novelSusiti Chapter 47 Xiang Yu's Mysterious Moves
Chapter 47 Xiang Yu's Mysterious Moves
Accompanied by civil and military officials such as Zhang Liang, Chen Ping, Liu Jiao, Liu Jia, Fan Kuai, Xiahou Ying, Lu Wan, and Zhou Bo, the large group left Xingyang and headed straight for the northwest.
Not long after, we entered the mountains, which were neither very high nor very low.
Liu Ying was puzzled: "What are you going to the mountains for?"
Liu Bang said mysteriously, "Ying'er, I have learned a divine art. When I go to the mountains to offer sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, Heaven will surely bestow upon me countless provisions and weapons. Open your eyes wide and watch closely as I demonstrate my extraordinary heroism."
Xiahou Ying and the others rolled their eyes.
"Speak like a human being." Liu Ying wouldn't believe him.
Liu Bang glared at Liu Ying, who couldn't speak like a human being and was still boasting. Xiahou Ying couldn't stand it anymore and explained to Liu Ying, "Liu Ying, you don't know this, there is a huge granary in this mountain."
"A granary?" Liu Ying didn't understand.
"This mountain is called Ao Mountain. It is located at the confluence of the Yellow River and the Ji River. It is bordered by the Yellow River to the north, Guangwu Mountain to the south, and separated from the Si River to the west. It faces the natural fortress of Chenggao. It is a natural granary." Xiahou Ying continued, "After Qin Shi Huang destroyed the six kingdoms, he established ten granaries throughout the country. The largest one is here. It is named after the mountain and is called 'Ao Granary'."
"Ao Cang? Here?" Ao Cang was so famous that it was practically synonymous with ancient granaries. Liu Ying had naturally heard of it, but he never expected it to be here.
"Aoshan has an excellent geographical location, situated in the center of the world. Establishing a granary here would facilitate the transportation of grain." Xiahou Ying nodded slightly. "If there is trouble in Guanzhong and a large amount of grain is needed, it can be transported by land through Luoyang to Guanzhong, or by water from the Yellow River into the Wei River to enter Guanzhong."
The Wei River is a tributary of the Yellow River and the most important river in Guanzhong. If grain is to be transported from Aocang, it can be transported by water, going upstream along the Yellow River, entering the Wei River, and then going upstream along the Wei River again, quickly entering Guanzhong and being delivered to Xianyang.
In later generations, water transport in Guanzhong mainly relied on the Wei River.
"If other places need supplies, they can be quickly transported by water or land," Xiahou Ying said.
As we spoke, we arrived at the foot of Aoshan Mountain, where we saw an extremely wide road that could accommodate more than ten vehicles side by side. The road surface was hard and flat, higher in the middle and lower on both sides.
There are also drainage ditches on both sides for easy drainage.
On one side of the road is a mountain, and on the other side is a rammed earth wall about one meter wide and seven or eight meters high. At regular intervals, there is a watchtower, guarded by Han soldiers in red uniforms.
This was called a "passageway" at the time, which is what we now call a closed road.
The passageway and its vicinity are controlled areas patrolled by the military. Anyone who approaches without permission will be arrested and punished.
The group followed the path, rode their horses up the mountain, and reached the summit. Liu Ying felt that the place had become cool and dry, no longer the humid and sweltering heat of late June.
Looking again, there was a giant city in front of them, surrounded by a high and thick city wall that stretched for dozens of miles.
"This is Ao Cang?" Liu Ying's eyes widened as she examined him closely.
"Indeed." This time, Liu Bang didn't boast: "After Qin Shi Huang conquered the six kingdoms, he established ten major granaries throughout the country: Xianyang Granary, Liyang Granary, Ba Shang Granary, Ao Granary, Chenliu Granary, Wan Granary, Langya Granary, Huang Granary, Chui Granary, and Chengdu Granary. Each granary was filled with mountains of grain."
"How much grain and fodder does Ao Cang have?" Liu Ying asked curiously.
"At its peak, it could supply an army of 500,000 for two years," Liu Bang said, making a startling statement.
"Isn't that too much?" Liu Ying was shocked. "When Qin Shi Huang destroyed Chu, he mobilized an army of 600,000 and fought for more than a year. This one granary alone is enough to destroy the Chu state."
The amount of provisions needed for an army of 500,000 for two years is not very intuitive and is quite vague. However, if we compare it to Qin Shi Huang's conquest of the Chu state, it becomes much clearer.
Han soldiers patrolled the city walls, maintaining strict vigilance as if facing a formidable enemy.
When Liu Bang and his entourage arrived, the Han army did not relax their vigilance, but instead told Liu Bang and his men to wait while they went to report to their superiors.
"Are you going to swear at me?" Liu Ying asked, glancing sideways at Liu Bang.
"Why would I scold them?" Liu Bang glanced at Liu Ying. "They are doing their duty faithfully; I'm overjoyed."
"You've always been a liar, haven't you?" Liu Ying wouldn't believe it.
Liu Bang remained silent, glancing sideways at Liu Ying with an expression that said, "You just wait and see."
Soon, the city gates swung open, and a middle-aged man led a group of people out of the city. He clasped his hands in greeting and bowed to Liu Bang, saying, "I was unaware of the arrival of the King of Han. I am surprised by your lateness. Please forgive me."
Liu Bang jumped off his horse, strode over, and grasped the middle-aged man's hands with a broad smile: "Commander Ao Cang, you have faithfully obeyed my orders and maintained strict security. I am very pleased. How can you blame me?"
"Thank you, King Han." Ao Cangling was overjoyed.
"I am very pleased that you have followed Magistrate Ao Cang and served him faithfully," Liu Bang said, encouraging his subordinates.
"Thank you, King Han!" The officials were overjoyed.
"King Han, please." Ao Cangling stepped aside to invite him.
They were escorted into the city by a group of men.
Liu Ying opened her eyes wide and looked around. The city was very orderly, with crisscrossing roads dividing it into squares, each square being a neighborhood.
Unlike cities, which are used for living, neighborhoods are not filled with houses, but rather with rows of temporary sheds.
In each workshop, there are several rows and columns of varying numbers of work sheds.
"How is Ao Cang?" Liu Bang asked Ao Cangling, who was walking beside him.
"I dare to inform the King of Han: Thanks to the King of Han's power, Ao Cang is peaceful and there is nothing serious. We usually just catch rats." The Ao Cang commander bowed slightly.
"Catching mice?" Liu Ying found it hard to understand.
"In the granary, the greatest enemy is the rat." Ao Cangling, with his keen insight, explained to Liu Ying, "According to Qin law, 'How many rat holes in a granary warrant punishment? For court offenses, three or more rat holes warrant a fine of one shield, and two or fewer, a fine of one rat hole. Three mouse holes are equivalent to one rat hole.' Therefore, catching rats is our top priority."
"You're still using Qin laws?" The Qin Dynasty had been gone for two years, yet Ao Cang was still using Qin laws. Liu Ying found it unbelievable.
Ao Cangling remained silent, glancing at Liu Bang.
"The Qin law's provisions on grain storage are quite good, why not use them?" Liu Bang said matter-of-factly, not forgetting to mock Xiang Yu: "I'm not Xiang Yu, who knows the Qin law is good but just doesn't use it."
Xiang Yu is your inner demon, isn't he? You can't resist taking a jab at me at every turn.
As they were talking, they arrived at the nearest neighborhood, and Liu Bang stepped inside.
Liu Ying and her group followed them inside.
Upon entering the workshop, Liu Ying opened her eyes wide and looked around. She saw that the workshop was quite large, about 800 or 900 meters long and 500 or 600 meters wide. It was divided into 16 areas by three vertical and three horizontal roads, and each area had a connected shed, just like a modern factory.
Arriving at the nearest gate and entering, one sees rows of tall, large, round granaries.
These granaries were not made of wood, but were constructed of rammed earth, making them sturdy, durable, and fire-resistant. They were covered with a copper plate, about the thickness of a chopstick tip, with a downward-facing edge. Even in the event of a fire, there was no need to worry about the grain inside being burned.
"How much grain is in one granary?" Liu Ying asked.
"One granary is one storage, totaling ten thousand shi," replied Ao Cangling.
"Three hundred tons per warehouse?" Liu Ying was quite surprised after a quick calculation. Just by looking at it, she realized how much grain that would be.
One shi in the Qin Dynasty was 120 jin. The Qin Dynasty used the small jin system, which is equivalent to half a jin in modern times. Therefore, one shi in the Qin Dynasty was equivalent to 30 kilograms in modern times. Ten thousand shi would be 300,000 kilograms, or 300 tons.
Liu Ying counted them and found that there were 36 round silos in this shed alone, which contained 10,800 tons.
This number is a bit alarming.
"Ying'er, you don't know, when Xiang Yu entered Guanzhong last year, he passed through here without entering Ao Cang; when he withdrew from Guanzhong, he still didn't enter Ao Cang. He's really stupid." Liu Bang looked at the granaries one by one with great satisfaction, and didn't forget to mock Xiang Yu.
"Really?" Liu Ying couldn't believe it.
"Really," Xiahou Ying affirmed.
"I think there's some truth to your calling Xiang Yu a scoundrel." Liu Ying was stunned by Xiang Yu's baffling actions.
"You also think I'm right to scold you, right?" Liu Bang was quite pleased with himself.
"Look at you, so capable." Liu Ying rolled her eyes.
Liu Ying was not good at history and did not know that Xiang Yu did not enter Ao Cang twice, but three times.
Note:
The Records of the Grand Historian, Biography of Li Shiqi, states that after the defeat at Xingyang, Liu Bang was preparing to abandon the area east of Chenggao. Li Shiqi dissuaded him, saying, "Ao Cang has been used for the transportation of grain throughout the land for a long time. I have heard that there is a great deal of grain stored there. When the Chu people captured Xingyang, they did not defend Ao Cang, but instead retreated eastward, leaving their troops to guard Chenggao. This is how Heaven has provided resources for Han."
This was the third time Xiang Yu had passed Ao Cang without entering, a move that was so "baffling" that it was completely incomprehensible.