To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

This ferry crossing was located on the border of Chu Ning and had previously belonged to Chu State. Inside the ferry, in addition to over a dozen naval patrol ships, there were also constantly a thousand soldiers and horses on guard.@@novelbin@@

Later, when the war between the two countries broke out, the Ning army came pressing over, and naturally, the ferry crossing couldn’t hold up. The stationed troops in the harbor had already retreated early, in accordance with military orders.

And after the Ning people took over, they did not neglect this ferry either.

As everyone knows, transporting grain by waterway, whether it’s carrying capacity, speed, or cost, is far superior to transporting grain by land.

If supplies were to be sent from Yuzhang to the Jiangxia front line, considering the supply distribution center to be the capital of the county, Nanchang, then starting from this city, to reach the main camp on the front line, the journey would be about six hundred li.

To transport grain for six hundred li to supply an army of over a hundred thousand on the front line, at least two to three hundred thousand civilian workers would have to be mobilized and tens of thousands of oxen, donkeys, mules, and horses would need to be conscripted to barely meet the demand.

Moreover, it could take a month to deliver grain from the city to the front line, or at least half a month if it’s fast.

If grain were transported by water, then only a few hundred ships would be needed, along with occasionally conscripting over ten thousand civilian workers to help with moving supplies when the boat fleet arrived at the ferry.

Moreover, with a direct journey by boat and a favorable wind, it might be possible to arrive in just one day.

Between these two ways of transporting grain, it is clear which one incurs greater loss, is safer, and is more efficient.

Therefore, since the war began, the grain and supplies of Ning Country have been mainly transported by water.

And naturally, transporting grain by ships can’t avoid the need for a port.

The ferry that is the closest to the Jiangxia front line and also controlled by the Ning Army is none other than the previously abandoned Luo Kou Du by the Chu army.

Since being occupied by the Ning Army, this ferry has been established as a logistical base, with dozens of ships arriving from the hinterlands of Ning Country every day to unload their cargo here.

Then, arranged from this ferry, vehicles, horses, and manpower deliver the goods the remaining hundred li to the front line camp.

Because this location is critical for the provision of money and grain, even when the Ning Army was short on soldiers, it still specially arranged for over ten thousand defenders and five thousand naval troops to defend this harbor, which shows the importance of this place.

In the past, Lu Yuan was also aware that this area was crucial, a vulnerable spot for the Ning people.

But at that time, even if he sent troops to launch a surprise attack here and captured it, he wouldn’t have been able to hold it for long.

This is because nearby the port, there was a large number of Ning troops, who, upon learning that their supply line was stolen, could at any time divert tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to come and take it back.

And the Chu troops in the city of Jiangxia, blocked by countless Ning camps, also couldn’t afford to cross a hundred li to come to support.

On the Yangtze River above, the Ning naval forces also blockaded the river surface, so rashly attempting to launch a surprise attack on the harbor would not only fail to cut off the Ning army’s money and grain supply and obstruct their retreat route.

Instead, it would trap their own military strength in the port for nothing, allowing the Ning people to devour them.

In addition to the waterways, the Ning people could also transport grain by land. Although the cost might be a bit higher, being on home ground, safety was assured.

Even if Chu State blocked the waterway, the Ning people wouldn’t fall into a grain shortage.

Therefore, attacking Luo Kou Du at that time was not only unfruitful but also extremely risky, so naturally, Lu Yuan wouldn’t waste effort on it.

But now was different.

Shen Qiu was about to break through the Ning Army in Changsha, and then he could continue with a light force and fast march, directly inserting into the rear of Ning Country and seize the empty capital of Yuzhang, Nanchang.

If this feat was accomplished, the Ning Army’s land retreat route would be lost, cutting off one avenue of escape.

Then Lu Yuan could attack Luo Kou Du, station a large army there to defend, and further cut off the Ning Army’s water retreat route.

He wouldn’t need the tens of thousands of detached soldiers to hold out for long or do it very well.

As long as the twenty thousand naval troops and forty thousand Forbidden Army could hold out for a month, it would be enough to trap the Ning Army to death.

Because according to the spies’ reports, the grain stores in the Ning Army Camp could basically maintain a half-month’s worth of supplies, while Luo Kou Du sent a batch of replenishments every ten days to ensure that the army did not lack anything.

So, if the Chu Army blocked Luo Kou Du for a month, the Ning Army with only enough grain storage for half a month, no matter how they conserved food and fodder, could at most last about twenty days.

Exceeding twenty days, they would fall into a dire shortage of grain.

And if it exceeded one month, then the Ning Army there would be like the Zhao Army in the Battle of Changping, starving to the point of delirium, turning on each other to survive.

In such a situation, it would not be difficult for the Chu Army to consume the Ning Army.

Even better, it might be possible to directly absorb the opposing hundred thousand Ning troops.

Given that the Chu Army wasn’t short of grain, and also being from the same region of Jiangnan and Yangzhou, as long as these Ning troops surrendered, within two months’ time they could be successfully received, reorganized into the Chu Army, and brought onto the battlefield for use.

This was undoubtedly a huge benefit.

With this foreseeable future in sight, Lu Yuan and the other generals were naturally overjoyed.

In their minds, the Ning Army before them had already become a turtle in a jar, skeletal remains in a tomb, doomed to escape.

“Although Luo Kou Du has been taken, we are not yet at the point where we can rest easy.

In the camp of the Ning Army, there are still one hundred and ten thousand soldiers and horses. If they pour out and violently attack Luo Kou Du, it’s not impossible they could take it back.

Therefore, to completely sever the Ning Army’s route of retreat, we in Jiangxia must not slacken our efforts either.

Spread my command, starting from today, all ten thousand cavalry troops in the city must scatter and disperse around the Ning camps, keeping a close watch on the Ning people.

If they make any moves to leave the camp, immediately launch an attack to hinder their progress.

At the same time, other infantry forces in the city must come out to fight every day to tie up the Ning Army’s attention, coordinating with the cavalry’s actions.

I want to turn these hundred thousand Ning troops into a complete turtle, shrinking inside their shell and not thinking of leaving this place.”

Lu Yuan looked around at his generals and gave his orders sharply.