Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Furthermore, because Yue Fei abandoned his post and left the army, Zhao Gou sent people to persuade him to return many times before he finally came back, thus ending the honeymoon period between Zhao Gou and Yue Fei.

.....

However, Yue Fei led his troops away from Hezhong County without taking the three main routes.

Instead, guided by Han Chang, a general who had surrendered from Bohai, they spent four days traveling back, making a large detour to cross Shiziling (the northern mountain range of Pingquan City) and head north.

Before crossing the mountains, they resupplyed in Zezhou City (a few miles south of Pingquan City).

Then, following the eastern foothills of the Yanshan Mountains, they traveled by day and hid by night to bypass the city of Dading.

Han Chang, a Han Chinese general who surrendered in the north, was very familiar with this area. Pointing to the map, he said, "Although the Jin army did not mainly transport grain by boat, they must have come along the Tuhe River."

"Because they had countless warhorses and livestock, it was easier for them to obtain water as they moved south along the Tu River."

"This place is fifty li from Dading Prefecture City and forty li from Wen'an Town."

"Whether the Jin army intends to attack the city or march south to intercept reinforcements, storing grain here is the most convenient and secure option."

"The Jin army's supplies must be here!"

The location pointed out by Han Chang, which is the site of the later Ningcheng County, was at that time still a field and rural area.

Yue Fei examined the map again and said, "Wanyan Zonghan is a veteran general, so he must have been very careful in guarding the military rations."

"Moreover, they will definitely send out scouts everywhere, so we must be extra careful on this journey."

"Once discovered by the Jin scouts, we will have no choice but to fight our way back to Dading City."

They even changed their flags; they were all Jin Dynasty flags.

When traveling, they always sent out light cavalry to scout the way.

These light cavalrymen were all dressed as Jin soldiers, some even without helmets and sporting Khitan hairstyles—disguising themselves as nomadic cavalry.

Wanyan Zonghan's elite troops were limited, and the cavalry he deployed to cover the battlefield were definitely mainly steppe cavalry.

However, there is a lack of unified management among the various tribes on the grasslands.

Even if the light cavalry sent out by Yue Fei to scout ahead were discovered by the Jin soldiers, they would most likely be mistaken for nomadic cavalry from some tribe.

With the entire army operating in hiding during the day and traveling at night, even if Wanyan Zonghan were extremely cautious, it would be difficult for him to discover this surprise attack force.

When Yue Fei led his army to circle around to the north of the target location, sixty miles away, the scout cavalry even encountered a Jin Dynasty grain transport team.

"Which unit are you from?" the general escorting the grain supplies asked.

Han Chang, dressed as a Khitan herdsman, spoke fluent Khitan: "Which tribe are you from?"

The grain transport officer said, "Jiela tribe."

Han Chang immediately turned his nose in the air: "We are the Jurchen people of the ancient Southern Tang tribe. We were ordered to go ahead to scout and prevent any Southern bandits from flanking us and attacking us from behind."

"You've worked hard." The grain transport officer immediately lowered his head by three points.

Most of the Tanggu tribe lived in the southern grasslands of Inner Mongolia.

The ancient tribes of the Southern Tang Dynasty were scattered across the vast grasslands from Changchun to Songyuan, and some even lived south of Changchun.

Initially, they were all slaves directly under the Liao royal family.

The population was mainly composed of Jurchen people, but also included Shiwei, Bohai, and Goryeo ethnic groups.

Although they still retain Khitan customs, in recent years they have been regarded as Jurchens by the Jin Dynasty.

Han Chang claimed to be an ancient Jurchen from the Southern Tang Dynasty, and the grassland cavalry escorting the grain immediately became respectful to him.

"You all go out and scout, don't linger here and slack off!"

Han Chang ordered his light cavalry to disperse to avoid lingering too long and revealing any weaknesses.

The Ming cavalry quickly dispersed, moving away from the grain transport convoy in front of them.

Han Chang casually asked, "Have the grain supplies been transported almost completely?"

"Why is it still being transported?"

The grain transport commander said, "We don't know how long the battle will last."

"With so much grain on its back, the horse probably won't be able to walk fast."

"Can it be delivered before dark tomorrow?" Han Chang began to probe indirectly.

The officer in charge of transporting the grain said, "It's not too slow; it should arrive by tomorrow afternoon."

Chapter 3453 Grain Transport Team

Han Chang said, "Then let's not talk about it, so as not to delay the army's rations."

After exchanging a few more words, the two parted ways. Han Chang ordered his light cavalry to keep watch while he personally went back to see Yue Fei, who was hiding in the hilly area.

Yue Fei asked, "Have you encountered the enemy?"

Han Chang said, "We encountered a grain transport team from the Khitan tribe south of Linhuang Prefecture."

"After probing a few times, I can basically confirm the location of the Jin army's supplies, which is in the place we previously guessed."

Yue Fei said, "Then let's continue eastward tonight; there are more mountains there, making it easier to hide."

"Rest well during the day tomorrow, eat all the food we brought, and feed the warhorses plenty of bean feed as well."

"Tomorrow night, we'll take the Jin army's supply depot head-on, burn the grain, and then wait for the opportune moment to strike."

"Fight if you can, otherwise retreat immediately to Dading Prefecture."

.....

Wen'an Town.

Li Yanxian was completely surrounded. Apart from the six hundred heavy cavalrymen under his command, none of the rest were present.

Some were taken away by Li Bao, some were lent to Yue Fei, and some went to Jinzhou.

Wen'an Town is nestled between mountains on one side and water on the other.

The chariots used the mountains, rivers, and houses to encircle Li Yanxian's troops.

The civilian laborers, who only had enough rations for ten days, had been mostly sent back, and subsequent supply convoys were not to come, lest they be ambushed and robbed by the Jin army en route.

"Withdraw the troops, we'll fight again tomorrow!"

Wanyan Zonghan was extremely depressed.

What we were in front of was just an abandoned town; there were no city walls left, and even the houses were dilapidated.

In the past, whether fighting the Liao or Song armies, a small town like this could be taken down with a single charge.

But we just can't break through!

He also cut down nearby trees to build a trebuchet array.

But Li Yanxian's troops also had cannons, and in greater numbers than those in Dading Prefecture!

The Jin soldiers' trebuchets were bombarded by artillery fire before they even entered range.

The Jin cavalry sent further south to cut off their supplies have yet to encounter any Ming army supply convoys.

Wanyan Zonghan felt that something was wrong, as if he had been seen through and all his actions were failing to achieve their goals.

Several light cavalrymen rushed back from the southwest: "Marshal, our army couldn't find the grain transport team, so we marched all the way to Hezhong County."

"No matter how much they challenged them, the garrison in the city refused to come out."

Upon hearing this news, Wanyan Zonghan became even more agitated.

The Ming troops in other cities are holding out and refusing to come out. Am I supposed to stay here and surround this Ming army until they run out of food?

We can't continue the siege of Wen'an Town; who knows what the other Ming troops are doing?

Wanyan Zonghan ordered, "Dispatch more light cavalry to scout in all directions, searching for any signs of Ming troops within a radius of 150 li."

He plans to feign a retreat tomorrow to see if he can attract Li Yanxian's attention.

They might be able to turn around and wipe out the Ming army here—Wanyan Zonghan was unaware that Li Yanxian's army's provisions were almost gone, and they could only hold out for three more days at most.

If this drags on, Li Yanxian will have no choice but to kill the mule pulling the cart.

Wanyan Zonghan isn't a god, how could he possibly have guessed?

Li Yanxian was too calm, as if she was determined to hold Wen'an Town to the death.

He even ordered the grain transport teams not to come again, seemingly indicating that the army had more than enough food supplies.

"Marshal, twenty Zhennan cannons have been rebuilt!"

"Very well, the craftsmen will be richly rewarded!"

Wanyan Zonghan suddenly perked up again: "Tonight, we'll secretly push the Zhennan Cannon over there, and the Ming army's artillery will definitely miss."

"First, use stones to smash the wagon formation, then attack from multiple directions. Also, send men over the mountain to rappel down to the rear of the Ming army camp for a surprise attack!"

Li Yanxian's forces were very complex, including those he brought from Shaanxi, as well as righteous soldiers from Henan, Hebei, and Shanxi, and even some surrendered soldiers from the puppet dynasty.

His subordinates included his friends from the Jianghu, Yan Ping and Luo Ruming. The former went with Li Jinyi to attack Jinzhou, while the latter went with Yue Fei to raid the Jin army's supply depot.

The Zhai brothers, Zhai Xing and Zhai Jin, whom Han Shizhong recruited in Luoyang, have been transferred to second-line units for training due to their advanced age.

Their sons, Zhai Zong and Zhai Liang, became generals under Han Shizhong and Li Yanxian, respectively.

There were also the three brothers Shao Long, Shao Yun, and Shao Xing, leaders of the Shanxi Anti-Jin Volunteer Army. Their troops were also disbanded, with Shao Long joining Li Yanxian's command.

The four leaders of the Hebei rebel army, Jiao Wentong, Fu Xuan, Meng De, and Liu Ze, the first two became generals under Li Yanxian, and the latter two became generals under Yue Fei.

A motley crew of troops, from all sorts of backgrounds, were organized into a field army under Li Yanxian's command.

"The livestock's concentrate feed is also running out,"

Li Yanxian said.

"Start slaughtering mules tomorrow. This will save some livestock feed and allow the army to eat for a day or two longer."

Shao Long began to complain: "Neither Li Gong (Li Bao) nor General Yue came to reinforce us. They just left us here to hold off the Jin soldiers."

"Li Gong's military strategy is so brilliant that it is beyond our ability to question."

"But General Yue is still young. If he fails to burn the enemy's rations, we'll be in a difficult situation."

Chapter 3454 Morale

"How can you say no reinforcements came? All of General Yue's musketeers were mobilized."

Li Yanxian smiled.

"No need to panic."

"At worst, if we run out of military rations, we can kill a mule to eat and that will last us for several more days."

Jiao Wentong suggested, "We can reduce the amount of food served starting tomorrow, and send someone to Hezhong County to ask for help. We can also have Li Qiong bring troops and grain to replenish our supplies."

Li Yanxian shook her head: "It's not the right time yet."

"The ones who should be anxious right now are not us, but the Jin soldiers on the other side."

"If you were the commander of the Jin army, leading tens of thousands of troops to attack us..."

"We first attacked Dading Prefecture but failed to capture it, then attacked Wen'an Town but made no progress, and even after cutting off the grain supply route, we still couldn't find the grain transport team."

"And where are the other Ming troops hiding? Aren't you all panicking?"

"They're panicking like crazy. If it were me, I would have retreated long ago," Zhai Liang laughed.

Li Yanxian said, "But Wanyan Zonghan cannot retreat; he must have already received an urgent report from Liaodong."

"Liaodong is almost gone. If he doesn't win a battle here, what morale will the Jin army have as they retreat?"

"Even if he retreats, our army can completely refrain from pursuing him, stop at Dading Prefecture to the north, and launch a full-scale attack on Xingzhong Prefecture to the east."

Fu Xuan nodded and said, "The Jin soldiers are stuck in a quagmire, unable to advance or retreat."

Li Yanxian said, "So we shouldn't panic, we should just hold off the main force of the Jin army."

"Even if Yue Fei's attempt to burn the grain fails, we can still survive for several days by killing mules and eating meat."

"The longer we can hold off the Jin troops, the more successful Li Gong's flanking maneuver will be."