ps: Thanks to brother Lei Lei for the reward, and thanks to Nuomi and Long Tianxia for their monthly ticket encouragement.
While Li Chengzhong held the "Spring Festival Gala" in Liucheng, Pingzhou military envoy Liu Shanxi also spent a shabby and peaceful New Year guarding the empty Pingzhou camp.
There are still only a few hundred people under Liu Shanxi's command in this large camp that can accommodate thousands of troops, so it seems quite lonely. But Liu Shanxi is not depressed. On the contrary, he has lived a very solid year this year, because since Liu Shanxi came back from Liucheng,
Finally, a communication channel was established with Yingzhou.
The United Front Work Office of Yingzhou Yuhousi has established a contact point in Pingzhou City. The United Front Work Office of Yuhousi is actually responsible for part of the tasks of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. Some of the personnel of the United Front Work Office have dual identities. The contact point in Pingzhou City is here.
The aspect is more prominent, it is simply the sign added by the Pingzhou City Information Station of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.
Liu Shanxi is not a rude warrior who only knows how to fight. In fact, he has a lot of experience in the art of maneuvering. Ever since he clearly realized that he was an abandoned son thrown out by Youzhou to test Yingzhou, this man in the middle
The small group actively approached Yingzhou. When Liu Shanxi's several attempts to seek help from Youzhou were politely declined by the Jiedu Mansion, he took even greater steps towards Yingzhou.
As soon as the Pingzhou Contact Point of the United Front Work Department was established, it became Liu Shanxi's main job to report to the contact point in the city every day. After going back and forth, he became quite familiar with the person in charge of the contact point and several people with experience, and the two parties sat together for a few drinks.
We had a few drinks and even went out for some winter fishing.
The relationship between Liu Shanxi and the United Front Office has been gradually warming up as the coldness between Youzhou and Yingzhou continues. The more Liu Shanxi feels the "difficulty of the situation," the more frequently he approaches Yingzhou. Now,
Liu Shanxi had already voluntarily resigned from his position as "Pingzhou Soldier and Horse Envoy". According to the advice of one of his arms, Liu Shanqing, wearing this official hat was the "way to death", so he not only did not allow his brothers to
Calling myself this way, I never dared to report this official title again in my interactions with the Pingzhou Liaison Point of the United Front Work Office.
At the same time, Liu Shanxi changed his name again in private. He has now restored his real name of "Li Xiaoxi". Of course, Li Xiaoxi is planning in his heart now, hoping that one day he can trick the governor of Yingzhou
It's a good relationship. After all, they were the same family five hundred years ago.
Because she was very familiar with the contact point of the United Front Work Department in Pingzhou, Li Xiaoxi obtained a lot of information about Li Suomo who was engaged in the United Front Work Department. Li Suomo was not only a senior member of the United Front Work Department, but also a senior official of the Bohai State, and he was also in charge of "Yingzhou society"
"Develop Welfare Fund". Having power and money is the example and goal that Li Xiaoxi has worked hard for during this period.
Li Xiaoxi was deeply impressed by Li Simo's prominent status and wealth. Compared with Li Simo, he had truly realized how rubbish he was as a military envoy with only a hundred brothers in shabby armor and ragged clothes.
He also had deep resentment towards Liu Shouguang and Liu Zhiwen - he had made such great achievements and fought tooth and nail to keep them in power. However, he was randomly sent to Pingzhou, a place of right and wrong. This was a big feud.
Li Xiaoxi has analyzed the rise of Li Suimo and knows that his rise stems from his identity - the only adopted son of the Governor of Yingzhou. So Li Xiaoxi began to dream of having the Governor of Yingzhou "give him a name" and unite the front.
Working everywhere Li Suimo's fortune these days is what he often dreams about. Li Xiaoxi Of course, Li Xiaoxi's dream is still a luxury for now.
Li Xiaoxi's active move to move closer to the United Front Work Office also won the goodwill of the United Front Work Department. In late December, a United Front Work Department "Shangguan" named Zhang Mingcui who was ordered to go to Youzhou on business passed through Pingzhou and stayed in Pingzhou for two days.
Oh my god. What surprised Li Xiaoxi was that he had the courage to send Zhang Wei a banquet invitation through several "friends" from the United Front Office through the contact point, and Zhang Canjun actually agreed!
Li Xiaoxi raised a large sum of money from his brothers, rented the most luxurious Dongfu Restaurant in Pingzhou City, and led more than a dozen of his closest brothers to welcome Zhang Canjun in the restaurant. Speaking of which, this
Zhang Canjun is a well-known officer in Yingzhou. It is said that he participated in "the feat of seventy-two martyrs to seize Xijing" in Bohai State last year, and he was one of the best.
It was a very enjoyable meal. During the meal, Zhang Canjun asked Li Xiaoxi in detail about various difficulties he currently had, and then smiled and said nothing at Li Xiaoxi's plea. At that time, Li Xiaoxi was still feeling uneasy, not knowing what Zhang Canjun's attitude was.
But after Zhang Canjun left Pingzhou City, he immediately felt a different treatment - starting from the next day, he and his brothers no longer needed to submit an application to the United Front Contact Point in advance to enter and leave Pingzhou City. Pingzhou
The governor's office also doubled the supply to the Pingzhou camp. They were even allowed to hire prostitutes to stay overnight in restaurants in the city!
In addition to the lenient treatment, Li Xiaoxi finally waited for greater goodwill from Yingzhou - an extremely important figure in the Yingzhou Army wanted to summon Li Xiaoxi!
Li Xiaoxi went to visit this important person early in the morning on December 18th. The important person's surname was Gao, but no one told him the specific duties and responsibilities of "Gao Duyu". He could only meet him through the interview.
The sincerity and all the previous cumbersome procedures to understand the power of Gao Du Yu.
When Li Xiaoxi visited Gao Du Yu in the study room of the Governor's Mansion, he was respectful and conveyed his sincerity to Yingzhou to Gao Du Yu. This was the first time that he clearly stated his determination to join the Yingzhou system, and he also received Gao Du Yu's approval.
Du Yu encouraged him. Then, he returned to the Pingzhou Army Camp, mobilized all the brothers to clean and tidy up the empty camp, and spent the first two days of the new year in joy and expectation.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the Pingzhou Army and Horse Camp ushered in a long convoy. The first convoy contained hundreds of large carts, which were fully loaded with grain and salt. Li Xiaoxi and others cooperated to transport these
The grain and salt were stored in the granary of the camp, and it took a busy day to sort them out.
Before dawn the next day, Li Xiaoxi was busy for the second time. This time, groups of cattle and sheep came. Li Xiaoxi had already rested in the corrals in the camp, and then led the leading shepherds to move the cattle
The sheep were stored in the corral, and the large amounts of hay and beans that came with them were piled in the warehouse behind the corral, and the shepherds were arranged to sleep in the military camp.
The matter was not over yet. Hundreds of craftsmen and hundreds of civilians arrived on the third day. They drove dozens of carts of tools and wood and began to repair the wooden fence and watchtower outside the camp, strengthen the camp gate, and build other defensive equipment.
.
On the fifth day, hundreds of well-organized and energetic soldiers entered the camp. They held strange-looking shovels, heavy hammers, dark giant axes, and sharp saws and shovels, and joined in the process of renovating the camp.
On the sixth day, cart after cart of supplies were delivered to the camp one after another. Massive bows, arrows, shields, spears, knives, and armor were unloaded from the carts and piled into the warehouse in the barracks...
On the seventh day, nearly a thousand soldiers arrived at the camp. Li Xiaoxi saw the names of "Liucheng Camp", "Yanjun Camp", "Pingzhou Camp" and "Jinxian Camp" on the flag. He had been in contact with the Yingzhou Army for a long time.
, Li Xiaoxi knew that these battalion heads with the banners of local places belonged to local reserve battalions and were the "second-line troops" within the Yingzhou system. But even though they were "second-line troops", just in terms of morale and equipment, Li Xiaoxi believed that they were better than
The various battalions of the Volunteer Army are much stronger.
Like Li Xiaoxi, his subordinates were shocked by Yingzhou's logistical preparations in the past few days. So many cattle and sheep, so many soldiers, so much food... Such abundant material reserves made Li Xiaoxi and the others amazed.
In addition, they were still amazed and made them look forward to the future even more.
On the eighth day, Li Xiaoxi led more than a hundred brothers under his command to pack their bags, drive several large vehicles allocated to them by the Yingzhou Army, and leave the busy camp. Their direction was due west, and their destination was Shicheng.
The road between Pingzhou and Shicheng is very easy to walk. This road is the main official road from Youzhou to Pingzhou. It can accommodate two large vehicles going back and forth. In fact, when Li Xiaoxi went to Pingzhou to take office, he took this road.
There was an official road. On the official road, there were many convoys going back and forth. Li Xiaoxi and his subordinates drove the carts and merged into the traffic flow.
On the tenth day of the first lunar month, Li Xiaoxi arrived at Shicheng. Shicheng was closed. He could only lead his troops to bypass the city and continue westward. When passing by Shicheng, Li Xiaoxi watched for a long time and found that Shicheng had become a heavily military town.
The banner of "Li, the Governor of Yingzhou" was flying above his head, and the crenels were filled with sergeants who were waiting in full formation. The shooting poles, oil pans and other defensive equipment had already been prepared and were placed beside the crenellations. When Li Xiaoxi saw the oil pans,
, couldn't help but imagine the terrifying scene of oil and water falling from the pot, and couldn't help but shudder.
A strict military camp was erected under the city wall on the south side of Stone City at some point. The barracks were made of thick wooden piles and had already been formed. They were very solid, so Li Xiaoxi could not see what was inside. But he could see that there were
Many archery towers are not yet completed and are still under construction. There are many soldiers outside the camp digging holes and setting up deer villages.
Scouts on horseback can often be seen patrolling around Shicheng. Li Xiaoxi was intercepted by two groups of Yingzhou Army scouts on his way around Shicheng, but he was immediately let go after he produced a document.
Going west for about seven or eight miles, Li Xiaoxi saw a forest. It was now the cold winter, and all the leaves had fallen off, leaving only the dead branches of the tree. The dead branches pointed straight at the sky with claws and claws, and from time to time emitted "" in the north wind.
"Ugh!" a sharp cry.
Through the gap between dead branches, Li Xiaoxi saw a group of adobe houses in the distance, with vague people coming and going.
This is Li Xiaoxi's destination, Xiashi Village, ten miles away from the west gate of Shicheng. Xiashi Village, together with Shangshi Village, three miles to the northwest, belongs to the scope of Jizhou, and is also where the Youzhou army set up camp this time.
Li Xiaoxi quickly took out the document in his arms that allowed him to pass the interrogation by the Yingzhou Army scouts, lit a fire and burned it to ashes, then took a deep breath, looked back at the more than a hundred brothers behind him, and ordered: