Chapter 1 Jiang Chen's Troubles

Jiang Chen led an army of 70,000, marching north.

Along the way, the people would often offer them food, moving the soldiers deeply.

Jiang Chen sat in his imperial carriage, frowning as he looked at the map before him.

At the beginning of the founding of the Great Wei, in order to block the invasion of the Xiongnu, a great deal of manpower and material resources were spent building three cities.

These three cities were arranged in a line, like a natural barrier, cutting off the Xiongnu from the Great Wei.

The vast majority of the Northern Army's forces were also stationed in these three cities.

After the last battle with the Xiongnu, the Northern Army lost more than 20,000 combat troops.

However, after several months of replenishment, even if they couldn't reach the original force of 120,000, they were not far off.

Even if they were evenly distributed among each city, each city could get 40,000 troops.

And Jiang Chen brought only 70,000 soldiers, although they were elite, the numbers were nearly half of the enemy's.

If the two sides went to war, even fighting on flat ground, it would probably take a great price to win.

Not to mention the current situation was a siege.

In this era of cold weapons, the cost of taking a city was far beyond imagination.

Jiang Chen's hand kept tapping on the three cities, his expression full of thought.

Shi Ping and Jing Yue, standing on either side, did not speak, as they were also very worried.

Although the army had a strong momentum, apart from this, Cao Zhenrong's side had the advantage in all other aspects.

More importantly, this battle could not be delayed for too long.

It was not yet June, and there were still several months before the grain would ripen.

Once there was a shortage of food supplies, there would be big problems!

Difficult!

In his heart, Shi Ping even felt that this expedition was a little rushed.

Waiting a few more months, until after the grain harvest, and then taking action, they would not have to worry about it then.

"Jing Yue, through what channels does the Northern Army receive its grain supply?" Jiang Chen suddenly asked at this time.

Shi Ping, who was worried, couldn't help but feel both regret and joy upon hearing this.

That's right!

If their food supply was insufficient, then the Northern Army's food supply must also be insufficient!

Now that the supply line to the south of the Northern Army had been cut off, and the north was the Xiongnu, it could be said that the Northern Army was now in an isolated situation.

In addition, the Northern Army had more than 100,000 soldiers, and the daily consumption of food was extremely large.

Perhaps they only needed to maintain this situation for a while, and the Northern Army would lose its combat power.

But Jing Yue said, "Your Majesty, according to the results of the Dark Guards' investigation, the Northern Army has not replenished its grain supply recently. However, half a month ago, they purchased a lot of grain at once."

Jiang Chen frowned, "How much is a lot?"

"If we calculate according to the Northern Army having 120,000 people, it's probably enough to eat for half a year..."

Jing Yue's voice gradually became smaller as he spoke.

Shi Ping's face was a little stiff.

His previous idea was completely shattered by Jing Yue's words.

The other side's grain supply was actually more abundant than what they were carrying!

"How could they suddenly store so much grain?" Shi Ping asked in confusion.

Jiang Chen raised his hand to interrupt Shi Ping's question and said, "The answer to this question is not important now. We'll talk about it after we return to court."

After speaking, Jiang Chen looked at the map and fell into deep thought again.

He originally wanted to start with long-term supplies, but now it seemed that it could not be done.

"Where do they usually store their grain?" Jiang Chen asked again.

Jing Yue shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, because this matter is of great importance, there would be great danger if the enemy found out, so apart from the local military camp, outsiders generally have no way of knowing."

Shi Ping said at this time, "Your Majesty, when I was in the Jiangnan Army, I discovered that half of the Jiangnan Army's grain was stored in the area with the most troops."

"The area with the most troops?"

Jiang Chen's gaze quickly fell on the city in the middle.

Usually, the commander-in-chief would be stationed in the middle to facilitate command of the other two cities.

And the place where the commander-in-chief was located was often the place with the largest distribution of troops.

"It's here!"

Jiang Chen nodded heavily, then looked at Jing Yue.

"Find a few people, sneak in, and find an opportunity to burn their grain!"

"Yes!"

Jing Yue responded, then left the imperial carriage to arrange it.

Jiang Chen was gently tapping his brow at this time, shaking his head slightly.

Shi Ping was a little curious and couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, once the other side's grain is burned, their morale will inevitably be greatly reduced, why does Your Majesty..."

Jiang Chen waved his hand and said, "Shi Ping, I ask you, what is the purpose of朕's (zhen - I, imperial use) personal expedition this time?"

"It's to quell the rebellion," Shi Ping immediately replied.

Jiang Chen first nodded, then shook his head again, and said, "Quelling the rebellion is only the most superficial goal."

Shi Ping scratched his head and said, "Then this subordinate doesn't know."

"The real goal of this personal expedition is to take down those who embezzle public funds and even those who use their troops to build their own power."

"If we wipe out the entire Northern Army, who can defend the north for the Great Wei in the short term?"

Shi Ping fell silent.

Thinking carefully, that was indeed the case.

After a moment of silence, Shi Ping asked, "What does Your Majesty mean?"

"If possible, it would be best if it could be like the Jiangnan Army."

Jiang Chen sighed, "But the current situation is obviously difficult."

Shi Ping was silent again.

This time, there was no familiar deputy commander-in-chief.

Jiang Chen waved his hand and said, "You can go down first, 朕 (zhen - I, imperial use) will think about it alone."

In the following two days, Jiang Chen continued to look at the map, pondering various methods of attack.

But they were quickly ruled out one by one.

Although the three cities arranged in a line seemed inflexible.

In the current era of cold weapons, the army led by Jiang Chen was also inflexible.

On the contrary, as long as the other side's commander sat in the center, they could easily command the other two cities through pre-arranged signals.

On this point alone, the other side had a great advantage.

A direct assault, at least for now, was completely unworkable.

Just as he was pondering new methods, Jing Yue suddenly cupped his fist and retreated.

A few minutes later, Jing Yue returned with a complicated expression.

"What's the matter?" Jiang Chen asked.

Jing Yue said, "Your Majesty, the people who were arranged to burn the other side's grain two days ago have succeeded."

Shi Ping was overjoyed upon hearing this, "Good! This is great news!"

After speaking, Shi Ping found that Jing Yue's face did not show any joy, and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Chen already had a guess in his mind and said, "Were the people caught, or was only a small portion burned?"

Jing Yue said with some regret, "Only a small portion of the grain was burned."

Jiang Chen had expected this result, so he was not surprised.

Shi Ping found it a little difficult to accept, "How could this be?"

Those were Dark Guards, how could they have failed?

"According to them, there was not a lot of grain stored in the granary inside the city, that granary should just be a front," Jing Yue said.

Jiang Chen nodded, already understanding what was going on.