Chapter 247

"Not good, General, the East Gate has fallen!" In Hefei city, on the city wall of the South Gate, Ji Ling was commanding the army to resist Sun Jian's army when a deputy general shouted with a panicked expression.

Bang!

But in the next second, he was sent flying by a gang qi from Ji Ling: "Shut up! Reporting false military information, I will behead you!"

Ji Ling glared with both eyes. In this situation, morale was already low. If the soldiers guarding the city heard that the East Gate had fallen, wouldn't that be the end?

"Li Yuan, take the troops and guard this place for me. I will go over and take a look myself."

Ji Ling's heart was also a bit chaotic. For the past few days, Sun Jian's army had been attacking Hefei city fiercely and recklessly, and he knew the other party's intentions.

A few days ago, he listened to the strategy of the military advisor Yuan Huan and sent people to notify the Lujiang and Danyang prefects to intercept Sun Jian's grain transport ships.

At this time, Sun Jian's fierce attack must be because he was short of grain and grass.

But the more this was the case, the more it represented Sun Jian's determination.

The East Gate had been broken, and he knew that it would be difficult to hold Hefei city. Don't look at the fact that there were still hundreds of thousands of troops in Hefei city.

But Ji Ling knew that most of them were farmers, just newly recruited civilians who had not undergone any training.

Not only would they have no effect on the battlefield, but they would also hinder his own army.

Usually, when guarding the city, they were just asked to move stones, logs, and so on.

There were less than fifty thousand who could really fight.

These days of fighting with Sun Jian, he lost no less than sixty or seventy thousand elite troops.

However, Sun Jian's losses were not small either. After all, he was the side attacking the city, and the losses were also seventy or eighty thousand. This kind of combat loss showed Sun Jian's strength.

However, Ji Ling was not afraid. The lord's foundation was far from what Sun Jian could compare to, and several military advisors also had foresight; there was no need to suppress Sun Jian immediately, just consume him slowly.

During this period, he led the army to Hefei and never left the city, just relying on Hefei city to consume him.

But at the moment, it seemed Sun Jian was also determined.

"Military advisor, the East Gate is broken. What should we do next?"

Ji Ling returned to the government office for the first time and found Yuan Huan.

"The East Gate is broken. It seems Sun Jian is indeed very anxious."

Yuan Huan, upon hearing this, did not change much, his expression as calm as ever. "Since that is the case, General Ji Ling, according to the original assumption, let the army withdraw from Hefei city. At the same time, tell the clans in the city to burn all the surplus grain."

Regarding the fall of Hefei city, Yuan Huan had long been mentally prepared. Hefei city was not a big city, and relying solely on the army under Ji Ling, it would be difficult to block Sun Jian's attack.

The lord's elite army was still in Yuzhou, and being able to persist for so many days was thanks to the magic technique group he brought.

However, even if the city fell, he would not let Sun Jian have an easy time. Sun Jian was short of grain, and taking Hefei was also to replenish it.

He naturally could not let the other party get his wish.

"Yes, this subordinate will do it right away."

Ji Ling, upon hearing this, did not hesitate; after all, the situation at the moment did not allow him to drag it out.

Ji Ling led the personal guard battalion to various families and forcibly ordered the major families to destroy a portion of the grain.

This process, of course, would not be so easy, but relying on his powerful martial power, in the end, those families had to submit.

Ji Ling's strength, and the Yuan Shu behind Ji Ling, were not something these families could provoke. What's more, Ji Ling also said that they would be compensated.

Suddenly, in Hefei city, a unique fragrance permeated the whole city.

"What is this smell?"

Ji Ling began to withdraw the army, and the resistance on the four city walls of Hefei city became weaker and weaker. Sun Jian's army naturally soon broke through and entered the city.

Then they smelled a smell.

"Not good!"

Sun Jian, Huang Gai, and the others' faces changed wildly. They had already smelled what this smell was—the smell of grain being scorched.

In an instant, they already understood.

"So ruthless!"

Huang Gai's face was ugly. When they arrived at the granary in the city, they found those piles of ashes, and some grain that had not been burned.

Everyone's faces were extremely ugly, and a few were even pale.

"Go, check those major clans."

Sun Jian instantly understood the intentions of Yuan Shu's army, so he hurriedly ordered Huang Gai and the others.

Night fell, and Sun Jian's army had already occupied Hefei city.

However, in the government office, when the generals returned one by one and reported the situation, Sun Jian's face became increasingly gloomy.

"What a Ji Ling."

"Truly ruthless."

As Huang Gai and the others returned, the news brought back was more infuriating than the last. The grain in the hands of those major clans in Hefei city, except for what was enough for their own family to eat, there was no surplus at all.

It was all burned.

This was Ji Ling's deliberate act, with sinister intentions. Burning the grain in Hefei city meant his idea of replenishing it was shattered.

Of course, he could choose to plunder the remaining grain of the major clans in the city. After all, these families, even if they kept their rations, were also a large number.

Robbing their grain and grass, it was estimated that it would be enough for their army to use for a period of time.

Of course, besides this, there was another group of people in Hefei city who had grain, and the grain was not small.

That was the civilians in the city. They still had some rations. There were four or five hundred thousand people in the city, and the rations of these people, added together, were not less than those of the major clans.

Plundering either side would be about the same, enough to let him survive for a period of time.

However, no matter which side it was, Sun Jian dared not easily plunder them.

Once he took action against the major clans, it would be equivalent to offending all the major families in Hefei city, and even offending the major families in Jiujiang and Yangzhou.

After all, major families often had connections, and if you dared to plunder the major families of Hefei today, then one day you would dare to plunder other major families.

Offending the entire clan, the consequences were quite serious.

As for plundering the civilians, then he could forget about his reputation. Hundreds of thousands of people might die because of him. Such a result was not something Sun Jian could easily bear.

You could pit and kill hundreds of thousands of troops, but slaughtering hundreds of thousands of civilians was different.

Ji Ling's move was an open plot, which indeed made it difficult for him to handle. No matter which path he chose, it would be extremely difficult for him to occupy Yangzhou.

Although Sun Jian did not understand what "water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it" meant, he also knew that the bottom-level commoners were his foundation.

As for the clans, they were the pillars under his rule, and neither could be lacking.

The situation was now very serious. He was already slowly running out of grain. Not to mention pursuing Ji Ling and the others, even staying in this Hefei city was quite difficult.

The best way at the moment was to scrape together some grain and grass as much as possible and then immediately retreat from Hefei.

Otherwise, if Ji Ling counterattacked, he would have no grain and would not be able to hold the city at all.