Chapter 838: Infiltration

"This last general will certainly ensure Your Highness's safety is without worry." Chang Wei looked at Zhao Xu, his gaze becoming resolute.

For the sake of the Great Song empire, Yan Wang was risking his own life; as his subject, he had no choice but to stake his own life to protect Yan Wang's safety.

"This King trusts you." Zhao Xu smiled dashingly, "Prepare now; if they besiege Jinling, then let them return empty-handed."

"Yes, Your Highness." Chang Wei gave a military salute to Zhao Xu.

After Chang Wei turned and left, Zhao Xu looked toward the direction of Jiangzhou.

The Shizu Army had already moved; he hoped the Prince's Personal Army and the Four Courts could coordinate properly and successfully implement their plan.

Changcheng.

Outside the four city gates, the stench was overwhelming; there was excrement and urine everywhere.

The commoners looked listless, like vegetation scorched by the sun for a day, crowded together in a vast, uncountable mass.

Shizu soldiers patrolled back and forth on the main road, monitoring every move of the commoners.

"Time for porridge!"

It was just evening when a soldier in the porridge shed suddenly shouted.

The commoners seemed to come back to life, each holding a bowl and crowding toward the porridge shed, fearing they would be left behind, until they were whipped by the Shizu, at which point they reluctantly formed a line.

"What kind of porridge is this? It's clearly just water. Is there any way for people to live?" When it was a man's turn, seeing only three or five grains of rice in a bowl of water, he could not help but be furious.

"If there's rice, it's porridge. What are you yelling about? If you don't want to eat, get lost; don't delay me in serving porridge." The general in the porridge shed pointed at the man, his expression fierce, "Grain is not abundant right now; be glad you have something to eat, don't be so picky."

The man would not let it go, "When we moved west, what did you say? You promised to let us eat our fill. Is that talk just farting? If you won't give us food, that's fine, let us go back. The rice is golden and ripe now, it can be harvested immediately; I don't care for your porridge."

"That's right, you lied to us."

"If I had known, I wouldn't have moved west with you. We were living good lives, and now we're here suffering."

"Right, let us go back to harvest the rice."

"......"

The man's words stirred up the commoners' longing for their own rice crops, and many hot-blooded young men shouted in anger.

Seeing the commoners in an uproar, the general in the porridge shed turned dark and shouted, "Men, seize him and tie him to the wooden stake to make an example of him."

Two fierce, wolf-like Shizu soldiers immediately pounced.

"I'll fight you to the death!" The man was completely enraged and began to wrestle with the Shizu soldiers.

But after many days of hunger, he had no strength at all and was immediately pinned to the ground by the Shizu soldiers and beaten with fists and kicks.

Soon, the man was tied to the wooden stake erected by the side of the main road.

Other young men saw this, stopped their clamor, and shrank back.

This wooden stake was specifically used by the Shizu to discipline troublemaking commoners.

Tied to the stake without food or water, left to bake for two days, one's life would be over.

However, although they were intimidated, a fire of rage burned in their hearts.

The Shizu general smiled triumphantly and cursed, "A bunch of lowly mud-legged peasants, still wanting to act tough."

"

Having said that, he ordered the soldiers to continue serving porridge and walked swaggeringly toward Changcheng.

Unlike the scene outside Changcheng, at this moment, Changcheng was even more prosperous than before.

The streets were bustling with traffic, filled with Shizu and Rich Clan descendants wearing silk, as well as merchants.

They were either powerful or wealthy; when they moved west, their large and small carts were loaded with their own wealth, unlike the commoners who could only carry a bundle on their backs.

Upon arriving in Changcheng, whether by using power or money, they could always find a residence within the city; although their days were slightly worse than before, it did not have much impact.

They were still surrounded by maids and beautiful concubines all day, with no shortage of fine food and meat.

For a time, the prices of chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep near Changcheng soared.

Entering the city, the Shizu general saw someone coming toward him and immediately bowed, "General."

This person was none other than Xie An.

"This General and General Wang will soon lead the main army to Jinling to recover the lost territory of Ningzhou. The defense of this Changcheng is now entrusted to you. Remember, do not let the commoners cause any trouble," Xie An said.

This Shizu general was also surnamed Xie, named Xie Kang, a descendant of his Xie Family.

"General, rest assured, these mud-legged peasants cannot flip the sky in this subordinate's hands," Xie Kang said confidently.

Xie An nodded, "To be safe, I will leave you another twenty thousand men, making a total of fifty thousand. Do not be careless."

During this westward migration, four million people poured from Zhezhou into Jiangzhou.

They divided these four million people into the seven commanderies of Jiangzhou.

Among them, the number of commoners remaining near Changcheng was the largest, reaching a massive one million.

These commoners would become their stable source of soldiers at critical moments.

But recently, with the consumption of grain and fodder, the food they could provide to the commoners was becoming less and less, and the commoners were becoming increasingly dissatisfied.

Therefore, they could only mobilize the army to guard the commoners and prevent them from fleeing or causing trouble.

However, in his view, letting the commoners go hungry also had its benefits.

When soldiers were needed, they only had to give a few bowls of porridge, and the young men would scramble to enlist.

"Yes, General," the city-guarding general replied again.

Nodding, Xie An returned to his mansion.

Over the next three days, the Shizu army set out from Changcheng one after another, marching toward Jinling.

The movements of the Shizu army did not escape the eyes of the Four Courts' informants.

On one hand, they sent intelligence to Jinling, and on the other, they made contact with the Third Army general hiding in the mountains and forests east of Changcheng.

"Their army has not yet gone far; wait one more day, that will be the perfect time to rise up. Tonight, we will take the opportunity to mix in among the commoners."

In Wuling Shan, thirty li east of Changcheng, five thousand Third Army soldiers led by Guard Commander Pang San had already been lying in wait for five days.

The team leader of the Four Courts had already made contact with the Four Courts members who had infiltrated Changcheng.

"The commoners have long been looking forward to this day; I told them, but they didn't believe it. Once tonight passes, they will surely be overjoyed," He Dong said.

He was precisely the Four Courts scout who had infiltrated the commoners of Changcheng.

During this time, he had won over many commoners and laid the foundation for the uprising.

It was just that the commoners were intimidated by the blades of the Shizu Army and were still somewhat hesitant.

Now, they only waited for the Prince's Personal Army to fire the first shot, and the commoners would surge forth like a mountain-toppling sea to break the shackles the Shizu had placed upon them.

The matter was agreed upon.

In the middle of the night, Pang San led the soldiers and followed He Dong as they crept toward Changcheng.

Having been mixed in among the commoners of Changcheng for a long time, He Dong had figured out the temperament of the Shizu soldiers.

As long as they did not cause trouble, the Shizu soldiers could not be bothered to manage them at all.

They also often slacked off and slept during patrols.

Therefore, taking advantage of the gap during the midnight shift change, he led a portion of the Wangfu Army soldiers to blend in among the commoners.

Then, while the Shizu soldiers were dozing off, he led another portion of the soldiers to blend into the crowd.

Because there were so many commoners outside Changcheng, the five thousand Third Army soldiers entering among them were like water droplets merging into the ocean, causing not a single ripple.

But while the Shizu soldiers were unaware of what was happening, the commoners knew exactly what was going on.

After all, the soldiers of the Prince's Personal Army had come to their side.

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