At the south gate of Lingshou City, after the army in the city sent out in the direction of Huolu, another group of cavalry troops rushed out.
After this group of soldiers and horses left the city, they did not pursue the army in front and go to harvest deer. Instead, they ran towards Zhending Mansion and marched rapidly without making any stops.
It wasn't until the soldiers and horses reached halfway that they stopped to rest.
The leaders of the army were Yang Zhi and Lu Zhishen. They had followed the army out of the city, but Gao Kan had other instructions.
The soldiers and horses stopped on the bank of the Tuo River. Yang Zhilian looked at them with a solemn expression on his face.
Lu Zhishence came over immediately and said in a loud voice: "It's still dozens of miles from here to Zhending Mansion. I don't know if it's too late."
Yang Zhi said in a deep voice: "My lord, I am certain that the Jin Army over at Cigu Town has received a secret report and will order soldiers and horses from Zhendingfu City to send out troops to intercept the army, so that they can make a surprise attack from the side and outflank the army."
"Even if the soldiers and horses of Zhending Mansion are marching slowly, Young Master can still respond well and delay the march of the army."
After hearing this, Lu Zhishen said again: "In that case, we can just wait halfway, so why bother and make a special trip to Zhending Mansion?"
Yang Zhi shook his head and said: "Young Master may want to know the detailed movements of Zhending Mansion's troops so that he can make arrangements."
"Huolu City is not our territory yet, and there was no timely response to the official documents we sent earlier. I'm afraid there will be a lot of trouble after entering the city, but we have to deal with it in advance."
Having said this, Yang Zhi paused for a moment, turned to Lu Zhishen and said, "Brother, you and I will divide our forces here. This time, you will go to Shiyi Town first. The young master said that you can deal with whatever you see when you come here." That’s all, as long as we ensure that the military garrison in Shiyi Town is strong, everything else doesn’t matter.”
"Hey, the Sa family has been simmering with anger for many days, and this trip just happened to relieve it!"
Lu Zhishen felt happy when he heard Yang Zhi talk about the bird rub in Shiyi Town.
The soldiers and horses they led were the elite soldiers that Gaokan had previously asked Cao Qi to select from the army. They were trained by Lin Chong and Yang Zhi, and Lu Zhishen was also among them.
Although it has not yet reached the final requirements of Gaokan, it is already a rare strong force among the Song army. Even if it only has 501 battalions, its combat power is stronger than the two armies.
Even the ordnance and equipment rations are mostly complete, and they were acquired and built by Gaokan at a huge expense.
Yang Zhi turned around and glanced at the soldiers and horses behind him, clasped his fists towards Lu Zhishen and said, "Brother, this is the farewell. See you again someday."
"Okay, the Sa family is waiting for you, brother, in Shiyi Town!" Lu Zhishen responded with clasped fists.
Yang Zhi's mission was to rush outside Zhending Mansion and explore the movements of the soldiers and horses coming out of Zhending Mansion along the way.
The most important thing this time is to detect information, so there is no need for a large number of people, just a small team of a dozen people.
Each man was assigned two war horses to facilitate rotation. Most of the remaining soldiers and horses were led by Lu Zhishen to Shiyi Town.
Gaokan asked Lu Zhishen to take control of the town as soon as possible after he led his troops into Shiyi Town. If anyone among them disobeyed the control or had other intentions, he was allowed to have the right to deal with it as he pleased.
Zhending Mansion is currently in a war situation, and Gaokan, as Zhending's ambassador, has great authority.
Even the officials and government officials in Shiyi Town would kill him if they found an excuse at will.
What's more, Shiyi Town is just a small town. There are only yamen officers and some rural corps training in the town. Lu Zhishen has an elite army of nearly 500 people, so he can take it easily.
After the two parted ways, Yang Zhi rushed on this trip with all his strength, trying to reach the left suburbs before Zhending Mansion's troops left the city.
As for Lu Zhishen's trip, although he was not as eager as Yang Zhi's trip, he still had to leave as soon as possible.
Shiyi Town is close to Huolu, with only a few dozen miles in between. Gaokan expected that after the troops from Zhending Mansion arrived near Huolu, they would first besiege the entire Huolu.
The attack on the city will begin only after the Jin Army soldiers and horses from Cigu Town arrive.
In this way, Lu Zhishen's troops would be right behind the enemy troops besieging Huolu.
Gao Kan's plan was not only to eliminate Tong Guan's transfer order, but also to see if he could seize the opportunity to seize Zhending Mansion.
Even if it doesn't work out, it will at least consume the number of soldiers and horses in Zhending Mansion.
Anyway, sooner or later he will break into Zhending Mansion. The sooner he weakens the enemy, the less pressure he will have to attack the city in the future.
In fact, Gao Kan is still worried about the threat of the Jin army in Xingtang. Up to now, he has not received exact information about that army, and he does not know what their goals are and what their movements are.
If that army bypasses Lingshou, borrows money to Dingzhou, and quietly enters the city of Zhending Mansion, it will be as difficult as climbing to the sky to regain Zhending Mansion.
There are more than 6,000 elite Jin troops in the city. Unless Gaokan has tens of thousands more troops, there is no way he can even think about attacking the city.
Instead, they have to be on guard at all times. The main force of the Jin Army and the Cigu Town will attack from both front and back, trapping Lingshou City and preventing them from entering or exiting.
The frontal army marched over mountains and ridges, with more than ten thousand soldiers and horses trekking. Unlike Yang Zhi and Lu Zhishen, who only led a few hundred people and had horses to carry them, the marching speed was naturally much slower.
After walking for most of the day, until night fell and the sky darkened, they were still in the mountains.
Gaokan also deliberately did not order the entire army to stop and camp on the spot, but continued to march forward.
It wasn't until someone from the special envoy's carriage came to deliver the message that the young eunuch couldn't stand it anymore and asked him when he would camp for a rest. At this time, Gao Kan replied with a smile. After listening to the superior's instructions, he immediately ordered the entire army to stop and camp.
After a long time of tossing, the eunuchs couldn't stand it any longer. As soon as the camp was set up, they rushed in first.
As Zhending's ambassador and army commander, Gao Kan didn't even have his own military camp.
But he didn't care. Instead, he ordered someone to take care of the special envoys.
After the commander's camp was set up, he entered the tent, followed by Lin Chong and Cao Qi.
After entering the tent, Cao Qi first bowed and said, "Sir, according to the speed of today's march, it will probably take another two days before the army can capture the deer."
Gao Kan smiled when he heard this, waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter, the army just needs to move forward. The roads along the way are rugged and mountainous, and the roads are not easy to walk. If we go too fast, I'm afraid the envoys behind us won't be able to bear it."
Cao Qi added: "It's just that the army will march too slowly and its whereabouts will be easily exposed. If the Jin enemy notices it and the cavalry makes a surprise attack, I'm afraid it will be very troublesome."
"Today we will repair first. Tomorrow morning you will send an order to the whole army, telling them to gather in front and behind, and not to extend the marching line too long. If there is an enemy situation, it is better to gather the army at any time to resist the enemy."
After listening to Cao Qi's words, Gao Kan thought about it and felt that Cao Qi was right.
The plan before leaving the city was to only send Yang Zhi to keep an eye on the movements of soldiers and horses that might come out of Zhending Mansion. Instead, they ignored the Jin cavalry from Cigu Town.
Although it was expected that the thousand men and horses would not dare to attack his own army, he was still prepared for any danger.
Don't go halfway, it will suddenly open up a way out.
