NCCnovel Chapter 121 Destroying Grain
Chapter 121 Destroying Grain
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The next morning, Lin San led two hundred men past Chengmai County and cautiously advanced along the post road. Although the main force was in the Bofu area, they still had to be careful not to encounter scouts from the government troops along the post road and reveal their location.
As he passed Shishan, the flags that were faintly visible among the trees on the mountain caught Lin San's attention. He observed the surrounding terrain and saw that this not-too-high hillside was close to the post road, making it an excellent location for a supply depot. Perhaps the government army's supply depot was located here.
Regardless of whether it was a supply depot or not, Lin San led his men directly to the mountaintop. One of the purposes of setting up a supply depot on high ground was to observe the surroundings from a superior position. Since he had appeared on the post road, he might have already been discovered, so there was no point in hiding.
When they reached the halfway point of the mountain, they heard shouts and cries coming from the summit, and a group of Ming soldiers with swords and spears charged down.
Although it was an uphill attack, the slope was not steep and was relatively gentle. The team members stood in formation, held their bayonets, and charged forward.
These soldiers stationed in the rear were clearly no match for the elite troops attacking the earthen fortress; they crumbled at the first touch, leaving dozens of corpses behind as they fled in all directions.
A centurion shouted at the top of his lungs to lead his men in resistance and repel the bandits. Although he was wearing armor, his helmet was nowhere to be found. He probably hadn't expected to be attacked while guarding the rear of the army and had hastily donned his armor before going into battle.
Dozens of archers emerged from the woods and fired a few arrows from a distance. Due to the great distance, they used light, volleyed arrows, and most of the arrows fell slowly, landing at an angle in the ground. Apart from a few team members who couldn't dodge in time and were hit in the arm, there were not many casualties.
Lin San knew he couldn't let the archers get close enough to exchange fire. In the first few exchanges, the rate of fire of firearms was slower than that of bows and arrows, so he had to strike first. He ordered, "Fire from where you are."
The two sides were about a hundred paces apart, which was not the optimal firing distance for the Patriot rifle, but at this distance the range and accuracy of the bow and arrow were even worse.
"Bang bang bang!" Two hundred men fired in a volley, and only a dozen or so archers fell, but they were terrified and turned to run away, no matter how much the centurion shouted.
With the threat of long-range attacks gone, the team quickly reached the summit. Before them lay a wide, flat area, piled high with sacks of grain and carts used to transport it. Hundreds of laborers, seeing the approaching enemy, scattered in panic. The government troops attempted to form a battle formation to meet the enemy, but the laborers disrupted their advance.
After the guards took their positions, just two volleys were enough to rout the remaining three or four hundred soldiers, who fled faster than the laborers. Lin San stared dumbfounded at the fleeing soldiers. He had thought another bayonet charge would be needed to break them up, but it seemed unnecessary. Looking at the army he used to serve in from a different perspective made him realize how incompetent the government troops were. Lin San thought to himself, how could such an army possibly stop an armed force like the guards?
With the government troops having fled, the next step was to destroy the grain. Looking at the tens of thousands of kilograms of grain, one of the team members said regretfully, "So much grain, if only we could have transported it back! It's such a waste to burn it!"
Most of the two hundred team members were former subordinates of Lin San's mountain stronghold. He scolded them irritably, "How many soldiers do we have compared to the government army? If you greedily transport this batch of grain, it will become a burden to us and a target for the government army. If thousands of people come to attack, our two hundred men won't even be enough to fill their teeth. Only by burning this grain can we cut off the government army's retreat and throw their morale into chaos."
The grain and the rooster cart were set on fire one after another, and thick smoke billowed from the rocky mountain, which could be seen from miles away.
He Rubin was in his tent planning the defense of the camp with his generals when he received a report: Shishan had fallen, five hundred garrison soldiers had fled, and all their food had been burned.
"What?!" He Rubin was shocked. Just what he feared had come to pass. Not only was the supply depot destroyed and the supply route cut off, but where could they possibly procure tens of thousands of kilograms of grain in such a short time? Nearly ten thousand soldiers were feeding their horses, and their daily consumption of fodder was staggering. They couldn't afford to go without it for even a day, or the entire army would collapse on the verge of collapse.
Tong Yizhen, the military commander of Chaozhou, said bitterly, "Those bandits are truly hateful. If they had only seized the grain, we could have found a way to take it back. But they actually burned it all! They're trying to destroy everything!"
He Rubin slumped into his chair, pressing his hand to his forehead, his head throbbing with pain. The supply depot was destroyed, the grain burned, and even if they desperately plundered from Lingao and Chengmai, it would only supply the army for a few days at most, and wouldn't change the overall situation.
Lin San returned to the earthen fort that very night with the good news that he had cut off the government army's supply lines, and the fort was filled with jubilation.
Liang Xiaoming exclaimed excitedly, "Without food, won't the government troops collapse?"
“Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. The government troops outnumber us by far and will hold out for a while longer. They won’t be willing to retreat so easily.” Yan Guang calmly reminded, “The government troops’ commander-in-chief is He Rubin, the General of Guangdong, who has brought the entire province’s fighting force. The Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Wang Zunde, has high hopes for them and will not easily back down. However, it is certain that the morale of the government troops is wavering.”
Lin San analyzed: "With the grain depot destroyed, if the government troops want to continue the stalemate, they can only temporarily transport grain from Qiongshan by land. However, relying solely on carrying grain by hand is far from enough to solve the problem. The government troops may choose to transport grain by sea."
"Oh?" Liu Ye was not familiar with the internal structure of the Ming army. Although Lin San had been a bandit, he was the person on their side who knew the Ming army's system and operation best. This opinion had to be taken seriously. "But the government troops know that our ships are strong and our cannons are powerful, so why would they take the sea route?"
"The sea route is much faster than the land route, which can relieve the army's urgent needs. The government troops have no other choice but to fight to the death if they do not want to retreat."
“If we take the sea route, we can send warships to ambush and sink the grain transport ships,” Liang Xiaoming suggested.
Lin San shook his head: "Lingao is not the only place that can dock; Chengmai also has one. We don't know where the grain transport ships will dock, so waiting for them to come to us is out of the question. If Qiongzhou Prefecture wants to take the sea route, it can only rely on the navy of Qiongya General Tang Yunwen. As long as we attack Baisha Water Fortress and destroy all the navy's ships, we can cut off the supply line from the bottom."
Inside the Ming army camp, He Rubin considered the matter carefully and finally made up his mind: "It is too late to transport grain by land. Moreover, if the enemy can cut off our supply line once, they can cut it off a second time. We can only transport grain by sea."
An advisor warned, "The enemy's navy is formidable; we may not be able to achieve our goal. We should retreat to Qiongshan and devise a new plan."
He Rubin sighed, “Our army has come with the strength of the entire province, but we have not achieved anything and have only lost men and horses. If we retreat now, what difference is there between us and defeat? How can I explain this to the court and the governor? We can only leave it to fate and hope that the enemy does not know that our army is transporting grain by sea.”
He turned to Tang Yunwen, the military commander of Qiongya, and asked, "Is there any guarantee that the navy can transport grain from Qiongshan?"
Tang Yunwen dared not say he was "not confident," so he could only say, "This humble officer will do his best, but the cost of repairing the ships under my command has never been enough over the years, and there are not many usable ships..."
"Qiongshan still has merchant ships and fishing boats that our army has requisitioned from Guangzhou, and you can use them all."
"Yes," Tang Yunwen said. "Please give me the command token immediately, and I will send someone back to handle it right away."
He Rubin said, "No, you go back and handle it yourself. I'll give you ten days to deliver the grain, or don't blame me for impeaching you by name."
"Yes, Your humble general will not fail in your mission!" Tang Yunwen replied verbally, but he was filled with worry. Although it was not impossible to supply food by sea, he was not sure if it could be supplied within ten days. If the government army suffered a major defeat, his failure to supply food on time would become one of He Rubin's excuses to shirk responsibility, and he would have no way to defend himself then.
That night, Tang Yunwen, along with a few close associates, quietly boarded a fishing boat and set sail from Chengmai under the cover of darkness, heading towards Qiongshan.