People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 139 The Hateful Han People

The rural villages of Youbeiping are no longer as peaceful and tranquil as usual. On the top of a nearby mountain, a young man climbed high up in the trees and looked to the east. He is the observation post in Youbeiping's grassroots joint defense mechanism and the most important warning link in the mechanism.

Since the war broke out, the Yellow Turbans' rear had already begun to take corresponding measures, and the joint defense mechanism naturally began to operate.

This young observation post has been staying here quietly for three or four days. Although this job is very boring, he dare not relax because he is the most important link here.

Moreover, the joint defense team has arranged more than just him at the observation post. Basically, each village will send two people to guard at the same time, so that even if one of them encounters an accident, the other can continue to perform his function.

At this time, the young observation post was silently chewing on dry food. This dry food was made from the improved flour and baked into huge pancakes. It was not only easy to preserve but also not bad to eat. When on guard, he could carry some on his back, which was enough to sustain him for a long time.

But before he could take a few bites, he stopped eating and his eyes suddenly widened as he looked into the distance.

All I saw was a smoke signal suddenly appearing in the distant sky.

Without any hesitation, he stuffed the pancake in his hand into his arms, jumped down the tree, and started running towards the village at the foot of the mountain. He knew that the wolf smoke was a signal of the enemy's appearance, and it was a warning from other places to the surrounding areas.

After more than half a year, the Wuhuan people came again
The young man who was chosen to be the whistleblower was very nimble. He dodged bushes and pushed aside trees all the way, just like a monkey moving through the mountains and forests. In just half an hour, he had already run back to the village breathlessly.

At this time, another whistle was about to come back. The two looked at each other and started shouting at the entrance of the village.

"The smoke signals are rising. The Wuhuan are coming. We have to run!"

The huge shouting immediately alarmed the villagers nearby. They were stunned at first, then at a loss, and finally became panic-stricken and frightened.

After all, just over half a year ago, the Wuhuan people had brought a catastrophe to Youbeiping, and the surviving people still remember it vividly.

The weak sheep cannot forget the cruelty of the wolf.

However, their fear and panic did not last long. The village headman rushed here first. When people saw the yellow scarf tied on the headman's head, they inexplicably calmed down.

"Don't be afraid, folks. The smoke signals are coming from far away. The Wuhuan people can't come that fast. We just need to leave in advance. Just like we usually do in drills, each family should go back immediately to collect food, poultry and livestock, and evacuate to the mountains along the predetermined route."

Time was urgent, and the Yellow Turban leader did not waste any time. He struck a gong in his hand, and the loud clanging sound brought all the villagers back to their senses.

"Fellow villagers, you must move quickly. If you are a step slower, you may be caught up by the Wuhuan people. In half an hour, every household must gather at the entrance of the village and set out.

Also, don’t worry about the bottles and cans at home at this time, just carry the most important food.”

The squad leader ran back and forth in the village, constantly reminding the villagers to speed up and pay attention to the method. Although the villagers seemed panicked and confused at first, they soon got into the state, the important things in the house were quickly packed up, and then they gathered at the entrance of the village.

At this critical moment, nothing else mattered. Every household pushed a single-wheeled wooden cart to transport food. Those who had poultry, pigs or cattle either tied them up or drove them together. Soon the village was crowded with people and supplies.

After experiencing the last looting by the Wuhuan people, the villagers now understand that the most important thing is to stay alive, and they don’t care about anything else.

However, the Wuhuan people probably didn't value the bottles and jars left behind by various families. The truly valuable things were always hard currencies such as grain, cloth, salt, sugar, and ironware.

The people did act quickly, thanks to the fact that the Yellow Turbans would usually lead the villagers in joint defense drills. Everyone knew what to bring and what not to bring at such a critical moment, as well as how to pack things more efficiently. They were also very familiar with the routes and everything was easy.

Half an hour was enough for them to pack up their meager belongings, and then, under the leadership of the squad leader, they would run into the mountains, pushing wheelbarrows or carrying large and small bags.

The mountain road was not easy to travel on, but the Yellow Turbans had already made corresponding preparations. Not only had they repaired the mountain road to a certain extent, but they had also built some temporary resettlement sites deep in the mountains and forests, so that the surrounding villages could gather together to temporarily avoid the chaos.

The advantage of having prevention mechanisms and daily drills is that ordinary people can be fully prepared for such things. As long as they carry enough supplies, they can even live in the forest for several months or even half a year in extreme cases, and can even engage in some simple production activities on a daily basis.

The situation is similar in places far away from the city, but it is even simpler in villages close to the city. As long as they see the wolf smoke warning, they can quickly move to the city under the organization and rely on the city's defense to be relatively safe.

The advantages of the Yellow Turbans' vertical and efficient organizational system were fully demonstrated at this time.

Just over an hour after the villagers entered the forest, the sound of galloping horses was heard in the distance of the country road, and a squad of Wuhuan cavalry of two or three hundred men suddenly broke in.

Such a scene had occurred several months ago. At that time, people from all the villages in Youbeiping fled in panic.

But this time when the Wuhuan people arrived, they were greeted only by silence.

After the Wuhuan team entered, everyone dismounted. The leader of the team looked at the situation in the village. There were footprints and various wheel tracks on the ground, as well as a lot of food scattered on the ground, or discarded bedding. This made the Wuhuan leader's face gloomy, because it was not the first time he had seen this kind of situation. All the villages he had seen along the way were in the same situation.

Such a scene also means that the villagers have run away with all the food and important property.

"Search them immediately to see where they went. We must find them this time!"

The little leader gritted his teeth, thinking that these Han people were treacherous and hateful. They didn't even wait for him here. If you run away with your property, what will I eat and play with?
With his order, hundreds of Wuhuan people immediately scattered and began to search for the Han people, and soon they found clues.

The villagers were acting in a group in an emergency and had no way or time to cover their tracks. The Wuhuan people only needed to follow their footprints and wheel tracks to easily find the direction.

However, after the leader led his men to chase for a distance, they finally stopped at the foot of a mountain.

There are many abandoned wooden carts at the foot of the mountain. This is not difficult to understand. Since the carts cannot go up the mountain, the Han people here naturally have to carry the supplies up the mountain on their backs.

Do you want to catch up?
The leader gritted his teeth and almost made up his mind to give chase.

But in the end he forced himself to hold back.

Although he knew that he would definitely catch up if he chased, even if he did, Wuhuan himself would be in danger.

The Wuhuan people were so powerful because they and their war horses were a whole. Without their horses, they would not be much stronger than ordinary soldiers.

The Han people’s carts couldn’t go up the mountain, but their own horses couldn’t go up the mountain either.

"We didn't get anything this time, so we might as well go up the mountain. The Han people can't walk fast with supplies on their backs, so we'll definitely be able to get it!"

"No, the Han people have made military arrangements in Youbeiping. Your Majesty's main force has been tied up. Who knows if they will set up an ambush here as well? It's easy for us to go up the mountain, but it may not be easy to go down!"

After hearing his subordinates' suggestion, the leader firmly rejected it. The Wuhuan warriors must not be separated from their horses!

But if this is the case, it also means that their operation has been in vain again, which is obviously something they cannot accept.

"Keep changing locations. I don't believe we can't catch them this time!" The leader's face was grim, and he ordered again: "Also, keep an eye on those places where signal smoke is set off. Once they appear, go and put them out immediately!"

Everyone agreed and got on their horses to go to the next place.

Even so, the leader himself knew that it was meaningless to put out the smoke screen, because it was just a fire and could not be stopped at all.

After thinking for a while, he said bitterly: "If we don't live well, then we can't let the Han people live well either. From now on, when you travel, you must trample on all the farmland. Do you understand?"

After this was said, everyone was even more willing, but they also hated those Han people who did not come to die obediently.

Soon, the Wuhuan cavalry galloped away.

On the distant mountain, Li Zheng, who was lying on the ground, put away the telescope in front of him.

Watching the Wuhuan people go away, he was not happy but felt regretful.

"These guys are smart. If they really dare to go up the mountain, they will be killed here today!"

"It's a pity. These Wuhuan people are so hateful. If we have a chance to avenge our fellow villagers who suffered before, we can't let them go. But they won't go up the mountain, so there's nothing we can do."

The ones who were talking to Li Zheng were a small team of less than a hundred people here, which was the armed force of the rural joint defense mechanism.

A military settlement can have as many as four or five such teams. Once the enemy invades, they will disperse to various places to protect the villagers. They can also gather together to deal with special situations.

The Wuhuan leader just now was really not overly cautious. If he had really decided to go up the mountain, they would have really died here today.

"There shouldn't be any big problems here. We should continue with other tasks next!" Li Zheng stood up, brushed off the dust on his body, and said to the team leader beside him.

(End of this chapter)