Chapter 16001602【Grain and grass crisis】
?After passing through Tongtian Gorge, Liu Jin did not let the soldiers rest. Instead, he asked them to pursue the victory and attack Laojun Temple as soon as possible. Therefore, the soldiers had to rush all night.
Because Laojun Mountain is steep and the lighting is poor, many soldiers rolled down the mountain as soon as their feet were empty while walking, causing a large number of unnecessary attrition.
After walking for a short time, we came to the fifth level - Heavenly Road.
?Tianlu is also a plank road hanging between the mountains, with a total length of three miles, winding and undulating, straight into the sky, hence its name.
When Xiang Nan and others retreated, they had completely demolished the Tianlu.
So the soldiers stood at the starting point of the Pilgrim Road, looking at the long damaged plank road, their hearts filled with despair.
Previously in Stone Forest, they spent more than a thousand people to build a plank road of more than 300 meters.
Now this road to heaven is so far that you can’t even see the end, and even ten thousand people can’t stop it.
Therefore, everyone is timid and hesitates to move forward.
Liu Jin couldn''t help but look extremely ugly when he saw this.
I didn’t expect that the terrain of Laojun Mountain is so dangerous, with one pass after another, and each pass is difficult. His army was almost half lost.
?Such a huge loss made him heartbroken.
What made him even more angry was that the rebels were unscathed. Even until now, he has never seen their true faces.
The fight lasted for a long time, with heavy casualties and heavy casualties, but we didn’t even know who the opponent was or how many people there were. It was really frustrating!
“Father-in-law, what should I do?” asked the temporarily promoted deputy sword commander.
"Order people to cut down the trees as soon as possible and repair the plank road." Liu Jin immediately ordered, "Tell the brothers that if you pass this level, you can enter Laojun Temple. At that time, I will give you a large reward."
“Yes.” The vice-capital said immediately.
?The soldiers could not help complaining when they saw that they had finally crossed Tongtian Gorge, but Liu Jin did not allow them to rest at all, and had to cut down trees to repair the plank road.
They have been attacking the mountain since dawn, and it has been almost ten hours now. They have not eaten or rested, and they are almost exhausted. What''s even worse is that it''s unknown how many people will die while repairing the plank road.
Therefore, many soldiers sneaked down the mountain and ran away secretly under the pretext of going to cut wood. In the beginning, it was just a few running around. Later, whole groups of soldiers appeared and fled.
When we checked again in the early morning, we found that of the 6,000-strong army, there were only less than 5,000 left.
Liu Jin was naturally furious after hearing the deputy knife commander''s report. Before there was a fight, those soldiers were so frightened that they fled, which was simply a shame.
After he captured Laojunguan and executed everyone in Taijimen in Lingchi, he had to capture all the deserters and hang them one by one in front of the gate of the military camp.
…
After dawn, Liu Jin continued to order people to repair the plank road.
"Look, that''s Laojun Temple. As long as we attack it, I will give you a big reward." He pointed to the magnificent Taoist temple on the top of the mountain.
?Looking up from the starting point of the Tianlu, you can just see the Laojun Temple on the top of the peak. The straight-line distance is probably less than 300 meters, and it is literally right in front of you.
??However, because all the plank roads have been demolished, the straight-line distance of only 300 meters is probably not enough to fill 3,000 people.
When the soldiers heard Liu Jin''s words, they couldn''t get any motivation at all.
It is said that one can make great efforts, then it will weaken, and three times it will be exhausted. They had been frustrated several times and had killed and injured countless brothers. And their lives will probably be ruined at some point.
In this case, Liu Jin''s so-called reward is just drawing cakes to satisfy his hunger. Even if they were trusting at first, they would be sober now.
Therefore, the next attack by the officers and soldiers seemed violent, but in fact it was just for official business. When they stepped forward to build the plank road, as long as Xiang Nan and others threw stones down, the soldiers would immediately retreat. Then, under the urging of the supervising team, he came back again. And when a stone is thrown from above, he immediately runs back.
Three times and five times, when you see the sun and the sky, the boardwalk has been repaired less than 50 meters, which can be said to have no progress.
When Liu Jin saw this, he was naturally furious and wanted to kill several soldiers as a warning, but was finally persuaded by his subordinates.
"My father-in-law, please calm down. Our brothers are now exhausted and their morale is low. If we continue to kill people to establish our authority, I''m afraid it will be counterproductive. It''s better to let the brothers rest for the time being and eat and drink before fighting again." The subordinate advised.
Liu Jin thought for a while and had to agree, "By the way, have the grain and grass been transferred?"
“We have applied for grain transfer from Songxian, Ruyang, Yichuan and other counties, and it is expected to arrive soon.” The deputy director reported quickly.
Xiang Nan and Junbao made a big fire and burned Liu Jin''s food and grass. Although the fire was eventually extinguished, there were heavy losses in food and grass, and thousands of stones of food and grass were lost.
And the army needs a lot of food and grass every day, after all, thousands of people eat. Moreover, when marching and fighting, physical strength is doubled, so the food and grass needed are also doubled.
So after the grain and grass were burned, Liu Jin immediately ordered people to go to the granaries in surrounding counties to adjust the grain.
"Hmph, how far can three county towns be from here? One day and one night, the food and grass have been delayed. I think the three county magistrates don''t want to wear the hats on their heads."
But in fact, Liu Jin misunderstood the three county officials.
?With Liu Jin''s status as a guard eunuch, how dare the three county officials disobey his orders. After receiving the order to adjust the grain, they immediately organized manpower, opened the granary, and transported the grain to the camp.
?It’s a pity that something happened midway through the transportation of the food.
?Because Liu Jin did a lot of evil and oppressed good people, the people suffered greatly, and their anger could no longer be suppressed. All it takes is one call of heroic men and a hundred responses to rise up.
?This time, Liu Jin led his army to conquer Taijimen, which resulted in a lack of military strength. Therefore, Taoist Ling took the opportunity to organize the villagers to fight, dig traps and set up ambushes.
On the dozens of miles of road, there are pits everywhere. The convoy transporting grain stopped every step of the way. The road that originally only took one day to cover took only two days to cover more than ten miles.
What’s even more troublesome is that there are heroes and righteous men who lead people to fight and steal all the food. Therefore, the thousands of stones of grain mobilized by the three counties were gone before they reached the camp.
…
Liu Jin had no choice but to allow them to rest where they were because the army was too exhausted and their morale was low. At the same time, he ordered people to bring the food up quickly.
?Unexpectedly, the quartermaster came first before the meal was served.
Reported to Liu Jin that the military rations had been robbed.
"What?! A bunch of trash!" Liu Jin stretched out his hand and slapped the general officer all over his face.
The army is dispatched but there is no food and grass. What a joke.
"My father-in-law, calm down, there are really too many rebels. Ruyang County sent 300 soldiers to **** the grain, but they were all robbed and killed by the rebels on the way." The quartermaster explained.
"Then why don''t you go ahead and send a large army to protect you?" Liu Jin ordered.
??The soldiers have not eaten for two days and one night, and they will mutiny if they stay up any longer.
"The grain depots in Ruyang, Songxian, and Yichuan are already empty. If we want to adjust grain, we can only go back to Luoyang." The quartermaster explained, "It takes another day to come and go."
“Then hurry up and go.” Liu Jin shouted immediately.
The quartermaster could only nod.
(End of this chapter)