"There is no boat here, how do you cross the river?"
Mr. Bai, the blacksmith, slapped his leg and said, "Marine soldiers are all begging for food on the river. If they can't cross such a small ditch, it's a joke to the land camp."
A captain next to him whispered, "Mr. Bai, aren't you from Lu Ying?"
"I am not now. Pang Pang said that the Marine Corps is a Marine Corps, which means it is not a land camp. This is a job I won for myself. Call everyone here. You must find a way for me." Soon dozens of people
The Marines formed a circle around the fire, with those in the front sitting and those behind standing.
"Crossing the river is easy. Just dismantle a few vehicle frames, take out the wood, build a raft and cross."
"Yes, this Qingliu River is small. In winter, the water flow is so slow that it almost stops flowing, and the raft can survive."
"There is no guarantee that the raft will capsize, fall into the water and swim through, and your clothes will get wet and it will kill you."
A soldier in the back row raised his hand and said, "Prepare another set. Just wrap it with any kind of leather. It will be waterproof."
"What kind of skins are there? There are only horses here... There are more than ten dead horses on the official road."
The blacksmith slapped his leg and said, "That's nonsense. Go and drag a few horses over and skin them. Team 3, you go and dismantle the frames and make two rafts."
A captain next to him said quickly, "Your Excellency said that there are only a few people to scout, and one raft is enough."
"Make two, choose the good one to use, and do it immediately."
The one who was chosen immediately left. The blacksmith swept around and said, "I'm going to choose people again. If there is anyone who wants to cross the river, let me know!"
No one among the dozens of marines raised their hands, and everyone remained silent for fear of making any noise and causing the blacksmith to misunderstand.
Tang Ershuan kept his mouth shut. Crossing the river at night was not a joke. It would be okay if there was a boat. The clear river was far inferior to the big river. It was winter, so the water level was fine, but the terrain on the other side was unfamiliar and so rough.
There are many horse soldiers. If they get lost and don't come back before dawn, they will definitely be killed by the horse soldiers.
Thinking of the rogue bandits and horsemen who were wreaking havoc during the day, Tang Ershuan burped suddenly.
"Tang Er has bolted one."
Tang Ershuan was stunned for a moment and quickly defended, "Mr. Bai, I was..." Mr. Bai, the blacksmith, couldn't help but interrupted, "Ren Pang said that those who have meritorious service in crossing the river this time will be ranked first for promotion next time.
The clerk was there listening, he didn’t remember that I also remembered, is there anyone else who wants to be promoted?”
Everyone looked at each other, and immediately seven or eight hands were raised. Tang Ershuan took a gulp of saliva and swallowed back his words of defense.
...Beside the dark Qingliu River, more than a dozen marines quietly came to the river bank, carrying a crudely made raft.
There was a groan from the front, and the raft tilted to the right. The others hurriedly lifted it up. On the less than a mile from the camp to the river bank, they tripped many times on field ridges, mud pits, and ponds.
"Slow down, slow down, we're at the river, let's put the raft down."
The blacksmith leading the team gave a low voice, and everyone put down their rafts and squatted on the ground to wait.
"Why do you vent your anger so hard? You can't even hear the sound of the water. I just hold it in."
Tang Ershuan shut his mouth and looked around. The fire in the camp was already a mile away, but he was not too nervous, because in such a ridge terrain, it was impossible for rogue cavalry to go out at night, and there should be no rogue ambushes on the river bank.
soldiers.
On the other side of the Qingliu River, there were a lot of fires in the northeast direction, showing that the rogue bandits were gathering there. Tang Ershuan was confused about this reconnaissance mission. They didn't know the specific location of Chuzhou, they only knew that they could get there by walking along the Qingliu River.
Now looking at the fire situation, there are a lot of rogues there. Can we successfully reach the city? We can already hear the sound of water. It seems that the river is not far away.
"If you don't come across the river, put the raft into the water."
President Bai's voice sounded, and several marines who came to do some hard work lifted the raft. After a while, they heard the sound of water rushing, and they were already in the river.
Tang Ershuan said nervously, "President Bai, do we have to go to the city wall to take a look? Otherwise, how will we know if the rogues have breached the city?"
"You don't need to stick to the city wall, you know? If the city is broken, the bandits will definitely go to live in the city, and at most there will be some left to live with outside. We just need to see if there are many people outside the city, and what kind of people they have."
Tang Ershuan said oh, Mr. Bai is indeed Mr. Bai, but he is smarter than him.
Even though Mr. Bai was very smart, Tang Ershuan was still worried. The cavalry raid during the day gave him a huge mental blow. Although he killed a cavalry soldier in the end, the pressure was slightly relieved, but it was not completely released. He was still alive at night.
Selected to go to the river for reconnaissance.
"Isn't it enough to catch two wounded bandits and interrogate them?"
"One person said that officers and soldiers were coming from the north, and another said that they would attack Chuzhou City. Who did Da Da Da believe?
Are there really officers and soldiers coming from the north? Who is coming? How many soldiers and horses are coming? Can you tell Pang Daren?"
Tang Ershuan was speechless immediately. It seemed that he had to go if he didn't want to go this time.
There are many dangers in crossing the river at night. The Qingliu River is gentle. The section they are in belongs to the middle reaches of the Qingliu River. In winter, a large area of the river bed is exposed, but the flow is not cut off. The depth of the water in the middle is not clear. If you fall into the water in winter, the sentinel detection may fail.
At worst, you will lose your life.
After crossing the river, you will be on the completely unfamiliar east bank. Not only are the roads unfamiliar, but you may also encounter night sentries from rogue bandits.
It was pitch black all around, with firelight shining in the distance, making this winter night feel inexplicably bizarre.
"Let's go, come and get on the raft."
...The lights on Chuzhou City were brightly lit, and on a beach on the Qingliu River in the southeast direction outside the city, four marines were lying in reed piles. The surrounding reeds had been cut off by the rogue bandits, leaving only the pile heads.
They crossed the river smoothly. Tang Ershuan's left foot was soaked in water. When he landed, he found that there were no shoes in the horsehide bag. He walked about six or seven miles barefoot. However, he had not had shoes since he was a child, and the calluses on the soles of his feet were worse than the soles of his shoes.
It's thick, and aside from the cold, it has no other effects for the time being.
Mr. Bai, the blacksmith, put away his telescope and lowered his voice to several people, "There are lanterns at the top of the city. Chuzhou is not broken. There are rogues and infantry on the Wuli Bridge. There are torches under the bridge... The rogues' cavalry soldiers are under the Wuli Bridge.
If you can pass people and horses, the river here must be very shallow, so you must remember it."
Tang Ershuan squinted his eyes and couldn't see clearly the top of Chuzhou City. He only saw a bright light, let alone under the Wuli Bridge. He was completely confused. He didn't know what kind of magic weapon the thing in Mr. Bai's hand was that could see so far away.
, he didn’t dare to ask to try it, he felt that this kind of magic weapon was not something he could touch.
After thinking about it, he still couldn't help but ask, "Why are there lanterns at the top of the city that aren't broken?"
"Lighting lanterns is to prevent people from stealing the city. If they are broken, they will be lit."
Mr. Bai said impatiently, "They must attack the east wall of Chuzhou, or they will fight the officers and soldiers in the east of the city.
Let’s go around and go northeast of the city.”
Tang Ershuan's scalp felt numb, "Why are we still going north?"
"Let's go see how many officers and soldiers there are and who brought them. Then we can explain to Da Da Da when we go back."
After saying this, the blacksmith stood up and walked toward the northeast with his back bent.
"You have done evil."
Tang Ershuan grunted and followed the blacksmith.
They followed the firelight of the bandit camp [Biquge www.xbqg5200.me] for two miles. The four of them groped forward in the darkness. They did not encounter any ambushing soldiers of the bandits along the way. The fire became brighter as they went north, and they followed
As in Tongcheng, the bandits lit fires at intervals around the camp, showing a defensive posture.
They made a large circle. After about an hour, the firelight in front of them gradually became less and less. The blacksmith took out the barrel again and lay down on a hill to check it.
Tang Ershuan was a little tired, but he didn't dare to disturb Mr. Bai, the blacksmith. He felt more at ease now, because with the magic barrel, they could observe from a distance, and the risk of encountering rogue bandits was greatly reduced.
He lay down on the cold ground to check. The firelight of the bandit camp ended here, and there was a large dark area in the middle. Further north, in the night, there were fires of various sizes, facing off against the firelight to the south.
.
..."When the marines tried to contact the officers and soldiers to the north, they were shot back by random arrows and injured one person. It is not clear which unit it was from, but Prime Minister Lu is the most likely. According to the rough estimate of the sentinel, the officers and soldiers of this unit were
There are about two to three thousand people."
Next to a fire beside the official road, the garrison camp set up a broken bicycle frame as Pang Yu's conference table. A circle of officers surrounded the table, listening to the latest intelligence.
Pang Yu used a straw as the Qingliu River, a stone as the Chuzhou City, and a piece of black charcoal straddling the straw as the Wuli Bridge. He pointed with his fingers, "The terrain to the east of Wuli Bridge is flat and there are not many houses. It is suitable for large armies to fight.
In this place, the rogues are still mobilizing to the east bank at night. This is to fight Prime Minister Lu. As long as Premier Lu is eliminated, there will no longer be large groups of imperial troops in Henan, Huguang, and Nanzhi, and they will be free to wreak havoc."
Zhuang Chaozheng whispered, "If Mr. Lu is defeated, the bandits will turn around and attack us."
"At this position, the official road is higher than outside, and there are many ponds around it. Our infantry is suitable for defense. There are heavy armored infantry, and the thieves are unarmored on foot and cavalry. We also have two cannons, and ten thousand people can't be beaten without killing them.
Come down."
Wang Zenglu looked around and said, "We are not afraid of him even if we are surrounded. We have brought more than 300 stones of grain and more than 100 animals to kill. We will not be trapped to death in two or three months."
After hearing this, Mr. Hou quickly agreed, "This is the safest way. Once Premier Lu defeats the enemy, we will then cover up and kill him. We can expect another great victory."
Everyone nodded together. Everyone felt a little guilty about fighting the cavalry, but they were not afraid of defending behind the trench.
There are 1,500 people here, and 300 shi of food can usually be eaten for ten days. If you save it for 20 days, there are more than 100 horses and mules, each weighing 500 to 600 kilograms. After removing the internal organs, blood and water, you can even be hungry.
Even if you lose weight, you can eat for more than ten or twenty days.
Presumably, the rogue bandits don't have that much time to lay siege.
Therefore, for everyone in the garrison camp, it was the best choice to stay put and wait for Lu Xiangsheng and the bandits to decide the winner. No matter who won, they could save their lives.
"We lead troops to fight to win. As long as there is a possibility of victory, we must strive for it with all our strength."
Pang Yu stood up slowly. War was not his hobby. What he needed was to use his achievements to increase his credibility and keep his strength rising.
Staying where he is can preserve his strength, but there is no war premium for him.
The strength shown by Cao Cao was obviously better than that of his infantry in this type of harassment battle. However, as long as the garrison camp was in good position for a frontal battle, Cao Cao's cavalry was not strong, and it could even be said that there was nothing he could do against the garrison camp.
If he wanted to deal with Lu Xiangsheng, Pang Yu would have to attack Baijiaqiao. The entire battalion would move forward in formation, and they would have to give up all the food supplies. If the bandits couldn't take away the food, they would burn it. In short, there would be no more food and grass.
As long as Baijiaqiao is captured, Pang Yu can gain the initiative and threaten the entire right wing of the rogue bandits. Cooperating with Lu Xiangsheng, who is fighting head-on in the east of the city, to defeat the 200,000 rogue bandits in front of him. What a great achievement. From this, he can enter Lu Xiangsheng's vision and the emperor's vision.
.
If Lu Xiangsheng failed in the frontal battle, Pang Yu would have taken the initiative and was surrounded by an army of bandits at Baijiaqiao. He had no food yet and did not need to be surrounded by bandits. The whole camp would collapse that day, and almost no one would be able to escape. Taking the initiative
The attack was another desperate move, but the rewards were quite generous. Even without Lu Xiangsheng's factor, the money and food that could be captured after defeating the rogue bandits was a huge fortune.
Pang Yu turned to look at Mr. Bai, the blacksmith, "Take a few fast-running soldiers and a telescope, and go to the other side of the river before dawn to observe. The place where they are fighting should be in the east of the city. As long as you make sure that the officers and soldiers can be evenly matched with the rogue bandits,
, you should send someone back to report the news, and it is best to confirm whether Prime Minister Lu is leading the army."