Chapter Ninety-Five

  The troops set out from Yan Emperor City, passing White Stone Pass on the same day and camping at Yunxiang that night. The next day, they crossed the White Cloud River and sailed down the Five Cangjiang River for two days before entering Inner Mongolia. At Baosong Ridge, they joined forces with Shi Jia's Second Master Shi Xiao Feng, increasing their strength to over 26,000 troops. More than ten days later, they arrived at Ningxia Chenmen Pass, where Shi Jia's master Shi Xiao Feng also arrived with his elite troops, uniting the three armies.

  Bamboo and Nacdo originally thought that this would definitely be a direct attack on White Deer Plain, participating in the hunting conference with other four countries. Who knew it was exactly as Qing Xia had expected, dividing the newly recruited soldiers into dozens of small teams to help transport grain and grass to White Deer Plain.

  That night, Qing Xia was idly tying knots in his tent when Ke Duo burst in, slamming his helmet to the ground and shouting: "I thought I'd be able to take the field and kill some enemies, but instead I've been reduced to a mere civilian... it's infuriating!"

  Bamboo also walked in, followed by six young soldiers, all members of the Qing Xia group. After she beat up several big men that day, those people, to prevent Qing Xia from taking revenge, bribed the squad leader with a lot of money and managed to change teams after much persuasion. Qing Xia didn't like them anyway, and seeing them leave made her feel even more relaxed. These children were all newly recruited soldiers, and because they were young, they were always bullied in other troops. The squad leader didn't know if he had been instructed by those people or not, but the new recruits who came over were all very young, not from military families, and had never fought before.

  "It's true!" a group of 15 or 16-year-old kids chorused loudly, their faces filled with indignation and annoyance. Qing Xia ignored them, continuing to tie various Chinese knots by herself, the red threads moving up and down in her hands as if they were alive, nimble and magical.

  "Xia Qing," Bambur blurted out loudly. "You said the other day that escorting grain was a big deal and enemies would come to attack, but it's been so long, how come there's not even a peep."

  Qing Xia slightly raised an eyebrow, looking at him and saying: "You scoundrel, you actually still hope that someone will come to steal your grain, if the higher-ups find out, they'll definitely convict you of being disloyal to the emperor and unpatriotic."

  "Ah!" Kedo exclaimed in a stifled voice: "It's really suffocating, how long will we have to live like this?"

  Qing Xia smiled and said: "Now it's neither a war between two countries nor traveling outside the pass, so naturally there are no enemies to raid."

  "What?" A small soldier with the surname Zhang shouted: "Then aren't we just going to be ordinary people escorting grain forever?"

  "It's not entirely like that," Qing Xia said, shaking her head. She knelt up and spread out a map, pointing to the small table with the map on it: "For three hundred years, every five years, the four-country hunting has never been interrupted, even during the period of war between the four countries 130 years ago. The main thing is that this is an opportunity for negotiation, and also a good chance to probe into the strengths and weaknesses of the other side. For so many years, each country has not given up on wanting to restore the original unified Qin dynasty's dominance over the world, with all four seas returning to one. The question is just who will be the emperor. This year's White Deer Plain hunting, logically speaking, should have been held last year, but was delayed due to the Northern Xiongnu's invasion. Therefore, this year's hunting is absolutely not just a simple and pure hunting festival; otherwise, we wouldn't be allowed to transport grain to White Deer Plain like this."

  A clever Han boy named Li Xian asked hastily after hearing Qing Xia's words: "Brother Xia, are you saying that this time the White Deer Plain hunt may involve fighting?"

  "In which year will the hunting meeting not fight? It's just that outsiders can't see it." Qing Xia smiled faintly and pointed to the White Deer Plain in Ningxia, "The terrain of the White Deer Plain is unique. Although it is under the jurisdiction of Xikou, it belongs to a hollow land, like the Western Black Desert, a place without an owner. This is also the reason why other countries dare to come. Moreover, this time the target set by each country is not to hunt wild beasts, but to attack the White Deer Fortress on the White Deer Plain. The White Deer Fortress has a history of over 1,000 years and is one of the few armed organizations independent of national borders on the mainland. Since it exists, there must be a reason for its existence. You should know about the miserable outcome of the four countries' siege of the White Deer Fortress fifty years ago."

  Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing this. This matter was well-known throughout the mainland, and fifty years ago, the four countries had jointly sent troops to besiege the White Deer Fortress, but unfortunately returned without success. The White Deer Fortress thus gained a notorious reputation and became the most expensive mercenary organization on the continent. In Qing Xia's opinion, the previous failure could not be entirely attributed to the strength of the White Deer Fortress' military power. The main reason was that the four countries were unable to unite as one, instead being wary of each other and even secretly undermining one another, which ultimately benefited the small mercenary fortress.

  "Two armies clash, one move is not as good as one quiet. Only by consuming money and grain can the national strength be consumed. The farther the expedition goes, the more disadvantageous it is for them. Therefore, the distant South Chu, East Qi, and North Qin will inevitably bring out a large number of soldiers. However, since ancient times, carrying rations to fight has been the stupidest tactic, and the most clever one is to use the enemy's grain to feed oneself, capture the opponent's city, obtain supplies, and make the enemy's strength decline while one's own strength grows. Only then can this battle be fought."

  Naked shouted: "Right! Such a simple truth, how could the general not think of it, and let us carry grain and grass, advancing slowly?"

  Qing Xia turned his head and looked at Ban Buli, saying: "What do you think?"

  Bamboo hesitated for a moment and said: "If I were the defender, I would definitely clear the walls and fields, and not leave any grain or grass to the enemy.

  Qing Xia nodded and said, "It's not easy for you to think of this. Our general must have had the same idea, which is why he mobilized a large number of militia and transported grain and goods. However, let's take a closer look at the enemy and guess what they might do." Qing Xia suddenly turned his head and looked at the handsome Han boy, asking, "Li Xian, what do you think?"

  Li Xian said: "I think the best way is to cut off the enemy's grain and grass, occupy the advantageous terrain, and force the enemy to retreat."

  Qing Xia smiled and said, "Li Xian is right. Instead of defending the fortress to death, it's better to take the initiative to attack, using elite cavalry to raid behind enemy lines, cutting off their food and grass, which would be the best strategy."

  Na Ke thought for a moment and suddenly burst out laughing: "Xia Ge, you're saying this and that, but ultimately it's to tell us that someone will come to rob our grain, so we should be careful."

  Qing Xia looked at him and said, "I don't know if the enemy commander has the guts to do this, but if I were in charge of this battle, I would definitely use a surprise attack, launch a guerrilla war from behind the enemy lines, destroy their food supplies. As long as we can destroy two thousand-man grain transport teams every day, I guarantee that within three months, the allied army will be crying out in despair, with no rice to cook and no soldiers who can fight."

  A northerner named Meng Sun wiped the sweat and sighed, "Xia Ge, fortunately you are not the commander of the enemy side, otherwise we would have suffered a great loss."

  Li Xian said with a smile: "Brother Xia is really clever, I think even the generals of the Shi family can't match up to you."

  Qing Xia smiled and said: "A true general is not a brave warrior, no matter how brave the warrior can defeat ten or a hundred people, can he win over thousands of people? Therefore, if you want to be a general, you cannot rely on brute force, you must use your brain. You all want to make achievements and shine in the future, so you should learn more about military strategy. Since there is nothing else to do on the road, I will teach you some military strategies for deploying troops and attacking cities."

  Everyone was overjoyed upon hearing this, and they all rushed forward. Bambur hastily ran to the door, pulling the curtain shut tightly, as if afraid that outsiders would overhear.

  So, the crowd escorted the grain all the way, rushing on the road during the day and listening to Qing Xia's explanation of military strategy at night. What Qing Xia learned in his heart was the essence accumulated from the thorough analysis of all famous battles in China for over 5,000 years, past and present, as well as modern warfare experts. Where can the military strategies of this era be compared? Fortunately, these rough men were not very cultured and did not know the difference between what Qing Xia said and those military strategies that were revered as classics outside. However, Xi Linchen, who came from a wealthy and prestigious family, remembered what Qing Xia said in his heart after listening to it, but he was a deep and reserved person, and even if he was shocked in his heart, he did not show it on his face.

  In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed, and the grain transport team's journey was extremely slow. The three armies gathered together once again, only to disperse again. Shi Xing was assigned to manage new recruits and transport grain, feeling annoyed and depressed in his heart. He spent his days sitting in the horse carriage, fooling around with the few dancers he had brought along. Every time he came out, he would shout and scold people, often hitting and cursing them. As the grain transport team was divided into over a hundred teams, Qing Xia's group was assigned to follow behind Shi Xing's team. Moreover, their group was secretly referred to as "doll soldiers" by outsiders, and they were extremely ostracized.

  Yesterday, Ke Duo was momentarily disobedient and had a few clashes with Shi Xing, getting beaten with twenty military clubs, which hurt for an entire night. Everyone was infuriated and argued loudly. Unexpectedly, the next morning, Qing Xia suddenly changed his attitude, smiling and welcoming Shi Xing with flattering words pouring out endlessly. Along with Xi Linchen, they surrounded Shi Xing, helping him get on and off his horse, being extremely obedient. The crowd was secretly seething with anger. Unexpectedly, before it was even afternoon, Shi Xing's expression changed, looking like disaster was looming over him, no longer putting on the airs of a young master, following behind Qing Xia and Xi Linchen, wagging his tail, and even offering to let Qing Xia sit in his own carriage.

  Everyone was shocked and pressed Xilin Chen for an explanation. The young man smiled faintly and said, "Xia Qing asked me to find an opportunity to give him two injections. Now he's vomiting and having diarrhea, headaches and fever. But as soon as I treat him, he can hold on for a while. He thinks he has a terminal illness, and I'm the only one who can cure his disease, so naturally he wants to be polite to us."

  Everyone saw Qing Xia's cold response to Shi Hang, and someone immediately ran over to drag Ke Duo onto Shi Hang's carriage. They even sent Shi Hang's favorite dancer to personally attend to him. Everyone couldn't help but sigh, thinking that in life, one must have a special skill to make a name for oneself.