Chapter 1586: Chapter 1586: Arson to Burn the Grain
The Northern Expedition is now a foregone conclusion, and the people of several counties will once again be drawn into the flames of war.
Ye Shikai could not persuade Mi Wen, so as a subordinate, he could only obey the orders.
"Xue San, depart immediately and infiltrate Nanyang to gather intelligence from various counties, including the status of troops, funds, and preparations. I need everything related to the military. Remember, you only have two days." After Mi Wen left, Ye Shikai immediately summoned Xue San and issued an urgent order.
"Two days, such urgency." Xue San was under pressure upon hearing this request. Two days is really short; the journey alone would take two days, let alone gathering intelligence.
"Yes, because in two days, the army will set out. This time it will be a swift battle; if I’m not mistaken, large numbers of Qin troops would march south from the Central Plains within a month, and by then, the situation would reverse, so if the war isn’t resolved within a month, I will certainly advise the lord to withdraw the troops."
"I see. Rest assured, sir, I will leave immediately and will not dishonor the mission." Xue San bowed and left the tent, leading his men to Nanyang.
Mi Wen had planned Wu County to be the army’s granary long ago; within just two hours, hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain and fodder were transported, along with tens of thousands of armor and weapons, and a million arrows. This was indeed the most equipment Ye Shikai had ever seen.
"Old Ye, the equipment brought in from various counties is too much. Wu County’s warehouses are small and may not be able to hold it." Shangguan Jian reported.
"Order the soldiers to expand the warehouse. If it’s truly insufficient, find a flat area and build wooden walls as an enclosure." Ye Shikai instructed since Wu County is just a small county with less than a hundred thousand people, its warehouses couldn’t possibly store hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain.
"Understood, time is tight, I will handle it right away."
"Wait a moment." Ye Shikai suddenly called out.
"Old Ye, is there anything else?"
"Today, the lord and I were ambushed by assassins in the bamboo forest. Do you know about this?" Ye Shikai asked.
"Of course, although the lord ordered the guards not to speak about it, I already knew."
"I think it’s the court’s doing, so I suspect they already know the truth about Wu County. If this is really the case, we must protect these grains and military supplies." Ye Shikai specially instructed, as logistics have always been the most crucial aspect of any campaign, especially now that the court knows their actions. If they sent assassins to burn these supplies, everything would be over.
"Since these assassins could silently ambush in the bamboo forest to attack me and the lord, they could also infiltrate the warehouse to sabotage the grain."
"Old Ye, don’t worry, I will personally patrol the warehouse area with troops for the next two days to ensure there are no problems," Shangguan Jian nodded and said.
"That would be great. With you around, I’m reassured."
..................
Late at night.
Ye Shikai had yet to sleep, two thousand brothers, divided into four teams, one team stationed in the city, and the other three patrolled in turns to ensure the safety of the supplies.
The court isn’t foolish; if they knew the grains were in Wu County, they wouldn’t just stand by, even if it’s challenging to succeed, they will still try.
"Report, not good, the granary suddenly caught fire, General Shangguan is organizing firefighting," suddenly, a guard rushed in and shouted urgently.
"What, guards, follow me." Ye Shikai was shocked, though he had anticipated this outcome numerous times, he was still startled, got up at once, and rushed out.
"Yes."
Ye Shikai arrived at the fire, at one of the warehouses, hundreds of soldiers had surrounded it, while the remaining soldiers fetched water buckets to fight the fire. The adjacent warehouses stored cloth and grain; if not for so many soldiers encircling to contain the fire here, it would have been dangerous, with the strong night wind, if left unchecked, the fire would certainly get out of control.
"Old Ye, you’re here." Shangguan Jian hurried over, his face blackened by smoke, as he personally went to extinguish the flames, even part of his clothes got burnt.
At Eagle Ridge fortress, Ye Shikai fell victim to the enemy’s fire plan, over a thousand brothers were burned alive, so seeing fire gave him a bit of a shadow.
"Shangguan, are you alright?" Ye Shikai quickly asked.
"Don’t worry, I’m fine, just grazed by the flames." Shangguan Jian shook his head, "Old Ye, it’s my incompetence that let the spies start the fire."
"It’s nothing, nothing, you led people to extinguish it in time, keeping the fire from spreading, minimizing losses, that is already an achievement. You’re burnt, quickly see the military doctor, leave this to me." Ye Shikai waved his hand, it was just a small warehouse, storing only a few hundred bushels of grain and a dozen pieces of cloth, losses weren’t substantial, that was fortunate.
Hundreds of soldiers continuously supplied water, quickly extinguishing the fire. Ye Shikai dared not be careless, adding two thousand soldiers to guard, ensuring there was no "blind spot."
Tent.
"How’s your injury, feeling better?" Ye Shikai inquired.
"It’s alright, applied some burn healing ointment, a few days and it will be fine." Shangguan Jian nodded, anxiously asking, "Old Ye, how much of the supplies did we lose?"
"Don’t worry, not much, a few hundred bushels of grain and a dozen pieces of cloth, it won’t affect." Ye Shikai waved his hand.
"It’s my lack of vigilance that gave those spies the opportunity."
"It’s not your fault." Ye Shikai clearly knew that if those arsonist spies were cultivators, avoiding ordinary soldiers’ sight wasn’t difficult.
"As I expected, those spies have set their sights on Wu County. In the future, if we go to the front line, what about Wu County?" Ye Shikai felt pressure again, since ancient times, granaries were key protection targets, and cultivators, being faster than ordinary people, were best suited for stealth attacks. Therefore, he must suggest to Mi Wen that cultivators be deployed to guard Wu County to prevent another Qin Army raid.
The next day.
At dawn, Ye Shikai, with dozens of guards, rode at full speed toward Jiangling County.
"General Ye, what’s the matter?" A soldier on the city wall shouted.
"I have urgent news for the lord, open the gate quickly."
"Yes, open the gate."
Government Office.
"What’s going on, I heard from the city guard general that you hurried into the city at the crack of dawn. Did something happen in Wu County?" Mi Wen asked.
"I came this time to discuss a major issue with you."
