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On 15 April, the Battle of the Central Plains had been going on for half a month.

When they woke up in the morning, everyone found that April and a half, which was already about to enter summer, suddenly became surprisingly cold. The dark clouds in the sky were lower, and bursts of biting cold wind blew, making the soldiers who were originally wearing only thin robes shiver coldly.

Yesterday morning, it was still sunny and the warm wind was blowing people who dozed off. But as soon as the night falls, the temperature keeps dropping, and in the morning, it seems that it has returned to early spring in February and March.

The soldiers shivered in the strong cold wind, and piles of bonfires had been lit, and the soldiers wore whatever they found. Some were draped in cloth, some were draped in animal skins, and some were even draped in sacks and straw. Some simply draped their tents over their bodies, and all of them huddled together and curled up around the fire to roast the fire.

By noon, the sun, which was supposed to be warm, was gone, and the sky was filled with thick clouds that seemed to fall at any moment. The temperature continued to drop, and in the afternoon, the sky was actually sprinkled with white snow.

In just a few moments, a white patch had accumulated on the Black Rock Plain.

This sudden change of strange snow caused countless soldiers to panic. Rumors were spreading in the army, and many of the soldiers had been frostbitten.

Standing on the tower of the city gate, looking at the yin wind roaring on the plain, the earth gradually clothed in silver, Chen Kefu suddenly shivered.

A guard lit several braziers, and the flames rose and burst into the fire, and bursts of warmth came. Chen Kefu took off some stiff leather gloves, brought his palms closer to some of the raging flames, warmed his palms, and involuntarily let out a soft sigh, how could there be a sweeter kiss than this? The warmth spreads like melted butter on your fingertips.

Li Jing stood solemnly by the fire, the flickering light shining on the resolute lines of his face. Looking at this strange weather, his face was very heavy.

No one could have imagined that it was already early summer in April and a half. It's still snowing. This is the Central Plains Henan, not the North of the Desert. Even if it's a cold spring, it usually happens in February and March. It's April and a half, and what does this sudden heavy snowfall portend?

A Jianghuai messenger wrapped in animal skins walked up to the city tower under the leadership of the guards, knelt on the ground and said, "Report to King Chen, the weather changed suddenly last night. The temperature dropped sharply, and the officers and men of our army were all thinly dressed, and most of them were frostbitten. King Zheng originally planned to launch a counterattack against the Wei army today, but the generals and soldiers in the army did not avoid the cold, and many of them suffered from frostbite, making it difficult to go out of battle. King Zheng was also infected with typhoid fever last night and was bedridden. Now the affairs of the army have been temporarily handed over to General Wang Shiyun's agent, and General Wang specially ordered a small report to ask Chen Wang to issue an order. The attack on the Wei army was suspended, and the soldiers of the Xu Jianghuai army temporarily entered the city to take shelter from the cold. And implore King Chen to prepare some winter clothes for the soldiers of the Jianghuai Army, if King Chen is willing, the Jianghuai Army is grateful! ”

Waving the messenger back, Chen Kefu couldn't help frowning.

"It's really strange when the snow falls."

"The snow in April is a sign of great calamity. Your Highness, you should be mentally prepared, and you should prepare early. Li Jing said.

Chen Kefu nodded. This April and a half snow, both in the long term and in the present. It's all a great calamity. If the snow could not stop for a while, then the hundreds of thousands of troops gathered on the Blackstone Plain at this time would not be able to prepare clothes to shelter from the cold, let alone fight in such a situation. If the snow had fallen longer, then their previous strategy might have changed completely.

"Where is Nan Chenjun?"

"The Southern Chen army went north along Yingshui, and at present, the forward has arrived at Yingchuan City, Yingchuan County, which is less than four hundred miles away from us, and can be reached in two days by light horse. The main army is still in Wanqiu City, Huaiyang County, which is still more than 600 miles away from us, and if you march in a hurry, you can reach it in five days at the earliest. Guo Xiaoke replied. …,

"How far is Huaiyang from the Lujiang River, and how far is it from Jinling?"

"Huaiyang is 800 miles away from Lujiang Hefei and about 1,000 miles away from Jinling. Why does Your Highness ask? ”

Looking at the snow falling in the sky, Chen Kefu said in a deep voice, "This snow is not at the right time, not only did we be caught off guard, but we couldn't prepare enough clothes for the soldiers to avoid the cold for a while. Even Li Mi and Nan Chenjun also faced such difficulties. Although this snow can hasten Li Mi's defeat, it is also likely that Nan Chen's army will retreat to Huainan because of this snow. This Nan Chen's attack is an excellent opportunity for us to destroy Nan Chen, if Nan Chen's army retreats, it will be difficult to destroy Nan Chen in a battle. ”

"Jiangnan soldiers are not afraid of cold, it was already early summer in April at this time, it was the time when the temperature was comfortable and the river water was sufficient, which was the most suitable time for the southern army to march into battle. But now that it suddenly snows in April, even the soldiers in the north can't stand the weather change for a while. This Jiangnan soldier traveled thousands of miles north, and it was even more difficult to resist this cold weather. If the snow is only fine for a day or two, but if the temperature continues not to rise, it is very likely that the Nan Chen army will immediately withdraw to Huainan. His Highness's prediction is indeed reasonable, how should we deal with it? ”

Li Jing, who is also one of the prime ministers, said worriedly, "This is just a short-term trouble, Liaodong, Liaoxi, and Weizhou are all planted this spring and harvested in July and August, which is a good season for growth." This snow, I'm afraid that it will be difficult to harvest this year. The crops in Hebei, Shandong and other places are winter wheat, which can be harvested in June when planted in winter. The rice in the Huaisi area has just been sown and raised seedlings at this time, and this cold snap will freeze most of the seeds to death, even if it is too late to replant. When the harvest season is in May and June, there is no grain left in the fields, and a great famine will break out. This not only affects ordinary people, but also our imperial court, which has to face a more serious food shortage than last year. ”

"Natural disaster**, this thief, why don't you stop for a while, is this to drive everyone to a dead end?"

Natural disasters are often more cruel than military disasters and banditry, and most of the dynasties were caused by the great natural disasters in the last years, which caused great famines, and finally led to peasant uprisings, and finally the dynasty collapsed. The emperor did not send hungry soldiers, and the people could do anything if they had nothing to eat and no way to live. Although under Chen Kefu's rule, it is more stable than other places, but once the people have no food to eat, no matter how good yesterday is, it will become the worst tomorrow.

A bigger crisis has struck than the current war. Chen Kefu frowned, feeling a tingling pain.

"Your Highness, we must fight quickly and resolve the current war as soon as possible. At present, there is only one and a half months until June, and when the grain harvest is insufficient in various places, there will be chaos again. Li Jing approached Chen Kefu and lowered his voice and said, "Your Highness, this natural disaster does not only affect us, but also the Turkic, Khitan, Xia, Xi, Silla, Baekje, Tiele, these northern tribal kingdoms will only suffer greater disasters than us. The northern tribes will only be more sad in the face of this disaster. The northern tribes have always dealt with natural disasters by plundering each other. Once the tribes make a move, not only may the tribal coalition forces in our current armies return to the north, but even our rear may face the raids of the tribes at any time. ”

The snow fell for a while, sprinkled one after another, and not long after the afternoon, the whole sight was already covered with silver makeup everywhere, as if returning to the cold winter wax moon season in the north. The cold wind was howling, and from time to time there were bursts of mournful birdsong in the sky.

Chen Kefu looked at the camp of the Wei army in the distance, and his heart was dull. Li Mi only had three days of military rations left, and he was worried. And Chen Kefu only had a month and a half, and a month and a half later, he also had to face the same food crisis as Li Mi. …,

"Pass on the king's general order, let the logistics baggage battalion send wine, meat and cold clothes to ~~-update~~ Jianghuai military camp as a reward, and send a military doctor to treat Wang Xuanying. And pass on the king's general order, early tomorrow morning, the whole army of the Jianghuai army will attack, Xu Sheng will not be defeated, Xu Jin will not be allowed to retreat, and Li Miwei's army must be annihilated in a battle. If you don't win, let Wang Xuan come to see him! ”

"Another order was sent to Luoyang Duan Da, Huangfu Wuyi, Yuan Wendu, and Lu Chu, and the four of them led 100,000 Dongdu troops out of the city early tomorrow morning to attack Li Mi. If you disobey the order, you will not be spared! ”

The two heralds quickly left and sent a message to the Jianghuai Army camp and the eastern capital Luoyang.

After a while, Chen Kefu turned his head to the generals and said, "Lu Shishen and Guo Xiaoke listen to the order, this king will give you a chance to make up for your mistakes last time, and the two of you will immediately choose 20,000 elite horsemen, travel day and night, and go south immediately." Rushed straight to Xuchang and blocked the road of the Southern Chen Army to the north. In addition, the king will send Yang Shanhui and Yang Shihong to lead 30,000 horses out of the river along the Huai River, go straight to Shouchun, and cut off the retreat of the southern army. The task of you, Yang Shanhui, and Yang Shihong is to hold back the Southern Chen Army, intercept its north-south advance and retreat, and wait for the army to move south. ”

"Your Highness, even if Yang Shanhui's 30,000 horses capture Shouchun, an important town in the south of the Yangtze River, I'm afraid that I won't be able to stop the retreat of Nanchen's 300,000 army?" Lu Shishen said with some concern.

"Nope." Chen Kefu smiled slightly, "Don't look at Yang Shanhui has always been a civilian official, but Yang Shanhui has never been defeated since recruiting township soldiers to recruit peasant troops. When Yang Shanhui suppressed Zhang Jin from Duan Da in Hebei, he once broke Zhang Jin with a thousand strong troops under his command and called 30,000 horses. Later, Zhang Jin said that he joined forces with Gao Shida, Sun Xuanya and other righteous troops from Hebei and Shandong to attack Liyangcang in Ji County. Just when the thieves were proud, Yang Shanhui led his 1,000 strong troops to raid the thief army, all the way to the bravado, with great fanfare, and finally pursued all the way with 1,000 people, defeating the thief army of 300,000 horses. Since then, he has won many battles and has never been defeated. If it weren't for the fact that he was Yang Yichen's old subordinate and was suspicious of Yang Guang, he would have been the commander of one party a long time ago. Since Yang Shanhui was attached to our court, he has been guarding the Jiangdu, and has been besieged by the army of Nanchen for several years, and he is still standing still, which shows his ability. This time, it is appropriate to cut off the back road of Nanchen. ”

After all the generals received the order, Chen Kefu finally said, "Tomorrow, General Zhang Zhongjian will lead 20,000 foot soldiers to stay in Luokou Cangcheng, General Li Jing will lead 20,000 light cavalry from the east of Luokou to escort the Jianghuai army, and this prince will lead 10,000 soldiers and horses to take Luoyang directly!" ”