Sima Fu took at least a month to come back for a circle in Bingzhou, and the messenger to Youzhou went back and forth, and it took ten days without half a month. Anyway, the lack of food is not a matter of burning eyebrows, so Yuan Mai did not plan to wait for their news, and prepared to take Liang Bin south to Hanoi.

A few days ago, good news came from the south, Zhang Liao broke the Xiongnu army in Daling County, beheaded more than 2,000 levels, the Huns were frightened, withdrew from Taiyuan to the south, and guarded Xihe County, and did not dare to commit it again.

The southeast also led troops to cooperate with Zhang Liao to attack the Xiongnu, and the two armies echoed each other from afar, expelling the Xiongnu wanderers who entered the country to plunder from Shangdang, and the Xiongnu rebellion in the state was temporarily quelled. This also made Yuan Mai feel more at ease to leave Jinyang and go south to Hanoi.

Yuan Mai sent Zhang Liao and ordered him to lead his troops to garrison Pingtao County on the border of Xihe County and Taiyuan County, in case the Huns invaded again after the withdrawal of troops. It was only a hundred miles from Pingtao to Taiyuan, and Zhang Liao received an order to garrison troops under Pingtao City to build fortifications to prevent the Huns from committing again.

It's the end of May, and the weather is getting hotter and hotter.

From Taiyuan to Hanoi, a distance of about 600 miles, it takes at least three or four days to walk quickly, braving the scorching sun to hurry, and the hardships naturally need not be repeated.

The Fen River outside Jinyang City is more than 20 zhang wide, and the water depth is several zhang, and you can boat on the water surface. The Fen River stretches for thousands of miles, going south to Hedong County, before mixing into the Yellow River and flowing eastward.

Although Hedong County was under the control of Cao's army, Pingyang was already under the control of Yuan Mai, and it was possible to turn east from Pingyang and follow the Hunhe River into Qinshui. If you go south downstream, you can go straight to the Mengjin ferry guarded by Xu Sheng.

Although the speed of the ship was much slower than that on land, it was able to move day and night, and it could reduce the hardship of the journey, so Yuan Mai decided to go south by water. More than 40 ships were requisitioned from Jinyang, and under the escort of 1,500 elite officers and soldiers, Yuan Mai took Liang Bin and set off south along the Fen River.

"Get on board!"

With Zhou Cang's order, more than 40 ships went south and stretched south on the river. Spectacular.

Shanxi more than 2,000 years ago. It's not like the later generations, where the coal was mined everywhere and was devastated. There are several large rivers such as the Fen River, the Zhanghe River, the Qinshui River, and the Hutuo River running through the whole territory, although they cannot be compared with the waterways in the south of the Yangtze River. But walk a medium-sized boat on the water. It's still a breeze.

The flotilla went down the water. You can walk about 10 miles every hour. Along the way, the helmsman took turns to rest, so he didn't have to stop the boat, so he hurried to the road. Not much slower than by land.

In the early morning of the next day, Yuan Mai's fleet arrived in Pingtao County, the southernmost part of Taiyuan County. Yuan Mai ordered the fleet to anchor and dock, and he took nearly 100 people, under the escort of Zhou Cang, and rode straight to Zhang Liao's station to inspect the defense.

"Oops...... Lord Assassin Shi came so silently, Zhang Liao was unwelcomed! ”

Zhang Liao didn't know Yuan Mai's whereabouts, and when Yuan Mai came to the camp, he hurriedly went out to greet him. accompanied Yuan Mai to inspect the fortifications, and then entered Pingtao County to raise the people.

Along the way, I saw that Pingtao County was a little bleak, which was different from the prosperity of Jinyang. The residents of the city are extremely crowded, and the shelter is very tight, and it is common to see people sleeping under the eaves, bringing the old and the young, and taking refuge with their families.

"Zhang County Order, why don't these people have a house to live in?"

Looking at the people who were sleeping under the eaves, one by one in shabby clothes and with dishes on their faces, Yuan Mai questioned the county order with a displeased face. How could the people have fallen to such a state under the rule of my and the state assassins? At least let them have something to eat and a place to live!

The county commander replied with trepidation: "Lord Shi, this matter really doesn't do anything to be an official. Pingtao and the West River border, the Huns entered and plundered twice in three days, and the people outside the city were many taken captive, so the people poured into the city for refuge. There are only more than 2,000 houses in the county, with more than 20,000 residents. At least 10,000 villagers have poured into the city, and they have ordered to open warehouses for disaster relief, but their finances are tight, and they are really unable to provide housing for the displaced people! ”

Yuan Mai nodded, it is no wonder that the county order is said about this matter. The small county town, with only more than 300 county soldiers, is already good if the city is not broken by the Huns, and it is really difficult for a strong man to let him protect the territory and the people.

"Now, the 8,000 men and horses under General Zhang's command have been stationed in Pingtao, and they will not leave for a while, so why not let the people return to their homes? The rainy season is coming soon, so it's better than being out in the rain, right? Looking at the streets and alleys, hiding from the refugees in the rebellion, Yuan Mai said with pity.

After listening to Yuan Mai's words, a gray-haired old man replied in vague words: "Master, we really don't dare to go out of the city, the raids of the Huns in the past few years are better. But recently, the Hun dogs have invaded twice in three days, killing people when they see them, and tens of thousands of people have died outside the city. Although General Zhang's men and horses are stationed here, the invasion of Hu Dog is really unguardable, and after going out, we may lose our heads that day, so we would rather be in the rain in the city than go out of the city to die in vain! ”

Yuan Mai sighed, and it is estimated that the Huns knew that they had served as the assassin of the state, so they intensified their raiding and annexation. In order to avenge Yuvro, it is said that he harmed the people of Pingtao!

"In that case, would it be good to send someone to Jinyang and let Wang Ling settle their accommodation?"

Yuan Mai put his hands behind his back and discussed with Zhang Liao beside him. The generals of the staff under his command have all been sent to serve in the local area, and there is no one to consult with them, which is really ashamed! I have to work hard to recruit talents, and if I want to achieve hegemony, I have to redouble my efforts.

Zhang Liao shook his head and said: "It's not just Pingtao, but the people in Jingling, Zhongdu, Wuxian and other places in the east have also taken refuge in the city, how many people's accommodation can you arrange, Gongzi?" ”

"Yes, after all, the finances are limited, how many people's accommodation can be arranged?" Yuan Mai listened and sighed.

Climb the city wall, go to the south, but see the mountains all over the field, the grass and trees are verdant, the rivers and mountains are picturesque, and the beauty is overwhelming.

Eighty miles to the west is the old nest of the Huns, which was once the seat of Xihe County and the territory of the Han Dynasty. Now, it has been occupied by the Huns for more than ten years, and the local people have long been reduced to slaves of the country. Together with Lishi, the Hu people were devastated by the three county towns of Zishi, Jiexiu, and Zhongyang.

"To solve the military disaster of the Huns, we must take Xihe County and expel the Huns from Bingzhou, so that the people can live in peace!" Yuan Mai looked at the southwest and made an oath.

Zhang Liao arched his hand and said: "What Gongzi said is extremely true, only by expelling the Huns from the territory of the Han Dynasty can the people of Li be safe!" ”

Yuan Mai nodded: "You temporarily train here to guard against the Huns." After the recruitment is completed, after some training, and when the weather gets cooler, we will attack the Xiongnu again, unite with General Liyi in Pingyang, attack from the north and south, and expel the Hugou from the state in one go! ”

"The last general commands!" Zhang Liao hugged his wrist and promised.

After inspecting Pingtao, Yuan Mai returned to the fleet with Zhou Cang. More than 40 ships set sail again, along the Fen River, downstream.

At noon, the fleet entered the territory of Jiexiu in Xihe County, and the Huns stationed in the place gathered more than 3,000 people when they heard the wind, and rushed to the riverside to plunder.

Yuan Mai had already prepared, and had already ordered the blacksmith Han to build a thousand bows and arrows according to the standard of bows and arrows used by the "White Feather Cavalry", and formed a strong bow army, and this time it was this team that was responsible for guarding.

Seeing the Huns killing on the shore, the soldiers bent their bows and arrows one after another, and shot the enemy in array. With Yuan Mai's order, the arrows were fired in unison, and many Hun cavalry fell off their horses.

The Huns also shot on their horses, but the range of the bows and arrows in their hands was only about 100 paces, while the range of the archers on the ship reached more than 140 paces, and the Huns could not shoot the people on the ship at all, but their own side was shot very badly, and a burst of arrows went down, killing and wounding three or four hundred people.

Yuan Mai stood at the bow of the ship, holding the "clouds and smoke for thousands of miles", bending his bow and arrows, and shooting the enemy himself. As the bowstring sounded, ten arrows were fired in succession, and each arrow hit the forehead of the Huns, killing them instantly. The soldiers on the ship cheered in unison, with a strong fighting spirit and strong fighting spirit.

The Huns could not get close, so they had to follow from afar on the shore, shouting and screaming, while sending people to report to Lishifei to Huchuquan, asking for troops to come to support.

However, before the people sent out were halfway there, the Fen River entered the valley, and the mountains on both sides of the river were undulating, and there was no road. The Hun soldiers on the shore could only watch more than 40 ships go south along the river, looking up to the sky and sighing, powerless!

At noon the next day, the fleet arrived at the city of Binh Duong, the seat of administration in Binh Duong County. Taishou Fuhu, who got the report, and Zhenxi General Lu Yi led his troops to greet him, and after the greetings, he hugged Yuan and bought into Pingyang.

Yuan Mai inspected Pingyang City and was satisfied with the local governance, but felt that Pingyang's troops were a little weak. There is the Cao army in the south of Hedong, and the Xiongnu of Xihe County in the north, and there are only 7,000 soldiers in the entire territory of Pingyang, plus the newly recruited 1,000 recruits, but only 8,000 people, and the defense force is far from enough.

"General Shutong, there are 1340,000 people in Pingyang County, why did you recruit 1,000 recruits?" While eating wine at the wine feast, Yuan Mai asked puzzled.

Koji Yi slapped his thigh and sighed: "Hi...... I was about to mention this matter to my son, and it stands to reason that it would be easy to recruit three or five thousand soldiers in Pingyang. However, there are only more than 30,000 stone of grain and grass in the granary of the county town, which is only enough for 8,000 people to last for three months, so I and Fu Taishou did not dare to recruit more people. I was about to send someone to Jinyang to ask my son for food! ”

Unexpectedly, Binh Duong is also short of food, it seems that the situation is grim, and there is no room for carelessness, and you can't just count on the autumn harvest. It is necessary to raise a sum of grain and grass before the grain and grass are in a hurry, so that the morale of the army will not be affected because of the lack of food.

"There is not much grain and grass in Jinyang City, but I have already sent someone to Youzhou to borrow 200,000 stones of grain and grass from Gao Gan, and when the grain arrives in Jinyang, I will send someone to Pingyang 50,000 stones, you can rest assured." While eating wine, Yuan Mai comforted Lu Yi and Fu Hu.

He stayed in Pingyang for one night, and the next day, Yuan Mai said goodbye to Lu Yi and Fu Hu, boarded the boat, and ordered the ship to be transferred eastward, from the Hunhe River into Qinshui, and then went straight to the Mengjin ferry on the bank of the Yellow River to inspect the sailors established by Xu Sheng. (To be continued......)