Three hundred and ninetieth eight chapters crossing the river
On the second day of March in the second year of Dingbei, we were at Feng Ling Ferry. The sun shining on us at noon felt indescribably pleasant. In early spring, everything revived, and the budding grass added a fresh green edge to the river bank. The sky was everywhere.
Permeated with the fragrance of fragrant grass, He Qizhou couldn't help but take a deep breath, along with the earthy smell of river mud and the slightest chill from his feet.
Pieces of gray-black ice rolled up and down in the turbid water of the Yellow River. On the wide water surface, they slowly flowed eastward with the current, and then hit a series of ferries - shattered - rolled - disappeared
"What? Sorry, I'm looking at He Ling." He Qizhou turned to look at Jiang Damin.
"This time even the heavy armored troops of the Royal Forest Army have been dispatched. It seems that we are really going to fight to the death!" Jiang Damin said.
The ferries on the river are not small, but each boat can only carry three people and six horses at a time, because a set of armor for heavy cavalry alone weighs about 200 kilograms in total. The reason why there are six horses and three people is because each rider
The heavy armor will be equipped with a heavy-duty Xishu pony, while the tall war horses are all good horses from Dawan, with strong physiques and better than Zhou horses.
He Qizhou was actually silently counting the number of horses. More than 3,600 horses had already crossed the river. Counting those who were crossing the river, there were almost 4,000 horses. The heavy cavalry of the Royal Forest Army was definitely the real main force, and it was also used to defend the royal family and check and balance the border troops.
Basically, almost all of them are going to the front lines now.
"Heavy armor marches at a slower speed, so we didn't wait until Lingshui was over to cross the river. The following Imperial Forest Army will also leave soon. I estimate that this battle will definitely start in early April!" I don't know when Xiao Jihuai also walked towards the river.
On the second night after He Qizhou and the others left Handan, Xiao Jihuai took Xiao Jie and a few other entourage and caught up with them lightly.
"Who doesn't know this? Do you really want to ask King Cheng to arrange for you to go to the Pioneer Camp?" Jiang Damin seemed a little reluctant to believe it.
"Well! I want to go to Youzhou. I stayed under General Chang's tent for a few months last year. If the old man hadn't suddenly weakened, I would still be in Youzhou now." Xiao Jihuai finished speaking, intentionally or unintentionally.
He looked at He Qizhou.
"When the injury recovers, I also want to go to the front line. But..." He Qizhou said lightly. This was his original intention and was not inspired by Xiao Jihuai's eyes.
"But what?" Xiao Jihuai asked.
"But there is one thing I want to do first after returning to Beijing." He Qizhou was almost penniless again. He had borrowed more than five hundred taels from Xiao Jihuai in the past two days. Of course, it was Xu Mu who asked.
The poverty of the people in Hebei completely exceeded He Qizhou's imagination, and it was even worse than that in barren Gansu! The few hundred taels that He Qizhou scattered could not help many people at all.
He Qizhou was shocked to see the vast tracts of deserted fields. Although the local officials had been saying that as long as the Northern Zhou Dynasty was driven out of the pass, the people would be able to farm with peace of mind and have food and clothing. But He Qizhou knew that if the princes were not controlled,
If the number of emperors is not reduced, the privileges of the princes are not reduced, and the hereditary rules are not changed, the common people will never be able to get ahead! Therefore, He Qizhou thought of giving the emperor a "thank you".
"What do you want to do?" Xiao Jihuai's voice was a little trembling. If this guy wanted to propose to the Zhang family, it would be very difficult.
"I would like to give a note of thanks to the Emperor first." He Qizhou said.
Xiao Jihuai secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Normally for such a big reward, His Majesty will summon you."
"That's better..."
"Huh?" Xiao Jihuai felt that He Qizhou's tone was a bit strange.
"Oh, what I mean is that we can report some situations of the Northern Zhou Dynasty to the emperor in person." He Qizhou said hurriedly.
While the two were talking, an officer suddenly ran over.
"Xiao Jihuai—" the officer ran closer and shouted after confirming that it was Xiao Jihuai.
"He's a senior from the Armed Forces Hall, and he is currently serving as the commander of Qianhu in the heavy armor battalion." Xiao Jihuai also recognized who the person was and introduced it to He Qizhou beside him. They were stopped by a group of Yijun guarding the ferry.
He was a hundred steps away from the ferry, so he could only wait for the other party to come running over.
"You're such a boy!" the officer said happily.
"I've met Senior Brother Lin." Xiao Jihuai said humbly.
"Why are there so many beauties waiting at the Henan ferry? It turns out I know you are going back." The officer said with a hearty smile.
"I was traveling lightly and slowly, and I might have been betrayed by a passing post horse." Xiao Jihuai said with a wry smile.
"Who is this?" Lin Qianhu looked at He Qizhou and asked.
"You don't even know him? You can guess it, right?" Xiao Jihuai said.
"Could it be that he is the new champion in Kewu?"
"I'm He Qizhou, I've met my senior brother." He Qizhou bowed hurriedly.
"It's great that you can come back. The news that the emperor rewarded you has spread throughout the capital, which makes me feel very itchy. Alas, I have to go. I don't have time for you to chat. Xiao Jihuai, come back
Remember to set up a few more seats at Baiyun Tower to catch the wind for me!" Lin Qianhu saw that the team was almost ready, so he turned around and left.
"No problem, Senior Brother Lin, do you know when sir will leave?" Xiao Jihuai asked hurriedly.
"Within seven days." The voice faded away with Lin Qianhu's footsteps, followed by the neat and dull sound of horse hooves. On the horseback, the young faces of the sergeants were all filled with confidence and enthusiasm.
The excitement on his face made He Qizhou finally gain some confidence in the victory of the Northern Expedition.
"You can go over, but be careful not to approach the warships on the east side!" The group of Hebei troops guarding the dock got out of the way. There were forty or fifty people and a dozen carriages waiting to cross the river.
The common people's wharf was at the west end of the ferry. We were almost arriving at the capital anyway, so He Qizhou wasn't too anxious, so he waited for half of the people to leave before taking the second boat.
Xu Mu finally got off the carriage. Just like when he was in Jingxing, as long as he could stay in the carriage, he usually didn't show up very much. Xu Mu also discovered that Xiao Jihuai had never seen his "true appearance" since then.
Afterwards, although he was still very gentle and attentive, his eyes clearly lost some enthusiasm. Of course, this was exactly what he hoped for.
"The reluctance of the people in Hebei to farm has something to do with the river water." Xiao Chihuai stood at the stern of the boat and looked at the rolling turbid waves and said: "Every few years it will flood, which will harm the people of Qi."
"But it also raised the people of Qi." Xu Mu was a little dissatisfied.
"Well, thanks to Uncle Xu, many disasters have been avoided over the years." Xiao Jihuai said hurriedly.
"I heard that you donated one thousand taels of gold during the last flood?" He Qizhou asked.
"A mere decimal..."
"Hey, once this battle starts, I wonder how many refugees will come southward?" He Qizhou turned to look at Xiao Jihuai.
"I'm not a stingy person. I won't be stingy if I can help the people." Xiao Jihuai understood what He Qizhou meant and said it calmly, showing off his free and easy attitude.
He Qizhou thought to himself: "It feels really good to be rich. I will have ten thousand taels when I return to Beijing! I have to calculate how much I should donate. I wonder how much gift money my father-in-law will receive? I have to be more filial, well, still
I have to write a letter asking her to invite a matchmaker as soon as possible..."
"He Qizhou, why are you laughing?" Jiang Damin asked.
"Can't I dream?" He Qizhou said sullenly. Whenever that guy appears, he always seems to be able to ruin his good deeds, even if he just thinks about it.
Of course, there were not only He Qizhou, Xiao Jihuai and others on the ferry, but also twenty or thirty other passengers. Before the boat docked, the shouts of "Master Xiao, Xiao Jihuai" could be heard throughout the south bank ferry. Xiao Jihuai decided to make the final decision.
One gets off the boat so that other passengers are not blocked.
The ferry was quite wide, and with the wooden planks on it, even a carriage could move steadily. Xu Mu knew that there were many girls who admired "him" in the capital, so he simply got into the carriage again when he landed.
He Qizhou was worried about the snow dragon horse, so he led the horse ashore. Behind him was Xiao Jinhuai, who had been talking to him without saying a word, and was also the last person to leave the ferry.
The ferry on the south bank was also guarded by soldiers, and the waiting crowd was stopped at the official road a hundred steps away. It may be that the military had completed the ferry today, and all the guards withdrew when He Qizhou had just landed.
Those who were waiting rushed over in a hurry. There was a vast expanse of peach red willows and green trees. The wooden plank road leading to the official road was squeezed narrower and narrower. The cars and horses that had already landed in front suddenly slowed down.
He Qizhou, who was holding the snow dragon horse, saw countless expectant faces on both sides of the plank road looking towards him. Compared with them, the women in Handan city could be regarded as reserved ladies. Fortunately, there was a wooden fence blocking the plank road, otherwise I would really think that
They are about to pounce on themselves.
"Mr. Xiao! I saw Mr. Xiao! The last one -" Someone who was rushing in front finally found Xiao Jihuai, who was blocked by He Qizhou and a horse, and shouted excitedly.
"Senior Brother Xiao, are you asking me to clear the way for you?" He Qizhou said to Xiao Jihuai behind him.
"Thank you for your hard work, junior brother." Xiao Jihuai felt a little accustomed to it.
"Please give way, I'm sorry, please give way." After walking out of the plank road, there was no fence blocking the road, and the road was suddenly blocked by colorful girls. Especially after discovering the target, everyone flocked here.
"Who are you?" "Don't block the way!" He Qizhou was ruthlessly squeezed out of the official road.
"I am busy with military affairs and eager to return to the capital. I hope you sisters will make way for me. I am very grateful!" Xiao Jihuai said loudly, his sonorous voice slightly hoarse.
As soon as he finished speaking, a three-foot-wide road suddenly opened in front of him. There were still people in front of him sending messages for Xiao Jihuai from time to time: "Young Master Xiao has military affairs, please get out of the way!"
When He Qizhou saw Xiao Jihuai walking towards Xiao Jie who had already led the horse to wait for him, He Qizhou couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly. He was already blocked by many young women, and it was already out of reach to catch up with Xu Mu's carriage.
Xiao Jihuai got on his horse and turned around to say to He Qizhou: "Junior brother, I'll take a step first. See you in the city."
After saying that, he walked quickly for a few steps and quickly caught up with Xu Mu's carriage. He whispered to Xu Mu through the car window: "Junior brother, can we get together at Baiyun Tower tonight?"