"Yelu Kangda seems to want to drag this out with us?"
Xiao Yeyang stood on the city walls, using a telescope to observe the opposing Xiliao army’s situation.
He had originally thought that after burning the Xiliao army’s food and fodder, Yelu Kangda would order a retreat, but unexpectedly, the Xiliao army encamped outside the borders of Xintunwei.
Su Hongxin asked, "The Xiliao people don’t produce much food, where did they get their supplies from?"
Xiao Yeyang, thinking of the messages sent back by the Hidden Guard infiltrated into Xiliao, sneered, "The Xiliao people don’t have food, but Xiao Yechen does."
A major reason why the Xiliao Imperial Family dared to wage war against Daxia at this time is because Xiao Yeyang provided them with large quantities of grain.
Su Hongxin frowned: "Where did Xiao Yechen get the grain from?"
Xiao Yeyang’s expression turned somewhat grim: "It is said that when Xiao Yechen fled north with the Princess of Tartars, they discovered vast fertile black soil. Moreover, Xiao Yechen, through various means, obtained high-yield grain seeds from Daxia and has accumulated a stockpile over the past few years."
Upon hearing this, Su Hongxin and the several soldiers around him all grew solemn.
Waging war over a long period is somewhat disadvantageous for them.
There’s no helping it; Xiliang is too barren. Even though Madam Xiao brought in high-yield grain seeds, due to the short time and limited spread, they can only barely maintain the bare subsistence of a few guard posts.
Nowhere near enough to supply the daily consumption of several hundred thousand troops.
Su Hongxin turned to Xiao Yeyang: "Hasn’t the Imperial Court allocated any grain and stipends?"
Xiao Yeyang: "...The East Sea and South Sea are both caught up in warfare, and the Imperial Court is stretched thin." Xiliao probably saw that the Imperial Court couldn’t support Xiliang, which is why they chose to drag this out with them.
Steward Wang hesitated for a moment but spoke up: "Sir, the grain collected last year from Ganzhou Guard, Jinwei Guard, Jianzhou Guard, and Xintunwei is almost exhausted."
He knew that saying this might shake the army’s morale at such a time, but as he was in charge of logistics, it was necessary to inform Xiao Yeyang of the situation.
More than half a month ago, he had already intentionally controlled the daily rations of the soldiers.
Xiao Yeyang knitted his brows.
Maintaining an army of over two hundred thousand required a massive amount of grain every day. Fortunately, last year Ganzhou Guard had a good harvest; otherwise, the troops might have suffered a famine by now.
"I will find a way to deal with the grain. Let’s go, we’ll return and discuss our offensive strategy."
Xiao Yeyang took the lead down the city wall, with Su Hongxin and the other generals quickly following behind.
When the group returned to their camp, they just so happened to encounter the soldiers having lunch. Xiao Yeyang glanced over and saw that each soldier could now only receive a bowl of porridge and a steamed bun, and his brows subconsciously furrowed.
Steward Wang saw this and his face grew somewhat bitter.
He truly wished to give the soldiers more to eat, but his hands were tied. Currently, the soldiers still had three meals a day, but in time, they might have to reduce that to only two.
Once back in the military tent, Xiao Yeyang started discussing the possibility of taking the offensive with the generals and formulated a plan. The next day, he led the attack against the Xiliao army.
Unfortunately, Yelu Kangda seemed to know that the Daxia army was short on grain and simply chose not to engage in battle.
Xiao Yeyang, seated on horseback, watched Yelu Kangda avoiding combat with a cold gaze, waving his hand and whispering to his trusted aide at his side: "Go tell Bu Gandang to thoroughly investigate the officers in the army."
Yelu Kangda’s confidence was too strong, almost as if he understood their situation very well.
Even though Xiao Yeyang had vetted the army officers, he couldn’t guarantee all spies were removed; the Wei Family had operated in Xiliang for generations and were sure to have left behind measures.
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