Due to the large number of rebels and the fact that he did not have more than three thousand soldiers, the two thousand civilians that he had temporarily pulled over were not as good as air. In the previous battle, after Xiao Ruxun had defeated Tu Wenxiu, he had given up all the military bases outside the city. Other than the city moat, barricades, and some caltrops, there were no Ming Army forces outside the city. Within a few hundred miles, there was no organized Ming Army. Other than defending and waiting for reinforcements, there was no other way.
Fortunately, Xiao Ruxun was indeed well-educated and knew the importance of rations. Usually, she was extremely strict with the management of rations. Out of the hundred old veterans that she had brought with her from the Xiao Clan, ten of them were specially assigned to manage the military granary in case of emergencies. According to the accounts, the amount of rations stored in the military granary was enough for the entire city's soldiers and civilians to use for four months.
Walking into the granary, Xiao Ruxun saw that the granary was filled to the brim with the height of two to three people. He nodded his head slightly. In a flash, he thought of the methods that the granary officials used to deceive their superiors and subordinates. Although the granary officials in charge of the granary were the Xiao family's old subordinates that he had brought with him, there was no guarantee that no one would be greedy for money and deceive the superiors and subordinates. If they were not discovered in time, it would be disastrous. In a war, the most important thing was the grain.
If there was a loss of grain, there would be no doubt that it would be a disaster. Thinking of this, Xiao Ruxun pulled out his sword and stabbed into one of the bags of grain. He made a small opening and took a handful of corn. He looked at it carefully and smelled it. Xiao Ruxun was very familiar with these crops. After all, after the apocalypse, he had to cultivate the crops himself to produce the goods. After the apocalypse, Xiao Ruxun was no longer the university student that did not know how to distinguish between the five grains.
He walked to each granary one by one, left, right, up and down. From time to time, he would make a small opening with his sword. He observed the color of the corn and smelled if there was any mildew. After walking through each granary, he finally confirmed the authenticity of the grain. If they could still fake it after such an inspection, then Xiao Ruxun would have nothing to say.
After encouraging the soldiers guarding the granary, Xiao Ruxun felt his body's condition and went to the western military camp.
Ping Lu City itself was a military city, and the number one priority was to defend the city. Most of the citizens in the city were soldiers and their families, so there weren't many of them. A large piece of empty land in the west of the city was designated as a military camp. Normally, there would be a thousand soldiers stationed there, but now, there were more than two thousand five hundred soldiers stationed there. Xiao Ruxun could only use this number of soldiers, the remaining five hundred or so had all died in the previous battle.
Looking at the military camp from afar, Xiao Ruxun knew that his predecessor was very strict in managing the army. Looking at it from afar, the military camp gave off a somber feeling. Banners fluttered in the wind, and outside the camp, there were guards and patrolling soldiers. There were also the sounds of horns and shouts of soldiers. There seemed to be training going on. On the left side of the camp, there were some people carrying baskets and talking to some soldiers in dark red uniforms. They were probably relatives coming to greet them. Just this point alone made Xiao Ruxun very satisfied. The military camp was an important place, how could civilians be allowed to enter?
In his previous life, when he was in the survivor's camp, the number one rule that Xiao Ruxun had set up was that relatives and relatives were not allowed to enter the military camp. The military camp was a secret place, and trespassers would be executed.
Xiao Ruxun urged his horse forward. From afar, the guards saw Xiao Ruxun dressed in red and black armor riding towards them. Three to five people came forward to greet him. When they saw it was Xiao Ruxun, they immediately knelt on one knee and saluted: "Your subordinate greets the general!"
Xiao Ruxun signaled his soldiers to help him off the horse. He used his hand to cover his wound to prevent it from reopening. He stood still and said: "Get up! Bring me in. "
Immediately, two soldiers ran to the entrance of the camp. Then, one soldier ran into the camp, and the other soldier ran over to Xiao Ruxun and saluted: "General, please!"
Xiao Ruxun nodded and slowly led his soldiers into the camp. As he walked, he turned his head and saw the soldiers chatting with their relatives. He paused for a moment and then said to one of his soldiers: "Go to the whole city and inform the people that the bandits will be attacking again in the next few days. In the near future, the ban in the city will be tightened. During the day, people can only leave their homes from 3: 45 AM to 3: 45 PM. After that, they can only leave their homes from 3: 45 AM to 3: 45 PM. If they leave the city after that, they will be treated as spies and will not be tolerated. During the war, they must not leave their homes. If they go out, they will also be treated as spies! From today onwards, until the end of the war, the soldiers' families are forbidden from visiting. "
The soldier knelt down on one knee and shouted: "Yes, Sir." He then ran to the back of the camp and rode a fast horse towards a certain direction.
Only then did Xiao Ruxun feel at ease and went to the camp. He was very familiar with these wartime regulations. Not only were they useful, but they were also necessary. In order to stabilize the morale of the army, maintain their military strength, and protect the people from harm, these regulations must be implemented. Otherwise, how could Xiao Ruxun lead 80,000 people to survive in this post-apocalyptic world where the laws were no longer in effect?
Inside the camp, there were many barracks and most of them were made of wood. Since this was a permanent military camp, it was made of wood. Most of the barracks were made of tents, only the fences were made of wood. Within the camp, soldiers could be seen patrolling everywhere. Because of Xiao Ruxun's appearance, there were no signs of people coming out to chase after their idols. These were the soldiers that were well-trained and knew their duties. Xiao Ruxun was very satisfied with the quality of these soldiers.
Not long after, three people dressed in armor and cloaks came together. The one on the left was a head taller than the other two. The one in the middle was a big man with a rough face and a beard. The one on the right was a young man with a pale face. Xiao Ruxun knew that they should be the three leaders of the army. One of them, Zhao Hu, was his deputy, and the other two were Chen Xie and Wang Hui. They were his left and right arms. However, at this moment, Xiao Ruxun couldn't tell who was who.
The three of them walked forward with excited expressions. Xiao Ruxun smiled. The three of them took a few steps forward and knelt down on one knee. They cupped their fists and saluted: "I greet the general!"
"Please get up!" Xiao Ruxun raised his hand and the three of them stood up. They looked at Xiao Ruxun with excited expressions. The one in the middle had tears in his eyes and said emotionally: "I am relieved that the general is fine. I am useless. I was actually knocked out by the cannons of the enemy and the general had to personally lead the army into battle. I … I have committed a capital crime!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he knelt down and begged for forgiveness. The other two also knelt down and begged for forgiveness. Xiao Ruxun hurriedly held the big man up and said gently: "No!"
The tall general opened his mouth and said: "This matter should be blamed on me. You can't blame Deputy General Zhao. If it wasn't for me failing to protect the general, the general wouldn't have …"
The young general on the right opened his mouth as well: "You can't blame Chief Chen either. It's your subordinate who failed to lead the army to break through the enemy's formation in time. This is your subordinate's fault!"
After this exchange of confessions, Xiao Ruxun finally figured out the identities of the three. The burly man was her deputy general, Zhao Hu, with the courtesy name of Bo Wei. The tall officer was Chen Xie, with the courtesy name of Yuande. The pale-faced young officer was Wang Hui, with the courtesy name of Ziheng. All three of them had meritorious military exploits and had followed her for two years.
During the battle against Tu Wenxiu, Zhao Hu took the lead and beheaded 23 enemies. His bravery was unstoppable. However, he was knocked out by the enemy's cannons when he charged into the enemy's formation. Hence, he was unable to gain any more merits. Chen Xie beheaded 17 enemies while Wang Hui beheaded 16 enemies. They were all brave generals who dared to fight. Xiao Ruxun previously led the army well and had many generals who could be used. This could be considered as relieving General Xiao of his worries.
With soldiers at his disposal, Xiao Ruxun had the confidence to defend the city.
"Since the three of you have exonerated each other, I shall exonerate all of you as well. This matter is all due to my greed and recklessness. I don't wish to see Tu Wenxiu leave alive. I don't blame you guys. You guys were able to prepare for battle and stabilize the morale of the troops. This is already the greatest merit. Although the bandits have retreated, they will definitely make a comeback. When the time comes, the number of invaders will increase. We have to be prepared and work together!"
Xiao Ruxun prepared a script in her mind, then opened her mouth and said a beautiful sentence.
"I accept your orders!"
The three of them replied in unison.
After that, Xiao Ruxun and the three of them walked around the camp. As they observed the layout of the camp, they asked some crucial questions.
"How many soldiers do we have left?"
"Replying General, 2,516 are ready for battle."
"Is the military equipment complete? Is there a shortage of swords, spears, bows and arrows? "
"The military equipment is complete. The armory is in good condition. There are 10,000 bows and 170,000 arrows. These are the General's many years of storage. It's time to put them to good use."
"What about firearms? How many firearms do we have? How much gunpowder do we have? How much did we consume in the previous battle? "
Xiao Ruxun asked the question she was most concerned about. In the upcoming battle to defend the city, the role of firearms was indispensable.
Zhao Hu and Chen Xie looked at Wang Hui. Wang Hui seemed to be in charge of the firearms.
"Replying General, we have 10 Godly Cannons, 10 Second General Cannons, 50 Franco Cannons, 1,200 muskets, and more than 6,000 Jin of gunpowder and lead. We also have the Three-eyed Cannons, Five Thunders Divine Armaments, and Swarm of Bees. You didn't use them in the previous battle and only deployed 20 Franco Cannons to assist in the battle. Hence, we still have a large number of firearms available."
Xiao Ruxun nodded. This Ping Lu City wasn't that big, but it had an abundance of firearms and equipment, which gave them some confidence in the upcoming battle. But in the previous battle, they hadn't used a lot of firearms. What was going on?
"But …"
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