Li Ding's decision to march immediately was a perilous move, because the autumn harvest was imminent.
Even the warlord with the least strategic vision-or, to put it bluntly, even the most shortsighted bandit-could not help wondering, when faced with fields of crops almost ready for harvest, whether he should reap them before marching.
Hebei had endured nearly four years of warfare, a time when winds rose and clouds surged. Of all those involved, only Zhang Jincheng had dared march across fields of ripening crops. Even Zhang Jincheng, however, had been preparing to leave Qinghe, where warfare had left too few crops in the fields, to "find food" in Pingyuan.
Then Zhang Xing, Li Ding, and Cao Shancheng had smashed him from front and rear.
Thus, marching at this time posed all manner of problems.
There was morale to consider. The Wuan Commandery troops were one thing, but would Xiangguo Commandery's troops and laborers willingly abandon their family fields to fight?
There was the march to consider. Li Ding and his military staff had previously conducted extensive reconnaissance and compiled intelligence on Xiangguo Commandery, but their knowledge of Zhao Commandery amounted only to routine, ordinary scouting. They also had to consider the damage that marching and fighting would inflict on the crops.
Beyond that, the most crucial point was that they absolutely had to win quickly. If the fighting dragged on and delayed the autumn harvest, it would trigger a string of political, military, economic, and diplomatic problems, potentially even recoiling upon the newly annexed Xiangguo Commandery.
But-and there was always a but-Li Ding still chose to march.
He knew that the seasons treated everyone fairly. The problems he faced were much the same for his opponents. That being so, marching now would inevitably catch them off guard, the most desirable