Ten days later, Yu Chong led a thousand elite soldiers from the Nanyang Army, escorting an endless convoy of grain trucks on their journey.
Transporting grain was not considered hard labor, yet it required vigilant attention. Within the borders of Jingzhou, the little bandits, upon seeing the strong and vigorous Nanyang Army, would flee quickly, not daring to show themselves. Once outside Jingzhou, the number of refugees and starving people visibly increased.
"Reporting to the General, the group of refugees from yesterday is still following us," a personal soldier reported with a grave expression. "There are around two hundred of these refugees, no women or children, nor elderly, all men between their twenties and forties."
Such refugees were essentially bandits. The absence of women, children, and the elderly might mean they had settled elsewhere, but more likely, they had died for various reasons.
