Tan Leizi had tears streaming down his face and struggled desperately on the deck.
In front of him was a springboard. Beyond the springboard was the dock at the mouth of the Hezhou River. There were no ships docked nearby at this time, and there were only a few people on the shore. The two boatmen of the ship were pulling the cable of the canal on the shore, looking at Tan Lezi's struggle with a playful smile.
Two men from the Cao Gang were pulling him, and the leader of the three-stick team cursed loudly, "Damn you, Tan Lezi, everyone from the Cao Gang has disgraced you, and even the bank accountants of Yinzhuang are watching."
Tan Laizi struggled to free his hands, knelt on the ground and said to the three sticks, "Master He, I have an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old child. I dare not lose my life. The world is difficult. What should I do if I leave them behind?"
, Mr. He, please do a good job and leave me in Jiangnan. Is it possible for me to return to Anqing by myself? "
"Pitiful."
Sangun's face was full of pity, and Tan Leizi suddenly saw hope.
"But this is an errand given by the leader of the gang. According to the third rule of the gang, if someone in the gang is dispatched by the manager of the gang, and if there is someone in the gang who refuses, I will cut off a hand or a leg. Then I will first enforce the rules of the gang, and then I will send you there."
Jiangnan.”
"Don't, don't!"
Tan Leizi took two steps back to the side of the boat, "Don't come over here, come over here and I'll jump off."
Sangun rubbed his forehead and said, "Then you should jump faster. The accountant of the bank is still busy going to Nanjing."
"You're freezing to death in the water!"
After Tan Laizi finished shouting, he squatted on the ground and cried loudly, and everyone on the boat laughed.
Tan Leizi heard the sound and looked over. There were actually two women, both from the bank, covering their mouths and laughing.
Sangun felt that the Cao Gang's face could no longer be ruined by him, and said angrily to Tan Leizi, "I asked you to inquire about the rogue bandits. If you know that the rogue bandits are coming to Hezhou, you can find a boat to cross the Yangtze River to report the news. I am not asking you to follow
The bandits fought tooth and nail.
Besides, the bandit didn't come to Hezhou last time. The city is so high, no one can defeat it, and there is only a difference of two silver coins per day. It is obviously the leader of the gang who promoted you, and you insist on saying that you are going to die.
Finally, I ask you, should you go down by yourself, or should I throw you into the water?"
Tan Laizi still didn't move, and the two helpers came up to pull him up again. Tan Laizi quickly wiped his nose and said, "Brothers, don't do anything, I will do it myself."
Brother He, give me a boat, and I will get off immediately."
A bank accountant scolded, "Why do you still want to cross the river in a footboat?"
Sangun said impatiently, "Send him a boat."
Several boatmen skillfully lowered the boat and handed the rope to Tan Lezi.
Tan Laizi had no reason to delay, and quickly crossed the gangplank. Suddenly he turned around and shouted, "Give me a few more taels..." Just as the gangplank was retracted, the tanker had already left the shore, and a group of sailors were laughing on the bow.
Sangun yelled at Tan Leizi and cursed, "Tan Leizi, I tell you, if you run away before the bandits come, I will break your legs when you return to Anqing!"
Tan Laizi flattened his mouth. When he saw the boat going away, he waved his hand and cursed fiercely, "They are all dogs! Can you afford to offend me if you break my legs?"
When he turned around, the pier was empty, and two idlers on the shore were staring at him. Tan Leizi swallowed, flashed the short knife in his hand, and the two idlers went away.
Seeing that there was no one around, Tan Laizi felt even more frightened. He had never traveled far, and the furthest he had ever been was to cross the river with a boatman when soliciting tourists. At this time, he was hundreds of miles away from Anqing.
Being unfamiliar with this place, I felt a little confused.
Having the experience of wandering around the dock, when the rogues approached, everyone on the dock ran away, and it was in a state of disorder. Tan Laizi knew that it was not suitable to stay here for a long time, but he still had such a boat in his hand, so he had to find a way to place it.
Tan Laizi looked around blankly, "Where can I put it better?"
...In Kongcheng Town, Tongcheng County, the official road leading to the Lujiang River passes through the town. There is a Kongcheng Bridge outside the town, which is an important stronghold of the garrison camp in the east direction.
Across the bridge, many people who had fled from Lujiang were waiting, carrying heavy luggage, waiting for Zhuang Ban to inspect them.
Pang Yu and Shi Kefa were at the west end of the bridge, checking the defense of the bridge, and then headed to the Lujiang border.
The sentries operating in Lujiang sent back news that the bandits were leaving Luzhou, but the specific target was not clear. Dingyuan and Quanjiao were too far in the two directions, so no information was obtained, but at least one band entered Chaoxian County along the east coast of Chaohu Lake.
, the west bank of Chaohu Lake was calm and the waves were calm, so the bandits probably would not go to Shucheng, so they gave up attacking Anqing.
The pressure in the direction of Beixiaguan has decreased, which means that the bandits have at least given up entering from Shucheng. The direction of the Lujiang River cannot be relaxed. The bridge in front of us is relatively important, but the depth of the river under the bridge is not enough to stop the bandits, both upstream and downstream.
The garrison camp can block the long march of the enemy at the ford crossing. Today they brought a bureau of troops to strengthen the defense of Kongcheng Bridge. If they are small-scale rogues, they can be stopped here.
"Contrary to General Pang's inference, the bandits have indeed gone east, but it is too early to say whether they will stop coming to Anqing."
Shi Kefa clasped his hands behind his back, his expression not relaxed, "Wuwei Prefecture has not been invaded at the beginning of the year. The rogue bandits can go to Wuwei Prefecture via Chaoxian County, and then from Wuwei to Tongcheng. In this way, they can also steal money and food to survive."
"What your Excellency said is absolutely true, but the bandits are walking along the east bank. From Chao County to Wuwei Prefecture, they need to cross the Yuxi River, which is easier to give up than to take.
From Wuwei Prefecture to Tongcheng, there are water systems crisscrossing the ponds, which is far less expensive than going directly from Shucheng to Tongcheng."
After Pang Yu finished speaking, he lowered his head and waited. After the last time he went to Suzhou to seek an official position, Pang Yu walked back to Tongcheng from Wuwei Prefecture. This road was not the main official road. There were rich water systems on the way and the road conditions were not good. With the intelligence capabilities of the rogue bandits, they
It must be very clear.
More importantly, if they want to attack Wuwei Prefecture, the rogue bandits will march from the west bank of Chaohu Lake, attack Shucheng, which is also protected, and then attack Wuwei Prefecture, instead of causing more trouble for themselves and meaninglessly crossing the Yuxi River.
Pang Yu believed that it was more likely that the bandits would go to Yangzhou.
Shi Kefa understood the meaning of Pang Yu's words, but he did not intend to agree.
"You have also read the military order sent by Premier Lu today. Anqing is required to strictly guard the flood areas to prevent the enemy from escaping. Zhang Duye here also asked me to wait for an opportunity to rescue the lower reaches."
Shi Kefa finished speaking and sighed, "If the garrison camp is transferred to Jiangpu Liuhe, it will be easy to go upstream but difficult to go upstream. When the rogue bandits turn back, Anqing will inevitably be in trouble."
In the original history, Shi Kefa did not have to face this kind of choice, because Anqing did not have the troops to rescue Jiangnan, and Zhang Guowei had no hope. Most of Zhang Guowei's expectations at this time came from Pang Yu's random promises.
Jiangnan's military strength was weak, and multiple intelligence reports this year showed that the rogue bandits did intend to invade Jiangnan. This further increased Zhang Guowei's pressure. Once he thought of using Anqing troops, it was difficult to put it down.
For Pang Yu, rescuing Nanjing was both a crisis and an opportunity.
Nanjing is the political and economic center of Jiangnan, and its significance is different from that of rescuing Qianshan. With this opportunity, he will establish initial influence in Nanjing.
The current marching route of the rogue bandits showed that the risk of Anqing being attacked again was very low. Using this risk to gain profits from rescuing Nanjing, Pang Yu thought it was a suitable deal.
As for Shi Kefa, who was an Anchi soldier, it was impossible for him to leave Xindi to rescue Nanjing. The risks and benefits were not balanced for him.
At this time, a horseman ran up from the opposite bridge. The soldiers on guard there checked and released him. When the sentry horse saw Pang Yu, he immediately dismounted and said, "Report to your lord, the vanguard of the rogue bandits passed through the old city of Chaoxian County and headed for Hanshan. Yes."
Gao Scarzi's department."
Pang Yu cheered up, "The news is reliable."
"General Yang led the cavalry to fight three times with the bandits, and captured two people alive. One of them was in charge of Gao Scarzi's team. He heard with his own ears that Gao Scarzi and his four kings ordered to attack Hanshan first."
"Where are you going after Hanshan?"
The sentry knight shook his head and said, "That Gao Scar didn't say anything. He just told the team that the Eight Thieves, Shooting Down the Sky, Shaking the Sky and others went to Quanjiao."
Pang Yu thought about it, the bandits gathered in Luzhou. After the attack was unsuccessful, they immediately divided their troops again and looted along the two official roads to obtain more survival materials. If Gao Scarzi went to Hanshan, he would not go to Quanjiao immediately.
, the possibility of crossing the complex water system to get to Wuwei Prefecture is even lower, then only Hezhou and Jiangpu are left.
Then he whispered, "It is only more than a hundred miles from Hanshan to Jiangpu. The cavalry will arrive in two days. Quanjiao is even closer to Jiangpu. If there are rogue bandits splitting their ways to attack Hanshan and Hezhou, the land transportation will be interrupted.
The news came back from the south of the Yangtze River, and I fear that rescue will not be enough. If the bandits cross the river..." Shi Kefa's face turned red, and he was obviously worried. If the bandits really crossed the river, Jiangnan's troops would be vulnerable, and Nanjing would not be protected.
The impact was even greater in Fengyang. In the anger of the imperial court, an unknown number of people were killed. Whether Shi Kefa was among them was also uncertain.
After a while, Shi Kefa said, "However, the soldiers are like water, and the bandits are very cunning. Seeing that they pretended to go to Kaifeng this time and deceived Prime Minister Lu to chase north, they immediately turned to Luzhou. Regarding this
It is also necessary to guard against it.
There must be definite news. If the bandits are indeed going to Jiangpu, it will not be too late to go to the garrison camp, and it will only take three to five days to travel downstream. Wait, wait."
After he finished speaking, he didn't give Pang Yu any time to wait and walked across the bridge.
Pang Yu waited for his pacesetter to pass by. Wang Zenglu, who was following him, whispered, "The three to five days that Master Daotai said may not be possible even by water."
"It's intended as a passenger ship, so we can't transport troops.
It will take at least two days for the whole battalion to board the ship at Songyang, and the water camp is not good at transporting troops, so at least a few assembly points must be set up along the way, which will take time."
"Then by the time we arrive, I'm afraid all the bandits will be gone."
Pang Yu shook his head, "The rogue bandits' attacks on the city usually peak on the third day after they arrive. If they fail, they will withdraw within two days; if they succeed, they will stay in the city for three to five days to fully plunder the city's supplies.
, so their attack on a city takes five to eight days from arrival to evacuation. They will also be delayed in Hanshan. If they set out at the right time, they can make it there, but if they have to wait until they receive the news,
It really may not be as good as that.”
Pang Yu pondered, these data were all returned by Ruan Jin during his original inspection, and the summary in the Di newspaper probably followed this pattern, "Time is tight, Master Daotai won't let go, and the garrison camp cannot be mobilized yet.
At present, there are obvious signs that the rogues are heading east. Zenglu, you ran across the ship and conducted water transportation drills. You put down the second division and rushed to Songyang with the clerk today to discuss the water transportation again with the boatmen who are used to Nanjing.
Determine and understand the assembly point, different departure times, and arrange day trips and night trips. Familiar boatmen should be assigned at least one person to each boat. It is best to assign boatmen for night sailings as well. Make all preparations. As long as
I have led the troops to Xiacongyang and will board the ship that day."
Wang Zenglu immediately agreed, and after Pang Yu gave him a few more instructions, Wang Zenglu went south with his two soldiers.
Shi Kefa had already gone a long way. This Shangguan was gentle, but sometimes it was difficult to make decisions and lacked a bit of courage.
Pang Yu is used to trading and understands that even for simple transactions, not all details are clear, and those who make decisions always have to bear risks.
Military operations are more involved and complex, and most of the time the information is insufficient. At this time, you often need to pat your head, based on intuition and experience derived from limited intelligence, and you must dare to take risks and responsibilities.
, this is the role of the commander-in-chief, which is similar to Pang Yu’s previous transactions.
Shi Kefa is obviously not such a person, and his interests are not completely consistent with Pang Yu's. This makes Pang Yu's opportunity to send troops quite limited, and subsequent actions will be even more difficult.
"Hanshan, there are detectives in Hezhou. It would be great if we could get back the exact information."