My Sims of the Eastern Jin Dynasty

The third day after retreating from Qu County to the sea.

Murong Yan's vanguard of two thousand elite cavalry arrived, but they camped outside the city and did not enter.

It wasn't until three days later, around noon, that things began.

Murong Yan arrived with his central army, standing on an earthen wall a mile outside the west gate of Qu County, with two thousand elite cavalry behind him.

The county town in front of us was unusually quiet.

The city walls were intact, the city gates were wide open, but there were no guards in sight, and no patrolling soldiers were to be seen on the city walls.

An empty city.

Another empty city!

Murong Yan's eye twitched slightly, just like last time.

He absolutely refused to believe that Xiao Heng would abandon Qu County and flee far away.

Several dozen days ago, high-quality sea salt from Langya Port flowed into the counties of Qingzhou. Now that the Jin army has withdrawn from Huaibei, who can organize such salt trade?

"This person is adept at using tricks and likes to set ambushes!"

Murong Yan spoke in a deep voice to his trusted generals, and these words quickly spread throughout the army.

"Last time, the empty city tricked me into underestimating the enemy; this time, humph!"

He stopped looking at the empty city gate and instead gazed northeast.

There lay the Qu Mountain range, stretching for dozens of miles, and Murong Yan could almost sense that someone was watching him.

He raised his riding whip.

"Pass on the order!"

"The vanguard split into four groups, each leading five hundred cavalry, to carefully search along the beaches, mountain valleys, and forest edges!"

"promise!"

The orders were passed down, and the elite Xianbei cavalry displayed extremely high tactical skills, quickly and orderly launching their charge.

Murong Yan himself slowly rode his horse, surrounded by his personal guards, and began to patrol around the outer wall.

His gaze swept across the city wall, observing it, and also swept towards the direction of the rising and falling waves in the distance. He knew that Xiao Heng had not gone far, and the clue of salt was irrefutable proof.

They only ordered the city to be entered after confirming that it was completely deserted.

On Xiaozhu Island, Xiao Heng put down the last reconnaissance report sent back by Lu Da's fast ship.

"My lord, Lu Da and the others are almost here!"

Han Yong said in a low voice, his tone tinged with helplessness. He had just arranged for the receiving ships.

Xiao Heng hummed in response, his face expressionless.

The last few lines of the briefing clearly appeared in his mind: the central army numbered over ten thousand, carrying a large amount of supplies, with well-organized camps and extensive scouts.

"More than ten thousand people, with ample supplies..."

Xiao Heng muttered to himself, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"You really think highly of me."

"Issue the order: from today onwards, all islands will maintain a relaxed exterior but a tense interior, with heightened vigilance, and strictly prohibit any vessels from voluntarily approaching the shore!"

Upon receiving the order, several seasoned team leaders, accustomed to fierce battles, immediately showed expressions of confusion and even frustration.

"More than ten thousand people! Not the few thousand troops we had last time! This time, he's clearly not in a hurry to achieve quick results; he wants to proceed steadily and surely!"

Xiao Heng explained, then took a deep breath to suppress the restlessness that also existed in his heart.

He set the strategy, and delaying the Northern Army's victory was also part of his plan. However, he had to remain inactive when faced with the enemy's advance, which was not a pleasant experience.

"Our advantage lies in the sea! He can't muster a large number of ships in a short time! What we need to do now is not to confront him head-on on land, where we'll be feeding and feeding tens of thousands of people and consuming supplies every day, yet we can't find an opponent and are just venting our anger at the sea!"

He knew that his explanation to the crowd was futile, as his expression remained the same as before the battle.

"Send word to Lu Da: upon his return, his troops shall be incorporated into Han Yong's command to strengthen island defenses and train in naval warfare. From today onward, a strict rationing system shall be implemented on each island. The stockpiled food and fresh water shall be used sparingly and gradually; we must wear him down first!"

"Waste?"

A newly promoted team leader couldn't help but ask a question.

"My lord, how long are you going to drag this out?"

Xiao Heng looked south, towards Sikou, but he did not answer.

He has no idea whether Xie Xuan has left or not. If he hasn't left, he doesn't dare to contact him; if he has left, he's worried...

Seeing this, Han Yong turned around and coaxed the group away.

"Why are you talking so much? Go up the mountain and cut some bamboo!"

After everyone left, leaving only Han Yong, Xiao Heng whispered something.

"It can take anywhere from a month to forty or fifty days."

Xiao Heng finally gave his judgment, which was the best solution obtained from yesterday's simulation.

Just then, several patrol boats docked, and Lu Da was the first to jump off, his face filled with frustration and confusion.

He strode up the hill and started shouting from afar.

"My lord! Why are you ordering us to retreat? Those Xianbei dogs have just set up camp; it's the perfect time to raid their outposts and burn their supplies! They've already got their eyes on a few spots..."

Xiao Heng looked at him, without explaining the strategy, and simply asked a question.

"Lu Da, you haven't forgotten what you were told when you withdrew your department, have you?"

Lu Da was taken aback, and answered subconsciously.

"Rest assured, Your Excellency, everything has been arranged properly, and clues have been left along the way!"

"That's good."

"Your mission has changed. From today onward, take your men and train them in sailing, boarding, and water combat. There will be battles for you, but not now, nor on land."

Lu Da opened his mouth, looked at Xiao Heng's calm eyes, then glanced at Han Yong beside him and shook his head slightly in acknowledgment. In the end, he swallowed back all his grievances and fighting spirit, letting out a muffled groan filled with resentment: "...Yes!"

Xiao Heng said no more and immediately turned and went to the beach.

Meanwhile, in Qu County, Murong Yan was unimpressed by the fact that the city was completely deserted, with not even a single plank left behind.

But soon the thirsty soldiers and laborers rushed to those wells.

"Pah! This water...this water is salty! It tastes awful!"

"The well water is undrinkable! It tastes like it's mixed with seawater!"

Soon, similar reports came from wells throughout the city, and even from upstream water intakes of several small rivers outside the city.

An experienced veteran scooped up some water, tasted it, and his expression changed.

"It's brine! They poured in the bittern from salt production!"

A strong man, eager to quench his thirst, ignored advice and drank several mouthfuls, but within half an hour he began to experience abdominal pain and vomit.

Murong Yan stood in the empty Wang family courtyard listening to these reports, his face gradually turning from ashen to furious.

But faced with no water available, he had no choice but to immediately order his cavalry to search for a water source.

It wasn't until late at night that the more than 10,000 soldiers finally managed to get water, and the thousands of horses could only be taken to a smaller river further away to get water.

Just after the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), on the coast of Qu County,

After a whole day of searching for water, most of the men had just gone to sleep.

"Thump! Thump thump thump! Clang—!!"

"Kill the barbarians—!!"

"Murong Yan, prepare to die—!!"

"..."

A sharp, piercing metallic clanging sound, mixed with shouts, came from the dark sea near the shore!

"Enemy attack!! Enemy attack at sea!!"

The camp erupted in chaos! Soldiers who had just fallen asleep were terrified, grabbing their weapons and rushing out of their tents, their sleepy eyes darting aimlessly at the pitch-black sea.

In an instant, the camp near the east was thrown into chaos.

The archers instinctively and aimlessly hurled arrows in the direction of the sound, but they all fell into the sea without a sound.

Murong Yan was urgently awakened from his brief sleep by his personal guards. When he rushed out of the central command tent in his armor, his face was gloomy.

He led his men to the east, listening to the irregular pounding and shouting on the dark sea.

"How many ships are there?! How far apart are they?!"

He sternly questioned the scouts and coastal defense officers who had arrived first.

"General, the fog is too thick to see anything! Judging from the sounds, there are probably... there are probably at least several dozen ships!"

"But they only banged and shouted; they didn't come ashore or fire any arrows!"

"You bastard!"

A surge of anger rose within Murong Yan.

He understood that this was the most frustrating tactic of exhausting the enemy, but he felt like he had seen this scene somewhere before!

"Order! All coastal defense teams are to reinforce their manpower and strengthen vigilance. No one is to attack without my order, and no arrows are to be wasted! Anyone who causes a disturbance or runs around will be executed!"

Murong Yan gritted his teeth and ordered that the morale of the troops be stabilized first, and that most of the soldiers be allowed to rest.

However, the noise at sea only intensified.

The sounds of banging and shouting were varied and even included a few absurd insults in Xianbei language.

Whenever the camp quieted down a little and people tried to fall asleep again, a new round of drumming would start on time, like a file, repeatedly scrubbing everyone's tense nerves.

As the tide began to recede, the annoying sound gradually subsided and eventually disappeared into the increasingly thin sea fog.

The next two nights were almost identical.

Following Xiao Heng's strategy of "harassing the enemy when they are tired, and remaining calm when they are agitated," Han Yong divided his men into several teams, who took turns traveling by fast boat. Taking advantage of their familiarity with the tides and sea conditions, they approached the coast every night at high tide.

They never landed; instead, they banged their various scrap metal pieces together loudly, and had the loudest soldiers shout in all sorts of creative ways.

Sometimes they would ignite a few rockets and launch them at distant mudflats to create chaos.

Murong Yan tried sending a suicide squad in small boats for a night raid, but the sea was shrouded in fog at night, and none of the boats returned...