It was almost the end of August when Zhuge Jin finally set off from Guangling County to go north to carry out his mission to Lu Bu and the imperial court.
There were 300 people accompanying him, including the guard commander Liu Bei specially assigned to him, Chen Dao, the Marquis of Qujun, and some other book dealers and workers.
The soldiers brought by Chen Dao were all elite white soldiers who were direct descendants of Liu Bei.
When Zhuge Jin was reading in his previous life, he was quite curious about Bai Jibing, and there were various opinions.
Now, through personal observation, I have discovered that these white soldiers are not from a unified source, nor are they specially trained. They are just representatives of the early elite soldiers under Liu Bei's account. Everyone has white feathers on their iron helmets as decorations.
In terms of military types, these white soldiers can ride horses and have good mobility. At the beginning, there were also many Wuhuan Hu cavalry brought by Liu Bei from his hometown in Youzhou.
However, after these years of fighting, the number of soldiers in Youzhou's hometown became less and less. Liu Bei also wanted to replenish his troops, so he recruited the Danyang soldiers who were relatively good at horsemanship and the Baijie soldiers to serve as guards.
However, as a result, the strength of these troops in fighting battles and riding, shooting and roaming is inferior to that of Youzhou Jingqi. However, his melee combat skills and walking archery are pretty good, and he is very suitable for being a "bodyguard who can maneuver quickly and break out of the rear", but he is no longer suitable for the vanguard charge in the decisive battle of the army.
The total number of Liu Bei's remaining white soldiers is less than a thousand. He is willing to send two to three hundred to Zhuge Jin as bodyguards for the envoy, and also allows Chen Dao to take charge personally. This is already very serious.
The group first walked along the Hangou Canal waterway and arrived at Huaiyin slowly. It was already the second day of September.
Counting the days, Zhuge Jin traveled to this world and it was finally full moon.
Outside Huaiyin City, Guan Yu had long heard that Zhuge Jin was going north to carry out his mission, so he waited at the canal dock in advance and held a banquet for him to carry out his mission.
Zhuge Jin and Guan Yu actually only lived together for two days.
Since Zhuge Jin broke out and left Huaiyin, he stole Guangling in the next month. Guan Yu was wounded by an arrow in the decisive battle at Huaiyin. He has been guarding and recuperating here, protecting the north gate of Liu Bei's territory. The two have never seen each other again.
Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, on the other hand, have become very familiar with Zhuge Jin in the past month.
Guan Yu only heard from afar what miracles Mr. Zhuge had created and what great things he had done for everyone in his elder brother's various letters, so he was fascinated by it.
In his heart, he felt more and more regretful about his initial slight.
It can even be said that because of the variable Zhuge Jin, Guan Yu even restrained his original tendency to look down on scholars and warned himself:
In the future, you must be patient and listen to what the other person has to say, and give the other person a chance to show your true talent and learning. Once you are convinced that you are a rotten idiot, it is not too late to despise him...
At this moment, he finally saw Zhuge Jin again. Guan Yu suppressed his excitement and stepped on the gangplank on the dock himself, helping him get off the boat with his own hands, showing all courtesy.
"General Guan doesn't have to be like this, I really don't deserve it." Zhuge Jin also felt a little awkward and said modestly.
"You deserve it! How can you not deserve it! Your husband is responsible for the survival of our army. He has to redeem our family members this time. Guan will never forget it! Please come to the city to rest and wash your hands." Guan Yu's attitude was firm and there was no room for doubt.
Zhuge Jin couldn't refuse, so he had a meal and drink with Guan Yu. At the banquet, Zhuge Jin reminded Guan Yu: "The general's arrow injury is only twenty years old, so it is better to drink less wine. Was the sore cleaned thoroughly at the beginning? How is it healed now?"
Guan Yu quickly raised his hands and replied: "It's no longer a problem. I have suffered from arrow sores five or six times in my life. The medical officers around me have dealt with them very skillfully and cleanly. The sores have healed now, so it's okay to drink alcohol."
Zhuge Jin's face darkened: "If General doesn't obey me, then I won't drink either."
Guan Yu had no choice but to say that he would listen to his husband. He was not as drunk as Zhang Fei, and he was drinking with him as a courtesy. That being the case, he was happy to eat only meat.
Zhuge Jin made a few more casual remarks: "In the future, if there are arrow sores in the army, they can be wiped with gauze that has been boiled and allowed to cool, and the pot must be covered. Do not open the lid and let it cool down quickly - I am an astronomy and geography doctor." There is nothing wrong with astrology, so if you listen to me, you will see miraculous results."
Zhuge Jin didn't bother to explain the principles of disinfection and microorganisms to the other party, because there was too much prerequisite knowledge for literacy.
Fortunately, his intellectual prestige is high enough, so he can just tell you the answer straight away.
Guan Yu quickly said that he would deal with it this way in the future and try his best to treat the wounded soldiers according to the method taught by his teacher.
…
Zhuge Jin stayed in Huaiyin for one day, and hurriedly continued northward the next day.
Guan Yu personally went out of the city to escort him across the Huaihe River and then across the Si River. He traveled for a whole day before returning.
Along the way, Zhuge Jin did not see Lu Bu's troops or horses. He asked his guards to wear low-key robes to hide their armor. It seemed that he was also fighting against the air.
However, this detail also reminded Zhuge Jin: It seems that although a full month has passed since Lu Bu's sneak attack on Xiapi City, Lu Bu still has not been able to completely control the three counties in central Xuzhou.
At least when he reached Ling County, sixty miles northwest of Huaiyin, he hadn't seen any of Lu Bu's troops.
Zhuge Jin tentatively sent a small number of well-trained followers to go into the city to investigate. When he came back, he informed: Lu Bu did not send troops to take over the county, but only sent an envoy to convey the message more than ten days ago. At that time, the magistrate of Ling County did not open the city gate, but expressed his willingness to surrender to Lu Bu at the top of the city. Lu Bu's envoy went back to resume his orders.
After hearing this report, Chen Dao, who was on the side, became a little uneasy and asked Zhuge Jin for a fight: "Sir! It seems that the magistrate of Ling County may still be loyal to the lord and is just pretending to be soft on Lu Bu. Otherwise, we can occupy the county seat." Right? This can be considered a credit."
Zhuge Jin stopped him and said, "Don't make Lu Bu angry now. At most, send someone to tell the magistrate of Ling County. If he has a heart for his old master, he should acquiesce and let the families of the soldiers and soldiers who want to move to Guangling go."
From the fact that Lu Bu has not yet sent troops here, it can be seen that he is too busy taking over various places and is unwilling to irritate General Zhendong. "
From these clues, Zhuge Jin had already judged the progress of Lu Bu's territory digestion and his mentality of "picking the weak ones first".
Xuzhou is a whole state. Even if you exclude Guangling in the south and Langya in the north, there are still three major counties. In one month, it would be great to cover every county. If a full military occupation is required, it will be easier said than done.
This is not a game. As long as Xiapi City is destroyed, most of the entire Xuzhou area will belong to Lu Bu.
After further understanding the situation, Zhuge Jin also relaxed a little. He walked safely for another three days, passing through Xiang Yu's hometown of Xiaxiang County and then to Xiapi.
When he was taking pictures, he finally met Lu Bu's defenders. So he didn't provoke them and asked all the guards to put on their burqas to hide their armor. He asked the fleet to return and the group rode overland to complete the last eighty miles of the journey.
Xiangxiang County is close to Surabaya. If you continue to take the waterway, you will not be able to bypass the county.
In the early morning of the sixth day of September, when a group of people arrived at a village outside Xiapi City, Zhuge Jin had people stationed there in a low-key manner. Then he first sent people to Xiapi City to try to contact Chen Deng and Jian Yong——
Some people may have been curious before, why Liu Bei didn't send Jian Yong when he lacked foreign envoys?
This is actually because Jian Yong did not follow Liu Bei to the front of the Huaiyin army from the beginning, and he also stayed at Xiapi to guard his home.
When Zhang Fei lost the city and broke out of the siege, he didn't care about Jian Yong at all. He was also trapped in the city.
It's just that Jian Yong has a civil servant and is not considered a family prisoner, so Lu Bu didn't give him any trouble after entering the city, just like Lu Bu didn't give Chen Deng a hard time.
In this case, Zhuge Jin would be saved a lot of trouble.
For his own safety and success rate, of course he would not directly go to the city to ask for a meeting with Lu Bu, but would contact the internal affairs department first.
After a while, I don’t know what method Chen Deng, who is now deeply trusted by Lu Bu, used.
In short, he just got a carriage, took Jian Yong with him out of the city, and went straight to Shushui Town in the southeastern suburbs, where he met Zhuge Jin.
