After Li Yuan listened to Ma An's narration, his jaw almost dropped in shock. Burning, killing and looting are normal these days, but it is often the tragedy that happens when someone robs other people's land. As for killing one's own people , it can only be said that the Jin army was crazy.
It is true that if the Jin army wanted to obtain supplies on Taihu Lake, they could only replenish it from the nearby Changzhou. This was the most feasible. After all, Changzhou was the only transit point on the 500-mile canal.
After many days of sailing and attacking, the Jin army arrived at Taihu Lake and saw the lake everywhere. Changzhou is the nearest big city besides Suzhou, so it is naturally the best place to replenish it. However, Li Jingsui did not expect to take such an unexpected move. His methods were so crazy that he burned, killed, and plundered his own cities and people in Jiangnan. I am afraid that Yuanzong, the great ancestor of the Southern Tang Dynasty, will die with his eyes open.
Not only did Li Yuan feel a little regretful, he also arrived a little late. Of course, the three thousand cavalry under his command might not be able to defend Changzhou City, but if he could have arrived in Changzhou earlier, he could have evacuated the people and built strong walls to clear the fields. This catastrophe can be overcome, and the Jin army will not be able to replenish supplies of supplies and food too smoothly.
"Do you know how many ships and approximately how many troops the Jin army has on Taihu Lake? When did they come and leave today?" Li Yuan asked with a frown.
"The villain has asked some merchants who come and go. There are many ships on Taihu Lake now. There are dozens of large ships, and countless medium and small ships. It stretches for five or six miles. The ships are densely packed with soldiers and horses. Let's make a rough estimate. Probably as many as 60,000 to 70,000.
As for the more than 10,000 thieves who came to Changzhou, they arrived in small boats before noon and left in the afternoon. More than a dozen cargo ships on our Changzhou dock were also robbed by them. They must have returned to Taihu Lake after loading the robbed food supplies.
Please forgive me that I can only understand so much, because there are no officials in the city. I really can't go to inquire about it. I can only stay in the city to organize the people to tide over the difficulties. Ma An said.
Li Yuandao: "You have done a good job. From now on, Changzhou will be my great city of Chu. I will appoint you as the governor of Changzhou. You will be responsible for comforting and relieving the people here and organizing them to rebuild their homes. Remember, you must not let the people live." Chaos. Hold on for a few days, and I will find a way to mobilize some food and supplies for you from elsewhere to tide you over, but for the time being, you still have to rely on yourself."
Ma An excitedly bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that your humble position will definitely fulfill your mission! I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness!"
Li Yuan nodded and said: "What other cities are there along the south side of the canal?"
Ma An said: "Your Majesty, there are only some small counties along the river south of Changzhou City. Wujin County and Changzhou County are both under my rule in Changzhou. Wujin County is about 320 miles away from here. Changzhou County and Wujin County are only a few dozen miles away. Based on the Jin army's boat speed, it is estimated that they will pass through these two counties and enter Taihu Lake in less than two or three days. I don't know if these two counties have also suffered disaster."
Li Yuan looked gloomy and nodded.
That night, Li Yuan summoned Zouping and the generals in the accompanying guard camp and informed them of his plan.
"Everyone, judging from the current situation, the canals are getting wider and faster from Changzhou. After the Jin army has obtained the food and supplies, they will definitely want to return to Taihu Lake in a hurry. I am afraid that it will be useless for us to pursue them by land. We will only be left far behind by them. Behind us. In this case, our actions this time will be meaningless. Once the more than 60,000 Jin troops are replenished, they will soon attack Suzhou."
"Your Majesty, why don't we pursue the south early tomorrow morning, maybe there is a chance to catch up? If we can catch up, the brothers have brought strong bows and crossbows, and it is not impossible to cause trouble from the shore. Even if we can't Intercepting the grain transport ships of the Jin army will not allow them to be replenished too smoothly." Zouping said in a low voice.
Li Yuan slowly shook his head and said: "We can't catch up. In the past few days, we have been galloping day and night, and the men and horses can no longer bear it. If we keep running like this, people can bear it, but the horses will definitely not be able to bear it. The more we chase, the more we chase. The further it falls.”
"Your Majesty, what should we do? Can't we turn around and go back to join the army?" Zouping asked with a frown.
Li Yuandao: "Of course not. In this case, I can only watch Suzhou fall into the hands of the Jin army. I will never be willing to return without success. I have just thought about it carefully. For the current plan, I can only let everyone Erlang and the war horse rested here in Changzhou for half a day, helping the people of Changzhou with some things, and at the same time allowing the war horse to rest and regain strength. I want to go alone for the next pursuit."
"What? How did this happen?"
"Absolutely not? How can your Majesty be put in danger?"
"Your Majesty, not allowed."
All the personal guards and generals shouted.
Li Yuan waved his hand and said: "Don't panic, my horse is a BMW horse that is one of the best in a million. Although it has been running for a few days, it is only a little bit of energy for it. I didn't see it all the way." Are you holding back your energy? That's because your horse is running too slowly and it can't run as fast as it wants. Look, the other horses are depressed and weak at the moment, but it is still in high spirits."
Everyone turned to look at a group of horses tied not far away, but saw Li Yuan's horse, Tuxue Wuzui, standing in the darkness with energy and energy, looking around with twinkling eyes, showing no signs of fatigue. But the war horses next to it were all lying on the ground listlessly, looking as if they had lost all strength.
"My horse can travel hundreds of miles a day. Taking you with me can only slow down the journey and cannot catch up with the Jin army's fleet. But if I ride alone, I can catch up and reach the bank of the southern canal ahead of time. Wujin County, at least one day before the Jin army arrives. That way I can contact the local officials and people in advance. It would be best if there are soldiers there, and maybe we can do something." Li Yuan continued.
"Having said that, how can your safety be ensured when your majesty goes there alone? The Tang flag is still flying in Wujin, and it is not our territory of Chu. If your majesty has any shortcomings, we will have no choice but to die." Zouping said hurriedly. .
"Yes, yes, what should I do if something happens to His Majesty on his way there? How should we explain it?" the generals also asked one after another.
Li Yuan laughed and said: "What can happen to me? Do you think I am a weak scholar with no strength? How many wars have I fought in these years? There are no eyesight on the battlefield. If something happened, I would have been in trouble long ago. Okay, why don't you wait until today?
Besides, Changzhou is already my territory of Da Chu, and the small counties under my rule will naturally have to change their gates. I just went to contact the local officials in advance to see if I could do something on the path that the Jin army must pass through. It was not that I wanted to fight alone. The Jin army fought. You will also come soon, what could happen? After much thought, this is the only way, otherwise we will have no choice but to return home without success. "
The generals were silent, and Li Yuan said with a smile: "Don't be so sad. Are you doing this to curse me? I have made up my mind, and this matter is settled. I will set off early tomorrow morning. You guys take a rest. We will set off again in the afternoon, there is no need to rush on the road, we can arrive near Suzhou within seven days."
The generals were helpless. They knew that once His Majesty decided something, there was basically no way to change it, and his persuasion was in vain. Moreover, now that we happen to know that the Jin army is transporting food by water, if we can really interfere with this matter, it will undoubtedly be a huge blow to the Jin army. At present, the only way seems to be to get ahead of the Jin army and pass by them. There were some tricks along the way.
In the early morning of the next day, Li Yuan bid farewell to the guards and left Changzhou City quickly with their worried eyes. The black horse under his crotch got the opportunity to gallop as much as he wanted. It was as fast as lightning and extremely fast. Li Yuan sat on the horse, feeling the spring breeze blowing against his face, and the scenery around him receding rapidly, as if he was sitting on a speeding train.
A BMW is a BMW not only because it runs fast, but also because it has long endurance. In ancient times, it was called a thousand-mile horse, which may be an exaggeration, but even if it cannot travel a thousand miles in a day, it can still travel five hundred miles in half. Traveling such a long road requires not only speed, but also endurance.
Although Li Yuan's black horse may not be able to travel five hundred miles a day, if it runs hard enough, it is still possible to travel three hundred miles a day. But the horse can bear it, but the man can't bear it. Li Yuan not only suffers from the strong wind hitting his face and body, but also suffers the heart-breaking bumps on horseback. This is the most terrible thing.
Therefore, Li Yuan had to control the speed and time of action so that the horse would not be too tired and he would not be jolted to the point of being knocked upside down.
At the end of the day, he traveled nearly two hundred miles, and in the evening, Li Yuan finally saw a dark mass of ships in the river ahead, like a forest of masts and flickering firelights. Li Yuan knew that he had caught up with the Jin army's fleet transporting grain and grass in one day. Even so, Li Yuan was surprised by the speed of the Jin fleet. They had already left Changzhou 200 miles away.
Of course, this is understandable. After all, they set off half a day earlier than me, and they can sail even at night, but their speed will be limited. At this rate, they will arrive in Wujin County in a day or two.
Now that he had caught up with the fleet, Li Yuan felt relieved. He would definitely be able to arrive in Wujin at least one day in advance, and he would have one day to prepare for the arrival of the Jin army. So Li Yuan did not travel all night, but found a shaded place to rest for the night.
Early the next morning, Li Yuan set out again and caught up with the Jin fleet again at Chen hour.
Li Yuan deliberately galloped past the canal bank. The long row of large and small boats on the river, as well as the densely packed soldiers and horses on the boats, as we had learned before, were the more than 10,000 soldiers sent by the Jin army to plunder. horse.
Li Yuan did not dare to get too close, nor did he dare to go parallel with them. He quickly distanced himself from the fleet because he could not let the Jin troops on the ship pay too much attention to himself running on the shore, although Li Yuan did not carry any eye-catching weapons. Flag, he also put on ordinary armor without markings, but Li Yuan still had to be careful at all times.
Therefore, Li Yuan quickly got off the river embankment and ran south along the weed path below the river embankment, surpassing the Jin army's fleet.
