At two o'clock in the afternoon, the scouts sent by Wu Xingye to Qingxian County finally sent back the key news about the next move of the escort car.

After Zhou Shixian saw it, his face was gloomy at that time, and then he immediately summoned the generals under his command and began to preside over the battle meeting of the army to raid Qingxian and seize the ship south.

Qingxian County is located in the east of the East Hebei Plain, the land is flat and fertile, rich in products, and the east is adjacent to the Bohai Sea, north of Beijing and Tianjin, the geographical location is very superior.

Moreover, the economic lifeline of the Ming Dynasty, the Grand Canal, passes through the county, which makes local merchants gather and flourish.

And Qingxian County is also the same as the famous Cangzhou, the ancient Yanqi, the same folk customs are mellow, still righteous and chivalrous, under the passing of the torch from generation to generation, the martial arts style has been inherited.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the situation was turbulent, the rebel army of the displaced people swept all over the country, and the Mantars entered the fortress six times, burning, killing and looting non-stop, in the case of weak officers and soldiers, unable to protect, many clans in these areas with strong folk customs chose to form villages to protect themselves, and organized local armed forces.

Of course, such local armed forces are only village warriors, not to mention firearms and armor, except for a few huge and wealthy clans, most of them don't even have a good weapon, and the village may be okay, but the field battle is even the local Ming army can't beat it.

However, like the peasant army, with the deterioration of the situation in the Guannai and the collapse of the Ming court's finances, many villagers who had originally joined the army fled from the army and returned to the villages, and the combat effectiveness of the armed forces in these places also increased rapidly.

But here's the problem, the two largest local Cao gangs in Qingxian County have already surrendered to the Shun army that entered the county seat of Qingxian not long ago.

This also means that Zhou Shixian has no choice but to fight a battle and eliminate these enemies.

After all, what he needs is to go south as quickly as possible, as the weaker party, the so-called bribery and peace talks are too risky, and it is far more time-consuming than destroying it in a war and seizing the ship south.

Perhaps the Shun army also realized the importance of Qingxian, not only sent a county order and two hundred soldiers to escort it, but also dispatched more than 500 soldiers from Hejian Fufucheng, plus the Ming army that was originally left in the city, as well as the two Cao Gang's Zhaiding, the total strength is close to 2,000.

Zhou Shixian did not feel that his soldiers and horses were no match for these people, but he was worried that his actions would alarm Hao Shaoqi, who was stationed in Jinghai County in the north.

Hao Shaoqi is not a general, there are as many as 6,000 soldiers and horses under his command, most of them are from the elite Ming court border army, of which at least 1,000 are cavalry, once entangled, I am afraid that Sun Hu, Weng Dajie, Kong Tao's soldiers and horses will have to stay and break off.

"The Shun army in Qingxian County is basically concentrated in the county seat, and there is only one hundred soldiers and horses stationed at the wharf on the side of the canal, and the remaining hundred or so people are all villagers of the two Cao Gangs." Wu Xingye paused, and then continued:

"However, at least 10 percent of these gangs were armored, and each of them basically had a weapon, and even the sentry saw the three-eyed gun. If there is a fight, they will stay in the fortress, and I am afraid they will still have a certain combat power. ”

Although the situation in Qingxian County has become complicated, after Zhou Shixian discussed with Li Banghua, Xue Lao Er and others, he finally planned to act according to the original plan.

Qingxian has already had the Shun army stationed, not to mention Cangzhou, the Shun army is obviously because of the lack of soldiers and horses, the implementation of the strategy of "grasping the big and letting go of the small", at this time to change to other routes, will only be more dangerous.

The journey of more than 2,000 miles, there was no stable supply along the way, and there were chasing soldiers behind, and it was impossible for more than 2,000 people to reach Nanjing safely.

Unless, Zhou Shixian was able to seize the grain and grass in the boats and fortresses of the two major Cao gangs in Qingxian by force, and go south from the canal.

"What is the situation of those two fortresses, can they be quickly broken without artillery?" Zhou Shixian frowned slightly, thought for a while and asked, "Are there any other firearms in the fortress besides the three-eyed gun?" ”

The water gangs on the Grand Canal are often "both people and bandits", and it is common for them to fight to the death in order to grab business with each other, not to mention that the chaos in recent years has made them more involved in the fighting.

In the absence of artillery, it was not easy, if not very difficult, to break through the forts that these fierce men had defended to the death.

"According to the current news from the sentinels, the fort walls of Lujiazhai and Wangjiazhai are about one zhang and three feet high, and more than six feet wide.

However, there are watchtowers and arrow towers at the gates, and there are people on duty day and night, so if we don't have artillery assistance, I'm afraid it will be a little tricky to attack. Wu Xingye said, his face also showing worry.

"Now we are rushing south, there is a shortage of doctors and medicines, and what we are most afraid of is the burden of wounded soldiers. These villagers are all fierce people, and they are supported by the Shun army in the city, and if they attack strongly, there will inevitably be a large number of casualties. Xue Lao Er analyzed.

"If there are casualties, it is still secondary, if you can't attack for a long time, and you will be startled again, and then we will be entangled by the Shun army, and we will have no supplies and ships, even if we are only dragged for a day, the consequences will be unimaginable." Sun Hu also spoke.

As a "newcomer" in the escort team, like Weng Dajie and Kong Tao, he was very worried that if the battle situation was unfavorable, Zhou Shixian would let them stay behind the soldiers and horses.

After all, to some extent, none of them are the "own sons" of the colt, they were just picked up halfway, and their hearts are never steady.

"Donkey, I think Sun Hu is right, we can send someone to pretend to be a rich merchant who has fled south, and take one or twenty family members to go south by boat, and first sneak into the stockade, and then light a few fires inside, causing chaos, and it will be much easier for our people outside to attack again." Weng Dajie also spoke out in support.

"It is normal for the wealthy businessmen and magnates who fled south to the capital to have one or twenty family guards, and it should not arouse suspicion, and the last general also thinks that this plan is feasible." Wang Chaodong, who didn't understand Sun Hu, Weng Dajie and others, heard it, and suddenly spoke up in agreement.

"Moreover, now that the timing has changed, these Cao Gangs don't look like they are doing serious business, but their hands and feet are absolutely not clean behind their backs, and they must have done a lot of murder and overselling goods, and when the time comes, they will deliberately leak some gold and silver to them, and these people will definitely be fooled." Sun Hu hurriedly added, worried that Zhou Shixian would not agree.

Zhou Shixian listened and nodded. As the supreme leader here, he naturally can't speak first, and if there is anything inconsiderate, it will be a great challenge to his authority.

And after his subordinates have finished speaking, he will summarize it, or add an explanation, which can show his foresight and thoughtfulness.

"A strong attack is categorically impossible, Sun Hu is right, we have to think of a clever way to take one of the fortresses with a strategy. Although these villagers are fierce, they are just some village warriors, and they will definitely not be able to defeat us in field battles.

However, there is no need to wait until Neiying enters the fortress, let alone set fire to cause chaos, so as not to burn our grain and grass.

In the absence of armor, if a team of one or twenty people enters, I am afraid it will be difficult to come out alive. ”

Zhou Shixian said this, not alarmist. If these soldiers were wearing armor, they would never have been put in. If you don't wear armor, even if you have twenty soldiers, how long can you fight?

By the time the armor soldiers who entered the city opened the gate of the fortress and the army rushed in, these internal soldiers were probably dead.

Moreover, this sneak attack, the most important thing is to be fast, if they can directly raid when the gate of the village is opened, and hold it for half an hour, Zhou Shixian can lead the troops to rush away directly.

In this way, the walled wall and the gate will attack at the same time, and Zhou Shixian will no longer have to wait for the soldiers who climb the wall to occupy the walled gate and solve the guards.

Not to mention, in case of a failed sneak attack on the wall, the Zhaimen side can hold out for a while, and at a distance of a few hundred steps, the army will soon be able to rush to kill.

"Lujiazhai is indeed heavily guarded, and looking at the deployment of their fortress, it should be joined by soldiers who have fled from the border army. Xue Lao Er listened to Zhou Shixian's words and added appropriately.

"The meaning of the horse is to make two preparations: use the rich merchant to attract the attention of the Zhaimen on duty at the Zhaimen, and then at the same time as the soldiers set up ladders to sneak attack, the soldiers pretending to be rich merchants are also doing things at the Zhaimen?"

Li Banghua paused, seemed to be sure of something, and immediately clasped his fists and said: "Donkey, the old man is willing to go, other old men don't dare to boast about Haikou, but there is no one else more suitable for this matter than the old man." ”

"Lord Li's loyalty and courage are known to the horse, but this matter has already been decided by Lord Wu." Where is Zhou Shixian willing to let Li Banghua take risks, he is in his seventies, if there is any mistake in the melee, then his loss will be too great.

After all, the ministers of the southbound convoy, Li Banghua, Ni Yuanlu, and Tang Ruowang are all useful, but Wu Linzheng is not high, just like a relation.

You must know that in the original history, Li Banghua and the officials under Ni Yuanlu were not only martyred by Wu Lin, but he was not brought because Zhou Shixian was kind, but he needed a person who was not low in official position and not afraid of death at a critical time to take risks instead of Li Banghua, Ni Yuanlu and others.

After Zhou Shixian finished speaking, he didn't wait for Li Banghua to say anything, and immediately turned his head to look at Wu Xingye and asked:

"How many boats and grain and grass do Lujiazhai and Wangjiazhai have, have you inquired about this?"

This was his primary concern, and it was a matter of whether to attack only one of the forts or to take both together. The risk of the latter is much greater.

You must know that the reason why the land march is not feasible is because the capacity and speed cannot be both, if you want to keep the supplies sufficient, you have to carry a lot of grain and grass, but if you want to maintain the speed, you have to travel lightly.

And Zhou Shixian originally brought twenty wagons of gold and silver, where is there other capacity. These yellow and white things will even be thrown to the Shun army when necessary, so as to slow down the opponent's pursuit and escape.

As for why not exchange it for a silver ticket?

This is the money village that I have watched too many TV series, and I really think that this era has a national counterpart. Even if there is, the money must be deposited in the money bank first, and the money bank must be able to ensure that it will be transported out of the capital under the chaos, so that the so-called bill transaction can take place.

"Lujiazhai and Wangjiazhai are both thousands of people, and there should be a lot of grain and grass in the village, as for the boats, that is the capital for them to eat, and there should be no shortage, but specifically, because the time is urgent, the sentry cavalry did not find out clearly." Wu Xingye hugged his fists.

"How many people are there in the Lujiazhai fort, more than three thousand?" Zhou Shixian asked again, "What about Wangjiazhai, who has more Dingkou on both sides?" ”

"Lujiazhai is just a young and strong Dingkou, there are seven or eight hundred, and there should be three thousand. In the case of Wangjiazhai, the young and strong Dingkou is less than that of Lujiazhai, only five or six hundred, and the strength is also weaker. Wu Xingye replied.

"Well, that's going to be easier." Zhou Shixian listened, and he was probably sure of the situation in his heart, so he couldn't help frowning, smiled, and then said:

"Then let's concentrate our troops and horses, and take Lujiazhai before the Shun army in Qingxian County notices the movement and rushes to reinforcements. Then give him a siege point to send reinforcements, and wipe out these pursuers in Qingxian. ”