Chapter 523: People’s Hearts Are in Turmoil

Sitting in the lobby, looking at the noisy military officials below, Yan Shenghao's face was extremely gloomy. Gao Yuan had arrived in Hejian County for three days, but in the past three days, the Zhengdong Army had not launched an attack. He only saw the busy infantry dragging carts of wood into the camp. It was obvious that they were building siege equipment. Since Ye Zhen's army was at the gates of the city, this work has never stopped. God knows how many siege equipment they have built now.

Killing people with a blunt knife, this is how Yan Shenghao feels now. A knife is always hanging over his head, but it doesn't fall down for a long time, which is more uncomfortable than a knife chopped down.

These useless officials quarreled and no one could come up with a real idea. This made Yan Shenghao feel that he had really supported them for nothing over the years. Fortunately, he used to think that these people were all well-educated and knowledgeable people. When the real disaster came, no one could stand up.

He stood up angrily and was about to leave, but was startled by the sudden bursts of shouts and screams outside. The sound of the galloping horses outside the city made the whole ground tremble slightly. Could it be that the Eastern Expedition Army has begun to attack? Yan Shenghao immediately turned around and ran out of the hall at the fastest speed.

After the noise, there was no more. The Eastern Expedition Army came quickly and left quickly. Everyone looked at each other, wondering why. Could it be that the other party just wanted to scare the defenders in the city?

In astonishment, Yan Peng rushed in from outside with a stack of papers in his hand.

"What's going on?" Yan Shenghao shouted.

"Dad, look, these things were just shot in by the Eastern Expedition Army." Yan Peng handed the stack of papers in his hand to Yan Shenghao. After unfolding it and taking a glance, Yan Shenghao's face changed color. He crumpled the papers into a ball and held them tightly in his hand, "Immediately collect all these things, and don't let a single one leak out."

Yan Peng's face was bitter, "It's too late. I have collected as much as possible, but the other side shot too many into the city, and many have fallen into the hands of the soldiers."

"Strictly order the soldiers who picked up these papers to hand them in immediately, otherwise they will be killed!" Yan Shenghao shouted.

"Yes, I'll do it right away!" Yan Peng turned around and left quickly. Looking at Yan Peng's back, Yan Shenghao's face was bitter. He already knew what the other side wanted to do, but he couldn't do anything. The only thing he could do now was to minimize the impact. Throwing the paper ball in his hand to the ground fiercely, Yan Shenghao turned and walked towards the back hall.

The officials behind him looked at Yan Shenghao's back in surprise. A brave official stepped forward, picked up the paper ball, unfolded the crumpled paper, read it carefully, and his face was also ugly.

The paper was passed from one official to another, and everyone's face became extremely brilliant.

This was a letter to the soldiers. The content was extremely simple, all in plain language, and there was only one purpose, which was to incite the soldiers to give up resistance and surrender to the Eastern Expedition Army.

The unusual movement of the soldiers in the city finally calmed down under the strong suppression of the officers. Although Yan Shenghao, who had been paying attention to the movement in the city, felt exhausted, he had no sleep. He knew that Gao Yuan's attack was indeed hitting his soft threat. Most of the soldiers in the city were temporarily recruited, and most of them came from surrounding counties and towns. Now these places have all fallen into the hands of the Eastern Expedition Army. If the soldiers had no other ideas, it would be a fool's dream, but they did not expect that Gao Yuan would do it so desperately.

Land, he actually distributed land to every household according to population and issued land deeds, which is definitely something that can drive everyone crazy.

Although Yan Peng responded promptly, it is impossible to confiscate all of them without missing a single one. This is like a spark that can start a prairie fire. Once the rumor starts, it is impossible to stop. Moreover, this is most likely not a rumor, but a true thing, because the same thing has been implemented in Baokang and Yingkou, which were controlled by the Eastern Expedition Army a long time ago. These news have been spread in Hejian County a long time ago. Many landless farmers in other parts of Hejian County began to flee to Baokang and Yingkou quietly a few months ago, because it is said that as long as they go there, they can get land.

Baokang is adjacent to the prairie and has always been the focus of the Xiongnu invasion. There are many people on land, and those who went there first did get land. The news spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred. If I hadn't reacted quickly and immediately ordered all counties to strengthen prevention and strictly control population outflow, I'm afraid that some counties would lose seven or eight out of ten.

"County governor, county governor!" An official in patrol uniform rushed in with a panic on his face.

"What happened again?" Yan Shenghao asked impatiently.

"Countless leaflets were suddenly posted on the streets and alleys in the city, and the content was exactly the same as the content shot from outside during the day." The official's face turned pale.

Yan Shenghao stood up suddenly, "There are spies in the city, how can you be a patrol officer? Find these people immediately, arrest them, and chop off their heads for public display."

The official's face was bitter, "County governor, my subordinates have limited manpower. Now everyone is busy tearing up these leaflets and trying not to let them flow out. There is really no manpower to search for spies, and I am worried that once a large-scale search is launched in the city, it will cause panic."

Yan Shenghao stared at the other party fiercely, and sat down dejectedly for a while. What the other party said was right. The city was already full of enemies.

"Go down and strengthen the patrols. We are short of manpower. Go find Sima Xiang and ask him to borrow soldiers to strengthen the patrols. The most important thing now is to prevent these things from spreading out."

Just after this official left, many more officers came. Their responses were exactly the same. They all found similar leaflets in the barracks. Soldiers with leaflets in their hands had been arrested, but they did not dare to deal with them at will. The entire barracks was like a powder keg. Everyone's emotions were tense to the extreme. If they were not careful, they would be blown upside down. Every officer knew the consequences of the camp roar.

Yan Shenghao sighed to the sky and was helpless.

**, and he survived with difficulty in his sighs.

The Eastern Expedition Army still did not launch an attack on the city. Only their cavalry approached and harassed several times. Every time the arrows shot into the city, they were tied with similar leaflets. The defenders in the city had no intention of collecting them, because from yesterday to now, no one knew how many such things had flowed out. If they forcibly collected them, it would be nothing more than covering one's ears and stealing the bell.

Everyone knew that the Hejian County City was already in danger. Perhaps the Eastern Expedition Army launched an attack at this moment, and the next moment, they had already attacked the city.

After noon, the camp of the Eastern Expedition Army was suddenly crowded with people. Groups of people filed out of the camp. On the city wall, the alarm bells rang immediately. Yan Shenghao, who had dozed off for a while due to excessive fatigue, had to run up the city wall again and command the soldiers to prepare to resist the enemy's attack.

But immediately, the soldiers with bows on the strings and swords out of the sheaths stayed where they were. The people coming from afar were not soldiers of the Eastern Expedition Army, but ordinary people in different clothes, young and old, men and women, a total of thousands of people.

These people walked to the foot of the city, just out of the range of the feather arrows, and stopped under the command of the officers of the Eastern Expedition Army. The next moment, the foot of the city immediately became lively.

"Daniu, go home, we have ten acres of land now."

"Dad, don't fight anymore, the family has divided the land, and the government has lent us livestock, but I don't know how to use them!"

"Dad, go home, I miss you."

"Son, your mother is sick, and she just wants to see you!"

The city fell into a dead silence, Yan Shenghao's face turned pale, he never thought that Gao Yuan would follow up with such a move after the leaflet.

The city was quiet for a long time, and suddenly there was a clang, a long gun fell to the ground, a soldier rushed to the top of the city, grabbed the parapet, and shouted hoarsely, "Dad, I'm here, I'm here!"

"Catch him, catch him." An officer rushed over, picked up the soldier like a chicken, and threw him to the ground fiercely.

Several soldiers stepped forward to hold down the young man and tied him up, but the next scene made everyone dumbfounded. More soldiers rushed to the top of the city, looked at the city, and shouted loudly. The people in the city seemed to see their relatives. They rushed to the city regardless of the obstruction of the soldiers of the Eastern Expedition Army, raised their heads and shouted. At this moment, the city and the city were in chaos.

"Withdraw all these soldiers to the barracks and transfer the personal guards to the barracks!" Yan Shenghao looked at the chaotic city wall, trembling with his hands and feet, and ordered, turned around and left.

There was no fighting spirit on the city, and there was no intention to attack the city. By now, Yan Shenghao had known the other party's intention, but he could do nothing.

Now the more than 10,000 recruits in the city have become the most dangerous group of people, and they may turn against each other at any time.

"Dad, what should I do?" Back in the mansion, Yan Peng looked at his father and murmured. "The sentiment in the barracks is so intense that I'm afraid it can't be suppressed. Even if it is suppressed, how can we dare to let them go to the battlefield to fight."

"Peng'er, send someone out of the city to see Gao Yuan and tell him that I want to see him."

"Dad, do you want to surrender?"

"What if I don't surrender? After they break into the city, will they catch me and chop off my head?" Yan Shenghao smiled bitterly: "Gao Yuan does this because he doesn't want to attack by force. He is forcing me to surrender. In this case, he won't kill people. This is our only way out. Otherwise, after those civilians withdrew just now, he immediately sent troops to attack the city. I'm afraid we can't hold it anymore."

"Surrender? Surrender!" Yan Peng murmured and lowered his head weakly.

"I will try my best to get better conditions. At the very least, we can still be rich." Yan Shenghao patted his son comfortingly, "If you can't do it, you will just lose your life if you force yourself to do it. A wise man won't do it." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.. to read. )

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