Xu Mao defeated Zheng Hou. After cleaning the battlefield, he sent people to Huai'an to collect the prisoners, and then led an army of 20,000 to continue northward.
Two days later, Xu Mao's army also drove down near Pi, and then set up camp.
In the camp, Xu Mao was reporting the victory to Wang Sheng, and the camp was filled with joy. Soon after reporting the victory, everyone focused their attention on the most important thing at hand.
"Your Majesty, the grain storage site of the coalition of princes has not been discovered yet, and it has been seven days since the coalition built the dam. Shall we destroy the dam first?"
"Yishui and Surabaya have a total of 10,000 troops. I only need 5,000 troops to defeat them in one battle. Please give me your order." Wei Jun stepped forward and asked for battle.
Wang Sheng shook his head and said, "Now is not the time. If the dike is destroyed, the coalition forces can quickly build it, but it will be a waste of time. However, the city and the camp must be well protected."
"Here!" Wei Jun nodded and stepped back.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty, has a plan, maybe we can find a place for the coalition forces to store grain!" Xu Mao thought for a moment and said.
Wang Sheng heard this and quickly asked: "What good strategy does Xu Qing have? Please tell me quickly!"
"Your Majesty, this strategy requires one or two dead men to execute it to have a chance of success!" Xu Mao said.
Wang Sheng did not ask any more questions, but nodded and said, "I understand! I will order two dead soldiers."
...
In the coalition camp, the Marquis of Qi was discussing decisions with the princes. At this moment, a senior official hurriedly left the tent. After saluting, he couldn't wait to say: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the scouts just intercepted and killed two people. A scout from the Huai Kingdom has snatched a volume of information, please check it out!" He said with both hands offering a torn brocade silk.
"Oh, what's the news?" Seeing Doctor Qing's eager expression, Qi Hou immediately realized that the matter was not simple, and hurriedly stepped forward to take the piece of brocade and inspect it.
The brocade silk looked very torn, with many places stained red by blood, and many places erased by ink, but there were still some words that could be read clearly.
"Where the princes are stationing grain... I hope you will send an army..." Seeing the remaining words on it, Qi Hou's expression changed instantly.
"Have the Huai people discovered the place to store grain?" Qi Hou suddenly asked.
"Your Majesty, I don't know!" The doctor shook his head.
"The scout team accidentally saw two Huai Kingdom scouts on their way today, and then led a team of soldiers to surround and kill them while they were still alive and robbed them!"
"Was there anyone left alive? How could this bamboo slip be burned like this?" Qi Hou asked.
"Both scouts are dead!"
"Bang!" Qi Hou slapped the table hard and said with a bad expression, "Why don't you stay alive?"
"Your Excellency, we discovered them in a hurry. In order to prevent them from escaping, we summoned a group of soldiers nearby to arrest them. Unexpectedly, the two scouts were extremely powerful. Four of the ten soldiers in the group were killed and three were injured. , and then the two scouts were killed."
"The two of them destroyed the brocade and stained it with ink. Fortunately, the soldiers were able to snatch it away in time. Unfortunately, there were still areas where it was smeared unclearly!"
"Your Majesty, these two scouts are so elite. It must be that the Huai Kingdom discovered our food storage area and sent people back to report the news!" Cui Lin, another minister, said.
"Your Majesty, this kind of important information will definitely not be reported by just one scout. Although two people were stopped, it is very likely that there are still scouts who have passed the news back!"
"Your Majesty, this brocade silk is so torn, and the two scouts actually smeared it, I think it's very suspicious. Could it be a conspiracy to deceive the soldiers?"
Qi Hou looked ugly and he did not dare to gamble. Food and fodder for the army is very important, it is related to the life and death of these 250,000 troops.
After quickly weighing in his mind, the Marquis of Qi said: "I ordered you to send 10,000 troops to guard the transfer of grain and grass. In the future, at least 5,000 people will be needed to transport grain and grass. We must not allow problems in the transportation of grain and grass. At the same time, we will expand the patrol scope. Once we encounter the Huai State Scouts, shoot without mercy!".
"Here!" the general responded immediately with his hands raised, then turned around and left the tent, gathering his troops to prepare for the expedition.
princes
The mobilization of soldiers and horses in the camp quickly attracted the attention of Huai State scouts. How could an army of 10,000 people hide their whereabouts when traveling. The Huai Kingdom's scouts have been keeping an eye on the camp of the coalition of princes.
Xu Mao's plan was almost perfect, no matter whether Qi Hou believed it or not, because he didn't dare to gamble. Once the Huai State really knew where the grain and grass was stored, the grain and grass would be in danger. For safety, they could only send a large army to guard or move the grain and grass. In his opinion, regardless of whether Huai State knew where the grain and grass were, it was right to send troops to protect the grain and grass.
And as long as he sends troops to protect food and grass, he will fall into Xu Mao's plan.
Soon the 10,000-strong army left the camp and slowly headed north, followed immediately by a group of scouts. These scouts are all elite veterans with fierce combat power. They are not afraid of being strangled by the scouts of the army. The remaining scouts continued to monitor the Qi Allied Forces camp.
The 10,000-strong army continued to move north, and finally stopped near a waterport. It was a river bend with a lake next to it. This place was called Yingze, and it connected to Yingshui to the west. The transportation was very convenient, and the princes Food and grass for the coalition forces were transported here through rivers.
The coalition forces built camps here and stored grain and grass. The Huai State scouts followed the army and finally found the place where the grain and grass were stored, and then immediately sent people back to report.
Xu Mao successfully lured the coalition forces of princes to guard the grain and grass by death, and Wang Sheng was overjoyed. After so many days, Wang Sheng was under great pressure. After learning about the location of the coalition's food and grass, he immediately ordered people to prepare the army.
"Your Majesty, the Bangzhou Alliance Army has fifteen thousand troops guarding the food and grass. It is difficult to defeat them, and it is less than fifty miles away from the coalition camp. If there is a war, the Bangzhou Alliance Army will inevitably be attracted. If they are surrounded by the coalition forces, this battle will be in vain!" Xu Mao said worriedly.
If the allied forces of the princes marched in a hurry, they would be able to arrive at a distance of fifty miles in two hours. However, there were 15,000 troops guarding the Yingze camp. It would not be easy to break through the camp in two hours and then burn the food and grass. .
What's more important is that Xiapi is in a confrontation with the coalition camp. If a large army is deployed to attack Yingze, it will be easily discovered by the coalition forces of the princes.
If you want to avoid being noticed, you can only use the cover of night to mobilize an army of about ten thousand people to attack, but the success rate is too low.
Wang Sheng closed his eyes tightly, and after thinking for a moment, he suddenly opened them, and a brilliant light flashed in his eyes.
"Xu Qing, you lead the army to attack Surabaya and Yishui!"
"Here!" Xu Mao responded with his hands raised.
"This battle requires cooperating with the army to attack Surabaya and Yishui and attract the coalition forces of the princes to defend!" Wang Sheng said with a solemn expression.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty!" Xu Mao said confidently.
"Okay! The others will stick to Xiapi, and I will lead the army to Yingze!" Wang Sheng said directly.
"Your Majesty, you can't do that!" As soon as he finished speaking, Gong Yangshuo, Wei Jun and others wanted to dissuade him.
"No need to say more, I have made up my mind!" Wang Sheng did not give them a chance to remonstrate.
