At the end of August of the second year of Jian'an, Kuai Yue was transferred back to Xiangyang due to poor warfare, Cai Mao succeeded as the prefect of Jiangling, and Liu Biao finally agreed to the peace signed by Chen Xiang, Wang Can and me. Tens of thousands of southern expedition troops began to withdraw from Chanling, Hanshou, and Baqiu. At the same time, according to the agreed conditions for the withdrawal, our army must also withdraw from Changsha to Hengyang and Youxian within ten days.

The final evacuation from Changsha is scheduled to be at noon on August 30th.

Outside the South Gate of Changsha.

I led the horse to stop, looked back at the city behind me, and sighed. Huang Zhong, Gan Ning, Liu Ye and military advisor Xu Shu had led the main force to Hengyang three days ago. In addition to the last batch of more than a thousand soldiers who retreated with me, there were Musa, Lu Xun, Huan Jie and others.

Without war, the car marks on the road leading to the south were still very new, and they were covered with weeds. Occasionally, one or two wild dogs appeared in the grass and passed by. I knew they were looking for newly buried corpses as food.

If we arrive at the fiercely fighting northern city, wild dogs will have more wild dogs than this. The red sun is scorched on the scorched earth for thousands of miles. The Xiangjiang River water has greatly reduced due to continuous drought flow. There is only a thin stream of water left in the moat around Changsha, revealing the vast amount of white bones that were buried at the bottom of the river. Groups of bald veins surround the pit where the Kuai Yuejun buried his corpse, waiting for the hungry wild dogs to dig open the thin loose soil on the surface.

After the war-torn July, the people of Changsha have come far from being a good situation.

Since ancient times, natural disasters have always been linked to man-made disasters. Under the long-term drought, the fertile fields that should have been irrigated from water have been reduced due to the shortage of manpower, and some fields that were originally rich in grain have not yet harvested. Judging from the situation reported in various places, the lack of harvest in the three counties in Jingnan this season has become a foregone conclusion.

Compared with Guiyang and Lingling, the people of Changsha could no longer hold on in this battle between man and heaven. The little food received by the reinforcements of Yuzhang was quickly divided in front of the hungry crowd. If we were recruited from Yuzhang again, not to mention that the long-distance transportation time was not enough, we just said that the farmlands in the south of Yuzhang County were destroyed after the Feizhang rebellion. Although the Luling tribes were calm, the situation was not determined, and the food was not possible.

Hunger or hunger forces people to leave their hometowns and flee to places where they can have a meal, while those who have lost their ability to travel will either compete with wild dogs for a rotten bone, or wait for days to wait for death and judgment.

The so-called blessings come unparalleled, misfortunes never come alone, lack of water and food, and the hot weather, the most terrible plague began to spread at this time. From early August, livestock began to fall down in the city one after another. At first, I thought it was the cause of heat stroke. Later, some weak elderly people and children began to get sick, and then died in just a few days, and I suspected that there was an epidemic.

In a sense, it was this sudden epidemic that disrupted my plan. Changsha was something I defended after fierce battles. Give up was not my best choice, but now it has become my only choice.

People are in a panic. When facing a strong enemy, I am calm and composed, and I can no longer remain calm in the face of the raging plague.

"If the general really has the heart to be sympathetic to the people, I hope he can be more concerned about the people before planning a war. This will be a blessing for the people!" At the gate of the city, a thin old man spoke to me with a bright look.

He is not someone else, he is the new prefect of Changsha that I and Liu Biao jointly recommended - Zhang Ji.

In the Jingnan area, Zhang Ji's reputation is so loud that he has been practicing medicine in the Jingnan area for many years, and the people call him the "Medical Saint". Having such a respected and knowledgeable wise man as the prefect of Changsha is excellent news for the people of Changsha. For Liu Biao and I, who are fighting for peace talks, Zhang Ji is a hermit, who does not belong to any of us, is the most suitable candidate for the prefect.

Other officials such as He Zong were also seeing off with Zhang Ji. Most of them were aides in Huanjie Mansion. Faced with the invasion of the disease, these people did not retreat and bravely chose to stick to it.

When I heard Zhang Ji's reproaching advice, I was not angry. I felt extremely ashamed. In addition to natural disasters, the greater responsibility for the cause of this plague was that my repeated battles with Liu Biao caused the desolation of the fields and the displaced people. But now, like a timid general, I arbitrarily handed over the heavy responsibility of guarding the positions to my soldiers and fled.

In the past two days, Changsha City seemed to have fallen into a dead silence. The plague began to reveal its hideous face. The number of people found infected with epidemics has increased dramatically. It is estimated that 30% of the people still in the city have been infected, and the number of deaths within these two days has reached 100.

If it weren't for the outbreak of the epidemic in Changsha and many people died of illness, Zhang Ji's temperament would never have agreed to be the prefect.

In fact, Liu Biao and I understand that as the current plague in Changsha is rampant, there is no one except Zhang Ji who can protect and save Changsha. Moreover, at this time, no one on Liu Biao's side would take the initiative to stand up and ask to go to Changsha unless he wants to die.

It is not difficult to really invite Zhang Ji, and you don’t need to go to Baqiu. After hearing that there was an epidemic in Changsha, Zhang Ji brought his home to Changsha. After Xu Shu and I came to visit him sincerely. This time, I was beyond my expectations and there was no need to talk. Zhang Ji agreed readily, but the prefect Yin gave Zhang Ji only to accept it temporarily. After the epidemic in Changsha was stabilized, he would pay his salary.

I looked solemn and said seriously: "If you have any orders, please do your best if you send me!"

I don’t say that Zhang Ji is my life-saving benefactor. I respect Zhang Ji’s character who is not ordinary in the world alone. This time I promised to be the prefect is mostly to study the conditions.

"Sir..." Lu Xun stood beside Zhang Ji, holding his hands a little reluctant. Lu Xun had been having a speculation with Zhang Ji these days, and had a strong interest in the profoundness of medicine. The young Lu Xun was very interested in the profoundness of medicine.

The car was rumbling and the weeds were sad. After saying goodbye to Zhang Ji, the team was heading towards Hengyang. Everyone was in a heavy mood on the way. Huan Jie originally intended to stay in Changsha, but because of his rising reputation, he was firmly opposed by Liu Biaofang and had to give up.

The moon flies across the mountain, the years are like a knife, and the world is full of troubles. To be honest, I do not have a proud and outstanding mind, nor the background of the Han sect. At that time, I just broke out a path of survival with my blood.

But now, I have a large territory south of the Yangtze River, and I have more than 100,000 people under my rule. Under my command, there are also ordinary talented people such as Taishi Ci, Gan Ning, Xu Shu, and Liu Ye. If I still act without consequences like before and rely on my courage alone, good luck like this Changsha attack would not be possible every time, and the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Chewzhoukou might happen again.

It is by no means easy to become a good leader. If you ignore the people's livelihood, you will make people lose their lives and the people will rebel. If you are too reluctant to avoid giving, you will be considered weak and incompetent, and you will not be a wise master who can accomplish great things.

The river is full of green and green mountains are accompanied by geese. It was already evening when we arrived in Hengyang. Under the sunset, Hengshan Mountains in the distance were shrouded in a cloud. Sometimes a row of geese flew past the mountains. On both sides of the road were newly moved people built huts with stones. The long green covered the roof, but they could still smell the smell of grass. Although the house was simple, it was full of vitality everywhere.

As early as when Changsha confronted Kuai Yue, I followed the advice of Xu Shu and Huan Jie people, and gradually began to transfer our army to the center of Jingnan, and ordered Li Tong to come here. After all, Changsha is too close to Liu Biao, and it is easy to be attacked if there is any war. Taking Changsha County as a buffer zone for both sides is a good choice for Liu Biao. You can send more scouts to reconnaissance the situation of Liu Biao's army to prevent possible sudden attacks by Kuai Yue's army, because I know that fragile peace built on blood is unreliable.

It was about 500 miles from Changsha, and the people and horses were exhausted. There were people here, and they saw that they were not far from the city. I ordered the soldiers to stop and rest for a while, and then walked into the city after tidying up their clothes. In midsummer, coupled with the rare drought and rain, the shallow water in the Xiangjiang River was knee-length, and there was a group of children wearing small braids and playing in the water with their bare butts. It was cute.

After several days of hard work and running around, Musha finally fell ill. Along the way, she had been lying in the car, served by Bi Nu. At this time, she heard that Hengyang had arrived, and the curtain of the car was opened lightly. Bi Nu helped Musha get off the car and took a break and took a breath. I saw Musha's steps floating and his face was haggard, and my heart tightened. I knew that Musha's illness was half caused by fatigue and tiring, while half was sad for the death of his relatives.

That night in Changsha, when we met for a long time and expressed our love for each other, Musha had Qi Rong on his face, and told me about the death of her father and the miserable pain of being slaughtered by the relatives of the clan. After this rebellion, she was the only one left in the Luling royal family. As he spoke, Musha was already in tears. She raised her face full of tears and forced a smile and said that this was the price for her to bring me to Luling. Everything has its own days. If you get what you want, you are destined to lose what you already have again.

Although I don’t believe in nonsense such as retribution, I have no better reason to convince her. The only thing she can do is to comfort her with kind words and take care of her wholeheartedly.

I asked softly, "I'm tired from taking the bus, let's go to the riverfront to take a break!"

Musa clicked Zhen's head, closed her eyes, leaned against my shoulder, and said nothing.

Musa, who was sick, added a little bit of fragility, dependence, and tenderness. I thought that a woman as straightforward and strong as Musa would not have a coquettish and cute side to her children. Now I realize that I was wrong. Musa may always be a decisive and determined female hero forever, but in front of me, she still has the shyness of being a wife.

Just as we were tired, a noise disturbed our mood for no reason. I couldn't help but hear the sound. It turned out that a few soldiers under my subordinates had a dispute with the group of children who were playing the show just now.

At this time, a soldier dressed in a horseman ran back to the shore to lift his knife and shouted with a thick throat: "You group of wild children who are undisciplined, be careful if you urinate randomly, I will cut your little one with one knife..." Seeing that Musha and other women were not far away, the groom blushed and swallowed the swear words below again.

When the children heard this, they were all scattered. The boy was only one, five or six years old and stood there. Musha and I saw the child in such a relationship. I guessed that the groom's rude behavior had just scared the child. Musha walked over and leaned over to support the boy and wanted to comfort him.

But the little boy broke free from Musha, went forward and shouted: "Since Emperor Gaozu, my Han Dynasty has always governed the country with etiquette and pacified the world, and has never been slacked off. You are just a man, how dare you be so frivolous? Now that you don't say anything bad, wouldn't you know that you would insult your general's reputation?"

The groom was angry that the group of children were urinating upstream and were able to urinate dirty water sources. They thought they were just trying to scare them. Unexpectedly, the little boy was so angry that he heard that the little boy was very old. When he thought about this, he felt a little angry. Since he couldn't offend the groom, he had to mutter a few words, put away his sharp weapon and return in disappointment.

I was surprised that this little boy was so young that he could understand the above principles of suppressing him. He was brave and conscious in the face of being strong. He was even more surprised. Musha was even more happy and hugged the little boy and asked, "Who are you? Can you tell me about me?"

The little boy straightened his chest and said proudly: "I am the Lingling Prodigy Zhou Bumi."

Huan Jie and Lu Xun also came over at this time. When the little boy claimed to be a child prodigy, Huan Jie smiled and said, "I am a child, but I may not be better."

The child blurted out without thinking: "If this happens, the gentleman must be extremely intelligent when he was young."

Huan Jie would not have been sarcastic by the five-year-old boy. His face suddenly turned red, but he was embarrassed to get angry. Musha and Lu Xun laughed when they saw this. While they were talking, Xu Shu, Huang Zhong and a group of Hengyang scholars had already left the city to greet him. I saw that I had almost rested, so I cleaned up the army and horses with Lu Xun and Huan Jie, and followed Xu Shu and Huang Zhong to Hengyang City.

The newly built Hengyang City is located on the southern foot of the towering and beautiful Hengshan Mountains, on the bank of the Xiangjiang River. When autumn cold comes, the geese flew from the north to the south for winter, and then stopped in Hengyang. Over time, Hengyang, the "Yancheng" was named here.

People who moved here early to escape the war built new homes here. Smokes of cooking fires were curling, and their lives were destroyed in one place and thrived in another place. Just like a city, a civilization had to be abandoned due to war and disease, and its people traveled through mountains and rivers to build a new city and a new civilization in another place.

The wildfires cannot be burned out, and the spring breeze blows again. The scenery of Hengyang is like these freehand landscape paintings, elegant but not heavy, suitable for the benefits. While walking, I admire the vibrant natural paintings. My mood became much brighter, and the knot in my heart gradually untied.
Chapter completed!