My Wife Is The Female Lead In A Scum Alpha Novel - Chapter 78

78

“What?!” Wen Renyi exclaimed, immediately muffled by Gu Qingci’s hand over his mouth.

“Be any louder, and everyone will know. We need to maintain morale.” Gu Qingci whispered, explaining the situation of the intercepted provisions to Wen Renyi.

The provisions Gu Qingci had brought from Yanjing City were only enough to last half a month, and with the granary in Wu City burned down, they could barely sustain themselves for four or five days. Even if they shared some of their supplies with the garrison troops in Wu City, it wouldn’t last much longer.

Many officers here corresponded with Yanjing City. Gu Qingci had the authority to receive urgent eight-hundred-mile dispatches, but it wouldn’t be long before others found out as well.

They had to take some action during this time—even if they couldn’t find food, they could at least create some illusions.

“So what do we do now? It’d be a joke if we didn’t die under enemy cavalry but starved to death instead.” Wen Renyi said, lowering his voice.

“Cao Hang and I will figure out a way to get food. You help readjust the rationing plan—reduce daily portions to the bare minimum for basic activity, stretching it out as long as possible. Also, have the logistics team forage for edible wild greens. And in this city, snakes, insects, rats, and ants—aren’t they all food? You know medicine, so talk up the benefits of those things.” Gu Qingci instructed.

They had to make the existing provisions last as long as possible while finding other sources of sustenance.

Now it all depended on whether the imperial court could act swiftly to gather and deliver supplies.

Her involvement had altered much of the original plot, and this situation wasn’t in the storyline she remembered.

It was hard to predict and prepare for in advance.

Over 400,000 dan of provisions—how many people would it take to intercept that much?

Could those Tujue cavalry really be so formidable, sending so many deep into Daheng territory to seize supplies?

Gu Qingci didn’t believe it; this was most likely an inside job, and the possibility of internal theft was also very high.

She hoped the imperial court could solve the case as soon as possible and recover the provisions. Otherwise, they should gather whatever they could and send some over as an emergency measure.

Gu Qingci wrote a letter back, but for now, they could only rely on their own efforts to buy more time.

“Alright, I’ll do my best.” said Wen Renyi.

“Good. People still trust what you say. Occasionally fasting for a day is good for the body.” Gu Qingci said.

“Well… General Gu, the issue of provisions is a serious matter. We can’t deceive them for long—there are over 200,000 mouths waiting to be fed here. I’ve heard that during the previous dynasty, when a defending general had no provisions left, they first ate the warhorses, then snakes, insects, rats, ants, livestock, and so on, stripping the common people’s homes bare. Later, they even… ate fallen soldiers and the elderly, weak, women, and children who were still alive…” Wen Renyi said.

Gu Qingci shuddered.

She truly didn’t want things to reach that point.

If they abandoned Wucheng and retreated, even Suicheng behind them had no food. How far would they have to retreat?

Moreover, doing so would be tantamount to being defeated by the Turkic cavalry and surrendering the city to them.

It was the worst possible strategy.

“I know. How’s the interrogation of those few going? Have you gotten anything out of them?” Gu Qingci asked again.

“They only revealed a few insignificant figures from the Tiger Guard. Should we arrest them? Or wait?” Wen Renyi asked, listing a few names to Gu Qingci.

“Arrest them. Find an excuse to take them in and continue the interrogation.” Gu Qingci nodded.

If there were still traitors among them, they likely knew about the provisions. If they stirred up trouble later, it could cause some issues.

While Wen Renyi continued interrogating the spies, Gu Qingci sent Cao Hang out with teams, each time dispatching many empty carts. Regardless of whether the destinations had food or not, they gathered whatever they could find—wild vegetables, fruits, anything—and swept the areas clean.

Sometimes, the cloth covering the carts concealed straw for the horses or wooden stakes for barricades, but everything was transported to the granary.

Ruan Zhi had given Gu Qingci twenty thousand taels of silver, but there was nowhere to spend it.

Gu Qingci went out again later, traveling to a more distant town. Upon returning, she purchased some strategic supplies and continued making simple bombs and other items using black powder.

The Turkic cavalry, having suffered several losses, had now become somewhat cautious.

Previously, Cao Hang was afraid of encountering the Turkic cavalry when he went out, but now when he led his men out, he actually hoped to run into them—at least they could get some horse meat to taste.

Initially, when the rations were reduced, things were slightly better. But as time went on, dissatisfaction began to grow among the troops.

One day, while Gu Qingci was studying a map and planning where to search for food next, the sound of commotion erupted outside.

“Some people are causing trouble.” Wen Renyi said with a grim expression as he approached Gu Qingci.

Gu Qingci sighed—what she had been expecting had finally arrived.

“The soldiers haven’t had enough to eat for days! When General Cao and General Xu were here, this never happened!”

“Has the court abandoned us? Why haven’t they sent provisions yet?”

“I heard the provisions were intercepted. It’s been so many days—why haven’t new supplies arrived?”

“We’re starving to death! How are we supposed to fight the Turkic cavalry like this?”

“We want food! We want food!”

Before Gu Qingci even reached the scene, she could hear the shouts.

Great. These people would rather expose themselves than continue to let the situation deteriorate into chaos.

As Gu Qingci approached, the crowd turned their attention to her.

“Everyone, calm down. I know these past few days have been tough for all of you. Originally, I didn’t want to tell you this so soon, for fear the Turks might catch wind of it. But since you’ve brought it up here, I’ll share this good news with you first—but you must keep it confidential.”

Gu Qingci spoke with absolute certainty.

“…What good news?” Everyone immediately looked at Gu Qingci with hopeful eyes.

“I’ve received a letter. The court’s provisions are almost here.” Gu Qingci said.

“General Gu, is this true?” a soldier questioned.

“Of course it’s true. If you don’t believe me, you can come with me out of the city to receive the provisions and bring them back as soon as possible.” Gu Qingci replied.

The soldiers were still skeptical.

“We’ll set off now. You’ll come with me.” Gu Qingci said, then went inside to put on her light armor and grab her weapons.

“I’ve shared such critical military information with you, and I don’t want it leaked. If any of you let the news slip and the provisions are ambushed, what then?” Gu Qingci looked at the stunned crowd as she emerged.

Even Wen Renyi was almost fooled by Gu Qingci’s act.

She made it sound so convincing.

Gu Qingci led over a thousand men out of the city.

In addition to the Tiger Guard, it included those who had been fanning the flames earlier.

She took these men along to prevent them from stirring up more trouble.

Once outside, they could be killed without issue.

Gu Qingci sat relaxed on her horse.

Earlier, she had instructed Cao Hang to prepare some “provisions” If they couldn’t find real provisions, they could transport those.

What worried her was where to find actual provisions.

Transporting a batch of fake provisions would only suppress the issue temporarily—they still lacked real supplies.

Scouts were sent ahead to reconnoiter the route and inform Cao Hang’s men.

The nearby towns had no provisions, leaving only one unexplored direction: the Turkic side.

It was said the Turks were skilled at raising horses, cattle, and sheep—just the thought made her mouth water.

But without a guide familiar with the area, it was easy to get lost. If they encountered a large group of Turkic cavalry, they wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight or escape, leaving only death.

Perhaps they could capture some Turkic cavalry and see if they could exchange them for food—or see if any of them were spineless enough to lead them to the Turkic side to seize provisions?

It was all too idealistic.

First, they needed Turkic cavalry to come to them.

The extensive array of cheval de frise hadn’t yet fully covered the surrounding area.

After suffering losses, the Turkic cavalry learned to be cautious. When encountering caltrops, they would dismount and manually remove the wooden stakes planted in the ground.

They still launched surprise attacks, just not as fast as before.

Gu Qingci led the troops forward when a scout returned on a swift horse.

“General Gu, I’ve spotted the grain convoy. They said they’re too afraid of the Turkic cavalry to proceed and are asking for you to send men to escort them.” the scout reported to Gu Qingci, his expression somewhat overly excited.

“…Alright, let’s set out now!” Gu Qingci felt the scout’s acting was a bit exaggerated.

The group followed the scout and soon arrived at a fork in the road, where Gu Qingci spotted a team whose attire and equipment seemed off.

Just as Gu Qingci grew suspicious, another group emerged from a different fork in the road. Among them, she recognized a familiar face—a soldier under Cao Hang’s command. This must be the group Cao Hang had prepared.

But where did the other team come from?

Gu Qingci urged her horse forward.

“Are you the ones transporting grain supplies to Wu City?” Gu Qingci asked the travel-worn men, her eyes landing on a one-armed man. Her heart skipped a beat.

“General Gu, yes, we’re here to deliver the grain!”

The man removed his hat and grinned at Gu Qingci.

At that moment, Gu Qingci nearly burst into tears. She scanned the group—though their clothes were mismatched and their faces dirty, upon closer inspection, some looked familiar.

There were men trained by Min Guiyi, discharged veterans with disabilities, and even what appeared to be a shop assistant she might have seen once.

This was clearly a team sent by Ruan Zhi.

Was Ruan Zhi among them?

Gu Qingci held back her questions for now. Instead, she turned and pointed at the few who had been stirring up trouble earlier, signaling to a squad leader of the Tiger Guard.

The Tiger Guard understood immediately and acted swiftly, knocking them out with the hilt of his blade.

“Fall back for now!” Gu Qingci ordered.

The rest of the soldiers retreated.

Gu Qingci stepped forward, her footsteps slightly unsteady.

“Has Madam arrived?” Gu Qingci asked the leading man in a low voice.

“Madam is not here. She went elsewhere to gather provisions and sent us ahead. The supplies were divided into ten convoys, each taking separate routes. Our group consists of two convoys. If all arrive, there will be sixty thousand dan of provisions.” the man replied to Gu Qingci.

Gu Qingci’s eyes uncontrollably reddened.

She had been reassuring Ruan Zhi, telling her only good news and hiding the hardships, claiming she was doing fine. But Ruan Zhi must have learned about the intercepted provisions—perhaps through Ye Youli or someone else—and, worried about her situation, had sent people to deliver supplies…

Sixty thousand dan of provisions, if rationed carefully, could feed over two hundred thousand soldiers for about twenty days.

“Do you know where Madam went to gather the provisions?” Gu Qingci asked again, her voice trembling slightly.

“I’m not entirely sure, but this is a letter Madam wrote for the General.” the man said, pulling out a somewhat crumpled leather envelope from his chest.

Gu Qingci took a quiet breath.

“You’ve all worked hard!” Gu Qingci said.

She didn’t read the letter immediately.

For now, the top priority was to escort these people safely back to Wu City!

Gu Qingci quickly formulated a plan in her mind.

She had Cao Hang’s men and the Tiger Guard take charge of the real provisions, while the people sent by Ruan Zhi were assigned to transport the decoy supplies.

Since this stretch of road was littered with traps, Gu Qingci left some of Cao Hang’s men behind to guard the area, fearing that the following convoys might stumble into them.

After mapping out the routes for everyone, they began hauling their respective provisions toward Wu City.

The Turkic cavalry, having grown cautious and clever after repeatedly falling into Gu Qingci’s traps, had learned to scrutinize more details.

Just as Gu Qingci could discern the differences in the men Ruan Zhi had sent, the scouts dispatched by the Turkic cavalry noticed them too.

The first to engage were these people.

However, they didn’t expect that as soon as these people saw the cavalry approaching, they would drop their things and flee.

This made them suspicious, so they wisely sent someone ahead to check. The cloth covering the carts seemed fine, but the carts were filled with grass.

What was this all about?

By the time they reached the carts and tried to pursue those who had fled, suddenly, objects were hurled at them from the side. The moment these things hit the ground, they exploded with a deafening bang, blasting craters into the earth and sending nearby men and horses flying in a bloody mess.

These were the upgraded versions of landmines developed by Gu Qingci.

After the first wave of attacks, the men wielding hooked spears descended to engage the cavalry in close combat.

“Madam instructed us to return after delivering the provisions, without entering the city. We’ve brought our own dry rations and silver, enough to sustain us until Yanjing. Now that we’ve delivered the provisions to the general, our mission is complete.” Gu Qingci had originally planned to lead these men back to Wu City, but the leader of the group refused.

If Ruan Zhi weren’t absent at that moment, Gu Qingci would have truly broken down in tears.

Her wife had thought of everything so thoroughly.

She really might have cried herself to death.

Gu Qingci didn’t insist on keeping them either.

The people in Wu City were already struggling to feed themselves. Bringing these men in would only make it harder for them to leave later and would further deplete their provisions.

It was better for them to return from here.

Gu Qingci dispatched a team to escort them part of the way.

Meanwhile, she led another team escorting the real provisions back to Wu City.

This group moved stealthily, taking an unusual route back to Wu City without encountering any interference, and successfully returned.

Upon arriving in Wu City, the soldiers, seeing the provisions being delivered, finally rallied from their days of despondency.

The drop in rations had naturally led to some speculation, but without anyone fanning the flames, most would have endured a little longer without overthinking it.

Now that the provisions had arrived, it was a huge relief.

“Are these provisions real? Every time General Cao went out before, he’d bring back carts supposedly full of provisions, but they were just filled with grass—no grain at all. Surely today isn’t the same, is it?”

“The imperial court sent someone to deliver provisions, but where are the grain transport soldiers? They’re all the people who went out earlier to search for food.”

The provisions were delivered near the granary, and no one knew who had spoken those words, but they sparked speculation among many soldiers.

“Stop, inspect the grain!” Gu Qingci coldly commanded.

The soldiers escorting the provisions uncovered the coarse cloth or straw covering the carts, revealing bags of grain. When the bags were opened, they showed gleaming white rice inside.

The few soldiers who had raised doubts were momentarily speechless.

Gu Qingci gave a signal to the Tiger Guard, and several men immediately seized those who had spoken.

“These men spread reckless rumors and disrupted military morale. Execute them on the spot!” Gu Qingci said coldly.

The Tiger Guard acted swiftly—with a flash of blades, the men were killed before they could utter another word, their bl00d splattering the ground.

“Spread the word: from now on, anyone who dares to speak such words will be shown no mercy!” Gu Qingci declared.

Previously, she had hesitated to kill them for fear of fueling further suspicion. But now, with confidence restored, she showed no leniency.

After handling the external affairs, Gu Qingci immediately returned to her private quarters, not even noticing when Wen Renyi called out to her.

As soon as she entered the inner chamber, she took out a letter from her robe and unfolded it.

With just one glance, tears fell from her eyes.