Great Wei Nengchen

Under the white rain, take the dragon girl,

Weaving silk, two feet five,

Half belong to Luo Jiang, half belong to Xuanwu!

…………

Fifteen miles north of Zitong Pass, on a newly built beacon tower, Xu San sat cross-legged with a spear in his arms, overlooking the direction of his hometown in the southeast, singing folk tunes softly while thinking about his wife and children...

Xu San is a veteran, not seniority, but old age. He is 43 years old this year. In the era of "a person who lives fifty years is not called a young life", he is definitely an old man, and he joined the army. Less than four months.

However, the four-month military career was more colorful and thrilling than the previous half of his life, so that Xu San often pinched his thighs, thinking that he was in a dream, or a nightmare!

I am a native of Qianwei County-Leshan, a poor family, never studied, and has been relying on farming and silkworm breeding to make ends meet. There is a yellow-faced woman, two daughters, two sons, three thatched huts, and eight acres of Susukida in the family. , Dozens of old mulberry trees!

The life of a small family is difficult, but fortunately the whole family is diligent and diligent, and it is still possible to fill their stomachs. Xu San has no ambitions, so he wants to save as much money as possible, marry his two daughters, and marry his two sons , buy another old scalper, and help myself plow the fields, and I will be satisfied.

Sitting behind closed doors at home, misfortune comes from the sky. Xu San has worked hard for decades, but when he is getting closer and closer to his goal, bad luck befalls the whole family:

In summer and April, war broke out in Hanzhong County in the north. In the name of "preventing Cao's army and protecting the environment and the people", the prefecture and herdsman imposed conscription and taxation. The 20-year-old eldest son was forced to join the army, and all the money he had accumulated was handed over.

In Xia June, the State Shepherd's Mansion once again conscripted soldiers and levied taxes on the grounds of "preventing big-eared thieves".

In autumn and August, a heavy rain came to Bashu, the roads were washed away, the houses collapsed, and the crops that were about to mature were also submerged. There was no harvest. The people had no choice but to build huts to live in and gather wild vegetables for food!

In autumn and September, Liu Bei's army occupied Qianwei County. Hearing that the emperor was benevolent, righteous, and caring for the people, the people were very happy, and Xu San was also very happy, thinking that the bad days were over and the good days were coming.

But before Xu San could laugh out loud, he enlisted in the army "gloriously" and became a member of Liu Bei's army. He was still a light infantry soldier, without mounts, armor, bows and arrows, and was only issued with a long white wooden handle. Spear, let's go to the battlefield!

Attacking Jianyang, besieging Chengdu, and capturing Mianyang, Xu San followed the army to various places, experienced several bloody fights, and was lucky not to die on the battlefield. Now he came to Zitong Pass again and became a soldier here!

And Xu San's life experience is the epitome of the people of Bashu. In just a few months, he fell from the world into hell.

…………

"Third brother, are you thinking about my mother-in-law, the broken girl, and melon sons?"

"Why don't you want to, the men are all out to fight, and the three women stay at home, no food, no firewood, no house, no house, and this winter is so cold, how can they survive?

And my two sons have not heard from them since they left as soldiers. What about before? "

……

"My silly third brother, the world is as black as crows, what kind of state shepherds, celestial masters, and emperor uncles all only care about fighting for the land master, who cares whether the common people live or die?

But I heard people say that the north is now stable, the common people have fields, food to eat, clothes to wear, and very little taxation. If given the opportunity, I really want to go back to my hometown in Guanzhong, which is a hundred times better than here! "

Veteran Tian Wu came over. He was from the same village as Xu San, and he was two years older. The two of them plowed the fields together, raised silkworms together, and captured young men together. They were called brothers in trouble.

The twelve people who joined the army together in the village at the beginning, after several battles, three were killed in battle, three were disabled, and four escaped. One of them was captured and beheaded as a deserter... Only Xu San and Tian Wu were left Yes, the feelings will naturally be deeper!

The difference is that Xu San was born and raised in Ba, but Tian Wu was originally from Guanzhong. Dong Zhuo was in chaos and tyranny. Many people in Guanzhong moved to Hanzhong and Bashu in order to survive. Tian Wu was one of them. Among the people in the state, more than [-]% are refugees from the north.

Now the situation is different again. Under the governance of Cao Cao and Xiao Yi, the central plains are settled, the people live in peace, and the living standard rises sharply, but Bashu is in chaos. Natural disasters and man-made disasters continue, and the people suffer unspeakably!

Water flows to low places, and people go to high places, so the refugees in the Bashu area embarked on the road to return home one after another, crossing Micang Mountain, Daba Mountain, and Qinling Mountains to the north, and returned to their hometown in Guanzhong. It is one of the important channels!

Since Xu San and Tian Wu guarded the beacon tower, they have often seen refugees in twos and threes in the surrounding mountains, carrying dry food, leading cattle and sheep, holding chickens and ducks... braving the cold north wind, crossing mountains and ridges, slowly Go north slowly!

Tian Wu was greatly moved by the sight, and had already given birth to the idea of ​​becoming a deserter, but he was only concerned about his family members whose life and death were unknown, so he forcibly endured it.

"Dinner's ready, dinner's ready! Everyone come over to get food, count the heads, why are there two less people, where are the people?"

"My lord, Er Gouzi, the big stupid bear has escaped!"

"It's okay to leave, I'm worried that I don't have enough food, and I lost two more mouths!"

A tall figure appeared. It was the team leader of the Beacon Tower. His surname was Sun. He was in his 30s. !

According to the establishment of the Han army, a team led fifty soldiers, but all the guards and patrols around the beacon tower gathered together, there were only 37 people, and the rest were deserters. As for the reason for the escape...

"Damn it, it's Heiwowotou again, is this for people to eat, or for pigs?"

"Heiwotou can't even eat enough, and he has to carry a spear on patrol all day long. I've had enough of it. At worst, I'll go to the north!"

……

"Shut up all of them and be content. This is what I snatched with all my might. One person can share two cornbreads. Other beacon towers are enough for one person. I heard that people are already starving to death!"

The cover of the basket was lifted, and inside was a kind of miscellaneous grain cornbread, weighing about two taels, with more complicated ingredients, black flour, beans, bran, wild vegetables, bark...and sand, pebbles, mouse droppings , It's a hodgepodge.

This kind of steamed bread is dark in color, smells bad, and the taste is extremely poor. It really tastes like pig food, but you have to chew it slowly, because there are small stones in it, and your big teeth will collapse if you are not careful!

This kind of unpalatable corn bread is not enough to eat. Each person has one meal a day, and only two for a meal. How can a mere four or two grains fill their stomachs? The consumption is very high, and I often faint from hunger, so it's strange not to be a deserter!

"Brothers, bear with it. Chengdu suffered another heavy snowstorm. I heard that many people died. The hungry people gathered to make trouble, smashed the treasury, demolished the plank road, and the army rations could not be delivered. It is estimated that there is no food to be transported- - Gabang, whoops!

Pooh!Pooh! -I used to serve as a soldier in Liuzhou Mu. Although I was a bit of a wimp, I had big cakes to eat, vegetable soup to drink, and wine and meat during the festivals!

Now I am also serving as a soldier for 'Liuzhou Mu', and I can't even eat enough rotten buns. If I knew it, I would have stayed in Jianmenguan. There are delicious food and spicy food, and the military salary is also much more, more than 800 per month. As for the money, those who make military exploits will be rewarded! "

Captain Sun is an old soldier. Although he has a bad temper, he has a good character. He never engages in any specialization. He ate black corn buns with the soldiers, but he bit a small stone before eating a few bites, and his back molars collapsed. A piece of blood oozes from his mouth, and he can't help pointing to the south and yelling.

Zitong Pass is surrounded by mountainous areas, the land is very barren, only beans, yams and the like can be grown, and the output is very low, so the rations and supplies needed by the garrison are all supplied by Chengdu!

In the past, when Liu Zhang was a state shepherd, Bashu was relatively peaceful, food, grass and energy were continuously delivered, and the days of the Zitongguan garrison were not bad, so people's hearts were naturally stable.

However, since Liu Bei took power, in order to guard against Cao Jun in the north, the garrison at Zitong Pass has increased several times, but logistics supply has become a big problem.

In the past six months, floods, military disasters, and snow disasters have continued one after another. The food production in Bashu has dropped sharply, but the number of victims has increased sharply. Especially near Chengdu City, the number of refugees has exceeded 20. They have no clothes or food. They are suffering from hunger and cold, and many have starved to death. People, even cannibalism appeared.

Since Liu Bei claimed to be the king of Hanzhong, he has worked hard day and night and tried every means to raise food and grass, but he still couldn't feed the mouths of the hungry people, and even the military food was difficult to supply, so that the date of sending troops continued to be delayed.

The emperor is not short of hungry soldiers. How can the soldiers fight if they can't eat enough?

But if the Cao army is not defeated, the two sides will continue to increase their troops and consume a lot of food and grass if the confrontation between the two sides continues like this. The Caoying Group has a strong family background, and it will not be a problem to persist for three to five years, but the Liu Bei Group cannot bear it!

If you send troops, you will have no food, and you will starve to death; if you don't send troops, you will have no food, and you will still starve to death... Liu Beijun is caught in an endless loop!

"Leaded by the Qizheng team, a team is coming up the plank road from the north!"

"Be alert, is Cao Jun here?"

"It's not Cao Jun, it's like a caravan with twenty or thirty carriages coming slowly!"

The corn buns were all robbed, and the soldiers, who were still hungry, were about to boil a pot of snow water to satisfy their hunger. Unexpectedly, the brothers on guard reported that a caravan came from the north!

The soldiers suddenly stopped boiling snow water, and all ran to the beacon tower to watch. Some of them trembled all over, not nervous, but excited.