Since getting on the ship, Zhu Rong has always been surprised, Liu Xin is not surprised by her performance like this, even he himself is surprised that Jiangling Shipyard can produce such a huge warship, and he even wants to pull this fleet to the sea to practice.

Zhu Rong saw that Liu Xin didn't have any intention of asking, so he had to say curtly: "When I crossed the Yangtze River last time, the boat shook me dizzy, this time it doesn't seem to be in the way, am I already used to taking the boat?" ”

Liu Xin stared at the front with both eyes, and said without looking back: "The boat is wind-resistant, sitting on such a boat naturally can't feel the swaying from side to side, if it is above the sea, I'm afraid you will vomit out your bitter gall." ”

Zhu Rong stuck out his tongue behind him, made a grimace, and didn't speak, but he didn't think so much in his heart, where could there be such a powerful thing.

The boat moved very quickly, and soon turned from the Han River to the Yangtze River. The sky gradually darkened, but Liu Xin did not have the slightest intention of stopping the boat to rest, no matter what, he had to rush to Wuling tonight. Now, most of the forces of the four counties in Central and South China are concentrated on the border of Qike, if Meng Shu and them sense the danger and retreat, it will take double or even three or four times their strength to deal with them again, Liu Xin does not want to let go of this opportunity.

A string of lanterns rises on the bow of the ship, reflecting the starry sky, which is very beautiful. Because there were no modern means of communication, the ships in the fleet relied on flags during the day and lights at night.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Rong, who had been silent for a while, became excited again, and leaned next to Liu Xin and said: "Brother, according to the ancestors, everyone corresponds to a star in the sky, you say, which one is you and which one is me?" ”

The evening breeze blew across the river, and the fragrance of the virgin like an orchid and musk deer penetrated into Liu Xin's nose, which made his heart flutter, and he couldn't help but reach out and want to hold her in his arms. Liu Xin's hand stretched out halfway, suddenly stopped there, and sighed secretly, Zhu Rong has both the infatuation and tenderness of an ancient woman, and the pungent generosity of a modern woman, and it is not in vain to be able to get her heart to go to this world, but even if Ma Yun has no opinion, the age gap seems to be a little bigger.

didn't hear Liu Xin's answer, Zhu Rong turned around, but saw a strange look on his face, and couldn't help asking, "Brother, what's wrong with you?" ”

"Yes." Liu Xin retracted his hand, also retracted his thoughts, smiled and said, "It's nothing, I'm thinking about how the war in Zhongnan should be carried out, you let me be quiet." ”

Zhu Rong agreed "oh", and stepped aside obediently, but his eyes fell on Liu Xin as if there was a thread leading him, and he seemed to feel a little distressed about his hard work.

Because other ships still rely mainly on sails for power, it is obviously much more difficult to grasp the direction and magnitude of the wind at night, and the hydrological situation has to be considered, so the speed of the whole fleet has gradually slowed down. If it was only the building boat that Liu Xin was riding, it would have been able to drop the sails and rely solely on the wheels to provide the power to move forward.

However, there are also advantages to taking a boat, except for the sailors on board, who still need to maintain their attention, everyone else can go into the cabin to rest and thus maintain their energy.

The next morning, when the first rays of sunlight rose, this huge fleet finally arrived at the river bank of Wuling County. When Zhu Rong took his cousins out of the cabin nervously, he didn't see the springboard that made them palpitate.

Because there are often fleets to travel between the north and south of the river, a deep-water port has been built on both sides of the Jiangling section of the Yangtze River and the Jiangxia section. These deep-water ports are military forbidden areas, and they are exclusively used for water and military vessels, and other civilian ships are not allowed to enter. And there are many large ships in the navy, so there are dedicated docks, and there is no need to use a gangplank anymore.

When his feet finally stepped on the land by the river, Zhu Rong felt much more steady, looked back at the behemoth, and waved at it like a child.

Liu Xin also jumped on the riverbank, pointed to a camp tent in front of him, and said to Zhu Rong: "Miss Zhu, I have already asked people to prepare breakfast, go eat a little and then hurry." ”

Zhu Rong touched his stomach embarrassedly, and said with a red face: "Well, I'm a little hungry." ”

It is not allowed to make a fire on the warship, and Liu Xin didn't want to break the rules, so he ate dry food and drank river water with the soldiers last night. The dry rations carried in the army could only ensure that the soldiers were fed and replenished with the necessary nutrients, and in the conditions of the time, they did not take into account aspects such as taste. Although the living conditions of the barbarian people are difficult, although it cannot be said that the family of a patriarch like Zhu Ding is not tired of eating, every meal of meat is indispensable. The dry food last night was not quite right for Zhu Rong's appetite, it was inevitable that she would eat less, she ate quite a lot, and after Liu Xin's reminder, her stomach was a little growling.

In the middle of the night, Liu Xin ordered one of the fast boats to rush to the port in Jiangnan and let the people on the shore prepare breakfast for today. Liu Xin knew that there were no eyes on the battlefield, and many of the 20,000 young soldiers who followed him on the expedition might never return to their hometowns. Liu Xin is not an immortal and has no ability to guarantee the safety of everyone, but Liu Xin can try his best to let these soldiers eat better and rest better.

Zhu Rong looked at the large pot of eggs, steamed buns and soy milk in front of her, and couldn't help but raise her head and glance at Liu Xin opposite affectionately, thinking that these things were specially prepared for her by Liu Xin. She didn't know that the food in Liu Xin's military camp had always been so good, and it wasn't that she had any special care.

As soon as I got out of the gate, I saw a group of people standing there not far away, but it was Wuling Taishou Jin Xuan and a group of subordinate officials here to welcome Liu Xin's driver.

The first few times Liu Xin went on expeditions, he kept his whereabouts extremely secret and did not alarm the local government. But this time, he deliberately ordered the news to go out, and Jin Xuan, who got the news, did not dare to slack off, so he naturally waited outside the camp early. Because the port is a military restricted area, even if Jin Xuan is a county guard, he can't enter without a special token.

The reason why Liu Xin released the rumor was, of course, not to notify these county magistrates to come to greet him, but to tell Liu Dan and Meng Shu that I, Liu Xin, are here! The hatred of killing his father and taking his wife are all incompatible, Liu Dan and Meng Huo, as the leaders of the Central and Southern Coalition Army, hate Liu Xin to the core, even if they still have the heart to retreat because of the failure of the attack, now that they hear that Liu Xin is coming, they will not leave again.

Actually, Liu Yan can't be regarded as Liu Xin's killing, and Liu Xin didn't intend to kill him, it was his own psychological fragility that scared him to death. As for Meng Shu, Zhu Rong was not his wife at this time, and he couldn't talk about taking his wife or not taking his wife at all. However, Liu Dan and Meng Huo don't see it that way, they have long recognized Liu Xin as their biggest enemy in this life.

Liu Xin turned over and got on his horse, raised his whip and passed by Jin Xuan and the others, only hugged his fists on the horse, and said loudly: "Lord Jin, my lords, the military situation is urgent, and Liu does not dare to delay." After Liu's triumphant return, I will invite all the adults to drink the celebration wine together. ”

Jin Xuan and the others didn't dare to stay, and said in unison: "Congratulations to the lord!" ”

Liu Xin greatly weakened the real power of the Taishou through the implementation of the policy of "separation of powers", but with the rapid economic and social development, the Taishou and the county order, as the local governor, were more respected by the people, and Jin Xuan and others were also more and more happy. Liu Xin's words are Jinxuan and others are Jinkou Yuyan, who will compete with him?

A soldier had already led the flaming red horse, and Zhu Rong, who was full of food and drink, jumped up, and returned to his former heroic posture, with a wave of the horsewhip in his hand, and a delicate sound of "driving", like a ball of fire chasing Liu Xin.

Although she grew up in Nanban, Zhu Rong's riding skills are extremely exquisite, and after coming to Xiangyang, Ma Yun asked her to change a pair of saddles and configure stirrups, which made Zhu Rong even more powerful, and caught up with Liu Xin in a moment.

Liu Xin and 10,000 soldiers of the Fourth Legion walked in front, followed by Wen Ping with temporarily recruited barbarian warriors. When I was on the ship, I didn't feel that now when I really marched for a long distance, the difference in the military quality of the two sides could be seen. The ranks of the Fourth Legion were neat, and the soldiers walked silently, except for the occasional call of orders from officers and the sound of uniform footsteps, and few of them spoke casually. And those barbarian warriors, although they were all born strong, lined up in a crooked queue, and in the process of marching, there were people talking to each other from time to time, and the buzzing sound sounded.

As long as the people along the way see that it is Liu Xin's army, whether you are a regular army or a temporary conscripted army, they all show the same enthusiasm, stuffing a steamed bun and handing over a bowl of water can be seen everywhere. Seeing such a scene, Zhu Rong seemed to understand a little bit, why Liu Xin's army could be invincible and invincible, and Meng Huo's desire to attack Qi Ke was tantamount to a fool's dream, but he did so to bring the entire barbarian tribe into danger.

Thinking of this, Zhu Rong couldn't help but turn his head to look at Liu Xin, and asked cautiously, "Brother, will you kill all those people of mine?" ”

Liu Xin smiled and said, "Don't worry, my policy has always been to only punish the first evil, not the rest." As long as your barbarian tribesmen are willing to abandon evil and follow good, I will not blame the past. ”

In fact, when she was in Xiangyang, Ma Yun had already expressed this attitude, but now that she heard Liu Xin say it herself, Zhu Rong's heart really relaxed.

It is said that the hometown is timid, but as soon as he entered the realm of Qike, Zhu Rong, who put down the burden in his heart, was obviously a little excited, and introduced the mountain to Liu Xin for a while, and pointed to the tree to Liu Xin for a while. Suddenly, with a flick of his wrist, he threw out a flying knife and knocked a colorful golden pheasant off the branch.

Liu Xin couldn't help frowning and said, "Miss Zhu, what are you doing with it?" ”

Zhu Rong took the brocade chicken that had not completely lost its breath from Zhu Yan's hand, pulled out the flying knife, wiped it on the bright feathers of the brocade chicken, and reinserted it behind his back, and said triumphantly: "Brother, look at how fat this brocade chicken is, just add a meal at noon." ”