In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 742 People are panicked

Zhu Changhe's anger subsided slightly.

He recognized the voice outside the door; it was Bai Jie, his trusted confidant in the Qingzhou army.

Bai Jie knew him well and knew that he hated being disturbed when he was enjoying himself. But now his voice was anxious, which meant that Bai Jie really had urgent military information to report.

With this thought in mind, Zhu Changhe, his rationality regaining control, said, "Come in!"

"Squeak!"

The door was pushed open, and Bai Jie, dressed in full armor, strode in.

Upon seeing Bai Jie enter, the two women lying next to Zhu Changhe hurriedly wrapped their delicate bodies tightly in blankets.

Bai Jie didn't even glance at the exposed glimpses of the two men's bodies. He knelt on one knee and anxiously reported to Zhu Changhe, "My lord, the scouts just brought urgent military intelligence. There is an army of tens of thousands of men heading towards the prefectural city from the south!"

"what?!"

Completely naked, Zhu Changhe abruptly threw off the covers, his face filled with panic as he exclaimed, "Where did these tens of thousands of troops come from?"

"According to the scouts, the banner of that army bears the character 'Yang,' leading my men to guess that it is the Yang family army from Liangzhou!"

"The Yang family army? How did they end up in Qingzhou!"

Zhu Changhe panicked even more. Although he had never met the Yang Family Army, he had heard of their reputation. They were a powerful army that had defeated the Liangzhou Army and hundreds of thousands of troops of the imperial court in succession!

Faced with such an opponent, how could Zhu Changhe not panic?

"My subordinates don't know!"

Bai Jie knelt on the ground, offering advice to Zhu Changhe: "Regardless of whether it is the Yang family army or not, we need to be prepared. Please order the city gates closed, so as not to give the enemy any opportunity!"

"Yes! The city gates must be closed."

Zhu Changhe nodded subconsciously. He certainly didn't have the guts to go out of the city and fight the Yang family army in the open. The only option for now was to defend the city.

"Immediately order the city guards to close the city gates!"

Zhu Changhe immediately ordered Bai Jie, "This general is going to the prefectural government to discuss countermeasures with Lord Wang."

"Yes!"

Bai Jie accepted the order and left, while Zhu Changhe hurriedly dressed and, with the guards waiting outside, headed to the prefectural government office, which was Wang Li's residence.

After Zhu Changhe left, the two brothel women hurriedly got up and dressed, exchanging whispers as they did so.

"Xiaoyu, did you hear that just now?"

"I heard it! The Yang family army from Liangzhou is attacking!"

"I've heard that Yang Tianwang of Liangzhou is a vicious cannibalistic demon. If he comes to kill us, will he eat us?"

"It shouldn't be...right?"

"..."

The two courtesans looked worried, and as they left the room, news of the Yang family army's attack quickly spread throughout the city.

Instantly, the entire city was gripped by fear, and everyone lived in constant anxiety.

"The Yang family army is coming; a battle is about to begin."

"Is it true that the Yang family army kills people without blinking an eye? Are we all going to be killed?"

"What should we do if the Yang family army massacres the city?"

"Why won't God give us a way to survive? Before, it was Qing Wang and Zhu Changhe who exploited us, and now there's another Yang Tianwang."

"I heard that King Yang has a particular fondness for eating babies with tender flesh, so those with babies at home should hide them well!"

"..."

In the prefectural city, due to the distorted public opinion, Yang Zheng's reputation was absolutely terrible. In the minds of many people, Yang Zheng was an existence on par with man-eating demons.

Therefore, when they heard the news of Yang Zheng's attack, the people of the prefecture were all at a loss and panicked. Some people even packed their bags and prepared to flee the city at any time.

…………

…………

"what?"

Inside the prefectural government office, Wang Li stared wide-eyed at Zhu Changhe, who had rushed over, and exclaimed, "What did you say? Yang Zheng has led a large army to attack?"

"Exactly."

Zhu Changhe forced himself to remain calm and said, "According to the news brought back by the scouts, the army coming from the south is the Yang family army that is entrenched in Liangzhou."

"how is this possible?"

Wang Li murmured absentmindedly, "Liangzhou is so far from the prefectural city, how could it appear in Taiqing County so quickly?"

In fact, the Yang family army did not appear in Taiqing County very quickly. The reason why Wang Li had the illusion that the Yang family army was fast was because the Yang family army appeared too suddenly.

The Liangzhou where Yang Family Army was located was separated from Taiqing County, where the prefectural city was located, by Taicang County. Logically speaking, when Yang Family Army marched out of Qingzhou, it would definitely pass through Taicang County, and the counties of Taicang County would definitely report the military situation.

however……

The situation was so bizarre that the Yang family army seemed to have flown over Taicang County and appeared abruptly in Taiqing County like a divine army descending from the sky, with their forces directly threatening the prefectural city.

What Wang Li didn't know was that... Taicang County had already rebelled against the imperial court and colluded with the Yang family army.

When the Yang family army passed through Taicang County, the counties of Taicang County even provided them with food and supplies.

If Wang Li had known this, he probably wouldn't be so confused right now.

"My lord, now is not the time to consider this issue."

Seeing that Wang Li had not yet come up with a solution, Zhu Changhe said urgently, "Right now, we should be considering how to protect the prefectural city."

"Correct!"

Coming to his senses, Wang Li hurriedly asked, "I wonder what General Zhu's plan is?"

Wang Li knew very well that given Yang Zheng's actions in Liangzhou, he would have no chance of survival once the prefectural city was captured.

Therefore, he had to defend the city, or his own life would be in danger.

"The best course of action now is to hold the city and defend it."

Zhu Changhe said, "The city walls of the prefecture are high and thick. It will not be easy for the Yang family army to break through the city. We only need to defend it strictly. No matter what tricks the Yang family army has, it will be difficult for them to jump over the city walls and enter the city."

He didn't have the guts to let Zhu Changhe lead the army to fight against the Yang family army in the field.

However, he still had some confidence in defending the city. Qingzhou Prefecture was a truly large city with walls that were 20 meters high and over 15 meters thick. Such a majestic wall was like an insurmountable barrier in front of the Yang family army. It would be almost impossible to cross the wall and enter the city.

"That makes sense!"

Wang Li nodded in agreement, then frowned and asked, "But what should we do if the Yang family army chooses to besiege the city?"

Throughout history, sieges have not only involved direct assaults; besieging armies can also choose to besiege the city, trapping the defending troops inside.

Once a city is besieged, both the army and the people inside will inevitably panic and gradually lose their will to fight, eventually causing the city to fall without a fight.

"This requires Lord Wang's help."

Zhu Changhe's mind raced. "I would also like to ask Lord Wang to write a letter to the court explaining this matter and requesting that the court send reinforcements."

If Zhu Changhe were to request reinforcements from the imperial court, the chances of success would be extremely slim.

But it would be different if Wang Li were to do it.