Chapter 1370: Supplies Like Mountains and Seas

The Provisional First Division, after landing, barely rested. The former Jinzhou garrison assumed they would enter Jinzhou City, but to their surprise, these troops simply occupied the Jianzhou Jurchens' encampment, set up defenses there, and prepared to block any potential enemy. This privately drew admiration—every Ming official army soldier always wanted to hole up inside the city, none willing to endure the hardship of an encampment outside the walls. No one expected these "rebels" would willingly do so.

Although the long-term supply of provisions was a concern, in the short term there was no urgency, because the Jianzhou Jurchens had been driven straight out of their encampment, and all their grain, fodder, and baggage had become spoils of war. Each man of the Zhao family army had only carried three days' worth of dry rations, but now they had no worries for half a month. Chen Jisheng and Zhang Pan took note of this and made a private calculation: when the captured provisions were nearly exhausted, they would use this as an example to persuade them again.

However, by the second day, the former garrison troops sent to do labor began to voice complaints. Chen Jisheng, Zhang Pan, and the others, who enjoyed relatively generous treatment and faced few restrictions, quickly learned of the situation and immediately went to placate them. Upon asking, they found it was not that the Zhao family army was mistreating or shortchanging them, but that the pace was being pushed too hard. Work that clearly required several days was being forced to finish in one or two. Everyone's grievance was: what was the point of such urgency?

Chen Jisheng, Zhang Pan, and other seasoned figures among the garrison also felt that the Zhao family army, like its young commander, was far too rash. In deploying troops and men, one must keep a steady nerve. History was full of cases where excessive pressure had sparked mutinies—why invite such trouble? They thought this, but they still had to pacify the men, telling them that these Xuzhou men were newcomers after all, and everyone should bear with it a little longer.

But after another day passed, everyone understood the reason for the urgency. The sea beyond the port was once again filled with ships, a sight as spectacular as the day the reinforcements had arrived. Every vessel sat deep in the water. They docked, unloaded full cargoes of supplies, and departed. No wonder they had been driven so frantically—if these goods weren't cleared away, there would be no place to store the incoming shipments, or even no way to transport them into Jinzhou City.

Along with these enormous quantities of supplies came many oxen, horses, and carts. These Xuzhou men were truly thorough in their planning—they had not only shipped the supplies but also delivered the very vehicles to carry them. The carts flowed in an endless stream along the newly repaired roads, transporting grain, fodder, and all manner of military supplies into Jinzhou City.

The corpses and remains inside Jinzhou City had already been cleared away, and quicklime was scattered everywhere—this lime also shipped in by the vessels at sea. The relatively intact buildings were then used as warehouses to store supplies. An area was even specially cleared to establish various workshops.

Every man was utterly exhausted, yet every man was brimming with drive. The resentment from two days prior had vanished. The arrival of such mountain-and-sea-like quantities of supplies meant that this Xuzhou Zhao family army intended to put down long-term roots in Liao territory. It meant that they themselves might also share in the distribution of this vast bounty.

Still, everyone was puzzled. The sea route from Jinzhou to Dengzhou, even with favorable winds and currents, still required four or five days for a round trip. How had this fleet returned so quickly with such a staggering amount of supplies? Zhang Pan and others long stationed at Jinzhou understood: the Zhao family army must have pre-stocked the supplies on islands like Huangcheng Island. The moment the outcome here was decided, the supplies were immediately landed.

This mountain-and-sea-like torrent of supplies continued flowing in for over ten days. Those with a mind for detail once observed at the port that the transport fleet likely consisted of more than a hundred large vessels rotating in shifts. During these ten-plus days, several thousand civilian laborers were even sent over—all able-bodied young and middle-aged men of Liao descent. They arrived bearing all manner of tools. The addition of this new labor force significantly increased the efficiency of transporting and storing the military supplies.

Yet the arrival of these several thousand new men added another layer of worry for the former Jinzhou garrison commanders. Several thousand more men meant several thousand more mouths to feed. Though supplies were now piled like mountains both inside and outside the city, the consumption of nearly twenty thousand mouths was equally enormous. This was not something to be taken lightly.

The higher-ups thought far ahead and with thorough consideration, but the common soldiers of the Jinzhou garrison did not have so many concerns. When they saw the endless stream of ships, the military supplies piled high as mountains, and those able-bodied young men speaking with the accents of Liao, everyone's mind settled. They all felt that expelling the Tatar caitiffs and recovering Liao territory was no longer a delusion or a wild hope, but a goal within arm's reach.

During these ten-plus days, over a hundred more cavalrymen arrived at Jinzhou. This number puzzled Zhang Pan, Chen Jisheng, and the others. Hadn't they said there were over a thousand cavalry? Was it all a bluff? Nevertheless, these hundred-odd cavalrymen had already played a major role. Coordinating with local guides and small squads of infantry, they completely sealed off the surrounding area.

However, the Jianzhou Jurchens did not send many scouts either. According to reports from the Zhao family army cavalry, the Jianzhou Jurchens' reconnaissance riders did not seek to infiltrate deeply and spy. Instead, they lingered near a few key overland routes, seemingly more concerned with whether the Zhao family army would advance north from the Jinzhou area toward Fuzhou. As for how many troops had landed, or what their strength was, they showed no interest.

After the bustle of unloading the bulk supplies had somewhat subsided, another fleet arrived at Jinzhou. Although the fleet appeared modest in size, Chen Sheng, who had been continuously managing military affairs, personally went out to greet it. Everyone assumed some important figure had arrived.

This fleet unloaded over ten cannons. These cannons were all placed atop the walls of Jinzhou City to serve as defensive artillery. But that was the extent of the supplies unloaded. A hundred-odd soldiers also disembarked from the ships, and beyond that, nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. However, by nightfall, the men from Dongjiang Town who were here learned the news: that lone Zhao family army battalion left on Pi Island had held out. It had withstood over twenty days of frenzied assault by nearly ten thousand Tatar caitiff troops, and had preserved several thousand seeds for Pi Island's Dongjiang Town.

The Jianzhou Jurchen troops had driven Han Chinese captives before them as the vanguard, but they had not killed everyone—they still needed people to labor and provide support. After Zhao Song had thoroughly swept away the Jianzhou troops on Pi Island, over three thousand more people were gathered in. Zhao Song and all the survivors were now resting and reorganizing on Pi Island.

The remnants of Dongjiang Town, upon hearing this news, were first speechless, then overcome with a torrent of emotion, and finally utterly ashamed. Their own side had abandoned the island and fled first, while the other side had held on with unyielding tenacity until now. Some even wondered: if they had not all fled back then, if the leadership of Dongjiang Town had not played so many tricks with that Pi Island battalion, would the island's defenses have collapsed? Would they have needed to flee?

There was no point in thinking about that now. Instead, men like Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming requested to return, saying they were willing to serve under Zhao Song, to follow him through thick and thin unto death.

This request was refused. Kong Youde and the others did not think much of it, but Chen Jisheng and Zhang Pan smiled bitterly, understanding perfectly. They thought: Zhao Song had finally, with great difficulty, secured a firm grip on the hearts of the people on Pi Island—how could he tolerate you going back to sow discord?

Such words, of course, could not be spoken aloud. But the matter itself was still heartening. Originally, there had been little hope of any counteroffensive in Liao territory, with Jinzhou and Pi Island barely holding on in isolation. Suddenly, these two struggling outposts had become a two-pronged pincer, two forces capable of mutual support. This naturally lifted everyone's spirits.

Although everyone was still worried about whether the supplies here could last through the winter, Chen Sheng was remarkably generous, directly ordering ships to transport grain and equipment to Pi Island.

Joy was joy, but seeing supplies they might have shared in being sent elsewhere left the Jinzhou garrison with complicated feelings. However, the accompanying steward from Yunshan Trading quickly dispelled this worry. A dedicated fleet was handling the supply shipments to Pi Island, and furthermore, Pi Island was to serve as a transit hub for absorbing grain from Goryeo.

These words were spoken without avoiding Chen Jisheng, Zhang Pan, and the others. This explanation baffled them. They thought: we are here to fight a major war, so why are we also doing business with Goryeo? Did they come to recover Liao territory, or to make money?

The confusion passed in a flash. Chen Jisheng summoned a few trusted confidants and spent every day inventorying and calculating at the Jinzhou supply storage sites. This activity made the accompanying Internal Guard and Intelligence Division personnel very nervous. Only after overt and covert investigation did they confirm one thing: they were simply trying to calculate the quantities, to see whether these supplies could last through the winter.

Though the current quantity of supplies was not small, with so many troops to feed and supply, it would be very difficult to make it through the winter. Chen Jisheng had not yet factored in the potential needs of Pi Island. If the situation became critical in the winter, Pi Island might also require supplies to be diverted for support.

After four days of calculations, Chen Jisheng gave up. He had assumed the military supply shipments were over and that what followed was merely the tail end. Yet the volume of supplies landed during these four days, though less than the peak period before, was still enormous in absolute terms. The civilian laborers still bustled in an endless stream, and the supplies piled on the docks continued to grow ever larger. Compared to those first ten-plus days, only the rate of increase had slowed.

And this "tail end" of seaborne shipments did not stop even by the eighth month. Chen Jisheng and Zhang Pan finally abandoned their own assumptions, replaced by shock and disbelief. They could no longer imagine the strength of Xuzhou. For such an endless stream of shipping, for such mountain-and-sea-like quantities of supplies, how much silver would be required?

Every morning, they saw ships entering the harbor to dock, and then the utterly exhausted civilian laborers and able-bodied men would board them to load and unload. By nightfall, the shadowy forms of ships dropping anchor and furling sails were still faintly visible on the sea. The laborers going to bear the burdens had already begun to complain. Although they could eat their fill every day, with ample grain and fish provided, and although they were even paid wages, this endless, unrelenting exhaustion was truly becoming unbearable. Oxen and horses had already been worked to death.

Chen Jisheng and Zhang Pan were long accustomed to such sights. A man's carrying capacity and strength were far less than an ox or horse, but in terms of endurance, men were far stronger. Besides, since they were civilian laborers and able-bodied men, what more was there to say? They had to work when ordered, or face military law. The Zhao family army, however, did not see it this way. Instead, they began rotating the laborers. According to the Zhao family army, the men had nearly reached their limit. If they were driven any further, broken bones and permanent disability would likely result.

Such conduct left the Jinzhou garrison speechless. They found themselves not only shocked by the Zhao family army's strength, but also baffled by their methods. It was simply unheard of.

This system is truly speechless.