When Qiu Yizi saw Wu Ruofei, such a perfect match, she felt like a fairy who had descended to earth. She was intoxicated by the sight, but did not dare to look at her closely. She quickly looked away and saw that there were countless books scattered in Lin Shuhan's small tent. Some of them had been labeled with various strips, and some were open as if they were half-read and not closed yet.
So Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "In troubled times, there are people who are looking for gold, silver and treasures, but Mr. Lin is as steady as a rock and even has the leisure to read books!"
Lin Shuhan said solemnly, "Sir, please do not underestimate these books. Jiangnan is a place with rich cultural heritage, and there are countless rare ancient books scattered among the people. During the war, countless books were lost. I have only tried my best to collect some of them. It is better than just a book called Shangshu, and the debates about modern and ancient texts will continue endlessly."
Qiu Yizhi exclaimed: "Mr. Lin is far-sighted. We are fighting for the gains and losses of a city or a place. It seems that our achievements are extraordinary, but they may disappear in the blink of an eye. Only the opinions of hundreds of schools recorded in this book can be passed down through the ages."
Lin Shuhan and Qiu Yizi were chatting, but Wu Ruofei in the tent was very tactful. She knew that the two must be discussing military affairs and it would be inappropriate for her to be here, so she smiled and said, "The charcoal smell here is too heavy. I'll go sit with Miss Wen first. I have a few words to say to her." After that, she stood up, gently closed and flattened the book in her hand, put it aside, and went out of the tent.
Qiu Yizhi watched Wu Ruofei leave, and was thinking about how to start a conversation, when she heard Lin Shuhan say, "Your Excellency seems very irritable these days. Is it because of the military affairs that are not going well?"
Qiu Yizi didn't expect Lin Shuhan to come straight to the point and speak out his thoughts without any reservation. He smiled and said, "Mr. Lin is indeed a close friend of mine. These days, Zheng Yu has been driving me from Wuxi to Suzhou, and then from Suzhou to Hangzhou. The advantages I had accumulated with great difficulty are now gone. How can I not be troubled?"
"Hahaha!" Lin Shuhan laughed out loud towards the sky.
Seeing Lin Shuhan laughing wildly, Qiu Yizhi knew that he was a scholar with a temper, so she did not get angry. She smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, you still have the heart to laugh. I am afraid that in a few days, when Zheng Yu drives me back to Shanyin County, I will not even be able to cry..."
Lin Shuhan put away his smile and said, "What's wrong with you, sir? When we left Shanyin County, didn't we make up our minds to not care about the gains and losses of a city or a place, and just want to disrupt the situation in Jiangnan? Now Zheng Yu has mobilized a large number of troops to attack, doesn't it mean that your strategy has been successful?"
Lin Shuhan's words really had the effect of enlightening Qiu Yizi, and the twisted features on her face instantly relaxed.
But Lin Shuhan continued, "The King of Lingnan is sending more troops to the south of the Yangtze River, so the forces elsewhere will inevitably be weakened. You have tied down more than 100,000 elite troops of the King of Lingnan by yourself. This result is already a great victory. Now it's just a matter of how many wins you will get. What else do you have to worry about?"
Qiu Yizhi heard this and immediately raised a smile, but the smile lasted only a blink of an eye before it disappeared without a trace: "Alas! But being pushed around by Zheng Yu like this is not a long-term solution. Most of my men are newly defected defeated soldiers, and you heard what Zhang Qi said just now. If this continues, I'm afraid the morale of the army will be shaken and I won't be able to lead the team anymore."
Lin Shuhan said, "Your Excellency is right. This is indeed not a long-term solution. But if your Excellency cannot last long, then Zheng Yu will not last long either."
He stood up and called a soldier outside to invite Zhao Chengxiao and Wu Changxi to come over. Then he went back to the tent and said, "Your Excellency, although it is hard to march and move all day, don't forget that Zheng Yu has several times more troops than you and is walking the same route, and he is working several times harder than you!"
After hearing this, Qiu Yizhi's eyes sparkled: "Mr. Lin, do you want me to continue to lead the enemy troops to move forward?"
Lin Shuhan nodded vigorously and said, "I am grateful for your trust. I will temporarily manage the supply of food and fodder and the payment of military pay. I have also learned a little about these things that I previously sneered at as 'mundane affairs'. I know that there is a lot of knowledge involved. If you are not careful, it will lead to a shortage of money and food, and provoke a mutiny among the soldiers. Therefore, I also know that Zheng Yu's troops are at most three times as many as mine, but the difficulty of logistics support is more than ten times greater."
Lin Shuhan took a breath and continued, "And the Lord has looted all the food, grass, money and rice from various cities and regions. Zheng Yu has to transport every grain and rice from Lingnan Road. If he follows the Lord like this... Humph, within ten days or half a month, he will definitely run out of food and food and will not be able to hold on."
Qiu Yizhi listened to Lin Shuhan's firm words, and thought for a long time, then raised his head and asked: "If it is as Mr. Lin said, then Zheng Yu should have fought quickly and sent a large number of troops to attack us. Why is he following us so cautiously? Maybe he has more than enough food and grass..."
Lin Shuhan was about to answer when he heard someone outside the tent announce his name: "General Zhao Chengxiao | Wu Changxi wants to see Lord Qiu and Mr. Lin."
Lin Shuhan hurriedly invited the two men into the tent, but without exchanging pleasantries, he went straight to the point and asked Zhao Chengxiao: "Remember a few months ago, General Zhao followed Lord Qiu and easily captured Zhang Qi's five or six thousand defeated soldiers with two hundred elite soldiers. I won't ask anything else, just ask you, why was Zhang Qi confused and blocked in the valley by our army?"
Zhao Chengxiao said without thinking: "It's because Zhang Qi didn't send scouts to explore the way ahead when he was marching!"
"Yes!" Lin Shuhan said, "Then let me ask you again, why didn't Zhang Qi send spies? Is it because he is stupid and doesn't even understand this common sense?"
Zhang Qi was a mediocre general, and Zhao Chengxiao usually didn't take him seriously, but he couldn't be called a fool. So Zhao Chengxiao said carefully: "It's not that he doesn't understand, but that he can't. At that time, the defeated soldiers under his command in Jiangnan Road were all frightened birds. Who would be willing to risk going out to scout? They simply huddled together and died together."
"Good! Well said!" Lin Shuhan praised him, then turned to Qiu Yizi and said, "Zheng Yu is not much better than Zhang Qi before. The reason why he has kept his army in check is because he is afraid that you will seize the opportunity to defeat him with fewer troops. Humph! You are just a little worried now, but Zheng Yu is really scared!"
Although Lin Shuhan was not familiar with military affairs, he had a profound understanding of human nature, which made Qiu Yizhi admire him but also feel scared. He frowned and said, "So what you mean is that I don't have to worry about Zheng Yu attacking me rashly. I just need to keep moving around and see who can't hold on first, and who will win?"
Lin Shuhan shook his head: "No, although this is safe, it is too slow. Now is the bleak winter season, and there is no food in Jiangnan, so there is a chance to drag down Zheng Yu. If Zheng Yu holds on until next spring and summer, when the fertile fields in Jiangnan have a good harvest, there will be no such opportunity again."
"I see!" Qiu Yizi continued, "That's convenient. I have plenty of capable soldiers under my command. Starting tomorrow, we will send them out to cut off all the channels for transporting money and food to Zheng Yu. Let's see how long he can hold out without food and grass."
Wu Changxi stepped forward, cupped his hands and said, "There's no need to go through so much trouble. Your Excellency has been causing a great disturbance in Jiangnan these days, and has been stationed under Wuxi for such a long time, he has already cut off the canal and land transportation. Zheng Yu now needs to transport food and grass from Lingnan Road, and almost all of it depends on sea transportation. Therefore, in my humble opinion, as long as we capture Mingzhou, this large seaport, we can cut off the connection between Zheng Yu and the rear of Lingnan, and we will be halfway to success."
Hearing this, Qiu Yizhi's brain quickly calculated: "What Wu Changxi said makes sense. Mingzhou City has no city walls to protect it. As long as we send a light force and use the troops properly, we can easily take it down. It is indeed a good deal with huge profits."
So Qiu Yi continued to think while speaking, "General Wu's words make sense. We were too far away from Mingzhou in Shanyin County before, so I didn't make up my mind to attack Mingzhou. Now we have arrived in Hangzhou, the time is ripe, and we can attack Mingzhou now. You said before that there are people in the city to support us, I wonder if you can still take that seriously now?"
Wu Changxi cupped his hands and said, "It can be taken seriously, but it can't be taken seriously at the same time."
"What do you mean?" Qiu Yizi asked.
"I, Wu Changxi, am very familiar with the defense of Mingzhou City. The Jiedu troops in the city only know how to eat, drink, and have fun all day long, extorting merchants and travelers, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and they have to think twice before they win. They are simply incapable of fighting a tough battle. These surrendered Jiedu troops, whether they have their help or not, are actually of no use. They are just waving flags and shouting a few words to boost the morale of our army." Wu Changxi replied.
"Good! That's a very bold statement! I have made up my mind. Only the four of us present here know about this. Everyone gather around and listen to my instructions."
… …
Early the next morning, Qiu Yizi's camp was uprooted, and the 20,000 soldiers in the camp, carrying food and supplies, marched westward.
Zheng Yu, who had been closely monitoring Qiu Yizhi's every move, heard the news and cursed Qiu Yizhi, the little thief who was causing trouble for him, but he had no better way. He could only order the camp to be broken up and set off, following the enemy, hoping to drive them back to Shanyin County in the west and return to the situation before Jiangnan Road. That would be a blessing.
However, what he didn't know was that Qiu Yizi, the nominal commander-in-chief of the army, was not in the army.
Late at night the day before, he called up Yuchi Jiming, eighteen personal soldiers, two hundred local militiamen, and five hundred elite soldiers under Wu Changxi, and secretly marched to the southeast, heading straight for Mingzhou.
This team of less than 800 people moved very secretly and swiftly. In addition, Wu Changxi was very familiar with the nearby terrain. He deliberately avoided the city market and chose secluded roads. It only took one day and one night to travel day and night. They could see the long shadow of Mingzhou City on the horizon in the distance.
Seeing that there was not a single Lingnan army around, Qiu Yizi knew that her actions had not attracted Zheng Yu's attention, and her plan to sneak attack Mingzhou had been largely successful.
However, such an easy victory made him feel uneasy. He pulled Wu Changxi over and asked, "General Wu, we came quickly and we have plenty of time. Should we send a few trusted people into the city to say hello to the generals under Yin Chengliang and Yin Tai first?"
Wu Changxi waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "No need. These are spineless people. If a fight breaks out, I will just shout and scare them to death."
He paused, and then said, "Yin Tai and Yin Chengliang may have some Japanese pirates under their command. I'm afraid they may not be easy to deal with. My Lord, please be careful."