Li Pu and Wei Zhen took the generals of the Qiuhu Army to retreat and rest first, and Lin Haizheng said in a sullen voice: "It is unlikely that the Chuzhou Army and the Nanya Forbidden Army will divide their troops to the south of Jieling Mountain. ”

Sitiandun is a good place, the basin is surrounded by mountains, easy to defend and difficult to attack, north of Runzhou Yangyang, Liyang two counties, south of Huzhou Changxing, Anji two counties, the east foot of the mountain range, but also directly extended to the coast of Taihu Lake, can trade with the fishing forces in Taihu Lake, and can even go further, with Xuzhou water camp into zero, dispersed into Taihu Lake, forming a water camp directly controlled by them.

Easy to defend and difficult to attack, relatively easy to obtain food sources, and direct access to Taihu Lake, Lin Haizheng was reluctant to give up such a place to the Qiuhu Army to occupy.

"Li Pu and Wei Zhen, which one of them is the master who scatters eagles when he doesn't see a rabbit?" Han Qian looked at the topographic map in front of the case and said with a smile, "Now that I expect the Qiuhu Army to cooperate with us to share some of the pressure, we have to let them taste the sweetness." Sitiandun this place is good, in the hanging ridge at the eastern foot of Jieling Mountain, there is an ancient plank road, which is a shortcut from Huzhou to Runzhou through the southeast coast of Taihu Lake, we can see the benefits, Li Pu They can also see the benefits, Huzhou Huanghua and Chuzhou Army, Xinwang They can not see? ”

Han Qian said this with a smile, but he knew in his heart how much pressure he was under.

At present, so many old and weak women and children are being evacuated to Fuyu Mountain, and the main force of the Chishan Army has also largely withdrawn to the territory of the old county of Guangde, but the pressure on Han Qian's back does not say that it has been reduced by half a bit.

The Chishan Army recruited young and strong slaves and maids, and quickly expanded the soldiers and horses to 30,000 people, but the proportion of those who can really be talked about being strong is very low, which is directly related to the existence of stratification within the slaves and maids.

As an elite family soldier and a ministry, as well as a slave and maid who serves closely in the master's family, although they are also slaves, their conditions such as clothing, food, housing and transportation are much better than those who serve as slaves and maids at the bottom, and the relationship with the master's family is relatively close.

They are even more willing to rely on the family gate valve instead of bearing the heavy burden of land taxes and taxes.

In the three or four months when food was most scarce, they basically did not suffer much hunger, and the main family would give priority to them when they went to the city to escape the scourge of war.

Those who really can't take care of it, or can be said to be abandoned at the first time, and are thrown there to fend for themselves, are still those slaves and maids who are at the bottom, serving as hard labor, and being exploited the most.

It is precisely the latter that occupies a very high proportion among the generals, women and children who have joined the Chishan Army.

On the one hand, they do the hardest work, almost no one has access to education, and they are poorly organized.

On the other hand, they are at the bottom of the whole society, malnourished and thin since childhood; Since the beginning of this year, the ration supply has been doubly harsh, making them in good physical condition.

In addition to the remnants of the Taowu Army, the Chishan Army had a total of more than 170,000 slaves and maids attached during this period, and there were nearly 60,000 men in the age group of fifteen to forty-five, but the 30,000 qualified generals who were finally reluctantly selected may not be able to match the healthy women of the women's battalion in physical condition, and only a few thousand people can talk about being strong, and they are currently given priority to supplement the first capital.

The soldiers and horses in the second and third capitals are about 9,000 people, but the soldiers and armaments are really not much different from the exile army.

However, in a short period of time, Han Qian was unable to provide adequate nutrition to improve their physical condition.

After all, since moving into Maoshan, the food supply has always been a sharp sword on their heads, so the activity area is too limited, even if there is new grain and grass collection from time to time, but compared with the attached population, the grain supply cycle is getting shorter and shorter.

At present, the daily ration of the soldiers has been reduced to one liter, which is only one-third of the normal sufficient supply, and the ration supply of women and children scattered in the mountains has been reduced to the limit of one liter every three days.

Not to mention the abundant supply of armor.

The condition of the Chishan army was so poor, and their Chuzhou army in the north, Xuanzhou soldiers in the southwest, and Huzhou soldiers in the east were all strong and well-stocked.

The Chishan Army still needs to win a few battles before it can really open up the situation, but there is no room for mistakes in every battle.

Before he was completely sure, Han Qian would never dare to use troops easily, so no matter how good Si Tiandun's position was, he had to endure it.

Even if they successfully lay down Sitiandun with small casualties, they will resist the pressure from the Chuzhou army in the north and the Huzhou soldiers in the east at the same time in the northeast corner, and the limited elite will be pinned down there, causing them to expand to the periphery in the future, and the pressure will be doubled.

Han Qian would rather give the key point of Sitiandun to the Qiuhu Army and Li Pu to occupy it, but also to ensure that the elite combat power is not dispersed.

categorically vetoed Lin Haizheng's motion to lead the first capital to fight Sitiandun, and Han Qian said to Feng Yi again:

"Gu Zhilong's attitude is still ambiguous, but you still have to go to see him. The Chishan army can promise to take Tingzi Mountain and Yuhexi as the boundary, and not a single soldier will cross the border, but the Xuanzhou soldiers will not cross the border, and at the same time, we need Gu Zhijun to open up the trade of grain, linen, iron, and salt......"

"Gu Zhilong's attitude is ambiguous, that is also an ambiguous attitude towards Anning Palace and the Chuzhou Army, but it may not have an ambiguous attitude towards us - if I go to Langxi, I may not be able to enter the city." Feng Yi said.

"I have a handwritten letter, if Gu Zhilong doesn't let you enter the city, you shoot my handwritten letter into the city, so that Gu Zhilong and the Xuanzhou clan can feel that we do have a little sincerity." Han Qian spread out the pen and paper, and wrote in ink.

Feng Yi leaned over to see Han Qian's words and sentences and even humility, frowned slightly, and said: "If you really want to live in peace with the Xuanzhou soldiers, asking your old man or your uncle to come forward is much more effective than lobbying for me, a gentleman." ”

"Maybe I'll accompany Feng Yi to Langxi City?" Zhang Ping said, "The so-called raising tigers is a problem, and the so-called lying on the couch does not allow others to sleep soundly, I believe Gu Zhilong also understands these truths in his heart, but in the face of huge military pressure, if Gu Zhilong is really eager to lead the disaster of the Chishan Army to Huzhou, I think as long as the conditions we put forward are not too excessive, Gu Zhilong and the family gate lords in Xuanzhou may make some compromises." ”

There are strong enemies on three sides, even if they maintain the status quo with Gu Zhilong and ensure that the old and weak women and children who enter Fuyu Mountain will not be attacked by the Xuanzhou soldiers on the west side, it can also greatly alleviate the pressure faced by the Chishan army at this time.

Of course, Zhang Ping also knows that the Han family has a huge influence in Xuanzhou, and it will be better to persuade Han Wenhuan, the old man of Han, or Han Daoming or Han Daoduan to lobby in Xuanzhou.

However, Old Man Han was in Yueyang at this time, and the relationship between Han Qian and his eldest and second uncle was so bad, Zhang Ping was very skeptical that Han Qian would bow his head to his eldest and second uncle?

Han Qian pondered for a while and said, "It's good that Master Zhang accompanies Feng Yi to Langxi - over there in Yueyang, I will also write a letter and send someone back." ”

Zhang Ping was quite surprised, but he thought that if Han Qian was willing to bow his head a little, it would be of great benefit to improve the situation of the Chishan Army.

…………

…………

From Nantangzhai to the south to Tingzi Mountain, to the east to the border of Anji County, they are basically within the control of the Chishan Army, and the Xuanzhou soldiers are still honestly shrinking in Langxi and other cities, so they only need to send a small number of soldiers and horses to guide the people of Lishui County to continue to move forward.

The 3,000 elite soldiers and horses of the Qiuhu Army were also temporarily camped to the west of Nantang Village for repair.

Li Pu and the others withdrew from Nantang Village, returned to the temporary camp, weighed the pros and cons, and discussed until the second half of the night, and also felt that they should take Sitiandun and establish a foothold in the southeast foot of Jieling Mountain, so that they could grasp a certain initiative, rather than acting on Han Qian's face in everything.

Different from Lishui City located in the land of the plains, the mountains around Sitiandun are steep, easy to defend and difficult to attack, especially the hanging ridge of the northeast coast of Taihu Lake has a depth of thirty or forty miles, which is a good foothold.

At that time, even if Han Qian played with them again and led the main force of the Chishan Army to withdraw without saying hello, they would be able to hold on to it, and they would no longer be so embarrassed and jumping like this time.

After studying for a night, and even deducing a specific plan for using troops, seeing that the sky was already bright, Li Pu couldn't take a break, and went to Nantang Village to find Han Qian and tell Han Qian their plan of action.

Wei Zhen and Xu Jing, the director of the Late Red Mansion, and others were responsible for the subsequent relocation of the people of Lishui County, Yao Xishui and Yun Puzi escorted Li to Guangdezhai to recuperate, and Li Pu will personally take Li Xiu, Chen Mingsheng, Li Mo, Wei Huang and others to lead the 3,000 elites of the Qiuhu Army to attack Jinzhongling from between Jieling Mountain and Fuyu Mountain.

Without delay, they were able to take control of Admiralty Ridge to the west of Sitiandun in about two days and complete the clearing of the perimeter of Sitiandun.

However, they also hoped that the Chishan Army would be able to attack Anji County or Changxing County in the west of Huzhou before that, and attract the main force of the state army led by Huzhou Thorn Shi Huanghua to the border area between Changxing County and Anji County, mainly to prevent the main force of the Chishan Army from advancing eastward.

There are four or five hundred soldiers from the family clan in Sitiandun, and they can try to storm it, but if Huzhou sends thousands of reinforcements into Xujiazhai, which is located inside Sitiandun, it will be too difficult, and it is impossible for them to make such a military adventure without a stable foothold.

"There is no problem," in the face of Li Pu's request, Han Qian stared at the topographic map spread out on the long case, and said, "I will order the Gao Shao Division, which has entered the eastern border of the old county of Guangde, to continue to attack Jiudu Mountain and Xianshan Lake at the intersection of Anji County, Changxing County and the old county of Guangde, hoping to attract the attention of the Huzhou soldiers......"

Han Qian agreed neatly, but Li Pu hesitated, wondering if Han Qian had other intentions, but he couldn't question anything face-to-face, and said goodbye to Li Xiu, Wei Zhen, Chen Mingsheng and others, and left, somewhat distracted and worried.

The sky was cloudy in the early morning, and it was not so hot, Yao Xishui and Yun Puzi were ready to send Li Yu to Guangdezhai to recuperate at this time.

Seeing Li Pu walking back with a heavy heart, Yao Xishui asked hesitantly, "Han Qian is not worried about the invitation of the Hou Ye?" ”

"Yes, but yes, but he promised too simply......" Li Pu said hesitantly.

Li Yu sighed secretly, coughed violently for a while, and said: "The Chishan army is advancing eastward, threatening the two cities of Anji and Changxing, in addition to helping you attract the main force of the Huzhou soldiers, Han Qian wants to protect so many old and weak women and children, and also needs to fight to completely control the eastern flank of the old county of Guangde...... cough cough cough ...... Han Qian made you attack and defend Lishui, and made the Chuzhou army and the Nanya forbidden army suspicious, you feel that you are being used, but think about it, where is the real loss? ”

Li Pu was red-faced by Li Yu, but Yao Xishui was thoughtful.

She secretly thought that a month ago, Li Xiu and Li Yu could not lead more than 300 cavalry guards over, and it was difficult to do anything in Xiaomaofeng, although it looked embarrassed today, but the banner of the Qiuhu Army was erected, and there were 3,000 elites.

If they can really shelter the people of Lishui County and take root in Sitiandun, they can further ensure that the soldiers and children of the clans of all families are tied to their interests.

In a world where soldiers are not expensive, the combat strength of three or four thousand elites should not be underestimated, not to mention that among the more than 20,000 citizens of Lishui County, there are still three or four thousand young and strong military potentials that can be tapped.

The Chishan Army seems to be powerful and has many soldiers and horses, but the most fundamental problem has not been solved.

If it weren't for that, why did Han Qian need to retreat south in embarrassment, and why did he need to send Zhang Ping and Feng Yi to Langxi City early in the morning to see Gu Zhilong to show weakness and sue for peace?

They can't be discouraged just because they have been led by Han Qian by the nose these times, and they have missed the ability to judge the overall situation.

What does the prince mean, it should be this, right?