Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 287: Unexplained Fire
All the generals of the Anmin Army were gathered in Liu He's largest tent. However, everyone's face was very gloomy.

"Brother, there's no need to ask. It must have been done by those noble families in the court who were against me! Damn it, we were fighting bravely on the front line, but they were always plotting against us behind our backs. I say, put aside all the Xianbei and Xiongnu first, and lead the army into the capital and chop those bastards off first, and then our Han Dynasty will have peace!"

Cheng Liang gritted his teeth, and it seemed like his eyes were spitting fire when he spoke.

Although Guan Yu's face was also full of anger, he was calmer than Cheng Liang.

He pulled Cheng Liang and said, "Third brother, please stop talking. Big brother is upset right now. Your idea is a good one, but it will cause endless troubles. Don't bring trouble to Big brother."

After being scolded by Guan Yu, Cheng Liang glanced at Liu He, whose face was so gloomy that water could be squeezed out of it, and hurriedly retreated.

The atmosphere in the tent was dead silent and no one dared to speak.

Cui Jun looked up and felt that this was not a solution, so he stood up.

"My Lord, it is useless to sit here like this. For now, we should think of an emergency plan first."

Liu He glanced at Cui Jun, suppressed his anger, and said, "What else can we do! In order to ensure the safety of food and grass, I have specially set up military granaries in each county under my jurisdiction, as well as in Yanmen Pass. In Langtiao County, Yu County, Fenyang County, Yangqu County, and Luwei County, although our army cannot collect taxes, there are 80,000 to 90,000 acres of fertile paddy fields. After years of accumulation, there are also grains obtained from the destruction of many tyrants, as well as grains purchased when the price of grain fell. More than one million shi of grain and grass have been stockpiled, accounting for more than half of our army's grain reserves."

"Now that all the food has been burned, our army originally had enough food to last for at least half a year, enough to last until the autumn harvest, but now there is less than three months left. This does not even include the relief food for tens of thousands of people in Dingxiang County, which we just captured. If this is included, I am afraid that the army will be completely out of food in less than two months. Those old bastards are so insidious, I will skin them alive sooner or later!"

Liu He changed from his usual calm appearance and was now full of murderous intent, which scared everyone in the tent.

It turned out that just six days ago, in these five county towns, the granaries that were used to store food and fodder for the Anmin Army suddenly caught fire at the same time. Although they were quickly discovered by patrolling guards, the fire was too fierce to be extinguished. The fire not only burned almost all the military rations in the five cities, but also affected some surrounding houses. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but the losses were heavy.

Gao Shun asked, "Why is there nothing happening in Yanmen?"

"The granaries in Yanmen counties are still small in scale, so it is easy to patrol them all, and naturally there is no chance to take advantage of them. However, the granaries in the five counties of Taiyuan County have grown to a very large scale, especially the granary in Langdiao County, which is located in Huangshui Township. It occupies a large area and has a complex terrain. It is inevitable that there are places that the night patrols cannot take care of, so it is easy for people with ulterior motives to take advantage of them."

Cui Jun explained.

Wang Han shouted, "He burned Da Meng's food. He deserves to be killed! He deserves to be killed!"

No one believed that the fire was an accident because it was obviously impossible.

The force that has the motive and ability to do this, and also allows the arsonist to escape unscathed without leaving any clues, must be no ordinary force.

Everyone's guess was very consistent, that is, it was the aristocratic families that belonged to the many ministers in the court who had been repeatedly against the Anmin Army.

Everyone was already full of resentment towards these families, and now that this incident had happened, everyone was even more furious. Just now, when Cheng Liang said that he wanted to rush into Luoyang and kill the traitors, many people present almost jumped out to express their agreement.

"Investigate! Investigate immediately. Find any clues and keep all the evidence in your hands!"

Liu He shouted angrily.

However, no one in the tent stood up to receive the order, because they knew very well who the order was given to.

Sure enough, outside the tent, there were suddenly sounds of quick footsteps. Judging from the rhythm, they were obviously martial artists, but they soon walked away.

"Brother, lack of food is a big problem. We should spread the news to Huiyinguan City as soon as possible. Although we are short of food, we still have some money. We can go to the merchant house to do some food trading. Although it is impossible to raise too much in a short period of time, we can at least hold on for a few more days." Zhang Yong stood up and said with a fist.

The Anhan Trading Company has indeed developed well, but after all, it has been a short time and its coverage is limited. It can rely on purchasing to raise food and fodder. Hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of shi can be achieved within one or two months, but it would be difficult to raise more than that.

Cui Jun's previous strategy of using war to support war was indeed a good strategy, but it would also take time. Even if the Anmin Army captured enough livestock, it would be impossible for those caravans to raise enough food for trading in a short period of time.

The current size of the Anmin Army, including both men and horses, only requires 200,000 dan of grain and fodder. Even if the army cuts down on spending for a period of time, it will be finished in half a month at most.

Liu He pondered for a long while, then said solemnly: "Pass the order down, the whole army will rest and stop marching."

Everyone was obviously unwilling to give up. Now the morale of the Anmin Army was high, and they were just marching forward to continue recovering other counties. However, everyone also knew that this was a helpless move.

When the army is resting, the consumption of food and grass can naturally be much more economical than when marching and fighting. If we continue to go deep into Yunzhong County, I am afraid that before we can conquer the entire Yunzhong, we will run out of food here, which will be even more troublesome.

All the generals left the camp, but Liu He only kept Cui Jun.

"How much supplies have our army seized so far?"

Cui Jun knew why Liu He asked this question, so he quickly answered.

"From Pingcheng to now, we have seized more than 67,000 cattle and sheep, more than 43,000 war horses, more than 26,000 horses, and very little food and grass, less than 100,000 dan. There are not many coins, but there are a lot of gold, silver and jewelry. Roughly converted, it is worth about 40 million coins. There are more than 10,000 sets of various weapons and armor."

Liu He no longer had any interest in the numbers that followed.

He squinted his eyes, thought for a while, and suddenly a gleam of light appeared in his eyes.

"Send someone to inform Li Ang that the army has a large number of war horses for sale. The number is set at 40,000. They are all fine horses captured by the Xianbei army. However, they will not be sold for money, but only for food and fodder."

Cui Jun was shocked: "If all 40,000 excellent war horses can be exchanged for food, based on the current grain price in Bingzhou, they are worth at least 6 to 7 million dan. Of course, they can solve our army's current urgent needs, but these war horses are of extraordinary value. The war horses traded by Zhang and Su in a year are definitely not on such a scale. This matter will definitely cause a great shock. I am afraid that it will attract some troublesome forces to intervene. My lord, please think twice!"

Liu He said: "War horses can still be obtained in the future, but once the food is cut off, it will be a disaster. As for the troublesome forces, humph, I am afraid they will not come."

Cui Jun knew that Liu He had made up his mind, so he could not persuade him. He just sighed and said, "That being said, it is impossible to gather all the grain within one or two months with the dozens of caravans in the business. Six or seven million shi would require at least hundreds of thousands or even millions of ox carts and donkey carts to transport it. Even if Zhang, Su, and Zhen joined forces, even if they could gather this amount of grain in a short period of time, they definitely would not have so many people and carts to transport it. My lord, you are..."

Liu He waved his hand to interrupt him.

"No need to ask more questions, just do it. This matter concerns the survival of our army. The fewer people who know about it, the better. Apart from the military advisor and Li Ang, only Qian Li can know about it. Others, even Yun Chang and his men, must not disclose it. Here is another secret letter, which must be handed over to Li Ang for personal opening."

Although Cui Jun couldn't figure out what Liu He's plan was, he still followed his orders and did it.

"Humph, you want to raise your hands to deal with me, I want to see if your claws are strong enough! Fight to the death and see who can outlast who!"

Liu He clenched his fists unconsciously.

(End of this chapter)