jdhmnovel Chapter 376 Zhuge Jin Has Hope Again
Chapter 376 Zhuge Jin Has Hope Again
Remaining sweat.
At the cost of a warhorse dying from exhaustion, Zhuge Jin successfully evaded the Han army and returned to Yuhan City.
Although he returned, his heart was not with Liu Zan. Zhuge Jin was concerned about Liu Zan's safety. As soon as he entered the city, he sent out a large number of scouts to investigate the situation at the front and sent people to transport a batch of grain to Luoxia Mountain. This was an agreement he had with Liu Zan that had to be carried out, otherwise Liu Zan would have nothing to eat when he returned. The question was, would Liu Zan even be able to come back?
Zhuge Jin had no confidence in this, knowing that Liu Zan was facing an enemy force five or six times his size, and the chances of successfully breaking through were extremely low.
Although most of those enemy troops were Peng Qi's bandit army, which had no fighting ability, and their numbers posed no threat to Liu Zan, don't forget that there were also several thousand Han soldiers led by Guan Xing among them.
This Han army is best at continuous combat. When attacking Han Dang and Xu Sheng, they could pursue them relentlessly for days and nights without rest. They would probably do the same when dealing with Liu Zan.
Liu Zan was a weary soldier who had come from Yu Han. If he encountered the Han army led by Guan Xing, he would likely be neither able to defeat them nor escape. Perhaps he was already...
What should I do if Liu Zan doesn't come back?
In other words, what will Guan Xing do after dealing with Liu Zan? Do you even need to ask? It's obvious he'll continue his campaigns, either attacking Nanchang or Yu Han. He certainly won't go north to fight Cao Ren, will he?
However, Lu Xun was still in a standoff with the Han army at Damu. It would be unwise to attack Nanchang at this time. Therefore, Guan Xing would definitely attack Yu Han first to cut off Lu Xun's retreat, and then rush along the corridor to Damu to encircle and annihilate Lu Xun.
So here's the problem: Yuhan City originally only had 8,000 soldiers and tens of thousands of laborers. If Liu Zan's 4,000 men couldn't return, they would have lost half their troops. How could the remaining 4,000 men withstand the fierce attack of Guan Xing and Peng Qi?
You should know that Yuhan is just a small county, not a big city like Jianye. How could a small city without even a moat withstand Guan Xing's several fierce attacks?
If Yu Han is breached, both he and Lu Xun will be finished.
Thinking of this, Zhuge Jin keenly realized that their fate seemed to be sealed. No matter how much they struggled, it was useless. With Pan Zhang's defeat, he and Lu Xun were also dragged into hell by that scoundrel Pan Zhang. Without Pan Zhang's restraint, Guan Xing could run rampant and act recklessly on the Poyang Lake Plain, while he himself was trapped in Yuhan City, unable to move or even turn over.
How to do how to do?
Zhuge Jin scratched his head anxiously, unable to think of a way to break the deadlock. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "Someone, immediately send a messenger to the Grand Commander to report on Pan Zhang's defeat. Tell the Grand Commander that Guan Xing is very likely to attack Yu Han and cut off his retreat. Tell him to make preparations as soon as possible and that he must break through Da Mo and enter the Jinqu Basin while Guan Xing is attacking Yu Han. This is the only chance of survival. Otherwise, once Guan Xing breaks through Yu Han and kills his way to Da Mo, he will be finished."
The corridor between Yuhan and Damo is four hundred miles long. Even if Lu Xun were to return to reinforce now, it would be too late. The only way to break the deadlock is to capture Damo before Guan Xing arrives, thus avoiding being attacked from both sides by Guan Xing and the Han army of Damo.
Furthermore, it would be even better if Lü Dai could land by sea and join Lu Xun after Lu Xun conquered Da Mo.
If Lu Xun and Lü Dai successfully join forces, the two armies will occupy the Jinqu Basin and destroy Guan Xing's stronghold. Guan Xing will then become a rootless duckweed, suffering the same fate as Han Dang and Xu Sheng.
Thinking of this, Zhuge Jin's worry turned to joy. There was still hope for victory. He should persevere and try his best to keep Guan Xing out of Yu Han's sight, so as to buy more time for Lu Xun.
But Guan Xing's attack was too sharp. Pan Zhang's tens of thousands of troops had only held out for a few hours. How long could he hold out? What should he do if he couldn't hold out?
Thinking of this, Zhuge Jin suddenly realized something and slapped his thigh, exclaiming, "That's right, the grain supplies..."
Guan Xing's forces are insufficient. After dealing with Liu Zan, he will definitely try to incorporate Peng Qi's bandit army. In addition, with the surrendered soldiers of Pan Zhang and Liu Zan, Guan Xing, who has tens of thousands of soldiers, cannot afford to feed the horses. Therefore, he will definitely covet Yu Han's food supplies.
Realizing this, Zhuge Jin gritted his teeth and said, "Men, order the laborers to transport grain overnight, and move all the grain and fodder in the city to the Grand Commander's place. Don't leave Guan Xing a single grain."
Yuhan was merely a transit point for supplies, not their final destination. Therefore, Zhuge Jin had been transporting supplies to Lu Xun's side these past few days. However, the Wu army's transport capacity was limited, and the corridor roads were difficult to traverse, so the speed of transporting supplies was not fast at all. As a result, even though he transported supplies all night, Yuhan still had nearly forty days' worth of supplies for Lu Xun's tens of thousands of troops. If Guan Xing obtained this batch of supplies, it would cause a lot of trouble.
Therefore, Zhuge Jin decided to rush to transport the goods overnight, burning any that couldn't be transported on the spot, and would rather die than leave any for Guan Xing.
Having figured this out, Zhuge Jin left the room and got to work, preparing to move as much grain and fodder as possible before Guan Xing arrived.
As time passed, news from the front lines gradually came back, including several Wu soldiers who had fought alongside Liu Zan and Guan Xing and then escaped in the chaos.
Upon learning from scouts and Wu soldiers that Liu Zan had been defeated and his entire army wiped out, Zhuge Jin immediately sent men to bring back the grain supplies from Luoxia Mountain. Since the main army could not return, these grain supplies could not be left at Luoxia Mountain to benefit Guan Xing.
Then Zhuge Jin began to strengthen the city's defenses and actively transport grain. He even selected more than a thousand elite troops to prepare to retreat into the mountains and attack Yu Han's supply lines after the city fell and Guan Xing entered the corridor.
Various trivial matters tangled together, keeping Zhuge Jin busy like a rapidly spinning top, never able to find a moment's rest.
Meanwhile, on the official road leading to Yu Han, Guan Xing led his troops forward at a rapid pace. As they walked, he summoned Deng Hongyou, Chong Liuzan, and others, saying, "We've been scrambling in the camp for five or six days. With such a long delay, Zhuge Jin must have already received news of Lao Liu's capture and made preparations. Given Zhuge Jin's preparations, it will be difficult to successfully capture Yu Han and secure our supplies. Do any of you have any good ideas?"
The best time to attack Yu Khan would naturally be after capturing Liu Zan. At that time, news of Liu Zan's capture would not have spread yet, and Zhuge Jin would still be in shock after returning to Yu Khan. Attacking Yu Khan at that time would have been a complete surprise attack, but Guan Xing could not do that.
Firstly, the Han army was still far from Yu Han at that time, and after a series of bitter battles, they simply did not have the ability to launch a long-distance raid.
Secondly, both the bandit army and the surrendered soldiers needed to be reorganized. If they were not reorganized and appeased, something bad would happen. Therefore, Guan Xing had no choice but to waste these precious five days.
Deng Hong frowned and said, "Yu Han has no moat, so it shouldn't be difficult to break through the city. But if Zhuge Jin sees that things are not going to work and sets fire to the grain when the city falls, we won't have time to stop him. We only have half a month's worth of food right now. Without Yu Han's food support, it will be difficult to hold out until the end of the year."
The Han army's current food supplies are mainly provided by merchants such as Geng Shang and Yu Yang, plus some captured from Pan Zhang and Peng Qi. However, during the war, food supplies are controlled, and no matter how skilled the merchants are, they can't get much. When Guan Xing only had four or five thousand Xuanjia soldiers, the merchants could barely supply them. Now that Guan Xing's troops have increased five or six times, it is unrealistic to rely on the merchants to supply them.
As for the spoils of Pan Zhang and Peng Qi, they were better than nothing. Pan Zhang had a lot of grain, enough to sustain his nearly 10,000 troops for more than a month. Peng Qi, on the other hand, was a complete pauper. He couldn't even last seven days with his grain. Yet he still dared to dream of attacking Nanchang and seizing Jiangling. I don't know where he got his confidence.
Now that the Han, Wu, and bandit armies are mixed together, their provisions are only enough for fifteen days. If Guan Xing cannot find new provisions within fifteen days, the army will fall apart. His only hope is the Wu army's stored provisions in Yuhan City.
If Zhuge Jin really burned the stored grain, Guan Xing would be in big trouble. Hearing this, he asked Liu Zan, "Old Liu, tell me about Yu Han's situation and Zhuge Jin's possible moves."