sbdcsierra Chapter 113: Food and Grass Transfer, Number of Kitchens Reduced by Half
Chapter 113: Food and Grass Transfer, Number of Kitchens Reduced by Half
The Wu army was discussing strategies to defeat the enemy, and the Jin army did not dare to slack off at all.
After several battles with Zong Yanli, even a veteran like Wu Jian'an was unable to gain any advantage from Zong Yanli, and felt that this man was more and more unfathomable.
“Such a talented person…” Wu Jian’an stood in front of the map, looking at the flags of Wu State on the sand table. His old face was full of solemnity, and he whispered with his Adam’s apple rolling, “The cavalry of our Jin State is in the front, and Zong Yanli has not been able to break through for a while.”
"Even so, they have been persistent in launching offensives several times, trying to find the weakness of our army." Wu Jian'an put his hands behind his back, turned his head and looked at Shao Weiyi and said, "What do you think the Wu army will do next?"
"Wuguo only has so many soldiers and horses. Pingnanying is guarding Gaoguo, Yuanshiguan is guarding Qingguo, so they won't send more troops to help." Shao Weiyi has been guarding the pass for many years. When he heard his teacher asking questions, he pondered and said, "Teacher, I think we need to pay close attention to the two counselors under Zong Yanli."
"One is Pei Liang, who was in the Nankang Army, and the other is Gongsun Pu, the third in command of the White Eagle Army."
"Pei Liang is not famous yet. He has only started to show some talent after following Zong Yanli. But Gongsun Pu of the White Eagle Army is a remarkable figure."
The surname Gongsun is unusual. When He Xingliang, the third prince of Wu State, was expelled to the border of Jin State for treason, Zong Yanli relied on Gongsun Pu and Pei Liang to offer advice to break the city and win.
Shao Weiyi took a deep breath and said, "I think the Wu army will make some unusual moves in the near future."
As soon as Shao Weiyi finished speaking, he saw the scout outside the tent running in quickly: "General! The Wu army has broken camp!"
"Disband the camp?" Wu Jian'an's heart skipped a beat and he suddenly turned around to look.
"Yes! They have withdrawn their camp and moved back to the border, seemingly intending to cease fire." The scout said hastily.
"Absolutely impossible. The current situation is extremely advantageous for Wu State. How could Wu State stop the war without a reason?" Wu Jian'an waved his hand without even thinking. The reason why Wu State made a big fuss about the death of a rebellious prince was nothing more than to attack Jin!
Although they are now blocked by the Jin cavalry, they are not completely without a chance. If Zong Yanli is ruthless and wants to win by any means necessary, and finds some slaves and captives to charge into the formation, it is not impossible to win by a violent attack.
However, Wu Jian'an had something in mind. He firmly believed that Zong Yanli was definitely not that kind of general, so at this moment he was sitting so calmly in the military tent to deploy the next battle.
Wu Jian'an looked at the scout with a frown and asked, "Is the Wu army planning to split up its camps?"
"It seems so..." The scout was not sure.
"Go check!" Wu Jian'an turned around and sat upright on the general's seat, narrowed his eyes and raised his hand and said: "Summon all the generals to the tent to discuss matters!"
"Check whether the Wu army has transported any food and fodder in recent days." Wu Jian'an turned his head and continued.
"Yes!" Shao Weiyi quickly responded respectfully.
At the same time, in the Wu State military camp.
Zong Yanli and many generals lived in the big tent. She raised her hand and pointed to Longfeng City, a border town on the west side of Jin State on the sand table, which was originally adjacent to Nankang.
Everyone lowered their eyes to look at where Zong Yanli pointed. She said in a calm tone: "Longfeng City is the best siege route, and it is also the easiest to confuse the Jin army."
"General Dong." Zong Yanli looked up at Dong Haoqiang and said, "This general wants you to lead 2,000 soldiers, travel at night to avoid the enemy's eyes and ears, and launch a feint attack on Longfeng City."
“Pei Liang, you go with General Dong. This time we need to attack the city with great momentum.” Zong Yanli narrowed his eyes and said, “Let Jin mistakenly think that our main force is turning to attack Longfeng, and transfer the cavalry away.”
"The food and grass will be transferred, and the number of stoves will be reduced by half."
"From today on, you and I, as well as the soldiers in the army...eat less and endure hunger!"
Zong Yanli was really cruel to his own people. If he wanted the Jin army to believe him, he had to resort to extraordinary means.
Wu Jian'an was not someone who could be easily fooled. When Dong Haoqiang led two thousand elite soldiers out of the camp, all the soldiers in the army were ordered not to step out of the camp at all. They reduced the number of cooking stoves to show weakness in order to confuse the enemy, and they had to fight back without any food being delivered or cooking.
The soldiers hiding in the tent could only drink water to fill their stomachs, lie down with their eyes closed and move less to reduce consumption, but even so, they were really hungry.
Zong Yanli treated everyone equally and did not eat or drink like all the other soldiers in the army.
But it wasn't that they didn't give them a single bite to eat. Although the number of stoves had been reduced, they still cooked. After nightfall, someone would secretly put bread into their tents. The little food they shared could only ensure that they wouldn't starve to death.
"The days are really long..." Monkie, Kuang Xingquan and others also hid in the tent. It was bad enough that they had to endure hunger, but they could not go out. They had to relieve themselves in the tent. It was okay for one day, but after three days, they were almost stinking to death.
"General Dong should be arriving in Longfeng soon." Kuang Xingquan has always been steady, but now he is sitting cross-legged on the bed, holding back his anger.
"It will be soon. When the news of the Longfeng battle reaches Wu Jian'an's ears, he will definitely notice something strange about our army." Huo Wenqi covered his mouth and nose with a cloth and spoke in a muffled voice.
"You too...you all have your own military tents, but you insist on gathering together." Xie Hu looked pale and truly regretted it.
"It's already boring. If I stay alone without anyone to talk to, won't I be suffocated to death?" Monk cried out that he couldn't stand it.
Dong Haoqiang, with Pei Liang's advice, followed Pei Liang's plan and chose to attack the city at night.
The soldiers that Zong Yanli gave him were all well-equipped and extremely brave. When they pretended to attack Longfeng, they really scared the defenders of Longfeng. They saw dense flames rushing towards them in the dark night.
"General! That's, that's the Wu army!" The soldiers guarding the pass were pale and felt as if they had double vision. They actually saw flames on the slope of the valley. How many soldiers and horses had come?
"Wolf smoke! Get ready to meet the enemy--!" The guard's voice was almost hoarse.
The siege that night was extremely terrifying. It was already the fourth day when the urgent military report of the 800-mile journey reached Wu Jian'an.
Wu Jianan looked at the soldier with a gray face who delivered the military report and said coldly: "You did see it with your own eyes, tens of thousands of Wu army soldiers attacked the city!?"
The soldier knelt in the tent and said, "It is absolutely true! Please come back to help us, General!"
Wu Jian'an stared at the military book in his hand and read it three times. He was extremely uncertain. He turned back to the sand table and stared at the position of Longfeng City on the sand table, as if he was estimating something. The soldier below saw that Wu Jian'an had no reaction and almost cried: "General! Longfeng can't hold out against the siege of tens of thousands of Wu troops!"
"Don't say anything." Wu Jian'an interrupted him coldly, turned around and said, "Prepare the horses!"