"Most of the food in the Zhuyi treasury was moved away by the Chu people, and the rest was burned when the city was destroyed today. So I, more than 20,000 people, are still in danger of being short of food?"
Zhao Tuo raised his eyebrows.
He led 30,000 people southward this time, leaving soldiers stationed in various cities along the way to ensure the safety of the back road and the transportation of grain and baggage. Among them, Pengcheng was the largest, with a total of 4,000 Dongjun soldiers stationed.
Pengcheng controlled all directions and was a very important hub city. After being occupied by the Qin army, it was likely to be attacked by the Chu army from the direction of Lu, so sufficient defense forces must be left.
Therefore, the Qin army that Zhao Tuo brought to the Sui River only had about 25,000 soldiers left.
But after all, there are more than 20,000 people, and daily food is a big problem.
"General, although the grain stored in the government has been burned, the autumn harvest has just been completed. There should be a lot of grain stored in the nearby villages and Chu people's homes in the city. We can levy it, which will be enough for the army to feed for a while. When the grain and grass are shipped to Pengcheng,
Come and you'll be safe." Xiqigu, the 2500-year-old master responsible for grain and grass logistics, made a suggestion.
Black Butt also shouted: "That's right, those Chu people must have plenty of food in their homes. Let's go and do a levy to ensure that everyone has something to eat."
After hearing the advice of his generals, Zhao Tuo hesitated for a moment.
The so-called requisition of food means robbery by force.
Stealing grain from the hands of ordinary Chu people will definitely make these people feel resentful and have great resentment towards the Qin army.
This was probably one of the purposes of the Chu general on the opposite side to burn grain, laying hidden dangers for the Qin army's occupation here.
Once the Qin army loses the war, those Chu people with grievances will be a threat.
"Collect food..."
Zhao Tuo thought for a while and then came up with an idea.
"Our Qin army is not a bandit like the King of Chu. We do not force conquests, but buy grain! You take out all the coins in the treasury of Zhuyi Mansion and buy them from the local Chu people."
"In addition, we must pay attention not to buy all the food in these Chu people's homes, but to leave some food for people to survive."
The generals were stunned for a moment. Although they were shocked by Zhao Tuo's order to spend money to buy grain, because of Zhao Tuo's prestige, they did not raise any questions and obeyed the order, and went down to prepare to buy grain.
Zhao Tuo breathed a sigh of relief.
Spend money to buy food. In this way, the Qin army's food problem can be solved before the military food at Pengcheng is delivered.
The Qin army holds a sword and halberd in one hand and coins in the other. I believe that the Chu people in Zhuyi and nearby villages will be "happy" to sell grain to the Qin army.
The resentment in the hearts of these Chu people would definitely be much smaller than the Qin army's empty-handed conquest, and they would not be so hostile to the Qin army's occupation.
And by using such a policy, the Qin army did not have to worry about the reputation of forcibly requisitioning food.
On the contrary, spending money to buy food can be a great publicity.
Compared with the ferocious Chu army who "robbed" the people's food, the Qin army could be given a "benevolent and righteous" name, which helped to promote the positive image of Zhao Tuo and the Qin army.
As for the money spent, anyway, it was all taken from the treasury of Zhuyi. The Chu army only focused on burning grain when the city was broken. There was a lot of coins left in the treasury, which was enough to buy grain.
And if Zhao Tuo remembers correctly, in a few years, the Qin State will ban these currencies originally issued by the six countries and force the Qin State's half-liang coin to be implemented throughout the world.
So if you don’t spend these Chu coins now, what are you keeping them for?
Waiting for Chu coins to give birth to babies, will they be scrapped together?
…
After solving the military food problem, the scattered resistance forces in the city were suppressed by the Qin army. After the situation stabilized, Zhao Tuo took his cronies to the coast of Suishui River to investigate the geographical information here.
It was already winter, and the cold wind was howling by the river. There were withered and yellow reeds swaying in the wind by the water. It looked like a bleak scene in autumn and winter.
"There is quite little water in winter, so it would be very easy for our army to cross the river."
Zhao Tuo looked at the Suishui flowing in front of him.
Zhuyi was built on the Suishui River. It had a dock leading to the other side. The terrain on both sides was very open, making it suitable for crossing the river.
In addition, this section of the river is not very wide, and the water is gentle due to the onset of winter. It is actually not difficult for the twenty thousand people to cross, and...
"The Chu army didn't defend the opposite side?"
Zhongli Mei whispered, and everyone looked up, only to see no one on the other side of the Sui River except for the reeds and water plants swaying in the cold wind.
Generally speaking, the Chu army arrived several days ahead of the Qin army and moved most of the grain stored in Zhuyi. In order to prevent the Qin army from crossing the river, they would set up camp on the other side, let scouts patrol along the river day and night, and send out sentries to stand guard.
Cross-river ports were set up at various places to prevent the Qin army from finding opportunities to cross the Suishui River.
This is what the two captains Zhao Guang and Shejian said during the previous military meeting: the Qin army would first occupy Zhuyi to gain a foothold, then confront the Chu army on the other side, and then look for an opportunity to cross the river.
But now there is no trace of Chu people on the other side of the river, which is somewhat beyond the generals' prediction.
Zhao Tuo raised his eyebrows, turned to look at Lu Wan who was accompanying him, and said, "Awan, in your opinion, why is there no Chu army stationed on the other side?"
Lu Wan thought for a while and said: "General, from what I can see, the Chu army on the other side is not stationed here. There are two possibilities. One possibility is that the Chu general on the other side was intimidated by the general's reputation, so he did not dare to fight easily.
Another possibility is that the other side is using a trick to deliberately give up the crossing port. When our army loses caution and starts to cross the river, they can attack us halfway across the river and severely damage our army."
"Brother Wan, I also think that the enemy general is deliberately luring us across the river so that he can attack us halfway across the river. But this method is too obvious, isn't it? If our army really wants to cross the river, we only need to send a scout in advance.
We can tell if there is an ambush at a glance, so how could we be caught by the other side? The Chu general on the other side thinks things too simply."
Zhongli Mei shook his head.
Zhao Tuo smiled. Lu Wan had learned the art of war for more than half a year, and now he was quite knowledgeable in speaking and doing things. He felt that he was progressing faster than Hei Butt.
People who can leave their names in history have more or less abilities that can be put to use with a little training and training.
Zhao Tuo nodded and said: "What you said makes sense. The Chu army may have an ambush on the other side. But for us, no matter whether there is an ambush or not, there is no need to cross the river anyway. We can just spend time with them here."
"
Zhong Lizei pointed to the other side and laughed: "The general is right. It's a pity that this time we have to make General Chu on the other side wait in vain."
Zhao Tuo thought of something and said: "Although our army will not cross the river, we still need to send a scout to get the information on the other side clearly, and get a rough idea of the general information and strength of the Chu army. This is to know yourself and the enemy."
We can win a hundred battles. Furthermore, we should send people to patrol the east bank of the Sui River day and night to prepare a mobile force to guard against the coming of the Chu army from the opposite side and the collusion between the Chu people on both sides of the bank."
"What the general said is that we immediately send an order to send people across the river."
Zhongli Mei and Lu Wan immediately responded with their hands raised.
Zhao Tuo then turned around and walked towards the Qin army camp outside Zhuyi.
The cold wind was biting by the river. Even though he was wearing fur, he still felt a little cold, but he couldn't stay here for too long. If he accidentally caught the wind and cold in this era, it would be very fatal.
As for the soldiers in the camp, Zhao Tuo had to go back and buy them winter clothes to keep them warm.
War is more than just charging on the battlefield. As the commander-in-chief of an army, you must consider all aspects.
…
"The Qin army set up camp outside Zhuyi City and only sent one scout to investigate?"
Outside Fu Li's fortress, there is the Chu army's tent.
General Xiang Qu's thick eyebrows knitted together tightly.
"Zhao Tuo is acting cautiously. Send the order and let our cavalry patrol along the Suishui River. If they find the Qin army's scouts, they will be killed. Don't let them detect our army's movements."
"only."
After the ordering soldiers left.
Deputy General Jing Tong asked: "General Xiang, since we want to lure Zhao Tuo to lead his army, why do we send people to intercept and kill his scouts? Only by letting them prove that our army has no ambush on the west bank of Suishui River can we come here with confidence.
ah."
Xiang Qu shook his head and said: "Zitong, that Zhao Tuo is a cunning little fox. If I don't take any action and let his scouts wander around the west bank, it will not only leak our army's intelligence, but also make Zhao Tuo rise up."
suspicion."
"There is no reason for an army general to be undefended on the river bank, so our army must be on tight guard at the beginning. When a few days later, the Qin army sent people across the river to investigate again, our army pretended to have made an accidental mistake.
, let the Qin people's scouts go deep into the west bank, and deliberately reveal the general information to the other party bit by bit. Only in this way can the information obtained be valuable, and only then can Zhao Tuo's suspicion be dispelled, allowing him to lead his army across the river with peace of mind."
Jing Tong frowned and said: "The general said that Zhao Tuo is like a little fox, which is indeed appropriate. Revealing military information like this will definitely confuse him. Just let the Qin army scouts walk around the west bank, and they will find that our army has no ambush on the west bank.
, with Zhao Tuo’s cunningness, he might be able to see the general’s intention of deliberately letting the Qin army cross the river, and it might be self-defeating? "
Hearing this, Xiang Qu smiled slyly.
"So, I have a perfect reason, which can completely explain why I didn't send troops to ambush on the west bank, and why I concentrated my troops in Fuli Fortress instead of going out, so that Zhao Tuo would have no more doubts and can cross the river with peace of mind."
Jing Tong was very curious and hurriedly asked: "What reason does the general have to confuse Zhao Tuo?"
Xiang Qu chuckled and said: "I heard that the reason why Zhao Tuo defeated a hundred thousand Qi troops in Zhencheng was because he pretended to fall from his horse and claimed that he was lying on the bed with a broken leg, which confused Tian Chong. Wan Qi's army lost its defense and was defeated by its night attack."
"Now, I will follow Zhao Tuo's strategy. You announced to the outside world that I have suffered from the cold winter wind and contracted wind-cold disease. I am lying on the couch and cannot lead the army."
"This can perfectly explain why I did not send troops to ambush on the west bank, and why I contracted my troops to defend Fuli Fort."
"It's all because I'm sick. If I can't lead the army, no one will dare to fight against him, Zhao Tuo."
Xiang Qu laughed and said: "The winter in Suishui is already cold, so it is normal to catch a cold. There is no problem with this reason. In addition, our army does not have an ambush on the west bank. Even if Zhao Tuo is confused, he will never give up. You must be fooled by this opportunity to easily cross the Suishui River!"
"In this way, my plan can be successful and the Qin army can be destroyed. Zitong, what do you think of my plan?"
Jing Tong suddenly realized it and praised: "This is a wonderful strategy. General, I highly recommend it!"