Chapter 1135 Where to Go

Shu Zhao's words shocked everyone in the hall. If Qi didn't have food to eat for two months, wouldn't Qi have to starve to death? Ji Ling's deputy general Chen Lan asked quickly: "Can't we buy some from outside the mountain?"

"If we really want to buy it, we will have to buy at least about 100,000 to 150,000 shi of grain to be enough for us. With such a large amount of grain, how could the Tang army not discover us? If their army comes to attack, how long can our 20,000-strong army be able to resist? ? Besides, even if we defeat the Tang army, our spring plowing will definitely be affected, and we will have no food to harvest, and we will only be able to survive for a few more months," Shu Zhao said with a bitter smile;

"Then we can only reduce consumption and save food as much as possible. Why not let a group of soldiers disarm and return to the fields?" Yan Xiang asked tentatively after pondering;

"Absolutely not!" Several generals headed by Ji Ling immediately objected: "Mr. Yan may not know that if the soldiers are disarmed and returned to the fields, if they are recruited again, they will only be intermediate troops at best, which is completely different from today's Imperial Guard Army. , The 20,000 Imperial Guards are now the foundation for our survival, so that’s why I only agreed to disband the few thousand guards but was unwilling to disband the 20,000 Imperial Guards. "

"This will only reduce the food supply for ordinary people!" Yuan Si said;

"That's inappropriate!" Li Ling said: "Except for our family members, among these 40,000 people are the families of the soldiers. If the food for the family members is reduced, it will be quite detrimental to the morale of the soldiers. Besides, the four The food consumed by ten thousand family members in one month is less than what ten thousand soldiers need, even if it is reduced entirely, it will not help. "

"It won't work this way, that won't work either, then just wait until the army all starves to death!" Yuan Si said angrily;

Everyone was embarrassed and speechless for a while.

After a long time, Ji Lingcai said: "What General Li said is reasonable. In terms of purpose, there is only one way for us to survive, and we can barely sustain it until next summer's harvest."

"General, please speak!" Yuan Yao became energetic and asked quickly; the others also looked at Ji Ling eagerly. Today, the tens of thousands of troops are maintained by Ji Ling. It is with this With the support of 20,000 Imperial Guards, Yuan Yao's position would be so stable.

"The Royal Forest Army is our foundation, and withdrawal is absolutely not allowed. However, it is already winter, and the mountains are blocked by heavy snow. It is impossible for the Tang Army to enter the mountains at this time, so my solution is to leave only 5,000 of the 20,000 Imperial Army. The food will be distributed in full and the food for the remaining 15,000 people will be halved. In this way, more than 20,000 shi of food can be saved every month, which can last until the summer harvest tomorrow."

"General!" Chen Lan said anxiously: "But the morale of the soldiers will inevitably drop sharply, and the combat effectiveness of the soldiers will also be affected."

Li Ling also nodded in agreement with Chen Lan's statement.

"There is nothing we can do about this. When the time comes, I will explain it to the soldiers, saying that the food saved is for our families. As for the salary, it still needs to be paid in full or even doubled. Don’t know if there’s a problem?”

Everyone in Shu Zhao was overjoyed: "There is no problem with the payment. Although we cannot double the payment every month, we can still double the payment in December, and there is no problem with the other supplies."

"There is no problem in this case. Moreover, these five thousand people will be rotated every ten days. Four thousand of them will be stationed in the county town, and the other five hundred will be sent to Lianyun Town in the northwest and Caijiahe Town in the north. And we only need to survive the winter, and by next spring, we can send people into the mountains to capture various prey to increase the food for the soldiers. In this way, the loss of morale and combat power should not be too great. " After hearing Shu Zhao's words, Ji Ling also breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that the matter was finally resolved, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Yuan Yao also felt relieved: "Thank you to the general and your lords for your hard work. If there is nothing else to do, please disperse!"

"No!" Everyone clasped their fists in front of Yuan Yao, saluted and retreated.

Outside the county government,

Everyone left in a hurry, and Shu Zhao chased after him out of breath. When he saw Ji Ling about to get on his horse, he took a few steps quickly, grabbed the reins of Ji Ling's horse and said, "General! Is it convenient?"

Ji Ling's relationship with Shu Zhao was already relatively good. Seeing Shu Zhao holding him back, Ji Ling quickly asked, "What's important, Mr. Shu?"

Shu Zhao looked around, Ji Ling understood, and said to his bodyguard: "You follow behind, I will have a few words with Master Shu!"

As he spoke, Ji Ling handed the horse's reins to a personal guard and walked quickly forward.

Seeing this, Shu Zhao quickly chased after them. When the guards were about twenty or thirty steps away from the two of them, Shu Zhao said softly: "This time the food is barely enough, but what about after the summer harvest? What about next winter? General, have you ever thought about it?"

After a few questions, Ji Ling was stunned.

"The general should know that the cultivated fields in the valley around the imperial city alone are not enough to supply food for these fifty or sixty thousand people. What's more, people need more than just food to live. In the future, Has the General really not considered this matter?"

Ji Ling's face was ashen and he was speechless for a long time. After a long time, he said: "I understand what Mr. Shu meant, but..."

"Shu said this, please make a decision soon, General!" With that, Shu Zhao saluted Ji Ling, then turned and left.

Ji Ling is now the pillar of Yuan Yaojun. Because of his persistence, Yuan Yaojun can take root in such mountains. Unfortunately, after Yuan Shu burned himself in Shouchun City, the Zhong Dynasty was already in name only, leaving only tens of thousands of people here to survive. However, Ji Ling was a loyal person. His loyalty to Yuan Shu made him not think about anything else. He just wanted to complete Yuan Shu's last wish and protect the crown prince Yuan Yao.

In fact, Shu Zhao wanted to leave as early as after the breakout, but he had known Ji Ling for many years and could not bear to see such a great general in the dust. So he followed Ji Ling all the way to the west. He tried his best along the way. Although he persuaded Ji Ling several times, Ji Ling was too loyal. Now that things have come to this point, Shu Zhao decided to persuade him again. If Ji Ling can listen to the advice, then Shu Zhao will make a good plan for him, but if there is no loosening, Shu Zhao decided to resign from Yuan Yao after the beginning of next spring.

Shu Zhao's words had actually stirred up a storm in Ji Ling's heart. Ji Ling was loyal but not stupid. If he was stupid, how could he have gotten such a high position under Yuan Shu? You must know that Ji Ling is a well-deserved general. He has the final say in Yuan Shu's army. There are many brave generals in the army. If you don't have real talent, how can you convince these strong soldiers and brave generals? Just like Yuan Shu's son-in-law, so what if you are the prince consort? Those soldiers still don't mourn you.

Now Shu Zhao's words are like a morning bell, ringing in Ji Ling's heart again. Yes, this year may be able to get through, but what about next year? What about the year after? Your Majesty, where should we go?