Chapter 338: Grain

Yupan City already possessed a moat, and because it stood beside the Wang River, its waterways had always been well developed. Though the river was frozen now, the Chu forces had still dug trenches outside the city and laid out layer after layer of obstacles and traps.

Compared with the savages, the people of Chu were genuine old hands at defending cities.

Moreover, the man personally holding Yupan City was Qu Tiannan, Pillar of State of Chu. His army was governed with rigorous discipline and meticulous care. At this point, one could say Yupan City had been armed from top to bottom—to the teeth.

The surface of the Wang River was no longer defended. There were no forward camps along the ice either. The Chu simply left it open and allowed the Yan to cross whenever they pleased and attack if they dared.

It was precisely because Yupan City existed as this immovable restraint that the Yan offensive was so heavily restricted.

The Chu held their fortified point and watched.

The savages roamed outside, waiting for opportunities.

One side was still.

The other moved.

And between those two methods, there was an unspoken understanding.

“Achoo!”

The young prince standing atop the wall released an exceptionally loud sneeze.

The Swordsmith stood beside him and shook his head.

“It is freezing cold. What did you come up here to see?”

“To look around. The more I see, the better. Ideally, I catch a bit of wind-cold while I’m at it. Then when I return, I’ll have something to show Fourth Brother.”

“The whole State of Chu knows Fourth Highness and Eighth Highness have always been closest. Now that I see it, there is still some distance between you after all.”

“Most of the others have already been dealt with. Eldest Brother is still struggling, but he is only a grasshopper after autumn. He will not hop much longer. Once spring comes, Fourth Brother should be able to enter Ying Capital. After that, when I see Fourth Brother, I’ll have to kneel and kowtow.

“There are things Fourth Brother may not care about, but that is his business. I’m his younger brother, and also his subject. I still need to remember my place.

“Sovereign as sovereign, subject as subject. Isn’t that how it works?”

“Boring.”

“Sure. Back when Fourth Brother took me—when I was still a little kid—to your sword-forging workshop to find you, that was more interesting, wasn’t it?”

“Fourth Highness loves swords.”

“And me?”

“You are... passable.”

“I’m still young.”

“You can see the adult in a child at three, and the old man at seven.”

“Your mouth is exactly like the swords you forge.”

“Heh.”

The young prince looked eastward.

“The savages seem to be making some moves.”

“Not moves. They are blocking information. Even messengers from Chu can no longer get through.”

“Something happened?”

“Something definitely happened.”

“Earlier, Situ Yi and his brother had Fengxin City broken by that isolated Yan force that penetrated deep into the rear. The two brothers were drowned in filth and hung on the city wall until they dried out in the wind. Could that same isolated force have done something else?”

“Most likely. Qu Tiannan has already sent a separate detachment east to investigate. Since the savages are deliberately sealing off news, they obviously do not want us to know. The more they hide it, the more we need to find out.”

“That makes sense.”

“But regardless of what happened, Great Chu only needs to hold Yupan City. Hold it until spring. Once Fourth Highness has pacified the domestic situation and ascended the throne, whether Yupan City remains occupied or is abandoned will be entirely up to us.”

When spring came and the river ice melted, the great Chu river fleet could once again enter the Wang River.

At that point, the initiative would return to Chu hands.

What Chu needed was a quiet external environment while it dealt with its internal disorder. The fifty thousand Azure Luan troops planted in Yupan City existed precisely to block the threat from Yan here.

Otherwise, if Yan drove out the savages and swallowed all the lands of Jin, Yan iron cavalry would be able to threaten Chu directly.

If Chu were united like an iron plate, that would be one thing.

But the late Emperor had died. Although Chu had avoided total chaos, the state still had not completed a thorough consolidation.

Holding Yupan City was really about carving out a buffer zone for Chu.

The young prince took a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped his nose.

“Tell me. What do you think that Southern Marquis of Yan has been doing lately?”

“Testing. It is like forging a sword. Before anything else, you must first adjust the heat.”

“Pretending to be mysterious.”

The Swordsmith replied:

“An amateur watches the spectacle.”

“Heh. You really look down on me that much?”

“You are... passable.”

“Fine. I’m not wasting more words with you. We’re running low on grain in the city.”

Transporting grain from Chu territory to Yupan City was difficult for two reasons.

First, the distance was long and losses in transit were enormous.

Second, the northern waterways were largely frozen. Chu ships could not sail through, which greatly reduced transport efficiency.

When the Chu army first marched north, they had thought exactly the same way General Zheng had: feed the army from enemy territory.

Why bother hauling grain from home?

Eat what was available locally.

Unlike Yan, however, Chu did not currently intend to swallow all of the Three Jin lands and incorporate them into the empire.

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say Chu had not yet prepared itself for a full national mobilization and a great war against Yan.

So naturally, it chose whichever method offered the best return.

Use one hand to keep Yan at a distance first.

Internal pacification before external expansion.

The problem was that Chu had severely underestimated the savages’ ability to devastate the countryside.

The eastern half of Dacheng—formerly the richest territory under Situ Clan rule—had been looted and slaughtered by the savages until nine houses out of ten stood empty.

Worse, the unending war had destroyed both spring planting and autumn harvest.

In this age, losing a full year’s harvest meant famine.

So when the Chu arrived, they discovered grain was nowhere near as easy to seize as they had imagined.

When Situ Yi’s petty court had been pushed out of Yupan City by the Chu and driven to Fengxin City farther behind the lines, one of the tasks assigned to it had been gathering provisions for the Chu army.

After all, Jin people understood Jin people best. They should have known where and how to squeeze grain from the countryside more efficiently.

Fengxin City had also stored a considerable amount of grain in advance, provisions that were supposed to be transported to Yupan City during the depths of winter.

But before any of it could be delivered, the Shengle Army under General Zheng broke Fengxin City.

General Zheng took whatever could be carried away.

And the massive amount of grain that could not be transported?

He did not distribute it to the local refugees.

He burned it.

The Shengle Army had also swept through the region around Fengxin City.

Several great clans and large fortified estates that had once attached themselves to Situ Yi and escaped the savage chaos were broken open.

Their stored grain was burned as well.

That had created an enormous supply problem for the Chu.

Fifty thousand troops were stationed inside Yupan City.

Every day, men ate and horses consumed fodder.

The amount required was staggering.

Back in Shengle City, General Zheng had almost bankrupted himself feeding only fifteen thousand combat troops.

And now Yupan City possessed essentially no productive activity at all.

The original inhabitants had either been conscripted as laborers to build defenses or expelled.

This once-bustling and prosperous city was now filled with desolation.

“The savages delivered a batch this morning,” the Swordsmith said. “It should relieve the immediate crisis.”

Hearing that, the young prince smiled.

“Looks like that Savage King knows what he’s doing. He’s afraid we’ll run out of food, throw them aside, and leave.”

“Yes,” the Swordsmith answered.

“Hungry?”

“Very. Our ration has been cut in half lately, and I’m too embarrassed to thicken my face and go begging Qu Tiannan for food.”

“You should eat what you need. Do not stand on ceremony. If you need to ask, ask. Do not stand on ceremony there either.”

“Oh?”

“Do you really think they need you here sharing the hardships of the Azure Luan soldiers?”

“Heh. You joke. Fourth Brother understands me better than anyone. I’ve never been very good at enduring hardship or grievances.

“Mm?

“That smells good.

“Meat.

“Did the savages send mutton?”

“Probably.”

The young prince and the Swordsmith descended from the wall and returned to the small residence assigned to them inside the city.

Their identities were unusual.

On the surface, they appeared leisurely and detached.

In practice, their role was closer to that of army supervisors.

Naturally, they were provided with a degree of dignity appropriate to their status.

But when they returned, they discovered that Qu Tiannan, commander of the Azure Luan Army, was already seated inside.

The people of Chu still preserved the old custom of sitting directly on mats.

A large pot simmered in the center of the room.

The smell of meat filled the air.

Qu Tiannan sat in the place of honor.

“Greetings, Pillar of State.”

“Greetings, Pillar of State.”

Qu Tiannan seemed in no mood to speak.

He merely waved one hand.

The young prince was slightly surprised.

He rarely encountered such a cold reception.

But he assumed the constant Yan redeployments across the river, combined with the city’s growing food shortage, had simply left the commander in a gloomy mood.

The Swordsmith silently sat in the lower place on the left.

Once seated, he flicked his long hair behind his back.

The young prince took the seat on the right.

His eyes remained fixed on the large pot in the middle.

A man accustomed to fine clothing and rich food would still find anything fragrant after going hungry for long enough.

At this moment, he was already growing impatient.

Qu Tiannan gestured toward one of the personal guards behind him.

The guard began ladling out bowls of meat broth for everyone.

Qu Tiannan himself looked toward the Swordsmith.

“Sir.

“Today, my heart is not at ease.”

The Swordsmith heard him and nodded.

“Everything is for Chu.”

As those two spoke, the young prince had already accepted the large bowl placed before him.

He did not even bother with chopsticks.

He grabbed the meat directly with his hand and began eating.

Qu Tiannan continued:

“If a man keeps company with beasts, can he still be called a man?”

“Since ancient times, have men domesticated so few beasts?”

“The reasoning is reasonable.”

“The reasoning that lets your own heart rest easy is the reasoning that counts.”

“I have been instructed.”

“Pillar of State, you are too courteous.”

The young prince wiped the grease from his mouth and laughed.

“I say, the two of you—fine food is right in front of you and you still have time for philosophical conversation. You really do look like men untouched by ordinary smoke and fire.”

Qu Tiannan did not answer.

His status was such that even Fourth Highness—the man about to ascend the throne—had to treat him with courtesy.

Naturally, there was no need for him to bend beneath the teasing of this younger imperial prince.

The Swordsmith, meanwhile, lifted his chopsticks and pointed them at the young prince.

“I wonder who exactly it is that knows only romance and pleasure, yet understands nothing of suffering.”

“Hah?

“Me?

“You must be joking. I’ve lived through hard days before.”

“If you have truly lived through hard days, then how can you fail to recognize what kind of meat you just ate?”

The young prince froze.

He lowered his head.

Looked into his bowl.

At the half-piece of meat still remaining there.

The Swordsmith asked:

“Mutton.

“Was it delicious?”

“BLEEEURGH...”

[End of Chapter 338]