The scorching sun is in the sky, there are no clouds and no clouds, and the fields are bursting like scale armor, a scorched scene.

Miao He stood in the ground one by one, the withered leaves trembling in the wind, and the black crows flocked, over the broken earthen city wall, hovering in the air, looking down and searching for the dead and rotting corpses.

Hundreds of hungry people scattered in the shade of the corners of the streets and alleys, squatting and sitting, sleepy, or sighing loudly, or closing their eyes and waiting for death, and even those who looked up to the sky and prayed, a pair of eyes had already been burned blind, and a pair of dry black and thin orbital recesses were filled with yellow sand, and the situation was terrible, and they did not know whether they were alive or dead.

A black thin boy walked to the well, put down the water bucket, felt the end, then shook the rope, felt that there was some obstacles, expected to have water, overjoyed, hurriedly shook the wheel, the well rope creaked, but hit up is half a bucket of yellow sand.

The young man fiddled with the sand, picked some darker in the middle and felt slightly moist and put them in his mouth, smacked them carefully, and showed a happy face on his black and thin face.

Suddenly, the thunder rolled and rumbled, and all the hungry people suddenly widened their eyes and looked at the sky, and those who had the strength stood up against the wall, their hearts beating loudly, and the tears that had been dried up for a long time leaked to the edge of their eyes, and they forgot to wipe and lick their food.

However, the sky is still clear and hot, and there are no clouds, so how can there be any rain?

Just in doubt, I saw the yellow dust outside the earth city, rolling up, roaring in the dust storm, and faintly seeing the shadow of the horse galloping, the momentum is terrifying!

The soldiers were immediately in charge of the dusty armor, but their faces were clean and not tired, and the leading figure rushed up the slope of the earthen wall that was almost toppling, and the horses scanned in all directions, and their eyes were blazing and majestic, so that people did not dare to face them.

The commander said loudly: "You don't need to know the legend anymore, do it immediately!"

The soldiers responded violently, rode their horses and galloped, scattered in all directions, broke into the houses, captured the strong, searched for food, and cried for a while, and the sound shook the sky.

The thin black boy didn't have time to escape, and he looked inside the hungry people. After a short time, the soldiers returned one after another, and the food gathered was very small, and the strength did not catch a hundred people, and even among these hundred people, many of them were hungry and thin. A small banner said: "My lord, the city is poor, and the people who have obtained it are far away from the requirements of the lord, but there are still some hungry people on the side of the alleys in the corners of the city. ”

The commander looked sideways and saw that the hungry people had miserable faces and were weak, and the soldiers were hunting people on a large scale, and they could not even escape, how could such characters be used?

Xiaoqi should go to it, and after a while, he returned with the crowd: "My lord, the few hungry people who can go, they have all been brought." Others can't move, and if they want to force it, they may become a drag. ”

The commander nodded in understanding, and at this time, the people captured in the city were all escorted by the soldiers into a square, gathered in front of the city gate, and the commander glanced at it, and said in a loud voice: "Everyone listen! This time the thieves have invaded the border, Lord Cheng guards the border city, and the soldiers are all brave and serve their lives. If there are those who escape, they will be killed immediately!"

The faces of the people were sad, and they had no choice but to add swords, so they didn't dare to disobey, and they didn't care how the words of the commander Rao Na were loud. Seeing this, Xiaoqi said loudly: "What there is in the army is supply, flat wine and meat, and the first to arrive will be rewarded!" In recent years, there has been a great drought, there is no harvest of particles, and the bran is still difficult to see. The hungry people in the corners of the houses by the walls struggled to get up when they heard that there was meat to eat, and some of them just tried to support themselves, but suddenly they fell stiff and died. The dark and thin young man in the middle of the hungry people heard the roll of his eyes, weighed it slightly, spit out the sand that had been touched for a long time, and ran out, and wanted to follow into the ranks of the people, but suddenly felt a tightness in his neck, and could no longer move, it turned out that a cavalryman wrapped his neck around his neck with a horsewhip.

The cavalryman scolded, "Little cub, get out of here!" With a flick of his wrist, he threw the boy in a spiral, and when he got up, he was already spinning around, and a layer of skin fell off his neck. He rubbed his neck and gasped, glaring at the cavalryman.

The commander waved back the cavalry and asked the boy, "How old are you?"

The young man replied: "Villain Chang Sihao, sixteen this year!"

The commander saw that his skeleton was narrow and thin, and he knew that he was lying and lied, and he didn't tell the truth, and said with a smile: "Little baby, do you also want to serve the country?"

The boy straightened his chest and hissed, "I'm hungry!"

The yellow sand rose one after another, covering the sun and the sky, and the team of cavalry and hungry people struggled to move forward on this side of the ancient road, some of the hungry people were supported by the excitement of the moment, and after walking for a long time, they fell to the ground and could not get up again.

Chang Sihao shrunk his neck, squinted his eyes to prevent sand, glanced at the water bag hanging from the waist of the cavalry's horse from time to time, pursed his lips, and unconsciously his consciousness gradually blurred, and the wind howled in his ear drum for a while, and the horse was neighing and about to split, and for a while it was silent like a hollow valley.

I don't know how long I walked, but the wind had died down and the sand had been silent. The outline of the city is in sight, and now it sits across the mountain pass, silently enjoying the last sunset like a lion.

As the caravan entered the city, the hungry people became excited again, for they all smelled the enticing smell of meat mixed with the smoke of gunpowder in the city.

The commander looked for the small flag from the cavalry and said, "What's your name?"

Xiaoqi said: "Adult, villain Zheng Yuan." ”

The commander said: "You are very smart, I will promote you to the general flag, these hungry people are in urgent need of food, you take them to eat first!"

The small banner has ten people, while the general flag has fifty people, and it is not because of the military exploits that it is promoted, although it is only one level, it is enough to make people happy.

Zheng Yuan kowtowed: "Thank you, sir!"

The Commander smiled and rode away.

Zheng Yuan got up, led a group of people to the west, crossed the demolished houses, and came to a slightly wider place by the city wall, shouting at the Huotou army to distribute dishes and chopsticks, everyone received a pair, lined up, and waited to receive food.

Not long after the men lifted a few cauldrons, uncovered the lid of the pot, the aroma was fragrant, everyone looked at it, only to see a pot of meat broth bubbling bubbles, a layer of oil slick on the surface floated around, shining dazzling golden in the afterglow of the sunset, and a pot, containing a large pot of stewed pig's blood, black and red shining, simply killing people!

The people trembled their hands, suppressed their excitement, and slowly moved forward according to the procession, and the man took a spoonful in his hand, and when one person came, he scooped a large spoonful of meat into the pot and poured it into his bowl, and then added half a spoonful of pig's blood. The meat was scooped out, and hung with oil, and trembled and steaming in the spoon, so that the hungry people looked at it in a daze, so that they held the bowl in their hands, and smelled the tempting aroma, and it did not seem to be real. Some people trembled their hands and feet, and they couldn't eat themselves, so they threw away their chopsticks, and regardless of the heat, they put their hands into the bowl and grabbed the meat to eat, and their fingers and lips were hot and red and blistered, and they didn't know it. Some people even took a piece of meat in their mouths, but forgot how to chew it, sat on the ground, grabbed their chests with their hands, and only cried in their eyes, and pedaled desperately with their feet, trying their best, but they couldn't cry at all.

Chang Sihao also received a bowl, he found a broken wheel and sat down, scooped up the meat and swallowed a few pieces, and then was reluctant to eat it, blowing hot air and sipping the broth.

At this time, a group of people came down from the city, also dressed as people's husbands, covered with mud and smelling of sweat, and when they saw that these people had taken the lead, they immediately roared and cursed, and one of them took the lead and shouted: "You are new to the city, take the bowl and eat, I will wait for a day of labor in the city, but I will fall behind, what is the reason?"

Zheng Yuan reprimanded: "Who are you, dare to say such things! Don't forget what you were like when you first came!" The man retreated, Zheng Yuan saw that everyone was still unhappy, and continued in a loud voice: "Everyone works together to fight the thieves, and there is no favoritism over the other." The new people have been hungry for a long time, they must have soup and meat to have their stomachs, and they have enough food in the army, so you can wait for a while, and you don't have to do anything, why rush to be the first?" The newcomers here swallowed anxiously when they were frightened, and a choking cough caused Zheng Yuan to shake his head and sigh.

"Zheng Qi!" An old soldier beckoned to Zheng Yuan from afar.

When Zheng Yuan heard the shouting, he looked sideways, and it turned out to be Xu Laojun, the leader of the gang. A soldier beside Zheng Yuan smiled and said, "Old Xu, my Zheng Qi has raised the general flag, and now you have to change your name!"

Xu Laojun walked closer, arched his hand and smiled: "Zheng Zongqi, congratulations!"

Zheng Yuan smiled and said, "What's the matter, I'm looking for someone to help me again?"

Xu Laojun said with a bitter face: "The first few groups of people who were recruited went to the city to work, and my kitchen was even busier, no matter what today, you have to arrange two for me!"

Zheng Yuan frowned and said: "Thousands of households have lives, thieves are cunning, and the siege is very tight, anyone who can go to the city must go to the city to defend the palace, although your old army is tired, after all, they are still busy, I think it's ......."

Xu Laojun said: "Don't I know the order? If it weren't really incomprehensible, my old Xu wouldn't open this mouth!"

The ladies were short of hands, the meal time was often delayed, and the sergeants had long been resentful, but the great enemy was outside, and everyone was patient and acquiescing. Zheng Yuan felt embarrassed, hesitated to look at the people, wanted to find an old and weak one, but saw Chang Sihao at a glance, immediately beckoned him to come over, held his shoulder, and said to Lao Xu: "The child has flexible hands and feet, and it should be more than enough to help the cook, lead him away, the above knows, I won't blame him, what do you think?"

Xu Laojun looked at Chang Sihao, his brows were furrowed, he looked at Zheng Yuan's face, secretly thought that there was no change, patted Chang Sihao on the shoulder, and sighed: "It's bad luck! I don't know if I want him to help, or I want to take care of him!"