The grain road, as the name suggests, is the only way to transport grain and grass, and is the lifeline of the army's combat. For example, in the Pingxingguan Battle in modern wars, the Eighth Route Army was annihilated Japanese baggage troops. In the words of ancient wars, it burned some of the enemy's food and grass. Moreover, the Eighth Route Army carried out a raid war behind enemy lines specifically to destroy the Japanese transportation. In ancient wars, it was called harassing grain roads or cutting off their food roads. The Eighth Route Army used the raid war to interfere and delay the supply of strategic materials from the Japanese army, and provided effective cooperation on the front battlefield.

I guess some people will question the fragility of the food channels because the geographical situation is dead and difficult to change. However, the food and grass are alive, which can keep the food and grass together with the main combat troops at any time. Isn’t it safe to eat and grass like this? Zhao Bing tells you based on his own experience that it is feasible in theory but not in fact.

Because what the combat troops need is maneuverability and flexibility, if they keep walking with the baggage, they will probably not be able to win this battle, so even the stupid commander would not do this. Even though Zhao Bing specially established a baggage army to ensure the supply of materials at the beginning of the army, it can only ensure that the troops' self-sustainment will be extended for more than ten days. It is more responsible for the tasks of transferring materials, storage, distribution, and alerting and protection, and cannot undertake long-distance transportation to ensure the supply of materials for the entire army for a long time.

Of course, there are always exceptions in things, that is, nomadic peoples like the Huns and Mongolia fight, and basically do not need long-distance food transportation. Because they do not need food, each person not only has three to four horses when they go to war, which are used to transfer and carry supplies and tents, but also follow the animals. When they are thirsty, they squeeze out goat milk and milk to quench their thirst, and eat mutton to satisfy their hunger. Cows and ewes can also give birth to calves and lambs, and the food and grass can naturally cycle automatically.

Some people may say "fight to fight" and "food to the enemy". Isn't this possible to get rid of the troubles of food and grass? In fact, it is still feasible in theory, but it is actually difficult. If you want to make food to the enemy, your opponent will also implement the policies of "strengthening the walls and clearing the fields" and "scorched earth resistance". If you want to loot in the occupied areas and learn the "Three Lights Policy" of the Japanese invaders, it is also a way to quench thirst. The Mongolians in front of you are an example. Once your strength is weakened or you lose the target of robbery, the finances will soon be ineffective and face the brink of collapse.

Therefore, in the battle, Zhao Bing not only targeted the combat targets at important cities and passes one by one, but also regarded controlling the canals and water transport hubs as an important task for participating troops, in order to ensure the smooth flow of transportation channels and prevent the loss of retreat and the destruction of food and grass supplies in case of unfavorable attacks. At present, both sides have gathered hundreds of thousands of troops on the battlefield, and the two armies are in a difficult situation to distinguish. At this time, the competition is not only about combat effectiveness, but also tests the material replenishment capabilities of both sides.

Zhao Bing believed that whoever has enough resources and can deliver them to the front-line army will be able to persevere to the final victory. One of the important reasons why Cao Cao defeated the strong with the weak and achieved a decisive victory over the Yuan Shao army in the battle of Guandu was that he understood the crucial importance of food to the victory or defeat of the war. Therefore, he adopted the suggestion of surrendered general Xu You in a timely manner, and personally led the army to burn Yuan Shao's Wuchao Grocery Station, causing a large amount of food and fodder that Yuan Shao relied on for his life and combat to be turned into ashes, forcing Yuan Shao to abandon his armor and escape, thus laying the foundation for the final victory over Yuan Shao's army.

At present, the Mongolian Yuan had long implemented a fiscal policy that relied on the south of the Yangtze River and lost the important financial resources of Lianghuai, which had triggered a financial crisis. Moreover, the grain output and reserves in the north could no longer guarantee long-term supply, but they had to deal with the attack of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, the long-term war was extremely unfavorable to them. The most effective way to make a quick battle was to cut off the food routes of the Song army, destroy the food and supplies reserved on the front line, and force the Song army to retreat.

Zhao Bing also knew that even if he had a wealthy place in Jiangnan, it would be very difficult to support the Northern Expedition. If the enemy took the risk, attacked his logistics support base and destroyed all the supplies. He mobilized it again, not only would it take time, but also a lot of money. Even if he could struggle to maintain it, it would be difficult to launch a new offensive, forcing himself to shrink his defense line and maintain the existing defense line. At the same time, it would also aggravate the financial difficulties of the court.

This is also the reason why he found that unidentified people appeared around the camp and was very nervous. This place was not only the location of his camp, but also more than a thousand cannon ships were moored, carrying 400,000 stones of grain, more than 300,000 kilograms of gunpowder and a large number of artillery shells and bullets. Once the enemy successfully attacked, it would be enough to delay or give up the battle in Xuzhou. The wish to recapture the two capitals could only be "Looking at the Beijing and sighing"...

"Your Majesty, my subordinates dispatched a regiment of troops to work with the navy to search the reed marshes within a radius of more than ten miles, but no one was found!" The search lasted for more than two hours, and the number of troops involved reached more than 2,000, but they returned in vain. It was already noon, and Luo Datong boarded the ship and asked if he would continue to tell.

"Your Majesty, this reed marsh is vast. It is like searching for a few people in it to find a needle in a haystack. The young man once heard that people who committed crimes often hide in the reed marsh, and the yamen runners in charge of the search ignored it and just guarded the important roads around. When the villagers harvested reeds in the autumn, the people hiding there would be nowhere to hide, and they would go in to catch them!" Wang De interrupted at this time.

"Since that's the case, let's withdraw the troops!" Zhao Bing said for a moment.

"Your Majesty, why not lit this reed marsh, even if he is a god, he will be burned to death!" Luo Datong was also a little angry, and several people were troubled by thousands of people. However, the other tribes had already set off for war, but they were left to guard the camp, and they were also unhappy. When they joined the two, they felt even more annoyed and said angrily.

"Star the fire?! You are trying to die!" Zhao Bing said angrily after hearing this. The reeds are scattered all over the lake and shallows. If they are lit, they will burn the camps. If they affect the camp, it will be great. But he soon thought of something and muttered softly, "No..."

"Your Majesty..." Luo Datong was confused by His Majesty. He spoke out and wanted to ask, but was stopped by Tan Fei beside him.

"Does the enemy's spy on military information this time? Are you trying to sneak attack the camp behind us and destroy the food and grass?" After a while, Zhao Bing looked at the two and asked.

"Your Majesty, our army has controlled all major roads. One or two spies may be difficult to detect, but they also do nothing. However, the enemy sent a large number of elite troops to attack the enemy but it is difficult not to avoid being discovered!" Luo Datong shook his head and said.

"Then will they penetrate through the waterway?" Zhao Bing asked again.

"Our army has controlled the canal. It is impossible for them to penetrate the canal, even if..." Tan Fei felt that His Majesty was thinking too much. There were inland waters deployed in the upstream and downstream of the canal, and there were land combat brigades controlling the hub and the sluice gate, which was tighter than the land defense. After all, there was only one canal, and there were countless large and small channels on land, so there were inevitably omissions. But when he saw His Majesty staring at the lake, he was shocked and came out of a cold sweat and said, "Your Majesty is worried that the enemy will penetrate the rear through the waterway of the lake and attack our army's camp!"

"Yes!" Luo Datong also woke up and said, "The waters of the Lake are wide, connected to several places and connected to Fuli water surface. They can completely penetrate into the wall of Zero through this path."

After confirming his thoughts, Zhao Bing turned his attention to the wide lake surface, the lush reed marsh and the water camps in the river bank. The reason why he chose to set up a camp by the lake was because a large number of canals stayed in the canal. Once attacked, it would be difficult to evacuate in a timely manner in a narrow river channel, which would cause immeasurable losses. Therefore, he chose to set up a camp by the lake, not only to facilitate the army to obtain water and be alert, but also to facilitate timely transportation.

All the materials were loaded on the canal, so there was no need to load and unload back and forth, wasting manpower. Wherever you needed, the canal could be formed and entered the canal to directly reach the destination, which could save a lot of manpower and material resources, and reduce the number of shipmen with the boatmen. This not only increased the labor force behind, but also reduced the consumption of food in disguise. It was a matter of killing two birds with one stone. As for the enemy's attack on the grain roads and plundering food and grass, Zhao Bing did not consider it.

However, thinking that the two armies are still a hundred miles away from each other, the enemy will have to cross the Song army's defense lines if they want to send troops to attack, so the possibility of sending large troops to attack is extremely small. The most likely way is to use a small group of elite troops to use loopholes in their own defense to sneak into the rear to carry out a surprise attack, but their number is small, so it is impossible to transport materials back to their own station. Setting fire to destroy them on the spot is the most feasible method.

The approach of the camp is so close to the water, the enemy's method of burning military rations is ineffective. After being attacked, the grain ships can also be evacuated to the lake in time, causing the enemy's tactics to fail. However, the seemingly careful plan is still omitted. Zhao Bing did not expect that the enemy could also use the waterways in the lake to invade his rear. In this way, not only can he use the reed marsh to send small groups of elite troops infiltrate, but also use boats to mobilize troops to attack. Although the reeds have turned green, the main pole is still dry and flammable. They even just need to ignite the reed marsh to put their camps in the danger of a fire encirclement camp.

Zhao Bing can basically determine that the person who was accidentally found in the reed marsh today was a scout sent by the enemy. After they discovered their own food storage place, or even the emperor's camp, as long as they had a little brain, they would definitely not miss this opportunity to turn the situation around. As long as they successfully destroyed the enemy's food and grass, they could panic and withdraw the troops in the front; if they could capture or kill the enemy emperor by chance, they could not only achieve unparalleled achievements, but also cause the enemy to collapse.

"Your Majesty, my subordinates think that no matter whether the enemy has a plan to attack our camp, we cannot take it lightly, and we must prepare early!" Luo Datong also broke out in cold sweat. Not to mention that the enemy had burned the food and grass, or even injured His Majesty's hair, he could not refuse the blame as the chief general who protected him...
Chapter completed!