In the huge Shaanxi Province, there is not only one Xi'an city.
According to the instructions of the shogunate, especially King Yu, the Search Division fully deployed its manpower. Dozens of experts were scattered inside and outside Xi'an Mansion, constantly fanning the flames.
As time goes by, in December, snowflakes gradually fall, making the land in Guanzhong completely white.
Outside Xianyang City, there are a large number of villages scattered in the endless wilderness, with more than a thousand people and a few hundred people living together in groups with simple folk customs.
A horse of more than a thousand riders, riding on the wind and moon, came at a fast pace, full of exhaustion.
Behind them, followed thousands of farmers, driving their livestock and pushing carts, walking happily without paying any attention to the burdens on their bodies.
Outside the village, a sentry hidden on a tree branch blew a sharp whistle, long and endless.
The sound of harvest at this time.
People of all sizes came out of the village to greet him happily, and sent cavalry and a large amount of food into the village.
Seeing this, Li Jingwu breathed a sigh of relief.
After plundering the grain road, he divided his army into five and scattered them in villages throughout the wilderness, with a thousand riders every ten miles or so.
This is a risky move that has to be done when there is too much food and grass and the problem of surviving the winter.
In order to prevent leaks, he not only distributed food to villagers who were struggling to survive the winter, but also encouraged them to personally carry the food.
In this way, the common people also became participants and shared the benefits, which effectively covered the whereabouts of the cavalry and allowed the cavalry battalion to survive the heavy snow days of the past few days.
"Although the snow in Shaanxi Province is colder than that in Huguang, it is from my hometown after all, and Qin Opera just sounds comfortable."
Li Jingwu was filled with emotion as he watched the grain and grass being put into storage.
Most of the cavalry battalions were from Shaanxi, so there were no communication barriers, so they naturally integrated into Guanzhong smoothly. The dragons saw their beginnings but not their tails, and the intruders failed to catch them again and again.
"His Royal Highness Prince Yu, why haven't you arrived yet?"
Snowflakes continued to fall in the distance, covering up the horse's hoof prints and ruts, which provided a good cover for the cavalry's movements.
At this time, suddenly a horse came running towards me, covered with snowflakes all over, like a snowman.
When Li Jingwu saw it, he was instantly overjoyed. This was a messenger from outside Lantian Pass. He specially left a special department to wait for the arrival of the army.
"King Yu has arrived?"
His face was pale, he was panting like an ox, and his whole body was stiff.
Li Jingwu hurriedly handed someone a towel to wipe his sweat, and brought him hot water to warm him up and let him soak his feet in the warm water.
After a long time, the messenger finally regained his breath and said tremblingly:
"His Royal Highness has arrived outside Lantian Pass. He greatly appreciates the command to intercept the grain road and requests you to return to Lantian immediately to kill the enemy together."
"good--"
Li Jingwu roared, his brows were filled with joy, and his whole body was exuding heat.
The compliment from His Highness the King of Yu is more comforting than the imperial edict.
"Inform all Qianzongs and gather back to Junlantian."
"What should we do with the food? We can't walk even in heavy snow."
"Place it directly here!"
Li Jingwu said directly: "Just come back and get it when the time comes."
Half a day later, the cavalry from each village gathered again, with high morale.
"The Military Justice Department is good."
Looking at the well-rested cavalry, Li Jingwu couldn't help but sigh.
Integration into the village, formation of customary military discipline, and the supervision of military judges made the cavalry battalion strict in military discipline, loved by the people, and integrated well into it.
Otherwise, they would have been exposed by the report long ago.
For the first time, Li Jingwu realized the benefits of strict military law so deeply.
And here, His Highness Prince Yu personally led the army to the outside of Lantian Pass with great momentum.
There were over 100,000 troops, their flags covered the sky and the sun, and the tents they set up were so far away that you couldn't even see them.
To put it bluntly, every noon, the smoke rises into the air, forming a smog that almost covers the entire Lantian Pass, like a ghost market.
Camping at the foot of Lantian, King Yu was not in a hurry.
For two or three days in a row, Zhu Yixi acted as if he had not seen Lantian officials and summoned all the gentry and wise men from all over Shaanxi.
That's right, the gentry were holding the "Letter to the People of Shaanxi Province" that had been circulated, and they were all very happy and inexplicably excited.
Of course, no one comes empty-handed.
All kinds of women gathered together, and the prostitutes became personal maids in rows. They were beautiful, plump and thin, and everything was ready. It could be said that it was like spring.
Countless amounts of food, grass, wine and meat were delivered to the military camp every day, which greatly reduced the logistical pressure and even gave Zhu Yixi the illusion that he did not need logistical food channels.
To be cautious, the transportation of grain and grass never stopped, and most of it was stored in Shangzhou.
There were constant banquets and drums and music, making it a happy scene.
Li Jingwu rushed over and saw that the atmosphere in the army was still the same. It was just that the atmosphere in King Yu's main tent was wrong and there was a strong atmosphere of lust.
This made him quite worried, fearing that King Yu would get carried away and wander around the foot of Lantian instead of moving forward, thus missing the opportunity.
"Your Highness!" Li Jingwu knelt down on one knee, inexplicably excited.
I haven’t seen you for half a month, and His Highness seems to have lost weight.
"Get up!"
Zhu Yixi moved her right hand lightly, looking at Li Jingwu's weather-beaten appearance, she couldn't help but smile:
"You did a good job this time. You robbed the grain road again and again. News came from Hanzhong that Li Zicheng has returned. Hanzhong finally avoided the loss of life."
"My humble duty is just doing what I have to do."
Li Jingwu said slightly modestly.
"Well said!" Zhu Yixi stood up, patted his shoulder, and praised: "If the army is like you, why are the slaves in trouble?"
Compared with getting promoted and getting rich, proper praise can not only stimulate subordinates' ambition, but also give them a feeling of close relationship with their boss, thus increasing their loyalty.
Zhu Yixi understood this kind of benefit and cost-effective thing well, and the effect was natural.
Li Jingwu was patted on the shoulder, and his whole body seemed to be a lot softer. His face was slightly red, and he was obviously in agitated mood.
Yan Guochao, Chen Dong, Chen Yongfu, You Shiwei, Zhu Meng and other generals who were watching from the side were also shaken, with envy on their faces.
"After defeating the intruders and recovering Shaanxi province, I will go to the court to ask for merit for you. Official positions such as chief soldier are no longer enough. You still need to have a suitable title and continuous wealth."
King Yu's words were said easily, but they caused a roar of anger in the military tent. No matter how well they nourish their Qi, how many people can resist the temptation of a title?
Zhu Yixi smiled in her heart. The pie has been drawn. Are you worried that no one will try their best?
The next day, facing the army with high morale, Zhu Yixi listened to the persuasion, set up his battle array, and launched an siege with great fanfare.
Many gentry were left to watch this devastating battle.
At this time, there were no bulky red cannons in the army, and the journey was bumpy and difficult to reach Guanzhong. However, there were quite a lot of lighter French cannons, ranging from a hundred kilograms to a thousand kilograms.
Although it is not as powerful as the red cannon, it is not powerful enough in numbers. In a small level like Lantian, there is no need for the red cannon.
It is no more than two feet high and has not been repaired for a long time. Green moss has climbed up half of the wall. The iron nails on the old city gate are half missing, making it look very weak and helpless.
Hundreds of French cannons were lined up in a row, with varying firepower, but full of power, just like setting off fireworks, extremely gorgeous and spectacular.