Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 679: Huaiyin Marquis’ Old Strategy

In order to supply Huo Jun's army for the Northern Expedition, Jiangdong operated two transport tracks, namely, grain transport and sea transport.

The shipping route started from Jinling and Wuxian, went along the coast, and arrived at Yuzhou Island. Then soldiers and civilians escorted the grain and grass, passed the south side of Wulian Mountain, traveled more than 200 miles, and delivered them to Juxian.

Transporting grain by sea was not that difficult for the Southern Han. In fact, this route can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period, when King Fuchai attacked Qi and fought the Battle of Langya. The Kingdom of Yue fought for hegemony and moved its capital to Langya Terrace.

The route had been established for six or seven hundred years, and the Han army had been in Yuzhou for many years, so the navy had the strength to travel far to Liaodong. It was not a difficult operation to transport grain along the coast for more than a thousand miles.

Since Qingzhou was close to the seaside, Cao Wei was quite familiar with this grain transportation route. The looting of military supplies mentioned by Liu Ye actually meant looting the grain and supplies transported ashore by sea.

Now, in order to gain military merit, Sun Quan ordered Dai Ling to lead 5,000 infantry and cavalry to march south from Panghai Road to rob food.

After receiving the military order, Dai Ling sent scouts south to investigate. When he heard that military rations were being transported out of the port, he led his infantry and cavalry to prepare to ambush the ration team on the south side of Wulian Mountain.

The Wulian Mountain area separates the Yi and Shu River valleys from the Panghai Road, and together with the Yimeng Mountain area to the west, forms a barrier to the south of Qingqi.

If the Wulian and Yimeng mountainous areas can be controlled, the main roads in and out of Qingqi will be controlled. Huo Fan proposed to take the coastal road to enter Qidong. In essence, he wanted to control the Wulian mountainous area in order to open up the coastal road in and out of Qidong.

More than ten miles south of the Wulianshan area, on a rural mountain road, a grain team of six or seven thousand soldiers and civilians was traveling with mules and carts carrying a large amount of baggage. The Han cavalry was scattered on the periphery to prevent the enemy army from making a surprise attack; the infantry was divided into two teams to guard the grain team on both sides to deal with emergencies.

“It’s too hot!”

"Can we take a rest under the tree for a while?"

The summer heat was so hot that the people were exhausted. Many coolies complained and hoped that the Han army commander would allow them to rest.

"This road is dangerous, no rest allowed!"

Zhonglang Jiang Zhu Ming whipped the lazy ruffian with his whip and cursed him: "After this place, we will go to the forest to escape the summer heat!"

Under Zhu Ming's urging, the laborers set out again. However, due to the hot weather, they all seemed to be scorched.

The rascal looked at Zhu Ming who didn't have to suffer, and muttered: "It's so carefree to drink and eat meat, but we are miserable!"

"Hurry up!"

The old man whipping the mule said, "After transporting the grain, go home early. If you can't bear this hardship, don't come next time!"

The scoundrel moved his mouth and muttered, "If the government hadn't offered money, who would be willing to cross the sea for thousands of miles to transport grain?"

These laborers who transported grain were not local people from Xuzhou Langya, but were hired by the Southern Han from Jiangdong to transport the remaining two to three hundred miles by land.

During the Han Dynasty, although corvée labor was a form of taxation for the people, the imperial court would provide normal food rations and the people did not need to provide them themselves.

The reason why the Southern Han Dynasty paid wages was that it took into account that transporting grain across thousands of miles across the sea and serving in a foreign land would inevitably make the people panic. In order to appease the people and stimulate their enthusiasm, the Southern Han Dynasty recruited 10,000 people willing to transport grain across the sea by offering compensation in the form of money and grain.

Just as the ruffian was chatting with the old man, the Han cavalry suddenly blew their horns, indicating that the Wei army was on the scene.

"Quick, form a formation!"

Upon hearing the news, Zhu Ming rode his horse and shouted.

Because they had trained for many months in advance, under the command of the Han soldiers, the ruffians and old men drove the vehicles in a hurry and formed a small circle with the surrounding vehicles. The Han army's infantry withdrew into the formation, ready to resist the Wei army.

After a long time, the Wei cavalry approached from a distance with a roar like thunder, galloping around dozens of small chariot formations, trying to find weaknesses to break the formation.

The Wei cavalry circled the formation, while the Han soldiers fought back with bows and crossbows, killing more than ten cavalrymen in a hail of arrows, forcing the Wei army to not approach them. However, some of the chariot formations had loopholes, and the Wei army suddenly attacked them.

Fortunately, the scoundrel and the old man were in a safe chariot formation. Because they were afraid of the bows and crossbows behind the grain carts, the Wei cavalry could not surround them for long. They were forced to withdraw only when dusk fell.

After the Wei cavalry withdrew, the Han army's food team was still in fear. Fearing that the Wei cavalry had not left, they maintained their formation. That night, the soldiers spent the night in the chariot formation.

There was no incident that night, and there was no harassment from the Wei cavalry.

After daybreak, Zhu Ming sent out cavalry, who saw that there was no trace of Wei troops outside. Considering that they were about to enter the range of the Han army, he led the grain team back on the road.

After walking for about two hours, they saw no more Wei cavalry, and the grain team felt relieved. As it was near noon, the weather was very hot, and the army had little water, Zhu Mingfang let his men rest.

However, just when the grain team was slacking off, the Wei army appeared with even greater momentum. In the surrounding mountains and forests, the sound of horses' hooves was loud, flags were waving, and shouts of killing shook the sky.

"Enemy attack!"

The Han army hurriedly escaped from the shade of the trees and prepared to enter the chariot formation to avoid the enemy. But this time the Wei cavalry came too fast, and the Han army wasted time because of rest.

Three thousand Wei cavalry swarmed in from all directions, some armed with bows and crossbows, some wielding spears and swords, charging into the chaotic grain train and preventing the Han soldiers and civilians from forming a battle formation.

"Whoosh!"

Dai Ling led the cavalry into the battle formation, drew his bow and arrow, and the arrow flew out, and a Han soldier was killed immediately. The cavalry behind him charged with spears, killing the Han infantry and cavalry who tried to resist stubbornly.

On the battlefield, Wei cavalry could be seen everywhere slaughtering Han soldiers and civilians who were transporting grain. The soldiers and civilians were beaten so much that they were at a loss and fled all over the mountains and plains. Few dared to resist.

"what!"

The ruffian originally wanted to look for the grain carts, but on the way he saw the Han soldiers guarding them being killed and fleeing in all directions. He even saw with his own eyes a Wei cavalryman stabbed to death the Han soldier who was in charge of supervising them, and the soldier died wailing with blood splattering.

Because the ruffian was young and had never seen such a scene before, he just stood there, at a loss as to what to do!
Fortunately, the old man was knowledgeable and experienced, and he pulled the stunned rascal straight towards Moutai Hanying, not paying any attention to the grain carts.

After running for a while, the ruffian came to his senses and asked anxiously, "What about the grain cart?"

The old man cursed, "You've lost your life, and you still care about the grain carts?" "The grain carts are gone, where do we get the money from?" the ruffian said aggrievedly.

The ruffian owed money to a wealthy man due to gambling, so he had no choice but to float grain on the sea to earn money to pay off his debts. Now that he has no grain truck, he doesn't know how to get his wages.

“You can only make money if you live.”

"The food truck is gone. If we can find officers and soldiers alive, we can just work for a few more months!"

The old man was open-minded and sighed, "Work for a few months, help my son earn enough for the betrothal gift, and then you can go back."

"Let's go!"

The old man had transported food with Huo Fan before, and remembered the way to Moutai Hanying, so he took the ruffian with him. Along the way, the two of them also met many defeated soldiers, all of whom were preparing to go to Moutai Hanying.

These civilians who came from Jiangdong were too far away from their hometown. Even if they were separated from the main army due to defeat, they would find the nearest Han camp as they had nowhere to go.

If the civilians from Xu and Si areas came in scattered groups, they would flee to the countryside instead of returning to their hometown on their own initiative.

After killing and dispersing the Han soldiers and civilians, the Wei infantry led by Dai Ling seized almost all of the Han army's food carts, totaling more than a thousand.

"General, our army has captured more than a thousand grain carts. What should we do with them?" asked the attendant.

Dai Ling held the reins and said in a deep voice: "Set them all on fire!"

"Burned?"

"Our soldiers have been traveling south for many days, so why not let them take some money and food back with them?" The deputy general said, "If we burn them all, it will probably make the soldiers feel disheartened!"

Dai Ling hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm afraid the Han army will get wind of our whereabouts and send troops to surround and rob us!"

"We are only two or three hundred miles away from Langya. Our army is moving fast, so we won't be able to escape." The deputy general said, "Besides, the enemy army doesn't know our strength, so how can they lead troops to pursue us?"

Dai Ling glanced at the battlefield and saw the Wei soldiers putting valuables into their arms. He probably understood what everyone was thinking.

"good!"

Dai Ling finally gave in and said, "Everyone take some money and food with you on your journey, and burn the rest!"

With Dai Ling's words, the Wei soldiers celebrated loudly and frantically searched for valuables on the grain carts. Each of them loaded their bags with spoils, some carrying more than ten kilograms of spoils, and some carrying twenty or thirty kilograms of spoils, fearing that they would not get enough.

If Dai Ling had not stepped forward to stop them, the Wei cavalry would have let their horses carry the spoils and marched on foot.

Not to mention that Dai Ling burned the baggage and then retreated. Upon hearing the news that the grain team was attacked, Huo Fan led his troops and hurried over. On the way, he met the fleeing ruffians, old men and others.

Huo Fan rode on his horse, looked at the civilians, and asked, "How is the grain team?"

"General, the enemy army is too large and our grain transport has been robbed by them." The old man said, "Judging from the number of their troops, they should be more than before!"

"Have you seen General Zhu?"

"It seems that they were defeated by the enemy army and don't know where to escape!"

"No, it seems he was killed by the enemy army!"

"No, he led his men to flee to Qu County."

Everyone was discussing and arguing about the whereabouts of Officer Zhu Ming.

Huo Fan asked a few more questions and after learning the general information, he ordered someone to take the laborers back to the camp.

Tang Zi stepped forward holding the reins and said, "Our army was ordered to go through the Panghai Road, but the Wei army went south instead. Now our food and grass have been robbed by the Wei army, what should we do?"

After Huo Fan suggested entering Qi through the Panghai Road, Huo Fan was ordered to lead 10,000 infantry and cavalry south, preparing to go north via Wulian Mountain. Now, he happened to encounter the Wei army coming south to rob him on the way.

Huo Fan hesitated for a moment and said in a deep voice: "The bandits have been robbing food for a short time and are very arrogant. I want to chase them and defeat them!"

Tang Zi said worriedly, "The enemy's strength is unknown. They robbed food and grass yesterday, and they may have gone far away today. We don't know how deep the enemy is. If we pursue them lightly, we may be defeated. It is better to lead the infantry and cavalry to advance slowly."

"No!"

Huo Fan had an idea and said, "The enemy army is heading south lightly, and their number is no more than 10,000. Now they are heading south to rob food, so how could they leave empty-handed? If our army pursues them, we will definitely gain something!"

Huo Fan analyzed and said, "The Grand Marshal ordered me to go out to Panghai to attack and capture the counties of Chengyang so as to open the way to Qi. Now the enemy army is in the wild. If we cannot defeat them on the way and let them return to the north, they will be a threat to our army."

"I'd like to hear the general's plan!"

Seeing that Huo Fan was determined, Tang Zi and Zhuge Dan had no choice but to obey.

Huo Fan tightened the reins and said, "The enemy army robbed our soldiers and food, so they must be returning with the food. General Tang and I will lead the cavalry to pursue them at night, and we should be able to defeat the enemy in Panghai."

"If I can defeat the bandits, they will flee far away, and the bandits in Chengyang will move south to resist me. At that time, they will not be left empty-handed. General Zhuge will take a boat and sail across the sea, go around and take them directly. This is Han Xin's strategy to secretly take Jingxing."

Zhuge Dan thought for a while and said, "There are 2,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry in the army. The general has very few soldiers and may not be able to resist the enemy. I will advance along the coast, leave 4,000 infantry with the general, and lead 4,000 myself to attack them."

"good!"

(End of this chapter)