As soon as they saw the rightful master coming, everyone stood up and shouted in unison: "Greetings to the general (zhou shepherd)"
Wang Zheng waved his hand and motioned for everyone to take their seats: "This time we are going to aid Linhu City. You are all veteran generals on the battlefield. I am not too worried, but there may be a water battle on the Yangtze River later. Our sons are all young, and Xu's army will not be the same as in the past." When learning to fight on water, don't be careless."
At this point, he turned to look at Huang Zhong and said warmly with a smile: "Although Han Sheng joined our army not long ago, he is from Jingzhou. He was very knowledgeable about the Haizhou dockyard before. You can ask him for advice more often." Ask for advice, so as not to suffer a loss in experience when fighting the enemy."
As soon as he said this, the generals agreed with a bang, and Huang Zhong was even more moved. He felt that choosing to go to Xuzhou that day was the most correct choice in his life.
Since he joined the Heavenly Army, he has always been highly valued by the king. Finally, a hero has a role to play, and he feels that every day has been lived happily and happily. Even though it has only been more than half a year, Huang Zhong feels that it is better than doing nothing. I don't know what happened in the first half of my life. I just felt that my chest was as hot as a fire burning.
"So good."
Wang Zheng smiled slightly and said: "Come here, bring up the map."
A soldier immediately came over with a large silk scroll. Wang Zheng pointed to the ship wall next to the divine sword and said, "Hang it here."
As soon as the scroll was opened, a map was revealed, which recorded the map of Yangzhou and part of Jingzhou's mountains, landforms, rivers and roads. Wang Zheng nodded slightly to Guo Jia, and Guo Jia stood up, took a few steps forward to the center, and immediately pointed The picture says: "Everyone, please take a look."
"Most of the rivers in Yangzhou belong to the Huaihe River system. Our army went south along the river. The city it just passed through should be Yicheng, so it has entered Jiujiang at this time."
Having said this, Guo Jia paused, looked at Wang Zheng and said, "Below Yicheng are Ping'a and Xiacai, and on the right are Dangtu and Xiquyang. This city just forms a barrier to the north of Shouchun. So, Lord..."
Wang Zheng understood what Guo Jia meant, waved his hand and said: "The opponent in this battle is Sun Ce, who is also a young hero and should not be underestimated. I have to sit in the front. When passing by Shouchun, I will ask you to go to the city on my behalf to meet Yuan Shu." "
Guo Jia nodded and continued: "According to the speed of our army's march in the past two days, which is more than two hundred miles per day, it will take about seven days to reach Hefei. It is already the early morning of May 23, so It will be early June before we can reach Hefei City."
"So long..." Wang Zheng frowned slightly when he heard this: "It will take about two or three days to return to Hefei by land and then to Linhu. Our friendly forces are eagerly waiting for reinforcements day and night. At this speed, things will be delayed. ?”
All the generals understood what Wang Zheng meant and couldn't help but sigh in silence.
You must know that before the Xuzhou Army set off, Sun Ce's army had already begun to attack Pinghu. Now it has been more than half a month. If it is delayed for such a long time, can the defender Chen Lan survive until that time?
At this time, a general suddenly stood up, and everyone looked around, and it was none other than Chen Jiao, the current leader of the Xuzhou Navy.
But Chen Jiao bowed and bowed first, and then said: "Zhou Mu, there is a way, which may save some time."
Wang Zheng raised his head and glanced at Chen Jiao, nodded, and motioned for him to continue speaking.
"I asked the brother who was at the helm, and he said that the wind direction has been very gentle these days. When the wind is smooth and the water is smooth, although a large ship such as Zhou Mu's ship cannot speed up much, a tender boat can travel four times every hour.
Ten miles.”
A dinghy boat is a small cargo ship from the Han Dynasty. It has a single sail and is heavy and easy to handle.
"Forty miles per hour, that means nearly five hundred miles per day?" Wang Zheng immediately understood what Chen Jiao meant and asked immediately: "How many stern boats did we bring with us this time?"
Huang Zhong immediately stood up: "My lord, there are about thirty ships."
"That's enough." Chen Jiao said with a smile: "Zhou Mu, one dinghy boat can carry more than a hundred people. The general thought that it would be better to detach 3,000 leading soldiers and set off first, and then the rear troops would follow closely.
Solving Linhu City’s urgent needs.”
"Traveling five hundred miles a day...that means we can reach Hefei City in three days."
Wang Zheng nodded and looked at Chen Jiao with admiration: "When I first met Xiaowei Chen in Xi'an County, I thought you were very meticulous, but I didn't expect you to be so careful. You didn't realize it.
I have found out all these subtle things clearly."
It was rare for Wang Zheng to express his affirmation. Chen Jiao was ecstatic in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He pretended to be humble like others and said: "The state pastor is so complimentary."
Huang Zhong and Guo Jia on the side were secretly surprised. What surprised them was another point. So Chen Jiao can be regarded as an old man who has followed Wang Zheng for a long time. Why doesn't the general seem to use him in a heavy way?
Not to mention the leader of the water army, it is just that Xuzhou currently lacks talents who can fight water wars. The election of Chen Jiao is to select generals from the dwarfs and learn from the strengths of others. Many people are well aware of this.
.
Although he was doubtful, Chen Jiao's idea was indeed a good one. Huang Zhong immediately agreed: "This is a clever plan by Colonel Chen, but there are still some imperfections in it."
"A stern boat can carry more than a hundred people... This is based on the situation that it only carries soldiers and no baggage. But if three thousand troops go first, how can the food and fodder keep up? Linhu City has been trapped for more than half a month.
, if we try to solve it in the city again, I'm afraid it will only add to the chaos."
The Heavenly Army is helping Yuan Shu quell the chaos this time. It is certain that Yuan Shu is in charge of food, grass, equipment, and even horses and military strategists. However, it is impossible for his family not to produce even a grain of rice. Even if Yuan Shu is willing to provide them all, Wang Zheng would not dare to agree!
Just kidding, if Yuan Shu had no good intentions and cut off the supply of food and grass at the critical moment, wouldn't his army that penetrated deep into other territories be in danger of overthrowing?
Therefore, what the two sides discussed before was that after Wang Zheng led his army to Linhu City and set up camp, Yuan Shu would send people to continuously deliver logistics. At the same time, he would even open a road to Xuzhou so that Zhang Zhao could also
Arrange grain and grass transportation.
Afterwards, the two parties will calculate the total, and the losses on Xuzhou's side will be replenished by Yuan Shu, either in grain, grass, cloth, or in gold and silver.
So this time, both Wang Zheng and Wu Sheng brought a lot of luggage with them.
Hearing Huang Zhong's words, Chen Jiao was startled. He had ignored this point and was racking his brains when he saw Wang Zheng in the chair smiled and said: "Han Sheng, this matter is not difficult."
"Soldiers always carry three days' worth of food with them. To be safe, they ask their sons to carry five days' worth of food with them. Although there is no food in Linhu now, Hefei is a prosperous city in the east of the Yangtze River, so food and grass supplies will definitely be safe.
, when Fengxiao went to Shouchun, he asked Yuan Shu to notify Hefei's general Xiang to help with supplies. Anyway, there are only 3,000 troops, which is not a lot. It is expected that there will be no trouble."
Guo Jia also nodded: "Three thousand soldiers and horses marching first does not necessarily require breaking the enemy's siege. As long as the defenders near the lake and Sun Ce's army know the news that our army is coming in the near future, the morale of the army will inevitably wax and wane.
It is expected that we can hold on until my army arrives in five days!"
Has Zhou Mu agreed to this plan?
Chen Jiao was overjoyed, and he immediately raised his head and asked for orders: "Zhou Muming has seen thousands of miles, and since this plan is feasible, the general is willing to take three thousand tigers to Linhu first!"
you go?
Wang Zheng glanced at Chen Jiao and thought of what Li Ren had said before. Although Sun Ce's general who was attacking Linhu at this time was not Sun Ce himself, he was also the famous Jiangdong Twelve Tigers Cheng Pu. He shook his head secretly and immediately smiled.
"Chen Jiao, you have returned from training in Beihai and are now a naval general under my command. Next, you have to consider the overall situation and learn more about Yangzhou's waterways. The position of pioneer is not suitable.
"
Wang Zhengdu said this. Although Chen Jiao was a little disappointed in his heart, he still said loudly: "Follow the order."
After letting him return to his seat, Wang Zheng immediately shouted: "Huang Zhong listens to the order!"
Hearing Wang Zheng call his name, Huang Zhong immediately stepped out of the queue, saluted and said: "The general is here."
"Han Sheng is brave enough to win the three armies, and he has great strategies. I can rest assured that you are the vanguard general. However, the enemy in this battle is far from being comparable to Beihai. Sun Ce has many powerful generals under his command, such as Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, Jiang Qin, etc.
You are the bravest tiger in the world, and the vanguard is just a partial force. This time, go ahead and be careful. If you encounter the enemy, you must not be reluctant to fight. The first thing is to help the defenders of Linhu. Do you understand?"
If Wang Zheng had said the last sentence directly, Huang Zhong would have accepted the order with awe, but the short words he said before reached Huang Zhong's ears, but aroused his competitive spirit, and he suddenly raised his head to look at Wang Zheng without answering.
Question: "I have heard someone say that the sword given to me by my lord that day was given to me by Sun Ce. Do you know whether this is true or not?"
After hearing this, Wang Zheng looked at Huang Zhong, and saw him puffing out his chest, raising his eyebrows, and suddenly showing a stern and high-spirited spirit. He was clearly aroused to fight. He was startled for a moment, and then laughed dumbly: "
This is true, what does Han Sheng want to do?"
"But the general doesn't believe what my lord said. How can there be so many brave tigers in the Jiangdong area?"
Huang Zhong replied loudly: "It's just that my lord has an order, and the general will not dare to disobey it. When he meets Sun Ce's men, he will not fight with them. But...hey, I heard that this little overlord has another magic weapon named
Overlord gun..."
When he said this, Huang Zhong's eyes were full of surging confidence, and he snorted coldly: "If Huang Tian has eyes, and I encounter this deity, I should pick it up and offer it to the Lord!"
Wang Zheng couldn't help but laugh and slapped the table with laughter: "What a Huang Hansheng, what a man to pick up and pick up!"
"Leaning down to pick up" means that with the effort of lowering your head and raising your head, you can pick it up anytime and anywhere. Facing a person like Sun Ce, it would be a bit arrogant for anyone to say such a thing, but if it were Huang Zhong...
Since time travel, except for Lu Bu, who he has never met yet, Huang Zhong, who is now about fifty years old, is indeed the best martial arts person Wang Zheng has ever seen. Even Zhang Fei from Yan is slightly inferior, but in his mind
Recalling Sun Ce's previous battle prowess in Kaiyang, and comparing the two, in Wang Zheng's view, Sun Ce was indeed not Huang Zhong's opponent if there was a battle between generals.
Unless the opponent has also made great progress in martial arts during this period...
But if you kill Sun Ce, then there will be no use for this general!
Thinking of this, Wang Zheng looked up to the sky and laughed: "Han Sheng, in this case, the so-called foreign emperor's orders will not be accepted. Anyway, the first thing is to help the war. How about you act expediently for the rest?"
"I heard that Cheng Pu's iron-spine snake spear is also a pretty good weapon."
Upon hearing this, Huang Zhong glanced at Wang Zheng, and also smiled and said: "General, I understand, since the lord also feels itchy, then Sun Ce will leave it to the lord."
"Ha ha."
...
When he returned to his ship, it was almost dawn. Then, under some orders, the mighty fleet began to change its formation. Then a group of fast ships appeared one after another around Huang Zhong, and then they accelerated together.
The team was much faster, but within a short while, they began to move away from the central building. Huang Zhong looked back and saw only a faint light behind him, but darkness ahead, and he couldn't help but nodded secretly.
At this rate, we will definitely be able to reach Hefei City within three or four days.
Until it gradually exited the section of the river from Yicheng to Xiacai, it turned several tributaries, and then entered a new river channel, which was the Qinghe River from Shouchun to Hefei.
Most of the rivers they had passed since starting out flowed from west to east, but this river flowed from north to south, which was really an anomaly.
However, others don't know it, but Huang Zhong knows that this canal was actually dug manually, which is really incredible.
"Huainanzi" said: "Sun Shu'ao made water from Qisi and poured it into the fields of Yulou. King Zhuang knew that he could be his commander."
In the ninth year of King Zhuang of Chu, Sun Shuao presided over the construction of the earliest large-scale water diversion irrigation project in the Celestial Dynasty - the Qisiyunlou Irrigation District. On the east bank of the Shi River, Shi Zuitou was dug to divert water to the north, which was called Qing River. A canal was also opened on the east bank of the lower reaches of the Shi River.
Diverting water to the east is called Kan River. These two water diversion canals were used to irrigate the land between Shi River and Quan River, and an artificial lake was formed, named Shaopi, also known as Anfengtang, which existed until the Tang Dynasty.
Thousands of hectares of fields could be irrigated, but then they withered away. It was not until great men were born and the founding of the country that the fields were renovated and revitalized to nourish the country.
After watching for a while, Huang Zhong sat on the edge of the boat and took a nap. I don't know how long it took, but he felt someone pushing him gently. When he opened his eyes, he only felt that his eyes were dim.
The sun sets and sets again.
At this time, the northeast wind was blowing, and dozens of speedboats around were sailing at full sail, and they were sailing very fast. Huang Zhong looked at it and asked, "Guo Lu, how many more days will it take to arrive?"
Guo Ludao: "General, this time the wind is smooth and the ship is traveling very fast. At this speed, we will reach Hefei City tomorrow evening."
Two days left?
Huang Zhong nodded, then patted Guo Lu on the shoulder: "Let the brothers have a good rest these two days. When we arrive in Hefei, we have to march quickly to Linhu, and then we will fight the enemy. I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep.
Gotta sleep."
"yes!"
Just as the two were saying this, another guard suddenly ran over: "General, the two small boats that just explored the road have not returned yet."
These two dozen boats were traveling on the river, and the front was better. From the moment they entered Qinghe River, they were within the enemy's sight. Huang Zhong did not dare to be careless, so he sent a dozen of them to take turns driving two small speedboats to explore the front.
The road is operated in shifts every day to serve as a sentry ship.
"You haven't come back yet?" Huang Zhong frowned: "When were you sent out?"
"Two hours ago."
This time is not too long. It is impossible for the whole army to be slowed down because of this trivial matter. Then there is really a lot of soldiers. Huang Zhong thought for a while and said: "Send two more small boats to the front to have a look. The whole army will still be in the same position as before."
Move forward quickly. Maybe their boat got tangled in some aquatic plants."
As spring passes and summer solstice, all things grow, and the aquatic plants under the river are naturally lush. Large-scale building boats are naturally no problem, but these small boats will be affected, not to mention smaller sentry boats. If they are entangled in aquatic plants, it will be a headache. Guo
Lu agreed and went to arrange the manpower.
The sun was setting in the west, and the floating clouds were dyed red. Huang Zhong was looking at the sky with his hands behind his hands when he suddenly heard a sound of water birds chirping from ahead.
Looking as far as the eye could see, hundreds of black spots were seen flying in the distance, but a group of water birds passed over the fleet's head, and then fell into the water one after another.
Most of the soldiers around him were from the north, and they rarely saw such scenery. They couldn't help but point and discuss. Huang Zhong didn't pay attention at first. He just glanced at it casually, and then looked around for the movement.
Until a soldier casually said, "This is the first time I have seen so many birds in my life." He suddenly stood up and stamped his feet!
Yes, this amount is quite...
Too much!
Huang Zhong's heart skipped a beat, as if he was being burned by fire, and he immediately shouted loudly: "Guo Lu!"
Guo Lu heard the sound and ran over: "General, what's wrong?"
Huang Zhong looked at Guo Lu and asked, "Have the four re-sent out already set off?"
"We haven't set off yet, General, what's the matter?"
"Did you see that group of waterfowl just now?" Huang Zhong pointed to the sky in front of him: "They were shocked and changed their habitat!"
"Ah?" Guo Lu was stunned: "General, what you mean is that he was startled by our previous sentinel ship?"
"Four people, two small boats..." Huang Zhong shook his head and his face darkened: "There is no way that such a number of waterfowl can be frightened!"
"The general means..."
Huang Zhong shook his head: "Immediately send out a signal to remind other ships to be careful of changes ahead!"
"Here!"
Guo Lu turned around and ran back. Another soldier also poked his head in and asked, "General, do you think there will be an ambush ahead?"
Huang Zhong did not answer, but added: "You also immediately inform the soldiers to lower the sails and slow down the oars. If we slow down, other ships will slow down, and let the archers be ready!"
"
Soon after, all sails began to lower their sails, and the ship's speed was immediately reduced to about half. At this time, the river was still divided into three major rows, with Huang Zhong's boat in the middle and forward, and the others were arranged to the left and right, slightly behind, forming a slight arrow shape.
At this time Guo Lu came over again and said: "General, the orders have gone down."
Huang Zhong looked at the river, nodded and said: "Okay, let everyone prepare their weapons, pay attention to the front, and let the boat go to the front to explore the road immediately."
"General, is there really an ambush?"
"I don't know." Huang Zhong looked at the two small boats in front of him calmly: "As a pioneer, I can't make mistakes, lest I go unfavorable in the first battle and live up to my lord's trust!"
"It's not a bad thing to be careful anyway."
Just when he said the last words, something strange happened suddenly!