knife

Chapter 628 Imitation of others
Su Qi stood at the entrance of the camp, looking at the huge crowd not far away, and was completely dumbfounded.

Behind the fence, the soldiers who had been on high alert put down their bows and crossbows and lowered their spears.

Those standing just a short distance away were seen by everyone as weaklings, unable to even kill a chicken.

White-haired old men and women, haggard-looking women holding children, huddled together, trembling, watching the army ahead with fear.

They stopped because a row of feathered arrows was neatly stuck in front of them.
That was a warning issued by the soldiers in the camp as they advanced.

"Da Niu, I'm your wife's uncle! You even came to wish me a Happy New Year last year!" An old man shouted loudly to a man behind the fence who was leaning on the fence with both hands.

Su Qi turned to look at the soldier and waved to him.

Junhan jogged all the way to Su Qi.

"Is he really your wife's uncle?" Su Qi asked.

The soldier nodded: "General, I recognize many of these people! But I don't see a single able-bodied young man. It's all either old or young. I remember my wife's village has several hundred people!"

Su Qi's face was grim: "Is there any need to say it? All the able-bodied men have been taken away, and the old, weak, sick, and disabled are useless, so we don't need them anymore. Go and ask them what's going on. Why aren't they staying in the village? Why are they coming here to die?"

Looking back at the soldiers in the camp, everyone's expression was not good.

Su Qi's subordinates had followed him since the Yong'an mutiny last year. Yong'an and Tong'an are two adjacent prefectures, and many of his subordinates were from Tong'an. It's likely that a significant number of them were related to him from both sides.

A moment later, the soldier hurriedly ran back.

"General, these people have no choice but to run; they need to find a way to survive!"

"How to say?"

“The enemy in Tongan has gone mad. They’re arresting able-bodied men and robbing supplies everywhere. In my uncle’s village, not to mention food, even the houses have been forced to be demolished. Anything that’s still somewhat useful has been taken to the city. They have no choice but to flee the famine. Maybe that’s a way to survive. If they stay in the village, there’s absolutely no chance!” the soldier said.

"Why didn't you flee towards Tong'an?"

“They’re guarding the pass on the other side, preventing them from going that way! They say they won’t get any food there and will starve to death. They might as well come this way; maybe they’ll have a chance to survive!” the soldier said.

Su Qi gasped for breath, feeling a sharp pain in his cheek.

"General, they haven't eaten for two days!" the soldier whispered.

Su Qi waved his hand and said, "Get them some porridge, and then send them inside. There's nothing we can do here! Let's see if Protector-General Li and the Holy Maiden can do anything!"

"Let them pass?"

"What else can we do? You raise it?" Su Qi said irritably.

"The enemy is so vicious!" the soldier said angrily. "General, why don't I take a troop of cavalry out? Maybe we'll run into a few groups of people robbing grain and people outside. Let's fuck them!"

Su Qi pondered for a moment and then nodded: "That's a good idea. Those bastards on the other side are preparing for a protracted war with us, which is why they're robbing people and supplies everywhere. Now their forces must be scattered. You take two hundred cavalrymen, but be careful. Don't go too deep, don't be greedy. Fight if you can, retreat if you can't. Especially those supplies, if you can't bring them back, burn them all rather than let them fall into the enemy's hands!"

"Understood!"

The soldiers ran off excitedly, and a moment later, a cavalry force of over a hundred men left the camp from the other side and headed straight for the depths of Tongan County.

At the front gate, a group of elderly, weak, women, and children sat on the ground, each holding a cornbread and a bowl of wild vegetable soup, eating with relish and constantly thanking the soldiers around them. Su Qi, inside the camp, felt a lump in his throat.

As a hall master of Hou Tu Qi, he used to be a genuine farmer and knew the hardships that ordinary people endured in such chaotic times.

It was truly a case of crying out to heaven and getting no response, or calling out to earth and receiving no help.

The entire Tongan County is now in a state of chaos and war.

The current situation is not caused by the enemy that has already attacked, but by the Chu army stationed here.

It wasn't just Su Qi who encountered this situation; Lin Dong at Andu Bridge also discovered the same thing. Just like Su Qi, after learning about the enemy's actions, Lin Dong immediately ordered his Tiger Cavalry to launch a proactive attack, trying to prevent the enemy from causing greater damage and to obtain more supplies.

Both sides are mobilizing troops, but small-scale battles have already broken out simultaneously in various places.

In these conflicts, the Chu army in Tong'an was in a position of extreme disadvantage.

Because those who came out to seize grain and arrest people were basically the original Tong'an County soldiers, while the opposing side dispatched elite troops from various units, such as scouts.

Once the two sides encounter each other, their combat strength is simply not on the same level, and they rarely have the ability to fight back.

More importantly, because of their brutal behavior, even the people of Tong'an who were originally on their side hated them and turned to inform the other side.

When it was discovered that the gains were far from enough to make up for the losses, Xiang Ying finally ordered a halt to such operations, and all military forces began to retreat into a defensive perimeter centered on Tongan County City and surrounded by four small fortresses: Sanhekou, Wangjiadian, Erdaoqiao, and Qilita.

The four outer defensive points all have one thing in common: they occupy strategic locations and are all within ten miles of Tongan County. Cavalry support can arrive in an instant.

Five points work together, and touching one will activate the whole body.

The Tongan County city was garrisoned with 20,000 troops, while the other four locations each had 3,000 troops stationed there. In addition, there were cavalry as a mobile force, ready to support any location under attack at any time.

With sufficient supplies and weaponry, they do indeed have the potential to hold out for an extended period.

Yong'an City.

Upon seeing the continuous stream of intelligence sent back from the front, Li Dachui and Jiang Qian immediately deduced what Jiang Ying intended to do.

"He's definitely a seasoned veteran!" Li Dachui exclaimed admiringly. "His reaction was swift and his response was effective. I must say, this is the most correct course of action he's taken so far. If he really wants to break through and return to Danyang, our chances will be much greater!"

“He’s hiding now. If we attack his fortified city, we’re likely to suffer heavy casualties!” Jiang Qian frowned. “High casualties will be detrimental to the future. Li Guohua’s troops have already occupied Nanyang and are eyeing us covetously. We’re caught between a rock and a hard place!”

“Protector, Holy Maiden, Xiang Ying is trying to emulate the founding battle of the Great Chu!” He Jiong said, “That was their Xiang clan’s proudest achievement, which they have boasted about for hundreds of years!”

"The Battle of Hangzhou!" Jiang Qian nodded. "If Xiang Ying really prepared according to this plan, then this battle will be quite difficult?"

Li Dachui shook his head and sneered: "I've also studied the Battle of Hangzhou. Back then, they clearly judged that the Qin army would definitely attack Hangzhou, so they started preparing all kinds of supplies and weapons a year in advance. The supplies were truly piled up like mountains. Moreover, at that time, all parts of Chu were of one mind and did their best to support the Battle of Hangzhou. Now, do they have the same conditions? They've tried to draw a tiger but ended up with a dog. They've tried to imitate Xi Shi but ended up with a clumsy imitation, which only makes them a laughing stock. The result they want will inevitably be the opposite of what they intended."

"Fight?" Jiang Qian asked.

"Of course!" Li Dachui said confidently.

(End of this chapter)