Chapter 71 Food Cutting Road
Chencang City is located north of the Wei River and west of the Lishui River. It is an extremely important transportation hub and military town.
But this place is too far away from Yongzhou, and the nearest county seat is also on the east bank of Lishui River. There is no city guarding the large plain in the middle, and the grain road is basically completely exposed to the outside.
There is not much arable land in Chencang, and Hao Zhao came here with no intention of farming here. The grain and baggage can only be supplied by Yongzhou, and there is no ability to produce it by itself.
It was not bad at first. The food stored in Chencang City for five thousand people for three months was enough. But now with the addition of Wang Shuang's troops, the Wei army suddenly had five thousand more mouths, and the demand for food and fodder was much greater.
As long as Ma Su can cut off the grain route of Chencang City like Mr. Guan did back then, it will be in vain for Hao Zhao to defend the city again.
Ma Su briefly talked to Wang Ping about his plan to march eastward to cut off his food routes. As soon as this idea came up, Wang Ping almost scared to death.
"You can't do it, General, the risk is too great and something could easily happen!" Wang Ping is a veteran who has fought for many years, and he can see the risks at a glance.
"Since Hao Zhao is guarding Chencang, he must be prepared for the grain route. And the Wei army's grain route is not only land, but also a waterway that goes directly to Chencang by boat from the Wei River."
"In this case, the general will not have much effect if he leads his troops to rob their food routes, and they may also encounter the Wei army's pursuit and interception. After all, the general is not a military commander. If he rashly leads his troops to do this, I'm afraid..."
Wang Ping didn't finish his words, but Ma Su basically understood what he meant.
Guan Yu had the confidence to conquer Jiangling North Road, but that was only done when Mr. Guan had the strength.
Since they started fighting with the late emperor, they have been fighting on the battlefields of the Central Plains for more than ten years, killing the immortal veterans who survived along the way. Even so, in the series of battles on Juebei Road, Guan Erye was in danger and almost got into trouble.
Although you, Ma Su, do have some commanding talents, your way of marching and using troops is still a little bit behind Guan Erye. Moreover, Mr. Guan Er was leading his own troops, while the group of Qiang and Hu people under Ma Su could not even surround Hao Zhao.
At this level, do you dare to fight a guerrilla war like Guan Erye?
"So what do you think my chances of winning are if I practice the method of the Way of Absolute Food? How dangerous is it?" Ma Di pondered for a while, then raised his head again and asked.
"The odds of winning are less than 30%, the danger is huge, and there is a high possibility of encountering unexpected events." Wang Ping said categorically. In his opinion, even 30% is considered an optimistic estimate.
Hao Zhao is not stupid either. He must be on guard. How could he possibly leave you without food all the time? You must know that the biggest reason why Guan Erye was able to defeat the North Road was that Cao Ren was blocked in Jiangling by Zhou Yu.
"Wang Ping said that, I feel relieved." Ma Su nodded with satisfaction. It would be good to have professionals to help analyze.
The success rate is close to 70%, and you can die at any time, how great!
"Call Shu Ji to come and pack up our troops and horses. We are ready to go!"
Wang Ping: "???"
After all, I've been talking for a long time, you think it's just a fart, right?
"General, you are taking a risk!" Wang Ping felt a little anxious, but before he finished speaking, Ma Su suddenly turned around and looked at him.
"Zijun, I have three thousand Qiang and Hu tribesmen under my command, and two thousand Wudang flying troops. This matter is indeed very dangerous, so I only lead one thousand cavalry, and you can pick up some craftsmen from me."
"If I succeed, Chencang City can be defeated at any time without a fight. But if I fail, at most I will lose more than a thousand untrained cavalry."
"These two thousand Qiang and Hu tribes are left to you. If I die, they will be your tribe. With your ability, it shouldn't be difficult to train them into Qiang cavalry with strict military discipline, right?"
"Don't worry, even if I, Ma Su, die, I won't affect too many soldiers!"
Ma Di has basically settled most of the things, trying his best to ensure that other soldiers are not affected. Even if it was the Qiang and Hu tribe under his control, Ma Su would take away two-thirds of it to prevent the loss from being too great.
What's more, this is an adventure, not exactly a suicide attempt.
"General, I think there is no need to take such a risk..." Wang Ping wanted to persuade him again, but Ma Di shook his head and said straightforwardly.
"Zijun, that Hao Zhao's defense of the city is no small matter. If he were to repair Chencang, not even the prime minister would be able to capture this place."
"We don't have many choices, we have to take this risk!"
With that said, Ma Su left directly without giving Wang Ping a chance to continue persuading him.
Wang Ping suddenly fell silent. After thinking for a long time, he suddenly gritted his teeth, stood up and started writing a letter.
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Ma Di acted very quickly, leaving Meng Guo's Wudang flying army and two thousand cavalry behind. He left Lueyang and continued southward with only one thousand troops.
There are 10,000 Wei troops garrisoned in the direction of Chencang City, which consumes a lot of money every day. Therefore, Yongzhou's delivery of grain to Chencang has become more frequent, basically once every half a month.
Ma Su led his troops out of Longdao, quietly bypassed Chencang City and went straight to the Weishui River. After waiting on the east road behind Chencang for less than five days, Tan Ma discovered the Wei army's grain transport team.
"General, the scouts discovered that a Wei army's grain transport team was heading this way, and the number of soldiers escorting them was only a few hundred."
After detecting the target, Shu Ji immediately reported it to Ma Su.
"Is this how the Wei people escorted the grain? They deserved to be robbed of grain!" Ma Su was a little dissatisfied. On this point, the Wei army could beat anyone, and they couldn't even touch him.
Fortunately, he was lucky. The Wei army did not transport food by water, but by land.
"Big men, get ready to fight me!"
Ma Su got on his horse and shouted at a group of cavalry behind him.
The Qiang and Hu cavalrymen immediately became energetic. They all got on their horses and followed Ma Su with howls.
At this time, Wei Jun's grain transport team did not realize the seriousness of the matter, and was still leisurely escorting grain and grass westward.
The teams transporting grain generally have fewer soldiers and do not have the ability to conduct scouting expeditions. So it wasn't until Ma Su's cavalry appeared in the north, rushing over like lightning with a large amount of dust, that the Wei army noticed it.
"Enemy attack!"
The officer in charge of escorting the Wei army was shocked and shouted quickly.
"Line up to meet the enemy! Protect the food!"
This place was still dozens of miles away from Chencang, so it was probably too late to call for help. However, the officer still sent someone to report to Chencang and ask for support.
Hundreds of Wei army officers and soldiers quickly gathered in formation, with shield bearers in front, spearmen at the back, and archers at the end. They formed a simple horse-rejection formation and tried to compete with the Shu army.
But obviously this was overthinking. With Ma Su taking the lead, how could they possibly stop the Qiang and Hu cavalry?
Before the Qiang and Hu cavalry could get close, countless javelins had already been projected towards the Wei army!