The sky was getting brighter, and at the head of Huaming County, Du Fuwei looked at more than a dozen small boats coming from the east with a gloomy face, and there were less than 100 soldiers on board, all of them in embarrassment.

Yesterday afternoon, two thousand elite sailors went into battle, and only a few people came back, and the anger in Du Fuwei's chest began to burn.

Not long after, Miao Haichao, who was shirtless and had thorns on his back, came ashore and knelt in front of Du Fuwei, "The lowly duty is stupid, the soldiers are lost, and I am willing to be punished by the lord!" ”

Du Fuwei's face changed several times, he barely squeezed out a smile, and hurriedly helped Miao Haichao up, tore off the thorns, and took off his robe to put on him, "We are brothers, brothers are in trouble, we should share the responsibility, not reprimand each other, there is infighting, I won't blame you." ”

Miao Haichao was extremely moved, thinking that his recklessness led to the annihilation of the whole army, he couldn't help but bow his head and weep and said: "I really didn't expect to fall into Zhang Xuan's trap, and I deserve death for my humble duty!" ”

"Did you use the information in Xiaqiu County?" Duvowe asked.

"Returning to the lord, it was because of the intelligence of Xiaqiu County that he decided to sneak attack the Sui army, but the intelligence seems to be wrong, those are not family ships at all, but countless Sui army crossbowmen were ambushed."

Duvowe shook his head, "Haven't you seen it yet?" It's not that the intelligence is wrong, but that Zhang Xuan saw through your intentions, so he made a plan, and the fleet sailed to the Huai River, how could he not be on guard? You yourself said that you ambushed the crossbowmen, which is obviously a trap set by the other party, isn't it? ”

Miao Haichao bowed his head and was silent, he had to admit that he had fallen into a trap, the family ship, and the rear army material cargo ship were all traps laid by the Sui army, otherwise his subordinates would not be wiped out, he couldn't help but sigh a long sigh.

Du Fuwei took a few steps with his hands in his hands. Miao Haichao's defeat made him vigilant, he knew that this time he had encountered a strong opponent, and if he was careless, he would probably be planted in Zhang Xuan's hands.

The Tongji Canal is about 200 miles in the Huai River section, and the Sui army continued to travel east along the Huai River after annihilating the robbers who attacked the sneak attack. In Shanyang County, it entered Hangou, passing through Shanyang, Anyi, Gaoyou and other counties, and two days later, the fleet was about to arrive in Jiangdu.

After crossing the Huai River, the air becomes noticeably moister, the banks are more green, and on both sides of the canal are endless rice paddies, a dense network of rivers, scattered villages nestled among rice paddies, small rivers and woods.

It's just dawn. Lu Qing got up early, she wore a wide long dress, her black hair was coiled on the top of her head, revealing the slender snow-white swan-like neck, she stood in front of the window and looked at the picturesque scenery on both sides, her eyes were full of fascination, compared to the dry and rough scenery of the north, she preferred the humidity and beauty of the south.

Jang Hyun walked up behind her. He took her into his arms and whispered, "Do you like it here?" ”

Lu Qing snuggled in her husband's arms. Nodding slightly, he whispered: "Husband, this place is really different from Zhuojun, sometimes I miss Zhuojun very much, but I really like it here." ”

She couldn't help but smile, "I saw it at a glance." ”

"We're going to be here for at least two years. There is a good chance that our children will be born here. ”

Speaking of children, Lu Qing's beautiful eyes lit up, and she said a little shyly: "I dreamed last night that we had a child, a little girl, white and fat. ”

Jang Hyun laughed. "If it's a little princess, I want her to be as beautiful as you, and we have to work harder to get a child as soon as possible."

Lu Qing glanced back at him, and said coquettishly: "Make excuses, haven't you worked hard enough these days?" ”

"I also want to be a father sooner!"

"Cheeky!"

Xiaoyu punched Zhang Xuan's shoulder, "You obviously just want to bully others." ”

The two were playing and laughing, and there was a knock on the door outside, only to hear Lixiang say outside the door: "General, Mr. Fang is here." ”

Zhang Xuan nodded and smiled at his wife: "I'm about to go to Jiangdu, let's pack up my things first, I'll go see Mr. Fang, and talk about the children later." ”

Lu Qing glanced at him innocently, "You go!" I'm going to clean up too. ”

Lu Qing went to find Ah Yuan and Lixiang to pack their things, and Zhang Xuan walked out of the suite, only to see Fang Xuanling standing on the side of the ship with a smile, Zhang Xuan smiled and said, "The military advisor seems to be very happy?" ”

"Seeing that I am about to arrive in Jiangdu, of course I am in a good mood."

Zhang Xuan and Fang Xuanling came to the meeting room next door and sat down, Fang Xuanling said slowly: "This time, the general transferred south to Jianghuai, although the power has increased, but the challenge is greater, especially the soldiers are all from Qingzhou, whether they can adapt to the hot and humid climate of Jianghuai is still a problem, so I suggest that the general first stabilize his position, and then advance step by step, and must not be in a hurry to make meritorious contributions." ”

Zhang Xuan nodded, "I have also carefully considered Jianghuai's strategy in the past few days, and my thoughts and worries are slightly the same as those of the military advisor, I want to give an explanation to the imperial court, but I can't damage my own strength, I plan to take three steps." ”

"The general might as well say, what are the specific three steps? I would like to listen to you! ”

"I haven't considered the specific details yet, but the direction has been set, the first is to restore the transportation of the Tongji Canal, which is a top priority, the imperial court and the Son of Heaven are staring at this matter, as long as the north-south transportation is restored, it can be regarded as an explanation to the imperial court."

Fang Xuanling smiled and nodded, "Everything has priorities, this is indeed a top priority, and it should be dealt with first, and then what?" ”

"Then it is to recruit a Jianghuai water army, although we annihilated those water ghosts, but only because we expected the enemy first, but it is also terrible to think about, those water ghosts make us unguardable, I think about it, the best way to deal with water ghosts is that we also have a water ghost army."

"If the general recruits soldiers again, will the imperial court have an explanation?"

"It's not a big problem to recruit only two or three thousand people, and I am full of reasons, I don't think the imperial court will object."

"I wonder what the third step of the general is?"

Zhang Xuan smiled and said: "The third step is to find a way to establish contact with Qingzhou, in fact, I think about it carefully, there is only one Donghai County between Jiangdu County and Langya County, if our army can enter Donghai County, then it will be connected to Langya County." ”

Fang Xuanling secretly smiled bitterly, he came to Zhang Xuan just to talk to him about this matter and find a way to build a new foundation for himself in Jianghuai, but Zhang Xuan still remembered Qingzhou.

Fang Xuanling didn't continue, he realized that it was not the time to say this, so he could only wait to find an opportunity to persuade Zhang Xuan in the future.

At this moment, a soldier outside shouted: "Jiangdu has arrived!" ”

Zhang Xuan was overjoyed, stood up and walked out of the cabin, Fang Xuanling also followed, only to see the towering city wall of Jiangdu City faintly seen in the distance, like a black dragon lying on the plain on the west bank of Hangou, the momentum was very spectacular, they finally arrived at the third largest city in the world, Jiangdu

Jiangdu is today's Yangzhou, located on the bank of the Grand Canal and the north bank of the Yangtze River, it is like a button, the north and south two pieces of clothing buttoned up, therefore, it has just ended the Sui Dynasty that has just ended the division of the north and south for hundreds of years has an extremely important strategic position, but also the most important period in the history of Yangzhou, it is the foundation of the Great Sui Dynasty to control the south with the back of the north, in fact, it has become the third capital of the Sui Dynasty, second only to Luoyang and Chang'an.

Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty has been living in the south of Jiangdu after the Great Sui Dynasty destroyed Nan Chen, and spent a full decade here, in the heart of Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty, Jiangdu has another irreplaceable meaning, in a sense, it is Yang Guang's second hometown, is the place where his dream haunts.

Although Jiangdu City is located in Jiangdu County, it has nothing to do with Jiangdu County, and Jiangdu is currently guarded by the general Chen Ling, but the specific person in charge is Changshi Wei Zheng, in addition, Jiangdu County Ya is also located in Jiangdu City, after Zhang Xuan arrives, Jianghuai will also be located in Jiangdu City.

Zhang Xuan's fleet slowly sailed into the Linghu Lake located in the north of Jiangdu City, which is the mooring place for the dragon boats of the world's southern tour, Zhang Xuan brought more than 100 large ships, and stopping at the wharf will affect the freight of Jiangdu, and his fleet also stopped directly in Linghu.

20,000 troops have also disembarked on the west bank of Linghu, and their garrison headquarters has been arranged, that is, the Xiaoguo Army barracks on the shore, where the conditions are very good, the barracks are wide, the training grounds are thousands of acres, as well as stables and breeding farms, as well as more than a dozen large warehouses, so that Zhang Xuan's soldiers can enjoy the treatment of the Xiaoguo Army.

But Jang Hyun's big boat did not anchor in the lake, and the big boat continued south with a few family boats, stopping at the Jiangdu wharf a few miles away.

On the wharf, the drums were noisy, the colorful flags were flying, and a group of Jiangdu officials had been waiting for a long time, including Shi Weizheng, the chief of Jiangdu, Wang Junhao, the Taishou of Jiangdu County, Gongsun Shangzhe, the general stationed in Jiangdu, and dozens of people such as the county officials, county commanders, and Cao joining the army.

At this time, Jang Hyun's boat slowly stopped on the dock and boarded the ship, Jang Hyun walked down quickly, and the officials waiting on the shore greeted him. (To be continued.) )