eurekapd Chapter 589 Foreshadowing
Chapter 589 Foreshadowing
Hearing what Shen Changgong said, the people began to whisper, some nodded, and some questioned.
They nodded because the Yan army had indeed not attacked or killed them in the past few days, and had also provided them with food and cooking. Although the living environment was very bad and they even had to sleep in the open air, having food to eat was better than anything else. If they were at home, they would have to scrape tree bark and dig grass roots, which would not only fill them up but also be difficult to digest.
Those who question it are all conspiracy theorists. They think that the Yan army captured them with the intention of harming them, and that they are just keeping them temporarily and burying them alive when the time comes.
Shen Changgong then said loudly,
"My fellow villagers, life is not easy for us. Fighting is the job of soldiers. Regardless of whether a dynasty rises or falls, ordinary people should not be dragged into war.
In this city, there are your sons, husbands, and fathers. They are all honest farmers and workers. They are not soldiers, and they don’t even have weapons!
We in Great Yan, with a million strong army, will only need one day to break this city and kill them all.
But we didn't do that. Instead, we called you all over, gave you food, and protected you.
We just hope that you can help and persuade our family members in the city to come back. As long as there are villagers who are willing to leave, we can let them reunite with their families, and then give you food and let you go home.
If they don't want to come out, we won't make things difficult for you fellow villagers. After we take the city, we will let you go home!
This king knows that some people will think that we, the Yan army, summoned you here to kill you.
I can tell you clearly that this idea is totally wrong!
If we wanted to kill you, we would have killed you right here in your home. Why would we waste food feeding you?
We have raised you for so many days, what do we gain by killing you?
This land will become the territory of our Dayan in the future, and you are all the people of Dayan.
We also hope that you can live well, build the country with us, and work productively. Killing you will do us no good.
Remember, the Yan army does not kill civilians or prisoners!
This king hopes that tonight and tomorrow, you can write letters to your families in the city and persuade them to come out. Tomorrow night, this king will deliver the letters to the city and to the hands of your relatives!
Live well and don't make unnecessary sacrifices!"
After speaking, Shen Changgong clasped his fists towards the villagers, then walked off the stage and left the camp.
Soon, many literate soldiers came over with tables, pens, ink, paper and inkstones, and wrote letters for the illiterate people.
At night, back in his tent, Shen Changgong asked Gongsun Wan'er,
"How many of our Skynet personnel are there in Zhengxiang County?"
Gongsun Wan'er thought for a moment and said,
"This county town is not big, and its location is not very important. There are not as many as in Luoyang City. It seems there are only two?"
"It's okay, two are enough. Find a way to contact them and have them spread the news in the city that the Yan army has taken all the civilians to the barracks for protection and given them food, so that these people will not be drafted as cannon fodder."
Hearing this, Gongsun Wan'er frowned and said,
"But if this gets spread, it might turn out to be like the Yan army arresting all the civilians and using them as cannon fodder."
"It's okay. Just let them know about it. It doesn't matter what they think. The letter will be delivered tomorrow night anyway."
"Ok."
Gongsun Wan'er went outside and called a Skynet contact, asking him to deliver the message by carrier pigeon.
Then she walked straight into the tent, lowered the door curtain, went to the inner bedroom, sat on the bed, and began to take off her shoes.
Shen Changgong was surprised.
"What are you doing?"
"I wish for a long drought before a downpour of rain."
Gongsun Wan'er said very seriously.
Shen Changgong: ...
I have to work hard again tonight, my old waist...
……
The next day, in the civilian camp, people were still writing letters to their families, reporting their safety and saying how great the Yan army was.
At the same time, Shen Changgong announced another piece of news, saying that many people in Liangdi had been killed or injured, and large tracts of land had not been cultivated. If one had no land at home, he could migrate to Liangdi to farm. As long as the land was cultivated, it would belong to him, and he could register it with the government. No taxes would be collected in the first year.
In fact, the imperial court has been trying to encourage the people of Kun and Qi to migrate to the Liang area, but the effect is not very good, because everyone knows that the northwestern Liang area is barren, difficult to cultivate, and the climate is dry and often windy and sandy.
After hearing the news, some people were tempted, while others were unwilling to leave their old land. Shen Changgong didn't say much and let them think about it for themselves. They had their own legs and could do whatever they wanted.
Anyway, the government will subsidize the food on the road.
While people outside the city were busy writing letters, the city was already in chaos.
The news came from somewhere, saying that the Yan army had captured all the people in the northern part of Zhengxiang County, and the next step would be to capture the people in the southern part.
Some people say that the Yan people gave them food and protected them.
Some people also said that the Yan people were not so kind, and when the city was attacked, all these people would be pushed up as cannon fodder.
The families of these able-bodied men were all in the Yan army camp outside. They were worried about their families. In addition, the Yan army was the enemy, so they would naturally unconsciously guess the Yan army's intentions with the greatest malice.
Gradually, the view that the Yan army wanted to use these villagers as cannon fodder became the mainstream.
The able-bodied men were filled with righteous indignation and went to find their respective generals. Some even went directly to the county magistrate's office to find the county magistrate Wang Kaizhi, asking him to take the initiative to attack, defeat the Yan army, and rescue their loved ones.
After hearing these words, Wang Kaizhi's first words were,
"What? Defeat the Yan army? How many heads do you have? You still want to defeat the Yan army?
Five hundred thousand elite soldiers were wiped out. With just two hundred thousand unarmed men like you, are you going to defeat the Yan army of more than six hundred thousand?
What a joke! Pass the order down! No one is allowed to take the initiative to attack. Anyone who disobeys the order will be punished by the entire battalion! "
After giving the order, the yamen runners and guards drove away the young men who came to cause trouble.
Then, Wang Kaizhi sat down and drank tea while cursing.
Damn it, do the Yan army need cannon fodder to attack you? You are the cannon fodder, just blow yourself into ashes under the cannons.
But then again, why did the Yan army capture so many civilians? Were they using them as labor? Or were they threatening the able-bodied men?
I don't understand this, but I need to pay attention.
After the young men left, their anger was not appeased but became even angrier. Their emotions became more and more intense, and their dissatisfaction with the county magistrate became more and more intense.