Chapter 1993: One Inch of Mountain Road, One Inch of Blood

When Tushanfang jumped down from the platform, he still patted Fan Shuang on the shoulder: "Scholars are different—I couldn't come up with those words."

"I'm imitating the Great Emperor, copying a cat to draw a tiger." He Lingchuan, in Shuishui City, was how eloquent and persuasive, convincing Wang He and the current power brokers—Fan Shuang, as an accompanying envoy, truly absorbed it through constant exposure. Even if he didn't grasp four or five tenths of the essence, he should have picked up one or two tenths, right?

The two exchanged smiles, and Fan Shuang said solemnly: "Tushan brother, be careful, return safely!"

He knew with his knees that Guo Bai Yu would never let them gather grain comfortably.

One and a half hours later, Miancheng dispatched a grain-harvesting team composed of townspeople and farmers, and also sent city troops to escort them.

The city desperately needed this batch of new grain; even if it meant facing Guo Bai Yu's army head-on, it was absolutely necessary.

As Fan Shuang had anticipated, Guo Bai Yu also noticed the abnormality in Chengnan and also wanted to seize some grain.

But he never imagined how brutal this grain-grabbing war would be!

Every grain-harvesting operation, every transport segment, was almost filled with human lives,

Five days, a ten-li journey inside and outside the city, military and civilian casualties exceeded twenty-seven thousand.

One inch of mountain road, one inch of blood.

Lady Wang followed the other ladies to the wounded soldiers' camp to help; upon returning, she said with a pale face: "That place is practically hell."

But the grain was ultimately reclaimed.

The Fan father and son went to the city gate to assist in transporting and clearing grain, and they saw bloodstains on the vehicle bodies, chaotic knife marks, and arrows stuck in the grain sacks.

That the grain-harvesting team could return, what they endured goes without saying. Fan Shuang didn't know how to describe their eyes.

But Miancheng had no time to grieve before plunging into the tense work of grain processing and distribution.

The dead are long gone; the living may still be pursued. To quickly let the living stave off hunger is the urgent priority.

Steaming hot buns were served, filled the stomachs, and the fresh aroma of the food repelled the hunger pangs. On the faces of Miancheng people, long-lost smiles finally appeared.

After eating these few mouthfuls of grain, they could finally endure a few more days.

The grain-harvesting and grain-guarding teams became heroes in the city, boasting endlessly about how they seized grain, how they hid from enemies in the fields, how they fought to the death on mountain roads, and finally returned laden with the hopes of the entire city.

They fully enjoyed the citizens' praise and admiration. As brave warriors who faced Guo Bai Yu's army and returned alive, this was their due.

Fan Shuang also saw Tushanfang; in just a few days, he looked thinner, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deeper,

His back slightly hunched, his left leg limping, because the commander he had slashed died in a final desperate counterattack.

But Tushanfang's gaze remained fierce, and only when chewing the freshly steamed sorghum bun did he let out a long sigh:

"Damn, I've never eaten such a delicious bun in my life!"

Many others, while eating, burst into tears.

Inside and outside the Dragon God Temple, crowds surged again, and once more, rice grains and sorghum buns appeared on the offering table.

The grain seizure was not limited to Miancheng; Guo Bai Yu also participated.

On the sixth day, the grain was nearly seized, and Guo Bai Yu ordered the burning of farmland.

The Huangxian Shou wanted to organize teams to leave the city again to seize grain, but Tushanfang stopped him, for it was clearly a trap. Guo Bai Yu had already prepared; if they went out again to seize a bit of grain, casualties would be even greater.

Gazing at the soaring flames in the east, smelling the scorching scent drifting on the wind, the hearts of Miancheng people bled.

What was burned was grain—if it could all be gathered in, at least it could let everyone eat their fill for a few more days.

The surname Guo's dog thief—also, who knows how many people are cursing him—also, if we catch him, we will surely hack him to death!

The Fan father and son also participated in grain accounting and supply assurance. For this newly stored grain, calculated generously, it could let Miancheng people eat for seven days; if eaten sparingly, about twenty days or so.

Originally, Miancheng's war was measured by counting days on fingers—being able to delay one day was a gain; this delay of ten or twenty days made the Huangxian Shou's heart soar, his steps lighten, and even coarse grain rice could be eaten half a bowl more.

Fan Shuang privately asked Tushanfang: "Twenty days—will the Dragon God come?"

Tushanfang declared firmly: "Of course he can, he definitely will!"

The grain crisis was temporarily resolved, and Miancheng could now focus on resisting Guo Bai Yu.

For now, Miancheng's barrier could still be held—thanks to the guardian beast. Fortunately, a few days ago, the imperial flow broth erupted massively; officials used the collected spiritual broth to power the guardian beast, otherwise it would have shut down long ago.

At this moment, Miancheng guarded the city gate on one side and urgently trained new soldiers on the other. The influx of large numbers of people from the surrounding areas was not entirely bad; the prefecture and Tushanfang organized able-bodied men to participate in drills, while women had to transport supplies, cook, and provide medical aid.

Defending the home and resisting the strong enemy—this is the duty of every Miancheng person.

Everyone now shares only one common voice:

Hold on, the Dragon God's reinforcements will surely come!

But reality is merciless; a few days later, what arrived before the reinforcements was another bolt from the blue:

Haoxian has also fallen!

The last companion who had mutually watched over each other also collapsed; from now on, Miancheng must face the strong enemy alone.

On the evening of the next day, Yu An, the county magistrate of Haoxian, led over thirty thousand civilians to seek refuge in Miancheng, each person sallow-skinned and emaciated,

Panicked and uneasy.

The Huangxian Shou was also torn, but Haoxian and this city had mutually watched over each other for months, jointly resisting the strong enemy; now that others have fallen and barely escaped with their lives, how could he bear to push the living again toward Guo Bai Yu?

Miancheng could only open its gates to receive them, and thus the city gained over thirty thousand more mouths to feed.

This made the already tense grain supply even worse—adding frost to snow.

Miancheng residents were also unhappy: "We bled and sweated, sacrificed relatives to reclaim this grain—why should we just give it to you to eat for free?"

The conflict between Haoxian people and Miancheng people escalated from a few harsh words and a few fights to a near-battle of several hundred.

During the war, everyone was restless and irritable; Tushanfang led troops to suppress firmly, ruthlessly dealt with the troublemakers on both sides, and this conflict was barely brought to an end.

But just as Miancheng was on the verge of internal rebellion, Guo Bai Yu blew up the western passage, cutting off the escape route for Miancheng people to the west.

The meaning he conveyed was very clear:

Either surrender, or be killed—no one should think of escaping!

Seven li north of Miancheng, Gaopo Yulin.

The terrain here is high; a few people hidden in the forest can look down from above, not only able to overlook a corner of Miancheng, but also see the eastern farmland.

That place was originally a vast expanse of golden yellow, now it is pitch black, entirely scorched earth.

A fat monkey sat on the chestnut tree, peeling chestnuts with such concentration that it had no idea of the human suffering far away.

"This Guo surname truly deserves to die!" Wanqi Lianghou ground his molars until they creaked, "Once we catch him, we will have him drawn and quartered by five horses!"

"Fall back a little, you're too far forward." Dong Rui hid behind the tree and looked further west; below was Guo Bai Yu's outpost, with scouts including over a dozen red-beaked hill crows, sharp of sight and hearing, and they also liked to fly about indiscriminately.

Our side had come out to scout, only five or six people.