Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 511 Herd Effect
Qinghe County, Beizhou, is a large county in the upper prefecture and is located at a key node of the Yongji Canal, so the population is very dense and the county seat is larger than the surrounding cities.

The county seat of Qinghe County is located on the north bank of the Yongji Canal, while the ferry is located on the south bank of the Yongji Canal. A large market town has been formed around the ferry.

During the Kaiyuan period, the government established the "Beicang" here, collecting most of Hebei's grain and fodder and storing it here, and then transporting it to Guanzhong via the Yongji Canal.

In the county seat of Qinghe County, there is no such large storage scale. In fact, there is no need to store a large amount of food and fodder in the county seat.

After all, the county town was not built along the river, but more than a mile away from the river bank. Even such an inconspicuous short-distance transportation would consume a lot of manpower over time. In any case, it was impossible for grain to fly directly from the canal to the county town.

Therefore, Qinghe County and the "Tianxia Beiku" on the other side of the river are actually in charge of different areas.

After the rebellion of the two towns in Hebei, Huangfu Weiming replaced a large number of governors in various states in Hebei.

Wang Huaizhong, the former governor of Beizhou, was killed because he refused to serve Huangfu Weiming.

The new governor of Beizhou was named Yuwen Kuan, a descendant of Yuwen Rong, the prime minister who reformed the central finances during the Kaiyuan period.

He has a close relationship with Huangfu Weiming's family and is deeply trusted by them.

Unlike the miserable Wu Lingxun, Yuwen Kuan, who is now middle-aged, lives a very comfortable life. Qinghe County is located behind the front line and has not been affected by the war. Because of the canal, the business is prosperous. Yuwen Kuan's only task is to transport supplies to the front line through the canal.

Apart from this, he was like a local emperor, living a lazy life with nothing to do.

As for the local government affairs of Beizhou, what can there be? There is not even an assessment department! Just deal with the military affairs, everything is for the operation of the war machine.

The team here in Hebei is just a makeshift one.

Early that morning, Yuwen Kuan had a very comfortable meal of mutton soup and noodles in his courtyard, and then leisurely went to the government office to work.

As soon as they sat down, a clerk rushed into the signing room and whispered to Yuwen Kuan, "Sir, something bad has happened. There's something wrong with the granary on the other side of the river!"

“Are you sure it’s a granary?”

Yuwen Kuan's nerves immediately tensed up, and he came out of his lazy state. He stared at the clerk in front of him with wide eyes and asked back.

"Sir, I can't explain it in a few words. You should go to the top of the city and take a look."

The clerk said anxiously.

In his opinion, nothing serious has happened yet, but if there is any delay, it is hard to say what will happen.

Yuwen Kuan had no doubts and followed the clerk out of the government office and onto the top of the city wall.

He looked across the canal and found that there were large groups of people and a mess near the granary on the other side of the canal.

And more and more people are gathering there!
The Hebei rebels guarding the granary lined up in front of the wooden wall outside the granary, blocking those people from entering the granary behind a sparse wooden fence.

The two sides were facing each other, and there were dense crowds of people. Even though there was a river between them, Yuwen Kuan could feel that the atmosphere near the granary was so tense that it was about to explode.

The clerk saw this scene when he was out of the county town on business. Without thinking, he turned back to the county town to report the matter to Yuwen Kuan.

However, Yuwen Kuan was generally able to keep his composure.

Because the organization responsible for managing the granary and the army of the night guard were all managed by people from Youzhou. Although Yuwen Kuan was the governor of Beizhou, he was only responsible for providing ships for transporting grain and fodder, arranging corvée, etc.

He had no control over these food supplies, nor could he mobilize these troops.

So now that something has happened, Yuwen Kuan doesn't know how to deal with it, nor does he know whether he should step up to deal with it.

"Who are these people? What are they doing in Beizhou Granary?"

Yuwen Kuan saw the huge crowd on the other side of the river, as well as a large number of flatbed trucks and even wheelbarrows, and asked with a puzzled look on his face.

The clerk replied helplessly: "They are probably people from the surrounding counties. They are pushing carts here to transport grain."

"But I did not impose corvée labor on them to transport grain! Isn't grain transported by canal?

What are you doing with the cart?"

Yuwen Kuan was shocked when he heard the clerk's answer.

It was already a benevolent policy for the government not to plunder them from house to house. How ambitious must one be to want to snatch food from Beizhou's "Northern Granary of the World"?
Yuwen Kuan felt that these people were simply unreasonable.

However, it was not convenient for him to leave the city, so he just watched quietly from the top of the city. Yuwen Kuan felt that if he was needed, the granary guard would send someone to ask for help.

We’ll decide how to deal with it when the time comes, but for now we might as well wait and see.

However, just when he relaxed a little, the situation at the granary on the other side of the river changed drastically!
The granary defenders who were confronting the crowd, after unsuccessful persuasion, did not know which side started the fight first, they actually began to slaughter the civilians who were confronting them!

The civilians who were slaughtered by the granary defenders were not vegetarians either. They used rakes, carrying poles, sticks and other tools in their hands to fight with the granary defenders, and even directly snatched weapons.

But how could these people compare to the well-trained Hebei border troops? They were soon slaughtered one-sidedly. The battle line kept retreating.

Soon the scene became so chaotic that it was unbearable to watch!

"What exactly is going on!"

Yuwen Kuan was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat and couldn't help but scream.

He looked at the clerk beside him with horror, but the clerk also had a look of horror on his face and could not utter a word.

Yuwen Kuan was lucky because he only had to watch from the tower. But Yin Ziqi, the commander in charge of guarding the granary, had a lot to consider.

At this moment, Yin Ziqi looked at the civilians who were swarming towards him like locusts, and who could not be killed no matter how hard he tried. He also looked at the defense line which was advancing towards the distance on the surface, but was actually crumbling due to the small number of soldiers. His heart sank to the bottom.

A group of people from Bozhou came to the granary in Beizhou and asked to open the granary to release grain. It was really incomprehensible!
Among them, some people even produced so-called "receipts" signed by the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army.

How can we get food from the granary in Hebei with the receipts issued by the army in Xuanwu Town?
Yin Ziqi also didn't understand what these "mobs" were thinking.

Of course, the news of the fall of Liaocheng had not yet arrived, and he didn't know that the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army had already arrived at the gate.

"Release the arrows and shoot them to death."

Seeing that the granary defenders did not disperse the "mob", Yin Ziqi gave orders to the soldiers around him.

He decided to use a killing move!
The guard paused for a moment and did not pass on the order immediately.

Yin Ziqi glared at him and shouted in a low voice: "These people are rioters. If we don't kill them, it will not be enough to deter the scoundrels. Kill them!"

"General Yin, our people are also down there?"

The bodyguard asked hesitantly.

"No time to bother! Go and pass the message!"

Yin Ziqi roared with a ferocious look on his face.

"Order!"

The soldiers took the order and left.

Soon, the crossbowmen standing on the wooden fence raised their horn crossbows and shot at the people who were begging for food below. These crossbow arrows were not very accurate, and whoever they hit was unlucky. There were many accidental injuries.

"Run!"

I don't know who shouted, and it exploded among the crowd.

The people who were still fighting with the Hebei bandit army suddenly lost their courage and turned around and ran away.

He didn't even care about the flatbed truck full of trash or his fellow villagers lying on the ground wailing.

The ground was littered with corpses, blood dyed the ground red, and gathered into gullies. People from all over Bozhou ran around like headless flies, heading south away from the granary.

The Hebei rebels guarding the granary did not pursue them. Instead, they shrank back to the wooden fence, gasping for breath, still in fear.

The situation just now was extremely dangerous. The truth that many ants can kill an elephant is something that can only be understood if one has experienced something similar personally.

Many times, numbers represent strength, or at least part of strength.

Seeing that the people who came to ask for food had retreated, Yin Ziqi couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He took off his helmet, but found that it was already wet with sweat, as if he had washed his hair.

There was even sweat on his forehead and neck.

The soldiers guarding the granary below were having a difficult time, and he was not having an easy time either.

"Who of you saw it? Who was the first to start it?"

Yin Ziqi yelled to the guards around him!
He was furious, deeply hating his soldiers for not knowing how to handle such a matter. Unfortunately, no one answered. There were too many people attacking the granary at that time. The people of Bozhou walked a hundred miles from far away, and fifty miles from nearby. Even a god could not let them go back empty-handed.

What’s more, many local big households’ own granaries are empty. If they don’t get grain from Beizhou North Granary, they will starve to death when they return!
It is normal to use violence during a shove. It is difficult to find out who started it first. Anyway, the bloodshed has already happened and it can no longer be undone.

"Go tell Yuwen Kuan to send someone to clean up the bodies near the granary. It's so hot, it won't be long before the place stinks!"

Yin Ziqi frowned and gave an order to the soldiers around him.

……

Fang Chongyong led the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army and marched northward from Qingping County in the morning. By the evening, they had arrived at a forest less than ten miles away from Qinghe County.

Che Guangqian, who was in charge of the scouts in front, rode his horse to Fang Zhongyong, clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "General, many people from Bozhou are resting in the woods ahead, and they seem to be waiting for us."

"Sure enough, someone still came early."

Fang Zhongyong couldn't help but sigh, and suddenly felt like a man with a heart of stone.

He had anticipated this scene beforehand, and it finally happened.

Why would some people compare Chongyong and his men to walk faster?
Because these people are on the road non-stop.

So why do they have to rush on?

Because even in Beizhou, even in the northern warehouse of the world, these grains cannot withstand being transported by so many people from Bozhou in trucks.

In the end, those who arrive late will definitely not be able to get it!

So be sure to do it early.

But what these people didn't know was that after the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army arrived in Qingping County, Bozhou, Fang Zhongyong ordered everyone to rest for three hours and eat and drink enough before setting off again.

As a result, they arrived in Beizhou later than most people in Bozhou.

"Lead the way, Benjie Shuai will go and see them."

Fang Zhongyong gave an order to Che Guangqian, dismounted from his horse, and walked towards the crowd in the woods.

"Fellow villagers, I am Fang Qing, the governor of Xuanwu Army. We are late and have made you suffer!"

Fang Chongyong led a group of generals of the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army to the crowd and shouted.

"Marshal Fang Jie is here!"

I don't know who shouted.

"Fang Jie is handsome!"

"It's General Fang Jie!"

"Marshal Fang is finally here!"

Some people cried loudly, unable to make a sound. Some people howled to the sky, like a lone wolf.

"General Fang, the soldiers guarding the Beizhou granary refused to open the warehouse and are holding knives to kill us!

Marshal Fang, are you going to open the warehouse or not? Are you going to release the grain or not? "

Someone in the crowd asked loudly.

"When the world is at peace, the people of Hebei are suffering!"

Fang Zhongyong paused for a moment and continued to shout: "When the world is at war, the people of Hebei are still the ones who suffer! Where is justice?"

"Li Wan won't open the warehouse for you, and Huangfu Weiming won't open the warehouse for you.

I am not talented enough, if they won't open it, I will use a knife to open it for you!"

Fang Zhongyong drew out the Wind Phantom Blade and shouted to the sky: "Flatten Qinghe River and open the granaries to release the grain!"

"Open the warehouse to stock up on food!"

"Open the warehouse to stock up on food!"

"Open the warehouse to stock up on food!"

The officers and soldiers under Fang Chongyong's command all began to shout in unison.

Then, the people in the woods also shouted together.

When the shouting stopped, Fang Zhongyong raised the iron trumpet and shouted to the crowd: "Fellow villagers, we will deal with the granary defenders later, you just need to follow our team!"

"Flatten the Qing River and open the granaries to release the grain!"

Che Guangqian, who was beside Fang Zhongyong, shouted loudly, and everyone's blood began to boil.

"Pass on my military order, the vanguard troops break through the formation and kill!"

Fang Chongyong gave He Changqi instructions, and the latter immediately jumped on his horse and led a group of cavalrymen. The setting sun in the sky dyed the clouds blood red!

There is a hint of desolation and solemnity against their backs.

The civilians hiding in the woods also came out from the shadows and followed the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army to march north, putting some distance between them and the vanguard army.

Many of them had blood on their clothes, and there was no need to elaborate on what they had experienced before.

During the march, Che Guangqian rode up to Fang Zhongyong and asked in a low voice, "General, why are they so eager to come to Qinghe, Beizhou? Why don't they wait for us?"

Fang Chongyong originally wanted to summarize it as a "mob", but when he thought about how he had led the group silently, he finally let out a sigh.

“The world is complicated and many things that seem tempting will eventually cost you a heavy price. Unfortunately, only a few people can see through this truth.

Most people just follow blindly. Since others are doing the same thing, I will follow them too.

They often have difficulty distinguishing right from wrong, good from evil.”

Fang Zhongyong changed his perspective and explained to Che Guangqian.

Since Huangfu Weiming raised his army in Hebei, the chaotic times have already begun. There is no point in saying more, it was not easy for those who survived.

They quickly reached the destination of several miles, and at this moment He Changqi had already led the vanguard troops into the granary.

However, what was surprising was that the people following He Changqi and his men were not the central army where Fang Chongyong was, but the civilians who had fought with the granary defenders during the day!

The granary was extremely large, with only a wooden wall instead of bricks and stones. There were many doors to facilitate the transportation of grain, and its scale was no less than that of an ordinary county town!
After He Changqi led his men to break through the fence and burn a wooden door, the people who had been bloodthirsty during the day followed them and rushed into the granary.

The battle became intense as soon as it started!

On the contrary, in order to avoid accidental injuries, Fang Zhongyong ordered the main force not to enter the warehouse, extinguish the torches, and wait outside. Once He Changqi gave the signal, they would go to support.

Che Guangqian looked at Fang Zhongyong in horror. If the other party had even calculated this step, it would be too terrifying.

He opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.

"Don't you understand? These people have nowhere to go. Do you think that if they robbed Beizhou's granary, Huangfu Weiming would let them go and pretend nothing happened?"

Fang Zhongyong sighed and continued:

“Regardless of whether this wave of attack on the granary is successful or not, the Hebei rebels and the people of Bozhou have already formed a mortal feud, and there is no turning back until one dies.

If I don't take action now, will I wait until someone puts a knife to my neck?

Besides, if I don’t storm the granary myself, what if He Changqi sends people to burn it down?
Many civilians have served in the military before, so how could they not understand this truth? "

"General Jie, in this era of great strife, people are truly merciless."

Che Guangqian couldn't help but sigh. Even though he was the person involved and participated in persuading the people to go to Beizhou to beg for food, he also felt that the world had become completely chaotic.

"Natural selection, survival of the fittest."

Fang Chongyong uttered the eight words calmly, looking at the granary where the sound of killing was deafening. In his field of vision, he could see soldiers of the Hebei rebel army escaping from the granary gate.

(End of this chapter)