walked towards the Chinese army, I was not a little happy to regain the attention of Marquis Wu.Along the way, among the ruins, one or two dead bodies could be seen from time to time.Since the city residents were released from the city, the few people left in the city sometimes starved to death.At this time, the supply battalion no longer has the energy to transport the dead bodies and burn them. If the total number of city residents is not less than two or three thousand, I am afraid that a plague will have been caused by now. Looking at those broken walls, my war horse also walked heavily. Day by day, as if seeing the end approaching, the whole army began to feel a sense of despair.The special envoy who sent an emergency to Marquis Wen still did not come. It is said that someone from the rear army and the right army secretly killed a few people in the city at night to satisfy their hunger. Although such appalling things have not been confirmed, I have seen several corpses They are all physically incomplete, I am afraid that this rumor is not completely false. When they arrived at Marquis Wu's tent of the Chinese Army, the messenger at the gate also shouted weakly: "The leader of the Dragon Scale Army, Chu Xiuhong, has arrived." The ones sitting in the tent are already the commanders and commanders of the various armies, and I am the lowest in rank.I took a look and found that only Zhang Longyou and Wu Keqing were present in the army.After I entered, I saluted Marquis Wu and sat next to Lu Gongxing. Marquis Wu was much older, and there was still a glass of wine in front of him.He took a sip, and waited for Hu Shi'an from the rear army to come, then he put down his cup and said, "Generals, please tell Mr. Deyang, the supply camp, some bad news." De Yang stood up and said, "Your Majesty, as of today, there are only two thousand dry biscuits left in the army." There was an uproar in the camp.Now there are nearly 80,000 people in the army. If there are only 2,000 loaves, wouldn't it take 40 people to get one loaf?It doesn't matter.Chai Shengxiang jumped up and shouted, "Why didn't you say it until today?" Lu Gongxing said in a low voice: "Wouldn't it be early to disturb the morale of the army if you said it earlier." What he said was good, but only a reckless man like Chai Shengxiang would yell like that.Marquis Wu also ignored him, saying: "There is still no response from the special envoy who asked for help from the imperial capital. Now we have to prepare for the worst. No matter what, we will stick to it for another month. I wonder which general has a clever plan to offer?" I looked at Lu Gongxing, he wasn't looking at me, he just lowered his head in thought.At this time Chai Shengxiang stood up and said: "Your Majesty, Chai Shengxiang has something to say." Marquis Wu looked at him and said, "General Chai, what's your plan?" Chai Shengxiang said: "When the Republican Army was trapped in the city by us, they defended it for three months. At that time, there were more people in the city than now, and even the Republican Army could defend it for three months. How could we not defend it? " Someone said: "Back then, there was enough food in Gaojiu City, enough food for 50,000 Republican troops for a year, and only 800,000 people could hold out for three months." Chai Shengxiang snorted and said, "The food for 50,000 people can only feed 800,000 people for 20 days, but what did they eat until March?" I trembled all over, as if I had been immersed in ice water.The general who refuted Chai Shengxiang also seemed frightened, and said, "General Chai, could it be..." Chai Shengxiang stuck out his tongue and said, "That's right, although there are still one or two thousand people left in the city, each person still has fifty or sixty catties of meat more, or twenty or thirty catties at least. 40,000 catties of meat. More than 80,000 people, enough to eat for two or three days." I shivered and felt sick.When Chai Shengxiang put it this way, it seemed as easy as killing pigs and sheep.I was about to object, but the officer who refuted just now said again: "But what should the city residents do when they have finished eating?" From his tone, he actually agreed with Chai Shengxiang's idea of ​​cannibalism. Chai Shengxiang said: "There are one or two thousand craftsmen who are locked up now..." I was so angry that I stood up abruptly and said: "Your Majesty, General Chai is talking nonsense, please order me to kill this fool." My words must have surprised people, I heard someone whispering: "Who is he?" Another whispered: "He is Chu Xiuhong, one of the two generals of Longfeng." At this time, I was already desperate, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the king's division of our army is upright and upright. Even if he is defeated, he must die as high as the sky. If you kill the city people, kill the artisans, and eat human flesh to survive, the future generations will put our army in the mouth." where?" Chai Shengxiang sneered and said, "General Chu, you are so generous, if you die of starvation and are eaten by a snake man, wouldn't you be invincible?" I shouted: "I am a human being, not a wild beast. If I want to survive by eating people, I'd rather go out of the city on the spot. I will die under the swords and guns of snakes and men, and I will not be ashamed of myself." Chai Shengxiang said: "Since General Chu is opposed to my proposal, I wonder if there is any clever plan?" I said: "There are still many horses in the army, but they are not used much when defending the city. They can be killed. There are more horses for meat than one person." 柴胜相道：“楚将军真出的好主意！如今各军的病弱马匹早已斩杀，剩下的马匹哪里还称得上'尚多'？而斩杀了马匹，骑军无所用其长，军中战斗力必然大损，而各门紧急征调时，难道你让诸军走着去么？” 我道：“那总好过吃人维生。” 柴胜相正要说什么，武侯喝道：“放肆！在中军帐中大声喧哗，两位将军难道不知军令么？” 我低下头，柴胜相也同时和我道：“末将知罪。” 我坐下时，狠狠瞪了柴胜相一眼，柴胜相也狠狠瞪了我一眼。我看看路恭行，他仍是垂着头，一言不发。 这时，陆经渔忽然站了起来，道：“君侯，末将有言禀告。” 武侯看了看他道：“经渔，你有何话说？” 陆经渔道：“楚将军说得有理，为人处世，当求堂堂正正，无愧于心。” 我心头一安，觉得脚下踩的仍是对实的大地。陆经渔还是支持我的，否则我真要以为自己身处鬼域，不知所措了。正放下心来，却听得陆经渔又道：“然古语有云，事缓从恒，事急从权。如今诸军粮草已绝，当务之急便是活下去，此时便只能从权……” 他说的是什么意思？我有点不祥的预感。 “……然工匠实为有用之人，诸军将校，多有取女俘入帐，多也在数千人之众。此等人实是无用之身，不妨先取其性命，以充军粮，庶几可解燃眉……” 陆经渔还在说着。我此时才听清，他原来是要先杀女子。 他竟然同意柴胜相！ 我只觉头顶象爆了个焦雷。这难道是陆经渔么？是因为动了恻隐之心，连苍月公也放走了的陆经渔么？他还在侃侃而谈，舌辩滔滔，说的还是从恒从权之理，可是在我耳中却连一点也听不下去。我无助地看了看周围，只盼有谁能支持我，但放眼望去，几乎每个人都在微微颌首，同意陆经渔之言。 我站起身来，叫道：“陆经渔，工匠是人，女子也是人，你们也一般是人，杀食同类，又与禽兽何异？” 陆经渔微微一笑，道：“楚将军，此便是事急从权了。斩杀那些女子时，还望君侯本好生之德，尽量不使其痛苦。” 我还要叫嚷，武侯忽然哼了一声，道：“既然争执不下，便投票决定。小鹰，你去取些酒筹来，再拿出那箱子。” 他身边的一个护兵拿了两盒酒筹和一个木箱出来，那木箱放在正中，酒筹每人分了两支。等分好了，武侯哼了一声，道：“这酒筹有红黑二色，你们每人各取两枚，依官阶投筹入箱。同意斩杀女子，投红筹，同意斩马的，投黑筹。每人限投一枚，可有异意？” 我们道：“明白。” 武侯道：“明白就好。”他一手取一支酒筹来，目光忽然扫视了我和柴胜相一眼，站起身走到当中，将红筹扔进了木箱。 我一阵晕眩，不知如何是好。武侯是用自己的行动来支持柴胜相之议，难道我还要硬顶着么？ 我呆呆坐着，这时路恭行推了推我道：“楚将军，该你了。” 我木然看着那个木箱子。虽然看不到里面的东西，而那些将领塞进酒筹时都用手挡着，我也不知他们塞进的是什么颜色，但我知道，里面肯定绝大部份是红筹。我站起身，将右手的黑筹扔了进去。 我已是最后一个。我投入后，武侯道：“小鹰，开箱。” 小鹰打开了箱子，数着里面的酒筹。一开箱，我便看到，那里面一片的红色，洒在案上，象淌了一地的血。我眼前模糊成一片，尽算坐着，也觉得身体晃了晃，不知说什么是好。 这时，小鹰道：“禀君侯，帐中投票的共有十七位将军，共有酒筹十七枚。其中红筹十五枚，黑筹两枚。” 还有一人在支持我！我看了看周围的人。也许，那是路恭行吧？可是，我们只是毫无意义地反对而已。 我已听不清武侯在说什么。我想要大吼一声，对帐中所有人都一顿臭骂，但身体也软软的，一个字说不上来，只是象木偶一样，夹在诸将中，向武侯请安，然后散去。