Dongshan is not too far from Lingqiu County.
The few Tiger Flag sentries who were sent out first quickly discovered the soldiers and horses of the Lingqiu garrison camp on their way to Lingqiu County.
After all, six to seven hundred people appeared on the official road out of the city, and it was difficult not to attract attention.
"This group of people are all walking crookedly. At this speed, they won't be able to reach Dongshan in another half an hour." Behind a slope, a thin-faced sentry rider said sarcastically.
The black-faced sentry rider next to him sneered: "We have known the virtues of the soldiers and horses guarding the camp a long time ago. You should rush back now and inform the deputy camp commander of the news here."
"Okay." The thin-faced sentry rider who spoke first leaned forward and took a few steps back. Then he ran quickly to his horse, got on his horse and rode away in the direction of Dongshan.
Many of the soldiers guarding the main camp didn't even have enough to eat. They didn't get separated after walking all the way from Lingqiu County, which was already pretty good.
Although Zheng Shuqi was anxious, he also knew not to push too hard, otherwise the soldiers below would disperse before they could reach Dongshan.
"How long does it take to reach Dongshan?" Zheng Shuqi asked Qianhu Xu Cunzhong, who was following him on horseback.
Chen Yusheng of the two thousand households in the garrison camp was captured by him and imprisoned in the garrison mansion. Only Xu Cunzhong, a thousand households, was left to accompany him to Dongshan.
It's not that he doesn't want to capture Xu Cunzhong as well, but if the two thousand households are captured, the garrison camp will be out of control, and he won't have a chance to lead troops to Dongshan by then.
Therefore, he chose the lesser of two evils and took down Chen Yusheng, who was least able to deal with him, while leaving Xu Cunzhong, a Qianhu who was relatively respectful to him on the surface.
Xu Cunzhong looked around and then said: "After passing the intersection leading to Xujiazhuang, we will reach Dongshan in a few miles."
Several generations of his family came from the Lingqiu garrison camp, making him very familiar with the terrain of Lingqiu.
"Why are there still several miles to go!" Zheng Shuqi frowned.
It doesn't sound far, but the soldiers he brought to guard the camp are all useless. After walking a few miles, even if they reach Dongshan, they probably won't have much fighting power. .
Xu Cunzhong thought that Zheng Shuqi felt far away, so he said: "Dongshan is the closest place to the garrison camp, and Xujiazhuang and Hutou Village are further away."
"I understand." Zheng Shuqi waved his hand impatiently.
It's not that he dislikes the distance, but he dislikes the soldiers guarding the camp.
Seeing that Zheng Shuqi was unhappy, Xu Cunzhong simply stopped talking and followed the team on their way with peace of mind.
The team guarding the main camp walked for more than a mile, and the speed of the team became even slower. Most of the soldiers began to pant and stumble when walking.
Seeing this, Zheng Shuqi frowned.
I had known for a long time that the soldiers in the Lingqiu garrison camp were poor, but I never expected that they were not even as good as some of the Tiancheng Guards. After walking only a few miles, they all felt as tired as if they had traveled dozens of miles.
"Guard, do you think we should let the team take a rest first?" Seeing the appearance of these soldiers, Xu Cunzhong awkwardly discussed with Zheng Shuqi.
Zheng Shuqi raised his hand and pointed to the intersection in front of him and asked, "Is this the road leading to Xujiazhuang?"
"Yes, this is it. Follow the road on the right and walk a few miles further to Dongshan." Xu Cunzhong explained to Zheng Shuqi.
He was not surprised that Zheng Shuqi didn't know these two roads.
Zheng Shuqi came to Lingqiu to take office for more than half a year. He spent most of his time in the garrison in the city. When he left the city, he only went to the garrison camp outside the city. He never went to places further away.
"Tell the people below to hurry up and rest one mile away from Dongshan." Zheng Shuqi ordered Xu Cunzhong.
Xu Cunzhong had no choice but to agree.
However, after the order was conveyed, the situation of the soldiers below did not improve much. They were still swaying on their way, not caring whether they could rest ahead.
At this time, a cavalryman from the army rushed to Zheng Shuqi and reported: "General, the cavalrymen with the Tiger Flag were spotted in front of us, just a few hundred steps away from us."
"It seems that the people in the Tiger Flag have already received the news of our arrival." Xu Cunzhong looked at Zheng Shuqi.
Zheng Shuqi snorted coldly when he heard this.
The soldiers and horses guarding the camp were hurriedly walking along the way, and they encountered several pedestrians on the way, so he was not surprised that they were discovered by the people with the Tiger Flag.
"Zheng Shoubei, since everything has been discovered, I think we should go back!" Xu Cunzhong suggested.
As a Qianhu member of the Lingqiu garrison camp, he did not want to be an enemy of the Tiger-Character Banner. It was not that he betrayed the court and chose to side with the Tiger-Character Banner. It was because he knew that with the strength of the garrison camp, it was not the Tiger-Character Banner's left at all. Soldiers and horses rivals in Lingqiu.
If Zheng Shuqi had not come up and detained Chen Yusheng, another Qianhu household in the garrison camp, he would not have been willing to follow Zheng Shuqi to Dongshan with the soldiers and horses of the garrison camp.
"Why retreat? The dignified Lingqiu garrison camp is afraid of a treacherous rebel army." Zheng Shuqi gave Xu Cunzhong a cold look.
If he had not had any soldiers at his disposal, he would never have let Xu Cunzhong accompany him to Dongshan.
He didn't trust any of the two thousand households guarding the camp, as well as the hundreds of households below and the general banner. It was difficult to guarantee how many of these people had been bribed by the Tiger Flag.
Xu Cunzhong said with a bitter face: "Since Zheng Shoubei is unwilling to retreat, it is better to let the people below rest for a while. If the soldiers and horses of the Tiger Flag come, they will always be able to fight."
Tiger Character Banner has sent sentry riders, and he is worried that Tiger Character Banner's soldiers and horses will arrive at any time.
With the current appearance of the soldiers in the garrison camp, he doubted that they would even be able to hold swords and guns on the battlefield.
Zheng Shuqi looked at the appearance of the surrounding camp soldiers, hesitated for a moment, and said: ""
There is too much free land on the grassland. Although much of it is wasteland, it can still be turned into mature farmland after just two years of cultivation.
Moreover, miners have long gone to the grassland with the Tiger Flag.
Some of the first batch of miners to go to the grassland also sent news to people they knew well in Dongshan, telling some about the situation on the grassland.
Therefore, the miners here in Dongshan are not ignorant of the situation on the grassland.
We know that Tiger Character Banner also has an iron farm on the grassland, which also needs miners, and a large area of land, and the harvest from these lands does not need to pay taxes to the court.
More importantly, with the Tiger Flag, the Mongolians living on the grasslands no longer dare to bully the Han people as they did before.
The soldiers and horses coming down from the east mountain can go down the mountain faster than ordinary miners.
Soon, the soldiers and horses at the forefront had appeared on the official road after going down the mountain, and there was a steady stream of soldiers and horses coming from behind.
Du Yan followed the team to the foot of the mountain on horseback and said to Ye Yuncheng who was guarding the intersection: "Chief of Staff, you can arrange for the miners to evacuate. I am here at the garrison camp and will not delay the normal evacuation here."
"Okay, I will arrange for the evacuees to evacuate as soon as possible. You should also take care." Ye Yuncheng raised his fist towards Du Yan.
Du Yan nodded, then turned his horse's head and chased the team.
