Chapter 52: The Winter of Jiwei (3)

  There is a saying that goes, "You don't know the value of firewood, rice, oil and salt until you are the head of the household." Li Chengzhong now truly understands what it means to be the master of his own home, and only now does he realize how much effort it takes to support a big family, and how many worries one has to endure.

  Grain, clothing, oil and salt, training and other issues are increasingly exposed with the arrival of winter, making Li Chengzhong and Feng Dao, the two military and political leaders of Bailu Mountain Garrison, frown and sigh every day.

  Bailu Mountain is located fifty miles outside the Yu Pass, neither far nor near. In peaceful times, supplies would not be a problem. With the strength of Pingzhou alone, during the time when Emperor An Lushan of Yan rose to power, it could supply one-third of the military needs of the entire Anshi Army. The supply of nearly a thousand soldiers and civilians in Bailu Mountain is naturally not a problem, even if most of the products produced by Pingzhou today need to be submitted to Youzhou, but the burden on the Bailu Mountain barracks is still more than enough.

  But the problem is that this is wartime. Even if they had previously defeated the main force of the Khitan army in front of the military camp, they still could not break through the blockade of the White Wolf Mountain by the Khitans. The reason was simple: the Khitans changed their strategy. They no longer launched a strong attack on Li Chengzhong's troops, but instead used the method of blocking the supply line to annihilate Li Chengzhong. Once the Khitans restored their traditional nomadic warfare, Li Chengzhong's White Wolf Mountain military camp fell into a predicament.

  Relying on the prestige of his great victory, Li Chengzhong once tried to break through the blockade line. He concentrated all the troops that could fight in his hands, more than 200 people formed a formation, and launched a siege against the Khitan cavalry outside the mountain. However, those Khitan cavalry retreated far away as soon as they found out that Li Chengzhong's troops came out of the mountain, only tightly following Li Chengzhong's troops at a distance of one mile. On the grassland, how could infantry run faster than cavalry? Therefore, Li Chengzhong could only gaze at those Khitan cavalry hanging in the distance and sigh with regret.

  Li Chengzhong led his troops in a "several" character formation outside the White Wolf Mountain Pass, advancing as far as ten miles. Then, he discovered that Khitan cavalry were gathering from all directions. These cavalry gradually increased in number but did not actively advance to attack, only following Li Chengzhong's troops from a distance. The slow pressure gradually increased, making Li Chengzhong's soldiers begin to feel tense.

  When the Khitan cavalry increased to over a hundred, Li Chengzhong immediately ordered his troops to return to Bailu Mountain. This decision was very decisive and timely. When he returned to the mountain pass, he finally saw that the big-bearded man led a large group of Khitan cavalry rushing over. The Khitans following closely behind were about four hundred strong, with another hundred or so circling around to wait in ambush on the flank and rear of Li Chengzhong's troops, planning to rush up from the side and rear when the two sides clashed, cutting off Li Chengzhong's line of retreat.

  Both sides confronted each other at the Bai Lang Mountain Pass for a moment, then Li Chengzhong ordered his entire team to return to the mountain. Li Chengzhong did not have the confidence to confront the Khitan people's 500 cavalry with his own more than 200 infantrymen, even though the Khitan people had already lost more than 200 regular troops in front of the White Wolf Mountain military camp, he still didn't have that confidence. Fortunately, the Khitan people facing them were all light cavalry, and they couldn't charge hard against the dense formation of infantry gun arrays, so they didn't pursue Li Chengzhong's retreating troops either.

  Throughout the whole process, there was no direct conflict between the two sides. Only one arrow was shot, which was fired by Meng Xuanxing during the standoff at Bailang Mountain Pass to test and determine the range of fire. The Khitans did not shoot any arrows. The range of horseback archery is half shorter than that of infantry archery. Through Meng Xuanxing's arrow, the Khitans also assessed the distance they needed to charge when shooting arrows.

  This time, although there was no battle, Li Chengzhong felt the pressure. He knew that the Khitan people had begun to change their tactics. Once the Khitans used the correct tactics and blocked his supply lines with cavalry on the grasslands, it would signal the end of his good days.

  Li Chengzhong began to taste the bitterness of being isolated outside the pass. Everything has two consequences, and Li Chengzhong's choice to stand on Baiwolou Mountain was no exception.

  From a positive perspective, he led the army to leave Pingzhou and advance to Yu Guan, leaving behind the constraints of the Pingzhou Army and Zhou Zhiyu. This marked the first step towards realizing his own warlord dream, and his officers and soldiers began to gather around him. Here, everything was under his control, and he had more space and greater freedom to implement his various ideas.

  From the bad side, Bailu Mountain is too small, this military fortress cannot truly carry his dreams, just to support nearly a thousand mouths waiting to be fed under him, enough to make him worried.

  The food problem has been stuck in Li Cheng's mind, making him very worried. The White Wolf Mountain is indeed a good place to spend the winter, as it is located in a valley, blocking the cold wind from outside the pass like a knife, and also because of the hot springs behind the mountain, so the whole military camp is much warmer than outside. In the fields behind the mountain, the green shoots have grown taller, but it will take three more months to harvest, so there is no hope for now. And the food supplies brought by Feng Dao from Yu Guan last time are also gradually decreasing as they are being consumed by thousands of people at the same time, and it is expected that there will be a shortage in about 20 days.

  Apart from food, winter clothing was still in short supply. Feng Dao mobilized the villagers in the mountains, and those women worked together to sew 300 sets of winter clothes. The winter clothes were filled with Ula grass, a specialty from outside the pass, which kept them warm but felt somewhat stifling and not very comfortable. These winter clothes were first supplied to the soldiers in the military camp, while the ordinary people had none to wear. Every time Li Chengzhong saw the ordinary people shivering in thin clothing on cold days, he felt distressed and couldn't bear to look at it.

  Besides, the consumption of salt is also a problem. Although Feng Daola brought back half a cart of salt, which seemed like a lot, many were used to marinate the wild game hunted by the hunters, so they were consumed very quickly, and it seems that they will have to go to Yu Guan to ask for more again.

  These are the problems Li Chengzhong needs to face and solve this winter.

  But at least this is a starting point. Although the starting point is very low and the conditions are very harsh, without this starting point, Li Chengzhong cannot truly take off.

  Li Chengzhong thought for a while and decided to return to Yuanguan personally. With Feng Dao in charge of civil affairs within the White Wolf Mountain military camp, he felt at ease. As for military matters, he entrusted them to Jiang Miao, Zhang Xingchong, and Zhou Kandao to manage together. What is meant by "managing together" is that during normal times, each person takes care of their own troops, but when major events occur, the three people discuss and decide together. If there are differences in discussion, they vote to resolve them.

  Li Chengzhong was not worried about the Khitan attack, firstly because the Khitans had changed their tactics to mainly use cavalry to block supply lines, and secondly because the defensive facilities within the army camp had already taken shape. He was worried that his subordinates would launch a surprise attack, so he specially talked to each of the three men, especially Zhou Kan Dao, who was a good fighter. He repeatedly warned him until Zhou Kan Dao became impatient and waved his hand, saying: "Don't worry, I understand... Don't nag, we've already agreed several times, I really understand..." before leaving with peace of mind.

  When Li Chengzhong decided to ride alone back to Yu Guan, his subordinates were not convinced. Everyone ran to his front and asked for orders to protect him on the way back. But Li Chengzhong didn't want to bring anyone with him. On one hand, all these officers had their own military duties and played important roles in battles, so it was inappropriate for any of them to leave. Most importantly, he decided to set off at night, and bringing people would be a hindrance.

  There were few officers who could keep up with Li Chengzhong at night without nyctalopia, so everyone else had no choice but to let Li Chengzhong return to Yu Guan alone. Moreover, riding a horse alone, fifty miles can be covered in one night, and it's actually not very risky, so everyone thought about it and didn't argue.

  Taking advantage of the night, Li Chengzhong chose a fine and strong horse from the stable, wore his waist knife, rode alone and left the White Wolf Mountain Pass, heading towards Yu Guan. Behind the horse's back were tied more than 200 ears cut off from the Khitan people, which was to be taken back to report and ask for credit. It would be impossible for Guang to ask Zhou Zhiyuan for something without having any capital to speak of, but with military achievements, he would have the confidence to talk.

  Li Chengzhong did not urge the horses to gallop wildly, for galloping wildly would be of no use and would cause great harm to the warhorses, which could not withstand it. Therefore, he had the warhorses trot along the way, resting twice in between, and even so, they arrived at the foot of Yu Pass in just over two hours.

  The one guarding the Yu Pass was Zhao Zaili. When he saw Li Chengyu, he was somewhat surprised and asked about his intentions. With a wave of his hand, he said: "The military commander has already returned to the Pingzhou camp, and the recruitment on that side is quite complicated. Mr. Li, rest here for one night and leave at dawn tomorrow."

  Li Chengzhong shook his head, not wanting to linger, so he ate something and let the war horse recover its strength. He then bid farewell to Zhao Zaili and continued on his way to Pingzhou. From Yuanguan to Pingzhou, there was a well-maintained official road, making it easier to walk. Similarly, after more than two hours, they had covered a distance of eighty miles. By the time they arrived in Pingzhou, the sky had just begun to brighten up.

  When he met Zhou Zhiyong, the general was having a meal. Li Chengzhong didn't stand on ceremony, took over the rice bowl, and drank the porridge while nibbling on a pancake, finishing it in an instant.

  Li Chengzhong first reported in detail the battle of the last White Wolf Mountain military camp, and then carried a bag that had been unloaded from his horse to hand over the ears of the Khitan people for Zhou Zhiyu to examine. Those who have not experienced bloody battles would probably vomit if they saw so many human ears at once, but Zhou Zhiyu was a seasoned general who instead looked at them with great interest and then handed them over to Zhang Long, his personal guard, for verification.

  Zhang Long was the most senior personal guard beside Zhou Zhiyuan, and he was particularly devoted to him. Although he had not been formally appointed as an official at this moment, he had already taken on the responsibility of the entire Pingzhou army's Yu Hou, including handling some military law matters. After Zhang Long finished checking, he told Zhou Zhiyuan: "The total number of right ears is two hundred and seventy-six, there are no mistakes."

  Zhou Zhiyu then discussed some details of the battle with Li Chengzhong, and only after a sigh said: "Such great merit, how can it not be rewarded! Li Yu will stay in Yingzhou for another day, I'll go to Zhang Cishi's place today."

  Li Chengzhong said, "The matter of rewarding the soldiers can be discussed later, but the issue of provisions is more pressing and requires your attention." He then explained the current shortage of supplies in the White Wolf Mountain military camp, took out a list of supplementary materials that he had drawn up with Feng Dao, and handed it to Zhou Zhiyong.

  Fifty sets of swords and shields, fifty wooden spears, several leather helmets...

  One hundred bolts of silk fabric, one hundred catties of cotton...

  One cart of salt, thirty catties of tea, one hundred catties of dried meat, three carts of various fruits and vegetables...

  A thousand bushels of grain...

  Brushes, ink, paper and inkstone...

  Zhou Zhi Yu Dao carefully browsed through it, seeing that the types of items listed were numerous and in high demand. He furrowed his brow: "There are many requirements, among which grain and meat can be supplemented from the main camp, but other things still need to be discussed with Zhang Shi. However, how can so many things be transported over? I heard from a minister that there are many Khitan cavalrymen outside the pass, especially between Yu Pass and White Wolf Mountain. Your department has won a battle, but it seems that you have not achieved complete victory."

  Li Chengzhong truthfully told the current strength of the Khitan army, then said: "General, if we are to transport these supplies, we will need at least 500 soldiers to escort them. If we encounter a large group of Khitan cavalry, we only need to form an array and advance. The Khitan cavalry is all light cavalry, they dare not easily charge into the array." He then clearly explained his own deployment method, how to connect the vehicles when encountering Khitan cavalry, how the infantry should form an array, how many archers and gunners were needed, he went through everything once.

  Zhou Zhi thought for a long time and slowly said: "Where did this method come from?"

  Li Chengzhong looked embarrassed, and he could only say: "I came up with this by combining my experiences from several battles against the Khitan people."

  Zhou Zhiyu was somewhat surprised by this, and the method of using a formation to counter light cavalry seemed feasible. If it were really his own idea, then the man in front of him could be considered a genius general. This made Zhou Zhiyu pay even more attention to Li Chengzhong. However, although the method was good, the soldiers under his command were all newly recruited, and no matter how good the formation was, it still depended on people to fight. If they really encountered the Khitan cavalry's obstruction, Zhou Zhiyu didn't have much confidence. He decided to go find Governor Zhang Zaiji first to discuss it, and then make a decision.