The reinforcements from Liuzhou arrived quickly.
With Wang Ye providing cover, the Duke of Qin agreed to let Hong Lie lead the team, but at the same time he also sent a general from another faction. The two of them led 5,000 elite Xuanjia soldiers and took two warships from the port to the south gate of Liuzhou.
They arrived around noon. According to intelligence, even the undead shrouded in black mist would seek shade at this time and rarely attack under the blazing sun. But even so, wasn't the city gate of Liuzhou a bit too crowded?
Hong Lie and another general Wu You stared blankly at the commotion before them, sensing that something was amiss.
At this moment, a crowd had formed at the city gate of Liuzhou. Countless shirtless young men, carrying hoes and wooden baskets, lined up at the city gate under the scorching sun. Soldiers were stationed on both sides of the city gate, vigilantly watching the hidden black mist in the distance. However, these shirtless people seemed very relaxed, not worried at all that the living corpses in the distance would pounce on them.
" Lord Zhou," Wu You with a slightly polite look at the fat man who had come to greet them, "Who are these men?"
"Oh, they're all farmers who just came back from working in the fields." Zhou Haitao wiped his sweat and said, "Sir, as you know, the outside world is full of zombies, it's very unsafe. The rules stipulate that able-bodied men can only go up the mountain to work in the early morning and must return to Liuzhou City by noon."
"Uh..." Wu You and Hong Lie were taken aback. It sounded like a forced attempt, but something just didn't seem right.
"No, given the current situation, is it even possible to go out of the city to farm?"
According to Mu Hongqing's letter, these zombies are quite strong and agile. Crucially, their mouths, teeth, and nails are highly poisonous. While not individually powerful, they are extremely dangerous demons. Even the Black Dragon elites dare not casually release them to fight these zombies in the open. How dare the prefect of Liuzhou send people out of the city to farm?
"General, that's a strange thing to say," Zhou Haitao laughed. "If we don't farm, what will we eat?"
Wu You: "."
Is that the correct logic?
"Line up, march into the city!"
There's something strange about Liuzhou City!
Wu You secretly observed everything. The Duke of Qin sent him instead of just sending that big, dumb Hong Lie, not because he wanted to get involved in the messy things the Xiao Household emperor was plotting. According to the Duke, he always felt that Liuzhou was not as simple as Wang Ye had said.
And indeed, that seems to be the case; something's very wrong with Liuzhou!
Those silver-armored soldiers at the gate were a bit too professional.
According to Zhou Haitao, the soldiers were temporarily recruited to deal with the situation of the living zombies.
In an emergency, one must act expediently, and the prefect also has the responsibility of defending the territory, so temporarily recruiting soldiers is understandable. But were these soldiers recruited at the last minute?
Wu You looked at the soldiers standing straight, like javelins, under the blazing midday sun, their eyes as sharp as eagles, their bodies not particularly tall, but their aura was that of seasoned veterans!
He was certain of this; these soldiers had that bloody aura that only veterans possessed, clearly seasoned soldiers, and elite ones at that.
Facing his five thousand Black Armor Guard, the mere few hundred soldiers displayed an impressive aura that was anything but weak. He even had a feeling that if the two armies were to clash, the other side might not necessarily lose.
These soldiers were definitely not recruited temporarily!
After entering the city, the feeling that something was wrong grew stronger and stronger.
First, there's the atmosphere.
Having fought in the north for many years, he had witnessed firsthand what it was like for ordinary people tormented by demons. The terror that the living corpses described in Mu Hongqing inflicted on ordinary people was far greater than any demon he had ever encountered before.
After all, the terror of being devoured alive by your wife and children, and then having your wife and children rise up and become those monsters themselves, is a double blow that few could resist.
But this Liuzhou
Most of the people he saw had beaming faces, smiles, and hope in their eyes.
Frankly speaking, this kind of spirit is rarely seen in ordinary people, even in a safe place like Beijing. After all, most of them are burdened by life and have a gloomy face most of the time.
Then there's the issue of food.
These burly men who farmed outside headed South Street as soon as they entered the city, sharing the same route as Wu You and the others who were going to the government office. When they arrived, they realized it was a place to eat.
Wu You was satisfied with this arrangement. After all, since they had come to provide support, the soldiers had traveled a long distance, and their first priority was naturally to solve the problem of food and clothing.
But the food seemed a bit too good.
Thick rice porridge, snow-white steamed buns, a piece of meat fried to a golden brown with a meaty aroma, and then a side of refreshing pickled vegetables, all of which allowed the soldiers to eat heartily, their mouths dripping with oil.
The key point is that these things are not specifically prepared for soldiers. Wu You and Hong Lie can see clearly that the farmers, after returning to the city, are also arranged to eat here, with the same standard as the soldiers, including meat and porridge!
Is there really that much food in Liuzhou?
Wu You sensed something was wrong. According to the letter from Nanming Prefecture, on the third day after the disaster, the commander Zhou Hanyang forcibly confiscated all the grain in the city and distributed it in accordance with the military law of the Great Jin. Ordinary people in the city were barely surviving on a bowl of thin porridge every day.
Wu You considered this to be a matter of course, since food should be supplied to those on the front lines in a limited way to maintain morale.
The key point is that even with such frugality, when requesting aid in their letters, they specifically requested that more grain be brought in as support. How could this be compared to the extravagance and waste in Liuzhou? Did the common people even deserve meat?
"It's alright," Fatty Zhou replied while drinking his porridge. "Last year, the harvest in Jiangnan was bountiful, and every household in the countryside had stored grain. Now that we've encountered such a disaster, those zombies won't waste the food. As long as we lead a team to search the countryside, we won't have to worry about food this year."
Wu You frowned upon hearing this. That made sense. The zombies killed people without wasting food. The more people died, the more grain was freed up. This was the idea that Zhou Hanyang of Nanming Prefecture had in mind. However, the problem was that although there was grain in the countryside, there were more and more zombies that could move around during the day. Sending troops to the countryside to collect grain was very risky.
In his letter, Zhou Hanyang said that after looting the grain from more than a dozen surrounding towns, they dared not search any further, as the garrison troops were precious and could not be lost. But judging from the situation in Liuzhou, could it be that they could continuously import grain from outside?
"What kind of meat is this? It smells so good!" Hong Lie, who was eating with great relish, said. As a martial general who trained his physical strength, his favorite food was this chewy red meat.
"Insect meat," the fat man said as he ate.
"What the hell?" Hong Lie and the soldiers around him were stunned. They looked at the meat in their hands, and upon closer inspection, it really did look like a worm.
"This is a specialty of Liuzhou," the fat man chuckled. "Don't worry, sir, it's perfectly safe to eat. We've been eating it for a month now, and it's very good for your energy."
"Really?" Hong Lie and the others were stunned. They had never heard of such a specialty in Jiangnan, let alone such a large insect. Were there many such insects in Jiangnan?
Wu You also frowned as he looked at the insect. The aroma of meat was irresistible, and the skin was firm. When did such a thing appear in Jiangnan? Seeing that each of the people had one, there must be quite a lot of them. If this kind of thing could be mass-produced, it would be a very good military ration. The Great Jin Dynasty is rich in resources, but it still lacks meat. However, meat is necessary to feed elite soldiers.
If such a thing existed, and it were non-toxic and could be mass-produced, it would have been widely adopted long ago.
This is definitely not an old species from Jiangnan.
Too many questions left Wu You confused, and he felt he needed to reply to the Duke as soon as possible.
After nearly half an hour, the soldiers, their bellies full and satisfied, rested in the shade of the trees, watching people come and go, gradually relaxing. When they first arrived, everyone thought it would be an extremely harsh environment, but the environment was better than they had imagined.
"General, have you finished eating?" Zhou Haitao chuckled. "If you have, I'll arrange for your soldiers to rest. If you're tired, you can also rest at the government office."
"Thank you for the treat." Wu You chuckled and drank another full bowl of porridge before letting out a sigh of relief. "Where has the Prefect gone?"
"Oh." Zhou Haitao quickly replied, "The prefect is currently distributing farmland outside the area. After all, it's uncertain how long this stalemate will last. The prefect said we need to plan ahead and not just rely on scavenging grain from the countryside, so he's actively organizing the people to cultivate nearby fertile land."
"I admire the prefect's foresight." Wu You nodded. Regardless of the methods used, to have Liuzhou in such a comfortable situation, and to be able to remain vigilant even in such a comfortable situation, truly shows he is an extraordinary person.
But the more this is the case, the more we need to be wary.
"I wonder if I will be able to see you today, sir? I have important matters to discuss with you, Prefect."
"Oh?" Zhou Haitao's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he immediately smiled and said, "The Prefect is very busy and may not be back until very late. General, you must be tired from your journey. You should rest early tonight. If there is anything important, you can ask me to pass it on."
"Oh, you can pass on the message." Wu You wiped his mouth and said with a smile, "I have come to Liuzhou to provide assistance. According to the Duke of Qin's instructions, I should take over the defense of Liuzhou. I hope that the Prefect can return as soon as possible to hand over the defense of Liuzhou!"
These words immediately created a tense atmosphere. Hong Lie frowned as he looked at Wu You, thinking that the old man was planning to cause trouble.
The current military preparedness in Liuzhou was clearly arranged by that kid surnamed Chen. You're trying to steal his fruits right away?
However, he didn't stop him, after all, he was also very curious about how Chen Qing acquired his current military defense forces.
On the other side, Chen Qing and Chen Ying were constantly testing the Great Azure Mountain Barrier. After the Azure Dragon Barrier was activated, it was more stable than expected, which reassured Chen Qing somewhat.
This barrier has been able to suppress the Ghost Child for a thousand years, so its stability should be pretty good. However, it won't be enough to deal with the situation that's about to unfold.
Don't be fooled by the increasingly favorable situation in Liuzhou and the growing confidence of the Tiger Guard Army in facing the zombies; that's because the high-level zombies haven't been released yet.
Those species that have been trapped in the formation for hundreds of years will not stay in the formation forever. In addition, the living corpses are now devouring each other and evolving rapidly, so it will only become more and more difficult in the future.
The current Azure Dragon Barrier can defend against ordinary zombies, but it's not enough to cover the entire Azure Dragon Mountain, provide large-scale defense against all zombies, and ensure the safety of the logistics base.
Chen Qing knew it was time to release the advanced warlock class.
If that's the case, I'll have to go to the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley myself!