Chapter 57: Supplies
Ye Qing sensed something was wrong early on; the enemy's soldiers seemed to be only half as many as his own.
It is also unreasonable for the commander to suddenly want to retreat when the battle is halfway through and there is no sign of decline.
As he was chasing, he began to suspect that the other party might have set an ambush, so he simply called off the pursuit.
The Chengtian Army retreated to its garrison several dozen miles away, but lost more than a thousand men in just one encounter, including Ma Zhenwei, whom Zhao Xiao valued very much. Zhao Xiao was so furious that his hair stood on end.
When they returned to the camp, Song Yuzhu, Xu Dingkun and his group came out to greet them and asked about the war.
Zhao Xiao took off his helmet and said, "The ambush is useless. The other party won't be fooled at all."
Xu Dingkun said: "If we attack head-on, we will probably suffer heavy losses even if we win."
"You can't fight like this anymore!"
This battle was destined to be a protracted war, and both sides began to test each other. After two more battles, both sides suffered casualties, and gradually the war changed its nature.
The Chengtian Army no longer took the initiative to attack, and the other side did not dare to act rashly. The two armies just confronted each other, occasionally fighting a small battle.
It was not until May that the weather gradually warmed up. The huge army had suffered huge losses and the Sheng army began to show signs of fatigue. They ran out of supplies in the rear.
On the Chengtian Army side, Xu Bing was in charge of the rear, and food and fodder were continuously delivered to the front line, with food and fodder arriving almost every ten days.
As the weather warms up, the Yellow River opens and water transport is carried out directly, which makes the speed even faster.
Not only food, but also medicine and weapons are in sufficient supply.
Song Bai also played a very important role in the rear. He contacted his second brother Song Qiao and helped collect a large number of medicines for injuries.
Song Qiao had been feeling guilty ever since the family split up. After receiving Song Bai's letter, he took his son to get the medicine without saying a word. He spent 30,000 taels of silver to buy ten carts of thistle, small thistle, Panax notoginseng and Sanguisorba officinalis and sent them to Xuzhou City.
When the two brothers met, they couldn't help but tear up.
Song Qiao held Song Bai's hand and said, "I regretted letting you leave. My sister-in-law was pregnant and had to travel such a long way."
Song Bai wiped his tears and said, "It's okay, mother and child are safe."
"I received your letter. Mother was very happy to hear that my sister-in-law gave birth to a daughter, and she asked me to bring many things to the child."
The two returned to the palace, and Song Qiao went to see his little niece who was only three months old. He thought that he had already been a grandfather, and now he was an uncle again.
Song Qiao handed the things the old lady brought to Jiang Rong.
The heavy bundle contained seven or eight sets of small clothes that were finely crafted and made of exquisite materials. Jiang Rong recognized that they were the old lady's needlework.
Old Mrs. Song was very good at needlework when she was young. Although her eyesight has become blurry in recent years, she is still adept at making clothes for children, and her work is no worse than that of the embroiderers outside.
Song Yutang and Song Yufeng both wore the clothes she made when they were young, but Yuzhu never wore them. Now the old lady has untied her knot and made many sets for her granddaughter, as if she wanted to make up for the grandson she left behind.
There were also two gold longevity lockets in the package, one for Yutong and the other for Song Yuzhu.
When she heard that Song Yuzhu was going to the front line to fight with the army, she was worried and sent this longevity lock to her grandson, hoping to protect his safety.
Jiang Rong's eyes were slightly red and her heart was filled with bitterness. It would be a lie to say that she didn't feel any resentment, but after all, she was the biological grandmother of the two children. Thinking that she had made so many clothes for the children at such an old age, she couldn't hate her even if she wanted to.
"Mom...Is Mom okay?"
Song Qiao nodded: "The weather is warmer now, and my health is better than in winter. I can go out for a walk occasionally."
Song Bai and Jiang Rong nodded at the same time and said, "That's good."
The child was too young and got sleepy after playing for a while, so Jiang Rong carried the child back to the inner room.
The brothers Song Bai and Song Qiao reminisced about the past. Before, Song Qiao always felt that his nephew was too young and that rebellion was nonsense.
Now that I know that he is the famous King Chengtian, who led an army of 100,000 to the north, I feel mixed emotions, a sense of pride and shame.
"Yutang and I have bought all the medicine you asked us to buy. We collected the remaining medicine from our own pharmacy and brought it all here."
"Thank you so much, brother!"
Song Qiao waved his hand and said, "We are family, so we should keep our distance. Yuzhu is leading the army to fight in the front, and we are worried about her too. Let's do our best."
Song Bai: "How much money did you spend? I'll ask Lord Xu to pay you."
"Why are you talking to me about money?"
"Let's put things in perspective. This medicine isn't just for Yuzhu herself, so of course you have to pay for it." Song Bai couldn't let his second brother use the money to buy the medicine.
The two argued for a long time, and finally Song Qiao only took the principal, and before leaving, he asked his eldest son Song Yutang to help here.
All these medicinal materials had to be processed, ground into powder, put into sealed jars, and then sent to the battlefield.
The war at the front was urgent, Song Bai did not dare to delay, and hurriedly asked someone to help prepare medicine for the wounds.
Xu Bing also sent people to purchase grain everywhere. His previous partners, Boss Niu and Boss Lin, sold him 100,000 shi of grain one after another. He had enough silver and confidence, so all the grain was escorted to the front line by the soldiers and civilians in the city.
*
In the Sheng Army camp at the front line, Ye Qing's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. After reading the letter in his hand, he rolled himself into a ball and threw it hard to the ground.
The soldier in charge of delivering the letter shuddered with fear.
"Go, keep going back to ask for food! Not only food, but also medicine! Armor! Weapons! When you give them to us, we will send out our troops!"
"Yes... yes!" The soldiers quickly left the tent.
The baggage guard Wang Qi's eyebrows twisted into knots: "General, if you don't send us food, we will run out of food! The soldiers have been eating porridge for seven or eight days in a row. This can't go on. How can we fight without enough food?"
Ye Qing pinched his brows and asked, "How much food is left?"
"Seven carts are enough to feed three days at most. And that's if you don't eat too much. If you eat as much as you want, it can last for one day at most."
"Damn it..." Ye Qing was so angry that his teeth were itching. He and his brothers were fighting hard in the front, but those people behind him were eating delicacies from land and sea and still had to hold him back!
This kind of war is fought for consumption and supplies, and the Chengtian Army transported truckloads of supplies to the battlefield.
It was a bad situation for me. I sent six or seven letters in a row in half a month, but the court didn't send a single cart of food. Without supplies and food, even gods can't fight this war!
The letter told him to solve the problem himself. How could he solve it? Steal the food from the local people? What's the difference between him and a bandit?
He believed that the imperial court had no money, after all, it was almost eaten away. Did the noble families also have no money? They had stored up thousands of acres of land, and they were reluctant to take out the grain even when it was piled up and rotted!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Ye Qing wished he could just go back to Beijing and kill those corrupt officials!
*
On the Chengtian Army's side, more than ten trucks of supplies were delivered from Xuzhou in the afternoon.
The medicine for the wounds has arrived. These are all prescriptions prepared by Song Bai, and they are better than those sold in the pharmacy.
There were also five carts of pickled pork. Pickled meat can be stored for a long time and will not get moldy even when transported over a long distance.
That night Song Yuzhu gave orders to cook for the soldiers to satisfy their cravings!
There were more than a dozen large pots stewing radish and pork, and the aroma could be smelled from miles away.
On Sheng Jun's side, the soldiers were munching on dry millet cakes that made their throats sore, and the porridge in their bowls was so thin that a person's reflection could be seen in it.
"I seem to smell meat." Deputy General Zheng Da'an sniffed and said,
The soldier said, "That's nonsense. We can hardly eat. Where does the meat taste like?"
"Really? If you don't believe me, try it!"
The soldier also sniffed and found that the smell of meat was not coming from the camp, but from the Chengtian military camp in the distance.
Zheng Daan cursed: "These bastards are just eating my meat and craving for my grandpa!"
The lieutenant general sighed and drank the rice porridge in the bowl in one gulp. He was also working hard with his head tied to his waist, and his life was worth less than others.
Many soldiers in the camp also smelled the fragrance and started clamoring for meat.
Zheng Daan yelled angrily, "Eat shit! You can't beat those wimps and you still want to eat meat? Do I look like meat to you? Stew me to satisfy your craving!"
Some young soldiers wiped their tears and said, "Why do other soldiers get to eat meat during the war, but we can't even get enough food?"
Zheng Daan picked him up and said, "Chengtian Army, go over there. Go, go, no one will stop you."
The soldier staggered and almost fell down after being pushed by him.
"Old Zheng!" Ye Qing came out of the tent.
"General..." Everyone looked at Ye Qing eagerly.
Ye Qing was also in a dilemma. The food he ate was the same as the soldiers', and his mouth was almost tasteless. But what could he do?
"Old Zheng, come in with me. Everyone else go back and get some rest!"
Zheng Daan timidly entered the camp: "They smelled the meat and were so greedy that they kept making noises..."
"I know. Sit down."
"Hey." Zheng Da'an moved a stool and sat down.
"Tomorrow... I plan to challenge the opponent's commander in a one-on-one duel."
"What?!"
"Don't worry, I've been thinking about this for a long time. It's not a good idea to keep dragging it out like this. We're going to lose sooner or later."
"Then just fight them! I don't believe we can't beat them!"
Ye Qing shook his head: "The other side has experts to guide them. They know they can't win directly, so they keep wasting our time. If the imperial court doesn't give us food, we won't be able to outlast them at all."
Zheng Daan's face turned red with anger. What the hell was going on?
"Tomorrow, if I kill the enemy commander, we will attack them in one fell swoop. If we lose..."
Ye Qing clenched his fist and said, "If you lose, you can surrender with your brothers. I heard that the Chengtian Army does not kill prisoners."
"General, what are you talking about!" Zheng Da'an widened his eyes and looked at him in disbelief.
Ye Qing: "Don't you understand yet? The situation of the Sheng Dynasty is over. We are just running dogs to protect the family. Even if we win, the soldiers will still not have enough to eat."
"Then let's surrender together!"
Ye Qing shook his head: "I swore to my father that I would protect Dasheng with my life. I can't let my brothers be buried with me. Lao Zheng, this is a military order."
Zheng Daan's eyes were blurred. He knelt down for a while and said, "I obey your command!"
*
The two armies faced off again. Zhao Xiao and Ye Qing sat on their horses and looked at each other, with fire in their eyes.
After more than a month of fighting, both sides have a deep understanding of each other and are extremely eager to defeat the other side and end this battle.
"Hey, grandchildren, were you drooling at the smell of meat yesterday?" Du Chong challenged as usual.
Zheng Daan spat and said, "Pfft! It's not like I haven't eaten meat before, why would I want your offal?!"
"Hey? I heard that your Sheng army is running out of food!"
"Bullshit! I have plenty of food!" Zheng Daan shouted, but his heart was bitter. This morning, we had a full meal, and each soldier had two big steamed buns.
Unfortunately, the military food trucks are empty. If we fail to capture the city, this meal may be our last.
Zheng Daan wanted to continue cursing, but Ye Qing stopped him, drew his sword from his waist and said, "General Zhao, today we should decide the winner!"
Zhao Xiao rode out on horseback: "I'm happy to accompany you."
Bai Yizhou: "General, be careful of fraud!"
Zhao Xiao stretched out his hand. He still trusted Ye Qing. The other party had no other choice but to fight to end the battle. If they continued to fight, they would surely lose, because the spies reported that Sheng’s army had not had any supplies for at least half a month.
The daily consumption of an army of one hundred thousand is huge, and the food they brought before may have been used up.
Zhao Xiao rode his horse into the formation, and Ye Qing also rode forward alone. The two were only ten feet apart.
Zhao Xiao said: "General Ye, I respect you as a man, but don't you feel chilled to serve such a court?"
"Oh, I am loyal to Dasheng, not to those fat-headed villains in the court!"
"It is because of loyal ministers like you that they can sit in the court peacefully and bring disaster to the world, right?"
Ye Qing had a cold face and said nothing.
"Surrender now. King Chengtian promises you the position of general. You will continue to guard the North Gate with your soldiers. I will definitely feed your soldiers and strengthen your horses..."
"Shut up! Boy, stop talking and come fight!" Ye Qing drew his knife and rushed over.
(End of this chapter)
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