After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 18 Preparing for War (Revised)
News came back the next day that Sun Yonglu, who was temporarily stationed at Jiayuguan Pass, had indeed listened to the instigation of the businessman surnamed Sun. He believed that General Wednesday and others wanted to retaliate, so they framed his confidants as "Hu spies."

He refused to hand over the businessman surnamed Sun, nor did he admit the evidence produced by General Wednesday and the others. Instead, he kept him in Guancheng, clearly intending to protect the other party.

General Wednesday and others had no choice but to send additional troops to Guancheng to prevent the Hu army from coming. However, Sun Yonglu, the grandson of Sun Yonglu, was deceived by the spies and could not find the north. He really let the enemy go.

At this point, Sun Yonglu is still reluctant.He felt that he had enough people under his command, and together with the original soldiers in Guancheng, it was more than enough to guard Jiayuguan.It's just that the people sent by General Wednesday happened to be the former soldiers of the Shazhou Guard. These were the people he had originally believed would be under his command, so he reluctantly accepted them, planning to conquer all of them.

How did he know that few generals in the Shazhou, Guazhou, Suzhou, Ganzhou and other guard posts located on the border front really thought highly of him.The people of the Shazhou Guard have cooperated with the surrounding guards to fight against the enemy for many years, and they have long formed a deep comradeship.They all remembered General Wednesday's secret instructions. Knowing that they had a heavy responsibility on their shoulders, they didn't bother to mess with Sun Yonglu. They only focused on guarding the city and guarding against sneak attacks by the barbarian army.

Just in case, they even took over the guarding work of the only well in the city, and did not allow anyone to get close to it.

This precaution is really not a mistake.

On the day of Sun Yonglu's birthday, there was a day of singing on the stage in Guancheng, and there were also wine and meat sent by the Sun family to entertain the soldiers in Guancheng.Except for the newly arrived Shazhou Guards and the original gatekeepers who insisted that they were on duty and could not drink alcohol, and hurried back to their posts to eat steamed buns with plain water after saying birthday greetings, almost all the other soldiers brought by Sun Yonglu were Drunk.Immediately afterwards, a column of red smoke rose into the sky from the corner of Guancheng City, reflecting the setting sun in the evening, and could be seen from a long distance away.Unfortunately, by the time the people from Shazhou Guard rushed over, the person who released the red smoke had disappeared.

The people of Shazhou Guard knew that something was wrong, so they quickly put out the smoke, and then turned back to report to the guard general.The guard general quickly sent a message to the people in Suzhou City, and at the same time sent additional manpower to the nearby Great Wall, piers and other sentry posts to prevent anything going wrong at these posts.Immediately, he ordered people to close the city gate tightly and not allow anyone to enter or exit, even the Sun family was no exception.

In less than half an hour, the soldiers stationed on the pier closest to the front line saw from a distance that there seemed to be sand and dust billowing from the horizon, rushing towards Guancheng.He immediately lit a beacon fire to warn Guancheng.

In Guancheng, the Shazhou Guard General received the news and immediately ordered to light a beacon to warn Suzhou City.It's a pity that those drunken and unconscious soldiers couldn't wake up no matter how they screamed. Even Sun Yonglu himself slept like a dead pig.Upon seeing this, the Shazhou guard general could only secretly cry out for bad luck and ordered his people to throw Sun Yonglu back to his own room, while the other soldiers could only stay where they were.The Hu army is about to approach the city, and no one cares whether they will catch a cold.Anyway, there are bonfires around to keep warm, and now that spring has begun, people will not freeze to death.As for those who were still awake, including the Sun family's slaves and the invited troupe, in order to prevent there were spies inside, they could only be locked up. No matter how they cried out for injustice and threatened, the Shazhou Guard general turned a deaf ear.

But the most suspicious businessman named Sun has disappeared now.

The Shazhou Guard General could only confirm that he had ordered the city gate to be closed early. The businessman should not have escaped yet, and he did not know where he was hiding in Guancheng.It's a pity that now we can't spare any manpower to search and arrest him, so we have to leave it to him.After the soldiers have finished dealing with the enemies approaching the city, they can then settle accounts with the spy.

General Wednesday, General Gu and others took action immediately as soon as they received the warning from Guancheng.

In addition to closing the city gates tightly, calling all soldiers on leave to return to their posts, and preparing weapons, kerosene and other supplies, the big bells on the bell and drum towers in the center of the city were also rung.After the people in the city heard this, they knew that the enemy army was coming, so they quickly put down what they were doing, packed up their things and went home quickly.Except for the young and strong rural warriors who have been named in advance and gather under the city head to carry out chores such as boiling water and oil, no one is allowed to go out without authorization, walk around in the city, and are not allowed to get close to the military camp or the city wall until Wednesday Until the general's explicit order comes down.Anyone who wanders around the city will be arrested and imprisoned as a spy, and will be interrogated after the war is over.

After the Hai family got the news, they immediately closed their doors and stopped going out.Ma was still lamenting: "I had known something would happen today. Yesterday I asked people to buy more food and vegetables. Now the food at home is only enough for the family for two days. What if in two days, the battle will not be over? What to do after the fight?!”

Hai Xiya was calmer than his wife: "It can't take so long. How much food do you think the Hu cavalry will carry with them? They ran away before we could stop."

Ma thought about it and felt a little relieved.

Hai Xiya went back to Xie Wenzai to continue checking the accounts. Regardless of whether there was a war in Suzhou City, his mission would still continue.

Ma called Jin Guo into the room and ordered her to quickly take out clothes with narrow sleeves for easy movement from the suitcase and help her and her granddaughter Haitang change into them.If we really have to fight for several days, we still don't know whether the enemy will enter the city in the end.In the event of a street fight, ordinary people like them who live in the city cannot wear long skirts with wide sleeves and get in the way. Even if they hold a hatchet in their hands, it will be difficult to hit someone.

Ma was not too scared.She has lived in the border gate for many years. She has experienced this kind of scene before. She has seen street fighting more than once. She knows how to deal with it and will not be frightened at all.

Seeing the calm expressions of her grandmother and maid Jin Guo, Haitang, whose heart was beating a little fast, quickly calmed down and obediently put on a narrow-sleeved cotton jacket, put on leggings at the trousers, and put on lambskin boots to make it easier to move around.

After changing her clothes, Mrs. Ma asked Jin Guo to stay in the house and take care of her granddaughter. Then she opened the curtain and went out. She walked around the house to make sure everyone was ready. Then she went to the kitchen to get a hatchet and came back. , sat down in front of the steps in front of the main room.

As she sits here, she can see anyone who comes in.If the enemy comes in, she can still block the children.

When Hai Jiao left the east wing, he saw his grandmother glaring at him, smiled, and did not hide back into the house. He just inserted a dagger into his waist and sat down on the steps in front of the house.He is not afraid. He has experienced things more dangerous than this countless times in his previous life. Isn't it just killing the enemy?He will never show mercy!
After a while, Hai Changan also came out of the house wearing a neat riding outfit, carrying his own long bow and quiver on his back.His wife Hu also changed into clothes that were more convenient for movement, followed her husband to the front yard, ordered someone to carry a long ladder, and leaned it against the root of the courtyard wall.She personally held the ladder and sent her husband to the top of the wall. With her bow and arrow ready, she took on the task of guarding.

On the walls of the neighboring houses, people dressed similar to Hai Changan also appeared one after another. Most of them were holding bows and arrows, while some were carrying spears, spears, and halberds.Everyone looked at each other, nodded to each other, and then fell silent, staring at the intersection outside their homes.

Haitang also followed the example of her little brother, stuck the dagger in her waist, walked out of the room, and sat down next to her grandmother.

Everyone in Suzhou City was ready for war and was waiting for the enemy to arrive.

(End of this chapter)