Chapter 1334

Hangu Pass.

As the morning sun rose, the gates of Hangu Pass opened on time as usual.

Duan Yu, riding his black tiger, sat in front of Hangu Pass just like every other day, holding a fishing rod, sitting on a folding chair, wearing a bamboo hat, and began to fish.

Two hundred thousand troops.

A full two hundred thousand troops had already watched Duan Yu fish for more than ten days.

Not only that, every day after Duan Yu caught a fish, he would start a fire under Hangu Pass and grill the fish.

He would take a bite of fish, a sip of wine, and after eating his fill, he would lie down comfortably under the pass, pull his bamboo hat over his face, and take a nap.

With the war reaching this point, Yang Feng had begun to doubt his life.

The amount of grain consumed by two hundred thousand troops every day for half a month was a terrifying number.

The Liangzhou Army inside Hangu Pass could afford it, because there were not many troops inside Hangu Pass.

But the two hundred thousand troops outside Hangu Pass could not afford it.

At this moment, Yang Feng, sitting in the central army tent of the rear guard, was listlessly staring at the bamboo slips in his hand.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps rang out outside the tent.

Wu Xi, dressed in armor and pressing his hand on the sword at his waist, walked into Yang Feng's tent with large strides and a face full of anger. After entering, he complained to Yang Feng:

"General, those Han troops don't treat us as human beings at all." Wu Xi shouted loudly, "A few days ago, there was still one meal of millet a day, but now they only give us one meal of thin porridge a day."

"The soldiers under my command are now full of complaints, each one looking sallow and thin. If this continues, in my opinion, there is no need to fight this war; we will starve to death. Why is it that the soldiers under Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun get two meals a day, while we only get one meal of thin porridge? This clearly shows they don't treat us as human."

Yang Feng listened to Wu Xi's words, his brows furrowed tightly.

Since Duan Yu arrived at Hangu Pass, after Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song's armies stopped attacking Hangu Pass, the rations for the entire army began to be reduced.

Previously, the soldiers under his command were responsible for transporting supplies, cleaning up the battlefield, and building siege equipment.

At that time, there was a differential treatment between the two armies.

The soldiers under Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song, who were attacking the city, had two full meals a day, while the soldiers under his command only had one full meal a day.

But at that time, it was understandable.

After all, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun's armies were the ones attacking Hangu Pass.

And the soldiers under his command were only auxiliary.

But now that they were no longer attacking Hangu Pass, the two armies were still treated differently, and the soldiers under his command now only had one meal of thin porridge that didn't fill them up.

This was a bit unreasonable.

Yang Feng took a deep breath, then stood up and looked at Wu Xi, saying, "In that case, you go and appease the troops under your command first. Take the remaining grain we have and distribute it. I will go and talk to the Grand Commandant."

As he said this, Yang Feng walked out of the tent.

However, although he said this, Yang Feng did not hold much hope in his heart.

He was in charge of transporting supplies in the rear camp, and the grain transported from Luoyang was becoming less and less; it was already stretched thin to support the consumption of two hundred thousand troops.

Not long after, Yang Feng took a few personal guards and arrived at Zhang Wen's central army tent.

It was now noon.

Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song, who had just returned from the front of the pass, were also in Zhang Wen's tent.

There were personal guards of both men in front of the door; Yang Feng knew this after just one look.

After announcing himself, Yang Feng entered Zhang Wen's central army tent.

As soon as he walked into the central army tent, Yang Feng smelled a rich aroma of meat.

Zhang Wen, Yuan Ji, Huangfu Song, and Zhu Jun were sitting in the tent eating lunch.

On the table in front of them were fish and freshly slaughtered, boiled mutton.

"General Yang has arrived. Come, just in time."

Zhang Wen, sitting in the main seat, beckoned to Yang Feng, and then ordered the guards in the tent, "Bring a table for General Yang and serve a portion of wine and meat as well."

Yang Feng immediately cupped his hands and thanked him, "Thank you, Grand Commandant."

"What brings General Yang here?" Zhang Wen put down his tableware and looked at Yang Feng, asking.

Yang Feng glanced at Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, who were eating heartily on the left and right, then took a deep breath and said, "Grand Commandant, it is like this."

"Today, the officers in the army came to report that the meals for the rear guard have been changed from one meal of millet to one meal of porridge, and the soldiers are complaining that it is difficult to satisfy their hunger. I am here to request that the Grand Commandant see if more grain can be allocated to the rear guard."

"My request is not high. It doesn't have to be one meal of millet a day; even if it's just mixed food for two days, one day of millet, one day of porridge, that would be fine. I know that the grain in the army is not much now, but I am worried that the soldiers will accumulate resentment over time."

Zhang Wen wiped his hands with a silk cloth on the side, then stroked his beard and said, "General Yang, you also know that the grain supply for the army is difficult now. Two hundred thousand troops consume countless money and grain every day, and there are warhorses that need to be fed. Even the rations for the soldiers of General Huangfu and General Zhu have been reduced."

"It is not that I am targeting General Yang; General Yang should try to overcome it as much as possible. If the grain problem is solved in a while, I will definitely reward the rear guard."

Yang Feng's expression was troubled.

Although he had prepared himself mentally before coming, hearing Zhang Wen's personal refusal still felt bitter.

So, wanting to strive for it, he said, "Grand Commandant, there is no war under Hangu Pass now. Can the Grand Commandant discuss it with General Huangfu and General Zhu? Even if you could allocate a little less to the rear guard..."

As soon as Yang Feng's voice fell, before Zhang Wen could reply, it angered Zhu Jun, who was eating on the side.

Zhu Jun slapped the dagger he was using to cut meat onto the table and looked at Yang Feng.

"General Yang, what do you mean by this?" Zhu Jun frowned and said, "You want to reduce the rations of the soldiers under my command?"

"If you reduce the rations of my soldiers, when the Liangzhou Army kills their way out, do you want us to go and fight them?"

Zhu Jun snorted and said, "Ten thousand troops in Baibo Valley couldn't stop Duan Yu's five hundred cavalry. What's the use of eating so much grain? It would be better to raise a group of..."

"Gongwei!" Huangfu Song hurriedly interrupted what Zhu Jun was about to say.

Then he looked at the angry Yang Feng and cupped his hands, saying, "General Yang, the imperial court is already trying to find ways to raise grain. We are all serving the imperial court, and there is absolutely no favoritism."

"General Yang, please overcome it for two more days. How about this: I will allocate some grain from the army to be sent to General Yang. General Yang, please use it for an emergency. In a few days, after the grain raised by the imperial court arrives, the problem will be solved."

Huangfu Song said this while looking at Zhu Jun, signaling him not to say anything more.

"That's right, General Yang, please overcome it for the time being. I will guarantee it for you. When the imperial court's grain arrives, the first priority will be to solve your problem," Zhang Wen said.

Yang Feng clenched his fists tightly.

He had heard the saying 'drawing a cake to satisfy hunger' too many times.

But the current situation was the only way.

No matter how much he said, it was useless.

After cupping his hands and saluting Zhang Wen to take his leave, Yang Feng walked out of the central army tent in a depressed mood.

Not long after, shortly after Yang Feng returned to the rear camp, Wu Xi came to Yang Feng's tent again.

"General, someone has come outside the military camp, saying they are an old acquaintance of the General and have come specifically to defect to the General," Wu Xi said to Yang Feng.

Hmm?

Yang Feng was stunned.

His old acquaintance?

And they came to defect to him?

Who?

Filled with doubt, Yang Feng asked Wu Xi to bring the person in.

After about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Wu Xi brought a middle-aged man into the tent.

When he saw the middle-aged man's appearance, Yang Feng was even more puzzled.

He did not recognize the man standing before him, who was dressed in gray robes and looked somewhat like a scholar.

However, when the middle-aged man saw Yang Feng, he acted like an old acquaintance, smiling and cupping his hands in greeting to Yang Feng: "General Yang."

Yang Feng frowned in confusion and looked at the middle-aged man, asking, "May I ask who you are..."

The middle-aged man smiled slightly and said, "I am Yang Qi of the Hongnong Yang clan, nephew of Yang Ci."

Hiss.

Yang Feng gasped.

The Hongnong Yang clan.

Yang Feng also came from the Hongnong Yang clan, but Yang Feng's branch was a side branch, and a very destitute one at that.

If it weren't for that, he wouldn't have ended up as a bandit.

But if one were to talk about it, he and Yang Qi, who was standing before him, were still Yang clan members of the same generation.

Hearing that someone from the Hongnong Yang clan had come, Yang Feng naturally did not dare to be negligent.

So he hurriedly invited him to sit and asked Wu Xi to serve wine and food to entertain him. ===== CHAPTER 1336 =====

Upon hearing that someone from the Hongnong Yang clan had arrived, Yang Feng naturally dared not be negligent.

He therefore hurriedly invited them to sit and had Wu Xi serve wine and food to entertain them.