Sun Ce and Ma Chao, Xu Sheng and others chatted for a long time. If he wanted to find the most suitable ambush time and place, he had to consider the physical strength of both sides. Each Wen Chou had one horse, and he had two. The longer the time, the more beneficial it was to him. But he was in a hurry and had to kill Wen Chou before crossing Hulu. After crossing Hulu, he would not have enough time. Once Yuan Tan or Cao Ang received the news and rushed to reinforce, he would undoubtedly lose.

Of course, there must be a good place. Two hundred vs. two thousand, one to ten, the risk is extremely high. He must use all factors as much as possible to weaken Wen Chou's strength and create opportunities for the assault. Either he doesn't fight, he must win if he wants to fight, and he must win quickly, otherwise he will be unable to bear the loss too much.

If you lack strength, you can only count the tendons and bones, and every possible change is taken into account.

Xu Sheng and others were fine, but Ma Chao soon became impatient and found a reason to compete with the knights. Sun Ce didn't say anything. Ma Chao was so naturally. He also fought with his talent and could not come.

"Are you worried that the loss will be too great?" Xu Sheng squatted down when Sun Ce faced him and said in a low voice.

Sun Ce looked at him and smiled. "It's just such a small possession, I can't afford to lose."

Xu Sheng rolled his eyes. Sun Ce said, "If you have anything, just say it, don't think about it."

"Here, General, do you know the difference between war horses and ordinary pack horses?"

Sun Ce was stunned for a moment. He had never paid attention to this problem because he had never had the opportunity to own a large number of pack horses, and even if there were, he didn't need to take care of him. He looked at Xu Sheng again and suddenly realized a problem. Xu Sheng was known for his courage in history, but he was not the courage of ordinary men. He was good at using tricks, and he defeated the more with few more many times. He was a wise and brave character. As a general from Langya, he was able to survive in the Sun Wu regime dominated by Jianghuai and Wuhui because he was not connected, but his real skills.

He was in the same county as Zhuge Jin, but Zhuge Jin was a self-protection person and had been moving closer to the Jianghuai Group, so he might not be able to speak for him.

"Wen Xiang, tell me."

"Pack horse feeding is not as delicate as war horses, and its physical strength is insufficient. The training is not as strict as war horses. It cannot be enforced like war horses. It is often frightened when charging at high speed. I heard that when cavalry charge, in order to prevent the pack horses from being frightened and interfering with the formation, they usually put the pack horses aside and guarded by a dedicated person. However, I have not experienced a real cavalry war and I don't know what the specific situation is. If this is the case, how many people will need to guard the two thousand pack horses?"

Sun Ce had a slight jaw. This was a problem he had not considered. If there were many people guarding the pack horse, the enemies he had to face during the battle would be less than 2,000, and the chance of winning was greater. But from another perspective, these people became disguised reserves, and they were likely to be in battle when he thought he had the upper hand and gave him a fatal blow.

"Wen Xiang, you can pay attention to the situation when you inquire about the situation and report it together. The more details, the better." Sun Ce took a sip of water. "The devil is hidden in the details."

Xu Sheng was surprised. "General believes in Buddhism?"

Sun Ce grinned and laughed. "I don't believe in Buddhism, but I can send them to the West."

Xu Sheng shook his head. "Those barbarians will not go to the West, they can only go to hell."

——

Wen Chou squatted down, looked at the camp carefully, and picked up a piece of horse manure that had already dried on the outside and broke it open. The inside of the horse manure was still wet, but there were no grass stems. Wen Chou frowned, and a trace of uneasiness flashed in his heart.

Sun Ce used grain to feed his horses, and the horsepower would be better than he expected. Along the way, Sun Ce could get grain supplies from the county pavilions along the way, without worrying about food shortages, nor carrying the food needed by the horses, or even worrying about cooking. Just send someone to notify him in advance, which is an advantage that cannot be ignored.

Wen Chou stood up and thought for a moment. "Catch the local pavilion chief. Be careful, you can't ruin his life."

The guard was stunned for a moment. "General, Sun Ce did not live in the pavilion, why should he arrest the pavilion chief?"

"If you want to go, where can you come from so much nonsense?"

The guard was scolded by Wen Chou and did not dare to say anything more. He hurriedly took the man to the camp. The pavilion was not far from the camp, about two or three miles away. Before long, the guard came back. A middle-aged man struggling desperately was standing on the horse's back. The guard ran to Wen Chou's horse and pushed the middle-aged man off the horse's back. The head of the pavilion fell on his back, and he screamed in pain. Wen Chou became more and more unhappy and scolded the guard, asking him to help the head of the pavilion.

"Are you a local pavilion chief?"

The middle-aged man looked at Wen Chou and was still shocked. "Yes, yes, who is the general?"

Seeing that the head of the pavilion was very nervous, Wen Chou had an idea. "Do you know Liu Yu and Liu Bo'an, the governor of Youzhou?"

"Liu Yu? I know, I know. He is a famous scholar in the East China Sea."

"I am his subordinate."

The pavilion leader suddenly felt much more relaxed. "Oh, you are Liu Jun's subordinate, no wonder so many Hu people."

Wen Chou didn't explain, and talked a few words to ask about Sun Ce who had just passed by. The head of the pavilion said that Sun Ce had just passed by here a day ago and sent someone to notify him in advance, so the pavilion had already been prepared. He originally thought that Sun Ce would eat in the pavilion, but Sun Ce was afraid of disturbing the people, so he asked someone to take away the prepared dry food and the food eaten by the horse. He didn't know the specific situation.

"How many people's portions are? How much food is provided for horses?"

"Dry food for two hundred people, he wants three hundred stones, but the pavilion is not enough, so I only gave two hundred and thirty stones. But General Sun was very kind and didn't say anything."

"So little?" Wen Chou pondered. The quota for a horse is equivalent to two people, a bucket of two thousand and three hundred stones a day, and can only be used for 250 horses. It is matched with the number of people, but the number is seriously insufficient. Sun Ce would never have only two hundred people, two hundred and fifty horses, which is more than just judging from the number of horse manure on the ground.

Wen Chou thought about it, looked around, and suddenly there was a light of inspiration. "Are there any other pavilions nearby?"

"Of course there are, there are three or four within five miles. Fu Yang and Wuyuan are close to each other, with a large number of household registrations, and there is a pavilion in three or four miles, otherwise they will be unable to take care of it. But after passing here, there will be fewer."

Wen Chou suddenly realized and immediately sent cavalry to several nearby pavilions to invite the pavilion chief. In order to avoid similar situations, he asked his personal guards to report Liu Yu's name. This trick was very useful. When he heard that he was Liu Yu's subordinates, the pavilion chiefs cooperated very well, and they could speak out and said everything. He put all the numbers together, which happened to be a meal for a thousand people and a food for a thousand five hundred war horses.

Wen Chou was very satisfied. He dismissed several pavilion chiefs and immediately decided to follow Sun Ce, continue to impersonate Liu Yu's subordinates, send people to the front pavilion office to rank and order them to prepare for reception. Although he was behind Sun Ce and had limited food to collect, he could understand Sun Ce's daily consumption, and at the same time reduce the risk of camping. He could live next to the pavilion in a big way, and he could enjoy the treatment of officials in the pavilion. As for whether the pavilion chiefs believed him or were scared by the fierce knights, he could not control it.
Chapter completed!