"Big brother, the Changluo Railway is open." Qiaoxi walked in with the report of the Railway Division, and said with a smile: "It's been more than three months, and we have finally built the railway from Luoyang to Chang'an." ”

"yes, it's finally open." Li Xuanqing glanced at it and said with emotion: "If it is not opened to traffic, the backlog in Lishan will be almost piled up in the palace." Let's stop staying in the palace, let's go and clean up, let's go to Luoyang to see? ”

"Okay, I just want to go to Luoyang to have a look. Big brother, you wait for me for a while, I will entrust the little apocalypse to Sister-in-law Han, and we just happened to go on a trip. Qiaoxi was either busy with the affairs of the industrial group during this time, or accompanied Li Xuanqing to inspect the railway improvement engineering equipment, and he was tired of it, and when he heard that he went to Luoyang, he immediately cheered, and after the two of them cleaned up, they handed over the little Tianqi to Mrs. Han Xun, and immediately took the personal guards to rush from Chang'an Railway Station to Lishan, and then got off the train, and then crossed the Yellow River alone to the other side.

At this time, it was already May, and the Tiance Army's river-crossing headquarters had already started the river-crossing campaign a month in advance. Time rewinds to April, that is, after the Tiance army has been prepared, Chen Yu and Xue Wanli launched an attack in advance on the middle and east roads, Guo Chongtao's navy, five warships, after destroying the Jing navy, covered the follow-up hundreds of various warships to attack the south bank, 200,000 troops marched in a roundabout, and it took three full days to cross the Yangtze River. During this period, the Jing Navy under the command of Xue Mei attempted to attack the troop transport fleet of the Tiance Army crossing the river, but they were all blown to the ground by the ruthless artillery of the Navy Department, and the Marine Corps under the Navy Department played a vital role in the battle of crossing the river, and more than 2,000 marines were divided into two places in Pukou in Jinling and Runzhou on the eastern front, relying on continuous artillery support and mine cover, and under the cover of new weapons and muskets, they stubbornly held the tidal flat position, and successfully waited for the arrival of the army.

At that time, the Marines won this victory at the cost of almost all their deaths, and also won the respect of all the Tiance Army. This landing campaign also made the General Staff and the Navy Department attach importance to the work of the Marine Corps. After the war, Guo Chongtao even took the surviving Marine Corps soldiers to the equipment department to receive the Marine Corps uniforms, weapons and equipment designed by Li Xuanqing himself, and retrained a huge Marine Corps that made the army jaw-dropping. Moreover, in the subsequent imperial conquests, this 50,000-strong marine corps has repeatedly performed miraculous feats and created many miracles for the empire to expand its territory.

But at this time, Guo Chongtao almost fell from his flagship after receiving the report of the Marine Corps death sent by the Navy, this is the brother he brought up from Cangzhou, and he died in the endless battle for three days and three nights. Of the more than 2,000 people, only a little more than a hundred remained. He couldn't imagine what the Marine Corps had gone through, and the Jing Navy on the opposite side obviously underestimated these two small units, but they were forced to sink into the sand by the Pukou and Runzhou rivers.

"Immediately transfer proficient soldiers from all participating units to join the Marine Corps, this is the pride of all my Tiance Army, and we must not let the heroic troops be cut off from now on." After Yang Tiancheng saw Guo Chongtao, he immediately issued a big order to directly transfer troops from the hundreds of thousands of troops on the front line to reorganize the Marine Corps.

"Okay, Chongtao, since ancient times, casualties have been inevitable in battlefield battles, don't be sad." Wang Houchun patted Guo Chongtao on the shoulder, and was very concerned about the director of the Navy Department who was directly promoted by Li Xuanqing from his own soldiers.

"Deputy Marshal rest assured, I will definitely train the Marine Corps well, and I will definitely not disappoint the emperor's hopes." Guo Chongtao marched with a military salute, and the sadness on his face was also a lot less.

"Deputy marshal, the marshal asked the command to immediately prepare to cross the river. The front-line army has gathered under Jinling City, and Chen Shuai is ready to attack the city. The guards walked in at this time and reported.

"Okay, Chongtao, let your naval warships prepare immediately, and we will take the Fuxing and prepare to set off for Jinling." Wang Houchun patted Guo Chongtao and said with a smile.

After the command of crossing the river entered the south bank, the naval department commanded the warships to immediately begin to encircle and suppress the remaining naval forces of the Jing Navy, and filmed the warships to advance along the west to prepare to assist Xue Yang's army on the western front to cross the river.

However, Wang Houchun and Yang Tiancheng didn't care much about Xue Yang's actions, this guy was born to fight clever battles and strange battles, and sometimes even Wang Houchun was inferior to him. Moreover, most of the two guys on the western front, Li Yang and Li Shenfu, have now gone deep into Jiangzhou.

"Tiancheng, is the boss really going to blow up Jinling City?" When Wang Houchun arrived, Yang Tiancheng was in a daze at the headquarters on the map of Jinling City.

"It's not that you don't know the boss's character, in his eyes, Jinling City is a pile of stones and soil, so he said that if he can't find a way to attack the city within three days, he will use the artillery battalion." Yang Tiancheng smiled bitterly: "Xiao Si has already entered the city to join Li Jipeng, but there seems to be something wrong in the city, and the Pei family, a merchant in the city, intends to get closer to our Tang Empire, but because he has no military power in his hands, he is thinking about how to break Xue Mei's rule." ”

"So Xiao Si plans to use their contradictions to open the city gate?" Wang Houchun saw Yang Tiancheng frowning and smiled: "What's so difficult about this, since the Pei family doesn't have military power, let's give him military power." Sending someone to immediately summon the Flying Eagle Brigade to send two squads into Jinling City is, what is so difficult for them in this kind of thing. Wang Houchun pursed his lips and smiled: "As for the boss's side, it is not simple, order the Middle Route Army to immediately divide troops to support the East Road, work together to encircle and annihilate Qian Biao, and at the same time strike at the Red Turban Army near Lizhou." At the same time, let's see if there is a way to attract Xue Mei to send troops from Jinling and nearby Changzhou to help, so as to fight a field battle with us. ”

"What kind of Red Turban Army, it's just the remnants of the Huangchao Rebel Army, I really admire Xue Mei, the Jing Navy is so close that there is nothing to do with these chaotic parties, and let them occupy Lizhou for so many years in vain." Yang Tiancheng said with a smile: "Houchun, you go and order the troops to prepare for the attack, I want to see if the grain and grass of the rear army can keep up." ”

"I heard that Yang Yi transferred all the people to build water conservancy and railways, and this grain and grass was really almost cut off. Our Tiance Army has never suffered from this situation in battle. Wang Houchun smiled bitterly while letting the staff officers around him write orders.

"Forget it, the middle lane will be handed over to Chen Yu and Xiaosi, let's hurry up and rush to Runzhou on the eastern front to see if Wanli is ready to do it, I heard that Dong Chang's territory in the south has been taken by Qian Biao, how do I think this guy is a little bit of a bit of an escape." Wang Houchun signed his name on the written order and sent it out, and said with a smile to Yang Tiancheng beside him: "Let's go and help Wanli, Qian Biao is not comparable to Xue Mei, according to the emperor, Qian Biao is a rare talent among these feudal towns in the south of the Yangtze River, if you want to talk about the troubled times, it is estimated that Zhong Biao may not be able to compare." ”

"I don't know if Xiao Si can get the strategist Liu Yin of Qian Biao, I heard that he transferred his right-hand man Zhao Si to Hangzhou." The two of them took their guards and walked towards Runzhou.

"It's too difficult, although Liu Yin is wild and uninhibited, but he is loyal to Qian Biao, and Qian Biao himself is also very virtuous, and his subordinates can be described as united, I'm afraid that Wanli will not be as easy as the middle line." Wang Houchun shook his head and said, he is not very optimistic about Xuan Yingwei's plan, even if Zhao Si himself is very capable, but at this time, it is estimated that it is useless.

"This is also the reason why you agreed to transfer the troops and horses in the middle to the eastern front, and if necessary, attack Qian Biao's flank from Lizhou, so that he can not concentrate on fighting Wanli." Yang Tiancheng shook his head indifferently and said: "Qian Ning originally cooperated well with Wanli, and this time he was transferred to the middle lane to prevent the Red Turban Army and Xue Mei from confluencing, which is nothing." ”

"By the way, did you send the military newspaper to the base camp?" Yang Tiancheng suddenly asked.

"Oops, I almost forgot about it." Wang Houchun scratched his head and smiled, "Just go to Wanli and send it again." ”

When several people were chatting, Xue Wanli in Runzhou had just finished arranging to cross the river, but then Qian Bi's general Zhong Qi led his troops from Runzhou and had a scuffle with Xue Wanli, who had just established a foothold, by the river. The two sides fought until dark before withdrawing their troops.

However, Xue Wanli didn't want to give up such a good opportunity, and when Zhong Qi retreated, he and his subordinates led the army to take the initiative to pursue despite fatigue. Xue Wanli in catching up with the two in Runzhou more than a hundred miles south of the place to fight again, in the fierce battle Xue Wanli personally led his own guards to risk the opportunity of being shot by the other side of the two arrows to impact the opponent's Chinese army, the Zhong Qi under the horse, this time Qian Biao's troops were completely chaotic, the two sides fought until dawn, the East Route Army Tiance military general led the rest of the army to catch up, the remaining more than 30,000 people were captured.

By the time Wang Houchun and Yang Tiancheng arrived in Runzhou, Xue Wanli had just collected his troops, and the entire military camp was almost in chaos, with wounded soldiers constantly being transported back from the front line and sent to the wounded barracks for treatment, and a large group of prisoners being escorted over.

"Tiancheng, what the hell are you doing in these thousands of miles? You won't be attacked by the other party, right? No, how can there be still captives? Wang Houchun arrived at the gate of Yuanmen and muttered.

"Let's go to the tent." When Yang Tiancheng pulled Wang Houchun to the handsome tent, Xue Wanli had just come back from bandaging, and hurriedly greeted the two of them after seeing them.

"Wan Li, you are now the marshal of the group army, why do you personally lead the army to assault? Have you forgotten the military regulations of the General Staff? Yang Tiancheng was just about to give a good training, and Xue Wanli was stopped by Wang Houchun.

Wang Houchun glanced at it and said, "Wanli, won't you be the one who defeated Runzhou?" ”

Xue Wanli shook his head and said: "Wanli hasn't had time yet, but I slaughtered Zhong Qi, and his army was scattered by me, but I chased it too quickly, so I forgot that Runzhou City hasn't been fought yet." Xue Wanli's embarrassed smile made Wang Houchun almost laugh and bend over. Co-authored this guy for a long time, he didn't defeat Runzhou, but he wiped out Runzhou's army. That's fine, it is estimated that Runzhou can really be passed on now.

"When I first came, Tiancheng and I thought that you would fight more the east road, but I didn't expect you to play more smoothly than the middle road?" Wang Houchun said with a smile: "Forget it, you hurry up and let your staff officer write a military report and send it to Chang'an to the emperor quickly." ”

"It just so happened to write down the entire battle of crossing the river." Yang Tiancheng looked at Xue Wanli and said with a smile: "I didn't expect your injury to be really worth it, so I just changed it to a good start." ”

After the general newspaper was written, several people began to send people to hang around outside Runzhou City, and they were directly frightened that there was no longer a single soldier in the garrison to surrender. After the Tiance Army marched into Runzhou, the accompanying civil affairs officials were responsible for government affairs, and the top management of the Tiance Army held an emergency meeting.

"You mean to say that you are going to fight Suzhou next? Suzhou is a key area for Qian Biao's defense, why don't you wait for Qian Ning to come over and join before fighting? "Yang Tiancheng is a little unconfident in the Cangzhou Legion under Xue Wanli.

"Tiancheng, you are a typical person who looks down on the Cangzhou Legion, don't worry, I understand their combat effectiveness, rest assured." Xue Wanli said with a smile: "You let Qian Ning concentrate on fighting the Red Turban Army, I promise to drag the main force of Qian Biao's army in Suzhou City, and then defeat Qian Biao's main force in a battle, so that you can directly take Hangzhou." ”

Wang Houchun understood what he meant, nodded thoughtfully, and said, "Are you planning to attract Qian Biao's main force in Suzhou, and then gather and annihilate it?" Xuan Yingwei's news: Qian Biao is now known as 200,000 after collecting the rest of Dong Chang's troops, do you really think about it? ”

"The herald asked Tianyi to lead the army across the river to the Eastern Group Army, and participate in the Battle of Suzhou if necessary." Yang Tiancheng also nodded, and simply added a killer feature to the Eastern Front, and said with a smile: "Wanli, this time I will give you the only formed cavalry corps on the Southern Front, if you mess up, you will definitely be blamed to death by Chen Yu." ”

"Don't worry, I have already told Guo Chongtao of the Navy Department that the moat of Suzhou is very deep and connected to the Yangtze River Canal and waterway, and when the time comes, I will directly let the naval warships participate in the battle and use artillery to directly blast the city defense of Suzhou City. Now it seems unnecessary. Xue Wanli said with a smile.

Yang Tiancheng scratched his head and said with a wry smile: "I feel that the front-line commander we chose this time was wrong?" Why are both of them so violent? If the emperor knew about this, he would probably have to kill me and Houchun. ”

"Well, well, when I didn't say that. I just asked the navy to help open up the situation, not to say that the city of Suzhou would be demolished. Xue Wanli said with a smile.

"Let me tell you one thing, it is also a major matter explained by our Prime Minister, the armies of the Southern Expedition must pay attention to the capture, and our Ministry of Finance does not have much money allocated to the army this year." Yang Tiancheng said with a smile: "The southern front must be self-sufficient, because of the food to the enemy, and it is also necessary to use capture to fund the northern front operation." ”

Yang Tiancheng's words made Xue Wanli's face condense, although they were all generals in the army, regardless of local government affairs, but the basic truth was still known, so Xue Wanli solemnly hugged his fists and took this strange order.

In fact, after the end of the Southern Expedition Campaign, Xue Wanli's East Route Army captured the most of the three route armies, so much so that Cen Tianshi went to Li Xuanqing to ask for medals to be awarded to all departments of the East Route Army in recognition of their contributions to the empire.

On the tenth day of April in 892 AD, the army of the Eastern Front attacked the city of Suzhou under the command of Xue Wanli, and for a while, the war on the Eastern Front suddenly exceeded the middle line and became the center of the southern expedition.