After staying in the mansion for two days, Hua An hurried back to the ranch of the Northern Expeditionary Army and ordered the soldiers still on duty there to immediately drive most of the young animals and mother animals across the river.

Hua'an's order can be said to have hollowed out the ranch he had worked so hard to build, and in less than two years, the Northern Expeditionary Army's ranch could not be restored, but the reason for doing so was because after the Western Expedition, the Northern Expeditionary Army would be stationed in Liangzhou, and Hua'an must prepare for the construction of Liangzhou in advance.

Liangzhou is a place where soldiers must fight, the climate and environment are not as good as Jiangnan, the western expedition will further destroy the production there, I am afraid, when the Northern Expeditionary Army successfully controls Liangzhou, Liangzhou is already poor and white, whether the more than 30,000 troops under the command of Hua'an can eat enough is a problem, and the livestock in the pasture can be driven all the way, and production can be rapidly developed.

You must know that the more barren the place, the more weeds, these weeds are naturally not edible, but they are the favorite of cattle, sheep, horses and other animals, with these livestock that can continue to breed, the supply problem of the Northern Expeditionary Army will be greatly improved.

Among them, cattle can also pull carts, and when horses become adults, they can develop into war horses, which can quickly expand the cavalry and improve the strength of the Northern Expeditionary Army.

When all the preparations were completed, Hua An first went to the mansion to reunite with his family for a few days, and then went to the camp of Wang 5 and Wang 6 to warn the two of them that they must train diligently, and actively maintain the daily operation of the tuntian and pasture, so as to prepare for war and produce at the same time.

In the end, when Hua'an arrived at Liyang City on the north bank of the river, the three soldiers and horses were completely prepared, just waiting for Hua'an's order. and you're ready to go.

Based on the situation detected by the scouts in front, Hua'an first designated the specific route of the first stage. Then, commanded. The 10,000 cavalry of the thunderstorm went first, the 10,000 livestock infantry of Tie Niu followed, and the 10,000 livestock infantry of Zhao Wu marched together with the baggage battalion and other horses in the rear.

The reason why Zhao Wu's 10,000 horses and horses were brought together with logistics was that the march route formulated by Hua'an had several sections close to the area controlled by Zhao Guo, and in the event of an emergency, the baggage battalion and the people who were completely responsible for transportation would not be able to deal with it. And Zhao Wu's 10,000 horses can provide protection, and at the same time, it can also deter thieves along the way, and ensure that the logistics men and horses can advance smoothly.

Since Huan Wen's Jingzhou army and Deng Yue's Jiaoguang Erzhou army had not yet set off at this time, Hua'an was not in a hurry, and the army marched at a normal speed of fifty miles a day, encountering dangerous terrain. The travel speed will be reduced to 30 miles, of course, if it encounters particularly flat terrain, Hua'an will also appropriately increase the travel speed to 60 miles a day.

The Northern Expeditionary Army rode 20,000 steps ahead to open the way. The infantry behind protected the logistics men and horses and then marched, along the way, the flag covered the sun, so not majestic.

Due to strict military discipline. The people along the way gave the Northern Expeditionary Army as much help as they could. Thieves, bandits and other wicked people have avoided and even fled their homes. More than ten days after the Northern Expeditionary Army left, they still did not dare to return.

More than a month later, the Northern Expeditionary Army arrived near Xiangyang City, the destination of the first stage, due to the long march, the soldiers were tired, Hua'an decided to let the army rest in Xiangyang and Fancheng for a few days, by the way to see this legendary place of soldiers.

Hua'an rode horses and Wang San and others walked on the edge of Rushui, looking at the turbulent and rushing water, the mood was suddenly very good, compared with the width of the lower reaches of the river, the water is much narrower, but as the largest tributary of the river, the water is faster than the river, and it does not lose the river water in momentum.

"Big brother, look, the other side should be Xiangyang City." Wang San pointed to the other side of the water and said softly.

"Yes! Xiangyang and Fancheng are only separated by a water, connected by pontoon bridges, and can support each other in wartime, which is really a good place to defend! Thunderstorm continued.

Hua An looked at the two of them and said, "Xiangyang and Fancheng are the gateways to Jingzhou, and guarding here can ensure the safety of Jingzhou, and the enemy army will not be able to drive straight into it with confidence." ”

"Big brother, the pontoon bridge looks so narrow, can our army pass through guò?" Thunderstorm pointed to the pontoon bridge between Xiangyang and Fancheng and wondered.

"Just look at it." Hua An said, riding his horse in the direction of the pontoon bridge.

Soon, Hua'an and his entourage arrived at the pontoon bridge on the shore of Fancheng, from a distance, the pontoon bridge is relatively narrow, but when they walked in, they found that the width was okay, enough to fill the grain of the baggage cart along the lì tong guò, cavalry, two horses in parallel without any problem.

"Big brother, let's go to the other side and have a look!" Wang San said softly.

Hua An nodded, riding a horse along the pontoon bridge to the opposite bank of Xiangyang City, because the pontoon bridge is floating on the water, by the effect of the water, so it is very unstable, riding a horse on it, it is inevitable that there will be a little shaky feeling, compared with peace, walking on this is really too thrilling.

Due to the action of the current, the pontoon bridge has a semicircular shape, which looks like a full bow, a very large bow.

Standing in the center of the pontoon bridge and looking at both sides, you can feel majestic and magnificent, and your heart will suddenly become broader.

Soon, Hua'an and his entourage arrived at Xiangyang City on the other side of Fancheng through the pontoon bridge, and through Guò's personal experience and observation, Hua'an had a basic understanding of the carrying capacity of the pontoon bridge, and the next step was to let the army cross the water in batches.

"Big brother, the width of the pontoon bridge is just right, all the men and horses and equipment of our army can pass through the pontoon bridge, let's start now!" Wang San opened his mouth and said.

Hua An nodded and said: "Okay, Wang San, you go back and give an order, let the baggage men and horses pass the guò pontoon bridge first, and the main army will cross last, and the carrying capacity of the pontoon bridge is limited, and the army must not cross the bridge in front and back, and there must be at least ten zhang between every two baggage vehicles, otherwise, the pontoon bridge is in danger of sinking." ”

"Yes, big brother, I'll do it." Wang San said, riding his horse along the way he came, and quickly rushed back to Fancheng to give the order, while Hua An and Thunderstorm and others circled around Xiangyang City and entered Xiangyang City.

Because there was only one pontoon bridge, and Hua'an ordered the baggage vehicles to be spaced ten zhang apart for safety, which affected the speed of the army crossing the bridge, and it took three days and three nights for all the men and horses of the Northern Expeditionary Army to cross the Rushui smoothly.

After the whole army had completely crossed the Rushui, Hua'an, according to the news from the scouts at the front, formulated a specific march route for the second stage, which was more desolate and dangerous than the route of the first stage and the route of the second stage.

The route of the second stage is from Xiangyang County to Weixing County, which is close to Hanzhong County, along the way, you have to pass through many high mountains and dangerous passes, and even encounter barbarians who are not able to pass through the king.

The march was cautious all the way, although it also encountered many difficulties, but with the efforts of Hua'an and the officers and soldiers of the Northern Expeditionary Army, all the problems were solved, and the main force of the Northern Expeditionary Army successively passed through Xincheng and Shangyong Second County, and arrived at the west city of Weixing County smoothly.

The Northern Expeditionary Army spent two days recuperating in Xicheng, and then continued westward to Ankang City, the westernmost part of Weixing County, which was closest to Hanzhong County in Shu.

The administrative office of Hanzhong County and the capital of Liangzhou are in Nanzheng, which is only more than 100 miles away from the city of Ankang, and the cavalry raid can reach it in one day, and the animalized infantry of Hua'an only needs two days to reach the city.

When all the soldiers and horses of the Northern Expedition arrived in Ankang City, it was already the middle of July, and there was still half a month before the date of the imperial court's order to march westward.

In the big tent of the Northern Expeditionary Army in Ankang City, Hua'an, the commander of the Northern Expeditionary Army, was studying the plan to raid Hanzhong County, because the administrative office of Liangzhou and the administrative office of Hanzhong County were both Nanzheng, that is, the state city and the county city were the same city, which brought challenges to the offensive of the Northern Expeditionary Army.

In this way, the state and county will be heavily guarded, and the defensive facilities such as cities and moats will also be readily available, and it is not easy for any army to attack such a strong city.

Hua'an's original plan was to use the main army to raid and break the city quickly, but from the preliminary news transmitted back by the scouts in front, Hua'an felt that the city of Nanzheng was strong and could not be broken in a short time, so he began to study a variety of advance plans.

South Zheng and the west of the Yang, the east of Chenggu are twenty or thirty miles apart, the three cities are connected, lined up into a long snake formation, if the three cities cooperate with each other, together against Hua'an's Northern Expeditionary Army, it is the best policy, this is what Hua'an is most worried about.

Secondly, the army of Shu poured out of the nest and fought a decisive battle with Hua'an's Northern Expeditionary Army in the field, this is the middle strategy, Hua'an is not afraid, but after a field battle, the casualties of Hua'an's Northern Expeditionary Army will not be small.

If the generals of the Shu army will be the main force of Chuyang and Chenggu, all of them will be transferred to Nanzheng, with a strong city, stick to the reinforcements, then it is the next policy, Hua'an is most eager for this situation, although in this way, the Shu army concentrated its forces, and Nanzheng is more difficult to break, but at the same time, the Shu army also gave up all the surrounding cities, and made themselves the turtles in the urn of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and the city was breached, but it was only a matter of time or time.

Hua'an doesn't know which defensive strategy the Shu army adopts, but no matter which strategy the Shu army adopts, Hua'an is not afraid.

For this reason, the most important thing for the Northern Expedition at the moment is to prepare for war immediately, and launch an attack on Shu before August 1, so as to catch the Shu army off guard.

At the same time, in order to induce the Shu army to adopt the strategy of holding on to the fortified city, the Northern Expeditionary Army must show strong force, so that the Shu army does not dare to divide troops to garrison multiple cities, so as to achieve the goal of controlling the entire Hanzhong County, and then control the entire Liangzhou. (To be continued......)