Chương 342: Sun Jian's Food Supply is in Crisis

Enraged, Hua Xiong stomped his feet on the city wall, yelling, "You bastard Sun Jian! Just you wait! I'll get you sooner or later!"

But he could only put on a brave front; in reality, he was a little afraid to go out and confront Sun Jian.

After all, Sun Jian's sword was faster than his.

Behind him, Hua Xiong hid on the city wall, looking down at the densely packed Jiangdong soldiers below, and cursed angrily:

"Has Sun Jian gone mad? He's fighting like a madman!"

Lieutenant Li Su leaned closer and asked cautiously:

"General, how about... we send more troops out?"

"Send my ass!" Hua Xiong glared and said, "Can't you see how many people are outside? Going out is just suicide! Stay put! I don't believe they can hold out for long!"

...

When the news reached Suanzao, Sun Jian's report of victory greatly boosted the morale of the allied forces.

But what about Yuan Shu? He was worried, not because he couldn't win, but because Sun Jian had won.

His advisor, Yan Xiang, leaned closer and whispered:

"My lord, are you worried about Sun Jian?"

Yuan Shu looked up at him and said, "Oh? Tell me, what am I worried about?"

Yan Xiang laughed, a laugh that seemed to say, "Don't pretend."

"My lord, Sun Jian is a fierce tiger of Jiangdong, extremely brave. Just think, if he were to enter Luoyang and kill Dong Zhuo, it would mean that in addition to Dong Zhuo, we would also have Sun Jian."

"Dong Zhuo has fallen, and Sun Jian has risen. What good is that for us? If Sun Jian gets all the credit, who will respect the Yuan family in the future? It would be better to..."

He paused, then made a "card" gesture.

Yuan Shu's eyes lit up, and he leaned forward, saying:

"you mean?"

"Supplies," Yan Xiang said in a low voice.

"An army cannot move without supplies. Sun Jian is fighting on the front lines, and he relies entirely on us to supply him with provisions."

"If we just withhold his supplies and stop sending them, his soldiers will go hungry, and morale will collapse. Forget about fighting; they'll just break up on their own. At that point, no matter how capable he is, it won't be of any use."

"yes!!!"

Yuan Shu slapped his thigh, his face contorted with laughter, a smile that carried three parts smugness, three parts cunning, and four parts regret—"Why didn't I think of that?"

"How come I didn't think of that! You're always so full of tricks! Let's do it this way!"

He immediately summoned the grain officer and gave him the following instructions:

"Listen up! From this moment on, not a single grain of grain is to be sent to Sun Jian, the Prefect of Changsha! Say that the road is unsafe and the grain has been robbed; or that the granary is still being inventoried; or that the grain escort team hasn't arrived yet—find any excuse to delay! Only when I give the order will the grain be sent!"

The supply officer was stunned for a moment, thinking: Isn't this a trap? Sun Jian is fighting desperately at the front, and we're running out of supplies at the back? This... this is too ruthless!

But he dared not say more and could only nod and accept the order, saying, "Yes, my lord."

......

In Sun Jian's army camp, the food supplies were running low.

At first, Sun Jian didn't take it seriously.

He figured Yuan Shu would deliver the supplies soon, since he was the vanguard and supplies were his lifeline; who would dare delay?

After waiting for several days, not only did they not receive any supplies, but they also didn't see a single person delivering them.

The food supplies in the military camp were dwindling day by day.

The soldiers went from eating three meals a day to two, then from two to one, and eventually they couldn't even guarantee one meal a day. They could only drink thin porridge, and after that, they still had to go to war. They were all so hungry that they were pale and emaciated, and they almost didn't have the strength to even hold their weapons.

How can we fight a war like this?

Sun Jian was extremely anxious and sent eight groups of men to Yuan Shu in one day to urge him to provide supplies.

And what was the result? The people he sent out were either sent back by Yuan Shu on some pretext.

"Oh dear, the supplies are on their way."

"Oh dear, we've been robbed by bandits. We're raising funds again."

They were either detained directly and couldn't even send a message back.

Sun Jian was so angry in his tent that he overturned the table!

"Yuan Shu!!! You son of a bitch!!!"

His eyes were bloodshot, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked as he spoke:

"I was risking my life for you guys in front of you, and you stab me in the back! Are you even human?!"

The three veterans standing next to him, Huang Gai, Zu Mao, and Zhu Zhi, were also furious.

Huang Gai gritted his teeth and said, "My lord! That brat Yuan Shu clearly doesn't want to give us supplies! If this continues, the brothers will starve to death! We can't fight this battle!"

Sun Jian gritted his teeth. He knew that if this dragged on any longer, his men would be scattered before Hua Xiong even attacked.

There was no other way but to issue the order:

"Retreat! The entire army breaks camp and retreats! Let's settle accounts with that brat Yuan Shu!"

But what he didn't expect was...

...

Hua Xiong had been forced to retreat into the pass by Sun Jian and dared not come out. He spent his days peeking over the wall at Sun Jian's camp, trying to figure out how to turn the tide.

As a result, he discovered in the past few days that there was no movement at all in Sun Jian's camp.

The siege stopped, the drumming stopped, the shouts of battle stopped, and the soldiers were all listless, walking with no energy.

Upon inquiring, they learned that Sun Jian had run out of food and the soldiers were all hungry.

Hua Xiong laughed immediately, slapped his thigh and said:

"Heaven has helped me! Sun Jian, you've finally met your match!"

That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high...

Hua Xiong led all his elite cavalry, quietly opened the gate, wrapped cloth around their hooves, and chewed something in their mouths, making no sound as they headed straight for Sun Jian's camp.

Sun Jian's soldiers were already too weak from hunger to be on guard.

When Hua Xiong's cavalry charged in, they were so disorganized that they couldn't even lift their weapons.

"kill!!!"

Hua Xiong charged into the camp first, and with a swing of his broadsword, cut down two soldiers who were still dreaming.

The Xiliang cavalry surged in from behind like a tide, slashing and killing anyone they saw!

The camp instantly turned into a slaughterhouse! Cries for fathers and mothers, screams, the sound of horses' hooves, and the sound of knives chopping bones mingled together! Sun Jian's soldiers ran around in all directions, chased and hacked down by cavalry, as if they were cutting melons and vegetables, and corpses littered the ground.

Hearing the commotion inside the main tent, Sun Jian quickly donned his armor, mounted his horse, and charged out with his ancient sword in hand.

As soon as they stepped out of the main tent, they were surrounded by Hua Xiong's men.

"Sun Jian! Where do you think you're going?!" Hua Xiong rode his horse, carrying a large sword, and charged straight at Sun Jian. The Xiliang soldiers behind him surged like a tide from all directions.

"My lord! You go first! We'll cover your retreat!"

Huang Gai and Zhu Zhi brandished their weapons to block the Xiliang soldiers who were charging towards them. They fought desperately and managed to tear a gap in the encirclement.

Zu Mao followed Sun Jian, desperately trying to rush out.

Hua Xiong's forces were too numerous; they killed one layer after another, and Sun Jian ran for a long time but couldn't shake off the pursuers.

Looking back, oh no!

It turned out that the red headscarf he was wearing was too conspicuous! It was Sun Jian's trademark, visible from a great distance.

Hua Xiong's men were all staring intently at this red-turbaned man, like flies swarming around meat.

"My lord! Give me your red headscarf!"