Chapter 222: Food shortage
Counting the war auxiliaries and the conscripted men, the total strength of the Ming army assembled in the Dafang area was as high as more than 50,000. They were deployed along the Xiangshui River at Guihuayi, Geyayi, Dafangcheng, and further east. The Jinji Station serves as a logistics base for the army, and most of the military supplies are stored here. Although it is located at the rear of the army, material support is crucial. There are also two battalions of soldiers providing protection here, as well as 6,000 soldiers carrying food - of course, everyone is under the control of General Zhang Fang, who has the seal of General Pingman. .
The two marshals vaguely knew each other that, more or less, some of the military rations would definitely fall to the two thieves of She'an. Of course, no one would have the guts to blatantly transport grain to Bijie under Wang Ershan's nose: long-distance transportation of such a huge amount of cargo can only rely on water transportation, and the Xiangshui River is close to Dafang City, so it is impossible to hide it from him. However, there was no need for this. Chen Qiyu was very clever. More than 70% of the grain was transported to the southeast in the opposite direction. Wang Ershan's attention was all on the west, and he was not aware of what was happening behind him.
The Xiangshui River runs roughly east-west. Not far from Jinjiyi, it merges into the Liuchong River and continues to flow eastward until Yachi. Here, there is the north-south Sancha River flowing into the Beiliu. To the north is the Yachi River. Lu Guang changed its name to Lu Guang River, the middle section of Sancha River was called Sichuan River, and the upper reaches was called Gulong River. There are a lot of names, but in fact, to put it bluntly, they are just two rivers - the east-west direction is Liuchong River, a tributary in the upper reaches is Xiangshui, and the north-south direction is one river, divided into five sections, each with its own name. It can also be seen from the names of so many rivers that the mountains in western Guizhou have severely isolated various tribes. Today we know that there are Miao, Yi, Dong, Buyi, etc., but the Ming Dynasty called them all Miaoman, Jiu Miao and nine surnames. , so the same river has its own customary name.
A large transshipment yard has been set up on the south bank of the intersection of Xiangshui River and Liuchong River. Grain ships of all sizes shuttle between Jinjiyi and the transshipment yard in an endless stream, unloading heavy grain packages, and empty ships go back up the river. return. Seventy to eighty percent of the ships sailing from the rear area further downstream to the Jinjiyi front grain station will be stopped directly here, and the grain packages will be unloaded directly at the transfer yard. The boatmen and the escorting soldiers were very happy: sailing against the current is a very hard task, and it can save a lot of distance, and everyone is relaxed. What's more, the river patrol officer who gave the order held Marshal Zhang's command flag and arrows in his hand - the military situation on the frontline was changing rapidly, and you had to dump it wherever the Marshal told you to do it. Even though they were all illiterate, everyone knew it. The consequences of disobeying the commander's military orders!
Eighty miles southwest of the transfer field is Zhijin Village, with mountain roads in between. The mountain road is very lively, with grain trucks flowing continuously, and people's teams carrying grain loads, including Han and Miao attire. There were several resting points along the way, and Ming army servants often met with Miao people. Although they don't understand the language, the Miao people are very enthusiastic and always greet them. They will also share all kinds of strange food they bring, especially various insects: bamboo insects, water beetles, stink bugs... buried in charcoal ash and stewed After roasting for a while, it becomes fragrant and crispy. There is also a kind of big cricket that is as long as a ruler as thick as your thumb. After it is boiled, it is mixed with beans, then poured with some green ox bile, and sprinkled with onion, garlic and salt to make a sour, cool and spicy Miao sauce. It is very delicious to eat with bread. It can serve as a meal and is also very refreshing. Of course, the most delicious thing is definitely the bee pupa, which is so sweet that it is sweet to the heart, but it is a pity that it is rarely seen. However, the Miao people looked at the Han soldiers a little strangely, and their smiles were a little weird, as if... mocking?
Never mind, they are all barbarians, maybe that’s what barbarians are like.
There is also a goods yard five miles outside Zhijin Village, and the workers have completed their task if they unload the grain here. A long shed has been set up next to the cargo yard for the people who have finished unloading the goods to rest. There is food in the shed. If you arrive late, you can rest in the shed for the night before going back. But we can't go any further - a few guys wanted to take advantage of the setting sun to sneak into the village to have a look, and then never came back. The team officer couldn't find anyone the next morning, so he had to report it to the police. In the end, the superiors didn't pursue any further investigation, so the matter was settled. Later, Chen Shenjiang sent word that those guys wanted to escape at night and were caught and beheaded by the patrol. If any of the teams escaped again in the future, the team officers would be beheaded together! Everyone is a little strange. At night, everyone is night blind. How can they escape? However, the team officers were all afraid and kept a very strict watch on them every night. Some even tied the servants' ankles with ropes before going to bed, and even asked everyone to go together in the middle of the night.
It's only five miles from Mo Kan's goods yard to the village, and there are several checkpoints in between. If anyone really manages to get through, they will definitely be surprised: there are people everywhere inside and outside Zhijin Village! What kind of village is this? It's clearly a city!
Oddly enough, at nearly noon that day, a cavalryman wearing a full set of Ming army armor and a dozen horse guards strutted past the goods yard and headed straight towards Zhijin. The Miao soldiers on the checkpoint immediately became nervous when they saw Lai Qi from a distance, and they were at war with each other as if facing a powerful enemy. Some of the archers even dipped their arrows into the small bamboo tubes hanging on their waists, and then put half of their bows on the arrow rests. Be on guard - there is thick yellow-brown sap in the bamboo tube. This is the bloody and throat-sealing venom that makes people laugh! The blood-sealed throat tree is also known as the poisonous arrow tree. The sap of the tree is highly toxic. After entering the human body, the poisoned person seems to be choked by an invisible hand, and will suffocate to death in up to an hour, so it is called the blood-sealed throat tree. Ordinary walking bows can only break through armor, and superficial skin injuries will not cause any serious problems. Therefore, the archers use venom to increase the effect - as long as the skin is broken and red, the person hit by the arrow will die without help. You can do whatever you want. Even gods have no cure. There is no poisonous arrow wood in Guizhou. It was sent by friendly forces in Yunnan who were involved in the uprising. Keeping the secrets of Zhijin Village is a top priority, so the sentries on the periphery are distributed with these most precious killer poisons.
When the knight was galloping close to a stone's throw away, the leading general shouted, and all the knights reined in their mounts, and the horses changed from a trot to a walk. The Miao sentries looked at each other and felt a little relieved: it was obvious that the dogs were not hostile. As he got closer, Mingjiang shouted loudly—in Miao language.
Upon hearing the shouts, the Miao soldiers immediately relaxed their expressions, put down their flat weapons and responded a few times. Lai Qi once again urged the horse to trot forward. When passing the checkpoint, the Miao soldiers put their palms together and raised their heads above their heads to salute the cavalry general.
The horsemen galloped all the way into Zhijin Village, and got off their horses in front of a large bamboo building familiar with the route. The horse guards greeted the Miao people around them familiarly, and spread out in twos and threes to sit among the crowd. Passed the tea. The leading Ming general entered the bamboo building proudly.
The person coming is General Chen Qiyu!
After about an hour, Chen Qiyu came out of the building. The horse guards said goodbye to everyone, and the horsemen left the stockade and galloped towards the Jinji Post.
Another person came out of the bamboo building. He looks about forty years old, with a strong look on his face. His thick knuckles and thick nails reveal the hardships and vicissitudes of life. On the head is a round Miao hat made of blue and black homespun cloth, with an eagle spreading its wings embroidered in silver thread on it. The top is a blue double-breasted short jacket, the lower body is black wide-leg trousers, and the feet are wearing a pair of black homespun double-beam boat-toe shoes that do not distinguish between left and right feet (including official boots, the shoes of the Han people in the Ming Dynasty do not distinguish between left and right feet) . Except for the silver eagle embroidered on the hat, there is no decoration on the whole body. Most of the Miao people around the bamboo house are wearing colorful Miao embroidery, so this outfit is very eye-catching in the crowd. Seeing him coming out, all the Miao people around him bowed their heads and saluted, and some people who looked like the leader of the village came closer.
He nodded slightly to everyone and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, please prepare and send troops in three days."
A small cheer rose from the crowd.
This person is actually An Bangyan!
An Bangyan did not run to Bijie as Wang Ershan had judged, but stayed in Zhijin Village under the eyes of the Ming army!
This is one of the lairs that An Bangyan has been running for a long time. With him are the eight thousand most elite Miao soldiers in Shuixi Village, as well as the most loyal five or six leaders and their subordinates. Now there are enough people hidden in Zhijin Village There are more than 20,000 Miao soldiers!
Chen Qiyu was originally An Bangyan's best friend. His so-called surrender was actually a false surrender under the orders of Elder An! At this time, Chen Qiyu took the risk and came in person to report a major event: the Ming army was about to retreat.
Wang Ershan really had to retreat because the Ming army ran out of food.
The entire province of Guizhou and Huguang are continuously delivering military rations to the front line. Although Mr. Wang has not personally gone to the Jinjiyi Food Station to see the food orders, he has personally checked the food orders. Therefore, he is worried about finding generals who dare to fight and laboring to reform and return to the country. With the advancement of the flow and the harassing attacks by the rebels in the direction of Bijie and Chishui, I never thought that there would be a shortage of food - the food stored in Jinji Post was obviously enough to feed the army for a year!
Then he was stunned by a fire.
Zhang Fang left all the matters of selling military rations to Chen Qiyu. In his subconscious mind, although money is not too much, a person like Brother Chen who is so good at doing things must have some sense of propriety and leave an appropriate amount of surplus food for emergencies no matter what, right?
Of course it's impossible.
At the beginning, Chen Qiyu carefully controlled the amount of food transported, and would allocate enough military rations for ten days and a half to go to outposts such as Guihuayi and Geyayi on time. After a while, when Zhang Fang and Jie Zhongren were completely relieved, they began to supervise the transportation with all their strength. Except for Dafangcheng and Zhang Jie's headquarters military camp, there was never a shortage of food - well, small and frequent transportation, although on the surface. There is no shortage, but as long as the transportation is stopped, each battalion will run out of food within five days at most. Later, when Liu Chao was the first to discover that the camp's grain reserves had begun to wander around the cordon to look for them, Jinjiyi's grain depot had basically been emptied!
When Chen Qiyu came to Zhang Fang to regret that he had accidentally sold all the grain, Marshal Zhang was also frightened. But it was useless to say anything at this time. The disaster had already occurred. Looking at the mountains of silver ingots piled up in the commander's tent, Zhang Fang and Xie Zhongren didn't know what to do. Fortunately, the resourceful Brother Chen had already thought about it: set fire to it and kill the grain official to pay for it.
That's all.
The two marshals' personal guards were dispatched in full force and rushed towards Jinji Post.
Then Wang Ershan was awakened by the fire in the middle of the night. Early the next morning, he received a report from Zhang Fang and a bunch of heads: the grain platform was attacked by Miao thieves, all the army grain was burned, and the warehouse officials and the war soldiers responsible for security were camped. Officials and President Qian Bai were all beheaded according to military law!
Wang Ershan collapsed to the ground as soon as his vision went dark. Just after being rescued, the report from the front line urging food supplies arrived.
With a blank mind, Mr. Wang urgently checked the food stocks of each camp as Chen Qiyu had expected, ordered the troops who still had some food surplus to allocate emergency rations to the friendly forces who were starting to starve, ordered the outposts to withdraw and move towards the rear headquarters, and formulated a plan for all soldiers and civilians. The retreat plan was sent to the rear, requiring that food be collected at several planned retreat locations at all costs... The generals who had run out of food asked for it with red eyes, while the generals who still had three to five days of food refused to give it, and the two sides almost started fighting... Wang Ershan I didn't sleep for almost three days and nights.
Wang Ershan didn't want innocent people to fall into the hands of thieves again, so he wanted to retreat with the entire city. Seeing the team of people supporting the elderly and their young turtles moving eastward at a rapid speed, Mr. Wang made up his mind: when he returns to the duck pond, he must kill this bastard Zhang Fang with his own hands!
It's a pity that Mr. Wang doesn't have this chance.
Chen Qiyu rode over and offered another good strategy: "Sir, our army is retreating, and we will be worried about the rebels taking advantage of the situation to pursue us. Should we burn down Dafang? We are still far from Bijie, so there is no need to worry about it. The thieves saw the light of the fire. Moreover, when Guihua and Geya withdrew their troops, the thieves would definitely suspect that it was a ploy by our army to lure the enemy. When they carefully groped their way over and saw that Dafang was in ruins, maybe they Have you given up chasing? Even if you are still chasing, the thieves have lost a place to rest and stay, so they can't rush too fast. Also, after all, the homes of the people are here, and some people will definitely try their best to escape. If they fall into the hands of the thieves, , the true and false nature of our army will be known to the thieves - once it is burned down, they will have no choice but to follow the army..."
Wang Ershan felt that what Chen Shenjiang said was so reasonable.
Dafang City is in flames.
It is true that a big fire can stop the pursuers from having anywhere to rest, and can stop the people from thinking about escaping... but it also has another function: transmitting signals.
Of course Bijie's Shuixi Army couldn't see the generous fire - but An Bangyan, who had been ambushing nearby, could see it clearly!
