The Wujiang River is vast, flowing downstream from east to west.
Li Xuan stood at the bow of the ship, holding the Eight-sided Han Sword in her hand. Her black robe with gold edges was rustling in the biting river wind.
"Pulling" a homing pigeon flew from a distance.
Li Xuan raised his right hand, and the carrier pigeon landed directly on his forearm.
Li Xuan reached out and stroked the pigeon's feathers, and the pigeon immediately called out "coo" twice.
Li Xuan lifted it hard, and the carrier pigeon flew high, but the secret message on its leg had been taken off by Li Xuan.
"Lanxi County now has..."
Li Xuan pinched it with her fingers, and the secret letter turned into paper scraps and fell into the river.
Li Xuan's eyes swept across the fertile fields in his field of vision and landed on the calm and solemn Qianniu Wei behind him.
Unknowingly, in the biting river wind, the big ship slowly sailed out of the boundaries of the city.
Li Xuan gathered her thoughts, turned around, and pointed the tail of the eight-sided Han sword in her waist at the Wujiang River below.
Wang Bo, Wang Qin, Qiu Zhenmu, and Feng Hua raised their hands at the same time: "Your Majesty!"
Li Xuan looked at everyone calmly, nodded and said: "Thank you for your hard work, please go into the cabin. It's still some time before we get to the Spirit Cave. We'll discuss how to proceed after arriving."
"Here!" Wang Bo and others handed over their hands at the same time.
Qiu Zhenmu fell at the end, looked at Li Xuan, and cupped her hands: "Your Majesty!"
"How are you guys resting? The brothers of the Qianniu Guards are the only swords I can rely on. They must be kept sharp at all times." Li Xuan looked around and nodded slightly at the numerous Qianniu Guards.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, no one will complain about being tired. We are about to make great achievements. Everyone is eager to meet the traitor immediately and kill him." Qiu Zhenmu glanced at everyone.
On top of the red robes and golden armor, every Qianniu Guard had extremely eager eyes.
After this trip, following Li Xuan, their list of achievements has increased a lot. Seeing that more opportunities to make meritorious deeds are right in front of them, they are already extremely excited.
Li Xuan nodded with satisfaction and said: "This is the best. Lanxi is the first pass of our trip, so after arriving at Lingdong, Brother Qiu, you will personally lead a group of Qianniu Guards and Yan Xiaowei's soldiers. , set off immediately, go to Lanxi overnight, and cut off all connections between Lanxi and everything to the east and north."
To the east of Lanxi is Jinhua Mountain fifteen miles away. To the northeast is the Pujiang River across the mountains. To the north is the Wujiang River passing through Sanheguan and entering the Longmen Mountains.
Once the exchange of news between the east and the north is cut off, the only places that Lanxi can connect to are Lingdong Township in the south and Meiling Pass in the northwest.
Li Xuan came from the south with a large group of troops. In this way, the only place Lanxi could contact was Meiling Pass in the northwest.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will go and make arrangements now." Qiu Zhenmu immediately handed over his hand, then turned around to make arrangements.
Qiu Zhenmu, who had experienced so many things, had no doubts about Li Xuan's plan.
Every plan brings them victory.
Countless victories have already established unbreakable confidence.
Li Xuan nodded with satisfaction.
The Qianniu Guards are all cavalry, and the Nanchang Prefecture Guards under Li Xuan are also cavalry, but the Kuaiji Prefecture Guards under him only have a hundred horses, and they are all infantry mounted on horses.
Only the vast majority of them were tall horses suitable for war horses that he collected from Muzhou, Changzhou, Hangzhou, and even Wuzhou after arriving in Jiangnan.
The remaining small part was carried by the sergeant himself.
This is Jiangnan after all. People here are better at water fighting, but don't know much about horse fighting.
Because of this, the cavalry of Qianniu Guards and Kuaiji Mansion Soldiers have become the most important weapons under Li Xuan.
This is also their biggest advantage compared to those of the Tianyin Sect.
Today's Lanxi County is the best time for them to practice.
…
After entering the cabin, Wang Bo and Wang Qin were whispering something.
Feng Hua stood aside and looked at the map of Wuzhou hanging on the wall, especially Lanxi.
"After capturing Lanxi, we will capture Meiling Pass. What we need to do next is to defend Meiling Pass. To do this, the most important thing is to build ordnance, especially crossbows and catapults." Li Xuan's The voice sounded from behind Feng Hua, calm and firm.
Feng Hua immediately turned around, cupped his hands towards Li Xuan and said, "Your Majesty!"
Li Xuan walked to Feng Hua's side, stretched out his finger on Meiling Pass, and said softly: "Meiling Pass is dozens of miles of high mountains to the north, with only one road in the middle. To the south of the pass is the vast Lanxi border, and in front of the pass is It’s a two-foot-wide lane, so we can’t deploy many troops at all.”
Li Xuan's fingers slid to the other side of the Muzhou Mountain Road, sliding down to Meiling Pass. At the same time, he said: "The Tianyin Sect wants to attack the city. If they don't have enough people, they won't be able to carry the crossbows on the city." Shooting, if there are more people, it will be easier for catapults and other mechanisms to take advantage of it. If the number of people is not too much, it will also be easy for the cavalry to counterattack and kill. So for the time being, we still have an advantage, but we are afraid that they will ignore the casualties of the company. What an impact..."
"Your Highness is worried that the repair speed of crossbows and catapults cannot keep up?" Feng Hua immediately understood what Li Xuanhua meant.
Li Xuan nodded and said: "Be it crossbows or catapults, they are all subject to wear and tear, and the number of times they can be used is limited. Once the war starts, there will be no time to make much repairs. The Tianyin Sect, let alone tens of thousands of people, will come." Even if thousands of people come, we may not be able to support it. Therefore, in addition to preparing more finished products, please join the army to prepare more semi-finished products so that they can be replaced and updated in a timely manner."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will definitely obey your orders." Feng Hua immediately took a step back and bowed in agreement.
Raising his head and looking at Li Xuan, Feng Hua bowed his hands and said with a serious face: "Your Majesty, I have always had a question in my mind."
"you say."
"From now on, how much time does it take for the prince to come to Tianyin Jiaonan to attack Meiling Pass?" Feng Hua needed to hear this answer.
All Li Xuan's actions during this period have gained everyone's trust, so there are many people who believe in his judgment of this period.
After just a slight hesitation, Li Xuan continued and said: "The longest time will not exceed ten days, and the shortest time will not be less than five days."
"Oh?" Feng Hua's face was full of surprise. He was curious about how Li Xuan came up with such an answer.
"The Tianyin Sect's original plan to attack Wuzhou was ten days later. If this king's prediction is correct, then the Tianyin Sect's original plan was to capture Muzhou after ten days. However, even if their actions were repeated Quickly, we also need to gather believers, preach doctrines, reorganize the army, collect food and grass, and distribute weapons. This will take at least three days before we can organize a vanguard to attack Meiling Pass."
"Two days of climbing over mountains and ridges." Feng Hua nodded with some understanding.
Li Xuan waved his hand and said: "Although the Tianyin Sect is a native of Muzhou, army marching is different from individual walking. They pay attention to orders and prohibitions, so they can't go fast, and when they reach the other end of the mountain, they may have to come down to rest for the night. , and then take action during the day the next day.
So even if the Tianyin Sect has received the news and immediately started an uprising and is preparing to summon the army, we can still have at least five days.
So at the earliest, five days later, we will usher in the first wave of forwards, but if..."
"What if?" Feng Hua asked subconsciously.
Li Xuan thought about it and said: "After Feng joins the army and captures Lanxi, can he organize the local blacksmiths in Lanxi to create a batch of gadgets... If we can delay the Tianyin Sect for a while on the mountain road, we can win More preparation time.”
"I will obey the prince's arrangements." Feng Hua immediately handed over.
If he can really make something unexpected and useful for the war, then Feng Hua will definitely have the opportunity to take another step forward.
"That's good." Li Xuan looked at Wang Bo and Wang Qin and said: "When the war starts, I will be in charge of the Lanxi front line, and Qin Sima will be in charge of the Dongyang front line. After Dongyang is pacified, Dongyang's soldiers will be transferred soon. Even if there are only two thousand soldiers and horses at that time, I am confident enough to ensure that no one from the Tianyin Sect can even enter Lanxi County."
Li Xuan's words were full of confidence, and no one present doubted him.
"It seems that the prince has a comprehensive plan. I wonder if you can tell us a little bit about it." Wang Bo looked at Li Xuan curiously.
Li Xuan smiled faintly and said: "That's right, I still need your help to check and fill in the gaps!"
…
Spirit Cave, Yanxi.
It is a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters, but the river has a sudden bend, and ships coming and going must slow down here.
At dusk and sunset, three large ships came down the river from the east.
Li Xuan stood on the bow of the boat, looking at Yanxi Village ahead, staring at the terrain carefully.
To the east of Yanxi is the rolling Dahua Mountain, to the south is the long-flowing Wujiang River, and to the west is a vast plain.
However, in the middle of the plain, there is also a large orchid lake.
In this section, as long as the Wujiang River is blocked and then blocked on the road, no one will be able to escape.
The big ship slowly docked on the east bank of Wujiang River.
In front, a huge iron chain was pulled in the center, blocking all boats on both sides.
Ships coming from the east have received the news. Not only is Yanxi now blocked, Sanhe Pass ahead is also closed.
But heading east, the checkpoint leading to Hangzhou on the Dongyang River is open.
At this time, a considerable number of ships are blocked between Yanxi and Sanheguan, unable to advance or retreat.
"I have seen the prince!" Yan Tao went first, Qi Guang followed, and a group of government soldiers and soldiers were waiting behind him in an orderly manner.
Li Xuan slowly descended from the ship's deck, glanced at the ship merchant who was watching over from one side, looked at Yan Tao, and said, "Let's go to your school ground."
"Here!" Yan Tao bowed to Li Xuan, then bowed to Wang Bo, Wang Qin, Qiu Zhenmu and others, then turned around and led Li Xuan toward the school grounds.
Qi Guang was about to follow Yan Tao, but at this moment, Qiu Zhenmu grabbed him and nodded, and Qi Guang immediately stayed with understanding.
A large manor appeared by the river. Li Xuan was walking by the road, looking at Dahua Mountain to the east, and subconsciously asked: "Where did those people from the Tianyin Sect enter the city?"
"Yes, it's the official's lax seal, please punish me!" Yan Tao stopped and held his hands in front of Li Xuan, his expression full of remorse.
"It's none of your business. I did so many things in the city just to lure them to attack the city." Looking at the surprised look on Yan Tao's face, Li Xuan said softly: "These seven hundred black pawns, they died in It is better to be at the foot of Wuzhou City than to cause us huge casualties when we attacked Lanxi and Meiling Pass."
"I see." Yan Tao finally understood.
"You have been here for a short time. How do you know the situation in Lanxi?" Li Xuan stepped into the manor.
This place seemed to be the residence of a local wealthy family. After Yan Tao arrived, he gave it to Yan Tao.
Yan Tao regarded this place as a military camp, and after Qi Guang arrived, he also moved in.
"Lanxi County has now mostly fallen into the hands of the Tianyin Sect. Although the county magistrate, county captain, county magistrate and others are not Tianyin believers, their families have been controlled by the Tianyin Sect, so they are forced to become thieves. However, most of the people outside Lanxi City are not believers of the Tianyin Sect, but there are always one or two people in their families who believe in the Tianyin Sect, but they only have a superficial belief."
Yan Tao clearly explained the current situation of Lan Xi in just a few words.
"In this case, then tonight, you and Qiu Beishen will act together to completely block all news in the two directions northeast of Lanxi. After tomorrow morning, no one will be allowed to leave Lanxi, and no one will be allowed to enter."
"I obey the order!" Yan Tao's eyes suddenly became extremely eager.
There's going to be a war.
(End of chapter)
