Chapter 648: Delayed attack, Han Xin’s weakness!

Chapter 648: Delayed attack, Han Xin’s weakness!

Not all places can meet these conditions. If you force a ship to dock, it may cause huge losses. For example, if the cargo is too heavy in a deep draft, the ship may lose balance or even sink to the bottom of the water. In addition, some places that appear calm on the surface may actually have many reefs hidden under the water, which is very dangerous for ships. You must never choose such places to dock.

In summary, these conditions are rigid regulations for building a port. Failure to meet any one of the conditions may lead to serious consequences, so careful consideration must be given when choosing a port location.

This is why, despite the navy being able to land at any time, the delivery of food is so ineffective. The deployment of troops can be achieved through human control, and when they reach the shore, they can use small boats to deploy troops. However, the transportation of food is completely different and the time consumed will be multiplied.

Even a slight storm can easily cause rice to be soaked in seawater. Once the grain is soaked in seawater or even irrigated by heavy rain, it will become damp in a few days. Aflatoxin will quickly grow in the damp rice, which is extremely deadly.

Ingesting a small amount of aflatoxin may only cause poisoning symptoms such as diarrhea, dizziness and vomiting. However, if consumed in excess, it can lead to organ failure and ultimately endanger life. Therefore, building a port has become the key to solving this problem.

Without a port, the risks and losses of transporting food and other materials are too great. Of course, there are some natural ports in nature, but they are very rare and limited in number. It takes a lot of time and effort to find and fix these natural ports.

Although in the initial plan, it was feasible to occupy Dongjiao and use it as a base to radiate to the surrounding areas, after all, Dongjiao has a geographical location suitable for building a port. However, this does not mean that other places can be realized so smoothly. Therefore, although transporting food by sea can temporarily solve the problem, it cannot provide a long-term and stable supply before the port is officially built.

This is exactly the most dangerous and weak link that Han Xin faced in this march. Nothing is absolute, and Han Xin's march is no exception. Although forced marches have their advantages, such as being able to attack the enemy unexpectedly, catching them off guard, and even achieving the greatest results in a short period of time. However, this way of marching also has obvious disadvantages.

The speed of the forced march was relatively fast, which meant that the army could not carry a large amount of food and fodder. As a result, the food transport troops would inevitably be separated from the main force by a certain distance. The movement of the logistics troops was also affected by many factors, such as weather conditions and terrain conditions.

When marching, the army can overcome difficulties by cutting through mountains and building bridges over rivers. However, most logistics troops can only advance along the main roads, and the method of taking shortcuts is not applicable to them.

As the news spread, Han Xin's worries became heavier. His biggest concern was whether the next batch of supplies could arrive in Langya smoothly. This was undoubtedly the key to this battle.

Now, the intelligence has been successfully obtained. King Wei Bao personally led an army of 100,000 and headed straight for Langya like a raging torrent. It is obvious that Wei Bao's purpose is to block Han Xin's way. Han Xin actually expected this a long time ago, so he was not particularly surprised.

The real problem that Han Xin found difficult was Hengshan King Wu Rui. Whether he could arrive in time and stop Han Xin's grain transport troops was the key to the victory or failure of this battle.

At this moment, Han Xin was still racing against time. Moreover, at this critical moment, he could not retreat to support the logistics troops. Because doing so would be putting the cart before the horse. After all, the cities had just been conquered, and the morale of the army and the people was still unstable. In addition, Wei Bao was watching this side with a covetous eye. Once there was a move to retreat, Wei Bao would definitely seize this opportunity without hesitation, take the opportunity to seize the city, and then start a city defense battle.

Although Han Xin had special weapons such as cannonballs, he could not use them easily because the number of such weapons was limited and many factors needed to be considered in their use. Any carelessness could lead to serious consequences.

There are two main reasons. First, the number of artillery shells is indeed limited. It is not that Gao Yao deliberately refused to provide more, but the actual output is indeed very limited, and it is impossible to use them in large quantities without scruples. You know, the production of artillery shells requires strict control of multiple key factors, such as the quality of the forged projectile must be strong to ensure its stability and reliability during the launch and explosion process; at the same time, the sustainability of combustion is also crucial, which is directly related to the power and effect of the artillery shells. In addition, safety and usability must be taken into account. Problems in any link may lead to serious consequences.

On the other hand, the safety of transportation is also an issue that cannot be ignored. This powerful weapon is undoubtedly an excellent weapon for attacking cities and conquering territories in this era dominated by cold weapons. However, if due to some unexpected circumstances, such as attacks or other changes during transportation, these weapons are plundered by other forces and used against the Southern Border Army, the situation will become completely different and may even lead to catastrophic consequences. Therefore, in order to avoid this potential danger, the number of shells carried must be strictly limited and cannot be used without restrictions.

Han Xin was not only facing the risk of the attack itself, but also the various risks that might be hidden after the attack. However, the good news was that the next batch of food was enough for the army to use for more than a month, which was enough time for Han Xin to successfully capture Dongjiao. But without this batch of food, even Han Xin would have found it unrealistic to capture Dongjiao. After all, even the most skilled cook cannot cook the best.

At this time, Wei Bao had already brought his army to Qianyuan County. Qianyuan County was a key location adjacent to Langya and Dongjiao County. It could be said to be a place that military strategists must fight for. It was the core location that ran through the two counties. The rest of the locations were either mountain roads or blocked by rivers, which was very troublesome. The 100,000 troops led by Wei Bao happened to be stationed in Qianyuan County. The original Qianyuan County garrison commander had already surrendered to Wei Bao. Wei Bao was willing to recruit the other party, and the other party also understood that neither Han Xin nor Wei Bao could be resisted by him with thousands of people.