On the gate tower of Mushroom Yucheng, looking at the Mushroom Yu in front of him, which has become increasingly large-scale and completely established by himself. A trace of reluctance from the heart slowly appeared on Wei Zheng's face.

After a long sigh, he said to himself helplessly: "If it weren't for the form, I really want to settle the stronghold of our Tiger and Leopard Army here." ”

Zhou Shuyuan nodded and replied, "General, you're right, I also want to stay here." ”

"But, as you said a few days ago, there is no population here that will allow us to expand our army, and no food that will allow us to get supplies. More importantly, there are basically no iron ore and coal mines in Zunhua. Once we have a stronghold here, we will need to go to the battlefield to grab everything we need in the future. ”

"Datong Mansion is different. Not only is there a large population and fertile land, but there are also abundant iron and coal mines. As long as we can truly hold Datong in our hands, our Haw Par Army can develop and grow in a short period of time, and even have the military strength to make the imperial court feel scruples. Only in this way can we survive in this troubled world. ”

Wei Zheng nodded and replied: "Strategist, don't worry, if it weren't for these, I wouldn't have given up the foundation here and entered Datong, where we don't have any foundation." ”

Speaking of this, the reluctant expression on Wei Zheng's face had disappeared, and it was covered by a trace of the strictness before the battle. Facing Zhou Shuyuan, he asked with a majestic face: "Strategist, tell me about the preparation of the brothers." ”

"You know, these family assets in our hands are all snatched back from the hands of the Tartars little by little, and if you can enter the customs with you, you can take them with you. You must not be cheap to the group of old soldiers under the command of the general soldier of Zunhua, who are greedy for life and afraid of death. ”

Under the watchful eye of Wei Zheng. A smile from the heart. Slowly appeared on Zhou Shuyuan's face. Then, he said to Wei Zheng with a proud face: "Please rest assured, the general is a nail, and I promise to bring it into the customs and bring it to Datong Mansion......"

Hearing Zhou Shuyuan's answer, Wei Zheng's brows furrowed and he continued to ask.

"With so much food and supplies, can the speed of the brothers' march be guaranteed? To know. In order to prevent Datong from being captured by the Shaanxi army, our emperor besieged the city of Beijing again, and only gave us ten days to march. According to the distance between the two armies, we have to march at least eighty to one hundred miles a day. ”

Zhou Shuyuan nodded without hesitation and affirmed: "General, maybe you don't know a situation about our Tiger and Leopard Army. ”

"Tong Guò's previous battles against the Tartars, coupled with our two consecutive initiatives. Today, the Haw Par Army has captured 6,148 horses of various types from the Tartars, and 2,884 horses for long-distance transportation. A full 9,000 horses and horses are enough for our Tiger and Par Army to make a complete move. ”

Wei Zheng, who was suddenly taken aback by this number, reacted quickly and said to himself.

"Nine thousand, excluding the six thousand needed by the soldiers and craftsmen. There are still 3,000 horses left to carry food and supplies. According to the calculation of 300 catties of a horse, 3,000 horses can carry a whole million catties of materials. That's enough indeed......"

Zhou Shuyuan nodded in agreement. However, at this moment, a trace of melancholy suddenly appeared on Zhou Shuyuan's face.

Under Wei Zheng's gaze, he reminded with a worried face: "General, although we are ordered to enter the customs, we must pass through several important military towns along the way. I'm afraid that our big belongings will be watched by the guards of these military powers. ”

"Hmph......" After a cold snort came out of Wei Zheng's mouth, he said to Zhou Shuyuan with a nonchalant expression.

"I'm worried that they won't come?"

"We have the Emperor's Order, as long as they dare to come, I will dare to eat it."

"This time, we must first win a battle before we can gain a firm foothold in Datong."

"If there is going to be a war, then you need soldiers. These guards have sent us soldiers, and of course we have to raise our hands to welcome them, and take them all in without missing a single one. ”

"However, during the ten-day rapid march, we have one more thing to do besides hurrying, and that is to raise our might."

"To show our Ming people and officials, show the strong combat effectiveness of our Tiger and Leopard Army, let everyone know our Tiger and Leopard Army, and truly feel the strong military strength of our Tiger and Leopard Army."

Zhou Shuyuan asked with a puzzled face: "General, the purpose of this is ......?"

Wei Zheng explained with a stern face: "There are long-term interests and short-term interests. ”

"We can't see the long-term benefits for the time being, so I won't say more. As for the immediate interests, it is to deter the small, and by the way, on the march, to pass our prestige and make some supplies. ”

"Although the ordinary people of our Ming Dynasty were very poor, the gentry and bureaucrats were very rich. Our Tiger and Leopard Army went to Datong to block the judgment army for them, so as to prevent them from being sacked by the judgment army, and it should be reasonable to provide some food and salary for the army. Only when we show our strong military strength will these gentry and bureaucrats take the initiative to provide food and salary to support us. ”

"In addition, after showing our strong strength, we can also increase the influence of the Haw Par Army in the Central Plains and calm the panic of the common people. Let the people have confidence in us, so that our Haw Par Army can further expand its military strength in the future...... Of course, this can also be regarded as our long-term interest in the march of the army. ”

On the Zunhua city wall, hundreds of officers and soldiers were leaning on the city wall and stomping, waiting for the sentries on duty to come and change the guard, so that they could change themselves back to rest.

At this moment, when a long snatcher squinted his eyes at the official road outside the city, under the sun, the cold light reflected by the armor suddenly shot into his eyes, and he almost couldn't open his eyes.

Forcibly opened his eyes and looked at the official road. A group of cavalrymen wearing iron armor and unable to see the edge at a glance appeared in their field of vision. Not only that, this well-equipped cavalry is slowly advancing towards Zunhua, where it is.

"Cavalry...... Look, there's cavalry coming towards us......"

Qian Zong, the largest official on the city wall, quickly climbed to the city gate tower and squinted his eyes to look at the official road.

When the banner representing the Ming Dynasty in the middle of the cavalry appeared in Mr. Qian's field of vision, Mr. Qian's nervous heart finally relaxed. Commanding the panicked subordinates beside him: "Don't worry, it's our own people....Look at the banner, it seems to be the tiger and leopard army of Mushroom Valley." I really didn't expect that this Haw Par Army would be so well-equipped..."

"What are you still doing in a daze, why don't you report to the chief soldier right away....everyone else has stood up for me, don't let the brothers of the Haw Par Army laugh at us..."

Soon, Wang Yaozhong, the chief soldier of Zunhua, appeared at the gate of the city with the only cavalry battalion under his command.

At the same time, the 1,000 ironclad cavalry commanded by Zhao Yun also stopped a hundred steps outside Zunhua City as if they had been rehearsed in advance.

After walking in front of Wang Yaozhong alone, Zhao Yun directly said with a non-humble face: "Report to the chief soldier, my tiger and leopard army was ordered to reinforce Datong. As part of the Zunhua garrison, we hope that the Commander-in-Chief will provide our Tiger and Leopard Army with all the food and salary for the entire march, so as not to disobey the holy decree and not be able to reach Datong Mansion on time. ”

Seeing that a small garrison dared to talk to him like this, if it was in normal times, Wang Yaozhong would definitely order his subordinates to beat Zhao Yun first. However, when Tan saw the former ironclad cavalry behind Zhao Yun, Wang Yaozhong still decisively suppressed the dissatisfaction in his heart, and asked Zhao Yun with a greedy expression on his face.

"General Zhao, I see that your army is so well-equipped, I don't know what these equipment is..."

"Lord Commander-in-Chief is talking about the cavalry equipment behind me..."Zhao Yun, who quickly flashed a strange smile on his face, asked.

"Hmm... As far as I know, even His Majesty's Imperial Forest Army does not have such good equipment as your army....not to mention one person and one war horse, even the excellent iron armor is also one person and one pair. You must know that in the border army, only officers above the general level are qualified to wear an iron armor..."Wang Yaozhong, who was full of greed, continued to ask.

Thinking of the explanation given to him by the pre-departure guard, Zhao Yun did not hesitate, and directly exaggerated: "Don't hide it from the chief soldier, these equipment behind me were all snatched from the Tartar Yellow Flag. Just before the general army recovered Zunhua, our tiger and leopard army fought a battle with the Tartar Yellow Banner, and successfully wiped out more than 3,000 elites with the Yellow Banner..."

"In our Tiger and Leopard Army, not only the cavalry behind me is equipped with iron armor, but the ordinary infantry is equipped with iron armor..."

"What... Three thousand inlaid yellow flag elite..."Wang Yaozhong, who couldn't help but gasp, subconsciously let out an exclamation.

However, when his eyes were once again fixed on the thousand ironclad cavalry behind Zhao Yun, he had to believe this fact.

Not only that, but the greedy expression of the cavalry behind Zhao Yun also became solemn.

Even the 3,000 elites with yellow flags were completely annihilated by the Tiger and Leopard Army, not to mention the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers under his command who trembled when they saw the Tartars' legs. Under such circumstances, Wang Yaozhong had no choice but to give up the idea of keeping these equipment for himself.

Just when Wang Yaozhong was deep in thought, Zhao Yun's voice reached Wang Yaozhong's ears again: "Lord General Soldier, I don't know when the grain and grass prepared for us will arrive." If it takes too long, I can't guarantee that the ironclad cavalry under my command will not make any bad moves because of the food, after all, we are on the emperor's orders to reinforce Datong. ”

Perhaps in order to echo what Zhao Yun said, the former ironclad cavalry standing behind Zhao Yun seemed to have discussed it, and at the same time drew their sabers, held them high above their heads, and roared in unison: "Food... Wages ......"

Just when Wang Yaozhong showed a worried expression on his face, another exclamation came from the mouth of the guard behind him.

"My lord, you see on the official road....There are a lot of cavalry in the Haw Par Army, all of them are ironclad cavalry..."

Although the main force of the Tiger and Leopard Army following behind the cavalry regiment only had two cavalry battalions, because all of them were riding on war horses, plus one person and one in iron armor. From hundreds of paces away, it was completely impossible to tell that this was an infantry on a war horse.

Looking in the direction of the guard's finger, on the official road within Wang Yaozhong's field of vision, the ironclad cavalry was like an endless torrent, constantly entering his field of vision... (To be continued......)