Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 223 This Is War

In the eastern suburbs of Fanyi, the Hengshan Army Camp.

Amidst the creaking sound of the wheels turning, more than hundreds of ox carts meandered into the shaft gate. These ox carts were piled with hill-like sacks, and the sacks were filled with grain, weighing at least a thousand catties.

With the sound of hurried footsteps, Mei Yan, surrounded by Geng Sheng and Geng Wang, came straight towards the gate.

Looking at the hundreds of ox carts full of grain in front of him, Mei Yan showed disappointment and even anxiety on his face, and asked the captain who escorted the grain and grass loudly: "Didn't you say that [-] shi of grain arrived today? Why? Only five thousand stones?"

Mei Yan couldn't help being anxious. As the saying goes, the food and grass go first before the army moves. The Hengshan army has assembled more than 10 people at the Fanyi camp, but the food and grass that can be raised are less than 3000 shi. Horse chews can consume more than [-] shi of grain in a day, how many days can a mere [-] shi of grain last?
The lieutenant who guarded the grain knelt down on one knee and replied sadly: "General, there were originally [-] stones, but when they were transported to Peng Lize, a sudden strong wind knocked over half of the grain ship, and in the end only this was left. "

"Losing rations is a death penalty!" Mei Yan said with a sudden change of expression, "Come here, drag it down, chop it up!"

"Here!" The two guards promised loudly, rushed forward and knocked the captain who was in charge of grain to the ground.

"General, you have been wronged at the end!" the captain of the grain guard said tragically, "Now it is the season of spring and summer, and every year at this time, Peng Lize will be hit by violent storms from time to time, and the wind and waves will overturn the grain ship. It’s the unpredictable way of heaven, it’s definitely not that the last general is dereliction of duty, it’s not a pity for the last general to die, but he doesn’t want to suffer wrongly!”

Lieutenant General Geng Sheng and Military Adviser Geng Wang also stepped forward to intercede.

Only then did Mei Yan snort, and shouted: "Death is inevitable, but life is inevitable. If you drag it on, you can be whipped eighty times!"

The two personal soldiers responded again, and dragged the captain of the grain guard down, Mei Yan sighed, and said worriedly: "This general is negligent, it has already entered the rainy season, especially Peng Lize, every time there is a hurricane, However, the waterway from Zhu County to Fanyi is not flat, it seems that we can only transport grain by land."

Geng Sheng sighed: "But this way, the date of dispatching troops to Jiangdong will definitely have to be postponed."

From Zhu County to Fanyi, the waterway is very close and easy to walk, but if you take the land route, not only the distance will increase several times, but also the mountains are dangerous and the roads are obstructed, making it extremely difficult to walk. It will take a month to arrive, and the amount of food delivered each time is likely to be less than one-tenth of the water transport!

Geng Wang also said: "If I knew it earlier, I should really build a granary in Fanyi."

Mei Yan smiled wryly and shook his head. It was as powerful as the Great Qin Empire. Apart from the Taicang in Xianyang, it only built Ao Cang in the north of Xingyang. How could it be possible to build another granary outside the capital of Zhu County in Hengshan?
When Mei Yan was about to turn around and go back to the shaft, there was a sudden sound of horseshoes behind her. When she looked back, she saw a fast horse galloping from the front like the wind and clouds. Before she could get close, the knight on the horse had already Flying off the horse, he knelt down on one knee and reported to Mei Yan: "General, the Chu army is attacking!"

"Um?!"

"what?!"

"This is impossible?!"

Mei Yan, Geng Sheng, and Geng Wang's expressions changed drastically at the same time, the Chu army is attacking? !
"General, it's absolutely true!" The knight gasped and said with a miserable expression, "Chu's army has already passed Feiyundu, and it's less than twenty miles away from here!"

"What did you say, the Chu army has already passed Feiyundu?!" Geng Sheng was furious, stepped forward and grabbed the knight by the chest, and said sharply, "Why didn't you report back until now? Why did you go earlier?!"

The knight didn't dare to look at Geng Sheng's cannibalistic eyes, and said with a tragic expression: "The general doesn't know that the army of Chu is advancing at an astonishing speed. Although the scout team of the last general has already discovered the whereabouts of the army of Chu, they can wait until they are about to leave." When the news came back, the army of Chu State followed suit!"

"Send the order, the whole army returns to the camp, strengthen the guard!"

However, Mei Yan quickly regained his composure. Geng Sheng did not participate in the siege of Gaixia, nor did he go to Zhaodi to encircle the remnants of Xiangzhuang, so he did not know the terrifying marching speed of the Chu army, but Mei Yan knew about it. , Mei Yan's [-] elite soldiers only ran for fifty miles, but the Chu army ran for more than a hundred miles. That speed is really not in vain!

Geng Sheng said: "General, why don't you retreat into Fanyi City and stand firm?"

Geng Wang said: "Brother, you are so confused. The food, grass and equipment are all in the camp outside the city. How can the army hold on when they retreat into Panyi? Are the soldiers going to fight with the Chu army hungry? As for the transfer of food and equipment, Chu The national army has already passed Feiyundu, and it is less than [-] miles from Feiyundu to Fanyi, so it is too late."

Geng Sheng instinctively said: "General, this is going to be troublesome."

"What's the trouble, what's the trouble?" Mei Yan said coldly, "There are no more than three factors that determine the outcome of a war, the right time, the right location, and the harmony of people. Our army is fighting in our own country, and we are waiting for work at leisure. The location is favorable, the people are harmonious, and as for the weather, both the enemy and the enemy are equal, so it is difficult for our army to lose this battle even if we want to."

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On the main road from Feiyundu to Fanyi, [-] Chu troops were rushing forward in a five-way column.

Amidst the footsteps like the tide, Xiang Zhuang held a knife and held a halberd, and was running forward with a pair of long legs. He didn't even bother the soldiers around him with his dry food bag and marching bedding. But Xiang Zhuang didn't want to be special, so he also left his black horse in Yi County.

Of course, some specialization still has to be done.

In order to boost morale and improve the combat effectiveness of an army, it is indeed necessary to spread the treatment between soldiers according to the different titles. Just like the former Daqin Ruishi, different titles, the treatment is also very different. Soldiers with titles or low titles went to the battlefield to fight hard to win higher titles.

The effect of doing so is also obvious. The Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period and the Daqin Ruishi are not equipped with the best equipment, and the training is not the most rigorous, but they are galloping and invincible on the battlefield. The soldiers, or the iron cavalry of Zhao State, were all crushed by them!
The current Chu army has also strictly inherited the Qin army's title system. Different titles have completely different treatment. There is also shochu to drink, but the best military treatment is bacon and shochu, but nothing else.

Of course, when it comes to places, the difference in treatment between different titles is huge.

Amidst the rapid sound of horseshoes, dozens of scout cavalry galloped back from the front.

Since the mountain road from Yixian County to Fanyi is difficult and dangerous, bringing horses will greatly slow down the marching speed, so Xiang Zhuang didn't even bring his own black horses, but the hundreds of good horses in the scout battalion still rode as much as possible. I brought them all because of the special nature of the scout battalion. If the scouts didn't have horses, would they still be called scouts?

"Your Majesty, the Hengshan army is already prepared!" The scout lieutenant who came to report had bruises on his face, a bump on his forehead, and his leather armor and robes were also dry and wet, looking very ugly Embarrassed, in fact, almost all of the [-] Chu soldiers were like this, and Xiang Zhuang also had several bags on his head.

This was all caused by a hailstorm on the way. God doesn’t care if you are a king or a soldier. When a hailstorm comes down, it doesn’t matter whether you are noble or high or low. It's just a little painful, but it doesn't hurt anyone, but it's annoying to get wet in the shirt and bedding.

But marching and fighting are like this, and it is absolutely impossible to be as comfortable as living at home.

As soon as the scout captain finished speaking, Bai Lixian, who was following Xiang Zhuang, sighed, and said, "It seems that the scout team of the Hengshan Army found out. It's a pity that the sneak attack won't work."

"This is war." Xiang Zhuang waved his hands with a calm expression.

Since it is a war, there must be many uncertain factors. If everything can develop according to your imagination, then it is not a war but a drill.

In this world, no one has ever been able to predict everything before the enemy, and Zhang Liang can't do it either.

Xiang Zhuang is not a god, it is impossible for him to lead [-] soldiers to approach Fanyi unknowingly.

At the beginning, Xiang Zhuang led the remnants of the Chu army in Wei, Qi, and Zhao, and the reason why he was able to hide and escape for hundreds of miles without anyone noticing was because Xiang Zhuang had only a few thousand people at that time. Going out at night, no matter how many scouts are sent to hunt passers-by and woodcutters and hunters who hit the road, it is not too difficult to block the news.

But now, Xiang Zhuang has [-] troops under his command!
The [-]-strong army marches in a mighty formation, and the formation alone can stretch more than ten miles long. If you want to hide like thousands of people and escape for hundreds of miles without anyone noticing, that is just a dream. , and if Mei Yan can make Chu's army approach Fanyi without knowing it, then he is not a famous general in the world, but a stupid pig.

At that moment, Xiang Zhuang gave an order: "Send the order, rest on the spot, and the whole army eats!"

Now that the Hengshan army was prepared, the Chu army didn't have to act too hastily.

For the present plan, it is better to eat first, so that all the soldiers of the army can build up their physical strength first. Although for the current state of Chu, time is the most lacking, but no matter how urgent it is, there is no rush for this moment. As the saying goes, grinding The skill of chopping firewood with the sword is not mistaken, and when the whole army has filled their stomachs and nourished their physical strength, they just happened to defeat the Hengshan army in one go.

As soon as Xiang Zhuang's words fell, dozens of messengers had already galloped towards the front and back of the marching column: "Your Majesty has an order to rest on the spot and the whole army to eat! Your Majesty has an order to rest on the spot and the whole army to eat..."

In an instant, the [-] elite soldiers who were rushing forward along the main road stopped one after another, and then sat down on the ground in unison, and then took off the dry food bags on their backs and began to eat. The soldiers even untied a small sheepskin wine pouch from their waists, and drank the shochu happily.

(End of this chapter)