The Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty: The Competition in the Central Plains

"Then tonight we will intercept and kill Shihu's team transporting grain and grass. Shihu had no food and grass, so he would naturally lead his army to retreat from Pengpi." Zu Huan said. Han Qian praised:"The eldest son has indeed obtained the true inheritance of Lord Zu Ti. Let's take action tonight!"

After dinner in the big tent, Han Qian said:"General Feng Tie and I led an army of 10,000 people, bypassed the west platform, went to Xiangguo and laid ambushes on both sides of the road to Pengpi to seize Shihu's food and grass. Zu Yue, Zu Gai, Zu Huan and others guard the camp to guard against enemy sneak attacks!"

Han Qian and Feng Tie led 10,000 troops to rob grain. Zu Huan said to Zu Yue and Zu Gai,"Uncle, uncle, although the two generals Han Qian and Feng Tie went to rob grain, we can't just guard the country. camp. We should send thousands of brothers, torches in hand, to bluff in front of Pengpi West Platform at night. The enemy was defeated during the day and will definitely not dare to come out at night"

"Why do you do that? Zu Yue asked. Zu Gai took over and said,"Huan'er means to distract the enemy so that they don't suspect that we are going to rob food.""

"It seems that my brother has a great influence on you!" Zu Yue said.

After dinner, Zu Huan and Zu Yue each led two thousand soldiers and quietly came out of their respective camp gates. When they were still one mile away from Shi Hu's camp, the soldiers in front suddenly lit up their torches. He lit it, then held the torch, and continued walking slowly westward.

The soldiers guarding the gate of Shihu Camp had already ran into the tent to report:"General, there are many soldiers holding torches over Han Qian, as if they are trying to Come and steal the camp!"

"Go down!"Shi Hu said and looked at the generals below. Tao Bao, Wei Shuo, Chen Chuan, Duan Qin, Duan Si, Duan Cong and others were all discussing strategies to defeat the enemy at Shi Hu's camp. Duan Si said :"General, we were defeated by Han Qian during the day, and they came to rob the camp at night. Is there any conspiracy? Could it be a plan to attack the east and attack the west?"

"The purpose of Han Qian and others is to drive us away from Pengpi. It is not surprising that they took advantage of their victory during the day and came to rob the camp again at night. We just need to strengthen our defense to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of us, and wait until daylight to confront the enemy. Duan Cong said

"Several of our generals are injured, so it's best not to act rashly these days. Duan Si will be on duty for the first half of tonight, and Duan Cong will be on duty for the second half of the night, while the others are sleeping."Shi Hu said.

The soldiers led by Han Qian and Feng Tie were each ambushing on both sides of the road twenty miles away from Pengpi. Han Qian sent several detective horses to the front to find out about Shi Hu's team transporting grain and grass. Seeing that it was fast At daybreak, the two scouts ran back and said to Han Qian:"Report to the general, the large group of people coming from Xiangguo to transport grain and grass are still two miles away from here."

"Well, brothers, get ready for battle!"Han Qian said and drew out his sword. Feng Tie, who was on the other side of the road, also ordered the soldiers:"String the arrow and keep the knife in your hand."

The sound of horse hoofbeats was getting closer and closer. Everyone held their breath for fear of being discovered by the other party. In the dawn light, the donkey team transporting grain and grass walked slowly towards Pengpi. Han Qian looked at It’s almost time to stand up and shout:"Brothers, shoot!"

The archers lying in ambush on both sides of the road began to shoot arrows at the soldiers escorting the grain and grass. A general escorting the grain and grass shouted:"Brothers, protect the grain and grass!"

As he said this, he started fighting with Han Qian and Feng Tie who were rushing over from both sides of the road. Because the incident happened suddenly, many soldiers escorting the grain and grass were hit by arrows and were either killed or injured. The one behind was in charge. The generals escorting the grain and grass also rushed over, and the two sides began to fight. It was already dawn, and the two generals responsible for escorting the grain and grass were also killed. On the road leading to Pengpi, both sides of the road were full of dead and wounded soldiers from both sides. The fighting stopped. Both Han Qian and Feng Tie were injured, but they were not serious. Han Qian said to Feng Tie:"General Feng, lead your brothers to bury all the bodies in the ditches on both sides of the road. Our wounded brothers were put on grain carts and taken back for treatment."

"OK"Feng Tie agreed and led his soldiers to bury the corpse. Han Qian said to the remaining soldiers:"Brothers, now Shihu's food and grass have become our trophies. After a while, we carried our injured brother to the grain cart. Every ten people are responsible for a donkey cart and rush to Pengpi Dongtai. Other brothers, follow me to protect the grain and fodder convoy"

"Yes, General!"The soldiers agreed and then started to take action.

Some soldiers who were not seriously injured transporting food and grass rode their horses to Shihu's camp on the west platform of Pengpi. When Shihu saw these soldiers covered in blood, he knew that something serious was going on. good

"What happened? Shi Hu stood up and asked. The sailors fell to their knees, and a soldier said:"General, all our food and grass have been robbed by Zu Ti's people!""

When Shi Hu heard the news, he sat down in his seat. The other generals were also downcast and said nothing. Tao Bao looked at Shi Hu who was sitting on it and said:"General, our food and grass were originally used. It's over, now this only hope is gone. We can no longer garrison in Pengpi. Let’s retreat to Dongyan City and wait for the opportunity."

"That’s all it can do! Shi Hu said:"If we want to garrison in Dongyan City, we have to wait until tonight." During the day, organize the military camp, load all the baggage onto the carriage, and set off at night."

Han Qian and Feng Tie protected the stolen food and grass and arrived at the camp at Pengpi Dongtai. As soon as they arrived at the gate of the camp, they saw Zu Ti and several generals greeting them in front of the camp gate. Han Qian and Feng Tie quickly dismounted and He stepped forward and saluted:"See you, sir!" We have robbed Shihu of his food and grass!"

"very good! Two generals have done a great job!"Zu Ti said happily. Zu Ti watched more than a thousand donkey carts pulling grain and grass drive into the camp, with a look of joy on his face.

The next day, in the big tent at Pengpi Dongtai, Zu Ti convened The generals under his command discussed the next action. Han Qian said:"Shihu will definitely retreat from Pengpi since he has no food and grass. Zu

Ti and the others nodded, and a scout came in to report:"Sir, the enemy troops in Pengpi Xitai have withdrawn to the north overnight, and it seems that they have gone to Dongyan City.""

Zu Ti laughed after hearing this. He waved his hand and asked Tan Ma to get off. Zu Ti said:"These days, generals, you have been fighting against our powerful enemy Shi Hu. I know your hard work. I will definitely report to Your Majesty and ask for credit from everyone. But don’t be careless in the days to come. Only by sparing no efforts and working together to eliminate and eliminate the remaining forces in Shile and Shihu south of the Yellow River can our basic goal be considered achieved."

"What my brother said is absolutely true. My brother is nominally the governor of Yuzhou, but there are many places in Yuzhou that are either occupied by dock masters or Shihu. After Jie Hu is eliminated, my brother will become the veritable governor of Yuzhou! Zu Yue said. Others nodded in agreement after hearing this.