What made Deputy Director Tao secretly happy was not only Yuan Fang's appearance and appearance, but also Yuan Fang's natural ladylike temperament, and Yuan Fang's gentle surname. Although Yuan Fang's biological mother Liu is a few fierce women and poisonous women in the Three Kingdoms era, Yuan Fang's surname is completely opposite to Liu's, gentle and kind even Mi Zhen sighs to herself, is considerate to Tao Ying, friendly to Tao Ying's two beautiful concubines Cao Ling and Mi Zhen, and treats Tao Ying's other internal concubine Lu Die like a sister, and Tao Ying's only daughter is like a parent, and Tao Ying has been married in less than three days, and has won the praise of Tao Mansion, and Tao Ying himself is even more happy- Finally, I can rest assured that I can take Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao, and Sun Shangxiang home.

It's a pity, no matter how gentle and lovely Yuan Fang is, our deputy director Tao doesn't have much time to spend ** with her, three days after getting married, the southern expedition army composed of 32,000 Xuzhou regular troops and nearly 80,000 people, under the personal leadership of Tao Ying himself, took through Peiguo County, Yuzhou, and went south along the road of last year's Yuan Shu's Northern Expedition, avoiding the false and smashing the Huainan Laochao Shouchun City of Xiao Yuan Sangong. At the same time, Xie Yan, the commander of the Huaiyin garrison in Xuzhou, also indiscriminately served as the general of the Huaihe River Naval Division, and personally led 3,000 Xuzhou Naval Divisions to go up the Huaihe River and rush to the Huainan battlefield to cooperate with the main force to fight -- all of which were the warships left by the little Yuan Sangong to Huaiyin that year.

The northern front is basically worry-free, Xuzhou this time to conquer Xiao Yuan Sangong is basically the elite out, Xu Chu, Chen to, Zang Ba, Gao Shun, Cao surname, Tao Ji, Song Xian, Hou Cheng, Xu Sheng and Qin Yi and a large number of cheap and practical main generals all went out with the army, Xuzhou ace army Junzi Army, Fengyu Army and trap camp are also all out of battle, the position of the vanguard of the southern expedition is also fierce to the point of white heat, in order to preempt the first merit of the southern expedition, whether it is the bodyguard type Xu Chu or the new Xuzhou Gao Shun, Cao surname and others, All rushed to Tao Ying to ask for orders to be the vanguard, and even Tao Ji ignored the fatal shortcomings of the Junzi Army's inability to attack and cross the river, and joined the battle for the vanguard position, and then Tao Ji was naturally kicked out of the handsome tent by Tao Ying.

What made everyone smash their glasses was that in the selection of candidates for the important position of vanguard general, Tao Ying did not need to put the brave and invincible Xu Chu, not to put the steady and reliable Chen Dao, Zang Ba and Xu Sheng, but also to put the meritorious Gao Shun, Song Xian, Hou Cheng and Cao surnamed will not use, but chose the old general Qin Yi of Xuzhou as the vanguard, and only gave Qin Yi 3,000 auxiliary soldiers to carry out the task of opening the way! Tao Ying's decision was unexpected, not only Xu Chu, Chen Zhi and Gao Shun and other Xuzhou generals were stunned, but even Qin Yi himself was dumbfounded, and exclaimed: "Lord, you let the last general be the vanguard?" Lord, you're not joking, are you? ”

"Of course, it's not a joke, you have long led the heavy duty of Peiguo guards, and you know the geography and customs of Peiguo County well, which is suitable for opening the way for my army to meet the mountains, build bridges when encountering water, and open the way forward." Tao Ying nodded, smiled again and asked, "What?" General Qin has no confidence? ”

Qin Yi, the old lackey of the Tao family left by the old Tao Qian to Tao Ying, hesitated, and only nodded honestly after a while and said: "Back to the lord, the last general really has no confidence, the last general is not greedy for life and afraid of death, but worried that the last general's martial arts are low, so he is shallow, and he can't resist Yuan Shu's army, which frustrates the spirit of our army and misses the lord's plan for the southern expedition." ”

"Yes, lord, don't embarrass General Qin." Zang Ba, who had a prominent position in the Xuzhou army, opened his mouth and said with a smile: "My lord, you let General Qin serve as the vanguard, and only gave General Qin 3,000 auxiliaries, aren't you joking with General Qin?" If the lord does not give up, let the last general be the vanguard, keep it for the lord to fight a beautiful battle, and boost the morale of the whole army. ”

"I'm not kidding." Tao Ying continued to shake his head, and smiled at Qin Yi and said: "General Qin Yi, you can rest assured to take up this vanguard responsibility, victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers, it doesn't matter how many defeats you have, as long as you do your best, even if you eat three defeats in one go, it is still the first merit of our army's southern expedition." ”

Qin Yi's eyes widened, and the surrounding Xuzhou generals also widened their eyes, almost suspecting that Tao Ying was having a high fever to tell the truth - eating three defeats in a row can be regarded as the first merit of the Southern Expedition? At this time, Lu Su, the military advisor of the Xuzhou Army, opened his mouth and said with a smile: "General Qin, the lord has spoken to this point, what are you worried about?" Our lord is not a person who likes to suffer, he has his own deep meaning in doing this, rest assured to suffer defeat, as long as you keep your surname and come back, the first credit of the southern expedition is yours. ”

Seeing that Tao Ying and Lu Su were talking seriously, it definitely didn't seem to be a joke, Qin Yi was so shocked that he had no choice but to obediently clasp his fists and sing a promise, and took over the pioneer responsibility in the eyes of the Xuzhou generals who were even more surprised. But Tao Ying didn't care about the surprise and suspicion of the generals in Xuzhou, he just turned to Lu Su and asked with a smile: "The military advisor also saw it?" According to the opinion of the military division, can General Qin successfully win the first merit of the Southern Expedition? ”

Lu Su smiled, and then replied categorically: "With Yuan Shu's arrogant and self-righteous surname, General Qin's first merit has been decided!" ”

…………………… No matter how incompetent Xiao Yuan Sangong's spy is meticulous, Xuzhou dispatched hundreds of thousands of troops (including the people) to crusade against Huainan Such a big move, naturally nothing can be hidden from their eyes, so when the Xuzhou army was still assembling and preparing to leave, Huainan Xizuo had already delivered the news to Xiao Yuan Sangong quickly. And after hearing the news, our little Yuan Sangong, who was dreaming of the emperor every day, suddenly jumped like thunder, and immediately ordered to summon the subordinate Wu Qunchen, show the report to everyone, and then slapped the table and roared, "Tao Ying thief, bold, the matter of Yang Hong in Zhuyi before, Gu has not yet settled accounts with him, he even dares to take the initiative to raise troops to invade the territory and send him to death!" Spread the order, quickly gather an army of 200,000, led by Lone himself, to fight to the death with Tao Ying's thief! Revenge! ”

"Lord, never!" Lord Bo Yanxiang hurriedly stood up, arched his hand and said: "Lord, Tao Ying thief poured into the nest, its momentum is very sharp, rashly fighting with it is only afraid of more than auspicious, our army can only rely on the Huai River natural danger to strictly deploy, first block the enemy's southward footsteps, avoid the edge of the pottery thief, wait for his soldiers to run out of food, and then find a way to break the enemy is not too late." ”

"My lord, Lord Yan is reasonable." Shu Zhong, who succeeded Lord Yang Hong as the chief historian, also stood up and said nervously: "According to Zhong's opinion, in addition to avoiding the enemy's edge and standing on the defensive, the lord should also go south and Liu Xuan, and Liu Biao in the west, explain the reason that his lips are dead and his teeth are cold, persuade him to withdraw from our army, and free up the elite soldiers under the command of the two generals Zhang Xun and Liu Xun, and transfer them to the northern front to participate in the battle, so as to make up for the lack of combat strength of our army." ”

"Nan and Liu Xuan? Western Union Liu Biao? Xiao Yuan Sangong was completely furious, and shouted angrily: "In order to deal with a yellow-mouthed child who has not dried up, you actually want to go alone to bow your head to Liu Miao and Liu Biao Lao'er to make peace?" Shut up with loneliness! The fourth generation and the third prince of my family, after Da Shun, how can he bow his head to Liu Miao and Liu Biaoxiao's junior generation? ! ”

Mei Zhoulang has been slaughtered by Xiao Yuan Sangong himself, Yan Xiang and Shu Zhong, who are not very good at talking, are also helpless to take the arrogant surname of Xiao Yuan Sangong, fortunately, there is also a cousin of Xiao Yuan Sangong Yuan Yin who is quite sensible, and stood up and said: "Lord, although the proposal of Yan Lord Bo and Shu Changshi is inappropriate, but they are also loyal to the lord, the last battle of Zhuyi, the main force of our army's northern front was lost, although the new conscription is many, but it is embarrassing, the enemy is strong and I am weak, it is not an exaggeration to tolerate it for the time being, I hope the lord will think carefully, Don't rush into battle, let alone lead a large army to meet the battle, and easily make risks. ”

Although Yuan Yin's words were also unpleasant, for the sake of his cousin, Xiao Yuan Sangong still did not continue to be angry, but just snorted disdainfully, and said: "Then in your opinion, how should you meet the enemy?" ”

"Lord, in a hurry, it is difficult for the army to assemble quickly, General Qiao Rui is older than the army, can fight well, has rich experience on the battlefield, the younger brother recommended him as a pioneer general, and led the army to meet the battle first, so as to prepare for our army." Yuan Yin pointed to Qiao Rui, who is currently the most capable of fighting tough battles in Shouchun, and said respectfully: "But how to meet the battle, the foolish brother is not familiar with military affairs, and I also ask the lord to discuss with General Qiao Rui." ”

Seeing that Yuan Yin recommended himself, Qiao Rui, who was loyal to Xiao Yuan Sangong, knew that this battle was difficult to fight, but still stood up without hesitation, bowed and said: "Lord, the last general Qiao Rui is not talented, and he is willing to lead the army to defend against the enemy!" ”

"Cheng, you will be the vanguard of the front, and lead an army of 50,000 to meet the enemy." Xiao Yuan Sangong was very satisfied with Qiao Rui's resolute attitude, and agreed, and then Xiao Yuan Sangong asked again: "But before that, Lone must ask you first, how do you plan to meet the enemy after you send troops?" ”

"The last general intends to rely on the Huai River ......." Qiao Rui wanted to say that he would stand on his feet, but when he saw Xiao Yuan Sangong's eyes glaring at the mung bean, Qiao Rui had to quickly change his words and said: "The last general thinks that Tao Ying's thief will send troops this time, and he must first go to Zhongli to meet his Huaiyin fleet to the west, and then cross the river with the fleet to break through the Huaihe defense line of our army." Therefore, the last general planned to divide the troops into two routes, the partial division reinforcement Dangtu, the strong wall and the clear field collected all the boats on the river, so that Tao Ying thieves had no boat to cross, and the main force went straight to Zhongli to reinforce, collect all the civilian ships and build more fireboats, take the advantage of the upper class to prevent Tao Ying's thief's sailors from going west, and then fortify on the south bank, repair more antlers to resist horses, bury more hidden piles and pierce horns, and prevent Tao Ying thieves from crossing the river to the south! First stand on the defensive, and then try to attack the enemy. ”

"Too conservative, too weak!" Xiao Yuan Sangong shook his head firmly, and hummed: "Not to mention that such a battle is too weak, our army only guards the south bank, and Xia Cai, Ping'a and Yicheng on the north bank of the Huai River will inevitably fall into the hands of Tao Ying's thieves!" After you arrive in Zhongli, the main force must be stationed on the north bank of the Huai River for me, first block the footsteps of Tao Ying's thief to cross the river, so that Tao Ying's thief cannot divide his troops to attack the Huaibei city, and also be ready to reinforce the cities in Huaibei at any time. ”

"Stationed on the north bank of the Huai River?" Qiao Rui's heart immediately rose to his throat, no one knows the current situation of Yuan Shu's army on the northern front better than Qiao Rui, not to mention the army forcibly recruited by the reckless army, but basically they are all rabble, and the five or six thousand elite soldiers under his command can really come in handy, and all these five or six thousand elite soldiers are stationed on the north bank of the Huai River, in case the battle situation is unfavorable, it is difficult to withdraw to the south bank.

"The decision has been made, and I have to say it again!" Xiao Yuan Sangong waved his hand and decisively stopped Qiao Rui's discrimination, and the poor Qiao Rui was helpless, so he had to sing a promise and agree, and his heart was sad.

Fortunately, after the meeting ended, Yuan Yin, Yan Xiang, Shu Zhong and others all quietly found the poor General Qiao Rui, and comforted him in a low voice: "Don't panic, general, although you can't ignore the lord's order, you don't have to listen to it all, after the general arrives in Zhongli, you can act according to local conditions, don't anger the lord too much, the lord is here, we will naturally say it for the general." ”

"That's good, I can send a partial division to cross the river and camp first, and give the lord an explanation." Qiao Rui quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and then Qiao Rui told him uneasily: "Three adults, in terms of the elite soldiers of the southern and western fronts, the three adults can persuade the lord more, and he must ask the lord to transfer elite troops from the southern and western fronts as soon as possible, and quickly rush to the northern front for reinforcements!" Otherwise, once Tao Ying's thief breaks through our army's Huai River defense line, Jiujiang County, the first place of our army's money and food, will be hanging. ”

"Of course, the general just has to rest assured." Yuan Yin, Yan Xiang and Shu Zhong agreed as a matter of course.

So, with the death order of Xiao Yuan Sangong's blind command of the chaotic arrangement, the poor general Qiao Rui led 50,000 troops to the expedition, and after arriving at Dangtu, he first divided 10,000 troops to strengthen the defense force of Dangtu, Tushan and Yicheng and other Huaihe River crossings, overhauled the fortifications and arranged sentinels, collected all the civilian ships, and did not leave half a crossable boat for the Xuzhou army on the north bank. Then General Qiao Rui led 40,000 main forces non-stop to Zhongli City, the ferry port that the Xuzhou army was most likely to choose, and repaired the fortifications there, collected all the civilian boats to make fireboats, and prepared to meet the Xuzhou Xie Yan Naval Division that was going upstream, and at the same time divided 10,000 troops to cross the Huai River, set up camp on the north bank, and made a gesture to give Xiao Yuan Sangong an explanation.

According to the bridge, the breakthrough of the Xuzhou army's planned crossing of the river this time is the Zhongli Ferry - although there are more and better ferries in the upper reaches of the Huai River, Tao Ying does not want the rookie sailor to risk breaking through the Zhongli River section controlled by Yuan Shujun, so Tao Ying has no other better choice besides the Zhongli Ferry. After determining that Yuan Shu's army was deployed on both sides of the Zhongli River, Tao Ying quickly made a response adjustment, ordering the forward team led by Qin Yi to travel sixty miles, and rush to Zhongli as soon as possible to engage Yuan Shujun, and let the main team's march speed slow down to thirty miles, while strengthening and widening the road to the south, while deliberately leaving time for Yuan Shujun to adjust.

Six days later, the three thousand Xuzhou vanguard army led by Qin Yi first walked nearly 500 miles from Pengcheng to Zhongli, and arrived at the Zhongli battlefield. Defeated by Yuan Shu's army's tactics of the sea of people, more than 300 people were defeated, and they were forced to retreat ten miles to the village, and the Xuzhou army, which boasted to break through Shouchun and capture Yuan Shu alive, also lost the first battle.

The second said, General Qin Yi, who was also driven to the shelf, led the army south to fight, General Qiao Rui personally went into battle with Qin Yi, more than 20 rounds, General Qin Yi, who was hollowed out by his beautiful wife, really couldn't resist Qiao Rui's marksmanship, was stabbed in the shoulder by Qiao Rui, and fled back to the main formation with injuries, Yuan Shujun took advantage of the situation to cover up and kill, and won again.

After the two confrontations, Qiao Rui, who basically figured out the combat effectiveness of the Xuzhou army, also had some courage and fighting spirit, and knew that it was difficult for the main force of Xuzhou to arrive on the battlefield for reinforcements within three or five days, in order to boost morale and establish confidence in victory, and also in order to give an explanation to the blind commander of the little Yuan Sangong, Qiao Rui gritted his teeth and crossed his heart, and Suo surnamed transferred another 20,000 troops to cross the river to the north, and gathered 30,000 troops to launch a fierce attack on the Qin Yi army. The grain, grass and ordnance of the camp were also captured by Yuan Shu's army, and Qiao Rui chased and killed more than 40 miles in one go, and then collected his troops and returned to the camp and sent a messenger to say hello to Yuan Shu.

At noon on the second day of the defeat and abandonment of the camp by the forward, poor General Qin Yi fled back to the main army of Xuzhou with his wounds, and cried to Tao Ying to complain for his guilt, but after our deputy director Tao heard the news that the vanguard of the army was not conducive to defeat in three battles, not only was he not a little angry and depressed, but he also laughed and praised repeatedly: "Good, good, good loss, with these victories at the bottom, not only the generals and soldiers under the command of Qiao Rui, but also the Qiao Rui Pifu himself is reluctant to withdraw to the south bank of the Huai River immediately." ”

After laughing, Deputy Director Tao's triangular eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he almost gave an order like a roar, "Order the whole army, hurry up and advance, and before it falls tomorrow, you must arrive at the Zhongli battlefield!" Tao Ji, you lead the gentleman's army to open the way, and before noon tomorrow, you must also arrive at the Zhongli battlefield for me, bite the tail of Qiao Rui Xiaoer, so that he cannot withdraw to the south bank! ”

"Second brother, you underestimate our gentleman's army too much, right?" Tao Ji said proudly: "There are only less than one hundred and fifty miles to go, there is no need for noon tomorrow, before dawn tomorrow, if the Junzi army can't reach the Zhongli battlefield, please behead the little brother!" ”

(To be continued)