Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1245 Intercepting Grain Supplies: A Plan in Jiangyou

In the dense forest beside Yinping Road, the embers of the campfire had long been extinguished by the night wind, with only scattered moonlight filtering through the trees and illuminating the sleeping faces of the soldiers. Zhang Xiu leaned against an old tree, feigning sleep, his short blade never leaving his hand; Gao Shun sat cross-legged, eyes closed, breathing evenly like a rock; Zhang Yan snored the loudest, yet always unconsciously pressed his hand to the curved sword at his waist when he turned over—the hardships of this journey had long since instilled in everyone the habit of being ready for battle at any moment.

As dawn broke, Gao Shun rose and whispered instructions to several scouts: "Scout ahead for ten miles, watch for cooking smoke and the sound of horses' hooves, but do not disturb anyone." The scouts obeyed and darted into the dense forest like cats, their figures disappearing in an instant.

Half an hour later, a scout rushed back and knelt on one knee: "General, a grain transport team has been spotted in the canyon ahead! There are about eight hundred people pushing dozens of grain carts. Judging from the flags, they are transporting grain from Jiangyou to Jiange. The leader is the Shu general Zheng Du. They are expected to pass through this area in half an hour!"

Zhang Xiu suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of shrewdness flashing in them: "Jiange is short of food, this supply convoy must be an urgent reinforcement! Taking them down will not only cut off Jiange's supply line, but also allow us to find out the strength and weakness of Jiangyou!"

Gao Shun immediately rose and deployed his troops: "The Trapped Camp will lie in ambush on the left cliff of the canyon with me, and prepare rolling stones; General Zhang will lead the Black Mountain Army to guard the dense forest on the right, and cut off the supply wagons when they enter the valley; General Zhang Xiu will be stationed in the central army and act according to the situation!"

Zhang Yan licked her lips and gripped the spear tightly: "Don't worry, I guarantee none of them will escape!"

Everyone quickly took their positions. In the dense forests on both sides of the canyon, the Xiliang soldiers held their breath, even suppressing the creaking of their armor. Half an hour later, the creaking of grain cart wheels grew louder as they approached. Zheng Du rode his horse in the middle of the column, occasionally scolding the laborers pushing the carts: "Hurry up! They're waiting for help at Jiange. If you're late, you'll be in big trouble!"

Once the entire grain convoy had entered the canyon, Zhang Xiu suddenly swung his arm down.

"Release!" Gao Shun gave the order, and the rolling stones on the cliff rained down, instantly knocking over the middle section of the grain convoy, causing men and horses to fall, grain carts to overturn, and rice and grain from sacks to spill all over the ground.

"An ambush!" Zheng Du was shocked and furious. He drew his sword to organize a resistance, but then a group of Black Mountain soldiers rushed out of the dense forest on the right. Zhang Yan, who was in charge, gave a whistle, and spears flew like a forest, instantly knocking down a group of soldiers at the rear of the grain convoy.

The soldiers in the vanguard tried to return to reinforce, but were lowered down from the cliff by ropes lowered by the soldiers of the Trapped Camp, blocking the entrance to the canyon. Zheng Du was both shocked and furious. He spurred his horse towards Zhang Yan, but Zhang Yan parried him with a spear, and the two fought. Although Zheng Du was a brave general, he was no match for Zhang Yan, who had been fighting in the mountains for many years. After only ten rounds, Zhang Yan found an opening and knocked him off his horse with a spear, killing him instantly.

Without their commander, the supply convoy instantly collapsed. The laborers were paralyzed with fear, and the soldiers tried to flee, but were blocked by ambushes on both sides of the canyon. Gao Shun led his troops down the cliff, and the sword formation of the Trapped Camp advanced like a wall, quickly slaughtering all the resisting soldiers.

"General, we've captured them all!" a soldier reported. "Eight hundred men. Besides those who were killed, there are more than fifty laborers and about twenty soldiers alive."

Zhang Yan wiped the blood from the spear tip and grinned, "Kill them all cleanly, so the news won't leak out!"

"Wait a minute." Zhang Xiu stopped him, remembering Jia Xu's instructions before he left, and said in a deep voice, "Master Jia Xu said that when you encounter a grain convoy, you must leave some alive. Gao Shun, pick a few prisoners and ask them about the defenses of Jiangyou City."

Gao Shun, carrying a blood-dripping longsword, walked step by step towards the group of prisoners huddled on the ground. Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the canyon, illuminating his face and making his eyes appear as cold as ice. He casually pulled a Shu soldier from among the prisoners, the blade pressed against the man's neck, his voice devoid of any inflection: "Where did you start from? Where are you transporting the grain?"

The soldier, his neck stiff, spat out, "Don't even think about making me utter a single word!"

Gao Shun didn't even flinch. With a slight dip of his wrist, his longsword flashed with a cold light. With a "thud," the soldier's head rolled to the ground, blood splattering onto the nearby grain sacks, a gruesome sight of red and white intertwined.

The remaining prisoners were terrified; several laborers collapsed to the ground, wetting themselves. Gao Shun, however, acted as if nothing had happened, grabbing another soldier and pressing the tip of his knife against his throat: "Speak."

The soldier had just witnessed his comrade's gruesome death. His lips trembled, and he was about to speak, but fear held him back, and he hesitated for a moment. A cold glint flashed in Gao Shun's eyes, and he brought his sword down again.

Two people died in quick succession, without any warning, leaving only heavy breathing in the canyon. Gao Shun, holding a blood-dripping knife, swept his gaze over the remaining prisoners, his expression as calm as a stagnant pool, yet the ruthlessness within that calm was more chilling than any roar.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" One of the laborers finally couldn't take it anymore and cried out, raising his hands, "General, spare my life! I'll tell you everything!"

Gao Shun ignored him and turned the tip of his knife towards a soldier who was terrified and pale: "Speak."

The soldier knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly until blood quickly appeared on his forehead: "We...we set off from Jiangyou to deliver grain to Jiange!"

"How often do you deliver them?" Gao Shun pressed, still holding the knife.

"The mountain roads in Shu are difficult to travel. Originally, it was once a month..." The soldier's voice trembled, "But, but Jian Ge has recently increased its troops, and the food supplies are being consumed quickly, so it has been changed to once every fifteen days."

When was the last time?

"It's been exactly fifteen days since the last grain shipment. We...we set off from Jiangyou three days ago..."

Gao Shun's eyes narrowed slightly: "Why not prepare more, instead of so frequently?"

The soldiers trembled, not daring to hide anything: "It's not that we don't want to send more, but the Shu Road is really difficult to travel, and too many grain carts simply can't move. Moreover, Jiange suddenly gained Wu Yi and Wu Lan's troops, adding 30,000 mouths to feed all at once. The grain stored in the treasury is simply not enough, so we can only send a little at a time to relieve the immediate crisis!"

Gao Shun nodded, sheathed his sword, but didn't let him get up. Instead, he pointed to another soldier huddled in a corner: "You tell me, how is the defense of Jiangyou?"

The soldier was already terrified out of his wits, stammering, "Jiang... Jiangyou previously had eight thousand garrison troops, commanded by General Ren Kui... Five... five days ago, General Meng Da arrived with two thousand men, saying it was to assist in the defense. Now there are probably ten thousand soldiers in the city..."

Jia Xu stood to the side, listening to the prisoners' testimonies, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes. He stroked his beard and suddenly asked, "What was Ren Kui's temperament like? Did he get along well with Meng Da?"

When Gao Shun saw Jia Xu asking a question, he sheathed his sword and stepped aside to stand quietly.

Several prisoners hurriedly replied, one of the laborers saying in a trembling voice, "General Ren Kui... his military discipline is fairly strict, but... he's greedy for wine and money. The day General Meng Da arrived, he came to demand money. General Meng Da said he was short of money while leading troops, but seeing that the two thousand soldiers Meng Da brought were well-disciplined and their armor was gleaming, he actually extorted a hundred sets of fine armor from them before he would stop. As for how the two got along in private, we, their men, don't know..."

“Greedy for wine, greedy for money…” Jia Xu repeated softly, his fingertips tapping lightly on his palm, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips. “That makes things much easier.”

Zhang Yan, being the most impatient of them all, rolled up his sleeves and said after hearing that they had said enough, "Strategist, General, now that we've asked everything we need to know, these prisoners are just a nuisance if we keep them alive. We might as well kill them all to prevent the news from leaking out!"

The prisoners were terrified, kowtowing repeatedly, their foreheads hitting the ground with a loud thud, mumbling incoherently, begging only to be spared their lives.

"Wait a minute." Jia Xu raised his hand to stop Zhang Yan, his gaze sweeping over the several prisoners who were pale with fright. He said in a deep voice, "Take them away and keep a close watch on them. Don't let them escape, and don't let them die either."

The soldiers obeyed the order, went forward to tie the prisoner up even tighter, gagged him, and dragged him deep into the dense forest to guard him.

Zhang Yan asked in bewilderment, "Strategist, what use are they? Can they serve as soldiers?"

Jia Xu turned to look at Zhang Xiu and Gao Shun and said with a smile, "Ren Kui is greedy for money and Meng Da has a grudge against us. We may be able to take Jiangyou City without losing a single soldier."

Zhang Xiu's eyes flickered: "The strategist means..."

“Since Meng Da has already pledged allegiance to our lord, he is now one of our men.” Jia Xu pointed towards Jiangyou City. “Ren Kui is greedy for wine and money; he will surely be tempted by great profits. We only need to use these prisoners to our advantage, and then have Meng Da cooperate somewhat within the city…”

Zhang Xiu frowned slightly: "Strategist, please explain clearly, how should we use these grain carts and prisoners?"

Jia Xu smiled slightly, walked to the grain cart, and patted the bulging sack: "Ren Kui is greedy, these dozens of carts of grain are the bait. Let's send those few survivors back to report that the grain convoy was ambushed by mountain bandits on the way. Although they fought back the bandits, they were afraid that the remaining grain would be lost, so they dared not send it to Jiange and could only return to Jiangyou City for temporary storage."

He turned to Zhang Yan and said, “General Zhang’s Black Mountain Army is best at disguise. They can change into Shu soldiers’ uniforms and blend into the grain convoy to enter the city. Once inside the city, there’s no need to rush into action. First, find an opportunity to contact Meng Da and tell him my plan.”

Zhang Yan's eyes lit up: "Infiltrate the city? That's a brilliant idea! Our Black Mountain Army can even disguise themselves as bandits, let alone Shu soldiers?"

Jia Xu then said to Zhang Xiu, "Have Meng Da do this: when he meets Ren Kui, he should say that although the grain cart was returned, if it is reported as 'robbed by mountain bandits,' the grain can be concealed. The two of them can then divide it up privately and raise more grain to send to Jiange. Ren Kui is greedy and will surely agree readily when he sees such a lucrative opportunity."

Gao Shun interjected, "In this way, Ren Kui and Meng Da will be 'close friends' because they are both involved in this embezzlement, and Ren Kui will lower his guard against Meng Da?"

“Exactly.” Jia Xu nodded. “Ren Kui already benefited from extorting Meng Da’s armor. Now that he sees Meng Da colluding with him, he will only think that this man is ‘sensible’ and his guard will be lowered. If Meng Da invites him to drink at this time, given Ren Kui’s love of alcohol, he will definitely not leave until he is drunk.”

Zhang Xiu clapped his hands and said, "Once he's drunk, we can seize the opportunity to take him down?"

"If we can take it directly, that would be best," Jia Xu's eyes flashed with a sharp light. "Even if something unexpected happens, the Black Mountain Army is already inside the city, and Meng Da's two thousand troops can also provide support. At that time, with the help of both inside and outside, we can open the city gates, and Gao Shun's Trapped Camp will swarm in. Overnight, Jiangyou City will be within our grasp!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a golden light flashed in the eyes of everyone in the tent.

Zhang Yan rubbed her hands together and laughed, "This plan is brilliant! That old bastard Ren Kui is greedy for money and alcohol, and he's fallen right into our trap!"

Gao Shun nodded: "The Black Mountain Army infiltrated the city as inside agents, the Trapped Camp waited outside, and Meng Da provided support inside the city. It was a perfect plan, with each step linked to the next."

Zhang Xiu looked at Jia Xu with even greater admiration: "Strategist's plan to break through the city without making a sound is truly brilliant!"

The men accepted the order in unison and immediately split up to carry out their tasks. The Black Mountain soldiers quickly changed into the captured Shu soldiers' uniforms and, together with the few trembling prisoners, boarded the grain carts and drove the horses towards Jiangyou City.

Under the sunlight, the grain carts rumbled, seemingly just a group of soldiers retreating in disarray. Little did they know that hidden in the ruts lay a thunderous force capable of overthrowing the entire city. Meanwhile, Ren Kui, inside Jiangyou City, was still scheming how to extract more benefits from Meng Da, completely unaware that a vast net targeting him had been quietly tightening.