Chapter 188: Desperate to see through
"What's that?" Bai Xuexing simply gave up the unnecessary Xuanying looked at the dark night sky dotted with a few stars: "Drought in the northwest."
Pingchengguan.
The heat wave wrapped in sand and dust covered the ground, and Yan Cui narrowed his eyes slightly.
Under the city wall, General Shao was chewing a piece of dry straw in his mouth and looking up at the man in white on the city wall.
The deputy general followed his gaze and said with emotion: "The lady's white clothes are all stained with dust."
At first, no matter how strong the wind and sand were, Yan Nan's white clothes were always spotless, but now her snow-white sleeves were stained with yellow dust. Everyone knew that she might be saving her spiritual power.
General Shao sighed and said, "How long has it been since General Zhennan died in battle?"
The deputy general's mouth was very dry and he didn't want to speak, so he just raised his finger.
General Shao didn't want to get any answers, and didn't even look at him: "You said she stood on the top of the city with a paper crane in her hand all day, who is she waiting for?"
The deputy general finally couldn't help but say: "Wait for your lover."
Several soldiers around heard it and came over to watch with them. If it were normal, they would have asked a lot of questions, but now they were dehydrated and thirsty, so no one wanted to say a word.
Yan Cui can use his spiritual power to condense water every day. Logically, the situation of the Northwest Army should be much better, but the reality is just the opposite.
The Northwest Army has a very high reputation on the border, which is a good thing under normal circumstances, but now it has become a huge burden.
Many people in Pingcheng Pass were reluctant to leave their homeland. Seeing that the Northwest Army was still stationed there, they became hopeful, thinking that perhaps it would rain if they waited a little longer, or that the imperial court would send people to provide disaster relief.
These people also took up arms and fought against the Northwest Army in times of crisis. How could the Northwest Army just watch them die?
"General!" A centurion came over in a hurry, "Three more wells in the city have run dry! The people in the city are all running to Hongliu Lake to get water, and we can't stop them at all!"
There were only six wells left in the city that had not dried up...
General Shao spat out the hay in his mouth with a "Puh" sound, his eyes filled with emotions, but in the end he just replied calmly: "Got it."
The drought in the outside world has only lasted for more than a month, but in fact, this disaster has been brewing for a long time. So far, it has not rained in Pingchengguan for nearly three months, and before that, only lake water and groundwater were barely holding on.
"Go ahead and beat them. Make them follow the rules and not pollute the water source. Each person can only draw one bucket. Those who violate the rules will be killed without mercy." General Shao paused for a moment, "Tell them that after they draw water from Hongliu Lake, there will be no more water in the city. Advise them to flee."
After speaking such a long speech in one breath, General Shao felt like his throat was on fire.
Now the northwest is dry for a hundred miles. How difficult is it for the people in Pingchengguan, who are in the depths of the drought, to escape? Those who are able-bodied may be able to escape by taking this bucket of water, but the old, weak, and disabled may just have to wait for death here...
The three remaining wells and the little remnants at the bottom of the lake could not last more than two days.
When the water source dries up completely, even they will have to wait for death...
Should I leave without permission? I must make a decision within two days.
General Shao didn't know what he was thinking about, and looked up at the person in white on the city wall.
On top of the city.
Yan Cui tightly grasped the two paper cranes and pursed his thin lips.
These are the letters that Master Xuanying had sent back before. The first one said, "I will come to find you in two or three days," and the second one said, "I will come to find you in another three to five days."
He really wanted to know what she would say if she sent another letter back!
Unreliable swordsman!
He shouldn't have believed her! He was consuming a lot of spiritual energy here every day, and he could only hold on for a few more days at most. If she didn't come again...
"From my wife."
Yan Cui turned around and looked at the person who came.
General Shao's eyes fell on the paper crane in her hand: "You are waiting for the owner of the paper crane."
"Ah."
General Shao paused for a moment, and suddenly remembered that the Grand Masters all had clasped eyes and ears, so he clasped his fists in embarrassment and said, "We were careless with our words just now, and we apologize for offending you."
No matter whether the other party hears it or not, apologize first!
Yan Cui hummed.
General Shao assumed that he had accepted it, and then asked, "Can the person you are waiting for save the people suffering from drought?"
Yan Cui did not expect General Shao to be so perceptive. His eyes were deep and deep. "General, your mood at this moment is very similar to that of the people in the city. Putting your hopes on others is not the best strategy after all. General, have you ever thought about leaving Pingchengguan?"
Of course he thought about it, but he knew that once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back.
When a general is away from the emperor, he is not subject to the orders of the emperor. This does not apply to the Xiao family army.
"Xiao Hongfan knows how to handle current affairs better than you do." Yan Cui turned around and looked at the vast night.
General Shao didn't know why he suddenly mentioned Xiao Hongfan. He followed his gaze and his expression changed slightly. He leaned forward and looked carefully for a long while before he made out a convoy appearing in the dark skyline in the distance.
As the convoy approached, a whistle sounded from the watchtower.
The convoy stopped far away, and one person left the team and ran to the city gate alone, shouting: "We are ordered by General Xiao to deliver water to the Northwest Army!"
"No way, from southwest to northwest..." General Shao murmured.
A hanging basket slowly descended from the city wall, and the man below put the thing in his hand into it.
When the basket rose up, General Shao saw a letter and a private seal inside, with the words "Meng Yu" engraved on it.
Mengyu is exactly General Xiao’s pen name.
"It's the old general's seal!" General Shao recognized it at a glance. In the past, this private seal could also be used as a military order to dispatch the Xiao family army.
"Open the city gates!" General Shao quickly read the letter and shouted, "Don't let your guard down."
The heavy city gate made a dull sound.
The man at the foot of the city wall received a response and immediately returned.
Soon, the convoy approached the city in a mighty manner, and it was roughly estimated that there were four to five hundred people.
When they unloaded the large buckets from the car one by one and opened them for inspection, the guards could not help but exclaimed: "It's really water!"
Yan Cui lowered his eyes and looked at the cheering crowd below, and suddenly he understood Xiao Hongfan's intention.
They had learned from Xiao Hongfan’s dream that she had delivered water to help the Northwest Army, but they had never seen it with their own eyes. Yan Cui and Shi Xuanying had been cultivators for too long and had not realized the unreasonableness of it.
She sent people to deliver water from a distance, and the water consumed along the way was huge. By the time they arrived at Pingcheng Pass, the remaining water was just a drop in the bucket and could not save Xiao's army at all.
