The sky gradually cleared up in the afternoon. Lao Jiu and Hao Yaoqi were sitting on the millstone at the entrance of the village, gnawing watermelons bought from fellow villagers. In the distance, fast horses were passing by in the wilderness from time to time, sometimes near and sometimes far away, and there was a faint sound of drinking. There were curses.
After fighting Jingzhou's spies before noon, Lao Jiu sent an order to expand the scope of the investigation. Before any useful information could be collected, Jingzhou's spies were discovered one after another near the camp, either alone or in groups, or even dozens of small groups of cavalry. .
With Lao Jiu's urine, how could he obey them? He sent people to expel them and did not allow them to come close to the five-mile radius. From this, Zhu Chongsheng also deduced that firstly, Jingzhou soldiers and horses must have camps nearby, and secondly, they had a lot of troops.
"So?" Lao Jiu raised his eyebrows.
"It shows that they are prepared, and we can stimulate them, but we must not take action first to prevent the truth from being confirmed." Zhu Chongsheng is actually equivalent to the military advisor of the Black Wolf Camp. Although Lao Jiu, a big boss, does not listen to his opinions, , but it is more important.
"Wine jar, what do you mean?" Lao Jiu asked Hao Yaoqi next to him.
"Be courteous first and then fight. After all, we are just looking for trouble." Hao Yaoqi said nonchalantly: "The reason for coming to Jingzhou is to cause trouble. As long as we don't dig up their ancestral graves, we shouldn't be able to cause too much trouble. Otherwise, the Governor will not let us enter." Right".
I wiped it, and Lao Jiu looked at Hao Yaoqi with an exaggerated expression: "I am really looking at you more and more now."
Hao Yaoqi rolled his eyes: "You're an uneducated person, that's called looking at someone with a different face."
"Ahem, cough, I'm impressed." Zhu Chongsheng couldn't help but remind him. Lao Jiu and Hao Yaoqi immediately stared at him: "You are the only one who is knowledgeable. Let me scrape your eyes and see if you can still see clearly..."
Report...
At this moment, several fast horses rushed forward, and several spies jumped off their horses: "General, there is a Jingzhou army camp thirty miles to the west."
Lao Jiu narrowed his eyes: "We are going to Jingzhou and Ma Pingchuan. Where will they camp and how many troops will they have?"
"Jiyukou Town by Jieliang Lake..." The spy said, picking up a branch and pulling it up on the ground. Lao Jiu and others hurried over and took a closer look. Jieliang Lake was the Jieliang Lake in later generations. Du Yu during the Wei and Jin Dynasties During the attack on Jiangling, ships often came here to pick up supplies, hence the name. Three or four miles to the west is the big Long Lake. How big is the Long Lake? West to the outside of Jingzhou City.
Jiyukou is a large town, with Jieliang Lake at its back and a large north-south river in front of it. It is a good place to camp on the plain between the two rivers.
"How many soldiers and horses are there?" Zhu Chongsheng asked. Before the spy could answer, Lao Jiu suddenly frowned and asked, "Are you starting to work?"
It turned out that he had discovered the bruises on the spy's body.
Hey, the spy wiped his face and said: "Their interception is so powerful that we can't even rush within ten miles, and our several fights with them are of no avail..."
"Are there any brother casualties?" Lao Jiu asked with concern. The spy shook his head: "The other party is quite restrained and mainly drives them away."
Lao Jiu then nodded, as long as his life is not hurt. With his urine, if his brothers are killed by the other party, he will rush to the camp immediately, no matter how many people you have, no matter where you are.
"Then how did you detect the location of the opponent's camp and the strength of the opponent's troops?" Zhu Chongsheng asked.
"We couldn't break through, so we inquired in the surrounding villages. It turned out that the military camp was not set up recently. It was said to be several years old, but there were only two to three thousand people on weekdays. There was a lot of trouble in the surrounding area. I heard that there had been another one recently. With more troops and horses, it is estimated that there will be five to six thousand people or even more at this time... We estimate that there are about eight thousand people."
"About eight thousand!" Zhu Chongsheng's face became solemn, but Lao Jiu's focus was on another place: "The military camp has been there for several years, which means it is not here for us...well...a sudden increase of several thousand The troops are heading towards us..."
"Jingxiang is Li Chuang's backyard and retreat. It was handed over to Ma Huihui and Yuan Zongdi, who are best at managing the territory. Jingzhou is not only a city, but a territory. Ma Huihui has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command. Jingzhou can be used as a city." We can’t let it go. In addition to dispersed garrison in surrounding counties, there are also several military camps within the territory for daily drill inspections and wartime linkage. I thought that the military camp that came to Jieliang Lake was one of them, but we happened to run into it..." Hao Yaoqi stood up and looked into the distance with his hands behind his back: "The other party is prepared. Things are not going to be easy."
"Why is it so difficult?" Lao Jiu also stood up.
"We rushed here non-stop after receiving the military order, but here we have already prepared for the reception. It means that Jingzhou is well-informed. Maybe there are their people in Wuchang... If you don't come, it's true, If you can't get through, I'm really afraid that those who come will poke a big hole." Hao Yaoqi sighed, Lao Jiu smiled disapprovingly: "It's not surprising that there are their people in Wuchang City, just like there are no our people in Jingzhou. Yes, if you ask me, there are quite a few of us even in Chengdu now..." Hao Yaoqi interrupted him, "What are you talking about? It has nothing to do with the current situation."
Lao Jiu chuckled: "Look at your arrogance and majesty just now. I want to try without mentioning your name. Didn't you say that mentioning your name here will work!"
"Fuck, you're still in the mood to joke." Hao Yaoqi scolded, and Lao Jiu laughed: "What a big deal, after the brothers have rested enough, we will go to the water to test the depth. If mentioning your name doesn't work, Then we can make a fuss. As you said before, since the Governor has let us in, he is not afraid that we will cause trouble. Even if the sky collapses, the Governor will still be there..."
Hao Yaoqi stopped and shook his head with a bitter smile: "Having said that, I can't figure out why the Governor is doing this. It's such a peaceful situation..."
"You can't figure it out, and I can't figure it out either." Lao Jiu glanced at Zhu Chongsheng and said, "Scholar, can you figure it out?"
Zhu Chongsheng shook his head lightly: "At most, I can only figure it out a little bit, and I can't figure it out any further."
"Oh, then tell us what you have figured out." Hao Yaoqi was very curious. Zhu Chongsheng laughed: "Sending troops to the west is a big move. There are many deep meanings behind it. I am just guessing. Just one or two..."
"That's so long-winded..." Hao Yaoqi was impatient with Zhu Chongsheng's detours when several more fast horses came running towards him: "Report, the other side sent someone over to say that they wanted to meet with the general..."
Haha, Lao Jiu and the other three looked at each other: "It's time for Jiu Guan to mention your name." Hao Yaoqi snorted: "I wonder if my reputation of carrying the banner is still useful in the old department."
"That's the best thing." Lao Jiu said, "I didn't expect to meet someone more anxious than me. Scholar, what do you think?"
"They have eight thousand soldiers and horses." Zhu Chongsheng looked solemn.
"So?" Lao Jiu raised his eyebrows.
"There are eight thousand of them!" Zhu Chongsheng looked back at Lao Jiu and then at Hao Yaoqi.
"so what?"
Lao Jiu and Hao Yaoqi stared at Zhu Chongsheng and asked.
"It's up to the two of you to decide what to do." Zhu Chongsheng sighed, and Hao Yaoqi raised his foot to kick him away. This guy was rude and not as thoughtful as Lao Jiu. He just thought Zhu Chongsheng was an ordinary literate soldier. , but was caught by Lao Jiu, who had sharp eyes and quick hands: "Okay, let's go and see if your lover is good."
"Bah! I don't get along well with Ma back here." Hao Yaoqi cursed and said, "But I've heard of my name before!"
Have not heard!
From the spies, they learned that the Jingzhou guard who was going to meet them this time was called Qi Yuquan, nicknamed Land Lord.
Hao Yaoqi thought about it again and again, scratching his head but still couldn't think of having heard of such a person: "I've never heard of such a small character."
"I heard that his bandit name was Fan Dilong in the past, but now that he has become a big man and thinks that bandit name is not popular, he changed his name to Tu Tu Ye..." The spy didn't know where he heard the gossip from, Hao Yaoqi still shook his head: "No I’ve never heard of it even if I’m a pro.”
No wonder Hao Yaoqi hadn't heard of it. Qi Yuquan was indeed a small character before. At first, he was just Ma Bian who was raised by Wang Lin in the troubled times. Qi Yuquan became a deputy general under Niu Wancai and garrisoned Jiyukou.
