"General Yuan, why did you summon us in such a hurry!" Gongsun Zan strode into the camp and said with a golden sword.
"Mr. Zhao, something bad has happened. The grain and grass have been burned, and Chunyu Qiong is missing!" Yuan Chonghuan said with an ugly expression.
Nothing can be investigated. When the stipulated date arrives, Chunyu Qiong and the food and grass he escorted have not arrived yet. Naturally, Yuan Chonghuan will not wait passively, but will take the initiative to send scouts to understand the situation as soon as possible. .
However, the news returned by these scouts made Yuan Chonghuan feel dizzy and almost unable to stand.
Although Chunyu Qiong led the soldiers up the mountain, the traces of the food and grass being burned were still there. Therefore, based on what these scouts investigated, Yuan Chonghuan naturally knew that the grain and grass could no longer be escorted.
After learning about this situation, he gave some instructions to a few people around him, and then Yuan Chonghuan immediately sent someone to invite Gongsun Zan and the generals over. It was absolutely impossible to hide such a big thing from Gongsun Zan, and even if he wanted to, he couldn't.
Things have developed to the current situation, but Chun Yuqiong has disappeared, and no one can take care of him for the time being. After this turmoil is over, some people will naturally have plenty of time to think about his affairs.
"What, how is this possible?" All the generals stood up in shock. If Xue Rengui sent troops to rob food, they would not be able to detect it at all.
Moreover, "before the troops and horses move, food and grass go first." In a war, the supply of food and grass can be said to be the first priority. No matter how strong the team is, when the food and grass are broken, the entire team will collapse!
"General Yuan, how much food and grass are left in our army?" Gongsun Zan asked with a dark face when he suddenly heard such bad news.
After all, he had been in the army for a long time, and Gongsun Zan got the idea right with one sentence. Only by figuring out how much food and grass they have left can they determine what to do next.
"Mr. Zhao, we still have enough food and grass left to last for ten days. Even if we reduce the cost of the soldiers, we can only last for five days at most! Although the general has already sent people to notify the preparation of the next batch of food and grass, but It will take at least a month for the next batch of grain and grass to arrive!" Yuan Chonghuan directly stated the situation that he had already understood.
Hearing this, Gongsun Zan's face turned even darker. There were only ten days left, so this was going to be troublesome. As for Yuan Chonghuan's suggestion of reducing dosage, Gongsun Zan didn't take it seriously at all, and I believe Yuan Chonghuan himself didn't take it seriously either. There is still a war going on, but the soldiers' food and fodder are reduced so that the soldiers cannot have enough to eat. This can easily lead to mutiny.
For example, when you are not working, you may be able to gain weight by drinking some gruel for three meals a day, and you may only need two or two meters a day. But if you are asked to move bricks for 12 hours a day, you will find that you get hungry very quickly, and you will be starving before meal time. Even three steamed buns in one meal may not be enough.
The same principle applies to marching and fighting. You have to fight constantly every day and carry various siege materials, which requires a lot of physical strength. If you eat little, you won't even have the strength to hold a knife, let alone kill the enemy.
Moreover, without a full stomach, the combat effectiveness of the soldiers will inevitably decrease. By then, the casualties during battle will definitely increase significantly. Under such circumstances, how could the soldiers be willing and have no resentment in their hearts!
"Damn it!" Out of anger, Gongsun Zan couldn't help but punch the table in front of him.
If there is insufficient food and grass, they will inevitably retreat. But this battle has lasted for so long, but they have achieved nothing. If they retreat now, wouldn't all their previous sacrifices be in vain? How could Gongsun Zan, who had already regarded Bingzhou as his treasure, be willing to accept this?
"Mr. Zhao, I think Mr. Zhao also knows very well that if our army continues to fight in this battle, it will only suffer heavy losses. Tomorrow, our army will retreat!" Yuan Chonghuan bowed his hands and said somewhat helplessly.
Just kidding, Yuan Chonghuan is also a famous general of the generation, so he naturally knows that this situation has been reached and that he has to leave. If they wait for a while and the food and grass are almost exhausted, it may be difficult for them to leave even if they want to.
"Humph!" Gongsun Zan also knew very well that he had to leave now, but losing troops and generals without achieving anything made him feel a wave of unhappiness in his heart. He immediately snorted coldly and walked out of the tent.
At the same time, as he turned his back to Gongsun Zan and was about to walk out of the camp, Gongsun Zan's eyes flashed with murderous intent.
If this battle fails to gain anything from merging the states, then Gongsun Zan is already considering whether to attack Yuan Chonghuan!
After all, whether it is for Yuan Shao or Gongsun Zan, just one Jizhou is too small. It can only accommodate one of them, and the other one is the target that the other party must eliminate. There is no room for two tigers in one mountain, except one male and one female!
Therefore, in the near future, the two families will inevitably continue to fight for the entire dominance of Jizhou. At this moment, if they can cut off Yuan Shao's arm first, it will definitely be beneficial to their subsequent situation!
"Hold on, Mr. Zhao, I still have something to discuss." Seeing Gongsun Zan's appearance, Yuan Chonghuan couldn't help but feel a burst of disdain in his heart, but on the surface, he calmly called Gongsun Zan down.
"What else does General Yuan have to do?" Gongsun Zan asked with a dark face.
"I have something to discuss with Mr. Zhao in detail. I wonder if you generals can do it for me!" Yuan Chonghuan did not directly answer Gongsun Zan's question, but turned to the other generals in the tent and said.
"General, we retreat!" The generals in Yuan Shao's force retreated first, while the generals in Gongsun Zan's force looked at Gongsun Zan, waiting for instructions from their boss.
Although he didn't know what Yuan Chonghuan was selling, Gongsun Zan still calmly made a gesture to his subordinates, asking them to listen to Yuan Chonghuan's words and go out for the time being.
"General Yuan, what's going on? You can talk now!" When the last general in the tent walked out, Gongsun Zan couldn't help but ask.
"Mr. Zhao..." It seemed that he really wanted to tease something secret. Even though there was no one in the tent, Yuan Chonghuan still did not speak loudly. Instead, he approached Gongsun Zan and whispered.
As Yuan Chonghuan's words came in, Gongsun Zan's face, which was originally dark, began to look better again.
