In the famine, others ate Guanyin soil, but he had space to build a farm.

Chapter 149 Northwest County

Northwest County, a border area that has experienced many vicissitudes, is now shrouded in anxiety and uneasiness. In the government office of Northwest Prefecture, Governor Wu Bin paced back and forth in his study, revealing an unconcealable worry between his brows. He knew very well that if we talk about which county is most seriously affected by the drought and famine, it is undoubtedly Northwest County.

Northwest County was already known for its drought, and it was even harder to get water at this moment. Even the sparse rain had not come. In the fields, the once golden wheat waves were now only a scorched yellow, and even the sparse trees on the mountain had withered due to the ruthless drought. Even the flower beds in the government office had long lost their former vitality, and not even a blade of green grass could be found.

Wu Bin anxiously sent memorials to the imperial court in Kyoto, requesting disaster relief. However, the response from the capital was like a hammer hitting his heart - the invasion of the northeastern barbarians forced the imperial court to transfer a large amount of military equipment and food to the border. The imperial court could only shake its head helplessly at the Northwest County's request for disaster relief. What made him even more heartbroken was that this year the imperial court actually ordered an increase in taxes, which was undoubtedly a further blow to Northwest County.

When the news spread, the people of Northwest County fell into panic and despair. Overnight, many villagers who were struggling to survive united together. Some fled to the mountains, while others blatantly went to the wealthy families who still had grain in stock to rob food. A large number of people chose to flee Northwest County, hoping to find a glimmer of hope in the east where the situation was slightly better. The entire Northwest County was empty, and the whole place was in depression.

However, what made Wu Bin even more angry and frightened was that several refugee teams that went up the mountain dared to attack the county town in order to compete for food. Although these peasants without weapons and command failed again and again, their actions ignited the unrest in the entire Northwest County like a raging fire.

However, what really frightened Wu Bin was not the peasants, but a sudden insurgent army. Under the banner of King Chuang, they, like an elite force, captured two county towns in succession with astonishing speed and method. They used the food in the county towns to quickly recruit a large number of refugees, and their power grew rapidly.

When the news reached Northwest Prefecture, Wu Bin was already extremely worried. He summoned all the civil and military officials of Northwest Prefecture and asked sternly: "Everyone, what is going on? Why can these peasants easily capture the county town?"

Sun Daotai of Northwest Prefecture stood up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and explained: "Governor, these rebels just caught the county towns by surprise. The defenders of those county towns underestimated the enemy, and some county towns had no garrison at all, only some yamen runners guarding them, which gave them an opportunity to take advantage of the situation."

Wu Bin heard this, a stern look flashed in his eyes. He stared at Sun Daotai and asked coldly: "According to you, these rebels are nothing to worry about?"

Sun Daotai was frightened by Wu Bin's gaze, and he waved his hand and explained: "Governor, I don't understand military affairs after all, this is just my speculation..." He prayed in his heart, hoping that the governor would not send him to suppress the rebels. He knew very well that the army of the entire Northwest Prefecture had long been in name only, and those generals had already squandered all the military pay, leaving only some old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers. How could they resist those wolf-like rebels?

"General Zhou! You are the highest military commander of our Northwest County!! Your father was also a famous warrior! Tell us how to deal with the current situation!" Wu Bin no longer placed his hopes on these civil officials. He could only turn around and look at the chief military commander Zhou Kai, who was sitting there with a big belly and constantly panting.

Zhou Kai's father was also famous in the northwest. A brave and courageous man. Otherwise, Zhou Kai wouldn't be the only general in the northwest now! ?

"These rebels are just clowns! But the soldiers in those counties have been neglected in training and are useless! As long as the governor can give me 1 troops, I promise that there will be no more rebels in the entire Xishan County!" Zhou Kai panted and tried to stand up from the chair! As if to show his strength.

Everyone looked at him and couldn't help but secretly shook their heads in their hearts. It's really a fat pig for a good man! I'm afraid it would be difficult to find a group of horses that can carry him to war. Everyone looked at the two of them, and I'm afraid that their bodies, which were no less than 300 pounds, sighed. But they didn't dare to show it, after all, this one was the highest-ranking general in the entire Northwest.

Faced with Zhou Kai's assurance and everyone's doubts, Wu Bin felt mixed emotions. He knew the military situation in Northwest County and Zhou Kai's limited ability, but the situation was urgent at the moment, so he had to place a glimmer of hope on this nominally supreme military commander.

"General Zhou, I will trust you for now. But you must remember that this is not just a matter of 10,000 soldiers and horses, but also the life and death of tens of thousands of people in my Northwest County. You must act cautiously and not underestimate the enemy." Wu Bin said in a deep voice.

Zhou Kai felt proud when he saw that the governor trusted him so much. He straightened his back and said loudly, "Don't worry, governor. I will do my best to live up to your trust!"

However, Wu Bin knew that this was only a stopgap measure. He understood that if he wanted to truly solve the crisis in Northwest County, it would be far from enough to rely on Zhou Kai and 10,000 soldiers. He had to find other ways to deal with this unprecedented drought and famine. Only enough food could completely solve the problem here. If everyone had food, they would not follow the rebels.

So Wu Bin began to send memorials to the capital. He sent letters to neighboring counties and cities, hoping that they could provide food aid; he issued a fundraising order to wealthy merchants, hoping that they would be generous; he even personally took the lead in donating food and grass!

With Wu Bin's unremitting efforts, the situation in Northwest County gradually improved. Under his coercion and inducement, some wealthy businessmen lent a hand and provided valuable food aid to Northwest County.

Just when the porridge hall was set up in the Northwest Prefecture to provide porridge.

Zhou Kai led his 1-man army and set off in a mighty manner. As the military stronghold of the Northwest Army, these soldiers in Northwest Prefecture were not as good as those of the border troops, but they were more or less trained. At least when they went out, they looked very imposing.

For this expedition, Governor Wu Bin organized a logistics force of up to 1 refugees to provide them with logistics supplies. This solved the problem of food for many refugees and prevented them from joining the rebels.