The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 775 The Strategist Turns Against Him
Around midnight, the Sui army arrived at the city of Lintao. The night sky was covered with dark clouds, with no stars or moon. It was pitch black just a few dozen steps away, and nothing could be seen.

The army arrived a hundred paces from the south gate of the county town, but the soldiers on the city wall could not see them either.

General Liu Feng led two thousand soldiers to bypass the eastern city and prepare to climb the city wall from the east. They laid planks on the moat and the soldiers rushed to the city wall to wait for the climb.

A slender scout threw a grappling hook onto the city wall and struggled to climb up, pulling on the rope.

Before long, they climbed to the top of the city wall, peered out, and saw the patrol heading north. The night was too dark, and they disappeared from sight in a moment.

The scout hung the rope ladder he was carrying on the battlement and threw it down.

The soldiers below the city began to use rope ladders to scale the walls. Soon, more than twenty rope ladders were thrown down, and the two thousand men quickly climbed the walls. In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all two thousand men were on the top of the wall.

Liu Feng waved his hand and led two thousand soldiers to attack the south city tower.

The southern part of the city was almost deserted, and the garrison never expected that an army would come from the south. Only a few dozen people were sleeping in the city tower, and they were all wiped out by the Sui army.

The city gates opened, and Sui soldiers lit three torches on the city wall.

Qiu Xinggong led 8,000 soldiers into Lintao City.

Xue Ju was killed in battle, and his son Xue Rengao inherited his father's title of Hegemon of Western Qin and became the new master of Longyou. However, the problem of food supply immediately confronted Xue Rengao.

Since the Sui army had joined the war, the major Qiang tribes stopped providing them with cattle and sheep, and the dozen or so local powerful families had been squeezed dry by the Xue family, leaving them with no more stored grain to provide.

Xue Rengao hesitated again when it came to seizing grain from the people. His army was a nation of soldiers, and seizing grain from the people was tantamount to seizing grain from the soldiers' families, which would inevitably lead to a mutiny.

But there is indeed a major problem with food. He now only has 20,000 shi of grain left, but with an army of 120,000, each soldier can only get 20 jin of grain. If they are careful with their food, it will last for at most half a month.

Xue Rengao was anxious and immediately sent someone to summon Chief Secretary Wei Xing to discuss the matter. Wei Xing was the Sima of Xiping County and had been forcibly appointed as the Chief Secretary of the Western Qin Prince's Palace by Xue Ju. He gave Xue Ju and his son many suggestions, but they were all rejected and none of them were adopted. In a fit of anger, Wei Xing claimed to be ill and stayed at home.

At this time, Xue Rengao was facing a food crisis, so he sent someone to forcibly invite Wei Xing to come and offer advice. How could Wei Xing not be furious? He clearly possessed two fertile lands, the Hehuang Valley and the Taoshui Valley, yet he was facing a food crisis. He was speechless. This father and son only knew how to destroy, not build. Such people wanted to contend for the world? Dream on!

Wei Xing was indeed angry. His first suggestion to Xue Ju was to establish military settlements. The Xue family had conscripted all the men in Xiping County, leaving no one to farm. He advised Xue Ju to implement military settlements, but Xue Ju ignored him. Later, he learned that it was because Xue Rengao strongly opposed it. If the soldiers went to farm, they could not be trained, and who would fight?

As a result, only some elderly people, women and children farmed the land in the Hehuang Valley, and the grain they grew was barely enough to feed them. Large tracts of fertile land were left uncultivated for two whole years.

Ironically, Xue Rengao always thought that the Qiang people and local powerful families would support them unconditionally and that they would have no worries about food. In the end, once others stopped supporting him, he was completely lost.

The soldiers led Wei Xing into the main tent, and Xue Rengao ran forward, bowed deeply, and pleaded, "Please, sir, save me!"

Wei Xing sighed and said, "Even if you beg me again, Your Highness, I can't conjure up any more grain!"

"Just tell me, sir, what should I do now?"

Helpless, Wei Xing could only ask, "How much grain do you have left?"

"There are still 20,000 shi left!"

"How many troops are left?" "Around 120,000."

Wei Xing shook his head. "There are too many troops. Half of them must be cut."

Xue Rengao remained silent for a long time. Like his father, he was obsessed with the number of troops. If he could reduce the number of troops, he would have done so long ago. Why would he need to ask Wei Xing?
Xue Rengao was silent for a moment before asking, "Is there any other way?"

Wei Xing sighed and said, "How about this? I've given the young prince three options: best, middle, and worst. The young prince can choose for himself."

"Sir, please speak!"

"Let me first suggest the best strategy: Your Highness should immediately lead 120,000 troops to retreat to Hanzhong, occupy Hanzhong, and then plan to conquer Bashu. This is the plan I proposed to your father before, but he could not accept it. Now I am proposing it again."

Then comes the middle strategy, which is what I call troop reduction. Cut off more than half of the troops, keep 50,000 troops, and use livestock and camels as military rations. Seize the time to plant a season of beans. There should still be time.

The last resort, and the worst option, is to directly engage the Sui army in battle. If they can defeat the Sui army, then all food problems will be solved.

By this time, they already knew that the army that had inflicted such a crushing defeat on them in Jincheng County was not Li Gui's army, but the Sui army, which had occupied Jincheng County at some unknown time.

Xue Rengao pondered for a long time and said, "I plan to choose between the worst and the best strategies. If I fail, I will retreat to Hanzhong."

Wei Xing sighed deeply. In the end, they were still unwilling to reduce the number of troops. Did they still consider the people of Longyou as human beings? They, father and son, had completely destroyed Longyou.

Upon returning home, Wei Xing immediately wrote a letter, summoned his son Wei Xian, and handed him the letter, saying, "Go to Jincheng County immediately, find the commander-in-chief of the Sui army, and give him this letter."

Wei Xing knew that Xue Rengao was bound to fail. He had to consider his family's future. Although he hadn't done anything wrong, he was, after all, the nominal Chief Secretary of the Western Qin Prince's Palace. If he didn't make any contributions, the Sui army would investigate and he would not only be disgraced, but his descendants would also be implicated.

Wei Xian immediately mounted the only skinny horse in his household, left Huangshui County, and headed towards Jincheng County.

With his father's Qin King's gold medal, Wei Xian had a smooth journey and arrived in Jincheng County two days later.

Soon, soldiers led him to the Marshal's Mansion. Li Jing received Wei Xian, who bowed and presented his father's letter. "This is a letter from my father to Commander Li. It will help Commander Li understand Xue Rengao's current situation."

Li Jing took the letter and asked, "Your father is the Prefect of Xiping Commandery, why do you help Xue Ju and become his Chief Secretary?"

Wei Xian sighed and said, "My father was forced by Xue Ju. He sent people to my house and forcibly took my father away. He also threatened my father with the lives of my brother, my mother and me. My father had no choice but to agree to become the chief clerk. More importantly, my father put forward eight suggestions, all of which were beneficial to the people. For example, my father advised Xue Ju to implement the equal-field military system, which would distribute the wheat fields in the Hehuang Valley to the soldiers, one hundred mu per person. The soldiers would then be willing to risk their lives. But Xue Ju did not accept this suggestion."

"This is a good suggestion, why not accept it?" Li Jing asked, puzzled.

"Because the local powerful families who supported him all opposed it, the suggestion failed. My father gave him seven other suggestions, but without exception they were all rejected. In a fit of anger, my father pretended to be sick and stopped caring."

Li Jing nodded, then opened the letter and read it carefully. He was immediately intrigued. The 120,000-strong army had only 20,000 shi of grain left. In the letter, Wei Xing suggested using psychological warfare. Xue Rengao was fierce and cruel, treating the people and soldiers like dirt. No one was willing to fight for him. If psychological warfare were used, a large number of soldiers would desert.

The letter also mentioned that Xue Rengao was preparing to launch a major battle against the Sui army, and if he failed, he would flee to Hanzhong.

Finally, Li Jing was not worried, as Qiu Xinggong had already led 10,000 troops to occupy Lintao County, blocking the retreat route to Hanzhong.

(End of this chapter)