Chapter 172: The Strategy to Break Chu

"Lord Changping served as Chancellor for ten years, yet now he's been sent out to the provinces, reduced to a mere commandery governor, and instead has to gather provisions and forage for us juniors. General Meng, tell me — do you think he harbors no resentment?"

The sky had already darkened. After escorting Lord Changping out of the camp, standing beneath the main gate of the great encampment, Li Xin suddenly voiced this sentiment to the deputy commander beside him, Lieutenant General Meng Tian.

Meng Tian was a few years younger than Li Xin. He wore a brown-feathered martial cap, its strap tied beneath his chin with the ends trailing over his chest, and he sported two wisps of a mustache above his lip. Hearing Li Xin's words, he merely smiled and said:

"This isn't necessarily a demotion. Lord Changping, bearing the royal mandate and riding in the royal carriage on an eastern tour, quelled the Xinzheng rebellion and forced the great city of Huaiyang to surrender — his achievements are towering. The King wishes to destroy Chu in a single campaign, and having the most trusted Lord Changping stationed here to oversee matters is hardly unreasonable. So long as we fight this battle well and achieve the merit of extinguishing a state, there is no reason Lord Changping cannot return to court and become Qin's Chancellor once more."

Meng Tian's implication was that this time, they and Lord Changping were bound together in shared glory and shared ruin — victory meant shared reward, defeat meant shared punishment — and he hoped Li Xin would not harbor excessive suspicion.

"Fair enough."

Li Xin knew that Meng Tian's father, Meng Wu, was an old friend of Lord Changping, so he nodded. "After all, you and I are still young. We still need an elder to sit in command at the center."

Li Xin could hardly be blamed for overthinking, because this war, from the moment the King of Qin appointed its generals, had been tinged with something unusual.

Setting aside how Wang Jian and his son Wang Ben, men with the merit of destroying states, had suddenly been shelved — even veteran generals who had once followed Wang Jian to conquer nations, such as Xin Sheng, Yang Duanhe, and Qiang Hui, had not been appointed by the King at all.

Anyone with eyes could see: because Wang Jian had insisted that six hundred thousand men were necessary to attack Chu, meaning the war would drag on into the next year, the impatient King of Qin was rather displeased. So he simply left the veteran generals to garrison their respective posts and instead boldly promoted a large cohort of young and vigorous commanders from the Palace Guard, such as Li Xin, Meng Tian, and Li You, placing them in charge of the Chu campaign.

"The King intends for old General Wang and his former subordinates to retire, and is beginning to let new men rise…"

Both Li Xin and Meng Tian understood this. Though neither was old, they had already experienced several years of military service. Li Xin, in particular, had repeatedly achieved great merit; in terms of both accomplishments and seniority, he already possessed the qualifications to command independently. Meng Tian, meanwhile, was the grandson of the famed Qin general Meng Ao, inheriting his family's military learning, and was the young hawkish general the King of Qin most admired after Li Xin.

Both men understood the importance of this expedition — for Qin, and for themselves. For Li Xin especially, the illustrious battle record of his senior Wang Jian loomed before him, bringing immense pressure, but also a certain eagerness to try his own hand.

After returning to the main tent, Li Xin ordered his subordinates to light all the oil lamps; he and Meng Tian were to discuss the coming military affairs through the night.

On the low table lay two maps. One was a "Garrison Map," a defensive map drawn in three colors: red, black, and field-green. Its scope corresponded to Qin's Dang Commandery, as well as the Huaiyang and Shangcai regions of the newly established Chen Commandery. On it, black backgrounds with red-outlined frames prominently marked the garrisons of the several armies under Li Xin's command and their command centers, along with the rear-area granaries and grain transport routes.

Li Xin's eyes swept across the map and found the location of Ao Granary.

The art of war says: an army without baggage train is doomed, without grain it is doomed, without stockpiles it is doomed. As a general who had fought many battles, Li Xin of course understood that to win this war of state annihilation, the foremost priority was securing the grain supply for two hundred thousand men.

"Xingyang's Ao Granary is the starting point for grain transport in this Chu campaign."

Ao Granary was a great new granary built in Xingyang during the sixth and seventh months, capable of storing several hundred thousand shi of grain. Situated near the Great River and at the head of the Hong Canal, it was highly accessible. Whether it was millet and wheat from Guanzhong, or fodder and provisions from Henei, Hedong, and Sanchuan, everything could first be concentrated at Ao Granary, then shipped along the Hong Canal to Huaiyang…

That was why Li Xin had chosen Huaiyang as the main base for the great army's campaign against Chu: it was the terminus of the Hong Canal grain transport.

The men available to him numbered two hundred thousand. Of these, one hundred thousand were civilian laborers and convicts responsible for transporting grain, mostly conscripted locally. The remaining one hundred thousand were the actual combat troops. With so many men, they certainly could not all crowd into Huaiyang in a swarm. Li Xin had also detached several flanking divisions, stationed at Shangcai, Yangcheng, Suiyang, and other locations. Thus, the combat troops in Huaiyang numbered only fifty thousand.

"The provisions and fodder for these fifty thousand troops will be centrally coordinated by Lord Changping. For the thirty thousand at Shangcai and five thousand at Yangcheng, supplies will be transported from Xiangcheng County in Yingchuan Commandery. For the fifteen thousand at Suiyang, supplies will be transported from Chenliu."

What Li Xin, Meng Tian, and Lord Changping had just been discussing was precisely the issue of grain transport. In this way, the rear supply lines for the three armies became clear and straightforward, and all had the convenience of waterways, which could greatly increase efficiency and reduce wastage.

Only after securing the grain supply could the great army further consider how to advance.

Li Xin had his men hang up the second map, the "Terrain Map," as well. The main area of this map was the Huaibei region along the Qin-Chu border, oriented with south at the top and north at the bottom — the reverse of later eras. On the map, curves of uniform thickness depicted over thirty rivers in the Huaibei region; mountain ranges like Mount Mangdang were shown with closed curves filled with hachures, their veins clearly delineated; roads were drawn as fine lines; and the walls of various counties, townships, and cities were represented by square frames.

"Huaibei is flat, with virtually no defensible terrain. But we still cannot let isolated troops penetrate too deep, because the Chu army is concentrated in several walled cities and can cut off our supply lines."

Meng Tian also tapped the map. "According to the scouts' reports, Xiang County, Pingyu, and Chengfu — these three cities form the Chu army's first line of defense."

These three cities were adjacent to the Qin army's three forces, and the two sides had been locked in a standoff for over a month now.

Meng Tian's hand moved further back. "Xincai and Juyang — these form the Chu army's second line of defense."

Unlike the three border county towns before, these two were both major cities. Once these two cities could not be held, between Chu's capital, Shouchun, and the Qin army, only the Huai River would remain.

"The first hard battle will inevitably be at Xiang County."

Meng Tian stared at the terminus of the Hong Canal. As long as they seized Xiang County, the Qin army could control the entire Hong Canal and extend their supply line by several hundred li.

"We think this way. Xiang Yan, who has long been renowned for his skill in warfare — how could he not think the same?"

Li Xin, however, smiled. According to the scouts' reports, Xiang County was already flying the banner of Chu's Minister of War, Xiang Yan, and the Chu army was massing there as well. For Xiang Yan also understood that the Qin main force would inevitably feed itself from Huaiyang, and Xiang County would bear the brunt. If Xiang County could not be held, the Qin army could follow the Ying River and threaten Juyang. If that happened, Chu would fall into a passive position.

"The Huaiyang army will leave five thousand to defend the city; the rest will all march south and press hard against Xiang County. We will also order Li You's force at Yangcheng to launch troops against Dun City on the first day of the tenth month, first capturing that town, and creating the appearance of coordinating with Huaiyang to encircle Xiang County."

Meng Tian's face showed doubt. "The Chu army at Xiang County also numbers thirty to fifty thousand, roughly equal to our own. I fear it won't be easy to take. Does the General intend a direct assault?"

Li Xin, however, shook his head. "Who said I would sit in command at Huaiyang and lead the army to attack Xiang? That task should be carried out by General Meng Tian."

Enlightenment dawned on Meng Tian. "Then the General intends to go…"

Li Xin's finger left the difficult-to-break line between Huaiyang and Xiang County and moved to Shangcai.

In warfare, engage with the orthodox, win with the extraordinary.

"My command banner will remain with the Huaiyang army. But a few days from now, I will take the chariots and cavalry, flying General Meng's banner, and appear at Shangcai! This is top secret — anyone who leaks it dies!"

A sly smile appeared on Li Xin's face. "First, we make a show of force, making the Chu army think we intend to seize Xiang City, so they mass their troops to defend it. Meanwhile, I will take a flanking force out from Shangcai, first smashing Pingyu, then cutting off the Ying River, and sweeping across Huaibei!"

Li Xin's objective was laid bare. He was not aiming to take cities and seize territory, breaking through defensive line after defensive line — that was a clumsy approach. He intended to deliberately lure the Chu army into concentrating, then have them locked in a standoff at Xiang City against the flanking force he had positioned there. Li Xin himself would break through from the flank, penetrate deep into the heart of Huaibei, and seize the opportunity to annihilate the Chu troops moving to reinforce Xiang City. By then, fires would be breaking out everywhere in Chu's Huaibei, yet Xiang Yan would be trapped defending an isolated city, and his defeat and destruction would not be far off.

This was Li Xin's strategy to break Chu!

……

Over a hundred li southwest of Huaiyang, at Yangcheng, as the soldiers' letters home were sent off, their anxiety seemed to be sent off along with them. Coupled with Li You's frequent orders for the cooks to prepare extra meals to reward the troops, the Southern Commandery soldiers began to set aside their worries, and their morale somewhat recovered.

Hei Fu, who had gained the new nickname "The Hundred-Letter Officer," not only earned the soldiers' gratitude but also gained even greater regard from Li You.

As time entered the last ten days of the ninth month, Hei Fu could clearly feel the footsteps of war drawing nearer. First, the army's cavalry were frequently dispatched, crossing into Chu territory to scout enemy movements while also hunting down Chu scouts who came to probe the Qin army's strength. Skirmishes between cavalry scouts were already breaking out frequently.

And as the necessary route from Huaiyang to Shangcai, Yangcheng had seen very frequent troop movements in recent days. There had even been a large force of chariots and cavalry flying General Meng Tian's banner passing through, and for a time the roads outside Yangcheng were choked with dust. Watching those elite Qin chariots and cavalry from the north from afar — all with soaring morale and magnificent military bearing — the Southern Commandery troops, as a motley auxiliary force, felt somewhat ashamed of their own shabby appearance.

Hei Fu also received a mission: to intensify patrols around Yangcheng, because whenever large armies were on the move, it was the moment when enemy spies were most active.

That day, while riding on horseback leading a platoon of men on patrol around Yangcheng, Hei Fu spotted three suspicious-looking individuals by the roadside, pointing and gesturing at the walls of Yangcheng…

Hei Fu immediately spurred his horse over and led his troops to surround the three. He saw a middle-aged man with a thick beard wearing a short jacket, and two young men holding rulers and set squares, all dressed in plain cloth. They were gazing at Yangcheng and animatedly discussing something.

"Who are you people? What business do you have here?"

Surrounded by Qin soldiers, the middle-aged man showed no panic. He took an object from inside his robe and handed it to Hei Fu, speaking in the Guanzhong Qin accent: "We are traveling with the great army toward Shangcai and passing through this place. This is our travel tally."

Hei Fu examined the mulberry-wood tally. It was a travel pass personally signed and stamped by none other than Lieutenant General Meng Tian, authorizing the three to stop in cities and towns along the route. So long as they did not enter or leave military camps, they were permitted to move about anywhere.

This was an extremely high level of privilege. Yet these three were dressed in plain cloth and were clearly not officers or officials. Could they be advisors from the general's staff? At the rank of Lieutenant General, one could bring along a number of advisors and retainers to assist in military planning.

Suspicious, Hei Fu took a closer look at the description of the three men's identities on the tally, and he was even more astonished.

"You are… Mohists?"

"Indeed." The middle-aged man cupped his hands toward Hei Fu and introduced himself: "Qin Mohists!"

(End of chapter)