...

"Brother Gu, why are you so pessimistic?" Qian Shizhong immediately persuaded Gu Qian when he saw Gu Qian's resolute attitude, "After all, how could the 80,000 elite Zhou soldiers be so vulnerable as you said? Don't think too much..."

Gu Qian put down his hand and said to Qian Shizhong: "Brother Qian, you are still a garrison in the city and are quite familiar with the army. Do you think those new recruits who are used to being lazy in the capital have a chance of winning against the bandits in Shangheyuanliu? Those soldiers have insufficient weapons, how can they compare with those desperate people who have been licking blood on the edge of the knife for many years?"

Qian Shizhong was silent for a moment when he heard this, sighed and said, "The Palace Front Session is not the Palace Front Session that was more than ten years ago. It is difficult for a group of new recruits who have not left the capital for many years to fight against a large number of thieves..."

Gu Qian nodded and said, "What's more, the person who led the army is a scholar who doesn't know any military knowledge. Do you think I can make the worst plan? This is the way..."

Speaking of this, Gu Qian smiled bitterly and shook his head: "The so-called kindness does not control the soldiers. Mr. Shi is too simple. He thought that as long as he cared about the soldiers under his command, he could make the soldiers serve and fight bravely to fight the enemy. Little did he know that excessive kindness is indulgence,

In fact, sometimes I really hope that the court can take back his life and transfer the army to the capital. I can't bear to see the 80,000 troops sprinkle blood on the battlefield, but I also want to arrive at Heyuan soon and fight the bandits to the death, alas..."

"Don't be too pessimistic. I heard that the Far East Border Army was also on the way to Heyuan. The former army commander Liu Ce was a famous general who was trained in a hundred battles. Even Hu Nu had to be in awe. With him and his border troops coming, perhaps the situation in Heyuan was not as unbearable as Brother Gu..." Qian Shizhong comforted.

Gu Qian shook his head and said, "The border army of the military governor belongs to the guest army only, and the main force is our palace front office. What's more, Jizhou is 5,000 miles away from Heyuan, and there are Liyang and Zhuozhou rebellions along the way. I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on at that time. And even if I'm willing to wait, will the people in Heyuan still have Thunder Army waiting?

I have detained eight imperial edicts in the capital these days. The letter said nothing more than asking me to urge the army to enter Heyuan as soon as possible to fight the pseudo-Changliu bandits. Alas, brother, even the emperor is already impatient. What can I do? If these imperial edicts are known to generals at all levels, I am afraid that the army will be more chaotic than it is now..."

"Isn't there still the Governor Pei Ji of Shangling? Why not ask him to send troops to restrain the bandits living in Jingtai Province? Will the Heyuan crisis be relieved a little?" Qian Shizhong suggested.

"Pei Ji? Haha..." Gu Qian sneered, "Don't say that Pei Ji dared not send troops. Even if he sent troops, do you think the Lin family would agree to the Pei family extending their hands into their territory?"

Qian Shizhong widened his eyes and said, "Now that the country is in danger, are these family clans still fighting each other and guarding against each other, and just watching the situation become increasingly corrupt, and they ignore the lives and deaths of the people!"

Gu Qian said, "Brother, you have seen so many refugees inside and outside Ningcheng. They are all people who fled from Heyuan. If those family members really care about the lives of the people, will they become what they are now?

In order to consolidate his power, the emperor has been busy fighting with aristocratic families for fifteen years, trying to take the opportunity to weaken the Shi family and strengthen the imperial power. The Shi family also fought for their own mere acre of land and fought to the death, and the people of my Great Zhou were suffering..."

Qian Shizhong sighed: "Brother Gu can understand that there are now 20,000 refugees in Ningcheng. Alas... it's miserable..."

Gu Qian immediately asked, "Brother, I was about to ask you, how do you plan to resettle the people inside and outside the city? When will the food be distributed to provide relief?

When I arrived along the way, I saw hungry refugees everywhere. Several of them were obviously almost out of reach. You plan to..."

"Brother Gu..." Qian Shizhong looked bitter and stopped Gu Qian and said, "My garrison has no surplus food anymore. Not to mention helping the victims, even if my garrison is about to be cut off in a few days..."

"How could this happen?" Gu Qian said, "Spring grain (the growth cycle of grain in another world is relatively short, the average growth cycle of grain in the north is ripe every two months, some places are ripe every month, and the south is closed for the time being) Isn't it just levy? Why is there no surplus grain?"

Qian Shizhong said in pain: "Brother Gu, I am just a small guard. The power of money and grain is in the hands of the governor Shang Chong. Half a month ago, Shang Chong had already sold grain to the city's large households, and went to avoid disaster by paying for the money from Hengzhou, the capital of Lining..."

"What! The governor who was personally appointed by the imperial court dared to sell grain storage privately and leave his post without permission? Are you not afraid of losing your head!" Gu Qian asked with disbelief.

Qian Shizhong said: "Not only Shang Chong ran away, but most of the officials in the city have also run away long ago. Now, I, the Ningcheng garrison, is the largest official rank..."

"A group of borers, the benevolence, righteousness and morality that are always full of words, and they are always talking about saints. When it comes to a critical moment, they will be like robbing chickens and dogs and robbing people!" Gu Qian said angrily, "By the way, why don't you collect grain from those big households and temporarily save refugees inside and outside the city?"

Qian Shizhong breathed a sigh of relief and snorted disdainfully: "Charge grain from them? I just wanted to write usury to ask them to borrow it! These big merchants immediately hoarded all the rice prices when they saw the refugees entering the city and sold them at the original price of five times. The trend was still rising, and the rice prices in this city rose to 4 taels and 1 stone.

Not to mention that those refugees can’t afford it, even the people in the city can’t afford it. Who can afford such a high price of rice?”

Gu Qian was silent, feeling uncomfortable like blood in his heart, lamenting how this world turned out like this?

"Let's not talk about this for now..." After a long time, Gu Qian put aside this heavy topic and asked again: "Brother, why didn't I see armor? Didn't I agree to prepare a thousand sets of iron armor?"

Qian Shizhong said: "Brother Gu, I have already said that all the iron materials in the garrison palace have been used up. There is really no extra iron to make iron armor. However, I still have eight hundred pairs of leather armor here. If you can see it, take it all..."

"Leather Armor?" Gu Qian was a little disappointed when he heard this, but he still said, "Forget it, it's better than not. What's the quality of these leather Armors?"

Qian Shizhong showed a hint of complacent expression and said, "Brother Gu, these leather armors are not ordinary good things. They were the rhinoceros skins purchased from Fanbang when his father was alive. They could not be stabbed by a knife and could not be penetrated by a sword. They could not be shot through with a single stone, five buckets of bows and fifty steps. They were stronger and more reliable than iron..."

Gu Qian was immediately happy when he heard this: "Is there such a good thing? Brother, please take me to see..."

Qian Shizhong took Gu Qian to a door in the cellar. After opening the door lock, he found that it was densely packed with painted black rhinoceros leather armor...

"Surp~"

Before Gu Qian came to a piece of leather armor, he suddenly pulled out his sword and slashed hard. Sure enough, the part where the leather armor was chopped by the sword blade only deflated a few times and immediately returned to its original state...

"Good armor, it's really rare to see it. It's so much iron that it doesn't lose. Brother, thank you very much this time..." Gu Qian picked up the leather armor and exclaimed sincerely.

Qian Shizhong said: "Why don't you transport these 800 sets of leather armor to the army in front of the palace now?"

Gu Qian was stunned when he heard this, then put down his leather armor and said, "No, these armored weapons are left here for the time being. Regarding the rebel army's valiant war, I would like to ask you, brother, to help..."

Qian Shizhong advised: "Do you really want this? Brother Gu, it's time for you to change your mind now..."

Gu Qian said gloomyly: "Do as I said, don't worry, I won't implicate you, but the rebels you choose must be brave and fearless, and then give them all these equipment to come to Heyuan as soon as possible to meet me..."

"I understand, alas..."

Seeing that Gu Qian had made up his mind and would not compromise no matter what, Qian Shizhong sighed helplessly, and then the two walked out of the cellar where the weapons were being made.

...

Near the evening, the army of the eighty-tenth hall in front of the palace finally arrived outside Ningcheng, and Gu Qian and Qian Shizhong had already been waiting for Shi Zongjie outside the city gate...
Chapter completed!