Although Xu Youchang was not happy in every possible way, Li Jiangyao was the commander-in-chief, and his words were the rule of heaven within the Zhenjiang Army. Li Jiangyao suppressed him with military orders, and Xu Youchang had no choice but to obey.
Just as Li Jiangyao said, he crossed the river personally, which was related to the safety and honor of the entire Zhenjiang Army. Xu Youchang and others did not dare to neglect at all. For two days and nights, dozens of senior staff repeatedly studied and finally came up with the plan. A complete battle plan.
In order to ensure nothing goes wrong, Xu Youchang specially dispatched Nie Xianzang from Luoma Lake to the Luzhou headquarters to accept the mission together with Xiong Yunjie.
Xiong Yunjie and Nie Xianzang were both shocked when they heard that the General Protector General was directly involved in this operation, and that he did not lead the White Robes, but commanded several infantry battalions of the Fifth Army, penetrating three hundred miles behind enemy lines.
Xiong Yunjie immediately said that he would also cross the river together and serve as Li Jiangyao's personal soldier, accompanying him. Nie Xianzang 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 would be the sinner of the entire Zhenjiang Army, and he would not be able to escape the blame for his death.
Xu Youchang said in a deep voice: "The reason why the Great Protector made such a decision is that in this way, you can force yourself into a point of no return, and then create miracles under pressure. If we are thousands of miles apart, can we still By achieving perfect water and land coordination, combat capabilities and experience will be greatly improved, laying a solid foundation for subsequent counter-insurgency wars."
He took a deep breath and continued: "Like you, I also feel that I have a huge burden on my shoulders and am extremely nervous. But in order to win, we must all face it bravely. Yunjie, I can understand your mood, But for this operation, you cannot accompany the commander across the river, but you must stay in the north of the Yangtze River to command the Fifth Army and accept new orders at any time."
"First increase, the key to success or failure lies with you, in the Kunpeng Tenth Army. You must fully understand the combat plan drawn up by the headquarters, seize the opportunity to attack Jingkou and coordinate with the Imperial Guard, and you must not make any mistakes."
Nie Xianzang stood up suddenly and nodded solemnly: "Please rest assured, Commander Xu, I will do my best in this humble position!"
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After careful consideration, Xu Youchang finally decided to send only three of the most elite infantry battalions to participate in the crossing operation. First, if there are few people, the ship's transportation capacity can be fully guaranteed, and troops can be delivered to the other side at once, which can minimize unexpected risks in the process.
Secondly, after crossing the river, there are no critical tasks for the intersecting troops. The deployment of small but refined combat forces makes it easier to conduct covert marches and ensure Li Jiangyao's safety.
In this regard, the Chief Protector of the Zhenjiang Army was slightly dissatisfied: "Are you really not going to give me a chance to sneak attack on one or two strategic targets?"
"I really don't give it," Xu Youchang responded: "There is no need to discuss this matter. It is best for you to stay unnoticed along the way. Until you return from Jingkou to Jiangbei, the enemy will not know that you have passed."
Li Jiangyao smiled helplessly, adjusted his armor, and tightened the Xingluo Knife behind his back: "Has everyone gathered together? When will we set off?"
Xu Youchang looked at the hourglass: "It's almost time. Get ready to leave. The 1st, 4th and 5th Battalions have been waiting for you by the river in advance. According to the plan, the main force of the Fifth Army will make a large-scale crossing of the river twenty miles downstream. Under the false pretense, you take advantage of the enemy’s attention and cross the river overnight.”
Li Jiangyao reached out and patted Xu Youchang on the shoulder: "Good brother, I will go to Jiangnan for a walk to get a feel for the situation, and wait until I return victorious!"
"Take it very seriously!" Xu Youchang warned seriously.
Li Jiangyao laughed loudly, jumped on his horse accompanied by everyone, and went straight to the starting position for crossing the river. When they got there, Xu Youchang called over the captains of the three battalions and gave special instructions, asking them to ensure the safety of the generals.
Seeing that the time for action had come, Li Jiangyao ordered to set off. Taking advantage of the gloomy night, three thousand elite light infantry boarded twenty large ships in batches and followed their commander into the vast river.
Since the main fleet of the rebels is still in the Jingxiang area, the degree of blockade by warships on the defense lines in the middle and lower reaches of the river is much looser than before. Except for important river sections such as Jingkou, Chaisang, and Xuanzhou, or when it is discovered that the Northern Army intends to cross the river on a large scale, it is difficult to see patrolling rebel ships in many places.
Li Jiangyao stood on the bow of the boat. The night wind blowing across the river was mixed with moisture and blew slowly on his face. It was moist and cool, and he felt particularly comfortable. There was silence all around, except for the gentle sound of the bow of the boat breaking through the waves.
Li Jiangyao knew that with Xu Youchang's careful arrangements in the early stage, the crossing operation at this time was actually not very dangerous. The real test should be after landing.
From the time the troops began to gather, to entering the starting position and waiting, to boarding the ship, raising sails and anchors, and crossing the river at night, the entire operation was carried out in an orderly manner. Seeing that the other side was faintly appearing in front of us, it took less than an hour and a half in total, which was extremely efficient.
This process accumulated valuable experience for the entire army to organize large-scale cross-river operations in the future.
In addition, Li Jiangyao was also very satisfied with the effect of boat training during this period. The soldiers from the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang gradually adapted to the rocking and bumping of the boat, and almost no one suffered from the extreme dizziness and nausea that they had before.
Soon, twenty large ships approached the shore one after another. In order to prevent the ship from running aground if the draft was too deep, the soldiers jumped into the river one after another and waded through waist-deep water to the shore when they were still more than ten feet away from the beach.
The three thousand soldiers are highly disciplined and well-trained to ensure that they do not make too much noise and move quickly and covertly.
In a short time, the entire army successfully landed ashore and assembled in the pre-selected jungle on the shore, waiting for the next order.
Two days ago, the scouts had been ordered to swim across the river with arms and conduct a careful and thorough investigation here. Including the location of the enemy's outposts and forts, the direction of the blockade, and the activity patterns of the patrols, they were all clearly understood.
Li Jiangyao had already memorized the map drawn by the scouts. After the captains of the three battalions reported to him that the numbers of all the troops were counted and no one was left behind, he immediately ordered to set off along the route set by Xu Youchang and others. Bypass the enemy's warning and advance deep to the rear.
Because it was conducting a large-scale penetration behind enemy lines, the entire army could not be equipped with normal supply equipment. Three thousand soldiers only carried five days' rations with them. In five days, they had to march more than three hundred miles and pass through the steep mountains and dense forests of Maoshan Mountain to arrive in the Jingkou area on time and launch an attack on the Junzhai Pier. Otherwise, there will be a risk of running out of food.
Time was running out, and Li Jiangyao took the lead, leading his troops to bypass five rebel strongholds in a row, and arrived at the outskirts of Dangtu County when the sky was dark.
A team of three thousand people, no matter how secretive their actions are, cannot achieve true invisibility. Moreover, the area near the county seat already belongs to the enemy's hinterland, so it is inevitable that their whereabouts will be exposed.
Not long after, the vanguard encountered a rebel patrol head-on. When they first saw the Zhenjiang Army appearing behind Jiang Fang, the rebels were frightened. Before they could react, the Fifth Army rushed forward and killed them indiscriminately.
The battle only lasted for a short while. More than thirty patrolmen were killed on the spot, and a dozen others fled in panic.
Seeing that the enemy had been alerted, Li Jiangyao simply stopped hiding his traces and ordered the soldiers of the three battalions to choose the main road, take the galloping road, and go straight to the northeast.
Three thousand people immediately raised their flags, started walking, and walked quickly.
As the sky gets brighter, there are gradually more business travelers on the road. The people could not help but be stunned as they looked at the army flying past them.
"Old Zhang, am I dazzled? Where do you think that team is from?"
"Let's take a look... Oh my God! Is it the Suppressing Army?!"
"Shopkeeper, look! They are the Xinjiang Army. Why are they here?"
"Ah? Could it be that the imperial army has crossed the river? Oh my god, there's going to be a big battle!"
"My dear, hurry up and pack your things. We won't go to the city to sell vegetables. Let's go back to the countryside and hide for a while!"
News of the war exploded among the people in an instant. People spread the word from Dangtu County to Xuanzhou City, and the rumor that the Zhenjiang Army appeared behind them quickly spread, causing the rebels everywhere to turn into fright.
Soon, multiple scouts sent back reports that a Xinjiang army had indeed broken through the river defense line and penetrated into the hinterland of Jiangnan. The number of soldiers and horses on this road is about three to four thousand, and they are moving quickly towards the Maoshan area!
After confirming this situation, the rebel headquarters in Xuancheng immediately sent two groups of messengers all the way upstream to notify the commander Bao Yuchun, and then headed southeast to warn Prince Jin's Mansion in Hangzhou.
Although the Zhenjiang Army crossing the river was small in number, their actions were strange and their purpose was unclear, and they kept running towards Maoshan. If they bypassed Taihu Lake and attacked the Jiaxing area of Huzhou, they would pose a threat to Hangzhou.
"Fart!" Bao Yuchun, who received the report, was so angry that he wanted to curse: "How can three or four thousand people pose a threat to the hundreds of thousands of troops in Hangzhou? They only have two goals, either to harass the supply camp in Changzhou , or go north to attack Jingkou and let these two places strengthen their defenses! In addition, the cavalry troops stationed in Xuanzhou will be dispatched immediately to pursue them, and they must annihilate all the invading enemies!"
Unfortunately, Bao Yuchun's reaction was quick, but his order transmission speed was very slow. From the bank of the Jingxiang River to the Xuancheng headquarters, I rushed straight away and vomited blood. It still took three and a half days to complete the round-trip news.
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, and against Bao Yuchun's speedy messenger horse. The end point of this game is Jingkou, an important town a hundred miles away in the north!
That place destined to write the legend of Zhenjiang Army Navy!
