C19 The Way out of the Red Camp

From the first moment he saw Lady Xiu’er, Kong Sheng's gaze had almost never left her. This girl's appearance was too similar to his wife's. It was just that even though she was wearing the clothes of a country girl, she couldn't hide the indescribable aura in the corner of her eyes. If one were to say that his wife was from a small family, then the lady in front of him who was very similar to her seemed more like a princess who had come to visit privately.

Kong Sheng looked at the red-clothed female who walked in front of him and subconsciously asked, "Who is this lady? "What's your name?"

Without waiting for the Lady Xiu’er to reply, Hu Erniu had already stepped forward and stood between the two of them, answering in a rough voice, "Reporting to my lord, this is my cousin, a person from Fengwu Province."

Kong Sheng stared blankly for a moment before withdrawing from his imagination. He said goodbye to Hu Erniu with a bit of embarrassment and worked hard for him, then turned around to arrange for the others to quickly let the food delivery team enter the city to rest.

Truth be told, Hu Erniu's group was purely from the point of view of transportation of food, they were indeed very awkward. With just this little bit of food, it would only be enough for Phoenix City Pass to support him for two days, and wouldn't even be enough for three days. But the serious Hu Erniu believed that other than emergency food, he also brought hope. He quickly reported the current situation of the Pang Lai County to the other lords. Several tens of thousands of kilograms of food were piled there, and once the Imperial Army arrived, it could immediately remove the encirclement.

Hu Erniu was extremely excited, but Kong Sheng and the others frowned upon hearing him. According to the pace of Shi Keren's old commander and his understanding of the imperial city, the reinforcements should arrive at Pang Lai County in five to ten days, and he could immediately launch an attack on the Demonic Beast army. Although thousands of Demonic Beast were hard to deal with, they would not cause too much of a stir when facing an army of a few hundred thousand people. But the question was, how would he endure this period of time?

The Red Camp within the Phoenix City Pass had quickly become public enemies. They immediately sealed off their own residence, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. In addition, to feed their horses, they stole all the straw from their rooftops.

If a person became anxious from hunger, other than stuffing everything into their mouth, there was also the irritability of their emotions. Stealing grass and stealing other people's rations was of the same nature. As a result, there were more than just people's militia trying to rush into the Red Camp station to kill horses. In the end, all of them were beaten up and thrown out by the Empire's elites. Fortunately, they still had some sense of propriety. With their sabers and sheaths, they managed to pull out their spears. In the end, no one died.

A few of the authorities in the provinces of China started to pressure Kong Sheng again, telling him to discipline his subordinates properly. However, Kong Sheng was also helpless. For a war to begin, he said that he would do whatever he wanted with his Red Camp, but with the current situation, he couldn't even enter the Red Camp encampment himself, what was to be said about this? The Red Camp soldiers that were born with Imperial Military Academy had already stopped showing their faces. Those that came out to deal with them were all noble sons, each one of them directly holding onto their family's title, what could Kong Sheng do? He had already captured the honorable Baron and Viscount Chen Chu. Could it be that he would have to capture all of the heirs of the various families in the empire as well? If he couldn't pass this round and everyone died here, then there was nothing left to say. But what if he passed this trial? The few officers left, the one facing the pressure from the families was Kong Sheng.

Therefore, Kong Sheng had already made up his mind. The war horses were originally part of the Fire Phoenix Army, so it was understandable for them to protect the war horses. Lord Kong didn't want to help. If you have the ability, you can just stand on your horse and not let it go, or if you have the ability, you can just snatch the horse and kill them. He could tell who was the boss from the looks of it! In fact, his attitude was a little biased towards the Fire Phoenix Army. In a one on one fight, only the experts in the Border Army could compete with the young masters of influential families who had learnt martial arts since young. people's militia? Forget it.

Although it was noisy, the question that everyone was facing together was still one, "What do we do if we don't have something to eat?" If you don't eat horses and have no food, don't tell me you want to eat humans?

Hu Erniu's words had once again dragged the bustling atmosphere down the chasm. A few of the officers looked at each other, not wanting to speak first.

Hu Erniu was speechless for a long time. He had thought that this group of monkey-like, adult leaders would come down to shake hands with him, to express their gratitude, and to praise him as Phoenix City's savior, the hope of the empire. However, all of their faces darkened, as if what they sent was not food, but ice. Thinking of this, he did not say anything further. Squatting at the corner of the room, he took out an ice-cold sweet potato from his bosom and started nibbling on it. As a result, this careless action drew everyone's attention to him.

Facing the gazes that were filled with killing intent, Hu Erniu was scared to the point that he almost peed his pants. He trembled and asked: "Erm ~ My lords, can't we eat here?"

Kong Sheng took a deep breath, and said to Zhao Handong: "Han Dong, arrange for people to send Captain Hu back to rest, be careful." The meaning of the last four words were very clear. If Hu Erniu still dared to hold onto the sweet potato and gnaw on it like this from the outside, the people's militia soldiers would definitely chop off his hands and gnaw on them.

Seeing Zhao Handong bringing Hu Erniu out of the door, a few of the pipe belts from the provinces started firing at Kong Sheng at the same time:

"Lord Kong! Right now, there are only ten more days until Imperial Army. No matter what, you must endure through these ten days! "

"I can't be arrogant anymore, Lord Kong! As a member of the Empire's aristocratic families, shouldn't they bring out more honor and sacrifice? "

"Lord Kong, if you are sure that the two of them are not going to help each other, then it would not be good for this lowly official to restrain his subordinates. We can still gather a few thousand soldiers and horses! "

Kong Sheng closed his eyes and listened. After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes, exhaled lightly and asked: "Masters, the reason why you guys are against Red Camp is simply to kill horses and split their meat, right?"

Xu Tiankong said angrily, "What do you mean by that, Lord Kong? This official is not responsible for Red Camp, but for Phoenix City Pass! "

Kong Sheng slightly nodded his head, "Then let me first apologize to Master Xu, my words were wrong. From a different angle, if Red Camp can gather enough food, then would we not have to kill war horses, and not have to target Red Camp as well? "

Xu Tianxiong frowned, "Don't tell me that there's private grain in Red Camp? That's why we're not allowed to enter the camp? "

Kong Sheng revealed a wry smile as he shook his head, "I'm afraid that even the bark has already been eaten by the Red Camp, how can there be private grains? But I might be able to get food. "

Walking on the city walls, Zhao Handong frowned and asked Kong Sheng, "Old Kong, have you decided? This is a narrow escape from death. "

Kong Sheng smiled bitterly and nodded, "Since the food cannot come in, then someone has to think of something. I have been looking at the ground outside for the past few days. The weather is getting colder and colder and the mud has frozen solid. Moreover, Red Camp is not always an option, there must be an explanation. "

Zhao Handong tilted his head and looked at Kong Sheng, and asked after a while: "Old Kong, it's not like there's a shortage of food in the city for a day or two, and what is causing trouble now are only people's militia, and even Border Army are tightly restrained, they won't reach the level you described. If their people's militia dares to cause trouble, this father will bring their Border Army and destroy them! "Just tell me the truth, just what has provoked you?"

Kong Sheng stopped, lowered his head and thought, then said slowly: "If I return successfully, I will tell you."

Zhao Handong was startled: "You want to go personally?"

Kong Sheng nodded: "If I don't go, who can take along Red Camp?"

Three piles of antlers were laid out in front of the gate of the Red Camp residence. The main door was tightly shut, making it look extremely desolate. Kong Sheng knew that according to the usual practice of Red Camp, there were at least five or six experts hiding inside and outside the gate. He took a deep breath and kicked the door. To his surprise, the door was opened without being bolted.

The moment the door opened, four figures suddenly appeared in front of him. Two spears and two sabers appeared at the same time. Although the speed was not slow, the spearhead was slightly shaking. It was obvious that the person holding the spear had already lost all of his strength due to hunger.

Seeing that it was Kong Sheng, the four of them could not help but be startled, an older soldier said hesitantly, "Kong, Lord Kong, please do not make things difficult for us."

Kong Sheng's eyes focused, he raised his hand and pushed the spear tip to the side, then said coldly, "I never thought that the Fire Phoenix Army has the tradition of aiming weapons at a direct subordinate officer. I'm not here to get your horse, I want to see Ling Zilu! " With that, he strode forward. The four soldiers did not dare to attack him. They could only leave three people to guard the door while the other one followed closely behind.

Kong Sheng looked around the courtyard, secretly feeling apprehensive. The trees on both sides of the path were left with only the bare trunks, the leaves, branches, and bark had all disappeared. When he entered the courtyard, he was even more surprised. The tables and chairs had all disappeared. A large fire had been built where the long table used to be. A dozen soldiers were squatting there to warm themselves up. The good wood had been turned into bolts, tables and chairs, all of which had been turned into firewood and were being burned inside.

Seeing Kong Sheng barging in, the few of them were stunned, then suddenly jumped up, and saluted Kong Sheng. Kong Sheng casually waved his hand and said, "I am looking for Master Ling Zilu Ling."

A person walked over to Kong Sheng from the corner without saying a word, and knelt down on one knee: "This official, Ling Zilu, greets Lord Kong."

When he raised his head again, Kong Sheng was shocked. In such cold weather, Ling Zilu only wore a single layer of clothing, which was wrapped in a cape. The white cloak had already become gray black, and the hair on his face was tied up in a mess. If not for the fact that no one had any objections, Kong Sheng would not have dared to believe that this was the grand captain of the Fire Phoenix Army, the second strongest person beneath him. Kong Sheng did not care about anything else, and immediately reached out to help Ling Zilu.

Ling Zilu stubbornly did not stand up and continued to speak with a lowered head. "I beg Lord Kong not to kill the warhorses."

Following his order, the dozen odd soldiers and officers behind him all knelt down and begged Lord Kong not to kill the warhorses.

Kong Sheng retracted the hand he used to support Ling Zilu, and paced back and forth, suddenly standing straight, and cursed: "What are you doing? Threatening Shangguan? All of them were lucky! Seal off the camp, beat up friends, steal grain! Was this what the directly subordinate Red Camp of the Emperor of the Fire Phoenix Empire did?! Do you even have the face to wear this red armor? Do you have the face to call yourself an aristocratic family of the Empire? All of you are juniors of Venerable families apart from those with high Imperial Military Academy. Which one of you doesn't have a title? Walking on the street, they politely called you 'Your Lordship', but what happened? My lords, are you going to kick everyone out? Ah? Say something! "

No one raised their head, and no one said a word, but Kong Sheng could feel their resolute attitude, if you want to hit them, go ahead and curse, there was no way he would be able to kill them!

Kong Sheng sighed: "Alright, my lords, stop kneeling, I am not here to kill your warhorses. I'm here to give you a way out. Otherwise, if this continues, if hungry people really rush in, let alone horses, even you guys will be bitten. "

Hearing that Kong Sheng wanted to point the way out, Ling Zilu raised his head and said softly, "Please advise me, Master."

"Get up! Just what kind of people were they! Find the map. Who has ever seen a battle plan without a map? " Kong Sheng frowned as he shouted, "Didn't I say that all of you are so stubborn that you bought your diplomas for Imperial Military Academy? If you don't want to kill your warhorses and give them food, why not just get something to eat from somewhere else? "

Hearing him say that, Ling Zilu's eyes lit up, and asked: Then Master, where are we going to get the food?

Kong Sheng turned around and glared at him, "Old Ling, how did you become a captain? Look north! There are hundreds of thousands of people there! Just anything you want will be enough for us to eat! "

"But ~ ~ but ~ Captain Qu ~ ~" A squad leader nearby muttered softly, not daring to continue.

Kong Sheng rolled his eyes as he asked, "Why weren't you afraid when you used the back of your blade to cut other people's people's militia? How could he not be afraid when he went out to chop off demon children? Are you afraid of getting beaten up? "

After saying that, he spread out the map that the soldier handed to him, pointed at the location of the Moqiu Army Camp, and said, "The closest one is only five kilometers, it will take less than an incense stick to ride on." Heavy Cavalry soldiers guarding the outer perimeter, Apprentice Knight will go in to snatch some food, and then we will leave! I've already tried the trench outside, light armor with horses shouldn't be too much of a problem! "

Upon hearing his words, everyone's eyes lit up and nodded their heads. Ling Zilu muttered to himself for a moment, then raised his head and asked: "Master, then what if the enemy retaliates with an attack? We are already in such a sorry state, I'm afraid we won't be able to stop him, right? "

Kong Sheng bit his lips, as this was the problem he was most afraid of, and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Old Zhao and Zhao Handong, we have been observing the enemy camp for a long time. Although the stove has not decreased, there don't seem to be many soldiers training here every day. That's why we suspect that Moqiu Army has already used a plan to reduce their manpower and increase their numbers. They only left a small amount of troops here to watch over us while also guarding the grain. They will only attack after a few more days when we are completely hungry. Now it doesn't matter whether we snatch their food or not, they will still attack us. We can just take advantage of the situation in the trench to get past the horses, and we'll rush over to snatch one of them! "What do you think?"

Everyone looked at Ling Zilu, Captain Ling's eyes lit up, and said: "Since I'm going to starve to death anyway, I might as well kill some Devil Kingdom brats before I die! I think that's fine! "

"Then it's done!" Kong Sheng slapped on the table.

"Do it!" The officers shouted in unison.

The biggest advantage of Fire Phoenix Army was that it had a high mobility. Once a command was given, it would be executed immediately. All the officers called out to their subordinates from the military base. Dressed in light armor, they picked up bow decked with horn of an animal s, although they were all hungry, the moment they put on their helmets and light armor, and picked up their swords, their eyes would shine brightly.

Kong Sheng sat on his mount, looking at the group of soldiers under him, his heart was at ease.

Just as everyone packed up and prepared to leave, a voice slowly drifted over, "Ladies and gentlemen, would you be willing to bring me along?"