"Hey, this Xu Kui...has really good physical strength."
Liu Jinsuo was not annoyed that he was surpassed by Xu Kui. He panted heavily and looked across the river to see a village girl wearing a red coat.
"I... used to be as physically strong as him," Bao San said.
"Hehe." Liu Jinsuo said, "Don't tell me, Kong Muxi has really poisonous eyes. All of the people he selected under me are strong and honest."
"How dare you... dare to say that."
"Is there anything I dare not say? I'm not familiar with the place... doesn't it just rely on my brain?"
Bao San didn't respond and was actually a little angry.
Liu Jinsuo was feeling proud when he suddenly felt the ice on his waist.
Turning around, he saw that Jiang Fan's right prosthetic leg had a hook attached to his belt.
"I said you... don't tear my clothes apart... let go, I'm so tired."
Jiang Fan didn't answer.
Liu Jinsuo was furious, cursed a few words, and asked: "Why do you just keep setting up a hook all day long?"
"It's easy to use." Jiang Fan said.
"If nothing else works, why don't you put on a prosthetic hand?"
"Hooks work best."
Liu Jinsuo breathed heavily, but he still wanted to ask one more question.
"Why?"
Jiang Fan thought for a while and said, "The hook is the best."
"I think you can't tell... Ouch, let go..."
On the banks of the Fu River, at the foot of the Immortal Rock, Li Xia panted and turned around to look, seeing Huhu and Xu Kui following him steadily.
After resting for a while, Li Xia said, "You guys are in good physical condition."
Luhu grinned, raised his hand, and asked: "County Lieutenant, can I go hunting?"
"Go ahead."
Huhu picked up his bow and ran a few steps, but then turned around and came back.
"It's better to protect the county captain in case there are wild animals."
Li Xia was also impressed by the physical ability of Huhu. He must have been a small class leader if he was not a foreigner.
He looked at Xu Kui again and asked, "Are you tired?"
"tired."
"Can you still run?"
"able."
"You can run in front of me next time instead of always following me."
Xu Kui scratched his head and didn't know how to respond, so he could only respond "Okay", looking very embarrassed.
After thinking about it, he took out the kettle from his waist and wanted to hand it over, but when he looked again, he saw a kettle hanging on Li Xia's waist, so he put it down again.
Li Xia saw his embarrassment and said, "You are indeed in good physical condition."
Xu Kui wanted to scratch his head again, but subconsciously straightened his body.
"Thank you, County Lieutenant!"
"Have you ever killed anyone?" Li Xia asked again.
Xu Kui was stunned for a moment, then shook his head quickly and said, "No."
"yes."
For Li Xia, it is not easy to chat with these men. They can fight without restraint in private, but they always have a layer of awe towards him.
To Jiang Chun and Fang Yankai, a young county captain represented someone who broke the rules of officialdom; to ordinary people, it was an official with extraordinary parents.
Li Xia asked a few more questions, and Xu Kui answered sternly, talking about his hometown in Lizhou and how satisfied he was with the current situation where his family didn't have to worry about their livelihood.
After that, men ran over one by one, and everyone called their names by the river. They were rewarded and punished, and they ran towards the camp again...
For Xu Kui, he was very satisfied that he could survive by working hard like this, except that he couldn't see his wife and children all the time.
That night he returned to camp, ate, and took a shower, but he didn't sit around singing and chatting around the school grounds as usual, which made him a little disappointed.
Originally, I wanted to hear someone ask, "Xu Kui ran so damn fast in the evening. Did the county captain praise you?"
He went back to his dormitory and lay down, and suddenly the question asked by County Lieutenant Li came to his mind: "Have you ever killed anyone?"
Xu Kui felt that he did not want to kill anyone.
Just thinking about it makes me feel like it’s something very difficult to do.
It would be best if it is very mediocre. Once you save enough money and buy a few acres of land for farming, that would be great...
I was too tired from running in the evening, and no one in the dormitory chatted secretly. Soon I heard snoring, and Xu Kui also fell asleep.
suddenly.
In a daze, a long horn sounded!
"Move quickly! Gather immediately!"
Chief Lai Bal'er shouted: "Quick! Get up!"
Xu Kui was startled while he was sleeping, feeling deeply sleepy.
"Boom!"
Lai Baler struck the gong fiercely.
Xu Kui sat up, turned over quickly and started folding the quilt.
There was a rooster crowing in the distance, and it was still dark. No fire was allowed in the dormitory, and it was dark and busy.
Xu Kui folded the quilt, put on his leather armor, and shouted: "Okay!"
"Each of you will receive three days of dry food and gather at the school grounds!"
…
The sky is hazy.
On the school grounds, Li Xia's tall figure stood there, in front of him were Liu Jinsuo, Bao San, and Huhu.
Soldiers came one by one and stood in their respective ranks.
After a while, shouts rang out.
"Assembly complete!"
Liu Jinsuo strode out and shouted: "Today's drill! I'll take you to Xuzhou and the Yangtze River to see what the real soldiers of the Song Dynasty are like!"
"yes!"
Xu Kui shouted in the team, but he actually had no idea what was happening.
I was exhausted from running yesterday evening, but now I felt a little excited when I was blown by the morning breeze.
"Turn left! Run together!"
The three columns turned to the west and ran towards Fujiang.
Liu Jinsuo and Hu Hu's two hundred men boarded two large ships respectively, while Bao San's one hundred men boarded eight small boats. This arrangement was actually because Bao San was better at commanding water battles.
Xu Kui got on the boat and started operating the oars nervously, when he heard Liu Jinsuo yell again.
"The river is in a hurry, don't let me hit you!"
"Yes! I'll be able to control the boat and not lose to them!"
"Stop talking nonsense and weigh the anchor!"
"..."
A golden sun rises from the east, slowly rising over Luokou Rock and shining on the camp.
Twelve ships, large and small, went down the Fu River and headed north towards Xuzhou.
If they want to practice, they can go all the way to Yijia Yisu Township on the Yangtze River. It still belongs to Qingfu County, but when they climb the mountain, they can see the Song Dynasty Navy across the Yangtze River...
The same morning, Sanjiang Yilan Tower.
Zhang Shi and Shi Jun stood side by side leaning on the railing.
"Zhang Dutong, how about we fight Wu Liang Hetai in Xuzhou?"
Zhang Shi waved his hand, looked at the ships on the river, and said: "Mahu County was the border between the Tang Dynasty and Nanzhao, and it is also the border between the Song Dynasty and Dali today. There are high mountains on both sides of the place, which is not conducive to the Uliang Hetai troops.
Expand it, I can use the power of the navy to severely defeat the Mongolian army and drive it outside the country's borders."
Shi Jun said: "But if we fight in Xuzhou, we can have the advantages of war and defense, and we can have food and grass support. Wouldn't it be safer?"
Zhang Shi raised his hand and walked to the south bank of the Jinsha River and said: "Where the three rivers converge, the river surface is wide, which is conducive to the movement of ships. However, the terrain on the south bank is also wide, and the Mongolian army has a large array, which is difficult to cope with."
"Yeah." Shi Jun sighed while stroking his beard.
"What worries does Zi Pang have?" Zhang Shi said, "Why don't you just say it?"
"Then let me tell you boldly, Zhang Dutong has never fought a water battle, and the Jinsha River is dangerous and the water is turbulent. What if..."
"In Sichuan and Shu, who is good at water warfare?"
Shi Jun remained silent.
Zhang Shi said: "If Commander Yu Jie were here, why would the situation be like this? Western Sichuan has been lost, Dali has been destroyed, and the southwest gate is wide open. If I don't go up to meet him at this time, who else can do it?"
"What did Pujieshuai say?"
"He is just waiting for the reinforcements from Jinghu. How can the distant water relieve the close fire?"
After hearing this, Shi Jun's eyes became more and more worried.
Although Zhang Shi didn't say it clearly, how could he not feel the hint of anger.
It was still something he had been worried about. The war was about to begin, and the court's arrangement for Commander Shu seemed to be secure. However, without rehabilitating Commander Yu Jie for a day, the hearts and minds of the Sichuan-Shu army and the people were unsettled.
Difficult to implement...
Feeling this, Shi Jun felt that he could smell a hint of defeat.
And this was something that his little magistrate had absolutely no control over.
…
A glance at Sanjiang shows the flags flying upstairs, horns sounding constantly on the river, and large ships sailing upstream.
It wasn't until more and more ships entered the Jinsha River that a large warship sailed out from the Yangtze River and slowly docked at Sanjiangkou.
Zhang Shi saw that it was almost time, pressed the knife and said: "Let's go, Zi Pang doesn't have to see me off."
Shi Jun raised his hands in salute and said: "Zhang Dutong, the victory is over."
Zhang Shi didn't say much, strode like flying, and led rows of soldiers down the mountain.
Shi Jun stood alone on the top of the mountain, watching Zhang Shi's warships hoisting the flag and watching the warships slowly leave. From early morning until dusk, the last few warships could still be seen on the river.
The river water at dusk reflected in Shi Jun's eyes, and the worry became deeper and deeper.
On the south bank of the Jinsha River, Li Xia stood on the top of the mountain, also watching the Song Dynasty navy heading west.
Thirty thousand people and three hundred people are completely different concepts. Thirty thousand people are not like him who can let people carry dry food for three days and ignore the boats that go down the river, carrying baggage, food and grass, and civilians.
There are many ships and they are vast.
Li Xia watched it for a long time, and many thoughts came to his mind.
Of course, this kind of battle between the main forces of the two armies was not something that his little three hundred river patrolmen could participate in. For him, what he had to face was a small group of marauding Mongolian troops.
However, the battlefield is more than 150 miles west of Qingfu County. If Zhang Shi can win a big victory, he may lead people to participate in intercepting Wuliang Hetai.
There are many other thoughts like this, and they will inevitably encounter various different situations. The only thing that is certain is that this battle will break out within a month...