"Childe, the soldiers and men of Yandi have been properly settled, and tomorrow, we will leave Jicheng (Beijing)."

At the beginning of April of the 33rd year of Qin Shi Huang, Fusu, who was full of fatigue, listened to the report of the veteran Yang Duanhe, and said: "There is an old general, we have finally gone half of this expedition......"

That's right, they only walked half the way, Fusu roughly estimated, from Chang'an to Jicheng, it was more than 2,000 miles, he and 5,000 soldiers spent two months to walk, and in the middle also joined Zhao Dibing, who was not very full of 5,000 meals. Thirty miles and one house, this is already in line with the Qin army's marching standards, and thanks to Fusu's harder heart, he didn't have mercy on the soldiers along the way, so he let him rest frequently.

But the real test has just begun, because Yang Duanhe told Fusu that from Jicheng to the eastern boundary of the Qin Dynasty, Manfan Hancheng, which is located at the mouth of the Peishui (Qingchuan River), is another two thousand miles!

Fusu's gaze was on the map from west to east, and such a long journey made him worried.

There are two difficulties, one is time, and the other is hunger.

In these years, the Northeast is vast and sparsely populated, and if Heifu is here, he will definitely describe it like this: "The Great Northern Wilderness is everywhere!" ”

As far as Fusu knows, in the future, the army will no longer have a smooth and wide gallop to go, the road will become more and more narrow and difficult to travel, the surrounding population will become more and more sparse, sometimes even have to climb over the mountains and mountains, overcome thorns and thorns, months of boring marching, the soldiers will also fall into fatigue, and the speed of the march will be greatly reduced.

Yang Duanhe calculated the account for Fusu, and it would take at least three months to walk from Jicheng to full sweat! By the time they arrived at the Korean border, it was already July, and by that time, there were only three months left before Qin Shi Huang's request to "surrender Korea before winter and destroy the king of the sea......

Fusu clenched his fists and pursed his lips, not knowing what to think, while Yang Duanhe was secretly pondering: "Looking at it this way, Your Majesty's appointment as a general is not an easy gilded paving at all, but like a difficult problem set up, forcing Gongzi to do it......"

Time is only one of the difficulties, and what is even more troublesome is that the heavy supplies of the army will become extremely scarce.

On the marching map, the six counties of Yandi: Shanggu, Guangyang, Yuyang, Youbeiping, Liaoxi, and Liaodong are lined up from west to east.

Yang Duanhe pointed to the map and said, "Childe, the food of the army is basically supplied by the counties along the way. Guangyang County is rich, Du Kang is the largest granary in Yandi, and Jicheng is the northern metropolis, which can make the three armies eat and drink. In the next half month, passing through Yuyang and Youbeiping, these two counties are important towns on the border, and there is no shortage of military rations. ”

"But once you leave Jieshi City, you will ...... after arriving in Liaoxi."

Yang Duanhe shook his head, his face solemn.

He had already inquired about the situation over there, and after entering Liaoxi County, the marching route was long, and there was no county capital and big city along the way, and the poor barangatures in the county and township were not enough for the big soldiers to eat and chew. Therefore, thousands of people must join the army, starting from Jieshi, carrying horses and camels, carrying food that can be eaten for a month, in order to survive the corridor of western Liaoxi and reach Yangle (Jinzhou), the capital of western Liaoxi County.

"When we cross the Liaoshui and enter Liaodong County, the situation will get worse."

In this year, Liaodong was really a multi-ethnic gathering area, with Donghu, Yanren, Fuyu, and Daoyi mixed, and most of them were concentrated in the plains along the Liaohe River, and there were not a few counties in the rest of the area.

Fusu also looked at the household registration books of Liaodong, and there were only more than 20,000 households and more than 100,000 people, which was only equivalent to a large county in the Central Plains, but it was scattered within thousands of miles. Although the people there are cultivating fertile black soil, the production tools are backward, and the yield per mu is very small.

Yang Duanhe talked about a past incident: "After Qin destroyed Yan, Yan Wangxi fled to Liaodong, and Great Qin failed to destroy it at the first time, because the distance was too far away, the army could not keep up, and the enemy could not eat, and it could not be implemented. ”

Therefore, according to Yang Duanhe's assumption, they had to save money until they arrived in Xiangping City, the capital of Liaodong County, after eating the last full meal, until they arrived in Manbanhan, a distance of 800 miles, there were only four small cities along the way, and the rest were wilderness, the supply line was so long, and the grain storage in Liaodong was so scarce that it was difficult to continue.

Yang Duanhe predicted: "If what I expected is correct, after crossing the Mazishui (Yalu River), the army will be cut off from supplies and become a lonely army in a foreign land, falling into a crisis with no food to continue......"

"If the army has no baggage, it will die, if it has no food, and if it has no commission, it will die."

Fusu was helpless: "In such a predicament, it is not easy to stabilize the three armies and let them not flee and disperse due to hunger, let alone conquest?" ”

Read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles, but this question given to him by his father is really difficult.

If you don't want yourself and 20,000 soldiers and civilians to starve to death and scatter, you have to find a way to solve the supply problem.

Yang Duanhe said: "The court has thought of an idea. ”

"Since the supply from Yandi can't keep up by land, then from the sea, from the Qidi counties!"

Having said that, Yang Duanhe is still not optimistic about this plan, because it is a more unheard of thing to supply from the sea!

Fu Su bowed: "It is said to be Qidi, but it is actually Jiaodong." ”

This sounds like a good idea, but when it comes to reality, the pressure is all on Jiaodong's shoulders......

As far as Fusu knows, although the rebellion in Zhutian was quickly pacified by Heifu, Linzi and Jibei were still hit hard, spring plowing and summer cultivation were delayed, and many counties had no harvest, coupled with the relief of displaced war refugees, the former overflowing granary became empty.

Looking at Qidi, there is still a warehouse that can supply tens of thousands of troops with food, and the only one is Jiaodong County, which is why Qin Shi Huang appointed Heifu as the supervisor of the army.

Fusu looked in the southeast direction and said with a wry smile:

"In the past, in Saibei, Fusu was the supervisor of General Wei, but he didn't help much, but it caused him a lot of trouble. Now that the prison has been replaced, my life, the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers, are tied to the hands of Wei Junshou! ”

……

In the middle of April of the 33rd year of Qin Shi Huang, the coastal county of Huan County became the center of the military and political affairs of Jiaodong County.

No way, unlike the past few times as a general, this time Heifu, as a supervisor of the army, incarnated as the captain of the logistics brigade, must be responsible for the supply of the army, and Zhifu Port in Xuxian County is undoubtedly the most suitable command center.

"Where has the eldest son's army marched?"

The senior official Heifu was a busy man, and after the cadre mobilization meeting on the summer and autumn salt and gold mines was held on the front foot, he summoned Cao Shen and asked him about the contact and movement of the Eastern Expeditionary Army.

Cao Shen in the war to pacify the rebellion of Qidi, he had the merit of ascending first and cutting the field, not only was his title promoted by two levels, but his position was also changed from a small Zuo Shi to "Bing Cao Peng", which is equivalent to the head of the Provincial People's Armed Forces Department. Although nominally subordinate to the county lieutenant, now that Heifu is the overseer, he also has to report the military situation to him.

Cao Shen was originally a small official in Pei County, his reputation was not out of the county, and he was favored by Heifu before he soared, and the clan was honored, and he had the opportunity to lead the troops to fight.

He replied: "The last time I received a reply, it was said that Gongzi's army was resting in Jicheng, and now more than half a month has passed, and it has probably reached Jieshi and is about to enter Liaoxi County......"

"I'm afraid this son will face a real challenge next."

Heifu also had some knowledge of the situation in eastern and western Liaoning, and knew that there was not much grain stored there, and the supply line was long.

Cao Shen estimated that at the end of June, Fusu and his 20,000 or 30,000 men would cross the Yalu River, which also meant that the possibility of land supply from Liaodong was cut off, and Jiaodong could only rely on Jiaodong to transport grain by sea......

It can be said that the key to the success or failure of this battle lies not in the front battle of the expeditionary force, but in whether the supply grain from Jiaodong can continue to keep up.

Thinking so, Heifu gave an order: "Let Cangcao Pengxiao come to see me!" ”

Professionals do professional things, Heifu feels very lucky, in history, because of the good transportation logistics, Xiao He, who won the first place in the Han Dynasty, is under him.

In the past two years, Xiao He has proved his ability in the position of "County Sacrifice Wine", and has made Jiaodong's education career impressive, so that people can't find fault with it. Heifu was not stingy, rewarded for meritorious deeds, promoted Xiao He to an official, and became Cangcao Peng, who was specifically responsible for managing grain and coordinating the supply of baggage, which is the old business in history - no matter how many waves Liu Bang sent in front, Xiao He can continue.

Heifu understands his position in this war very well: do a good job of supervising the army, manage logistics, the things on the front line have nothing to do with him, and he can't steal the limelight of Gongzi's Fusu, he only needs to pull a hand when the expeditionary force is in crisis.

If Fusu is the C position, then Heifu is the auxiliary.

But Xiao He's incident also tells Heifu a truth, which is also the role he intends to play in this war:

"Even if you want to give the C position a head, it's a good support, and you can still win the MVP!"