The terrain around Yinjing is mostly hilly, consisting of hills, plains, and low hills.
After obtaining the Yan army map captured by He Yunxiao, Ruobao was greatly empowered. Not only that, she also instructed the scouts of the new Chu army to pay close attention to mountain paths to enrich the map resources. The modern-day He Yunxiao went even further, introducing the concept of "contour lines," marking the height of each mountain peak on the map with concentric circles of lines.
The contour lines on the Qi map were naturally not as precise as those on modern standard maps, but the fact that it depicted the approximate shapes and heights of the mountains once again astonished everyone. Representing the three-dimensional world with two-dimensional graphics and numbers—this basic modern skill was indeed somewhat challenging for the people of Qi.
Five thousand new Chu soldiers arrived at their designated location—a small hilltop.
If the plan is to ambush the Yan army, then it is necessary to have a high vantage point.
Five thousand Yan soldiers were scattered across several small hills to the left, right, front, and back, with a winding trade route running through the middle of these hills. Naturally, landmines were also buried beneath the trade route to entertain the Yan soldiers.
Five thousand men lay in wait, waiting for the Yan army escorting the grain supplies to fall into their trap.
Chu Fan, the brother-in-law, Zhang Hu, the commander of ten thousand, Zhang Xiong, the commander of a thousand, and others were already lying in wait on the hilltop, ready to launch an attack. Meanwhile, He Yunxiao, along with Zhou Ping and the female protagonists, stood on a more distant hill, watching their battle from afar.
The new Chu army was well prepared for this battle. They brought bows and arrows, laid landmines, prepared grenades, and even had suonas for the charge. They were only missing a red flag.
There was a red flag originally, but He Yunxiao felt it wasn't quite right, or rather, it was too right, so he had to cancel the flag and replace it with a blue flag with the character "Chu" in black.
This was not only He Yunxiao's idea, but also Ruobao's.
No matter how "new" the new Chu army is, it is still the Chu family army. It cannot be named after the "Fan" family, otherwise it will lose its original meaning.
Xiao Xiao's main objective was to use her trump card and ensure combat strength, especially after learning that Yan State had a Grandmaster. He Yunxiao was hesitant to let the female protagonists stray too far from Xiao Xiao. Fortunately, their side currently had Xiao Xiao and Daoist Qing Yuzi as their high-end combat forces; otherwise, relying solely on Xiao Xiao for protection would inevitably lead to situations where she was overwhelmed.
He Yunxiao stood on the hilltop, watching the Yan army's grain transport convoy move like ants along the narrow trade routes in the mountains.
Fan Ziruo, Jiang Wuyou, Zhou Ping, and the guards of the Short Sword Army all held their breath.
The Yan army's grain transport convoy kept moving forward without looking up when suddenly a loud explosion occurred beneath their feet.
The sound was terrifying and extraordinary; those at close range were instantly pulverized, while those at a distance had their eardrums ripped apart. Before the Yan army could react, a hail of arrows followed.
The Yan soldiers had no choice but to hurriedly use their shields to cover themselves, and those who reacted quickly had a chance to hide under the grain carts.
But the rain of arrows did not end there. After the arrow rain, twenty hand grenades were thrown high into the air and fell freely among the Yan soldiers.
The bizarre explosions and successive bombings truly terrified the Yan army soldiers.
But this was not the end. Immediately afterwards, the suona horns sounded, their notes rising and falling, continuous and unending. Some of the bolder Yan soldiers, not knowing why, dared to peek out. They saw that from all directions, soldiers of the newly formed Chu army were charging towards the Yan army with reckless abandon.
The battle cries echoing across the land shattered the innocent clouds in the sky and also shattered the last shred of hope in the hearts of the Yan soldiers.
Not only were the Yan army surprised, but even the female protagonists found it somewhat unbelievable. They had never seen the new Chu army fight in this way before: first, they would bombard the enemy with long-range weapons, and then pick off the dead and wounded as they went in to collect the heads.
Moreover, the sound of the suona horn evokes a powerful and awe-inspiring scene of soldiers charging across the mountains, creating immense psychological pressure.
He Yunxiao had seen this on television many times, so he wasn't surprised. His composure, however, unconsciously made him appear more imposing in everyone's eyes.
The outcome of this battle was a foregone conclusion. The Yan army escorting the supplies was not an elite force to begin with, and with He Yunxiao's relentless bombardment, they were easily wiped out.
He Yunxiao broke with the traditional military practice of fighting and then leaving. He ordered the soldiers of the New Chu Army to quickly clean up the battlefield.
Swords were picked up, arrows were retrieved, all the food that could be carried away was taken, and all the horses that could be led away were taken. Even the armor worn by the Yan soldiers was taken off and remade for reuse. In short, not a single resource won in the battle was wasted.
...
The new Chu army came and went like the wind, fighting and resolving battles quickly, and then withdrawing just as fast, giving the Yan army no chance to respond to any possible reinforcements.
Judging from their route, this Yan army supply convoy was likely delivering provisions to the Yan Eastern Army. The Yan Eastern Army numbered 70,000, while He Yunxiao's New Chu Army only had a little over 10,000. Intercepting the provisions for 70,000 men and feeding 10,000 would easily last them two or three months.
Inside the Marquis's carriage, Ruobao said, "With this batch of grain, we should have no problem holding out until the Yan army withdraws from Qi."
The group had just calculated that the food would last for two or three months, but He Yunxiao did not expect that the Yan army could withdraw from Qi so quickly.
"Will the Yan army stay long?"
Fan Ziruo nodded and said, "Based on the timeline, the Southwest King, who is guarding the southwestern border of Qi and resisting the invasion of the Abbasid Caliphate, should arrive in about half a month. The southwestern border army is quite powerful, and with the local Qi troops that have been gathering during this period, after a month, the Qi army around Yinjing will probably have a two-to-one numerical advantage over the Yan army. At that time, there will be no need to wait any longer, and we will need to fight a decisive battle with the Yan army."
Ruobao yawned. He continued, "The war between Qi and Yan can't drag on. It will take at most three or four months, or at least one or two months, before a winner is decided."
He Yunxiao thought for a moment and said, "I previously purchased a batch of grain from Tingfeng Tower, enough to feed the new Chu army for a month. In that case, why don't we distribute the grain we seized from the Yan army this time?"
Distribute it?
Inside the carriage, Jiang Wuyou and Fan Ziruo looked at each other in bewilderment.
The grain that we finally managed to snatch from the Yan army is going to be distributed again?
If He Yunxiao hadn't said those words, Jiang Wuyou would have rolled up his sleeves and given that person a good whack on the head to see if it was broken.
He Yunxiao explained, "Once the Qi-Yan War ends, the court will be free to deal with our troops. Most of them will be incorporated into the government, and a small portion will be kept in their own hands. But regardless of the method, the court will supply us with food. Right now, we have enough food, and we can also raid the Yan army's supply convoys for more food, so we don't need to worry about feeding these tens of thousands of people."
"When I went to Tingfeng Tower to buy grain, I learned that grain is not easy to buy. It's not enough to just have money; you also need channels and stored grain to wait for merchants to transport it. Therefore, for the Qi army stationed around Yinjing, grain must be a rare commodity. If we cater to their needs and use grain as a means of transportation, we can definitely expand the influence of the new Chu army quickly..."
Fan Ziruo understood what He Yunxiao meant halfway through his speech.
He Yunxiao's intention was simple. He would use grain he didn't need to conduct "grain diplomacy," cultivate good relations with allied forces in advance, and gain favors in order to gain an advantage when the King of the Northwest arrived and formed the "Qi State Alliance" against Yan.
"Granted," Ruobao said.
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