Although Xu Youchang was unhappy in every way, Li Jiangyao was the commander, and his words were Tiantiao within the Zhenjiang Army. Li Jiangyao pressed down in the form of a military order, and Xu Youchang could only be obedient.

Just as Li Jiangyao said, his personal crossing of the river was interspersed, which had a bearing on the safety and honor of the entire Zhenjiang army, and Xu Youchang and others did not dare to slack off in the slightest, and for two days and nights, dozens of senior staff officers repeatedly studied and finally came up with a complete set of combat plans.

In order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, Xu Youchang also specially dispatched Nie Xianzeng from Luoma Lake to the Luzhou headquarters to receive the task with Xiong Yunjie.

Hearing that the Dadu Protector was directly involved in this operation, and did not bring the white-robed army, but commanded several infantry battalions of the Fifth Army, interspersed three hundred miles behind enemy lines, Xiong Yunjie and Nie Xianzeng were greatly shocked.

Xiong Yunjie immediately said that he would also cross the river together, as Li Jiangyao's personal soldier, by his side. Nie Xianzeng bluntly said that the pressure was huge, and he was worried that he would make a mistake and put the coach in danger on the south bank. In that case, he will be the sinner of the entire Zhenjiang army, and he will not be able to escape the blame for his death.

Xu Youchang said in a deep voice: "The reason why Dadu Hu has decided this way is that in this way, you can force yourself to the point where you have no way to retreat, and then create miracles under pressure. If we are thousands of miles apart and can achieve perfect land and water coordination, then our combat power and experience will be greatly improved, and we will lay a solid foundation for the subsequent counterinsurgency war. ”

He took a deep breath and continued, "Like you, I feel a lot of weight and tension on my shoulders. But in order to win, we must all face it bravely. Yun Jie, I can understand your feelings, but in this operation, you can't accompany the commander across the river, but you have to continue to stay in Jiangbei to sit in the Fifth Army and accept new orders at any time. ”

"Increase first, success or failure, the key lies in you, in the Kunpeng Tenth Army. You must thoroughly understand the battle plan drawn up by the command headquarters, grasp the opportunity to attack Jingkou and respond to the protection of the capital, and never miss the slightest. ”

Nie Xianzeng suddenly got up and nodded solemnly: "Please rest assured Xu Shuai, you will go all out in your humble position!" ”

-

After careful consideration, Xu Youchang finally decided to send only three of the most elite infantry battalions to participate in the interspersed operation of crossing the river. First, if there are few people, the ship capacity can be fully guaranteed, and the one-time projection of troops to the opposite shore can minimize the risk of accidents in the process.

Second, after crossing the river, the interspersed troops did not have any task of attacking fortifications, and the small but precise allocation of combat power made it easier to conceal the march and ensure the safety of Li Jiangyao.

In this regard, the majority of the Zhenjiang Army was slightly dissatisfied: "Don't you really give me a chance to sneak attack one or two strategic targets?" ”

"I really don't give it," Xu Youchang responded, "This matter is not negotiable." You'd better stay unaware of your journey until you return to Jiangbei from Jingkou, and the enemy won't know that you've passed. ”

Li Jiangyao smiled helplessly, sorted out the armor on his body, and tightened the Xingluo knife behind his back: "Have everyone gathered?" When to go? ”

Xu Youchang looked at the hourglass: "It's almost, let's go, the first, fourth and fifth battalions are already waiting for you by the river in advance." According to the plan, the main force of the Fifth Army made the illusion of a large-scale crossing of the river twenty miles downstream, and you crossed the river overnight while the enemy's attention was turned to that side. ”

Li Jiangyao stretched out his hand and patted Xu Youchang on the shoulder: "Good brother, I'll go to Jiangnan to go around, feel the situation, and wait for me to return victorious!" ”

"Treasure!" Xu Youchang said seriously.

Li Jiangyao laughed loudly, jumped on his war horse accompanied by everyone, and went straight to the starting position of crossing the river. When he got there, Xu Youchang specially called the captains of the three battalions and gave a special explanation, telling them to protect the safety of Daduhu.

Seeing that the time for action had come, Li Jiangyao ordered to set off, and the 3,000 elite light infantry took advantage of the drowsy night to board 20 large ships in batches and sail into the vast river with their commander.

Since the main fleet of the rebels was still in the Jingxiang area, the blockade of warships on the defensive lines in the middle and lower reaches of the river was much looser than before. Except for the important sections of the river such as Jingkou, Chaisang, and Xuanzhou, or where it was discovered that the Northern Army had the intention of crossing the river on a large scale, it was difficult to see cruising rebel ships in many places in peacetime.

Li Jiangyao stood at the bow of the boat, the night breeze blowing on the river was mixed with water vapor, slowly blowing on his face, wet and cold, and he felt extremely comfortable. There was silence all around, except for the gentle sound of the bow of the boat breaking through the water.

Li Jiangyao knew that with Xu Youchang's careful deployment in the early stage, the river crossing operation at this time was actually not very dangerous, and the real test should be after landing.

From the beginning of the assembly of troops, to entering the starting position to stand by, to boarding the ship in turn, hoisting the sails and anchoring, and crossing the river overnight, the entire operation proceeded in an orderly manner. Seeing that the opposite bank had faintly appeared in front of him, it took less than an hour and a half in total, and the efficiency was extremely high.

This process has accumulated valuable experience for the whole army to organize large-scale river-crossing operations in the future.

In addition, the effect of boat training during this period also made Li Jiangyao very satisfied. The soldiers from the ghost desert of Western Xinjiang gradually adapted to the shaking and bumping of the boat, and almost no one appeared in the extremely dizzy and nauseous state before.

Soon, twenty large ships approached the shore one after another. In order to prevent the draft from being too deep and the ship from running aground, the soldiers jumped into the river one after another, wading waist-deep water and touching the shore.

The 3,000-strong army was disciplined and well-trained, ensuring that it did not make too much noise and moved quickly and covertly.

In a few moments, the whole army went ashore smoothly, assembled in the pre-selected shore jungle, and waited for the next order.

Two days ago, the scouts had been ordered to swim across the river with arms, and had gone here to make a careful and thorough reconnaissance. Including the location of the enemy's sentry fort, the direction of the blockade line, and the pattern of the activities of the patrols, all of them were clearly felt.

Li Jiangyao had already memorized the map drawn by the scouts, and after the captains of the three battalions reported to him that the number of troops had been counted and none of them had been left behind, he immediately ordered to set off, following the route set by Xu Youchang and them, bypassing the enemy's alert and advancing deep into the rear.

Because it was a large-scale penetration behind enemy lines, the entire force could not be equipped with normal supply baggage. Three thousand fighters, who carried only five days' rations with them. In five days, they had to march more than 300 miles, and also have to cross the steep mountains and dense forests of Maoshan Mountain, arrive in the Jingkou area on time, and launch an attack on the Junzhai Wharf. Otherwise, there is a danger of running out of food.

Time was pressing, Li Jiangyao took the lead, led his troops to bypass five rebel strongholds in a row, and reached the outskirts of Dangtu County when it was dark.

A team of 3,000 people, no matter how secret their actions are, will not be able to achieve true stealth after all. Moreover, the vicinity of the county seat already belongs to the hinterland of the enemy army, so it is inevitable that his whereabouts will be exposed.

It wasn't long before the vanguard came into direct contact with a rebel patrol. At first glance, when they saw the Zhenjiang Army appear in the rear of Jiangfang, the rebels were immediately taken aback, and before they could react, they were rushed up by the people of the Fifth Army and killed indiscriminately.

The battle lasted only a short time, and more than thirty patrolmen were killed on the spot, leaving a dozen to flee in a hurry.

Seeing that he had already alarmed the enemy, Li Jiangyao simply stopped hiding his tracks, and ordered the officers and men of the three battalions to choose the main road, take the galloping road, and go straight to the northeast.

The 3,000 people immediately showed their banners, threw off their steps, and marched all the way.

As the sky brightened, there were more and more business travelers on the road. The people were stunned as they watched the army speeding past them.

"Lao Zhang, am I dazzled? Where do you see that team? ”

"I'll see...... Oh, my God! Yes, it's the Zhenjiang Army?! ”

"Shopkeeper, look! They're the Zhenjiang Army, why did they come here? ”

"Huh? Could it be that the army of the imperial court crossed the river? Mom, it's going to be a big battle! ”

"child, hurry up and pack your things, let's not go to the city to sell vegetables, let's go back to the countryside and hide!"

The news of the war exploded among the people in a blink of an eye. From Dangtu County to Xuanzhou City, the rumors that the Zhenjiang army appeared behind quickly spread, causing the rebels everywhere to be shocked.

Soon, multiple scouts sent back reports that there was indeed a Zhenjiang army that broke through the defense line of the river and penetrated into the hinterland of the south of the Yangtze River. The scale of this road of soldiers and horses is about three or four thousand, and it is moving rapidly towards the Maoshan area!

After confirming this situation, the rebel headquarters in Xuancheng immediately sent two groups of messengers all the way upstream, informing the commander Bao Yuchun that he would go all the way southeast to warn the Jin Wangfu in Hangzhou.

Although the Zhenjiang army crossing the river was not many in number, it had strange movements and unclear purposes, and they had been rushing towards Maoshan Mountain, in case they bypassed Taihu Lake and attacked the area of Jiaxing, Huzhou, it would pose a threat to Hangzhou.

"Fart!" Bao Yuchun, who received the report, was so angry that he wanted to scold his mother: "Three or four thousand people, why pose a threat to the hundreds of thousands of troops in Hangzhou?" There are only two goals for them, either to harass the supply battalion in Changzhou, or to go north to attack Jingkou and let these two places strengthen their defenses! In addition, the cavalry troops stationed in Xuanzhou immediately dispatched and launched a pursuit, and they must completely annihilate the invading enemy! ”

However, it is a pity that Bao Yuchun's reaction is fast, but his orders are conveyed very slowly. From the bank of the Jingxiang River to the headquarters of Xuancheng, the expedited fast horse ran directly and vomited blood, and it still took three and a half days to complete this round-trip message.

At this time, Li Jiangyao had already led the soldiers of the Fifth Army into Maoshan.

Now, they are racing against time, against the reaction speed of the rebel commander, against Bao Yuchun's herald fast horse. And the end point of this race is Jingkou, an important town a hundred miles to the north!

That place destined to write the legend of the Zhenjiang Army Sailor!