Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 575 Reconnaissance

After capturing Liuhe, the Yuan army rested (and ravaged) inside and outside the city for three days.

During this period, Shuo Sijian sent a new batch of Henan soldiers to Guabu, instructing them to find a way to burn down the docks and block the waterway before attacking Guabu.

If all else fails, he can only send a portion of his cavalry to garrison in Guabu City to keep watch, but he didn't say this explicitly, worried that the more than 20,000 men heading south wouldn't put in their best effort.

On the thirteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Yu Que finally found an opportunity to express his thoughts to Shuo Sijian. At that time, the army was on its way to Zhenzhou.

"Marshal, when I traveled south, I passed through Bianliang, Runing, and Anfeng. In the countryside, the people had no food or clothing. They might be able to hold on for now, but when spring comes and food is scarce, they will surely run out of food. If they are incited at that time, there may be unrest." Yu Que said.

Shuo Sijian mounted his horse, glanced at him, and said, "Tingxin, don't forget that you are the Vice Commander of the Marshal's Office. The affairs of Bianliang and other places are being taken care of by the Henan Pingzhang. He hasn't said anything, so why are you in such a hurry? If the people of Henan have food to eat, the army that is suppressing the bandits will not have food to eat. In the end, we have to wait until the bandits of Shao are pacified before we can talk about anything else."

I have no words to respond.

It is true that punishing the thieves is a major matter, and the lives of the people are a minor matter, but Yu Que always thought about whether he could improve the situation a little and not let the people suffer too much.

So he changed his tone and said, "If the starving people rebel and wreak havoc on the land, that would not be good either. At that time, hundreds of people who could have lived would be gone."

"Even those with surnames will not survive, and the army will also be affected."

These words made Chuo Sijian consider for a moment, but he ultimately shook his head and said, "Don't even think about having the best of both worlds. Unless you can find a way to transport the grain from Huguang and Jiangxi directly to the walls of Yangzhou, then I might not even need to collect grain from Henan, relying solely on Huguang..."

Jiangxi will do.

After saying that, he glanced at Yu Que, smiled, spurred his horse forward, and ignored him completely.

Yu Que sighed. This was a deadlock, and broadly speaking, there was indeed no solution. All he could do now was to protect himself and preserve his territory.

He left soon after, as he had to return to Hefei to organize the evacuation and transportation missions and ensure the supply of the army.

Shuo Sijian continued his journey and arrived in Zhenzhou on the morning of the 18th.

At this time, he received good news: the eastern county of Yangzi was undefended, and the hastily conscripted archers and militiamen abandoned the city and fled. They have now been captured by the Lingbei garrison soldiers who were serving as the vanguard.

Shuo Sijian was overjoyed and ordered that a portion of the looted goods be set aside as rewards.

On the evening of the 19th, Chu Buhua, the newly appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Huaixi Circuit's Anti-Corruption and Investigating Commission and the Marshal's Office Secretary, arrived in Yangzi County on orders to commend the vanguard army on behalf of the Supervisor of the Imperial Guard.

"Chief Chu." Amur, accompanied by several military officers, greeted him at the entrance of the county government office.

Chu Buhua returned the greeting, and then returned to the county government office with the others.

"General Amur, when I entered the city just now, I felt there weren't many soldiers. Where did they all go?" he asked.

"Some went out to scout, some went out to conscript men, some went out to collect grain, and some—" Amur hesitated at this point.

"Hmm? What is it?" Chu Buhua asked.

Amur sighed and said, "To be honest, if it weren't for the help from someone in the city, our exhausted and sick army would have had a hard time taking Yangzi County."

"A sick and exhausted army?" Chu Buhua exclaimed in surprise.

Amur nodded and said, "Since leaving Guabu and traveling east to the area between Zhenzhou and Yangzi County, perhaps due to the continuous rain and snow, and the soldiers' haste to travel, they inevitably suffered from the elements and slept in the open. The number of sick people has been increasing day by day, and now there are already more than two hundred people lying in the city. In addition, dozens of people have died from the disease and were hastily buried in the countryside."

Chu Buhua's eyes narrowed.

Soldiers falling ill due to acclimatization issues is nothing new. Many soldiers in the army besieging Liuhe fell ill, but the number seemed relatively small, and the generals didn't think much of it. However, for Amur's tribe, with just over four thousand men, to have two or three hundred fall ill or even die is quite high.

This is winter! I can't even imagine what it will be like in spring and summer.

Thinking of this, Chu Buhua felt a surge of anxiety. The bandits Shao were stationed in the outer regions of Liuhe, Guabu, Zhenzhou, Guazhou, and San...

The troops stationed at Ligou were clearly there to slow down the main army's arrival at Yangzhou.

The longer it drags on, the greater his chances of winning.

"Can your unit still go north to monitor Yangzhou?" Chu Buhua asked after a pause.

"Yangzhou?" Amur asked, somewhat puzzled. "North of Yangzi County, there's Sanligou City, where bandits are also stationed."

Chu Buhua gave an awkward smile and said, "The Marshal is eager to know the situation in Yangzhou."

Amur paused for a moment, then said, "The soldiers are exhausted, and some of the horses are sick. I'm afraid we won't be able to set out for the next ten days. We can only rest in Yangzi County."

Chu Buhua frowned and looked at Amur with displeasure.

Amur remained unfazed and met his gaze directly; this was the confidence of a Kheshig official, something most military generals couldn't do.

Chu Buhua withdrew his gaze and said unhappily, "In that case, I will go back and report to the Marshal. While your troops are resting in Yangzi County, you may divide your forces to plunder in all directions, gathering provisions and able-bodied men to facilitate the Marshal's army's siege of Zhenzhou."

Requisitioning grain from Latin? Amur did not refuse this, and the soldiers would probably be quite happy to do so as well.

Chu Buhua did not stay in Yangzi County and returned the next day.

On the 21st day of the twelfth lunar month, Tuchi, the Associate Administrator of the Privy Council, received an order from the Supervisor of Susi to lead 3,000 cavalrymen of the Left and Right Asu Guards forward and advance to the third...

Reconnaissance mission in the Ligou and Yangzhou area.

******

It's the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month; there are only a few days left until the Lunar New Year.

After the military commander Ji Tuiji climbed the city wall, he was glared at by the captain Ruan Wude, as if he was being blamed for arriving late.

Ji apologized and then stood behind the head constable.

Ruan Wude is from Huai'an Prefecture. He was introduced by Bian Yuanheng, the commander of the Suzhou Water and Land Army. He is skilled in martial arts and proficient in swimming. He currently serves as a captain in the Yangzhou Prefecture army.

Ji Tuiji served as the Right Wing Army Commander under him, in charge of 500 men. Together they were stationed at Sanligou to protect Yangzhou.

Ruan Wude was the head of the garrison and was also appointed as the commander of Sanligou Town, overseeing all the troops in the three garrisons.

By this time, almost all the generals and officers in the city had arrived. They huddled at the top of the walls, watching the enemy cavalry march across the vast white plains.

The number of people was not large, about five hundred riders, divided into several groups.

A bandit officer who looked like a commander of a thousand men rode to the vicinity of Sanligou, circling the city, occasionally pointing with his whip and talking to the people around him.

Another hundred riders went to a nearby village, seemingly intending to plunder it.

Ji Tuiji watched silently, thinking to himself that they were going to be disappointed.

After the land exchange, almost all of the Lushutian fields near Sanligou were turned into military land, belonging to the families of the thousand soldiers stationed there. Therefore, that village was where the soldiers' families lived, but it was long gone.

Unlike the villagers who can be ordered to move at will, they had already settled in Rugao and Jinghai counties east of the Grand Canal.

Of course, many wealthy families in the countryside and the people who depended on them did not leave. Even though the government persuaded them to leave, they still paid lip service to it and are probably going to suffer this time.

Instead of believing in the Yuan army's discipline, you might as well believe that Maitreya has truly descended to earth.

Sure enough, after a short while, the Yuan army emerged in a fit of rage. Behind them, the entire village was engulfed in flames, and house after house was consumed by the fire.

The Yuan army commander in charge of the troops cursed loudly upon seeing this. It wasn't that he felt his men were wrong to burn, kill, and loot, but rather that burning down the houses would mean there wouldn't be enough materials for future sieges, forcing them to cut down trees from afar, which would be extremely troublesome.

The soldiers and officers on the city wall cursed loudly, but were somewhat helpless.

That's just how defensive warfare is. Nothing in this world is perfect. If you want to limit or even wear down the enemy through city walls, weather, and supply lines, then you have to bear the consequences.

After circling around outside the city, the Yuan army slowly regrouped, gave a whistle, and headed northeast in the opposite direction.

On the morning of the 25th, they appeared in the farmland south of Yangzhou.

Dozens of soldiers gathered up the extra horses and let them graze on the wheat seedlings in the fields, while the others rode their warhorses around the south of the city.

In terms of the extent of the scorched-earth policy, the area around Yangzhou was probably the most thorough, and the effect was worse the further outwards, because the control was not as strong.

The Asu Guard cavalry wandered around the area for a long time but found nothing, and were immediately somewhat frustrated.

Looking up again, they saw a majestic city standing on the land, surrounded by swamps, canals, and lakes, with only a narrow side open for large-scale entry and exit—this was the place beneath their feet.

On the city wall, banners fluttered, and soldiers in full armor stared intently at them.

Perhaps having heard of their arrival, some high-ranking officers climbed onto the city wall and looked down from afar, but they gave no orders. Most people continued with their business as usual, appearing quite composed.

The commander leading the team didn't say anything. After carefully memorizing the terrain, he gathered the horses and soldiers and drove around to the west for a long time. Soon they arrived at the north bank of Baozhang Lake and looked out over Jiacheng and Baoyou City.

The two cities are only four miles apart, but it is a slowly extending uphill road.

There should have been a forest in the middle, but it has long been cut down, leaving only tree stumps faintly visible in the snow.

Qianhu stared for a long time, his expression growing increasingly grim.

As evening approached, he wandered to the east of the city and found that it was not far from the canal, but the open space in the middle was very narrow. He was immediately filled with despair.

The risk of stationing troops in the east of the city is too great. Unless you can control the canal, it's like facing the city wall with your backside directly against the riverbank. If attacked from both sides, you'll immediately lose your footing.

Can this city be taken?

He didn't know how to cross Baozhang Lake to attack Jiacheng from the north of the city, nor did he know how to abandon Songda City and the enemy forces inside Jiacheng, and then launch an uphill attack on Baoyou City in the northwest.

The swamps and lakes west of the city may or may not be frozen, but the troops simply cannot be deployed.

You can't just set up a small camp here that can only hold a few hundred people, and then set up another camp for a few hundred people across a muddy pond, river, and reed marshes. That would be ridiculous.

Qianhu looked left and right until it was almost dark before he finally looked at each other.

"Ap! Ap!" He snapped his whip in annoyance and rode away.

The crowd followed, and they soon disappeared into the wilderness.