After returning to Jiaozhou City, Xiao Ding counted the number of existing troops, because there were losses in the attack on Zhaoqing City and Jiaozhou City, so Xiao Ding transferred thousands of troops from several county towns that had just surrendered, supplemented the existing troops, and gathered 50,000 troops again.

Then march westward, preparing to attack Jiangzhou.

Xiao Ding looked at the military map on the table and saw that the approximate location of Jiangzhou was on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau on the map of later generations, and the territory was mostly mountainous, and its residents were mostly ethnic minorities, among which the Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Li, Bai and other famous ethnic groups were the majority.

The nearest Jiaozhou city to Jiangzhou is the westernmost county seat of Nanchi in Jiaozhou. It borders Rongbo County in Jiangzhou. This Rongbo County is also the only way to go to Jiangzhou City.

When the king of Jiaozhou fled to Jiangzhou, he would definitely not stay in a small county town, and he would definitely go to Jiangzhou City, the capital of Jiangzhou, for refuge.

Therefore, Xiao Ding's next plan is how to quickly hit Jiangzhou City and capture the king of Jiaozhou.

There is no royal family of the imperial court in Jiangzhou that has been divided here, so there is no king of Jiangzhou in Jiangzhou. When the king of Jiaozhou arrived in Jiangzhou City, he was naturally the highest official in Jiangzhou.

Usually, according to the official system of the Great Song Kingdom, the title only enjoys Yulu, and has no real power, just like the rank of Pingxi general before Xiao Ding, if this expedition, the emperor did not seal Xiao Ding as the position of deputy commander of the soldiers and horses, and Xiao Ding also has no right to divide the troops and send generals.

However, the king of Jiaozhou is the title of the prince and the royal family, even if he has no real power, the local officials dare not offend, and now he has openly rebelled and has an army in his hands, so no one in Jiangzhou dares to provoke him.

The officials in Jiangzhou had already surrendered to the king of Jiaozhou, so when the king of Jiaozhou fled to Jiangzhou for refuge, the officials of Jiangzhou would naturally entertain him.

Xiao Ding decided to drive his troops into Nanchi County first, and then think about how to attack Jiangzhou City.

So, the next day, the army set out. The army of 50,000 marched majestically and vigorously towards the west.

This also includes four or five thousand people from the Jianghu sect. and Song Yinzi and the Ninth Princess, who were regarded as burdensome people by Xiao Ding.

The two brothers and sisters did not play a role in the march and battle, but they still had to allocate manpower to protect the two of them, so they were disliked by Xiao Ding and regarded them as a burden.

The army took the official road, in fact, Xiaoding did not have a boat, if there was a boat, it would be possible to reach the border of Jiangzhou by marching along the Zhuyue River all the way.

It's just that the big and small ships in Jiaozhou City were all taken away by the king of Jiaozhou. Xiao Ding wanted to build it now, but it was too late, so he had to choose to go by land.

The land march was naturally not as fast as the waterway, and the army walked for three days before reaching the county seat of Nanchi.

After arriving at the county seat, I inquired, and then I learned that Rongbo County, the county seat of Jiangzhou, which is closest to Nanchi County, was actually hidden in the mountains.

From Nanchi County to Rongbo County, most of the roads are mountain roads. If the enemy forces set up an ambush in the middle of the way, and their side is not familiar with the terrain, they will definitely suffer a big loss.

In addition, it is summer, and mudslides often break out in the mountains during heavy rains. If the army rushes forward and is unlucky to catch up with the rain and encounters a mudslide, then there is no need to fight, and the army will be scattered by the mudslide.

At the same time, because these mountains are sparsely populated, most of them are primeval forests, and every night, a poisonous miasma will form in them. If you rush in without understanding the situation, most people will be poisoned and die unknowingly.

Therefore, if you want to march into Rongbo County, you must have a guide who is familiar with the terrain to lead the way. These officials in Nanchi City are definitely not good, although they know about these situations, they have never been there in person, and they don't know how to avoid these dangers.

So, Xiao Ding asked the county magistrate of Nanchi County to post a list outside the county office to recruit people, and recruit a person who is familiar with the terrain in the mountains and knows how to avoid dangers in the mountains to be a guide.

In fact, it would be very easy to recruit such a guide in Jiangzhou, but it would be a little difficult to recruit a guide in Jiaozhou.

After all, although the two counties border, the residents of Nanchi County all know that there is danger in the mountains on the other side of Jiangzhou, and few people are willing to go to the mountains over there.

Therefore, the list has been posted for three days, and still no one has come to unveil the list.

Xiao Ding was very anxious, and ordered the county order to increase the bounty from the previous 100 taels to 200 taels, and continue to post the list.

You must know that the daily consumption of 50,000 troops is much more than the reward of 1 or 200 silver.

One more day here, there will be one more day of consumption, although along the way seized a lot of grain and grass accumulated by the king of Jiaozhou over the years, but also can't help but sit and eat the empty mountains!

Not only Xiaoding is anxious, but the generals in the camp are also anxious, they have been in Nanchi County for three or four days, why haven't they marched yet? If you stay like this, the soldiers will become lazy!

Just when everyone was waiting a little impatiently, the county magistrate suddenly ran happily to the county hall.

Xiao Ding saw that the county commander was full of smiles, and knew that he should have some good news, so he asked, "I don't know why the county commander is so excited?" ”

"Deputy Marshal Hui Tian, just now, someone outside has unveiled the list!" The prefectural magistrate replied happily.

"Huh? Quick, bring it in and show me! Xiao Ding was also very surprised when he heard it.

"Deputy Marshal Tian is not in a hurry, this person said that he can be a guide, but he doesn't want to reward silver." The prefectural order said.

"Don't reward silver, so what does he want?" Xiao Ding asked strangely.

"He said he had to promise us something to help him so he could help us as a guide." The county magistrate replied.

"What are you doing?" Xiao Ding asked curiously, and the other people in the room also looked at the county order.

"This, you still need Deputy Marshal Tian to ask him personally!" The county magistrate replied.

"Okay, go and call him in!" Xiao Ding commanded.

"Okay!" With that, the prefectural commander turned around and walked out.

When they got to the door, the county commander ordered his subordinates to bring the unveiler over.

Then, the prefectural commander led the man back into the hall.

Xiao Ding had already seen at this time that the person who was following the county order was a young and strong young man. He was about twenty years old, wearing a coarse cloth shirt, and his complexion was swarthy, and by looking at this outfit, he knew that he must be a villager who often worked outdoors.

Seeing this young man from the villager, his face was simple, but he didn't look like the treacherous man, so Xiao Ding asked, "Did you expose the list?" What is your name? ”

"Lord Hui, it is the list I revealed, the villain's name is Erzhuzi, and he is a villager from Gushan Village, Rongbo County." Erzhuzi replied honestly.

"Oh, since you are a villager in Jiangzhou, why did you come to this Nanchi County again?" Xiao Ding asked strangely.

"I came to Nanchi County to sell the firewood I hunted in the mountains, because my home is relatively close to Nanchi County and a little farther away from Rongbo County, so I come to Nanchi County to sell it for money every time I finish collecting firewood." Erzhuzi said.

"How much can you sell for a load of firewood?" Xiao Ding asked.

"My lord, if you meet a good buyer, you can sell a load of firewood for twenty yuan. If it is an ordinary buyer, it can only be sold for fifteen wen. Erzhuzi didn't know Xiao Ding's official position, so he called him an adult.

"Sell so little, you unveiled the list, why don't you want to reward silver?" Xiao Ding asked suspiciously.

"Because, there is one thing I need help with, and it is much more important than the silver reward." Erzhuzi replied.

"What the hell is it that you need help with? Is it more important than silver? Xiao Ding then asked.

"That's right, the existence where I live is called Gushan Village, not far from our Nanchi County. Recently, for some reason, there was a snake plague in the village, and many people and livestock in our village were bitten by poisonous snakes, and we didn't know how to deal with those snakes. ”

"Snakes?" Xiao Ding was surprised.

"Yes. Every night, a group of snakes enter the village and leave at dawn. Those snakes can't be beaten or driven away. Therefore, I would like to ask the lords of the government to help us, as long as we help our village solve the problem of the snakes, I am willing to come and be a guide for the adults to enter the mountain for free. ”

When Xiao Ding heard this, he said in his heart, this is really a troublesome matter, but why do the snakes enter the village every night? Could it be that there is something in the village that attracts snakes?

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