Mythical Three Kingdoms

The day after Xuu You severed Chen Xi’s grain supply, Zhuge Liang went to report to Chen Xi about the most recent work, which, aside from constructing various fortifications, had not involved any significant events. Chen Xi had never intended to engage Xuu You in open battle; his aim was to stall the enemy.

As for why he knew the adversary was Xuu You, it was a deduction Chen Xi made based on certain intelligence reports. Although he did worry about Xuu You’s sudden disappearance, it did not affect Chen Xi in the slightest. Even if the opponent did not appear, it would not concern him at all. His focus was on fortifying Linyi.

Speaking of which, Chen Xi had already abandoned the idea of bringing his wife to Linyi. With full-scale war underway, he could not guarantee his own safety, let alone that of his wife. Therefore, the idea of Chen Lan coming to Linyi was emphatically extinguished by Chen Xi. What he needed to contemplate now was finishing the war before June and then returning to his hometown to await the birth of his child.

”Kongming, is there anything else?” After listening to the report, Chen Xi continued to review military affairs but noticed that Zhuge Liang had not left. He looked up, puzzled, and asked.

”Our army receives a convoy of grain and supplies every three days, but the grain transport team that arrived today did not include the scout cavalry expected on the second day from the following convoy,” Zhuge Liang hesitated before speaking.

”Oh, the grain has arrived, but there’s no scout cavalry from the second transport team?” Chen Xi asked with a grave expression.

”Did this arriving grain transport team bring any message for the following team?” Chen Xi remembered a previous situation, his expression softened slightly as he asked.

”No,” Zhuge Liang shook his head and said. Last time, Chen Xi had withdrawn a Yamen General and even wrote a letter warning the soldiers escorting the grain behind, preventing any further disorder.

”How many days of grain does our army have left?” Chen Xi asked.

”We originally had grain for forty-five days. This transport team brought another three days’ worth of grain, adding up to forty-eight days in total,” Zhuge Liang remarked, his mouth twitching slightly, as the orders Chen Xi had given for the grain transport teams seemed very unreliable to him—who transports just three days’ worth of grain?

”Send scout cavalry along the official road to investigate; three men to a group. Dispatch one group every half an hour, and if there is no response after ten groups, be prepared for someone coming from behind us. Also, send someone along the Jig River to Licheng,” Chen Xi instructed, looking up.

”Is the situation really that serious?” Zhuge Liang asked incredulously.

”It’s just about prevention. Besides, Licheng is my backup grain supply route. As for severity, well, if there is no response from all ten scout cavalry groups, then we can pretty much confirm there’s a problem behind us,” Chen Xi said nonchalantly. After all, issues in the rear were not his responsibility. As long as he was unharmed, someone else would resolve the problems that followed.

Seeing that Zhuge Liang was still confused, Chen Xi explained, ”Kongming, think about it—how many days would it take for the grain being transported from Feicheng to reach here?”

Zhuge Liang was taken aback and then had a moment of realization. ”That means if none of the ten scout cavalry groups return, the enemy could be at most a day’s journey away from us.”

”One day? How could there still be such a long journey to catch up with the supply train, and to catch up with two days’ travel, I’m afraid the enemy must all be cavalry. And with the time wasted by the scout cavalry, they will be at most three hours away from us.” Chen Xi shrugged and said.

”It seems you’ve recently been preoccupied with Miss Huang, your whole being is somewhat muddled.” Chen Xi said helplessly, noting that there were female doctors in the army, which is why he had agreed when Huang Yueying said she wanted to stay behind to study after he glanced at Zhuge Liang.

Naturally, the responsibility to protect Huang Yueying fell to Zhuge Liang. Officially, it was to enhance their relationship, but in truth, Chen Xi was simply impressed by Huang Yueying’s heaven-defying manufacturing skills. The Qu Family had never figured it out, but after Huang Yueying dismantled over a dozen heavy crossbows, she managed to make one that could shoot three arrows at once.

Although there were still issues with precision and range, it was undeniable that she was a true genius. Her mechanical talent might have already exceeded ordinary imagination. As for material strength, that wasn’t a problem at all; Chen Xi had already arranged for more than a dozen soldiers with inner qi to assist in nurturing the materials.

Zhuge Liang tugged at the corner of his mouth; he indeed was somewhat distracted, but more because he was unfamiliar with this method of planning.

Just like Guo Jia’s method of scattering scout cavalry at set degrees, Chen Xi’s orders regarding the timing of transporting grains were also strict. In reality, Chen Xi’s camp wasn’t short on supplies; they would directly receive forty-five days’ worth of food at the beginning of each month, with a check every three months.

The purpose of transporting grains every three days was simply to prevent anyone from raiding his supply line.

From Feicheng to Chen Xi’s main camp, mounted cavalry operating as an establishment could make the journey in three days, while transporting grains took five days. Chen Xi’s orders to the Feicheng military supply were to send out a convoy of grains every three days, and in addition, send out one scout cavalry every day to track the previous convoy’s progress.

In this way, if someone attacked his rear, Chen Xi would be able to prepare accordingly. After all, scout cavalry were fast, supply trains were slow; basically, just as the first supply train was about to reach Chen Xi’s camp, the scout cavalry from the second train would have caught up.

If the first supply train arrived but the scout cavalry didn’t, there were only two possibilities: either the scout cavalry were gone, or the supply train was gone. This being an official road, if they mysteriously vanished, there would be no need to ponder—it was time to prepare for battle; that was the way of it.

Returning to the main topic, once Zhuge Liang had figured out what was going on, he realized that Chen Xi transporting only three days’ worth of grains at a time was purely for amusement. No wonder when he checked the supplies that had been transported, he often found some peculiar items. It turns out that the significance of the supplies wasn’t in their weight but in their timely arrival.

”But are we just going to let the enemy move around behind us, only defending the military camp?” Zhuge Liang looked at Chen Xi and suggested, for he was still too young and lacked real experience on the battlefield.

”We don’t know the enemy’s strength, after all, half of Dongping is not ours. As for the rear, Wen He and Wen Ru have been waiting and preparing for so long; do you think they’re joking? So, just stay put, our main task is to be anchored here,” Chen Xi said indifferently. The enemy could have any number of tricks, but they had to be able to execute them.

”I don’t doubt you have plans in place, but I’m concerned about the Yellow River and the Jig River. If they take control of those two places, I fear we may be stuck here,” Zhuge Liang pointed at Chiping and the Jig River Crossing and said.

”Actually, I’ve arranged two battalions of troops in Chiping, and as for the Jig River Crossing, I haven’t set up a defense, but the Jig River has water pirates. This is the hidden supply line I’ve prepared in advance. So, let’s play Yuan Shao’s game, go find Fa Xiaozhi for me,” Chen Xi nodded and then immediately began preparations as if someone was already closing in from behind. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian ) to cast a recommended ticket, monthly ticket; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com).