The weather in August was hot and humid.
Many of the Tang soldiers in the Sword Gate Pass were not used to the current days, because everyone was hungry. After all, after the grain in the granary was burned during the day, there was still some grain in the kitchen, which was responsible for cooking. But there were many people in the army, and the grain in the kitchen was not enough to last for a long time.
Therefore, the food supply in the army had to be changed. There was no food for the evening meal, so many of the soldiers were starving. They were not used to it.
Fortunately, the weather was better at night. It was not so hot, and there was a cool breeze. But the soldiers in the army were not in the mood to sleep, because the news of the grain being destroyed had spread. Moreover, Xia Xia's army had been stationed outside the pass, which put too much pressure on the soldiers in the pass.
Although Li Chengqian called on the soldiers to get through the difficulties together, the problem was that in such a predicament, they could not even fill their stomachs, let alone talk about other things. Therefore, there was a lot of discussion in the army, and many people were talking about the shortage of grain.
At night, when the night fell, some soldiers in the army quietly got up and prepared to leave the camp.
These people left stealthily.
They were not discovered.
And the number of soldiers who fled was not small, quite large.
In fact, some of them even ran away with a tacit understanding and left on their own.
One night passed.
The next morning, when the army began to count the number of people, they found that 186 people were missing. The news was reported and soon reached Lu Deming's hands. Lu Deming's face changed when he heard the news. Once a large number of soldiers fled in the army, the consequences would be very serious.
Lu Deming did not dare to delay. He went straight to the main tent and saluted, "Your Highness."
Li Chengqian said, "Master Lu, what's the matter?"
Lu Deming said, "Your Highness, I just received the news that there are deserters in the army. Last night, one hundred and eighty-six people escaped. This news has spread in the army. "
Li Chengqian's face changed greatly.
Deserters.
This was not good!
Li Chengqian was nervous. He said in a low voice, "Master Lu, what should we do now?"
Lu Deming said, "Your Highness, what we need to do now is to strictly order the soldiers to flee. Once they are found, they will be severely punished. This was the only way to restrain the soldiers. In troubled times, severe punishments are needed. At this time, we must use harsh laws to restrain the soldiers. "
Li Chengqian said, "Master Lu, just make the arrangements."
Lu Deming immediately agreed.
"Master Lu, tell me the truth," said Li Chengqian. "How long can our food last? Just calculate based on yesterday's reduced supply? "
Lu Deming replied, "Reporting to Your Highness the Crown Prince, five days at most. Moreover, the current five days had already been reduced. They would only eat one meal a day, and every meal would be reduced. Under normal circumstances, the remaining food would only last for a day or so. Now, it's split into five days' worth. "
"Sigh …"
Li Chengqian sighed.
These days, they really couldn't live anymore.
Li Chengqian was not like Li Shimin. Li Shimin had experienced hard times. Ever since Li Chengqian was young, the Li family had already built a foundation and established a foundation. Li Chengqian had never suffered since he was young. Now that he was with the soldiers, he felt that it was very difficult.
"Rest assured, Your Highness the Crown Prince," said Lu Deming. "Your three meals a day will certainly be arranged properly. The army's supplies will not be reduced in the slightest. After all, Your Highness the Crown Prince's status is noble and related to the overall situation. "
Li Chengqian waved his hand. "Master Lu, there's no need for special treatment. I will eat whatever the soldiers in the army eat. In short, right now, I'm the same as the soldiers. If I give special treatment now, how will I explain it to the thousands of soldiers? How will I convince the masses? "
Seeing Li Chengqian's resolute attitude, Lu Deming praised, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is wise!"
Eating the same food as the soldiers was naturally the best.
It could make the soldiers work with all their might.
Li Chengqian sighed. "I had no choice."
After hearing this, Lu Deming advised, "Crown Prince, no matter what, these words should not come out of your mouth. When they come out of Your Highness' mouth, they will enter this subject's ears. No third person will know. In short, Your Highness the Crown Prince should be wise and mighty at all times. You should be decisive and resolute in killing, resolute and able to bear pressure. You cannot have such decadent actions. "
"I know," said Li Chengqian.
Lu Deming did not delay any longer and got up to leave. When Lu Deming returned to his tent, he immediately ordered someone to inform Wan Dadao to come and see him. Wan Dadao was a valiant general in the army. He was once a guard of the East Palace and was responsible for protecting Li Chengqian's safety. After Li Chengqian entered Shu, Wan Dadao was promoted and became a general in the army.
Not long after, Wan Dadao entered.
Wan Dadao was over thirty years old. He had a strong back and a bear's waist, and a beard like a tiger's. He entered the tent and saluted. "Mister Lu, you asked me to come. Is there something you need?"
Lu Deming said in a deep voice, "The reason I asked you to come is that there's an important task that I want you to be responsible for."
Wan Dadao said, "Please tell me, Mister Lu."
Lu Deming said, "There are deserters in the army now. Last night, more than 180 people escaped. According to this data, there will be more deserters tonight. If we can't stop this trend, the consequences will be unimaginable. So I've received the Crown Prince's order to let you take charge of the camp and be responsible for the night patrol. "
Speaking of this, Lu Deming's expression was cold and solemn. He ordered, "Once you find anyone who wants to escape, kill them without mercy. At the same time, you must immediately issue the order to prohibit deserters and inform all the soldiers in the army. "
Wan Dadao said, "Yes, sir."
Lu Deming waved his hand, and Wan Dadao turned around and left. But when Wan Dadao turned around and walked to the entrance of the tent, he suddenly stopped. He looked at Lu Deming and asked, "Mister Lu, there's something I don't know if I should ask or not."
Lu Deming said, "Go ahead."
Wan Dadao said, "Now the army is short of food. Although the food supply is reduced, it can't be reduced. Otherwise, the soldiers won't be able to eat their fill. If the soldiers can't eat their fill, they won't have the strength to resist! Can the food problem be solved? If this problem isn't solved, we will be rootless duckweeds in Sword Gate Pass. "
Lu Deming said, "His Highness the Crown Prince has arranged people to collect food. So you don't have to worry about this. As long as we hold on for this period of time, the food problem will naturally be solved. Wan Dadao, the time of crisis is the time to test who is the loyal subject. I hope you can stand out in this time of crisis and become the mainstay of the army. "
Wan Dadao said solemnly, "I understand."
Lu Deming said, "Since you have understood, go and prepare."
Wan Dadao turned around and left after saluting. For Wan Dadao, he was just a small general in the army. He didn't have any important status. He only needed to carry out orders.
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