Volume 1 Chapter 100: Dead End

Tian Suanzi led the most elite cavalry of the Xiongnu, and with the intelligence provided by the Tianji Sect, he frantically harassed the logistics supply lines of Honghua City.

One grain escort team after another was completely wiped out.

Cart after cart of food and fodder was burned on the spot.

"Master Tian Suanzi is truly a master at foreseeing things. We are able to ambush the enemy every time."

"This battle is so exciting!"

The Xiongnu cavalrymen kept flattering Tian Suanzi, saying that if they could escort the captured food and fodder back to the Xiongnu this time, each of them would be able to buy a lot of cattle and sheep, and thus have more women.

Tian Suanzi smiled and waved his hand, not taking it seriously. The reason why he could be so wise was inseparable from the strong support of Tianji Sect.

The Tianji Sect sent all its disciples down the mountain, and then followed the Great Zhou's grain transport team along the way, using the Tianji Sect's unique flying cranes to deliver messages.

If we still can’t handle the logistics supply lines of Da Zhou.

Then they, the Tianji Sect, might as well just remove themselves from this world.

"Let's go, keep killing until there is no grain-collecting team left in the Great Zhou!"

After Tian Suanzi burned the bodies of the soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he led his troops out again.

"We must kill Yang Wudi this time! He has killed so many of our warriors over the years!"

"Also, slaughter Honghua City!"

The Hun cavalry howled and rushed forward, their eyes full of bloodthirsty light, thinking that this time they would destroy the Central Plains dynasty and they must plunder well.

To avenge Yang Wudi for suppressing them for so many years.

.......

As the Xiongnu cavalry continued to attack Honghua City's logistics supply lines, the capital finally felt something was wrong.

Because there has been no news of the grain escort team reporting back.

"Report——"

Suddenly, a very sharp eunuch's voice was heard in the Great Zhou Palace.

This was none other than the chief eunuch beside the Emperor of the Great Zhou. When the Emperor of the Great Zhou heard his eunuch's voice so shrill, he shuddered all over.

It's not good news at first glance.

But he immediately summoned the chief eunuch into the worship hall.

"Tell me what happened?"

The Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty could not wait to know. He grabbed the eunuch by the collar and pulled him up from the ground.

The third priest standing by narrowed his eyes slightly, and it was obvious that he really didn't want to make any more mistakes at this time.

The eunuch's face turned extremely ugly, and he stammered:

"Your Majesty, something bad has happened. Almost all of our grain transporters heading to Honghua City have died, and we haven't received any news of them returning."

When the eunuch said this, he was also terrified. He certainly knew how great an impact it would have on the soldiers at the front if there was any problem with the grain transportation team.

"What!? No grain escort team has returned? Are you sure?"

Emperor Zhou also felt like he was hit hard on the head by a wooden stick, and his whole head was dizzy.

As the saying goes, food and supplies must be sent ahead before the army moves.

If there is a problem with food and supplies, how can the soldiers at the front fight?

You will starve to death!

The Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty questioned the eunuch beside him almost in a roar. He felt that this dead eunuch must be lying!

Yes, he absolutely did not believe that there was a problem with his logistics.

The consequences would be terrible.

He simply couldn't bear it.

The eunuch was also trembling all over, and immediately reported all the information he had obtained to the Emperor of Great Zhou, saying in horror:

"Your Majesty, it's true that none of them have returned, and there has been no feedback from Honghua City. The general in charge of food and fodder dispatch is asking about it now. Can we go check it out?"

The Emperor of the Great Zhou sat down on the ground. There was basically no need to check, as something must have gone wrong.

"Third Lord, what should we do now?"

The Emperor of Great Zhou was wiping cold sweat from his forehead, and his tone of voice changed. He could only place his last hope on the royal priests.

Cold sweat also broke out on the faces of the three people who devoted themselves to the ceremony.

He immediately waved his hand and summoned the fourteenth attendant, Eunuch Huang, and ordered him, "Go and find out what's going on."

"Yes, sir! Ancestor!"

The fourteen priests left the palace immediately.

He moved very quickly, checking along the route the grain escort team had taken one by one, but wherever he went, he found the scene where the grain escort team had been destroyed.

Tian Suanzi and others had no intention of covering up these traces.

They can't cover it up.

When the Fourteenth Priest discovered that all the grain-escorting teams had been wiped out, his heart sank a little. Finally, he suddenly discovered that all the grain-escorting teams sent by the Great Zhou to Honghua City had been killed.

Seven days later, the fourteen priests rushed back to the Great Zhou Palace.

As soon as he entered the door, he reported with a grim expression: "Something bad happened to our ancestors. Our grain-pressing team was really wiped out, and all the grain and grass were burned."

What! ?

The third priest jumped up from the ground and could no longer maintain his usual calm state.

Even though he was already a powerful Grandmaster, upon hearing such information, he felt his blood boiling and he almost went insane.

"how so?"

"Did you find out who did it?"

The eyes of the three priests were filled with murderous intent. If something went wrong in this battle and the royal family of the Great Zhou was destroyed, then the priests of the royal family of the Great Zhou would also be wiped out by other sects.

As the saying goes, a new emperor appoints new ministers.

When a new dynasty is born, people will choose to cooperate with new sects.

And then they will be the targets of encirclement and suppression by various sects.

The Third Priest had no confidence that he could survive the siege from so many sects.

So at this moment I am very concerned about the war at the front.

The Emperor of the Great Zhou also looked at the Fourteen Priests with a dull expression. In fact, he had already been unsure in his heart. What difference would it make if he knew who did it?

The Great Zhou was no longer able to allocate a second batch of grain to Honghua City.

Even if they were transferred from other prefectures and counties in the Great Zhou, it would take too much time to transport it to Honghua City, and Yang Wudi would have run out of food long ago.

This is a dead end!

The Fourteenth Priest said with an unpleasant expression: "According to my observation, it should be done by the Xiongnu cavalry. There are many traces of Xiongnu people left at the scene."

impossible!

At this moment, the Emperor of the Great Zhou jumped up to object, because he thought this was too incredible. How could the Huns break through the defense line of Honghua City and run to the rear to plunder our logistics?

Could it be that Yang Wudi let them in on purpose?

The Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty must remember that Pan Hu of the Pan family once cooperated with the Huns and placed them behind Honghua City, hoping that they would ambush and kill Bai Qi.

Such a situation would only occur if one's own people deliberately let the game go.

He absolutely did not believe that the Huns could descend from the sky.

But is Yang Wudi such a person? Absolutely not!

Although he did not like military generals, he knew that because of the patriotism in their hearts, these generals would never allow the enemy to invade the Central Plains.

Yang Wudi is even more impossible!

"Fourteen, what's going on? Explain it clearly!"

The Third Priest looked at the Fourteenth Priest with cold eyes, wanting to know what he thought about the matter. After all, it was the Fourteenth Priest who conducted the on-site investigation.

The Fourteenth Priest sighed and said, "I saw a hill cut off by a sword. There is a path inside that can cross the defense line of Honghua City."

"And this road seems to have been opened not long ago."

Damn it!

The third priest's face changed drastically, he understood.

"A sect is definitely involved! And it's a big sect!"

"The one who can cut a mountain with one sword must be a master or above. Even I can't do it."

The third worshipper smashed the chair beside him, his eyes full of anger.

"Some sects want to unite with the Xiongnu to destroy our Great Zhou."

"Go check it out for me. If we find out which sect it is from, we will immediately go and destroy them!"

The third priest was so angry that he was jumping up and down. Although he could not participate in the dynasty struggle, he could go and clean up the sects. He had to find out which sect had surrendered to the enemy and committed treason.

The three priests must kill them all, young and old, making the whole family in chaos.

The fourteen priests immediately accepted the order and went to investigate.

But these things were no longer important to the Emperor of the Great Zhou. He sat slumped in his chair like a puddle of mud, completely drained of energy.

He kept muttering, "It's over, it's over!"

"Once Honghua City is breached, the Xiongnu will be able to march straight in, and they will definitely reach the Imperial City."

"Third Lord, should we think about where to escape to?"

The Emperor of the Great Zhou now wants to prepare a retreat plan, or flee overseas?

But just as he finished speaking, the Third Priest slapped the Great Zhou Emperor away with a slap, angrily yelling, "Idiot! Where can you escape to?"

"The only way out for a king who has lost his country is death. No one will let you go. Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, someone will hunt you down."

The three worshippers really hated him for not fighting back.

But at this moment, the Great Zhou Emperor had no intention of resisting. He said painfully, "What else can we do? Who can turn the tide?"

The third priest looked towards the north with a dim gaze, and a name emerged in his mind: Bai Qi!

I hope he can create a miracle this time.

But this hope is too slim.

All the sects are involved, can Bai Qi do it?

Moreover, he also instructed Bai Qi not to use the power of a cultivator!

This is too difficult!

He even had the idea of ​​escaping.

.........

When logistical supplies are cut off, the real impact is definitely not on the rear, but on the front!

At this moment, the situation in Honghua City was even more critical.

The war strategy adopted by Yang Wudi was defense.

This was something he had discussed with Bai Qi before. He was responsible for defending against the main force of the Huns' attack and delaying the Huns so that Bai Qi could implement his plan.

However, more than 10 days passed, and the food and fodder he requested from the court had not been delivered.

The food and grass in Honghua City are being depleted at a terrifying rate.

After all, there are 190,000 troops here, with even more war horses and the entire city’s residents.

The amount of food consumed every day is an astronomical figure.

You know, Honghua City, like a city, has no production capacity and can only grow vegetables at most.

The place where Honghua City is located is also a bitter and cold place with high mountains and dangerous roads, which is not suitable for growing crops at all.

Most of the residents here come to do business, followed by some soldiers' families, and the rest are some guilty people who were exiled here.

It is impossible to produce food here at all. All food needs to be allocated from the rear.

"Quartermaster!"

Yang Wudi waved his hand and called the quartermaster over.

"Hasn't the food from the court arrived yet?"

When Yang Wudi was asking questions, he also cleared out all the soldiers around him for fear of leaking information. At this time, he also felt something was wrong.

The quartermaster was also anxious and angry, with blisters on his mouth. He shook his head in pain, then sighed and said:

"No news!"

"General, do you think the imperial court will withhold our food supplies?"

It’s no wonder that the quartermaster thought this way. In the past, the imperial court would always withhold their food and wages. This was all done by the civil officials and the Emperor of Zhou.

The purpose is to prevent border generals like Yang Wudi from living too well and becoming self-reliant.

In order to supplement the military pay for his soldiers, Yang Wudi would always go deep into the grassland to fight the Huns and make some war money.

Of course he would also impose taxes on merchants who went to do business with the Xiongnu.

Only in this way can we avoid delaying the payment of food and wages to the soldiers.

But Yang Wudi shook his head at this moment, denying this statement, "The Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty is not that stupid. Even if the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty is so stupid, his ministers cannot be so stupid."

"If we withhold food and fodder from our soldiers now, we will destroy our country!"

This is not a peaceful era. The Huns have already launched an all-out attack. It is simply idiotic to still be trying to maintain a balance of power between civil and military forces.

Moreover, Yang Wudi also believed that there were many smart people in the court.

It's okay to fight for power in normal times, but now that the country is in danger of being destroyed, some smart people will definitely stand up and take charge of the situation.

For example, the worship of the royal family of the Great Zhou!

Can old guys who have lived for hundreds of years be fools?

Hearing this.

The quartermaster was now feeling even more uncomfortable. Compared to the court's stingy withholding of their food and wages, his next guess made him even more frightened.

He said in horror: "Marshal, could it be that our logistics supply line has been cut off?"

When he said this, he felt his heart beating uncontrollably.

Yang Wudi's face changed drastically. He had also thought of this possibility, but he had never dared to believe it. After all, the consequences were too terrible.

"Send someone to check it out. I want accurate information!"

There was still a glimmer of hope in Yang Wudi's heart.

What if the person transporting the grain neglected his duty and arrived late?

If he had met this kind of general in the past, he would definitely have chopped off his head.

Now, I really hope this is the case.

At least this way, there is still food, if...

But the quartermaster's next words completely dispelled Yang Wudi's idea.

"I have sent people to investigate, but everyone who went there has died."

What! ?

Yang Wudi was greatly shocked.

The fact that the person sent to gather information was killed explains all the problems.

"It seems that our logistics line has really been cut off! Damn it!"

"Who is it?"

Yang Wudi punched the city wall, his hand was bleeding, but he did not feel any pain. At this moment, a big bubble of fire appeared on Yang Wudi's mouth.

He looked at the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who had fought with him through thick and thin, and then at the hundreds of thousands of residents he had to protect.

Then he looked at the territory of Great Zhou behind him, and he felt a heavy responsibility on his shoulders.

But he can't do anything now.

"How long will our food last?"

Yang Wudi looked at the quartermaster.

“Three days!

The quartermaster gave a number.

As soon as this number came out, Yang Wudi's body staggered and he almost fell down.

There is only enough food for three days, and the food will run out after three days. Once the army runs out of food, it may cause a mutiny.

Even if there was no mutiny, the residents in the city would be a big problem. These people would definitely panic and be afraid if they had no food to eat.

By then, the entire Honghua City will be in chaos.

"Pass my order, tell the army to cut their food rations in half when eating!"

"It's better to postpone it for a day."

Yang Wuji finally gave this order. It was a last resort.

"General, how about we go out of the city and fight?"

"Fight to the death with the Huns!"

"Maybe we still have a chance."

The quartermaster swallowed his saliva and finally decided that it would be better to fight a battle than to just sit there and wait for the food and supplies to run out.

As a quartermaster, he was more aware of the dangers of food shortages.

“Nonsense!”

Yang Wudi started to scold, if we run out and fight the Huns at this time, can we win?

"One hundred thousand versus 500,000. They are all cavalry. Are you sure you can wipe out the enemy in one battle?"

"The most frightening thing is that others don't fight with you!"

"Once you launch a full-scale surprise attack, others will just run away, and your food and fodder will be used up even faster."

Yang Wudi’s words made the quartermaster completely lose his temper. If their logistic supply lines were really cut off by the Huns, would the Huns fight them head-on?

They are all cavalry, so they can engage in a tug-of-war with you. When you attack them, they will run away, and when you want to run back to the city, they will chase you.

Anyway, it sticks to you like taffy.

"Are we just going to wait to die?

The quartermaster also felt a sense of despair. He could neither fight nor defend the city, and he had no food or fodder.

It's a dead end no matter how you look at it.

Are they about to be finished and the Great Zhou about to be destroyed?

"It depends on whether Bai Qi's plan is feasible."

Yang Wudi sighed slowly.

"Bai Qi, can he do it? What's the point of harassing the rear? If the Xiongnu don't withdraw, even if he massacres the Xiongnu nobles, it will be useless!"

The quartermaster was not optimistic at all.