Chapter 599: Support

"My lord, the conscripts and laborers levied from Yan have been properly settled. Tomorrow, we shall depart Ji City (Beijing)."

In the early fourth month of the thirty-third year of the First Emperor, Fusu, his face etched with exhaustion, listened to the old general Yang Duanhe's report and nodded. "You have toiled, General. This long expedition of ours—we have finally covered half the distance..."

Indeed, they had only covered half the distance. By Fusu's rough estimate, from Chang'an to Ji City was a full two thousand li and more. He and five thousand Guanzhong troops had taken two months to traverse it, joined midway by five thousand Zhao soldiers who could barely eat their fill. Thirty li to a station—this already met Qin army marching standards, and it was thanks to Fusu hardening his heart somewhat, refraining from pitying the troops and letting them rest too often along the way.

But the true trial was only just beginning, for Yang Duanhe informed Fusu that from Ji City to the Qin Empire's eastern border—the Han Fortress at Manfanhan, at the mouth of the Pei River (the Qingchuan River)—was another two thousand li!

Fusu's gaze traveled across the map from west to east. Such an endless march filled him with deep worry.

The difficulties were twofold: first, time; second, hunger.

The Northeast in this era was vast in land but sparse in people. If Heifu were here, he would surely describe it thus: "Everywhere you look is the Great Northern Wasteland!"

As far as Fusu knew, from here on, the great army would no longer have smooth, broad imperial highways to travel. The roads would grow narrower and harder to traverse, the surrounding human habitation sparser and sparser. At times they would even have to cross mountains and ridges, hacking through brambles and thorns. Months of monotonous marching would exhaust the soldiers, and their pace would slow drastically.

Yang Duanhe did the calculations for Fusu: to march from Ji City to Manfanhan would take at least three months! By the time they reached the border of Joseon, it would already be the seventh month. At that point, less than three months would remain before the deadline the First Emperor had set—"subdue Joseon and destroy the Lord of Canghai before winter sets in"...

Fusu clenched his fists and pressed his lips tight, his thoughts unreadable. Yang Duanhe, meanwhile, was privately speculating: "Looking at it this way, His Majesty's appointment of the young master to command is no easy gilded path to prestige. It seems more like a difficult problem, deliberately set to force the young master to solve it..."

Time was only one of the difficulties. More troublesome was that the army's supplies and provisions would become extremely scarce.

On the campaign map, the six commanderies of Yan—Shanggu, Guangyang, Yuyang, Right Beiping, Liaoxi, and Liaodong—stretched from west to east in sequence.

Yang Duanhe pointed at the map and said, "My lord, the army's food is basically supplied by the commanderies and counties along the route. Guangyang Commandery is wealthy; Dukang is the largest granary in Yan, and Ji City is a northern metropolis—enough to let the three armies eat and drink their fill. For the next half-month, passing through Yuyang and Right Beiping, these two commanderies are at least key border garrisons, so military provisions are not lacking. Their commandery governors and commandants will arrange thousands of civilian laborers to deliver grain to the post stations along the way to await us."

"But once we leave Jieshi City and reach Liaoxi..."

Yang Duanhe shook his head, his expression grave.

He had already inquired about the situation there. After entering Liaoxi Commandery, the marching route was long, and there were no major commandery or prefectural cities along the way. The pitifully meager granaries of the counties and townships were nowhere near enough to feed the army's men and horses. Therefore, several thousand civilian laborers would have to join the army, starting from Jieshi and following along, carrying on their backs, on horses, and in carts enough grain to last a month, just to survive the Liaoxi Corridor and reach the Liaoxi Commandery capital, Yangle (Jinzhou).

"By the time we cross the Liao River and enter Liaodong Commandery, the situation will worsen."

Liaodong in this era was truly a multi-ethnic gathering area—Donghu, Yan people, Fuyu, and island barbarians all intermingled, mostly concentrated on the plains along the Liao River. In the rest of the region, barely any counties had been established.

Fusu had also examined the household registers of Liaodong. There were only a little over twenty thousand registered households of commoners, around a hundred thousand people—equivalent to a single large county in the Central Plains, yet scattered across a thousand li. Although the people there farmed the fertile black soil, their tools were backward and yields per mu were extremely low. Even if they wanted to levy grain locally, there was no grain to levy.

Yang Duanhe recounted a past episode: "Back when Qin destroyed Yan, King Xi of Yan fled to Liaodong. The Great Qin could not immediately conquer and destroy him precisely because the distance was too great and the army's supplies could not keep up. Living off the enemy was also impossible to implement. Thus it dragged on for several years before General Li Xin led elite chariots and cavalry to take it in one swift strike."

Therefore, according to Yang Duanhe's estimation, after eating their last full meal at Xiangping City, the capital of Liaodong Commandery, they would have to ration strictly until they reached Manfanhan. A full eight hundred li of distance, with only four small towns along the way and the rest all wilderness. With supply lines so long and Liaodong's stored grain so scarce, sustaining them would be extremely difficult.

Yang Duanhe predicted: "If I am not mistaken, after the great army crosses the Mazi River (the Yalu River), supplies will be completely cut off. We will become an isolated army, stranded in foreign territory, plunged into a crisis with no grain to follow..."

"An army without baggage is lost; without grain, it is lost; without stores, it is lost."

Fusu said helplessly, "In such dire straits, merely steadying the three armies and preventing them from fleeing or disintegrating due to hunger will be difficult enough—let alone launching a campaign of conquest."

Read ten thousand scrolls, travel ten thousand li—but this problem his Imperial Father had set him was truly difficult.

If he did not want himself and twenty thousand soldiers and civilians to starve and scatter, he had to find every possible way to solve the supply problem.

Yang Duanhe said, "The court has actually thought of an idea."

"Since overland supply from Yan cannot keep up, then supply by sea, from the commanderies of Qi!"

Though he said this, Yang Duanhe still held no optimism for this plan, because supplying by sea was something unheard of since ancient times!

Fusu nodded. "When they say 'Qi,' they really just mean Jiaodong, don't they."

This sounded like a good idea in theory, but in practice, the pressure fell entirely on Jiaodong's shoulders...

As far as Fusu knew, the previous year, the various Tian clans of Qi had rebelled. Although Heifu had swiftly suppressed it, Linzi and Jibei had still suffered heavy damage. Spring plowing and summer weeding had been disrupted; many counties reaped not a single grain. Add to that the relief for war refugees displaced and homeless, and the once overflowing granaries now stood empty.

Looking across Qi, the only place whose granaries still held enough grain to supply an army of tens of thousands was Jiaodong Commandery. This was also the reason the First Emperor had appointed Heifu as Army Supervisor.

Fusu gazed toward the southeast and gave a bitter smile.

"In the past, north of the frontier, Fusu served as Army Supervisor to Commandant Wei. I did not help much, but caused him a great deal of trouble. Now the roles of supervisor and supervised are swapped. My life, and the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers, all rest in the hands of Commandery Governor Wei!"

In the middle of the fourth month of the thirty-third year of the First Emperor, the coastal Chui County had seemingly become the military and political center of Jiaodong Commandery. Not only was the naval fleet stationed here, but even the Commandery Governor, Heifu, had moved his administrative office to this location.

There was no helping it. Unlike his past several postings as a general, this time Heifu, serving as Army Supervisor, had transformed into the logistics commander and had to take charge of the great army's supplies. And Chui County's Zhifu Harbor was undoubtedly the most suitable command center.

"Where has the Eldest Young Master's great army marched to now?"

Governor Heifu was a busy man. He had just finished a cadre mobilization meeting on summer and autumn salt-drying and gold mining, and immediately summoned Cao Can to inquire about communications with and the movements of the eastern expedition army.

In the war to pacify the Qi rebellion, Cao Can had earned merit for being first to scale the walls and for beheading Tian Heng. Not only had his noble rank risen two steps, but his post had also changed from a minor Left Scribe to "Chief Clerk for Military Affairs," equivalent to the head of the provincial armed forces department. Although nominally subordinate to the Commandery Commandant, now that Heifu was Army Supervisor, he also had to report military intelligence to him.

Cao Can had originally been a minor clerk in Pei County, his name unknown beyond its borders. Only after catching Heifu's eye had he risen meteorically, bringing honor to his clan and, more importantly, gaining the chance to lead troops in battle. He regarded Heifu as his patron and naturally served with utmost dedication. He reported:

He replied, "The last message we received said the young master's great army was resting and reorganizing at Ji City. Now that over half a month has passed, they have probably reached Jieshi and are about to enter Liaoxi Commandery..."

"This young master is likely about to face the real challenge."

Heifu also had some understanding of the conditions in Liaodong and Liaoxi; he knew that grain stores there were scant and supply lines were long.

Cao Can estimated that around the end of the sixth month, Fusu and the twenty to thirty thousand men under him would cross the Yalu River. This also meant that the possibility of overland supply from Liaodong would be cut off, and they could only rely on Jiaodong to transport provisions by sea...

One could say that the success or failure of this campaign hinged not on the expeditionary army's frontline combat, but on whether the supply provisions from Jiaodong could keep up continuously.

With this in mind, Heifu gave the order: "Summon Chief Clerk for Granaries Xiao He to see me!"

Professionals handle professional matters. Heifu felt he was very fortunate—historically, Xiao He, who had earned the top merit among the Han Dynasty's founding heroes precisely for his excellence in transport and logistics, was under his command.

Over the past two years, Xiao He had proven his ability in the post of "Commandery Libationer," running Jiaodong's educational affairs with impressive results that left no room for fault. Heifu was not stingy with rewards; judging merit and bestowing honors, he promoted Xiao He to Chief Clerk for Granaries, specifically responsible for managing grain and coordinating supplies and provisions—exactly his historical specialty. No matter how many times Liu Bang threw away his troops at the front, Xiao He could always replenish them.

Heifu understood his own role in this war very clearly: be a good Army Supervisor, manage logistics well. Matters at the front had nothing to do with him; he absolutely must not steal the limelight from the young master, Fusu. He only needed to lend a hand when the expeditionary army faced a crisis.

If Fusu was the carry, then Heifu was the support.

But Xiao He's story also taught Heifu a lesson, one he intended to embody in this war:

"Even if you're feeding kills to the carry, a good support can still take MVP!"

PS: The second chapter will be in the evening.

Also, recommending a novel by a veteran author: The Bright Moon of Great Song.

"Had the young master not been born, the ages would be an endless night." — Yue Fei.

With dappled horses and furs worth a thousand gold, Zhao Hao, a young master of the Northern Song imperial clan, carries a merit virtue system. He could have lived a carefree life, yet he does not hesitate to make the whole world his enemy, vowing to contend against heaven itself, seeking to prop up the great edifice as it topples—like a bright moon hanging in the sky, illuminating the eternal night of Cathay.

(End of Chapter)