Under Zhao Junchen's call, the gentry in Jinzhou quickly sent a large number of mules and horses.
In total, there were 700 mules, 400 donkeys, 500 poor horses, 800 two-wheeled wagons, and more than 500 people.
In addition, Jinzhou Daying also handed over more than a hundred sidecars in a patchwork manner.
With these means of transportation, Zhao Junchen could not only carry a large amount of baggage when he went to the frontline battlefield, but also help Guan Ning's cavalry artillery rear troops to significantly increase their marching speed.
Everything was ready, and it was already two days later.
*
At 4:00 a.m. that day, as he was about to lead his army to leave the Jinzhou camp, Zhao Junchen visited Xu Qingyan again.
After these days of treatment and cultivation, Xu Qingyan finally recovered from his fever, and Zhao Junchen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Xu Qingyan's physical energy has been greatly depleted, and now it is difficult to even walk normally. When Zhao Junchen visited Xu Qingyan, Xu Qingyan could only lie on the bed and talk to Zhao Junchen.
"You continue to stay in Jinzhou Camp. You don't have to follow the army. Help me keep an eye on the situation in Jinzhou Camp, wait for opportunities to win over civil and military officials in Jinzhou, keep in touch with the local gentry, and collect information from all parties, but don't contact the bottom for the time being.
Soldiers, in case it arouses more vigilance from all forces... Don't worry, my trip to the North Road battlefield this time is just a formality, I will not encounter any danger, and I will return soon."
Xu Qingyan's expression was calm and steady, and he replied in a hoarse voice with a different tone: "Okay! I will take the time to teach Wu Jiyun the methods that the young master once used, let him try them one by one, and take the opportunity to show kindness and win over him further."
After saying that, Xu Qingyan forced out a smile, and the scar on his right cheek also twisted, like a red centipede.
Hearing Xu Qingyan's response and looking at Xu Qingyan's appearance, Zhao Junchen felt a trace of sadness and nostalgia in his heart.
Because of He Yu's frantic counterattack when he was dying, Xu Qingyan was left with a shocking scar on his right cheek, which added a lot of ferociousness to Xu Qingyan's image. His throat vocal cords were also permanently damaged, so Xu Qingyan may be injured for the rest of his life.
I can only speak to people in this hoarse, inflected voice.
But compared to the changes in his image, the changes in Xu Qingyan's character are even more earth-shaking. The rationality and calmness displayed in his words and deeds are impressive. When encountering problems, he can quickly grasp the key points, find the direction keenly, and completely
He is not as pretentious and smart as before.
Just like at this moment, after Xu Qingyan heard Zhao Junchen's explanation, he quickly understood the key points of Zhao Junchen's layout and fully understood the focus of his mission. He was also keenly aware of Zhao Junchen's worries and deliberately emphasized
The word "taking time out" was used, implying that while staying in Jinzhou camp, he still focused on cultivating his body and would not overwork himself, so Zhao Junchen did not have to worry at all.
Perhaps due to his throat discomfort, Xu Qingyan no longer chatted endlessly and spoke at length as before. When he spoke, he was concise and to the point, and even seemed to cherish words like gold.
Zhao Junchen has always been looking forward to Xu Qingyan's growth. This kind of change is what Zhao Junchen has always wanted to see. But after seeing that Xu Qingyan finally turned into what he expected, Zhao Junchen didn't know why, but instead
I somewhat miss Xu Qingyan, the thin-tongued and carefree Xu Qingyan from before.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Junchen gently shook his head and said nothing more. He just raised his hand and patted Xu Qingyan's shoulder, then turned and left the room.
Outside the door, Jiang Quan has been waiting for a long time.
After seeing Zhao Junchen walk out of the room, Jiang Quan quickly reported: "For Zhao Junchen, all troops and horses have been assembled, and all the baggage and materials have been moved and loaded. We are just waiting for you to give orders. We can rush to the North Road at any time."
War zone!”
Zhao Junchen walked quickly towards the outside of the General Military Mansion and asked solemnly: "Tell me the specific situation."
"There will be a total of 7,000 troops under your command, including 3,500 troops stationed in Jinzhou Camp, more than 1,000 training reinforcements from the Liaodong Regiment summoned by Ling Huguang, and more than 1,000 artillery rear troops from the Guan Ning Cavalry.
Yan Zhen and Wu Jiyun supported 500 Liaodong cavalrymen from thousands of families, 400 Forbidden Army soldiers under their humble command, and more than 500 civilians supported by Jinzhou gentry...
It is a pity that there are not enough war horses. There are only more than 2,000 horses in total, and most of them are used by Guanning cavalry and Liaodong cavalry. At the same time, the total amount of military rations in the baggage is as much as 15,000 shi, and other various materials
There are also more than twenty carts full.”
Zhao Junchen nodded lightly, then looked around. After finding that there were no outsiders around, he whispered: "While Linghu Guang is not with me, I will tell you an important task, which is to secretly investigate the order again."
In the case of Hu Guang, we must investigate clearly whether there is any suspicious person hiding around Ling Hu Guang, or whether he is maintaining secret contact with the outside world in private."
Jiang Quan couldn't help being stunned after hearing this.
As early as when he was in Hujiazhuang, Jiang Quan had already investigated Linghuguang's situation in detail and found nothing suspicious. Therefore, since Zhao Junchen left Hujiazhuang, he has always kept Linghuguang by his side and can use him with confidence.
But now listening to Zhao Junchen's words, not only did he not trust Linghu Guang, but his suspicion increased instead of decreasing.
Jiang Quan quickly asked: "Zhao Gechen, why do you want to investigate Linghu Guang again? Have you discovered something suspicious?"
Zhao Junchen said with a sneer: "Since Linghu Guang expressed his intention to surrender to this cabinet, he has always had a positive attitude. He works hard and does everything without any reservation... Ha, although this cabinet has countless cronies in the government and the opposition,
But I have never seen such loyalty and courage! But it’s a pity... he used too much force, and it was too much!"
"Too much force? Too much is not enough?" Jiang Quan could not understand Zhao Junchen's meaning.
Zhao Junchen's expression became colder and he said: "I had no doubts about him at first, but when I arrived at Jinzhou Camp and had frequent contact with Yao Rang, the eunuch of the Liaodong Supervisory Army, I found that Linghu Guang still had no suspicion at all.
He follows and works for me in disguise, without worrying that Eunuch Yao will discover the close relationship between him and me... Do you think he doesn't know how to avoid suspicion? Or is he just being fearless?"
Jiang Quan was not stupid, and his expression immediately changed slightly, and he solemnly promised: "Don't worry, Zhao Gechen, I will investigate Linghu Guang in more detail, and there will never be any more omissions!"
While they were talking, Zhao Junchen and Jiang Quan had already left the General Military Mansion, then they both got on their horses, and, surrounded by a group of guards, galloped toward the North Camp Gate of the Jinzhou Camp.
When Zhao Junchen arrived outside the North Camp Gate of the Jinzhou Camp, he saw that the situation was just as Jiang Quan reported. The soldiers of all armies had gathered and were waiting for Zhao Junchen to lead his army to the expedition.
At the same time, civil and military officials and representatives of the wealthy gentry in Jinzhou also gathered together to prepare wine for Zhao Junchen to see him off.
Under everyone's gaze, Zhao Junchen first galloped around the entire field and briefly inspected the various troops under his command. Then he reined in his horse and stopped in front of the entire army, waving his whip.
Pointing to the northeast, he shouted loudly: "All the soldiers in the army obey the order! Go out to the battle! Rush to support the North Road!"
Following Zhao Junchen's shout, all troops and horses, under the command of military attachés at all levels, turned their troops around and marched north.
*
Six days later.
Near Qinghe Fort, a hundred miles south of Fushun Pass.
A small-scale war had just come to an end, leaving only forty or fifty corpses abandoned in the wilderness.
Zhao Junchen's expression was solemn and he was riding his horse to inspect the results of the battle.
The seven thousand troops under Zhao Junchen can be said to be a mixed bag of good and bad, including elite divisions such as the Liaodong Iron Cavalry and the Guanning Iron Cavalry, as well as rabble-rousers like the Liaodong regiment training and ordinary civilians.
Under such circumstances, coupled with the fact that Zhao Junchen was escorting a large amount of baggage with the army and had to assist the artillery rear troops in transporting various types of artillery, the marching speed was naturally extremely slow.
Therefore, after marching for six days, Zhao Junchen and his troops finally arrived at the North Road Defense Zone in Liaodong Town.
According to the frontline battle report, the main Jurchen army in Jianzhou is currently besieging Fushun Pass with all its strength. After Wu Yingxiong and his reinforcements arrived on the battlefield, it was still a step too late. The Jianzhou Jurchens had completely surrounded Fushun Pass. It can be said that water cannot be poured into it.
The needle cannot be inserted!
Under such circumstances, Wu Yingxiong and his reinforcements were unable to garrison Fushun Pass to assist in the defense, so they had to camp twenty miles south of Fushun Pass to contain and engage in a confrontation.
To this day, Wu Yingxiong has commanded his reinforcements to fight several battles in succession with the main Jianzhou Jurchen army, and also suffered some minor losses.
And Zhao Junchen's current location is still a hundred miles away from Fushun Pass!
Since entering the North Road Defense Zone, Zhao Junchen has felt the cruelty of this war more and more clearly.
Because Jianzhou Jurchen sent a large number of guerrilla troops to loot everywhere, when Zhao Junchen arrived after marching all the way, it could be said that everything was devastated.
People fleeing in panic, burned-down fields and houses, abandoned corpses in the wild...everywhere they pass is a scene of hell!
Until today, Zhao Junchen finally encountered a group of Jianzhou Jurchen Rangers, about two hundred people in number, who were attacking the villages ahead.
Although Zhao Junchen's troops were both good and bad, they had the superiority in strength and quickly defeated the enemy army. Unfortunately, most of the enemy troops escaped, but he himself did not suffer much damage.
After inspecting the battlefield, Zhao Junchen turned around and asked: "How are the results of the battle counted? Were any prisoners of war captured alive?"
Jiang Quan replied: "For the record, we killed a total of thirty-seven Jurchen Tatars in this battle, but most of the Tatars broke up and fled, and only three Tatars were captured!"
Zhao Junchen nodded and said: "Bring those three Tatars to see me!"
Following the order, three Jianzhou Jurchens were soon tied up and escorted in front of Zhao Junchen. It seemed that they were all low-level Jianzhou Jurchen soldiers.
Even though they had become prisoners of war, these three Jianzhou Jurchens still had an unruly attitude, struggling and scolding constantly.
Zhao Junchen ignored their unruly attitude and just said coldly: "I will release you to leave, but you must take my place and send a message to your Xuan Ye Great Khan!"