Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 47 March
After Si Qing received the knife and bow sent by Zhou Bian, he immediately dug a deep pit in the house and buried them.

Although he was short of weapons, he had already thought of a countermeasure.

When building the city wall, the laborers used many tools, such as hoes, shovels, pickaxes, and hammers.
These tools can also be used in combat. Although they cannot be compared with swords and spears that are specially made for fighting on the battlefield, they are enough to kill people.

Especially shovels and pickaxes, which were often used to dig out hard soil and rocks, had been honed to an extremely sharp edge. A single blow from the pickaxe would instantly create a bloody hole.

After work each day, all these city-building tools had to be handed in and collected by the supervisor of craftsmen and placed in a granary near the village.

There were also soldiers specifically responsible for guarding the granaries.

Once Yan Yi started to attack the city, the first thing Si Qing had to do was to lead his men to capture the granaries and seize the city-building tools inside to use as weapons of war.

Capturing the granary was not difficult; the challenge lay in whether Yan Yi could successfully capture Yuncheng after Si Qing and the others took action. If Yan Yi failed to capture the city, more than 300 of the traitors, including Si Qing, would be killed without a burial place.

He is really risking his life!
Si Qing sat in the house, listening to the increasingly loud sound of rain outside, his heart pounding in his chest, and it seemed as if a voice in his heart was shouting at him: The success or failure of this matter depends on tonight!
He felt more and more strongly that Yan Yi would attack the city tonight.

Shaojun will never let go of such an opportunity!

Si Qing raised his head and looked at the wall of the house. His deep gaze seemed to penetrate the wall and looked at the army marching in the rainy night more than ten miles away.

Wow…

The night enveloped the earth, and raindrops fell from the sky, hitting the hazy figures.

The figures formed a tight queue, like a long curved black dragon, moving slowly in the rain.

The 1,500 soldiers under Yan Yi's command made up this long dragon.

The figures of the soldiers were looming in the rain, as if they had merged into the night.

Yan Yi wore a bamboo hat, a pleated hakama, and rode on a war horse, moving slowly forward with the huge procession.

Behind him, the outline of the hills was blurred and deep, as if covered with a layer of gauze by rain.

The march on the rainy night was more difficult than he had imagined.

The large group could only rely on the weak natural light and the reflections of objects to slowly move forward under the guidance of the guide. It took them two quarters of an hour just to cross the Cenming Mountain Pass.

Fortunately, after entering the plains, the army's marching speed began to increase. However, the journey of more than ten miles was still a big test for this new army.

Fan Yan and Xu Sheng supervised the march in the front and rear teams respectively.

Every once in a while, the two would send someone to report the marching situation to Yan Yi, and sometimes they would come in person.

"Wen Xiang, what's the situation?"

Seeing Xu Sheng's wet figure coming from behind, Yan Yi pulled the reins and asked.

Xu Sheng came up to him and said loudly, "The march is a little slower than expected. But don't worry, Young Master. Yin Li has arranged several guides to lead the way, and the ranks are very tight. As the soldiers adapt to the surrounding environment, the speed will gradually increase."

Yan Yi calmed down a bit and then asked, "How's the morale of the troops?"

"Morale is good, and no one has fallen behind yet." Xu Sheng's voice came through the rain.

Yan Yi smiled when he heard this. Xu Sheng clasped his fists towards him, pulled the reins, and slowly left.

The army meandered along in the rainy night. After walking for an unknown amount of time, they heard a few low shouts from all around: "Get off your horses!"

The nearby cavalrymen jumped off their horses one after another.

Yan Yi also dismounted, handed the horse to a personal guard beside him, and walked away.

A cavalryman approached, leading his horse, and said respectfully, "Sir, the vanguard has entered the area ten miles from Qian Gong's fort. General Fan has ordered the cavalry to dismount and march."

Yan Yi nodded slightly. Before setting out, Fan Yan had already told him that in order to avoid the sound of horse hooves revealing their whereabouts, the troops would need to dismount and walk a distance when they approached Qian Gong's fort within ten miles.

Only after getting off the horse did he realize the difficulty of marching on a rainy night.

After walking a short distance, my shoes were soaked by the water on the grass. Every time I lifted my foot, the weight on my foot seemed to increase.

One can imagine how difficult it was for those armored soldiers to march.

However, the infantry usually only wore leather armor, which weighed about 20 jin, which is 10 jin in later generations, which was not very heavy.

Only the cavalrymen wearing iron armor had difficulty moving forward. In order to prepare for any unexpected situation, they could only take turns removing their armor and marching.

After the cavalry dismounted, the marching speed of the entire army began to slow down.

After marching for half an hour, a new order came from the front: "Cavalry, mount your horses and march slowly."

Yan Yi took the reins from his personal guard, jumped on the horse, and finally felt relieved.

The cavalry resumed riding, which meant that the entire team had begun to leave the danger zone and was gradually approaching the river crossing point.

After a while, Fan Yan appeared ahead. Although his face was still tense, he looked a little relieved. "Young Master, we're only three miles away from the river crossing. This section is relatively safe, and we should be able to arrive safely."

Yan Yi nodded: "Did anything unexpected happen along the way?"

"We've disturbed several civilians. I've ordered them to be temporarily detained and will release them after the battle." Fan Yan said with a smile, "On the previous stretch of the journey, Qian Tong's scouts would normally be seen on weekdays, but thanks to the heavy rain tonight, we didn't see a single one."

Yan Yi also smiled and relaxed: "How is the situation in the army?"

Fan Yan's expression grew more serious. "More than a hundred people have fallen behind. It will take about two or three quarters of an hour for them to catch up."

Yan Yi frowned: "What time is it now?"

"It will be Yin time in half an hour." Fan Yan replied.

Yan Yi realized that time was running out, so he said in a serious tone, "Send a military officer and two guides to look after the stragglers. Make sure nothing goes wrong. The entire army accelerates and reaches the river crossing point as quickly as possible."

Fan Yan nodded solemnly and left.

About three quarters of an hour later, the entire army finally arrived at the crossing point.

Before me lay a vast expanse of field, knee-high weeds swaying like waves in the wind and rain, stretching as far as the eye could see. The air was thick with the fragrance of earth, and the faint sound of running water could be heard not far away.

(To explain the visibility issue during rainy night marches: Even without lights, there is still weak natural light and reflections from objects. After the human eye adapts to the darkness for a period of time, its ability to perceive light will improve. Marching and fighting will definitely involve a guide who is familiar with the local environment.)
(End of this chapter)