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

In the central army camp where Ma Weidong was stationed, he confronted Yang Chen and Zhou Qiqian fearlessly with full loyalty and patriotism. However, in less than a month, he realized that he had offended the favorites of the two emperors, which was undoubtedly disrespectful to Emperor Chongming. Their peace talks were obviously tacitly approved by Chongming.

Ma Weidong longed to fight, but was restricted in every way. The emperor not only did not support him, but was dissatisfied with him. He repeatedly issued decrees to severely reprimand him, demoted him, and even almost dismissed him and recalled him to the capital for questioning. He was now walking on thin ice, always worried that he would suddenly receive an imperial decree to dismiss him and question him, so that his dream of serving the country on the battlefield would be shattered. He knew the emperor's temper very well. Who could guarantee that such a thing would not happen?

Looking back, didn't Yuan Chong, the governor of Northeast China, lead a million frontier troops and end up with a tragic ending? Although he failed to achieve major victories during this period, he still achieved some victories in some small-scale conflicts and captured more than a hundred enemy heads. Although these were not brilliant achievements, they were enough to inspire him and alleviate the fear of the enemy and the cowardice in the hearts of the soldiers. So he summoned all the generals, swore an oath of blood, and vowed to continue to fight the enemy.

At this dusk, he received a tip-off, which shocked him and made him sigh. It seemed that His Majesty had really lost trust in him, and he was afraid that someone would arrest him and bring him to the capital soon. Ma Weidong had learned that Grand Secretary Li Gang had submitted a petition to supervise the various armies that were supporting the emperor, and His Majesty seemed to have approved his request, allowing him to be the commander-in-chief of the troops supporting the emperor. It was conceivable how disappointed His Majesty must be with him!

At this time, his troops had neither money nor food. He wrote to the Ministry of War, but it fell on deaf ears. He also asked the surrounding counties to prepare food, but they ignored him.

Ma Weidong wrote a handwritten letter and sent it to several neighboring county magistrates, saying: "If you delay again and allow the three armies to face the enemy, you will be punished according to military law!"

But these county magistrates all shirked their responsibilities with various excuses, many of them saying that there was no extra grain in the county this year.

In a short while, Ma Weidong had tens of thousands of troops! They were extremely hungry!

"Governor Ma! What does your Majesty mean? Brothers risked their lives for the court! Fighting the barbarians! Now we are about to run out of food! How can we fight on an empty stomach?" At this time, a deputy general asked. Everyone present looked very bad. You know, all the soldiers had only one bowl of porridge today! We still have to march and fight next, so we have to persist. !

"We have visited several surrounding counties, but none of them are willing to provide food! I'm afraid..." said a deputy general at this time. In fact, his family knew very well that the main reason was the military supervisor Zhou Qiqian. Zhou Qiqian was a favorite of Emperor Chongming. These county magistrates and the like all thought that this was arranged by Emperor Chongming. This made it difficult for Ma Weidong and his men to move forward.

"Master Ma! This is not a solution!"

Ma Weidong took a deep breath and frowned. He knew that the current predicament was far more difficult than the swordplay on the battlefield. He slowly stood up, his eyes swept over every general present, and his voice was firm and powerful: "Brothers, I, Ma Weidong, know that this is a matter of life and death. But we cannot give up resistance because of this. Although the court has temporarily lost its trust in us, our loyalty and passion will eventually be proven."

He paused and continued, "For now, we need to be self-reliant. Immediately order the entire army to look for edibles on the spot, whether it is wild vegetables, tree bark or grass roots, and make full use of them. At the same time, I will also write to His Majesty to request food!"

After hearing this, the generals' eyes flashed with determination. They knew that the governor was not a man who would give up easily, and his wisdom and courage had already been proven on the battlefield. So, everyone agreed in unison and took action separately.

In the days that followed, the troops led by Ma Weidong embarked on a difficult road of self-reliance. The soldiers fought bravely during the day, and gathered around the campfire at night, chewing hard tree bark and wild vegetables with earthy fragrance. Despite the harsh environment, their morale became more firm and their solidarity deepened.

At the same time, Ma Weidong did not stop. He quietly contacted several important officials loyal to the royal family, hoping to get their help. However, the difficulties he faced were far beyond his expectations. Such a large army could not be solved by one or two officials.

Therefore, many officers and soldiers went to the surrounding villages to find food. They believed that they were warriors who would rather die than surrender, so how could they endure hunger? So they broke into the villages and burned, killed and looted wantonly.

Although Ma Weidong knew about it, he could only turn a blind eye. He couldn't sit by and watch the army fall apart because of the food problem. He knew that Yang Chen and Zhou Qiqian were waiting for an opportunity to catch his mistakes, and even the emperor was watching. However, there was no way out in the current situation.

In order to improve the situation, he led his soldiers to constantly look for opportunities to fight the barbarian army. However, the barbarians, relying on their cavalry advantage, always avoided direct confrontation. They seemed to have learned that Ma Weidong was running out of food and grass, and believed that he could not hold on for long. This made Ma Weida's expected direct decisive battles fail again and again, and he could only sneak attack the enemy camp many times. However, the barbarians were mainly cavalry, with strong mobility and low dependence on the camp, and the effect of each attack was minimal.

On this day, they camped in a quiet little village. Ma Weidong, the conscientious general, returned to his residence only after carefully inspecting the camp.

"Is Dakun's fate really at an end? As long as we work together, we will be able to defeat this barbarian army! However, we failed again, but this defeat was not due to the strength of the barbarian army." At this moment, Ma Weidong's most trusted deputy general Mark, holding a simple map in his hand, with a deep look in his eyes, could not help but let out a long sigh.

"Over the years, I have traveled through battlefields of war and experienced countless clashes and fierce battles, but I have never encountered such a severe challenge. Looking at our soldiers, each of them is thin. They have to fight bravely on the front line day after day, and they have to run around and work tirelessly. Everyone knows that we are actually racing against the ruthless time. What awaits us ahead may be the sharp blade of the enemy, or it may be a desperate situation of hunger and cold. Now, the only force that supports us to stand firm is the unswerving loyalty and love for the country.

However, it is sad that the imperial court, instead of being our solid backing and boosting our morale, has implemented many strategies to try to break down our inner fortitude and wear down our ardent patriotism. If this continues, some people will inevitably become desperate and choose to take a risky path. If a team really leaves because of resentment and dissatisfaction, then the disintegration of the entire army will probably become an irreversible fate.

Faced with these difficulties, Ma Weidong was filled with a sense of powerlessness and frustration. He asked Mark in a low and heavy voice: "Faced with such a situation, how should we deal with it and find a way out?"