The information received by Xiang Ji and others came from Huainan, thousands of miles away, and they galloped by fast horses and chariots for 20 days before they transmitted the attack on Huainan by the Jiangbei Expeditionary Army to Linjin in early July.

The order for this "battle to cross the river" was issued after Heifu captured Wuguan and captured Guanzhong before the autumn harvest. It is also from the fast boat along the Danshui into the Han, from the Xiakou straight into the river, down the river and the wind thousands of miles, to the hands of Wei Yang and others.

It seems that everything happened within a month, but freezing three feet is not a day's cold, Heifu's strategic outflanking, and his coveting of Huainan began to prepare as early as a year ago.

No one knew this better than Wu Jun Shou Xu Shu, as early as the end of the 37th year of Qin Shi Huang, when Heifu was still confronting Wang Ben in Jianghan, he gave instructions to Jiangdong: build a large number of ships, hoard grain, train soldiers, and wait for the opportunity.

"Although Jiangdong is small, the place is thousands of miles, hundreds of thousands of people, the people of the five counties of Jingzhou, the enemy is strong in Guanxi and the Central Plains, although Jiangdong does not fight with the enemy, and there is no need to carry grain to help, but it still needs to contribute to this war."

Although the children of Jiangdong are here today, they have passed by Xiang Yu, and the two sides have no intersection in history, but are occupied by Heifu first, and they must make good use of it.

Heifu also made a promise that after the war, Jiangdong would enjoy the treatment of "three years" in the old revolutionary base area, that is, three years of rent and tax exemption, together with Nanjun, Hengshan, Changsha, Yuzhang and other places.

But the promise that has not yet arrived cannot be trusted at all, but fortunately, Heifu asked the county guard Xu Shu to act cheaply, and he only has twelve months to complete the task.

Xu Shu had been an official in Jiangdong for a long time, and understood that compared with the locals, the number of the Northern Expeditionary Army was too small, although at the beginning of the 38th year, Jiangdong also implemented a rent reduction policy, but the local Chu people were still unconvinced, and the Yue people were restless.

Xu Shu had to use the Yue people to coerce the Chu people, and he had to use the Chu people to check and balance the Yue people, and use various means such as deception, blackmail, promises, and suppression to ensure that they served the Northern Expeditionary Army honestly.

He declared that the Yue tribes living deep in the mountains were exempt from paying taxes and taxes, but they had to join the Northern Expeditionary Army with soldiers, and the Chu farmers who lived in the Taihu Plain took on the main responsibility of rice production and assisted in shipbuilding.

On the other hand, although Wu Yue was a horse with boats, it was not easy to build large ships, and shipbuilding and hull refurbishment alone was a grand project, requiring large quantities of wood, glue paint, linen, ropes, and copper and iron needed to make copper nails, iron anchors, and other equipment.

In order to obtain these resources, people searched the whole Jiangdong, where the Yue people cut down the primeval forests around Taihu Lake and drifted down the Wusong River to Huating (Shanghai) by the sea, where the new shipbuilding center was located, but a large part of the work was carried out in small docks scattered throughout the lake.

For a whole year, the air in the ports of Jiangdong was filled with the sound of hammering, sawing, the impact of axes, and the filing of adzes; The leather glue boiled in the cauldron was bubbling and tumbling; The furnace glows red; Rope makers release hundreds of feet of twisted hemp rope; Various materials are processed, chopped, sewn, forged, and made into oars, pulleys, masts, sails, and anchors.

Gradually, on the basis of the keel, the hull gradually took shape; Some of the ships were reassembled from the old ships of the Southern Expeditionary Army's Boat Division, but they had served in the hot and humid Lingnan for several years and had experienced countless battles with cannibals, and they had long been riddled with holes......

In the workshops of Tongshan, people are making war equipment, hooks for water warfare, and hundreds of thousands of arrows to be stockpiled - some of the bans in the "Tian Law" have been lifted, hunting is carried out all year round, almost all hunters have the task of paying the birds' long feathers every month, and the Taihu Lake water birds have been killed.

After a year of unremitting efforts, the Jiangdong Boat Division has regained its former strength, with more than 300 large and small ships, which are enough to be proud of the world, whether it is a lake, a river or an offshore sea, it is an absolute overlord, and no one can compete with it.

After a large number of Yue people were conscripted into the army, the apprentices of the three counties of Jiangdong: Wu, Yue, and Danyang were sharp, and their total strength also reached 30,000 people......

It is twice as many as the soldiers left behind in the East China Sea and Jiujiang armies of the Chu people.

So, from the moment the order to attack arrived in Wu County, the war drums rumbled, and Xu Shu stood in Huating Harbor and watched Weiyang set sail.

For Bo Ji, who had been pregnant for several months and came to see off her husband with a group of "sisters" who also had their stomachs, they were deeply shocked by the spectacular scene in front of them:

Hundreds of ships set sail at the mouth of the Wusong River, their large and small flags fluttering lightly in the breeze. Standing out in the crowd of fleets are some huge buildings that look like castles, towering over the sea like tall towers, hoisting the glittering captain's flag, and from the south of Huiji, Donou, Minyue, there are also Yue boats constantly joining.

The sailors who had been training in Taihu Lake and offshore for a year crowded on the decks, raising their arms and shouting the Northern Expedition, and with the sound of drums and bells ringing in unison, the wooden oars of the galleys broke the waves and sailed towards the entrance of the river.

And the most leading one of the dark building ships named "Liaoning" by Wuzhong Hou Yaoyao is Wu Junwei, General Lou Chuan, and Wei Yang.

Looking back at such a magnificent boatmaster floating on the sea, and looking at the somewhat narrow river compared to the sea, Wei Yang couldn't help but sigh:

"Uncle is the master of this boat, but he only asks us to cross the river to attack the Chu people, will it be a bit overkill?"

The task of the Lou Boat Division was not difficult, it was nothing more than to crush the remaining Chu Zhou Division on the river and protect the pontoon bridge located in Dantu, so that 20,000 soldiers from Wu County and Yue County and commanded by Wu Rui could cross the river to attack Guangling.

Guangling is the later generation of Yangzhou, not the later generations of fireworks splendid rich land, although there are fish salt valley silk, but most of the area, is still famous for the poor countryside, the water is mixed, the local people every time the green and yellow are not connected, can only eat hairy crabs to survive.

However, the strategic value of this place was evident as early as when Wu and Yue were fighting for hegemony: it was rooted in Huai and left and covered Jiangdong. Back then, Fucha and Qi competed for hegemony, and it was from here that they went north.

Garrisoning Guangling was the Duke of Chu State, and the locals of Guangling called Ping.

Zhaoping was responsible for the defense of the eastern section of the river and had certain skills, but Zhaoping had only 5,000 men, and he wanted to send people to attack and burn the pontoon bridge, but he was blocked by Wei Yangzhou's division and missed the opportunity.

Seeing Wu Rui crossing the river, Zhaoping had to retreat to Guangling, but the Yue soldiers were fierce, and the boat division transported the siege equipment made in Jiangdong outside the city, and after ten days of strong attack, the city broke a corner, and Zhaoping surrendered in order to protect the life of the villagers.

According to the policy of the Northern Expeditionary Army, Xu Shu accepted the surrender of Zhaoping and Chu Pawn, and forbade everyone to slaughter the surrendered soldiers, but after a meal of good food and drink, he gave a few coins to each of them to return to their hometowns, and spread the policy of the Northern Expeditionary Army to forgive the surrenderers.

The Chu army dispersed, while Wu Rui and Wei Yang continued northward, intending to march north along the Hangou Canal, sweeping across Donghai County, entering Surabaya, and eventually threatening the new capital of Chu: Pengcheng.

This is the East Route Army, the West Road, is presided over by Lixian, Danyang County's Anpu, will also take the opportunity to cross the river from Danyang, sweep Huainan, he will join with Wei Jing from Hengshan County, with 20,000 troops to attack Shouchun, Wei Yang will also divide a part of the boat division to help.

Most of the Chu people attacked Qin in the west with Xiang's origin, but the rear was relatively empty, just like that, in mid-July, the Lou Boat Division cooperated with the Yue soldiers, all the way through Gaoyou and other places, and arrived at Huaiyin City, which was the north-south thoroughfare......

Unlike the fierce resistance of the Chu people in Guangling, Gaoyou and other places, Huaiyin surrendered without a fight, and the locals expelled the county duke sent by Xiang Ji and opened the city gate to welcome the Northern Expeditionary Army.

When I asked, I found out that this Huaiyin was the hometown of Han Xin, who was ranked as a "general" in the Northern Expeditionary Army. Han Xin has won many big victories in the past few years, and his reputation is restless in the south, and Huaiyin has more or less heard of it.

So when the Northern Expeditionary Army arrived at the doorstep, this county, which had disliked and forced Han Xin away, took the wanderer as a talisman and hurriedly sacrificed it, hoping to get preferential treatment......

In the past, the Nanchang Pavilion Chief's family, who had been eaten and drunk by Han Xinbai many times, was pushed out by the county's fathers and elders, and bowed in front of Wei Yang, saying:

"Dare to tell the general, the Nanchang Pavilion Chief is Han Xin's old friend, and Han Xin regards him as his own brother."

Nanchang Pavilion Chief Chao Wei Yang showed an embarrassed smile.

The three local elders pointed to Han Xin, who was embarrassed in the past, and deliberately secretly ate dinner first, which embarrassed Han Xin, and said:

"And treat his wife as a sister-in-law!"

The wife of the Nanchang Pavilion Chief was frightened by the boatmaster and heavily armed soldiers who covered the Huaishui all over the world, and she hung her head and did not dare to speak.

But the three elders never expected that the amulet they carried out not only failed to please the general in front of them, but instead angered him.

When Wei Yang heard them mention Han Xin, he was angry, so he said with a smile:

"Han Xinwu's sister-in-law, my brother is in my business, listen to your words, this Nanchang Pavilion Chief is also Han Xin's brother, should he sit at the same table with this general?"

……

PS: The second chapter is in the afternoon.