webnovelfull Chapter 460 Guan Xing Refuses to Meet Mi Fang and Fu Shiren
Chapter 460 Guan Xing Refuses to Meet Mi Fang and Fu Shiren
If the soldiers and horses are not moving, the grain and grass will go first.
Food supplies are always an indispensable part of a major war, and can even be the key to victory or defeat.
Sun Quan understood this principle, so as soon as Zhu Yi rebelled, he began to rob the gentry and hoard grain. But the gentry were not so easy to rob, and in the context of overall food shortage, even if you robbed all the grain in Jingzhou, how much could you take?
If the entire society's wealth is only ten million, how can you possibly rob a hundred million?
Sun Quan's provisions could last him about twenty days if he used them all by himself, but now Guan Xing has arrived with nearly 20,000 troops, twice the size of Sun Quan's army. That's 20,000 mouths to feed!
If we also consider the upcoming events involving Yu Fan and Shen Yi, the conversation will become even more heated.
Guan Xing seemed to have anticipated this, pondering, "We are short of food, but the Wei army arrived in haste and should be even short of food than we are. The Wei army's supplies can only be transported from Xiangyang. Xiangyang is 400 li from Jingzhou, and there are cities like Dangyang and Bianxian in between. We can completely prevent the Wei army's supply convoy from passing through too smoothly."
"Father-in-law, I heard from General Sun Huan that General Zhu Ran has moved his troops to Yidao City, is that right?"
Sun Quan frowned and said, "You want Zhu Ran to go north and attack the Wei army's supply lines?"
Guan Xing nodded and said, "There is no need to defend Yidao City. General Zhu Ran is a famous general of our time. It would be a waste for him to stay in Yidao and sleep all the time. It would be better to go north and harass the rear of the Wei army. If conditions permit, General Zhu Ran can also attack Fangling and Shangyong, attack Xu Huang's rear, and help Your Majesty to leave the three eastern counties. I just don't know what Your Majesty's current situation is."
The three eastern counties were three counties under the jurisdiction of Hanzhong. They were Xicheng, Shangyong, and Fangling, which ran from west to east along the Han River. The three counties were nestled between the Daba Mountains and the Qinling Mountains, and were an important passage from the bottom of the Hanzhong Basin to the Hanjiang Plain. If Liu Bei wanted to launch an eastern expedition, he could go straight to Xiangyang City from the three eastern counties.
Similarly, the Wei army could also follow this route and march straight towards Hanzhong. Currently, Xu Huang is attacking Xicheng, the last line of defense for Hanzhong.
Zhang Zhao said, "Ambassador Fei Yi has already sent someone to inform the King of Hanzhong. As expected, we should have news in a few days. By the way, Ambassador Fei, Wang Hong, and Deng Hong are also in the army. They were busy for most of the day and only went to bed an hour ago to prepare for their shift change in the middle of the night, so I didn't wake them up just now."
Guan Xing exclaimed in surprise, "Wang Hong, the Commander-in-Chief, is still alive?"
Zhang Zhao briefly explained Wang Hong's situation, and Guan Xing smiled and said, "That's great. Let's get back to the main topic. We can raise supplies from the four counties of Jingnan. General Bu Zhi, how about I entrust this matter to you?"
Bu Zhi hesitated and said, "It's possible, but I don't have a good reputation in Jingnan. The local people might not give me face. It would be great if there were a warrant from General Guan."
He originally wanted to say that the Wu army was not well-liked in Jingnan, but when he thought of Sun Quan's presence, he decisively changed his words.
However, what he said was also true. Wu Jun had only occupied Jingnan for a few days and did not have much popular support in the area. His orders could not even leave the county.
Guan Yu was different. He had a great reputation in Jingnan, and if he gave a shout, the people of Jingnan and even the Wuling barbarians would send him grain.
But Guan Yu was far away in Jiangdong, and Bu Zhi knew it was unrealistic to ask Guan Yu to come forward. Just as he was about to bite the bullet and take on the task of procuring supplies, Guan Xing laughed and said, "That's easy, Zhu Chao..."
Everyone looked at Zhu Chao, who took off his coat and began to tear it. He used a dagger to cut the seam between the outer and inner layers, revealing the second lining.
Zhu Chao's coat was actually sewn with three layers, and the middle layer was made of silk. Several bright red seals were stamped on the white silk. Everyone present was knowledgeable and recognized them at a glance as Guan Yu's general's seal.
What does it mean that a general's seal is stamped on a blank silk? It means that whatever is written on the silk is Guan Yu's official edict. What is the difference between this and a blank imperial edict with the imperial seal already stamped on it, allowing you to write whatever you want?
Guan Xing snatched the coat and, amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, tossed it to Bu Zhi, laughing, "Three general's seals. Cut them in half with scissors and you can issue three orders. That should be enough, right?"
This was secretly stamped by Guan Xing using Guan Yu's general's seal before he left Jianye. It wasn't that he was reluctant to stamp more, but rather that the cloth was only so big, and if he stamped too many, there wouldn't be enough space to write anything.
Bu Zhi asked, his hands trembling, "Give...give it all to me..."
It's not that the general's seal is particularly important, but rather that this practice is too unethical. If someone reports it to Liu Bei afterward, you'll be in big trouble.
Guan Xing, however, said indifferently, "Go ahead and do it. I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. If the king wants to punish someone, then punish me."
Everyone rolled their eyes. You're Liu Bei's darling now. Even if Liu Bei wanted to beat himself, he wouldn't have the heart to hit you.
Bu Zhi looked at Sun Quan, and only after Sun Quan nodded did he put away his coat and solemnly say, "Young General, rest assured, I will return to Jingnan to procure grain immediately."
As they spoke, the drums of the Wei army sounded again, much more urgently than before. Zhang Zhao frowned and said, "Judging from this drumbeat, Yu Jin probably knows that the young general has arrived and is about to fight to the death."
Sun Quan said, “Anguo, the Huang family’s private army has only just surrendered and has not yet formed a fighting force. At this time, going up to the city to participate in the battle will only backfire. Besides, the city wall is only so big and they can’t make any moves. How about I hold on for two more days to buy you two more days of integration time?”
Guan Xing was overjoyed and said, "That's great! Then please continue to guard the southeast gates, and I will go and block the northwest gates after I have consolidated my forces. I will try to keep Yu Jin trapped inside the city and prevent him from leaving. Otherwise, I am worried that Yu Jin will be so desperate that he will jump over the wall and steal grain from the city."
“Okay.” Sun Quan nodded in agreement.
Just as Guan Xing was about to take his leave, Sun Quan suddenly remembered something and called out to his retreating figure, "By the way, I've detained Mi Fang, Fu Shiren, Pan Jun, and Huang Chengyan. They're currently in the barbican below, being given only half a bowl of thin porridge a day to keep them alive. They're being personally guarded by Wang Hong, the Sima. Do you want to go and take a look?"
These men were the pledge of loyalty that Sun Quan had prepared to give to Liu Bei. Naturally, they had to be taken with them when he left the general's mansion. Moreover, to prevent any accidents, they were only given half a bowl of thin porridge a day to keep them alive. The four of them were so hungry that they could barely lift a finger, let alone cause any trouble.
Guan Xing was overjoyed to hear this, but hesitated when he heard that he was going to meet them. After struggling for a moment, he shook his head and said, "Forget it, I won't meet them. I won't tell them I'm here either, to avoid embarrassment."
These four people are all acquaintances of his, and they are all elders who watched him grow up and treated him well. If they try to appeal to his emotions after they meet, it will put him in a difficult position.
After all, everyone is afraid of being morally blackmailed!
Seeing this, Sun Quan did not insist any further and waved for him to leave.
Guan Xing bowed and took his leave, then turned back to the main camp outside the city. He directed his troops to set up camp outside the city to guard against a Wei army sneak attack. At the same time, he used this time to chat with Huang's private soldiers, actively understand their thoughts and feelings, and quickly formulate a strategy to appease them.
He only had two days, and he had to complete the ideological transformation and selection of the private soldiers as quickly as possible, removing all the old, weak, sick, and disabled, and forming separate troops for the able-bodied men, so that the private army could quickly form combat power.
Fei Yi arrived less than half an hour after he had been busy. He had just woken up and heard the news about Guan Xing. He rushed over with Deng Hong without even washing his face. When he saw Guan Xing, he bowed and said, "Young General, you've finally arrived. I can finally rest easy now that you're here."
These are our own people, so there's no need to be as nervous as when facing Zhang Zhao and Sun Quan. Guan Xing reached out to help him up and asked with concern, "Ambassador Fei, you've had a hard day. I heard you were injured. How are you feeling?"
Fei Yi patted his chest and calmly laughed, "These are all superficial wounds. A mere assassin can't hurt me?"
Guan Xing asked in astonishment, "What? You encountered an assassin?"
All he knew was that Fei Yi had been beaten by Jiang Ji, and quite badly. Although so much time had passed, the injury must have almost healed, but since Fei Yi had been beaten, he, as a colleague, should still care.
Guan Xing originally only wanted to ask a routine question, but unexpectedly, he stumbled upon the truth: Fei Yi was not only beaten but also assassinated.
It seems that Fei Yi was assassinated in history, and now he is being assassinated again. Is he a thorn-absorbing body?
Looks like I'll have to stay away from this kid from now on, lest the assassin accidentally hurt me when he's dealing with him.
Fei Yi was taken aback for a moment by Guan Xing's question, but quickly realized what was happening and awkwardly waved his hand, saying, "It's nothing, nothing at all, just a mere assassin..."