Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

Yuan Shu was no fool. He understood the current situation's difficulty, but he still clung to a glimmer of hope, hoping for a turnaround. While he felt Yan Xiang's proposal made some sense, he deeply favored Yang Hong's unwillingness to give up easily.

After a moment's silence, Yuan Shu looked at the predicament before him, his hope fading. He slowly turned his gaze to Yang Hong, as if waiting for him to offer a better solution. Yang Hong immediately caught the anticipation in Yuan Shu's eyes and secretly rejoiced, thinking this was a perfect opportunity to showcase his abilities before his lord.

He took a slight step forward, a confident look on his face, and reiterated the previous incident: "My lord, I have previously suggested that we urgently stockpile food and fodder in the surrounding counties to supply the army. As long as we have sufficient food and fodder, we will only need to attack Yuzhang County with all our might. Once we capture Yuzhang County, we can wait for our victorious army to return and then confront Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, Ma Chao, and the others. Regardless, we cannot allow our army to return empty-handed. Otherwise, how will we gain a foothold among the princes in the future?"

Yuan Shu listened to Yang Hong's words, narrowed his eyes slightly, and fell into deep thought, carefully calculating the possibility of success of this plan in his mind.

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiang, standing by, panicked. He knew that while Yang Hong's plan had a chance of success, it would also have serious consequences. He hurriedly stepped forward, clasping his hands and saying, "Mr. Yang Hong, this is absolutely unacceptable! If we plunder the surrounding counties for food and fodder, our army's reputation will be ruined. My lord, you have always ruled with a reputation of benevolence and righteousness. If you do this, the people of this land will surely lose their support. Even if we do capture Yuzhang County, without the support of the people, how can we hold this territory? What good will it do?"

After hearing Yan Xiang's words, Yang Hong's face showed disdain. He retorted sarcastically, "Mr. Yan Xiang, you are always so soft-hearted! The situation is critical now. If we don't take decisive measures, our army will be in danger. The people's hearts are important, but right now, preserving the army and achieving military success are the most urgent tasks. Once we capture Yuzhang County and have sufficient territory and resources, it won't be too late to slowly appease the people. Don't let small things lead to big losses and hinder your lord's great cause!"

Yan Xiang's face flushed with anger. He was about to retort when Yuan Shu raised his hand to stop their argument. A hint of fatigue flashed through Yuan Shu's eyes. He said slowly, "Stop arguing! Let me think this over..." With that, he turned and walked to a corner of the tent, his back to the others, lost in deep thought. The atmosphere in the tent grew increasingly solemn.

Yuan Shu paced back and forth in his tent, his inner tangle tangled like a knot, difficult to untangle. Ultimately, his desire for victory and his refusal to return empty-handed took over. He abruptly stopped, a look of determination flashing in his eyes. He shouted, "Let's follow Yang Hong's advice. We will gather provisions and forage in the surrounding counties and launch an all-out assault on Yuzhang County! How can we afford to return so easily in defeat?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiang was horrified. He hurriedly took a few steps forward and knelt down in front of Yuan Shu with a plop. His eyes were full of anxiety and worry. He begged bitterly, "My lord, you must not do this! This is like drinking poison to quench thirst, and it will surely plunge our army into an irretrievable situation. I hope my lord will put the overall situation first and think twice before acting! Although it is a pity to give up the attack now, at least we can preserve our strength. If we insist on going our own way, the consequences will be disastrous!" His voice was filled with tears, and his forehead knocked heavily on the ground, and he was unwilling to lift it for a long time.

Seeing this, Yang Hong curled his lips into a mocking smile. He glanced at Yan Xiang with disdain and said, "Mr. Yan Xiang, you are so timid and cowardly. How can you help the lord achieve great things? Now that the lord has made a decision, you are still here making trouble. Are you deliberately trying to disrupt the morale of the army?"

After hearing Yang Hong's words, Yuan Shu began to feel annoyed by Yan Xiang's pleading. A flicker of dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes, and he said coldly, "Yan Xiang, I've made up my mind. No need to say more. As your advisor, you're so cowardly. I'm truly disappointed. If you dare to stop me again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Yan Xiang's body trembled at Yuan Shu's harsh rebuke, his heart filled with bitterness and despair. He slowly raised his head and met Yuan Shu's cold gaze, tears welling in his eyes. He knew he could no longer change his lord's decision, so he could only pray silently in his heart that things would not take the worst possible course.

Yuan Shu looked at Li Feng and Lei Bo with cold eyes, his tone revealing unquestionable majesty: "You two have made a big mistake. Now I give you a chance to atone for your sins. Go to the nearby counties to collect food and grass immediately. If you can't do it, don't come back to see me!" Li Feng and Lei Bo trembled with fear and knelt down to kowtow, then took the order and left.

Yan Xiang was filled with worry. He knew that in these difficult times, excessive grain collection would place a heavy burden on the people and damage the reputation of Yuan Shu's army. So, he hurried out of the camp and stopped Li Feng and Lei Bo at the gate as they were about to leave. With a sincere and earnest expression, Yan Xiang said, "Generals, we must not resort to violence in this grain collection. The people are already struggling, and we must not be too harsh on them. Otherwise, we will surely arouse public anger and harm our army."

Li Feng and Lei Bo nodded repeatedly, saying perfunctorily, "Don't worry, Mr. Yan Xiang, we won't have to worry." But in reality, they were only thinking about completing the mission as quickly as possible and regaining Yuan Shu's trust. They didn't take Yan Xiang's words to heart at all. After perfunctorily answering Yan Xiang, the two of them hurriedly mounted their horses and galloped away.

After leaving the camp, Li Feng and Lei Bo, eager to atone for their sins before Yuan Shu, completely disregarded Yan Xiang's instructions. In the days that followed, the people of the surrounding counties suffered utterly.

Li Feng and Lei Bo led a group of soldiers as fierce as wolves and tigers and rushed into the first village with great momentum. It was the middle of winter and the village was desolate. The people were ragged, pale and thin, barely making a living.

As soon as the soldiers entered the village, they fanned out, searching every household for food. Li Feng, perched on his horse, scanned the surroundings with a fierce look and shouted, "Listen up, everyone! Every household, hand over all the food! Anyone hiding any will be killed!"

The door of a house was violently kicked open, and an elderly man was dragged out by the soldiers. The old man's face was full of fear, and he said in a trembling voice: "Soldier, our family is really out of food. This is all we have left to survive. Please have mercy on us."

A soldier glared at the old man fiercely and cursed, "Stop talking nonsense and hand it over!" Then he pushed the old man to the ground and rushed into the house to search through the drawers. After a while, the soldiers carried out a worn rice bag from the house. There was not much food left in it, but they still took it away without mercy.

The old man looked at the food that had been taken away and burst into tears in despair. His wife also cried beside him. But the soldiers turned a blind eye and went to the next house.

At the other end of the village, Lei Bo led several soldiers into a farmer's yard. Inside, a young mother was holding her hungry baby. Seeing the soldiers rushing in, she turned pale with fear and trembled uncontrollably.

Lei Bo said impatiently, "Hand over the food quickly! Don't waste my time!" The young mother's eyes welled with tears as she pleaded, "Sir, our children are still young and can't go without food. Please leave some for us."

Lei Bo snorted coldly, pushed the young mother aside, and walked into the house. He searched the house and found a small bag of flour and a few shriveled potatoes. He snatched these things and turned to leave. Seeing this, the young mother rushed forward desperately to take the food back, but was kicked to the ground by Lei Bo.

The crying of children and the shouting of mothers echoed in the yard, but Lei Bo and his soldiers left without looking back.

The entire village was shrouded in fear and despair, with the people crying and begging for mercy. Li Feng and Lei Bo turned a deaf ear to these cries. They were only concerned with the amount of food and fodder they had collected, and kept urging the soldiers to speed up and not let any household go.

As time went by, the village's food supply was completely plundered, and the people's essential survival supplies were taken away. Li Feng and Lei Bo looked at the mountains of food and fodder with smug smiles on their faces, feeling that they were one step closer to redemption. However, they had no idea that their atrocities had already sown the seeds of hatred in the hearts of the people, and that a greater storm was about to come.

Li Feng and Lei Bo led their ferocious soldiers, and whenever they arrived at a county, they acted recklessly like tigers and wolves among a flock of sheep. The originally peaceful county was instantly shrouded in a terrifying atmosphere.

Without hesitation, the soldiers kicked down the doors of the people's homes and rushed in like hungry ghosts. Their eyes were filled with greed, and they had no regard for the lives of the people as they turned the houses into a shambles. Food was roughly dumped from cupboards and rice jars, filling sacks. Livestock were mercilessly driven out of their pens, their cries echoing through the streets.

Under their brutal tactics, the food and fodder looted from various counties was gathered bit by bit, like ants moving house, loaded onto carts, and slowly transported toward Yuan Shu's camp. Along the way, the wheels of the carts crushed the earth, raising clouds of dust that seemed to be filled with the blood, tears, and despair of the people.

Although the rations and forage Li Feng and Lei Bo had forcibly requisitioned temporarily alleviated Yuan Shu's army's pressing needs, their reputation had been thoroughly tarnished throughout the surrounding counties. The common people gnashed their teeth when they spoke of Yuan Shu's army, their faces filled with resentment and fear. Once, the people might have held out hope for this army, but now, they were filled with only endless resentment.

However, Yuan Shu was completely consumed by his determination to capture Yuzhang County, and he had no time to consider the people's complaints. Seeing the mountains of food and fodder being transported to the camp, a glint of madness flashed in his eyes, and his ambition swelled once again. He felt that he had risked his reputation to secure food and fodder for the army, and no matter what, the army's advance could not be stopped at the gates of Yuzhang County. To do so would be to thwart the great cause.