On Hushan Mountain, Tian Yu and Xu Chu have been hiding in the mountain for nearly three months, and they are about to become real bandits.
The people nearby knew that a group of bandits had come to the mountain, but at the same time they were curious as to why these bandits never came down from the mountain to rob.
Over time, they no longer worried. However, when a woodcutter went up the mountain to cut firewood, he saw bandits patrolling the mountain. The bandits drove them down the mountain and warned them not to go up the mountain to cut firewood again. If they saw him again, they would be hacked to death.
Therefore, the bandits on Hushan seem rather mysterious, and the people nearby do not know who they are.
However, some common people had seen these bandits coming down the mountain at night. They seemed to have gone to Xuyi City to steal grain and transport it back to the mountain.
But no one believed it. Guan Yu and 10,000 soldiers lived in Xuyi City. How dare bandits come to Xuyi City to rob food? Isn’t that just asking for death?
The knights led by Xu Chu could eat and sleep every day, but the three thousand soldiers led by Tian Yu could not. In addition to eating and sleeping every day, they had to train and patrol.
Now Yuan Shu has led his troops to Xuyi and was defeated by Guan Yu for a while.
Tian Yu knew that after being idle for so long, he would finally put it to use.
He asked the soldiers on the mountain and Xu Chu and others to be prepared. They might have to go down the mountain to rob food in the near future.
Xu Chu and others were all bored and had been looking forward to this day for a long time. They all sharpened their swords and were in high spirits.
It had been a month since Yuan Shu sent out troops. He did not bring much food and grass with the army at first, so after Yuan Shu sent out troops, Shouchun began to raise food and grass, recruited civilians, and sent two thousand soldiers to escort and transport it to Xuyi.
At first, Yuan Shu thought that he would be able to capture Xuyi soon and obtain the grain stored in Xuyi, but now that he has been defeated for a while, he doesn't know when he will be able to capture Xuyi.
The demand for food and grass made him anxious, and he sent people to urge him almost every day.
The only way for grain and grass to be transported from Shouchun to Xuyi is not far from Hushan, only five or six miles away.
The detective sent by Tian Yu reported that Yuan Shu's grain and grass would be delivered in two days.
Everyone on the mountain was overjoyed and said that the opportunity had come for them to receive rewards for their meritorious service.
Tian Yu summoned Xu Chu, Xu Ding and several military princes to discuss the matter.
A military prince expressed his worries: "Huailing City is not too far from here, and there are enemy troops stationed there. If the enemies of Huailing City come out to protect the food, we are afraid that it will not be easy to cut off the food route. Alas, if Huailing City
It will be fine if the city is not lost."
Tian Yu smiled after hearing this: "It would be better if Huailing City was lost. If Huailing City is captured first and then lost, Yuan Shu will think that his rear is safe, so he will be even more unprepared. If our people occupy Huailing City, Yuan Shu will definitely leave his troops behind."
If the horses are facing each other, the number of soldiers protecting the food will also increase, making it harder for us to succeed."
"That's right. You can tell us what we should do."
Tian Yu looked at Xu Chu: "Zhongkang, I will give you a thousand people. You take the Hu Shiying and these one thousand people to block the road."
Xu Chu cupped his hands and said, "No."
"I will take a thousand men to hide beside the road and wait for you to appear before fighting out from behind enemy lines. Another thousand people will fight out from one side of the road, leaving the other side for the grain transporters and food guards to escape." Tian
Yu continued.
"Why should one side be left open for them to escape?" A military prince was puzzled.
Tian Yu explained: "Our purpose is not to kill the enemy, but to rob the enemy's food and grass. If the battle with the enemy soldiers drags on for a long time, I am afraid that enemy soldiers will arrive. When the enemy soldiers see us suddenly appearing, they will see our people again."
If there are too many, they will be afraid and flee. In this way, we can burn their food and grass, leaving only part of the food and grass to take back to the mountain."
Everyone felt that what Tian Yu said was reasonable and agreed one after another.
After the agreement was reached, Tian Yu asked the soldiers to eat well and sleep well, so that they would be energetic and ready to go down the mountain to rob food.
On the second night, they went down the mountain in batches and hid in various places along the road.
…………
The person responsible for escorting the food and grass was a captain named Cai Hong.
This is not a good job to transport food and grass.
Not only is it hard work along the way, but you also have to be on guard against bandits. Most importantly, if it rains for days, the road is muddy or flooded and collapses, and if the time is delayed, there will be a risk of beheading.
Moreover, he did not perform many meritorious deeds. It was not as easy to perform meritorious deeds as he did during the last battle to escort food and grass.
It's June now, the weather is hot, and I'm wearing armor. The walk from Shouchun can be said to be miserable.
Cai Hong rode on his horse and walked slowly in front. He couldn't go fast even if he wanted to, because the grain truck couldn't go fast.
Except for some horse-drawn carriages and ox-carts, most of them were carts pushed by people, and the carts were loaded with grain. The thin peasants used the strength of eating women, and every step seemed to be very difficult.
"Colonel, this is not far from Hushan. I have heard that there is a group of bandits on Hushan. Do you think they will come down from the mountain to rob food?" A military prince next to Cai Hong asked worriedly.
Cai Hong turned to glance at him and sneered: "Robbing food? Don't they know whose food it is? Even if it is given to them, they don't dare to eat it. Even if they don't know and dare to go down the mountain to rob food, how can we two
Thousands of brothers are just decorations, so you just watch them steal the food? You pig head, why can't you think about things properly!"
The military prince was used to being scolded, and Captain Cai was angry all the way, scolding him to vent his anger, even though he, a subordinate, was doing his best.
"Hey, captain, I heard that the bandits didn't rob the people nearby. This seems a bit unreasonable. It seems we should be more careful."
"What to defend against? How else can I defend against it? Aren't these two thousand brothers following me just for defense? How dare a few bandits come to rob me?"
"In the woods ahead and the jagged rocks over there, why don't we stop first and send someone to explore to see if there are any bandits. It won't be too late to leave after making sure there are no bandits."
As the military leader spoke, he pointed to a forest two or three miles ahead, and then to a patch of rocky mountains one mile away to the right.
"Why is it not too late? General Yuan comes with several military orders a day, as if to remind me, and you still tell me that it is not too late. If you are late, should I chop your head off or mine? Even if there are really bandits, we
If they are all wiped out and beheaded, they will be said to be Liu Bei's soldiers, and if they are presented to General Yuan, they may be able to receive credit!"
Cai Hong yelled and scolded at first, but by the end he was smiling and moody.
The military prince knew that he was a captain, so he kept trying to persuade him with good words, but he was not accepted.
But thinking about it again, it was indeed as the captain said, even if there were bandits, what would I be afraid of?
I have two thousand soldiers. How many bandits can there be? If they are large, they are just a mob, and they are simply vulnerable.
No matter what happens, you can still go to Huailing City to bring in reinforcements!
With this thought in mind, the military lord stopped persuading him and turned around and shouted: "Quick, let those civilians walk faster. Don't miss the date. When the time comes, we will be punished and you won't have an easy time either."
After receiving the order from the food guard, someone raised his whip and struck some civilians who were walking slowly.
As a result, the grain truck moved slightly faster.
Soon, they were about to reach the woods. Cai Hong thought that when they entered the woods, he could finally have a good rest and hide from the sun.
However, drums suddenly sounded in the woods, and many people rushed out.
The leader was as strong as a tiger and an ox, and he held a big sword in his hand. There were thousands of people who appeared behind him. They were all dressed in civilian clothes. It looked like they were indeed mountain bandits.
