Jiangdu's 8,000 soldiers and horses went out of the city under the leadership of Lin Zhan, and after leaving the city, the army marched straight to the south, directly to the grain road.

This time, Jiangdu's soldiers and horses attacked, which seemed to be hidden, but it was directly exposed to the vision of the Beiwang army. Whether it is intelligence or the results of scout investigation, it can clearly show the direction of the soldiers and horses on this road.

There are about 6,000 cavalry in Beiwangfu, and they have been in Jiangdu for more than three months. This road of soldiers and horses is not an absolute elite in the Northern Palace, but it is also the main cavalry regiment. The general who led the troops was named Lin Musk Deer, and Lin Zhan could be said to be "the same sect", and when Lin Musk Deer learned that Lin Zhan, the original court lieutenant of Luoyang, was responsible for leading the troops to protect the grain road, he still showed enough caution.

As the commander of the First Army, Lin Musk Deer is well aware of the current situation. Although Jiangdu has always held on to one place and closed the city, this does not mean that Jiang will not take the initiative to attack. The 6,000 cavalry currently led by Lin Musk Deer has reached the bottleneck of fatigue, and if it continues for more than half a month, the soldiers will inevitably be dragged down by the war.

Therefore, Lin Musk Deer wanted to fight quickly, and interfered with this batch of Southern Qi supplies earlier, so he had to lead his troops to retreat north, and at this time, even the rain made the roads south of the Yangtze River muddy, which brought a lot of inconvenience to the march.

On April 29, it was raining heavily. Lin Musk Deer hid in the tent and looked at the topographic map of Jiangnan, even on the grassland, and he also had a good understanding of the terrain. But after coming to Jiangnan this time, I found that the water towns in Jiangnan are fundamentally different from the vast desert, even if you know the direction, but the ditches are staggered, and the cavalry will bring a lot of inconvenience to march. If he had a choice, he would rather choose to fight in the bitter cold desert.

"General Lin, this time Jiangdu sent troops out to protect the grain road, I'm afraid there is some conspiracy in it."

There were only two people in the tent. In addition to Lin Musk Deer, there is also Lin Musk Deer's deputy general Lian Chengju. Lian Chengju is the deputy general he picked up. Over the years, he has fought back against the Xianbei cavalry on the Great Wall, and Lianchengju has helped him a lot. Mainly because Lianchengju used to live on the grassland and knew the habits of horses very well. Lianchengju can not get down on the horse for half a month, whether it is eating and drinking, Lazar can be solved on horseback, which makes Lin Musk Deer admire very much.

But this time when I arrived in Jiangnan, even Lianchengju, who has always been iron-clad, couldn't stand it, Lianchengju had been suffering from the wind and cold for many days, sometimes good and sometimes bad, and the military doctor who accompanied the army couldn't help it.

"The East Prince's Mansion wants to block our back road." Lin Musk nodded and said, "This way." They are all waterways, and if we want to cross the river, we must have boats, and we lack boats, and if we are blocked in the south of the river capital, we will not even be able to get reinforcements. At that point, it could be a bitter battle. ”

"General, it's better to ...... Withdraw your troops so that they may not be ambushed. Liancheng said.

"Nope." Lin Musk's attitude was resolute. "Before the war, I admit defeat by myself, how to explain to the prince after I go back? Even if there is a conspiracy in the East Palace, as long as we can guard against it in advance. It is also possible to destroy this batch of grain and grass before going north. In this way, colleagues have nothing to say. ”

Lian Chengju didn't say much, he understood very well the situation of the whole army now. It was originally a drudgery to receive. To the south of Jiangdu, there is still a lack of supplies and reinforcements. Even if Jiangdu City has been unable to hold out, in the end, this is the depths of the enemy realm. It's not easy to advance, and it's not easy to retreat. There are many generals in the Northern Palace, and now in the critical period when the Xiaobei King is about to ascend the throne, many people are eyeing the position of leading generals. If Lin Musk Deer goes back without any credit, it is difficult to guarantee that he will not be held responsible.

On the battlefield, no merit is a mistake, and if you want to keep the power in your hands, you must make military achievements.

"What is General Lin going to do?" Lian Chengju asked.

"This road of soldiers and horses, for the time being, ignore it, wait to leave the range of Jiangdu, and attack in common sense. When the time comes, you can feign defeat and set up an ambush, and you can win in one fell swoop. ”

Lian Chengju thought about it for a while, Lin Musk Deer's plan was good, but the key was not the land of the Great Wall, nor the bitter cold desert, but the territory of the Jiangdu people themselves. It is difficult to fully grasp the terrain by setting up an ambush on the enemy's territory.

"General Lin, please assign your subordinates all the way to the soldiers, and the vanguard will be taken by your subordinates." Lian Chengju took the initiative to ask for help.

Lin Musk Deer looked at his most powerful subordinate, and his heart was also moved, after all, Lian Chengju was sick, but he also knew how to share his worries.

"Be careful on the road." Before sending Liancheng away, Lin Musk patted Lianchengju's shoulder and said.

……

……

The heavy rain continued.

In the land of Jiangdu, there was a lot of rain this year. The rain kept falling, and many things were blocked.

On the first day of the fifth month, on the third day after the army left the city, a very ordinary meeting was held in the Dongwang Palace. The main content of the meeting is to summarize the recent situation in the city, but in the final analysis, it is also for the shortage of materials in various parts of Jiangdu in the past two months.

The meeting was not very formal, some office models, many people were talking, many people were discussing, and finally some officials recorded on paper, preparing for the distribution of Nanqi grain after it was transported to Jiangdu.

Before the grain arrived, Jiangdu had already prepared quotas for the surrounding cities, and those who were short of food in the city would transport more of them, and those who were not too nervous would transport less.

Han Jian listened for a while and felt bored, after all, he knew very well that it would be difficult to transport this batch of grain to Jiangdu.

Han Jian stood at the window, looking at the continuous rain outside, thinking in his heart that this battle should start in the next day or two. But by this time, there was still no news in the city.

Now that the soldiers and horses have been sent out, the eight thousand Jiangdu soldiers and horses brought by Lin Zhan are not considered to be old and weak, but when the war really starts, it is easy to be scattered by the cavalry of the Northern King Army. Han Jian's biggest concern is the same.

Once the team is scattered and does not form a lineup, there is no point in pretending to be defeated or anything after that, and it is also a question whether Lin Zhan can clean up the remnants of the army. A battle often determines the outcome from the beginning, Han Jian said to Yang Li'er that he can be ten out of ten, only he knows in his heart that this battle is very dangerous.

"His Royal Highness the East King, everything has been discussed, can you take a look?" An official in charge of military logistics from the Eastern Prince's Mansion handed over the contents of the meeting that had been sorted out.

Han Jian didn't answer, and said casually: "Just leave it to Steward Lin." ”

"Yes." The official didn't say much, and now the people in the entire Jiangdu know that Han Jian trusts Lin Xiaoshu very much. Now Lin Xiaoshu can be said to be the actual prime minister of Jiangdu, and many things will not be done without Lin Xiaoshu's approval.

Although many people think that Han Jian's trust in a female streamer is a bit child's play, the big war is imminent. No one would really care about this with Han Jian, even some Luoyang faction officials who were still quite critical of this. After the food shortage in the cities, there was no more to say. Lin Xiaoshu's work is almost perfect. Nothing to ask for.

Han Jian, as the commander of the generals of the Eastern Palace, was a little eager to go out of the city to participate in the big war, after all, he was the planner of the war for production. But he knew that he couldn't be impatient now, Luoyang and Beiwangfu had a lot of eyeliner in Jiangdu, and they were watching his every move, and once he was too aggressive, it would make people think that this was not simply a small battle to protect the grain route.

……

……

One hundred miles south of Jiangdu City, inside the Yuzhou military camp. In recent days, some people have been impetuous.

It has been half a year since Yang Luochuan personally came to Jiangdu with 10,000 cavalry. These 10,000 cavalry seem to have taken root when they are stationed in Jiangdu, and the soldiers have been away for a long time, so they can't help but miss their homeland a little, and people's hearts are also a little unstable.

Under such circumstances, the Nanwang Mansion still had no intention of recalling this army and horses, so many generals also had opinions and thought it was a chore.

The name of the soldier who led the soldiers on this road was Li Qian. He is also quite famous among the generals in Yuzhou, but his temper is not very good. Originally, it was not a bad thing for a military to be short-tempered, and Li Qian had also made great achievements in several small battles between Yuzhou and Southern Qi in the previous years, and was even trained as Huang Shilang's successor.

But this time, after Li Qian and these 10,000 soldiers and horses were abandoned outside the Jiangdu. Li Qian felt as if he had been assigned. Because he couldn't see the outcome of the war.

said that they were here to rescue Jiangdu, but the Luoyang Army and the Beiwang Army had been in Jiangdu for four months, and Jiangdu himself was closed. What about rescue?

said that he came to fight for Jiangdu, but 10,000 soldiers and horses really didn't matter. Not to mention. After Yang Luochuan left the barracks at the end of the year and returned to Yuzhou, Nanwangfu issued several military orders to hold on. It can be said that they don't care about them, and even the grain and grass materials for these two months have been transported over after a long delay, and the military salaries and food salaries have not been paid so far.

"Lao Li, what do you mean by what do you mean by our lord? We have been here for more than half a year, and in the end, is it possible that the little daughter-in-law is waiting to get married, and waiting until her hair is gray to be a husband cliff? ”

Among Li Qian's subordinates, there was a general from his fellow townsman, named Hu Si, who was also a well-known general in the Nanwang Mansion. However, because of this, he offended Yang Yu, the prince of Nanwangfu, so he was not reused, and this time he was in the army with Li Qian.

"Yesterday a messenger came to report that the Lord would mobilize us in the next two days, so wait and see." Li Qian said, in fact, he was also a little impatient.

At this time, the rainy weather outside is continuous, and there is no rainy season in Nanwangfu, so there will not be so many days when the sun cannot be seen. The rain doesn't stop, and my heart will be a little irritable.

"Transfer? Mobilize him with a bird's egg, since he wants to be transferred, why don't you send an envoy to make it clear once, but instead send an envoy with a bird's egg first to say that there is a transfer, this is not a pastime for us? Hu Si complained and scolded.

Li Qian was accustomed to the temper of this fellow villager, so he was not surprised. At this time, he himself complained about Nanwangfu and Nanwang, so he had no reason to worry about Hu Si.

"I wish the Lord had sent us back sooner." Li Qian said.

Li Qian has learned from the scouts in the past few days that the Dongwang Mansion has taken the initiative to send troops. In his experience, this is not a good sign. Once the Eastern Palace's troops are dispatched, it means that the war will change, and it will no longer be an offensive and defensive war, but a tug-of-war, and it is likely to be a one-sided war.

In this case, no matter which side his 10,000 soldiers and horses are mixed with, they will not end up well.

Just as the two were talking, a guard at the door came to report that there was an envoy from the Nanwang Mansion.

"Where is the envoy?" Li Qian asked.

"Back to the general, the messenger was wounded by an arrow on the way here, and is now in the tent, and it seems that he is dying." The guard replied.

Li Qian frowned slightly, the envoy sent by the Southern Palace, there shouldn't be only one person, in this case, there would be only one messenger coming, and he would be seriously injured? Does this mean that his 10,000 soldiers and horses are also being targeted?

Li Qian hurried to the tent where the messenger was, the messenger was hit by three arrows, and it was a miracle that he was able to hold up to the barracks. In this case, it is impossible to ask him anything.

"General, here is a letter from the Lord." A guard said.

"Bring it." Li Qian said, snatched the letter into his hand, and after he read it, his whole brow was deeply locked.

"Lao Li, what did the Lord say?" Hu Si watched from the side for a long time and asked hurriedly.

Li Qian thought for a moment and said, "Lord, let us return to Yuzhou earlier." ”

"Really? You're in a good relationship, and you finally don't have to stay in this hellish place anymore. Wait, Lao Li, when are we leaving? Before leaving, didn't the Lord arrange anything else? Hu Si suddenly felt uneasy.

"Teacher, what else will happen? Let's go, and I'll start tonight. Li Qian ordered.

"Well, brothers, go back and prepare. I can finally go back to see my mother-in-law and the little cubs. ”

Hu Si happily went outside to spread the word to the whole army. Li Qian also waved his hand and told all the guards to leave, leaving him and a half-dead messenger in the tent.

"Will ...... The general ......" the messenger poured in the last of his strength and called out.

"You did a good job, and when I return to Yuzhou in the future, I will remember you." Li Qian suddenly drew his sword, and a sword pierced the messenger's chest.

The messenger closed his eyes and died with some regret and regret.

Li Qian pulled out his sword, wiped it, and threw the cloth on his hand to the ground by the way. The so-called letter from the king of the south is nothing more than the words written on the cloth. Although the cloth was wrapped in oilcloth, the messenger fled for his life along the way, and the oilcloth was already broken, and the cloth had long been soaked in rain and blood, and not a word on it could be distinguished.

Li Qian stood in place, he had been in the army for more than ten years, and it was the first time he had killed a soldier without any fault. But he knew that if this messenger did not die, he would not have a chance to return to Yuzhou. He had been waiting for half a year to go back.

"Lao Li, what's going on?"

Hu Si went out to inform the generals below, and when he returned to the tent, he saw a bloody scene, and he looked at Li Qian in surprise, with a lot of puzzlement in his eyes.

"Wouldn't it be nice to see him suffer and give him a ride?" Li Qiandao.

"Alas! Also, if he can come alive, this kid is also hard-hitting, and he ended him earlier and let him go in peace. Hu Si thought about it, and was about to turn around to go out, when he suddenly felt a pain in his back, and the long sword pierced through his chest.

The sword that was originally in Li Qian's hand actually pierced through his chest.

"Lao Li, you ......" Hu Si turned around and looked at this fellow villager and his good brother Li Qian with an incredulous expression.

"Fourth, each for his own master, go in peace." Li Qian pulled out his sword and sighed softly. (To be continued......)