Chapter 241: All Lost
Most of the grain and grass in the ancient city of Nandun were burned. After rescue efforts, only tens of thousands of shi of grain were saved.

These food and fodders are needed to feed more than 200,000 people. Even if the supply of auxiliary soldiers and conscripts can be halved, the hundreds of thousands of combat soldiers still need to be well fed.

This food won't last long.

If the troops were transported southward, the supply line would be lengthened and the consumption would be even greater. In order to prevent the army from starving, they had to disperse and go to surrounding cities to get food.

Coincidentally, one day later, when Li Yuanhui led more than 5,000 cavalry back to Shouchun, General Lou Jushi also came to Xiang County from Luoyang.

Seeing that there was still smoke in the old city of Nandun, he couldn't help but sigh and shake his head.

"Deyu, you are also a veteran general, and you have been commanding troops for a long time. Why are you so careless and let Li Yuanhui, a brat, bully you? The military rations in the old city of Nandun are the lifeblood of the entire army. How are you going to explain this to Luoyang now?"

Murong Deyu looked ashamed, after all, it happened when he was the temporary commander. Most of the food and grass were burned, and he also suffered heavy casualties in the pursuit.

Although they were both generals and members of the royal family, Murong Deyu's qualifications and seniority could not be compared with that of Lou Jushi, who had followed the emperor for a long time.

What's more, Mr. Lou had just been appointed as the Grand Commander of the Southern Expedition, in charge of the military affairs of the five states of Yan, Yu, Xu, Yang and Qing, and was granted the Yellow Axe.

Theoretically, he is able to command all the troops in the five states.

But at present, he can only command about 100,000 troops. The Wagang Army in Qingzhou is like a vassal state, and they only obey orders and not announcements.

"General, the King of Wu is the regent, but he is a saint."

Murong Deyu asked with a little guilt.

Mr. Lou just shook his head and said nothing, but Murong Deyu could tell from his attitude the political situation in Luoyang and that after the burning of military rations, the court would not impose any substantial punishment on him.

The sage was in poor health, and the King of Wu, who had just become regent, had no choice but to rely on and win over this great general from the royal family.

At the moment, the plan of the Chinese and foreign armies in Yuzhou to attack Huainan by taking advantage of the winter weather, which is favorable for cavalry marches but unfavorable for naval battles, has failed.

On the eastern front, the leader of the Wagang Army, Zhai Rang, personally led an army of more than 100,000 to attack Xiang County, the capital of Pei County.

Liu Yuanqing himself led more than 10,000 people to guard Xiang County, Lu Xun led more than 5,000 soldiers to guard Linsui, and Sun Lingxiu led more than 5,000 soldiers to guard Zhuyi.

Xiang County is located to the east of the Sui River, while Linsui and Zhuyi are both located to the west of the Sui River, thus forming a triangle that supports and cares for each other.

Zhai Rang led his army to set up camp outside Xiang County, and after gradually pulling out the strongholds that would become the stronghold, he reluctantly set up camp in the cold and shaking season. Who knew that just after settling down, he heard the news that the grain and grass in Xiang County had been burned.

In the tent, Zhai Rang slammed the letter sent by Xu Maogong on the table and said angrily: "Murong Deyu is really incompetent. He can't even keep a place to store food with an army of more than 100,000. He can't use troops in Huainan for several months, and he delays military operations. He is really a coward."

Anyone would be indignant at such a friendly army's betrayal, not to mention that Zhai Rang dared to attack Xiang County during the New Year in order to support the troops in the west.

It was freezing cold, but it was no advantage for cavalry marches, not for siege warfare.

If it wasn't for the purpose of supporting Murong Deyu, Zhai Rang would never have chosen to send troops to attack Xiang County at this time.

Upon hearing this, Yang Sui consoled him, "Now that my 100,000-strong army has already arrived at Xiang County, we can only continue to besiege the city, build siege equipment, and waste time with Liu Yuanqing. If Jianghuai doesn't come to help, we won't care about Jianghuai for now, and will first take over the counties of Pei County. However, I predict that Li Yuanhui will definitely come to Liu Yuanqing's aid, so why don't we wait here and build a camp outside Xiang County to besiege the city and fight for the reinforcements!" "And if Li Yuanhui leads his army to help, we can also let General Xu lead his army back from Xiang County to attack Longkang and Xiang County, attacking from both sides, or divide the troops to cut off their food supply and retreat."

"If Li Yuanhui doesn't come to help, Pei County will fall into our hands, and the entire Xuzhou will belong to our army."

Upon hearing this, Zhai Rang nodded quickly, "Okay, Mr. Yang's words make sense. So I will wait here to compete with Li Yuanhui. I just don't know if this kid dares to come."

The Wagang army outside the city camped together and surrounded Xiang County on three sides, which was endless. Only the Suishui River behind them could not deploy troops to attack the city and set up camp, which was also a key point of the military strategy of encircling three sides and leaving one side.

On the one hand, Liu Yuanqing mobilized the people of the entire city to repair fortifications and prepare equipment for defending the city. Fortunately, Liu Yuanqing had maintained good military discipline since entering Pei County, and the autumn harvest was only for supplementing military supplies. Therefore, the people of Pei County were relatively supportive of Liu Yuanqing's army.

They also didn't want the Wagang troops outside the city to break in. They heard that these Wagang troops were bandits from the north.
On the other hand, Pei County also sent a messenger to send a letter for help to Jianghuai.

After Li Yuanhui returned to Shouchun, the pressure on the western front was greatly reduced. In the short term, before the opening of the imperial court in March, Yuzhou would not be able to launch a large-scale attack on Shouchun.

So he decided to turn his sights and attention to Xuzhou, and ordered the various troops in Shouchun to take strict precautions and carefully investigate the situation in the north. When he led his troops to Zhongli, he just received Liu Yuanqing's letter asking for help.

The letter detailed the deployment of the Wagang Army and the current situation in the city. It also explained that Xiang County's current food and military strength were enough to hold out for four months. If it took longer, Xiang County might not be able to hold out. Therefore, it was hoped that the Grand Commander could provide support and relief to Xiang County in due course.

After reading the letter for help, Li Yuanhui immediately wrote a reply, asking Liu Yuanqing to wait patiently and hold the city, and that reinforcements would arrive before April.

Cao Yuanjing, who had originally stationed his troops in Cai Shi waiting for an opportunity, was ready to attack Liyang at any time, just waiting for Li Yuanhui to be overwhelmed by the Yan army in the north and send out his own troops.

But all they received was the news that Li Yuanhui had burned down the old city of Nandun and won by using a strategy.

In the temporary palace at Cai Shi Camp, Cao Yuanjing couldn't help but sigh as he read the letter.

"He is truly a famous general. He burned the food supplies of an army of more than 100,000 men, and defeated the Yan army's cavalry on his way back. His military tactics are like those of a god."

Cao Yuanjing's information came from spies in Jiangbei. The news of the night attack on Xiang County would definitely be widely publicized by the Jianghuai troops, so it would be difficult for him not to know it even if he wanted to.

Zhang Hongping also nodded in agreement, "Li Yuanhui is indeed a meticulous man, but this time he deployed his troops in a different style from before. Judging from his deployment of troops, he never likes to take risks and is known for his calmness and steadiness. He personally led the troops in the night attack on the old city of Nandun. It was a stroke of genius and shocking."

After reading the letter, General Lu Gongren shook his head and said, "It seems that Li Yuanhui is taking some risks this time, which is different from his previous style. However, judging from his past experience in capturing the city of Jinyang, this guy has never lacked the courage to risk his life. Such a talented person cannot be judged by common sense."

General Miao Xianyun said: "Is it as mysterious as you say? It was just a sneak attack on the Yan army's food supplies at night. It was just luck."

Seeing Miao Xianyun's contempt, Zhang Hongping couldn't help but say a few more words to explain how difficult it was to burn the enemy's grain storage under the noses of an army of more than 100,000 and retreat with almost the entire army.

Miao Xianyun is now considered a general commanding troops, so he understood everything Zhang Hongping said, and soon realized the extraordinary nature of Li Yuanhui's use of troops this time.

Although it seems that it may just buy JAC some more time.

But just this extra period of time might mean that all Luoyang's arrangements for Jianghuai would fail.

(End of this chapter)