Chapter 36

Chen Qing once again arrived at the supply warehouse. All the doors of the storerooms were open, revealing various weapons and defensive equipment piled up in a chaotic mess inside each room.

The warehouse was in such a mess that it was impossible to make any sense of it.

Chen Qing frowned and asked, "Why is it so disorganized?"

Du Min, with a troubled expression, replied, "These are all the weapons the Jin soldiers seized in Longzhou. They didn’t store them in Qianyang County but piled them all up in the fortress. The previous warehouse clerk was killed because the items were too messy. I’ve just finished counting the grain and fodder, but I haven’t had time to tidy up this side. I’ve been so busy these past few days that I haven’t even had time to drink a sip of water."

"Water?"

Chen Qing suddenly realized that the important matter he wanted to ask about was water.

"How do you solve the drinking water problem here?"

Du Min pointed to the cliff behind the warehouse, "There’s a cave over there, and inside the cave, there’s a small spring."

"Let’s go and take a look!"

Everyone started walking towards the cliff. Chen Qing stopped Zheng Ping, "You’re injured, go rest!"

"It’s already bandaged, it’s nothing, just a flesh wound," Zheng Ping said nonchalantly.

Chen Qing glared at him, and Zheng Ping’s calf trembled. He hurriedly bowed and turned to leave.

The cave was dimly lit and very damp, about a hundred feet deep, and the sound of dripping water could be heard.

After walking about fifty feet, Du Min pointed to a corner, "It’s right there, be careful, there’s a pool of water below!"

Chen Qing saw the pool of water on the ground, irregularly octagonal, long soaked by the stream, with moss growing all around, and the rocks had become very smooth, resembling a natural bathtub.

"How deep is the pool?"

"It hasn’t been measured, but the soldiers say it’s about four or five feet deep!"

There was no gushing spring, only moss growing on the rock walls. Chen Qing touched the moss, and a stream of water flowed down the moss, silently entering the pool.

"Commander, please look over here!" A soldier pointed to a spot about thirty feet away on the ground.

Chen Qing walked over and saw a stream of water flowing from the pool, eventually trickling into a crevice in the rock.

From this stream, one could tell the amount of water in the rock wall.

"Is there any water storage?" Chen Qing felt a bit sorry that the spring water was flowing away in vain.

Du Min shook his head, "No."

"Is there any container in the fortress to store water?"

Du Min thought for a moment, his eyes suddenly brightening, "Yes, there are several hundred empty wine jars!"

"Clean the wine jars thoroughly and use them all to store water!"

Exiting the cave, Chen Qing said to Yang Hua, "Arrange for two brothers to stand guard at the cave entrance. No one except the soldiers fetching water is allowed to enter."

Chen Qing glanced at Du Min, "Especially watch this person!"

"I suggest we let him out of the city; keeping him here is still a bit dangerous."

Chen Qing shook his head, "No one knows our true situation now. We either kill this Du Min or keep him to work for us."

"Reporting to the Commander, I specifically asked him. He is a teacher in Qianyang County. I think... it might not be good to kill him."

Chen Qing thought for a moment and said, "Alright! Keep him, have him write letters home for the soldiers, and don’t let him near the warehouse or the water source. No one, regardless of who they are, can enter the warehouse or the water source without a token."

"Understood, Commander!"

Chen Qing mounted his horse. At this moment, Yang Yuanqing rode over and asked with a smile from a distance, "Commander, is the grain and fodder sufficient?"

"The grain and fodder are sufficient, but the weapons and supplies are too numerous and disorganized. Organize the brothers to clean up, hopefully, we can find some pleasant surprises!"

"What about the copper coins and gold and silver found?"

"Divide them among the brothers. Also, slaughter the dozen or so donkeys, and give everyone a good feast tonight!"

......

Both Zhang Jun and Wu Jie made a strategic mistake in estimating the distribution of enemy forces. They greatly underestimated the number of Song soldiers who surrendered.

After the Battle of Fuping, Wanyan Zongbi and Wanyan Zongfu led an army of 30,000 to sweep through Guanzhong and Longyou, sweeping all before them. The local militia in each state and county surrendered at the sight of them. In just one month, over 200,000 soldiers from the Guanzhong and Longyou regions surrendered.

After surrendering, they were reorganized by the Jin soldiers into various Han armies.

Indeed, there were only 20,000 Jurchen soldiers in Longyou and Hehuang, but in addition to the Jurchen soldiers, there were 80,000 Han soldiers, a factor that Zhang Jun and Wu Jie had not considered.

Even in the Jin army's plans to attack Mount Heshang and Dasaiguan, these Han soldiers were not included. They did not consider the Han soldiers as part of the military deployment but used them as slave soldiers.

However, in the entire campaign, these Han soldiers inevitably appeared.

On the third day after Chen Qing captured the Arrowhead Pass, a 3,000-strong Han army escorting 20,000 dan of grain arrived in Qianyang County.

This massive grain convoy consisted of a thousand large carts.

If it were during the Tang Dynasty, the Arrowhead Pass would have been of little value. Whether for merchants or transportation, they could board a ship in Qianyang County and sail down the Qian River into the Wei River. At that time, the climate in Guanzhong and Longyou was mild, with abundant rainfall, and river transportation was very busy.

But by the late Tang Dynasty, with the climate changes in Guanzhong and Longyou, the rainfall decreased, and the severe soil erosion on the Loess Plateau led to the siltation of the river, making river transportation in the region almost useless except in summer.

All goods and supplies had to be transported by land, using donkeys and other beasts of burden, which highlighted the strategic importance of the Arrowhead Pass.

In the morning, a merchant with seven or eight assistants was driving over a hundred donkeys, trying to enter the city from the north gate, but was refused by the soldiers. However, Yang Hua noticed that the merchant’s goods were what they needed, so he immediately sent a soldier to fetch Chen Qing.

"Commander, take a look at his goods. Do we need to keep them?" Yang Hua asked outside the city.

Chen Qing walked out of the city to inspect the goods. The merchant was actually selling water jars, large jars nested inside smaller ones, totaling several hundred, which were indeed what they needed most.

Seeing his goods being seized, the merchant’s face turned pale, and he hurriedly stepped forward, clasping his hands in a plea, "General, it’s a small business, and I need to support my family. Please, let me go!"

Chen Qing laughed, "Headman Yang, didn’t you explain it to him clearly?"

Yang Hua stepped forward, smiling, and patted the merchant on the shoulder, "Look at you, so scared. Do you think we’d take your water jars without paying?"

The merchant wiped the sweat from his forehead, "I dare not, but I was really scared by those Han soldiers yesterday. They were taking things for free in Qianyang County, not paying a single coin, and even injuring many shopkeepers and assistants. The local authorities and garrison troops didn’t dare to provoke them."

"Where did these Han soldiers come from?"

Chen Qing immediately sensed something unusual. The local garrison in Qianyang only had 200 men, and their reputation wasn’t that bad. The merchant was clearly not talking about them.

"The grain escort soldiers who arrived yesterday afternoon, they are all Han soldiers."

"How many people? How much grain?" Chen Qing asked.

"I heard there were 3,000 men, and I don’t know how much grain, but there were about a thousand carts, so it must be over 20,000 dan."

"We’ll take all your water jars, at market price, not a single coin less."

Chen Qing gave a few instructions to Yang Hua, then turned and mounted the city wall, gazing at the distant Qianyang County. It was actually 3,000 Han soldiers. Was the test coming so soon?

......

The commander of the grain escort Han army was named Xia Jin. He was originally a commander in the Jingyuan Army. During the Battle of Fuping, he was captured and surrendered. Wanyan Zongfu, seeing that he had some ability, promoted him to the position of Han Army Commander and ordered him to assist Wanyan Wulu in reorganizing the Han army.

This time, Xia Jin, following the orders of his commander Wanyan Wulu, led 3,000 troops to escort 20,000 dan of grain to the Weinan camp. However, upon arriving in Qianyang County, he heard a piece of news: the Arrowhead Pass had been captured by the Song army, and the Song army’s yellow dragon flag was flying on the city walls.

Xia Jin, not knowing the strength of the Song army, immediately sent a hawk message to the Jin army’s main camp in Pingliang, asking Commander Wulu for instructions on the next steps.

After all, he was a grain escort force, not a combat unit. In his view, protecting the safety of the grain was more important than attacking the Arrowhead Pass.

He could either retreat to Pingliang or wait for reinforcements in Qianyang County.

At noon, Xia Jin received a reply from Commander Wulu, which read: "Capture the Arrowhead Pass and continue south!"

Chen Qing, upon hearing this, realized the gravity of the situation.