Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

One hundred and sixty miles away in Xiabian City, Zhuge Liang was inspecting a temporary granary in the city with Yang Yi, Jiang Wan, She Yuan, and Fan Qi.

Military rations are the foundation of the army.

In the past few decades, warlords have fought against each other and launched countless wars and battles for food and fodder. Even this year, one of the reasons why Zhuge Liang led his army to the north was the objective fact that Wei was short of food during the spring and summer.

It can be said that about one-third of Zhuge Liang's energy was spent on food and logistics.

Zhuge Liang paced in the granary for a while and sighed:
"The difficulty of transporting grain this year is much easier than during the Northern Expedition in the fifth year of Jianxing."

Yang Yi, standing behind Zhuge Liang, nodded and said, "At that time, the grain entered Hanzhong from Jinniu Road, and then was transported to Longyou via Jushui and Xihan River. The journey was difficult and dangerous, and the distance was more than a thousand miles, and I don't know how much time was wasted."

"Now, the distance from Baishui to Xiabian is only 500 miles. The distance is halved, and the number of people and horses is also halved, so there will be no problem in transporting food."

While Yang Yi was stating the objective facts, Jiang Wan sighed and said, "The road is short and the soldiers are few. How can this be a blessing for the Han Dynasty? The road is long and difficult. Let's go from here first."

The atmosphere suddenly became cold. Yang Yi curled his lips and said nothing more.

Before the expedition, Zhuge Liang had already made preparations. In addition to the rice in Chengdu warehouses being transported to Baishui along the Jinniu Road in advance, since last year, the grain from Guanghan, Zitong and Baxi counties has been transported directly from the production areas to Baishui instead of Chengdu.

Seeing this, Sheyuan agreed in a low voice: "The food and grass that have been transported in the past few days have been properly stored in the city. The current food reserves are enough to supply the army for three and a half months. If the rest of the food arrives, it should be enough to support the army for half a year or more."

Zhuge Liang stroked his beard and nodded, then slowly said: "Food is the foundation of the army. The Wei army is short of food while our army is well-stocked. The difference between victory and defeat will depend on this."

After that, Zhuge Liang turned around and said to the four people, "Zhang He is in the west. He has been a frontier general for a long time and is good at using troops. He is talented enough to resist. Cao Zhen is in the east. He has been a general because of his royal family status. He is not a concern. I have sent Wang Zijun (Wang Ping) to deal with Cao Zhen, which is enough."

"The Wei army has won a few small victories in the east these past two days. I want Cao Zhen to think he has the upper hand and fight our army. If he doesn't fight, he will have to fight in one or two months as the Wei army runs out of food."

"In short, by using the city, mountains and camps to defend, I want to lure the Wei army to attack, and then defeat them in battle!"

"The Prime Minister is wise!" Yang Yi said with a folded hand, "We are already familiar with the eight formations taught by the Prime Minister. The cavalry cannot take advantage of them. Without the arrival of the Wei Central Army, the border troops will definitely not be able to match the royal army!"

Sheyuan also said: "The terrain of Xiabian is similar to Baishui, and it is familiar to the soldiers in the army. It is a perfect place to use their skills. The army has enough baggage carts, wooden carts, and livestock. We are just waiting for the Wei army to attack!"

Zhuge Liang nodded in response, but his face remained calm and without the slightest hint of smugness, and he said softly:

"So it is fast as the wind, slow as the forest, aggressive as fire, and immovable as a mountain. This battle is about using the forest to resist the wind and the mountain to resist the fire!"

"Pass the order down." Zhuge Liang looked at Yang Yi beside him and said, "From today on, the grain and grass that have already set out from Wujie will be transported as soon as possible, and the grain teams that have not set out will stay in Wujie."

Yang Yi was slightly stunned when he heard Zhuge Liang's words, and asked in confusion: "What does the Prime Minister mean? Why do you want to cut off your own food supply?"

"No." Zhuge Liang said calmly, "It's not that I want to cut off my food supply, but I want to wait for Zhang He in the west to come and cut off my food supply."

"If we don't let the Wei army gain an advantage, and think that our army is running out of food, how can they be willing to attack us so quickly?"

Yang Yi thought for a few moments and nodded heavily: "Prime Minister, that's a good idea!"

……

The fourth year of Taihe was not as peaceful as the previous three years.

In the first half of the year, Liaodong was conquered. In spring and summer, Guanzhong was hit by a severe drought. In summer, there were floods in various parts of the Central Plains. The Xianbei Chanyu defected and was beheaded. The Wu army invaded Xiangfan. Zhuge Liang of Shu State led his troops to attack Qinzhou. Chen Situ of Yangzhou led his troops to attack Ruxu...

So many things happened in one year, and most of them happened in the last two months.

There were wars in Yangzhou, Jingzhou and Qinzhou, which made Hebei seem a little more peaceful.

After Kebi Neng surrendered at the end of August, former general Man Chong and the three who had made contributions, Cao Shuang, Jiang Wei, and Cao Zhao, led their troops south, and there was no need for them to stay at the border to deal with the aftermath.

The real task of explaining the pros and cons to the Xianbei people, explaining the court's policies, and dividing and winning over the various tribes fell on Tian Yu. Tian Yu was promoted from the post of Protector of Wuhuan to General Protector of Wuhuan by the emperor, and was fully responsible for the affairs of the Hu people in the You and Bing border areas. Duan Zhao, who was given the title of General Protector of Xianbei, was somewhat unworthy of his title of general. His duties were more like a guard of the important Liaoxi area for the Wei Dynasty.

It goes without saying how important the Liaoxi area is. The Yanshan Mountains and the narrow coastal road leading to Liaodong form the first line of defense against the northern grasslands and Liaodong.

On the same day, the Xianbei Budugen tribe in Mayi City, Dai County, also welcomed two guests, Suli and Xieguini.

The city of Mayi had long been in ruins. This time, Budugen asked the court for permission to live in the city, based on his merits in the Liaodong expedition, and the court temporarily agreed.

After Kebi Neng's death, the Xianbei tribes were in a state of panic. This was not surprising. Over the past decade or so, with the rise of Kebi Neng, the Xianbei tribes either attached themselves to Kebi Neng or turned to seek refuge in the Wei Dynasty.

Now that Kebi Neng had died, a huge storm had occurred among the Xianbei tribes.

Budugen shook his head and sighed, "Hey, the Western Xianbei have been in a mess recently. Have you heard about it?"

Xieguini imitated the Han people and bowed to Budugen: "I heard some rumors that there seems to be a commotion. Kebi Neng's son-in-law Heqibu is one of his tribesmen. Another former Kebi Neng general named Borgu was dissatisfied with Heqibu and took away half of his tribesmen. I don't know what happened to Heqibu and Borgu now."

Suli didn't say anything, but just used a knife to cut the mutton in front of him and eat it.

Xieguini was Budugen's nephew, and the two led a different army, and they were very good friends. Although Budugen and Suli had some unpleasantness in their early years, they gradually became harmonious with the experience of attacking Kebinen and conquering Liaodong in the past two years.

However, in Budugen's opinion, Suli was a man with no ambition at all. He kept eating meat after the meal started, as if he couldn't eat mutton in his own tribe.

"Sulli!"

Several people sat together on the felt blanket, and Budugen patted Suli's hand a few times with a helpless look on his face.

"Hey, I'm here." Suli swallowed the mutton in his mouth with great effort and looked at Budugen sideways: "If the Western Xianbei want to fight, let them fight. What does it have to do with us?"

Budugen looked at Suli carefully and said, "It's related."

"Ah?" Suli was surprised.

Bu Dugen said: "Today I invited you two to Mayi City, not just to invite you two to dinner, but to discuss something important."

"Three days ago, He Qibu sent someone to me, asking for help!"

Xie Guini's eyes widened, and he quickly asked, "He Qibu? What does this person want to say?"

Suli looked at Budugen with the same expression.

Budugen coughed lightly and said, "Heqibu said that Borgu is fierce and he can't resist him for the time being, so he wants the three of us to send troops to help him."

Xie Guini sneered impatiently: "He Qibu? This man is a real villain. We all saw how he behaved in front of General Man and Your Majesty that day. Kebi Neng is his father-in-law, and he sold out Kebi Neng like this. How can we believe it?"

"Uncle, no matter what He Qibu promised, I don't think we should help him! On the contrary, we should report this matter to Lord Tian and ask him to make the decision!"

Suli also said at the same time: "Xie Guini is right! We are all led by Lord Tian, ​​how can we mobilize troops at will? We must obey Lord Tian's orders!"

Budugen was speechless for a moment. He stood up, wiped his hands on his fur coat, and walked out of the hall to get some fresh air.

Xie Guini and Suli looked at each other, not understanding what Budugen was doing. After a few words of communication, they also left the room together.

The cold north wind blew past the three of them. After standing there for a few moments, Xie Guini muttered in dissatisfaction:
"Uncle, what's wrong? Don't keep us in suspense like the Han people do. If you have something to say, just tell us directly. What did He Qibu's people tell you?"

Budugen took a deep breath and said slowly: "He said that I am the grandson of Tan Shihuai and should succeed Kebineng as the Chanyu of Xianbei! He also said that you two should both be the left and right wise kings!" (End of this chapter)