Daqin: Zulong's Traveling Frog

Chapter 240
Qin Wangzheng was 40 years old.

A royal edict was issued to every general on the front line.

"The grain and grass were attacked, and the four-way encirclement plan could not be implemented. The entire army retreated to the Hetao Grassland and waited for the autumn harvest before attacking."

Meng Tian led a coalition army of [-] cavalry to withdraw from the northern imperial court, feeling a little unwilling in his heart.

Li You and Qiang Li gritted their teeth, their eyes were as sharp as knives, as if they wanted to eat people.

Five days ago, they had the opportunity to strangle the main force of the Huns, but in the end they did not fight with them in order to save Zhang Han and Wang Li.

The most disappointing thing for the generals is Zhang Han, the supply general. Because of his own negligence, he decided to take a shortcut and detour to the north false king's court, instead of joining Qiang Li's army.

It's a pity that Zhang Han was not as proficient in terrain as the Huns, and when the Northern False King's Court was empty, he didn't adjust his strategy in time, resulting in the annihilation of the entire army of 15 prisoners, and the rations of the [-] army were all burned.

Meng Tian was shocked when he heard the news, but did not blame them. However, the Qin laws stipulated that Zhang Han was destined to be dismissed and exiled. However, this was just a formality. After the autumn harvest, Zhang Han would be recognized as a baggage general, and he would be punished for his merits. .

There was no more food and grass, and the royal court of the Huns did not leave a single cattle or sheep. It was meaningless to continue to stick to the royal court, so the rumbling 15 army retreated.

Zhangtai Palace.

Qin Wangzheng's complexion gradually became serious.

If you win the battle, you will be rewarded. If you fail, you must analyze the reasons for the failure.

Meng Tian and other five generals sat down slowly, with ugly expressions on their faces.

The defeat this time was obviously not the result they expected, and they did not expect to be swayed by Modu.

"Don't be discouraged, generals. Geniuses do not have an army that is invincible in all battles, and the empire has no generals that are never defeated. Victory and defeat are commonplace in military affairs!"

Qin Wangzheng spoke slowly, which made the generals look better.

Meng Tian took the initiative to plead guilty and said: "Your Majesty, I misdirected this time. I didn't expect that the main force of the Huns had already withdrawn from Beijiao!"

This is indeed beyond everyone's expectations. Beijia is a royal court, equivalent to Xianyang, the imperial capital of the Qin State. There must be important secrets in it. How can it be abandoned just like it is?

Unexpectedly, the Huns really just gave up.

Now the Qin army rushed to nothing, did not get any benefits, and the Huns' army was empty!
But the Xiongnu targeted Zhang Han, which surprised everyone.

Meng Tian originally found out, but it was too late, and the grain and grass were still burned.

Zhang Han stood up suddenly: "General Meng, I am responsible for this time. It was my negligence that caused the rations of 15 troops to be burned!"

Qiang Li and Li You stepped forward and said: "You two generals, don't blame yourself, just be careful next time. We will fight back after the autumn harvest and avenge our revenge!"

Qin Wangzheng nodded heavily. It's okay to lose once, the terrible thing is that you can't stand up.

Now that mistakes are found, they are corrected, and then they start to discuss plans after the autumn harvest.

Although we lost, we just stood still, only lost food and prison troops, and almost no loss of territory and main force.

But Maodun was different. They had already lost one-third of their territory, and the Qin army continued to nibble at the Huns. The Huns retreated again and again, and they would soon have no way to retreat.

"The reason for the failure this time is still the transportation of food, grass and supplies. In addition, we underestimated the enemy and rushed forward, and there was no back-up to prepare for a lightning raid. It would be unreasonable not to fail." Qin Wangzheng said slowly with a smile on his face.

Seeing the smile on Qin Wangzheng's face, the gloom on the faces of all the soldiers was swept away.

It seems that the lightning raid strategy is not feasible, and it still needs to gradually nibble away and annex the Huns.

However, transportation of grain and grass has become a big problem. How to solve this problem is the center of this meeting.

The so-called soldiers and horses have not moved, food and grass first.

And this is one of the important experiences Sun Tzu gained in the war.

It is true that in the era of cold weapons, because transportation is too backward, materials and food need to be delivered in advance before the start of every war.

The nomads' military food transportation methods are: far away pure cavalry combat, siege operations, and wars to destroy the country.

In fact, most of the military food transportation of nomads is self-raised on the spot and a part of the food is brought to lay down the destination to obtain the next food.

These two methods are mostly used when going far away from pure cavalry combat and aggression against the country.

After all, these two kinds of operations are expensive and fast, so they are self-raised or carry dry food for long-distance raids, and most of their food is dried meat, so it is lighter to withstand hunger, and it can take a longer period of time to save food and money. time.

When the nomads attacked the city, they drove sheep and cattle as their own food, and went with the army.

This method is the way the Xiongnu transported grain and grass, but the Qin army did not have the supplies of cattle and sheep, and the army mainly ate rice and wheat, so naturally they could not imitate the Huns to drive them away.

The Qin army's transportation method is mainly land transportation, using donkey carts, horse carts, ox carts, and sheep carts, but this method is relatively cumbersome, and grain transportation is very slow.

However, Qin Zhidao properly solved this problem. The food for the army could reach the frontier in three days, but how to get there after it was transported to Jiuyuan County was an urgent problem.

Meng Tian suggested: "Your Majesty, I have a plan to solve the problem of grain and grass transportation."

Meng Tian proposed water transportation, and the efficiency of water transportation can be significantly improved.

Moreover, the battle of Qin's destruction of the Six Kingdoms has always used waterways, why not go the old way?
Qin Wangzheng frowned, digging the river channel consumed countless manpower and material resources, and once the construction started, the Huns would definitely harass and dig the river channel and it would be destroyed.

But Meng Tian said: "There is no need to use artificial excavation. The grassland of Helan Mountain is constantly nourished by natural rivers, which can provide convenience for the army. I suggest that water and land should be used together."

"General Zhang Han is in charge of transporting food and grass by land, while General Han Xin can transport it by water."

Qin Wangzheng had an indelible smile on his face. Parallel waterways seemed feasible, and it was an excellent strategy.

Naturally, there is no need to talk about the food and grass issue. The people of Daqin are smart and capable. This failure is just a small setback. The people still firmly believe that the Qin army will win.

As long as the King of Qin collects grain, the people will take the initiative to offer grain and grass for 15 soldiers to fight.

As for the strategy, we still use the plan of gradually encroaching and annexing the Xiongnu step by step.

Meng Tian marched eastward from the territory of King Youxian, Li You and Qiang Yan fought against the Northern False King's Court, and Li Xin fought against King Zuoxian.

This time, King Zuo Xian disappeared and just watched from the other side. Was he worried about the potential threat of Han Xin, or did he have other plans?

Although he is watching the fire from the other side, then we will set our sights on the Northern False Royal Court, conquer them first and then attack King Zuoxian's territory.

The meeting ended, and the whole country got busy again.
(End of this chapter)