积草屯粮

storing grain against a famine; to lay sth by for a rainy day

to wait for action after having accumulated power, energy etc

elite soldiers, ample provisions (idiom); well-prepared forces; preparations for war are in an advanced state

before the troops move, fodder and provisions go first (idiom); logistics comes before military maneuvers; an army marches on its stomach

to increase the population, amass wealth, and teach the people to be faithful to the cause (in preparation for war, following a defeat)

to stock up; to stockpile