The snow finally stopped and the atmosphere in the valley of Xia Village became lively.
The army did not completely stop training even though it was snowing heavily. Those with better physiques crawled and rolled in the snow, while those with weaker physiques practiced charging. There were many people in the valley to begin with. They took turns shoveling snow, replacing training with manual labor, and never stopped. Only a part of the soldiers who could not do it were taken away to rest.
In this era, the army still had problems with their physiques. Everyone was not well-off. The soldiers who could not eat a few pieces of meat in a month were also physically weak. On the other hand, the people who survived hard times were usually more able to withstand training. Therefore, there were not many soldiers who could not withstand the cold.
In order to maintain the livelihood of more than ten thousand people, Ning Yi used a lot of connections — not only the logistics system of the Right Prime Minister, but also the good reputation with the landlords and rich gentry in various places during the disaster relief. The first time was to save people and also gave everyone a chance to earn money. This time, it was for the war. Ning Yi used the reputation of the government to write an IOU. First, he overdrew the food that these rich gentry had hoarded to fill the gap in the military food supply. When the war ended, the country would make up for it.
In order to prevent the valley of Xia Village from being suddenly attacked by the Jurchen, these food were temporarily stored at the north bank of the Yellow River and transported every few days. More food was transported in the later period. Although it was troublesome and the north bank of the Yellow River was affected to a certain extent because of the fortification, but after a lot of effort, the problem of military food was still guaranteed. Ning Yi had the original Bamboo Shop as his backer, and he would occasionally add some pickled and easy-to-preserve vegetables and meat into the mix. For the time being, the food seemed pretty good. It was a key factor in supporting the sound operation of the valley, in addition to public opinion.
Usually, the snow would be swept away piece by piece. After the heavy snow stopped, all the snow in the valley was quickly cleared. A large amount of snow was piled on the periphery of the valley like a small hill. If the Jurchen cavalry came, it would more or less be a hindrance.
Piles of snow, five layers of barricades, and trenches in between the barricades were the outermost defense system of the Xia Village Valley. Along the mountain, observation towers, wooden walls and other structures were still being built. The elm cannons that Lu Liangshan had brought over had already been placed in key positions. More than 80 elm cannons and several iron cannons had been strictly selected to form a crossfire network in front of the valley.
The power of the elm cannons was naturally not as great as the iron cannons of the later world. On a large battlefield or in an open area like the city walls of Bianliang, it would not have much effect. However, in front of and around the valley, the relatively narrow terrain and over eighty firing points were enough to give Ning Yi a sense of security. Of course, for the others, since they didn't know the effects of the Elm Cannon, their sense of security was halved.
"If ten to twenty thousand people were to rush over, the entire mountain would be filled with people …"
Walking beside the fortification with Qin Shaoqian and talking like this, Ning Yi didn't feel as secure as before.
The entrance of the valley was narrow, but the mountains on both sides were not steep. If the army really rushed over, they would not only be attacked from one side, but from three.
Over eighty cannons could hold them off for a while, but they could not hold them off forever. Furthermore, the quality of the elm cannons was still a problem. Although the cannons that Lu Liangshan brought over were all improved and reinforced, on average, each cannon could only fire ten shots, and that was the limit of its lifespan. Moreover, there would be a long interval between shots. The iron cannons were naturally better, but they were still in danger of exploding like the elm cannons.
This … was like playing a tower defense game.
Standing on the wooden fortification, Ning Yi thought to himself. Qin Shaoqian, Hongti, and Han Jing were all around him. It was a busy scene both inside and outside the valley. Outside the defensive wall, a large number of trees had been cut down, leaving an empty space with short wooden stakes. Some people were practicing archery there. Yuwen Feidu was also in a line not far away — he was shooting arrows at the trees in the distance.
A young man who was moving things passed by after finishing his work. The young man had dark skin. He was Little Hei from Lu Liangshan. In a sense, he was half a disciple of Hongti. The two of them had been friends for a while in Lu Liangshan.
Yuwen Feidu's arrow accurately flew into the trees in the distance. He turned around and asked, "What happened?"
"… Cripple."
Little Hei dragged his feet forward.
Yuwen Feidu looked up and took a deep breath. "How can I put up with you? Take my hidden weapon! "
He threw a stone at Little Hei, but Little Hei caught it. However, Yuwen Feidu had already rushed over. One of Yuwen Feidu's legs was indeed a little inconvenient, which damaged his lower body. However, a cripple was not a broken leg. Although it was inconvenient, he still had a lot of martial arts. The two of them quickly started fighting. Their fists clashed fiercely.
Ning Yi, Hongti, and the others all smiled. Then, Qin Shaoqian became serious and pointed in a direction to the side. A team of horses came from the other side of the valley. There were several people riding on it. They were all wearing white tight-fitting clothes. If they were not riding on horses, it was almost impossible to see them from afar in the heavy snow.
The team entered the valley. The leader of the team came over. Then, he reported the situation to Ning Yi and the others in a low voice on the wooden fortification. Ning Yi and the others all looked serious. After the leader left, Ning Yi put his hands on the edge of the wall and looked out for a while. Then, he turned around and continued chatting with Qin Shaoqian and the others.
Their voices were not too loud.
"… The bait has been released. It's hard to say whether they will take it or not …"
"… It's better to believe in this kind of thing than not. The dam broke after the spring flood. No matter what, the Perfected Lady is going to play for real … I hope Bianliang can hold on …"
"That's not what we should think about. Burning the boats and burning the cauldrons, soldiers with indignation will win. Bianliang is the imperial city. If we can't hold on, the country will be destroyed. The Prime Minister and the others in the city know this. We can only believe that they can hold on … "
"No matter how good the plan is, it will be difficult for us if they really want to attack. It's a big problem whether we can hold on or not …"
"After more than a month of hard work, it's a pipe dream to train some elite soldiers that have been through hundreds of battles. To be able to fight in the place we have chosen is the biggest advantage we can get. If we can't hold on, we will die. There's nothing more to say … "
"Taiyuan has been surrounded for so long. Even though there's no news, we are still holding on …"
"We're already at a great advantage … but Taiyuan …"
Ever since Zong Han went south and started attacking the city, Taiyuan had been firmly nailed in the path of the Jurchen Western Army. The commander was Qin Shaoqian's older brother, Qin Shaohe. At first, there was some news that after the Western Army's rescue failed, Zong Han's troops had completely sealed off that area. Like Zong Wang, Zong Han also wanted to strengthen the city and train the Perfected Lady's siege tactics. After Taiyuan became a blind spot, they could only speculate from bits and pieces of information that the siege of Taiyuan was extremely fierce.
The Jurchen Western Army did not wait too long outside the city. Unlike the Eastern Army, they did not have as many imperial troops to deal with as Bianliang. Zong Han was also anxious about the battle in the south and launched a large scale attack on Taiyuan City. However, the resoluteness of Taiyuan City's resistance was also unexpected.
This was just the information that had been speculated. There were too many things that needed to be done after the Wu Rui Camp's defeat. The situation outside Bianliang was too critical, so no one had the leisure to look north. And after the Emperor was forced to abdicate on the twenty-fifth of the ninth month, Zhou Zhe almost silently and passively handed over the defense of Bianliang to Li Gang, Zhong Shidao, and Qin Siyuan.
This kind of silence was dangerous and did not represent his trust in these people. The Emperor was angry at everyone. Moreover, as people who had access to high-level information, Ning Yi, Qin Shaoqian, and the others could all sense that the Emperor was not completely unaware of the role that the Right Minister's residence played that night. Even if he could not be certain, he certainly had suspicions and resentment. The direct result of this situation was that it was almost impossible for Taiyuan City to receive any rescue in the short term.
No one knew how long Taiyuan City could be held in that isolated area. But there was one thing that could be believed. If Taiyuan City could hold out for so long, Bianliang City would also have such an opportunity. All of the bets that Ning Yi and the others made were built on this premise.
With the fall of Bianliang City, everything was over. And even if Bianliang City was held, Ning Yi, Hong Ti, and Qin Shaoqian's side would need to put in a thousand percent of their effort. In the end, they would see if they could grasp that one percent of hope.
But there was no doubt that many people would die.
Although the Wu dynasty's military strength was weak, their military resources were still developed. From where Ning Yi was, large amounts of bows and arrows, gunpowder, and all kinds of military equipment had already been transferred over. But right now, there were more than ten thousand people in the valley. Compared to the Female Zhenren, just what level was their battle strength? Even if they added on defense, whether or not they could exchange one for one was a matter that everyone had doubts about. Ning Yi also did not have any optimistic feelings.
No matter what, their side was a ragtag army, a defeated army that had not been organized for two months, and the enemy they faced was the strongest army in the world.
After the snow stopped, there was a rare clarity in the sky. The sky was clear and spacious, the air cold and pleasant. Ning Yi gazed in the direction of Bianliang City and took a deep breath. Regardless of whether or not Zong Wang would completely eat the bait as they expected, Ning Yi knew that the letter he sent over would become the spark that truly lit the fuse.
Thus, he knew that the fuse was already lit, and that they had personally lit it. But when the moment to burn it all would arrive was still an unknown.
In Bianliang, after the snow stopped, every household was shoveling snow on the streets. Over the past few days, the city's defenses had not slackened. But even if they were mentally prepared, no one could know that the cruelest test was about to arrive in a few days.
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