Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

The atmosphere in Yuan Shu's dimly lit military tent was suffocatingly oppressive. The days of food shortages hadn't improved at all. The soldiers were emaciated, their morale low. Even the general who had broken out of the siege two days prior had vanished without a trace of news. Yuan Shu sat in the main seat, his brow furrowed in worry. His only hope now was to capture Yuzhang County in one swift move and secure the city's supplies, or for Lei Bo to quickly deliver food and fodder to alleviate his pressing needs. Neither of these options had materialized, leaving him utterly anxious, yet helpless.

Just as he was worrying, the tent curtain was suddenly flung open, and Yang Hong rushed in with an excited look on his face. At this time, all the generals in the tent were there, and they were worried about the war. Yang Hong completely ignored his status and laughed out loud without waiting for the announcement: "My lord, my lord, great joy, great joy!"

Yuan Shu was already feeling irritated and startled by the sudden shout. He looked up in surprise and asked, "Where does the joy come from?"

Yang Hong stepped forward quickly, his face filled with uncontrollable excitement, and said, "My lord, the spies I sent out the other day reported that a batch of grain and fodder is being escorted in from Kuaiji County!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu was stunned for a moment, then his brow furrowed even more tightly. He asked with a puzzled expression, "Kuaiji County? We've been fighting in Yuzhang for so long, and they've been holding their troops. Why are they bringing in food and fodder now?"

Yang Hong's hands trembled with excitement as he gestured, "My lord, have you forgotten the enemy general who broke through the siege two days ago? It's all over the place now. He was a general under Liu Yao, who humbled himself and went to ask Sun Ce for help. Sun Ce was afraid of your power and didn't dare to openly oppose you, but because of his status as a relative of the Han Dynasty, he couldn't refuse directly, so he symbolically sent some food and fodder. This batch of food and fodder is now on its way to Yuzhang County, and I think it will arrive there soon."

Yuan Shu's eyes lit up at Yang Hong's words, as if he had seen a downpour after a long drought, and he instantly regained his spirits. He stood up abruptly, waved his hand, and said eagerly, "Great! In that case, we can't miss this opportunity! Send the order down, quickly deploy the troops, and go seize this grain!"

Just as everyone was about to take action after receiving the order, Yan Xiang, looking anxious, stepped forward and advised, "My lord, there's something fishy about this matter. We must not act rashly. We must be cautious!"

Yuan Shu was immersed in the joy of receiving food and fodder, but Yan Xiang's interruption filled him with displeasure. He asked with confusion and a hint of irritation, "What's the matter? Explain it clearly!"

Yan Xiang took a deep breath, calmed himself, and analyzed the situation methodically, "My lord, although Sun Ce hasn't directly confronted us yet, judging by his past behavior and deeds, he's undoubtedly a powerful figure. He could have continued to sit on the sidelines, watching us fight Liu Yao and reaping the benefits. But now he's suddenly saying that because of his status as a relative of the Han Dynasty, he should provide Liu Yao with food and fodder. This is truly illogical."

At this point, Yan Xiang paused, his gaze fixed on Yuan Shu, and he emphasized his tone, "My lord, please think carefully. Sun Ce's father, Sun Jian, was killed by Liu Biao of Jingzhou, and Liu Biao is also a relative of the Han Dynasty. With such a deep hatred in the past, how much affection do you think Sun Ce can have for the Han Dynasty's relatives? How much deterrent effect can the so-called status of a Han Dynasty relative have on him? How could he willingly and painstakingly escort his own food and fodder to Liu Yao, whose city is about to fall? In my opinion, there must be a hidden conspiracy hidden in this. We must not take it lightly, lest we fall into Sun Ce's trap."

Yan Xiang's words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the burning fire in Yuan Shu and Yang Hong's hearts over the food and fodder. They were not stupid, but intelligent. After Yan Xiang's reminder, they thought carefully and felt that there was indeed something fishy about this matter.

Yang Hong was unwilling to accept this. After all, the "fat meat" he had obtained was gone just like that. It was really hard to accept that he could not help but argue: "But the informant reported that the food and grass they were escorting were extremely rich, but the escort force was seriously insufficient. As long as we send out troops and defeat this grain escort team, we can easily intercept this batch of food and grass and solve the current urgent problem. This is a great opportunity!" As he spoke, he was still thinking about the batch of food and grass and was full of expectations.

After hearing this, Yan Xiang couldn't help but sneer, with worry and helplessness in his eyes, and patiently explained: "It is precisely because of the lack of guards that we should pay more attention to it. With Sun Ce's cleverness, how could he make such a low-level mistake? This is obviously a trick carefully set up by the enemy to lure the enemy. They deliberately exposed this flaw to lure us into the trap. Once we rashly send troops, we will surely fall into their heavy encirclement. By then, not only will we not get food and grass, but our troops will also suffer heavy losses. The consequences are unimaginable, so we must not be careless!" Yan Xiang spoke earnestly and sincerely, hoping to make Yuan Shu and Yang Hong recognize the situation.

Although Yang Hong still didn't quite agree with Yan Xiang's opinion, he couldn't find a strong reason to refute it, so he could only curl his lips and look reluctant.

Yuan Shu, however, had already been persuaded by Yan Xiang. Frowning, he paced back and forth in the tent, pondering for a long moment before stopping and calmly analyzing the situation. "There's something strange about this grain escort and this shipment of fodder. As Yan Xiang said, Sun Ce has always been cautious. How could he be so careless about such a major matter as transporting grain?" His gaze swept over everyone present and he continued, "We can't let our impulsive actions lead us into the enemy's trap. For now, we should be cautious and not act rashly."

Yuan Shu turned around and solemnly ordered the messenger beside him: "Immediately send elite scouts to track and investigate the every move of this grain escort team in all directions. Be sure to find out their true intentions, troop deployment, and whether there are any ambushes around. Remember, if you find anything unusual, report it immediately!" After receiving the order, the messenger quickly ran out of the tent to carry out the mission.

After making the arrangements, Yuan Shu looked at Yang Hong and Yan Xiang again, his tone softened: "We are in a difficult situation now, and we have to be careful with every step. Although the food and grass are tempting, if we lose our foundation for this, it will be more trouble than it is worth. Everyone, think carefully about it, are there any other countermeasures?" The people in the tent fell into deep thought again, racking their brains, trying to find a way out.

Ever since Yuan Shu ordered the investigation, the scouts had been busily busy, sending urgent reports three times a day. According to them, the grain escort team was acting with extraordinary arrogance. With only a few hundred men, they swaggered through Yuzhang County with impunity, as if no enemy troops were nearby, showing no fear at all. Even more astonishingly, leading the team was none other than the enemy general who had recently broken out of their encirclement. He looked high-spirited, as if he had accomplished something remarkable, his face brimming with triumph.

Upon receiving this news, Yuan Shu grew increasingly uneasy. He knew that something was amiss, and that the grain escort's actions must be a larger conspiracy. Despite the immense allure of the grain, he remained timid, watching the escort's movements, halting and relentless, as if they were entering an uninhabited area. Thus, the escort continued unimpeded, reaching the city walls of Yuzhang County, where no other troops appeared, nor any signs of an ambush.

Yuan Shu was utterly anxious. His army was running low on rations, and without further supplies, morale would collapse. After much hesitation, he finally made up his mind and dispatched Ji Ling and other capable generals, leading elite troops, to intercept the rations. But by the time Ji Ling and his men arrived, it was too late. The gates of Yuzhang County were thrown wide open, and Liu Yao's army, previously weakened by a lack of rations, now surged with vigour, shouting and rushing out, quickly escorting the rations into the city. Faced with this sudden turn of events, Ji Ling and his men had no time to react effectively, and could only helplessly watch as their supplies slipped away, ultimately returning empty-handed.

When Yuan Shu found out that he had been fooled, he was furious, his face flushed red, and he jumped up and down in the tent, waving his hands and sweeping everything on the table to the ground, cursing, "You, Sun Ce, how dare you plot against me like this!" He looked as if he was going to rush out and fight Sun Ce to the death in the next second.

Yang Hong couldn't help but retort, "My lord, it's all that cunning Sun Ce's fault for pulling off such a cunning scheme! This batch of food and fodder is only half a month's rations for our army, but for Liu Yao's troops trapped in the city, it will allow them to hold out for at least another month and a half, or even two months! This completely destroys our hopes of a quick victory!"

Yang Hong looked at Yan Xiang with displeasure on his face and couldn't help but ridicule him: "Yan Xiang, you swore at the beginning that this was a strategy to lure the enemy and that we should not act rashly. Now look what happened, we watched the food and grass enter the city, but we got nothing! If we hadn't listened to you and sent troops early, the food and grass might have been intercepted by us long ago!" As he spoke, he crossed his arms across his chest, his face full of sarcasm.

Yan Xiang's expression instantly turned grim. He bit his lower lip, his brow furrowed in a frown, his heart thick with regret. But he suppressed his emotions and spoke calmly, "Yang Hong, I am also responsible for my negligence in this matter, but I'm certain there must be something else going on. Sun Ce's actions weren't simply to deliver food and fodder to the city; there might be a subsequent conspiracy. We must not take it lightly." Despite Yang Hong's rebuke, Yan Xiang managed to maintain his composure and analyze the situation.

Yuan Shu became more and more annoyed as he listened to their quarrel. He waved his hand and shouted angrily, "Stop quarreling! What's the point of talking about this now? The most urgent thing is to find a way to solve the food problem as soon as possible, otherwise the morale of the army will be unstable and we will definitely be defeated!" The tent suddenly became quiet and everyone fell into deep thought.

As the atmosphere within the tent erupted in heated arguments and tension, the soldier who had gone to deliver Lei Bo's message hurried back, breathless. He plunged into the tent, knelt on one knee, and reported eagerly, "My lord, great news! General Lei Bo, upon hearing of our army's dire food shortage, has abandoned his insistence on land transport. He understands the critical situation and, even as Zhou Yu was still attacking Jiujiang, he emptied Jiujiang County's grain reserves, amassing a full six months' supply. He is now arriving by sea in a mighty procession, and all we need is our troops to meet them!"