On the second day after Jiang Ming made a decision to find Zhao Jun in the east of Yangzhou and let people start the operation, someone came to the door. The identity reported by the person made Jiang Ming feel very surprised.

"You said your Zhao Army Shadow Guard's people?" Jiang Ming looked at the cold young man with four guards with a look of disbelief. He only started to send people to look for it yesterday, and today the other party came to the door, which made Jiang Ming unbelievable.

"Of course! Even if I show out my identity certificate now, I guess Chief Jiang won't believe it. However, I believe that the sincerity of my Zhao Jun will make Chief Jiang believe in our identity. The cold young man said lightly, not feeling the slightest dissatisfaction because of the other party's suspicions.

"Oh...... You may be seated! Unconsulted, who are you? Jiang Ming said with a smile.

The cold young man said in a deep voice: "Graduate of the Martial Arts Academy of the Great Zhao Royal Academy, Light Cavalry Captain Gu Shan. Speaking of which, Gu is not the captain of the Shadow Guard, and the four behind me are the real Shadow Guard. ”

Listening to Gu Shan's words, Jiang Ming couldn't help but be shocked, he had heard of the Great Zhao Royal Academy, which was the highest academy in the Zhao Kingdom, equivalent to the Guozijian of Great Yan. It's just that the Dazhao Royal Academy contains almost all the disciplines, and many theories such as Confucianism, law, and commerce and ink exist in it. It was Jiang Ming, after going north to Zhao State, who also took this place as the target he wanted to join.

"I don't know what Lord Gu's purpose is here this time?" After the other party said his identity, Jiang Ming had a feeling in his heart that the other party was not deceiving himself, they should really be Zhao Jun's people.

Gu Shan's cold face finally showed a smile and said, "Without him, it's just a matter of helping Leader Jiang deal with the current crisis." ”

Jiang Ming's heart jumped, his face remained unchanged, and he said in a deep voice: "Crisis? What is at stake here? We are the sea to the east, the Luo family army to the west, and the Jinshan army to the south, and the threat to us is nothing more than the Qi army, but now we can't directly attack us, isn't Lord Gu too alarmist? ”

Gu Shan said lightly: "Really? This time, the people suffered from the natural disaster in Xuyang. Needless to say, under the rule of Zhao Guo, Xuzhou has stabilized the disaster with the full assistance of the local people and businessmen of the government, and is now gradually calming down. However, the eastern part of Yangzhou was eroded, the government disaster relief was unfavorable, the victims were starving, and the weather was hot, and the plague was rampant. Compared with Xu Yang, many refugees who were dissatisfied with the Yangzhou government revolted to survive. This is also the reason why Chief Jiang can occupy the three counties, am I right? ”

Jiang Ming said in a deep voice: "It's true, but this is only the reason for Yangzhou's erosion, it is so, with the support of countless refugees in Yangzhou, we will definitely be able to resist the attack of the tyrannical and unscrupulous Qi army, so that the people in eastern Yangzhou can survive." But what does this have to do with the crisis that Master Gu is talking about? ”

Gu Shan shook his head and smiled: "What Leader Jiang said is reasonable, this is indeed an advantage for you to resist the Qi army, but there are soldiers under Leader Jiang who can fight against the Qi army?" Someone who has the ability to govern a place? Why did the victims become disaster victims, and they would not be able to live for a long time, or they would not have food and clothing? Jiang Shou also said in front of him, the root of your ability to resist the Qi army is this huge number of refugees, but the huge number of refugees also needs a huge amount of food. Could it be that Chief Jiang can solve the daily needs of the countless refugees in the three counties under your command? With the destruction of fertile land, it is not easy for these refugees to survive. Don't say that the Qi army is coming, that is, the food problem will not be solved, not to mention foreign enemies, that is, how long can these three counties be stable. ”

Jiang Ming was speechless for a moment, he naturally knew about this serious problem, otherwise he would not have found a way to ask Zhao Jun for help.

"I don't know what Master Gu taught me? Since Lord Gu can come here, it means that you Zhao Guo must have some thoughts about the eastern part of Yangzhou, but it doesn't hurt Lord Gu to talk about it! Jiang Ming's words brought his inferior position to the point of being equal to the other party. Yes, we are in danger, but since you, Zhao Guo, have sent people, you naturally have your own ideas. Otherwise, it wouldn't have come here. That being the case, what is there to be reserved?

Gu Shan laughed and said, "Chief Jiang is really not an ordinary person, he can stabilize the land of the three counties, and he can also treat the people and refugees well, he is indeed outstanding." Since Chief Jiang said so, then Gu Mou also said it bluntly. ”

"I, Zhao State, want to recruit you, so that the people in the east of Yangzhou will not die of hunger and will not die at the hands of the Qi army. I don't know what Chief Jiang thinks? Gu Shan's face was shocked, he looked at Jiang Ming, and said in a loud voice.

Jiang Ming's face changed suddenly, although he had the idea of attaching himself to Zhao Guo in his heart, but he didn't expect the other party to explain it to him so directly. For a moment, Jiang Ming didn't know how to answer.

Seeing Jiang Ming's stunned expression, Gu Shan couldn't help but smile in his heart, the reason why he picked out the topic so directly was also to hit the other party's heart, so that the other party could not deal with it for a while, and it was also to let the other party make a choice. The situation in the eastern part of Yangzhou is not good, if the time is delayed for too long, I am afraid that even with the help of Zhao State, it will be difficult to deal with the attack of the Qi army. The main rebel army of Yangzhou Ten Roads, Jiang Ming's behavior along the way is still more in line with Zhao Guo's goal.

Of course, Jiang Ming was chosen not because Jiang Ming was strong, but also because Jiang Ming was more in line with Zhao Guo's attitude towards managing places and treating refugees. Like those rebel forces that occupy one side and want to be the king and hegemon, Zhao State will not send people to pay attention to it at all, and even attack targets in the future.

"Now the rebels from all walks of life not only have to face the problem of refugee survival, but also worry about the attack of the Qi army. However, as long as we have the support of our Zhao army, all this is not a problem. The eastern part of Yangzhou is the sea, and the vast sea area has become the backyard of the naval warships of our Zhao State. Food, grass, armor, and soldiers against the Qi army will no longer be a problem. ”

"In addition, according to the Shadow Division's investigation, the Luo Jiajun, the rebel army to the west, has taken refuge in the Qi army. Your Jinshan Army here and in the south is already the next target of the Qi Army. Gu Shan ignored Jiang Ming, who was deep in thought, and continued instead.

"What?" Jiang Ming was taken aback, "The Luo family army has already taken refuge in the Qi army?" How can it be? The last time the garrison of Songjiang Mansion of the Qi army was defeated in his hands and killed more than 2,000 people by him, could the Qi army stop there? ”

Gu Shan said coldly: "For King Qi, the most important thing is to suppress your rebellious army as quickly as possible, and the subordinates who died are no longer important. Being able to subdue one of the rebels, and being able to destroy the other by surprise, is the most important thing for the Qi army. As for the soldiers of the Qi army who died, do you think the Qi army master will care? Will King Qi care? If they cared, there wouldn't have been so many refugees in the eastern part of Yangzhou. ”

"The first time you are facing is nothing more than the Qi garrisons in the prefectures and counties, and the soldiers of the Qi army are stationed in the north, west and south of the Qi country. Now, Murong Cheng, the king of Qi, is very annoyed by the erosion of the situation in Yangzhou, and has now dispatched 50,000 troops from the north to return to the south and is heading straight ahead. Don't say that you, the scattered rebel army that occupies two or three prefectures in the east of Yangzhou, is that my Zhao army wants to fight a decisive battle with the Qi army in the east of Yangzhou, and without tens of thousands of town soldiers, it is impossible to win the other party. Chief Jiang, the situation is like this, and we should consider it carefully. ”

Jiang Ming had already been shocked by the news that Gu Shan said, after all, they were refugees, how could the investigation of the surrounding situation compare to Zhao Jun's meticulous work? This is also a common problem of the new forces, and their intelligence exploration is too far behind.

Jiang Ming took a breath and said in a deep voice: "If Jiang Ming is willing to submit to Great Zhao, I don't know how Zhao Guo can help?" ”

Gu Shan said with a smile: "As long as you are willing to submit to my Great Zhao, the grain of the Zhao State will be continuously transported by sea, and as for the refugees above the place, they will either settle down here, or move to the south of Jiaozhou in the south, and my Zhao army is attacking Yuezhou in Linyi and other South Vietnamese countries." In addition, my Da Zhao will also send town soldiers and officers to train soldiers and soldiers here and attack Qidi. ”

"Big brother! Luo Jiajun sent someone to ...... "Just when Jiang Ming and Gu Shan were discussing the matter of annexation, Jiang Yun hurriedly rushed in from outside, and the words that he was about to speak were stopped because he saw that an outsider was here to stop what he wanted to say.

"Big brother, are they?" Jiang Yun saw that a stranger was growing, and he didn't know the identity of the other party, so he turned to ask Jiang Ming.

"Zhao Jun's messenger!" Jiang Ming said in a deep voice, "By the way, what were you going to say just now?" But it doesn't hurt to say it! ”

Hearing that this was the envoy of the Zhao army that his eldest brother was looking for, Jiang Yun couldn't help but be shocked, and immediately replied: "Big brother, the Luo family army was defeated by the Qi army and lost Jurong County. The rebels of Jurong County were defeated and fled, and now they have retreated to us and are interested in asking us for help. ”

"What? Is the Luo family army at war with the Qi army? Jiang Ming couldn't help but be stunned, and turned to look at Gu Shan, the suspicious look in his eyes suddenly appeared. After all, the other party also said earlier that the Luo family army had surrendered to the Qi army. But the current situation is that the Luo Jiajun has already fought with the Qi army, and it has been defeated by the Qi army.

Gu Shan naturally saw the suspicion in the other party's eyes, and said with a smile: "Does Chief Jiang think that Gu is lying?" The information that Gu got was indeed that the Luo family army had already descended, and he was sure of it. ”

"The Luo family's army has surrendered?" Jiang Yun heard Gu Shan's words and exclaimed: "This is impossible, Jurong's Luo family army has been defeated by the hands of the Qi army, and now it is fleeing from the road, how can it be possible to surrender to Qi?" Besides, five days ago, the Luo Jiajun defeated almost the entire Qi army in Jurong and Nanhui counties, killed all the Qi army officers and local officials, and had a deep enmity with the Qi army. They descended, it can't be. ”

Gu Shan said in a deep voice: "According to the intelligence of the Shadow Guard, there are 30,000 Qi troops in this rebellion, 10,000 are soldiers, and 20,000 are the garrisons of the western provinces of Yangzhou. And most of the 20,000 people are in Yuhang and Huiji. In the northeasternmost part of Songjiang Prefecture, there were only 5,000 Qi soldiers and soldiers, thousands of private soldiers of the Great Clans who had suffered heavy losses in each county, and the garrison that had retreated in each county. ”

"Even so, most of the nearly 10,000 Qi troops have already headed towards the Jinshan Army to the south. Because after the Jinshan Army occupied the eastern seaport, it had too many sea ships, and these sea ships were all the property of those big families. ”

"The little general said that the Luo family army was defeated in Jurong, so why didn't they retreat to Nanhui, another place occupied by the Luo family's army, but came to your city, which did not belong to the same force as themselves? The Qi army has the advantage of armor and equipment, how can it allow the defeated army of the Luo family to flee for more than 100 miles? ”

"By the way, how far is the Luo family's army from here? How many routs are there? Was there a Qi army chasing after that? ”

"That's right! Why did they come here? You should go to Nanhui! Jiang Ming immediately woke up and said in a deep voice.

Jiang Yun also felt that something was wrong, and then said: "According to our scout's report, there are still thirty miles of the Luo family's army rout, and there is no Qi army chasing after it, but there are indeed Qi army's scouts and squads chasing after them, and they seem to be investigating the situation. The Luo family's army had more than 3,000 people, and they were fleeing at this moment. ”

"That's not right! There's a problem here! Jiang Ming said in a deep voice, "Although there are more than 10,000 people in Jurong's righteous army, there are only less than 8,000 people who can really go to the battlefield, and those who really dare to fight against the army are afraid that there are not even 5,000." If the city was broken by the Qi army, how could there be 3,000 soldiers who would follow and retreat? ”

"Huh? Is there really a problem with Luo Jiajun? Jiang Yun was suddenly a little at a loss, "So what is it like now?" Fight to defeat them? I'm going to gather all the men of the city. ”

"Wait!" Jiang Ming blocked Jiang Yun's approach, and asked Gu Shan instead, "Lord Gu, Jiang Ming is willing to return to the Zhao Kingdom, I don't know how we should deal with it at this moment." Jiang Ming originally intended to return to the Zhao State, and he also knew that his own alone was not enough to protect the people and refugees under his command. Therefore, at this moment, the war is about to start, and it has also decided to focus on the other party and see how the other party responds.

Gu Shan stroked his palms and smiled: "Very good, Leader Jiang really understands the righteousness!" If this Luo family army is correct in my prediction, they should be the men and horses of the Qi army mixed in, wanting to take the city by surprise and take the city in one fell swoop. As long as the leader of Jiang is taken, the land of the three counties under the rule of the leader of Jiang will be leaderless, and the land of the three counties will be conquered by the Qi army, which is not a problem at all. ”

"Since they have been sent to the door, we can't be polite, so let's swallow them all. Without these 3,000 soldiers, it is not so comfortable for the Luo family army and the Qi army. If you want to raid and break the city, these 3,000 soldiers should be the elite of the Luo family's army. ”

Afterwards, Gu Shan said to the Shadow Guard Captain behind him: "Captain Xu, please go and inform our people, come to help immediately." ”

"Chief Jiang, we have five hundred people among the refugees inside and outside the city, and they will arrive here in a moment, hoping that Chief Jiang will bring them into your military camp. In addition, Chief Jiang also needs to gather his generals to discuss countermeasures. This time we're going to put them in the city and take them all. ”

Hearing that the other party said that there were five hundred Zhao soldiers hiding among the refugees inside and outside the city, Jiang Ming couldn't help but be surprised. Five hundred soldiers, in special circumstances, they can play a role that is definitely not small, especially if the other party is still the strongest soldier in the world, Zhao Jun. For what Gu Shan said, he naturally had nothing to disagree.

"Jiang Yun, immediately summoned the four partial generals to come to the discussion. In addition, he sent someone to bring Brother Zhao Jun into the barracks and told the soldiers that these 500 people were the personal guards of the chief. By the way, send scouts to tell the Luo family that we have prepared food and camp so that they can rest in the city. ”

Thirty miles west of Huating, the army has been resting here. However, judging by their scattered banners and armor, they were indeed a defeated army, or rather, they looked like mountain bandits. However, if you look closely, you can see that although their clothes and armor are scattered and their banners are messy, these soldiers do not have the panic after the defeat, and the eyes of the soldiers are also full of murderous energy.

"Lord Lin, this place is less than thirty miles away from Huating, and in an hour, we will be able to appear outside Huating County. Thinking about it, with our Luo Jiajun's identity, Jiang Ming's kid will definitely not let us stay outside the city. When our army enters the city, we will meet Jiang Ming in one fell swoop and occupy the city. As long as Jiang Ming is captured alive, the three counties such as Huating will naturally not be attacked. A middle-aged man with a suspicious face smiled and said to the middle-aged man next to him with a gloomy face and a slight emaciation.

"Captain Luo Hu, don't be careless. Although this action against Jiang Ming is an important matter for my army, it is also a credit to your eldest brother Luo Qing. If you take the three eastern counties, your eldest brother Luo Qing will naturally be the general of the first army, and the local garrison. And you are naturally a great achievement, and it is naturally indispensable to be promoted and make a fortune. If something goes wrong, you and I can't escape responsibility. So, don't be careless. Don't forget, now we are a defeated army, don't have the slightest anomaly. Among your 3,000 soldiers, the men and horses of your Luo family's army must also let them not show any horses. "The middle-aged man is an officer sent by the Yangzhou Assassin of the Qi Army, and he is also a strategist who cooperated with the Luo family army to quell the rebellion.

Although the Luo family army surrendered to the Qi army, if you want these rebel armies to play their due role and combat power, it is not enough to rely on these rebels alone. In addition, the Qi army sent officials to monitor Luo Qing, the leader of the Luo family's army, so that he could be obedient. Among the 3,000 chaotic troops, in addition to the 2,000 people from the Luo family's army, there are also 1,000 Yangzhou garrisons.

"Second leader, the scouts sent by Huating County said that Jiang Ming has received information from us, and they are ready to settle us, so let's march to Huating immediately." During the break, Luo Hu also got the good news of the scout's return.

"Your Excellency. Good news, Jiang Ming, they were fooled! Haha......" Luo Hu suddenly laughed.

The middle-aged man naturally heard the scout's report, and said to Luo Hu in a deep voice: "Let the soldiers be more scattered between the marches, and in addition, make the clothes more torn, and the rout army should have the appearance of a rout." Seeing Luo Hu's expression, the middle-aged man couldn't help but shake his head secretly, it's okay to let these people kill, let them use tricks, it's really not the right person.

"Don't worry, my lord, Luo Hu I have written it down, and there will be no accidents. Besides, Jiang Ming of Huating didn't know that we were going to attack them. This surprise will definitely succeed in one fell swoop. Luo Hu naturally knew the importance of this time, and he couldn't help but accept it and suppress the joy in his heart.