Liang County, which is today from Kaifeng to Shangqiu, is second only to the Heluo area in the Central Plains. The 50,000 Wagang Army was unstoppable and occupied Jiyin County and Dongping County in just ten days. Thousands of Sui army fled to the wind.

The Wagang Army also expanded rapidly, from 50,000 to 80,000 people on the expedition, especially after capturing Dongping County, it obtained a large number of troops and armor, which immediately made the equipment of the Wagang Army become more refined.

The Wagang army went south like a whirlwind under the leadership of General Zhai Rang, sweeping Liang County. Just three days later, the 50,000 Wagang army surrounded the Liang County and Songcheng County.

There were 5,000 defenders in Songcheng County. The main general was named Zhu Qingyun, who was appointed as the general of Hu Ben. However, Zhu Qingyun did not belong to the court directly. His superior was Yang Qing, the king of Xun who also served as the guardian of Xingyang.

Yang Qing had more than 30,000 elite soldiers, of which 20,000 were guarding Xingyang County, which belonged to the peripheral army of the eastern capital Luoyang. Another 12,000 troops were stationed in Dongjun, Dongping County, Jiyin County and Liang County respectively. Liang County was the largest important place of garrison except Xingyang County, with 5,000 troops.

Although the soldiers in Songcheng County were in chaos, the people of Songcheng County were surprisingly calm. Just a few days ago, a tide of rice robbery broke out in Songcheng County, which was suppressed by the army, and more than a dozen leaders were publicly executed.

The streets are quiet outside. The drought that has lasted for several months has exhausted the people of Liang County. The rice has risen to 800 yuan, and every household has to save money and survive the famine.

But this is just the self-rescue of the local people. For more than 100,000 hungry people fleeing from all over Liang County, 800 yuan of rice is like killing people and robbing money. The hungry people sell their meager property, even selling their children, just to get a bite of food to survive.

So when the Wagang army suddenly came, the Sui army was frightened, but the local people and the hungry people did not share much hatred for the enemy. On the contrary, many people hoped that the Wagang army could break the city and open the official warehouse to provide relief to the victims.

On the top of the city, Zhu Qingyun looked at the Wagang army that could not be seen on both sides of Tongji Canal outside the city. He was extremely anxious. Songcheng is a big city with a circumference of thirty miles and six city gates. It requires at least tens of thousands of people to fully defend. The five thousand people in his hands are not enough to defend at all, and it is almost the same to maintain public order.

He Zan, the prefect of Liang County next to him, saw Zhu Qingyun's worries and comforted him: "I have sent people to report to Jiangdu for 800 miles in an urgent manner. Liang County is the only way for the emperor to return. I believe that the emperor will definitely send troops to fight back. As long as we can hold on for six or seven days, reinforcements will definitely arrive."

Zhu Qingyun smiled bitterly and even had to defend himself for six or seven days. As long as the Wagang army attacked the city in large numbers, he could not defend himself for a day. However, it seemed that the Wagang army did not prepare siege weapons. They made siege weapons on the spot, and perhaps they had two or three days left.

"It's too late to count on the court. Let's see if Yang Yichen can send troops to help us recently. I'll also send someone to ask Yang Yichen for help, I hope he can still catch up."

Speaking of this, Zhu Qingyun said to He Zan again: "In addition, I would like to remind He Jun. It is best to open warehouses and release grain to provide relief to the victims. My current military force can no longer maintain order in the county town. Once the hungry people make trouble again, things may become a big deal."

He Zan said with a sad face: "There is less than 2,000 stones of food in the county warehouse. Where can I provide relief to the victims? If the victims are relief, what should the local people do?"

As the prefect of a county, He Zan certainly did not want civil rebellion. He said carefully: "The Bian River Cang has tens of thousands of stones of grain. I don't know the general."

"Absolutely not possible!"

Zhu Qingyun's face suddenly changed, and he pressed the hilt of the sword and shouted sternly: "Bianshui Cang is a granary directly under the Ministry of War. Although it is in Songcheng County, it is the military ration of the Xiaoguo Army. Who dares to open the warehouse without authorization?

Perhaps because he felt that his attitude was too strict, he eased his tone again: "Stop joking with He Jun. I wouldn't dare to open the Bian River Warehouse if I give me ten courage."

He sighed, "If the Wagang Army conquered Songcheng County, these foods would not be preserved. It would be better to hide them from the people first, so as not to be taken away by the Wagang bandits."

Zhu Qingyun pondered for a moment, but shook his head firmly, "I cannot afford such consequences. The army's granary is not allowed to be used to provide relief to the victims. This is the emperor's will. I dare not disobey. Please forgive me!"

After saying that, he turned around and walked down the city quickly. He Zan looked at his back and walked away. He couldn't help but shake his head and sighed softly. Judging from the fact that Zhu Qingyun never refused to resist the order, once the city was broken, Zhu Qingyun would definitely withdraw his troops immediately and would not fight the thieves to the death of the bandits, so he would throw hundreds of thousands of people in Songcheng to the Wagang Rebellion Army.

………

The north area of ​​Songcheng County is a place where more than 100,000 hungry people live. This area is open, with temples, schoolyards, and schools. However, at this time, all the open spaces were filled with hungry people fleeing from all over Liang County. They built the simplest broken sheds with wooden vase, grass, stone and soil, and endured hunger and looked forward to disaster relief.

Their only food source is that some wealthy families provide porridge on the street, or catch mice and peel tree bark to satisfy their hunger.

In the dark left room of the temple, a pile of fire was burning lightly and darkly, and people kept throwing one or two pieces of firewood into the fire. A thin white-haired old man sat down to the west, staring at the fire intently.

On both sides of the old man, more than a dozen men formed a circle. They were discussing a plan to grab grain. These dozen people were representatives elected by hungry people in each county. This was their third gathering because many families had run out of food and the food crisis had reached an unbearable level.

"Lao Lin, you went to the official warehouse to repair the wall today. How much food is there in the official warehouse?" the old man asked a middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man whispered in a hoarse voice: "There is not much grain in the official warehouse. I guess it is at most two thousand stones, which is far from enough for us to support our family. We have to go to the Bianshui Warehouse."

"But there are too many troops stationed in Bianshui Cang!"

"No! No! No!"

The middle-aged man waved his hand quickly, "I have confirmed that there are no more than fifty defenders near the Bianshui Cang Gate, and there are no more patrol soldiers in the city. All the officers and soldiers have entered the city. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Brother Lin is right!"

Another slightly younger man said: "If we don't take action, once the Wagang army enters the city, the grain of the Bianshui Warehouse will become military rations. It will not be our turn. We must act as soon as possible!"

At this time, more than a dozen people looked at the old man in the middle. The old man was named Jiang Baili. His son was the leader of the grain robbery a few days ago. Unfortunately, he was killed by the officers and soldiers, which gave him a heavy blow. However, he was the leader of the hungry people and had a high prestige among the hungry people.

Jiang Baili said slowly: "I'm afraid we will be monitored. Once we are dispatched, the officers and soldiers will come to suppress it immediately."

The middle-aged man with a hoarse voice said, "If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get a tiger? Uncle, no matter how timid we are, we will starve to death!"

"Yes! It's better to rob food and die so that our family can survive."

The dozen people next to him were excited and beat the ground with their fists, hoping to start immediately. Jiang Baili waved his hand, "Listen to me to finish my words!"

The wing room calmed down again, and more than a dozen pairs of eyes were staring at Jiang Baili. Jiang Baili said calmly: "I'm not saying I won't go to grab the grain, but I just need to discuss a strategy to rob it. How to rob it is beneficial? Do you understand that the officers and soldiers cannot deal with us?"

Everyone was silent. Jiang Baili glanced at everyone and continued, "Since the Wagang army is siege outside, as long as the Wagang army knows that something has happened in the city, I think the Wagang army will take the opportunity to attack the city, and the officers and soldiers will not be able to take care of us."

"Uncle said, let us go out to deliver the letter?"

"It's unnecessary to deliver a letter, and the Wagang army will not believe us. I mean to create momentum in the city. For example, if a torch and the Foguang Tower burn, the sky-sky fire will definitely attract the attention of the Wagang army, and they may start to attack the city."

"Uncle said it makes sense. The county yamen and Foguang Pagoda are far away from the Bian River Cang, and it is likely to lead the officers and soldiers over. This is a good idea!"

Jiang Baili nodded and said, "The key is to be quick. This time, the man rushed up and the woman came back to pick him up. The elderly and children should not participate. In the end, everyone has a portion of the food. Do you accept it?"

This is also a very critical point. Otherwise, the orphan and widowed mother would starve to death if they could not grab the food. Everyone discussed it and agreed.

"Uncle, when will you do it?" asked the hoarse man.

Jiang Baili looked at everyone and saw that everyone had a look of desire in their eyes. He smiled and said, "Since everyone can't wait, let's do it tonight!"

(To be continued.)
Chapter completed!