The scorching sun had already cleared its dazzling light and slowly approached the distant horizon to the west, leaving only a piece of red that reflected the entire Central Plains.

The breeze blew on the bank of the Yellow River, and a few wild ducks foraging were playing happily in the dense reed marsh. Sometimes, waves of "rattle" sounds came, breaking the rare tranquility.

Yazui Beach is a ferry on the south bank of the Yellow River. The river surface is wider and the water flows are relatively slow, making it a rare shallow area. The Song army camp is located next to the Yazui Beach Ferry, which is only one mile away on the bank of the Yellow River.

The lights had already been lit in the central army's tent. This was the first night of the army's war. Liu Yixuan couldn't help but feel a little excited. He watched many generals come in and out, all of whom were majestic and serious, heroic, and full of admiration and fantasy. At this time, he was just a seventh-rank scribe. Although he relied on this relative of the Empress Dowager, he was still quite glamorous on the surface, but after all, he was useless and could not let these long-standing generals see it.

Zong Ze called generals of all sizes to discuss crossing the river in the tent. Generals from all walks of life were divided into squads according to their official positions. Ma Menglong, the governor of Runan, and Liu Hao, the governor of Xiangzhou, were both local commanders and were not generals of the imperial guards. Therefore, Zong Ze treated the two like guests and left seats for them respectively.

Liu Yixuan and Wang Zi were humble and had to squeeze together with a few young generals and looked up at the sand table. This scene made Liu Yixuan suddenly remember the scene when the central leaders visited their school during the Peking University celebration last year. At that time, the auditorium was crowded. He stretched his arms long and could not shake hands with the leader, leaving many regrets.

The old general Zong Ze stood up and said, "Today, I asked you to come. It was just to discuss the crossing of the river. The Jin soldiers were in a tight war in the north, and many cities in the north of the Yellow River were also short of troops. This was a thousand-year opportunity for our army to recover the lost territory! As long as our army crossed the Yellow River, we could go straight to the city of Puyang. According to the sentry, the Jin soldiers in Puyang City were less than 20,000. I was about to take Puyang first, then go to Anyang, and then take down Cizhou, and head straight to the city of Handan. The rebel Guo Yaoshi was guarding in Handan. This time, I sent troops and would definitely capture this scum alive!"

After hearing the old general's marching deployment, the generals had no objection. After all, Zong Ze had led his troops for many years and was already a senior in the industry. These young generals could only learn from it. When they heard that they wanted to capture the rebel Guo Yaoshi who sold his owners and sought honor, many generals also applauded.

Ma Menglong, the governor of Runan Jie, stood up and said, "The old general has no objection to the deployment of the old general. It's just that our army is stationed here. When will the old general let the army cross the river?"

Zong Ze said: "This time I summon you to discuss this matter. I wonder what the Ma Jiedu has to do?"

Ma Menglong said: "As the saying goes, soldiers are the most important thing. Our army is not exhausted for a short time. The entire army should cross the river as soon as possible and catch the Jin soldiers off guard!"

After hearing this, Zong Ze nodded repeatedly, without commenting. He turned around and looked at Yuan Mengqi, the instructor of the gun and rod of the Yongbain. Yuan Mengqi was awarded the fifth-rank cavalry commander by Qin Zong because he speared the pioneer of the Jin soldiers outside Bianliang City that day. After going on the expedition, Zong Ze ordered him to be the pioneer of the road ahead, responsible for cutting the road across mountains and building bridges across water.

"Teacher Yuan, how many ships have the army collected across the river?"

When Teacher Yuan saw Zong Ze coming to ask, he hurriedly returned: "This... there are less than 800 ships of this size?"

"Eight hundred ships? Our army has 50,000 people and horses, plus luggage and supplies, how much time will it take to cross the river?"

"This... I will forget it. It will take three days at the earliest!" Yuan Mengqi obviously knew that he had collected fewer ships and not many large ships. He could only take small boats of four or five people. These small boats could only ferry people but not horses, and some heavier luggage and supplies might not be able to transport them.

"Three days? The Jin soldiers on the north bank of the Yellow River will not wait for us for three days! Once they find that our army crosses the river, they will inevitably send troops to intercept the north bank. At that time, I am afraid that most of our troops will lose in the Yellow River water!"

"It was because the generals of Mo were incompetent and could not collect enough ships. However, when the Jin soldiers retreated last time, they had already collected all the ships of all sizes on the south bank. The fishermen's ships in the Yellow River were taken to the north bank by the Jin soldiers to facilitate their crossing to the south in the future. It was really difficult for the generals of Mo to collect enough ships in a short time. Even these small boats were mobilized from the fishermen of the Bian River!" Teacher Yuan told the truth, and was also frightened and worried that Zong Ze would blame himself for his ineffective work.

Zong Ze learned the details and did not blame too much, saying, "A good wife cannot cook without rice. Since all the ships have been collected by the Jin soldiers to the north shore, no wonder coach Yuan!"

Yuan Mengqi felt relieved after hearing this and thanked him quickly. Zong Ze said to Ma Menglong again: "Now there are not enough ships and our army has no tools to cross the river. How can we cross the Yellow River? I wonder if Ma Jiedu has a good plan to cross the river?"

When Ma Menglong heard that the ship was insufficient, he had no choice but to let the Song army swim over anyway, right? It would be nice to say if the water quality was good, but what would happen to those soldiers who were not familiar with water quality? The horses and mules couldn't get through? He frowned and had no plans.

Zong Ze asked the generals under his tent again, "We have many soldiers and horses, but we don't have enough ships. Who can tell me if you have a good idea to cross the river?"

Hu Yanqing, the governor of the Yi-Capital Camp, stood up and said, "Since there are not enough ships, we can build ships. After the ship is built, we can just cross the river and head north!"

Liu Yixuan couldn't help laughing when he heard this from behind. He saw Hu Yanqing's life was full of a tiger and a bear-back, and his face was bearded. Obviously, he was a reckless man. If he had to wait until he built his ship, it would have to be over August 15th. He went to war again, and he still didn't know what would happen if the situation would be.

Zong Ze smiled and said, "General Hu Yan is a straightforward person, but it is probably too late to build a ship now. The Master asked us to send troops this time, just to take advantage of the opportunity when the Jin soldiers had no time to look south. The key is to fight quickly. If you spend some time to build a warship, the enemy will probably notice it. By then, you will have missed the opportunity!"

"Then... then swim over! Don't we have eight hundred boats? Let those soldiers who don't know how to take a boat, who are familiar with how to be water, take off their pants and swim over! I grew up by the river, and swimming across the Yellow River is not a problem! Anyway, it's hot now, so it's good to let brothers go down the river to take a bath!" Hu Yanqing failed to do anything and made another plan, which made several generals next to him laugh.

Seeing that he was generous by nature and was a straightforward person. Although his plan was not good, he could still adjust the atmosphere in the big tent. So he smiled at him and said, "General Huyan is worthy of being a famous general. The plan he came up with is also unique. However, there are many officers and soldiers in our army who do not know the nature of water. Even if he is familiar with the nature of water, he may not be able to swim through the natural danger of the Yellow River like the general. In addition, we have mules, horses, food and grass, so these will not swim!"

When Hu Yanqing heard this, he didn't know how to reply. "Mom, this is not OK, that is not OK, then the Yellow River is not allowed to pass?"

After hearing this, the generals were helpless and had no plans. Zong Ze asked the other generals again: "Dear generals, who has a good idea to cross the river?"

For a moment, everyone scratched their ears and faces, and had no choice but to bow their heads silently. Just as everyone was desperate, they heard a shout from behind the crowd: "Elder General, I have a plan to ensure that the army can cross the river smoothly!"

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