Going upstream on Guanshui, Xu Wen looked at the river behind him and then at the road next to him, and said: "The water here is shallow and the current is fast, so boats cannot go there. If you want to go on Guanshui, you can only get on the boat not far from the mall. From here to the mall, You can only cross by horse."
He Ning said: "I have deployed more than a hundred horses near the mall, which should be enough. Even if all these horses are exhausted, we still have to cross the mountain!"
Xu Wen nodded. Looking at the surrounding mountains, he said after a while: "The mountains here are continuous, but fortunately there are these river valleys, so I can barely survive. But to be honest, it's best to use a horse. If it doesn't work, you can only use people to carry it. Listen. It is said that a large artillery piece weighs more than two thousand pounds, and if you are willing to use people, you can carry it!"
He Ning said: "There must be brave men under a heavy reward! This time we brought more than a thousand people, and everyone is an elite. If you must carry it, then carry it!"
Xu Wen didn't answer. Asked: "Have people gathered in Tuanfeng Town?"
He Ning said: "Except for the more than 100 people watching the road, most of the others have already arrived around Tuanfeng Town, and those who have not arrived will be here soon."
Xu Wendao: "Where is the Song Army now? When will it arrive in Tuanfeng Town?"
He Ning said: "Counting the days, the Song army should arrive in Ezhou, and they will arrive at Tuanfeng Town within three to five days."
"Let's go to Tuanfeng Town and wait for them! This battle has taken so much effort and there is no room for failure!"
After saying that, Xu Wen should walk to the left first. He Ning and others hurriedly followed.
Xu Wen was a native of Laizhou, originally engaged in selling salt. He joined the army in the late Song Dynasty and became the tenth general on the left of Banqiao, Mizhou. Later, he made many military exploits. When Zhao Gou was crossing south, he was recruited as a general of the Privy Council. He made great achievements in pacifying the Miao and Liu rebellions and was promoted to commander of the navy capital. This year Li Cheng and Kong Yanzhou joined Qi one after another, and the Song Dynasty also suspected Xu Wen. General Yan Gao had a conflict with Xu Wen when he was on Jingdong Road and took the opportunity to speak ill of Xu Wen. The imperial court sent commander Zhu Shimin to attack Xu Wen. Xu Wen took a boat to the north and took his men to join Liu Yu.
As a private salt dealer, Xu Wenyong was extremely powerful and could use a fifty-pound sword, so he was called Xu Dadao. Moreover, he has been active at sea all year round and is familiar with water warfare. Wan Yanchang specially sent Zhunxi to lead the operation to seize the cannon.
Wang Yanxian, who occupied Shouzhou, lost interest in seizing the cannon after Wanyanchang intervened. Wan Yanchang selected more than a thousand troops for this dispatch, divided them into multiple routes and headed south to Huangzhou, gathering at Tuanfeng Town. In Qi and Huangzhou, first Li Cheng and then Kong Yanzhou surrendered to the puppet Qi in less than a year, creating a vacuum zone. The people sent by the Jin army were proficient in Chinese and went south from Shouzhou along Gushi and Shangcheng. The governor of Guangzhou ignored Xu Yue and almost remained silent.
Xu Wen and others left the Guanshui Valley and followed the ancient mountain road to the Qiting Valley, heading all the way to Macheng County.
After Kong Yanzhou surrendered to the puppet Qi Dynasty, the Song Dynasty did not send officials to Macheng. The current county magistrate is a member of Kong Yanzhou's primary school. Not wanting to surrender to the puppet Qi, more than a hundred people gathered to stay. Anyway, there is no one to take care of it, and it is king and hegemony in a county.
These days, more than a thousand Jin troops are marching south, and as a county magistrate, it is impossible not to detect them. It's just that the magistrate felt that he couldn't afford to offend these people, so he pretended not to know.
After passing Macheng County, we left the Dabie Mountains. Xu Wen and others followed the Qiting River and went straight down to Tuanfeng Town.
This area is densely populated with rivers and flat land, and was originally a densely populated area. It's just on the main road from south to north. After several years of war and constant fighting, most of the population fled. Often after walking for dozens of miles, there is no human habitation anywhere. There are only some intersections on important traffic roads, and occasionally you can see a wild shop.
Looking at the distance to Tuanfeng Town, Xu Wen said: "I didn't expect that there are so few people here. There are more than a thousand of us, so we need to prepare food and grass early."
He Ning said: "There has been no peace near Ezhou in the past few years. The people did not flee, and most of them were killed. But don't worry, Commander, we have transported two ships of food to the town early, so you won't go hungry."
As he spoke, he saw the town in front of him.
Tuanfeng Town is located on the bank of the Yangtze River. It gradually formed a market in the Song Dynasty.
When the Yangtze River reaches Tuanfeng Town, it first turns north and then goes south. The Qiting River merges into the Yangtze River in the north and interacts with the river to form a large sandbar. The sandbar can block the wind, so it becomes a haven in the Yangtze River and gradually becomes prosperous.
Arriving outside the town, Xu Wen asked He Ning: "Where will the people who came first meet?"
He Ning said: "In recent years, there have been no people living on the sandbank in the middle of the river. Our people gather there."
Xu Wen looked at the sky and said: "It's late, let's go to the town to rest first, and go to the sandbank tomorrow. Although there is no Song Dynasty army nearby, we still have to be careful. It's not a trivial matter if the news is leaked."
He Ning said yes.
When we entered Tuanfeng Town, we saw that the market was depressed and most of the shops were closed. The only shops that are still open are two inns, three taverns, and a few tea shops. There are no more people on the street. Where does it look like a lively market town?
After walking past a tavern, He Ning's face changed and she looked a little heavy. After passing another house, his face darkened.
When they arrived at the inn, He Ning whispered to Xu Wen: "Commander, when we passed the restaurant just now, I saw that the people sitting inside were all our people. How can they be so public? If Zheyan gets the news and doesn't come to Tuanfeng, we will Wouldn’t it be a waste of time!”
After hearing this, Xu Wen turned around suddenly and looked at He Ning. After a while, he said: "Let's stay here first and talk about it tomorrow!"
Several people entered the inn and when they asked, they found that it was already full. There was nothing I could do, so I asked another hotel and it was still full.
He Ning frowned and said: "Businessmen are not good at this age. How can there be so many people staying in hotels in this small town?"
After saying that, I felt something in my heart and said, "It's not a good idea to be busy."
He said to Xu Wen: "Commander, look at the appearance of the tavern outside just now. In these two inns, 80% of our people are staying. Zhi Niang, I told them repeatedly before coming here that they must hide their whereabouts during this trip. If they are discovered by the Song Dynasty, , It’s not a trivial matter! I didn’t expect them to be so public!”
Xu Wen said with a dark face, "Let's talk outside."
After leaving the store, Xu Wen looked at the deserted streets and didn't speak for a long time. After a while, he said: "You go to the taverns and inns and find the leader. When I came here, I saw a dilapidated Dragon King Temple in the woods by the river. I will wait for you there."
After saying that, he took his men and went straight to the outside of the town.
He Ning sighed and sent everyone to look for people in taverns and inns. It didn't take long for all five leaders to arrive.
He Ning said: "The marshal sent Commander Xu Wen to take charge of this matter. If Commander Xu comes to see you for something, just follow me."
The five leaders didn't know what was going on, so they had no choice but to follow He Ning and walk outside the town.
(Only one update tonight, sorry.)
(End of chapter)
