From Jingdao, cross Chaotiandang and go north, take the post road in the east of Tangyi County and go all the way north to Shanyang County, about four hundred miles.
Ignoring Shen Rong's objections, Lin Fu personally led two thousand cavalry on June 12, borrowing a road from the east of Tangyi County, entering Weiyang Mansion, and then went north along the east bank of Baisha River, crossing Baisha County, Gaoyou County, and Jin Dynasty. Hu County, and arrived in Shanyang County, Huai'an Prefecture four days later.
It’s the middle of June and it’s hot weather. If you hit an egg on a stone under the sun, it will be cooked sizzlingly. Marching four hundred miles in four days, such a high-intensity march will be a test for both men and horses.
In order to reduce the consumption of military horses, when marching, everyone leads the horse and riding is strictly prohibited. When camping, they have to take care of the horses, which is extremely difficult. Not only the generals of the riding camp represented by Zhou Pu must set an example and march on foot. Okay, even Lin Fu and his retinue were wearing heavy armor and leading their horses away.
Along the way, the only people who could ride horses were the scouts accompanying the army.
In this world, poverty has never been a problem but inequality. Generals can set an example. For ordinary generals, no matter how difficult things are, they are not difficult. Just treat it as a march and train all the way to Shanyang. People are tired. The horses were tired, but morale was lifted, and there were no complaints in the army.
The Jinhai and the two Jiyun-class warships first escorted the female relatives back to Chongzhou. More than 140 members of the military cadet team, including Zhang Gou, Zhang Jiheng, and Han Caizhi, also participated in this high-intensity battle. march.
The members of the study team are even harder. In addition to participating in the march, camping and taking care of the horses, they also have to survey the terrain along the way as a normal training subject. The members of the student team are all military attachés, and a considerable number of them were retired generals from the civilian army. Their physical fitness They are all very good, but after going all this way, they feel like they are too much.
After arriving in Shanyang County, the cavalry camp rested on the spot. The student team also had to cross the Huaibei River to Siyang to survey the topography of Shanyang Bay from Shanyangkou to Shuyangkou. Shanyang Bay is the most important section after the Huai River flows out of Zepu. Regarding the terrain, the Huaidong Army Division built two military fortresses, Siyang and Shuyang, at both ends of Shanyang Bay. They used the terrain of Shanyang Bay to conduct various tactical deductions of infantry, cavalry, and water camps. This was the key to the mid-term training of the study team. Main training subjects.
The student team's activities were relatively independent, and they stayed in Huaisi for more than half a month. Later, they went to survey the terrain near Yuntiyun, and even took a trip to the sea. In the bumpy wind and waves, they walked close to the sea to Jiaozhou Bay, which was vast and boundless. The rotten yellow water, the turbulent waves that rocked the shore, and the fleet of ships that covered the sky and closed the sun all told Zhang Gou how vast the world outside was.
It was not until early July that Zhang Gou returned to Shuyang with the student team.
Looking at the mighty Huaihe River in Shanyang Bay, Zhang Gou, who was standing on the embankment on the north bank of the Huaihe River, was filled with excitement: Just over a year ago, Huangjue's rebel army swept across Huaibei. He followed Gan Ye and his troops to attack Yunti Pass and also passed by here. .At that time, the Huai River was just a turbid and mighty water. I thought I was resourceful, had strong soldiers and horses under my command, and had the ambition to conquer the world. Now that I think about it, how ridiculous I was at that time, how I was sitting in a well and looking at the sky!
"Ta-ta-ta", Zhang Gou looked back when he heard the sound of horse hoofbeats, and saw Chen Zhi leading a horse.
"I heard that the cavalry crossed the Huaihe River and entered Siyang. Do you know?" Chen Zhi came over and asked in a low voice.
Zhang Gou nodded and sat down on the mud embankment.
"Is it possible to attack the eldest lady?" Chen Zhi asked.
Zhang Gou shook his head and said, "I don't know, maybe not!" Although he guessed this, he didn't have any confidence in his heart.
The student team has been concentrated in the Shuyang area during this period and is not clear about the military situation in Huai'an. Zhang Gou only learned about the riding camp crossing Huaihe yesterday.
They are no longer the generals of the refugee army who sat in a well and watched the sky a year ago. They know how big the gap is between the so-called elite soldiers in the refugee army and the real elites who have fought in hundreds of battles.
In the battle of Yanling, Chen Zhihu's troops only had more than 10,000 elite troops, and they killed more than 20,000 Hu Lao's four troops who were trying to break out of the encirclement from Yanling.
They had no contact with Chen Zhihu's department, so they could not appreciate the strength of Chen Zhihu's hundreds of battles.
But the Huaidong Army, what they have seen, contacted, and learned over the past year has allowed them to come into contact with the true essence of the Huaidong Army, and naturally they know the elite of the Huaidong Army.
Of the two thousand cavalrymen who followed Lin Fu north this time, there were 400 heavily armored cavalry and the rest were lightly armored cavalry. The generals could lead their horses hundreds of miles a day in the scorching heat of Dog Day, as long as these two thousand cavalrymen entered the west bank of Bian River.
, weaving in and out, I am afraid that except for a few cities, there will be no place for the rebels to stay in the wild.
In Siyang, in addition to the 2,000 elite Huaidong Cavalry Battalion, there are nearly 5,000 elite infantrymen from the Fengli Infantry Battalion, and more than 2,000 naval troops from the Jinghai Third Water Battalion are stationed in Siyang.
If Lin Fu had transferred his main force from Siyang, crossed the Bianshui River to the west, and attacked the Red Coat Girl with Chen Zhihu, the Red Coat Girl would either flee west in panic or be trapped in Huaiyang City. It is hard to imagine that she would have any chance of victory in the field.
We must also consider that the three armies of Sun and Han in Xuzhou and the Changhuai Army stationed in Haosi are far more elite officers and soldiers than the rebels.
Zhang Gou frowned, feeling worried and puzzled.
Chen Zhi bit his lip and said, "You say you can't, but in your heart you know that the cavalry is going to cross the Bianshui River, right?"
"I don't know, maybe, maybe not," Zhang Gou said, struggling in his heart. "Even if the cavalry wants to cross the Bian River, the commander will not ignore Gan Ye's attitude. The cavalry crossing the Huaihe River may just be a warning to Gan.
Don't act rashly! Even if we really want to attack the eldest lady here, what can you and I do?"
Chen Zhi sat down on the ground with a depressed look on his face. He didn't know when he was attracted to Huaidong, just as he had sworn never to betray Mr. Gan and the kindness of An Shuai. At this time, even if he didn't consider living in Chongzhou
His family also found it very difficult for him to escape and go to Touzhanye.
Chen Zhi also wanted to imitate Zhang Gou and learn water fighting. At worst, he would avoid Master Gan and the eldest lady in the future, or else they would not help each other. Chen Zhi had this idea in mind, but he knew that the main force of the Huaidong Cavalry Battalion was crossing the Huaibei, and it was very likely that he would fight with Chen Zhihu
The troops gathered together to attack the eldest lady, but he was still furious and uneasy.
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves like a rainstorm came from a distance. Zhang Gou stood up and saw a group of cavalry galloping along the causeway.
Zhang Gou and Chen Zhi led their horses down the embankment to make way. When the cavalry approached, they saw Lin Fu, wearing green armor, leading the horse. There were also Cao Zi'ang, the marching Zuo Si Army, and Ning Zechen, the commander of the Infantry Zuo Army.
Accompanied by someone.
Zhang Gou was a little worried. He was having a private meeting with Chen Zhi here, and he was afraid of what Lin Fu, Cao Zi'ang and others would think when they saw it.
When Lin Fu saw Zhang Gou and Chen Zhi here, he reined in the reins and said, "The sun is setting, and the scenery of Shanyang Bay is just right! You guys are so leisurely!" He then said to Cao Zi'ang, "Zi'ang, you and
Zechen will go to Shuyang Village first, and I will also stay to see the sunset at Shanyang Bay."
Cao Ziang and Ning Zechen went to Siyang Village first.
Lin Fu handed the horse to his entourage and took it aside. He sat down on the mud embankment and waved to Zhang Gou. Chen Zhi, without being too polite, pointed to the mud embankment beside him, asked them to sit down, and asked, "Who are you?"
Aren't you worried that the Huaidong Army will cross the Bianshui River to attack Liu Miaozhen? Are you making things difficult for you?"
Chen Zhi had a straightforward temper, and when he was told what he was thinking, his face showed it with a blank look on his face, and he remained silent.
Zhang Gou said: "The last general and Chen Zhi discussed the situation in Huaiyang, but they didn't make things difficult. After joining Huaidong, my body and mind were cleansed. I only felt that the sins in the past were heavy, but I did not abandon them. Chen Zhi and I were deeply
With gratitude, I have long since made a clean break with the past."
"After you arrived in Huaidong, you read a lot of books and became more elegant in your speech. Chen Zhi is not as good as you. Can he recognize a hundred characters including his own name?" Lin Fu knew Zhang Zhi.
Although he didn't mean what he said, he didn't point it out and asked about Chen Zhi's attendance at the literacy class.
Chen Zhi scratched his head and said in a loud voice, "They do recognize me!"
Lin Fu smiled, turned around and asked directly, "What do you think of Yan Ran's battle?"
Chen Zhi's calm face became serious again, and Zhang Gou was caught off guard by the question. He didn't know how to answer to satisfy Lin Fu.
"If I can change the governments of Henan, the Central Plains, and the world from chaos to order, and the people can live and work in peace and contentment from now on, if thirty to fifty thousand people are to be killed, I will never show mercy," Lin Furong said, "If I kill so many
People, farmers still have no way to survive. They still have to carry hoes and sticks to rebel. No matter how many people are killed, what is the use? Huaidong will not participate in the war in Huaiyang, and there is no need to make things difficult for you.
It is already very difficult to survive in the Huaisi area. I transferred the cavalry camp to cross the Huaihe River in the hope that Sun Ganzi would live in peace and not cause any trouble to me."
"..." Zhang Gou had something stuck in his throat, but he couldn't spit it out.
"Some people rebel because they want to earn some wealth and glory. Some people rebel because they want a way to survive. If you don't rebel, you will die. It's better to rebel and find a way to survive. Some people do it because of their faith, and some people do it because of their faith.
They can't help themselves. There are also some people who take the world's justice on their own shoulders and want to fight for a world without cannibalism for all people in the world." Lin Fu asked, "Why did you two rebel in the first place?"
"..." Zhang Gou saw Lin Fu's eyes staring at him and Chen Zhi, as if he could see through people's hearts, and every word Lin Fu said was like a sledgehammer, hitting his heart.
Chen Ziweng said: "I have only one arm, and I can do the work of three or four people. I am still hungry every three days. How can this thief be punished by God? In the early years, bandits caused chaos, and I was recruited to work as a fortress.
Ding, I got six heads at one time, but when I reported my merits in the fort, it was someone else's head. When the bandits came again, I took the head of the fort to throw at the bandits. I made it into a flag head immediately, and I was determined to do it.
He was a bandit! Later he followed An Shuai."
Zhang Gou turned over and climbed up from the mud embankment, took a step back and knelt down, and said: "The last general was lonely when he was young. He lived in the border areas and was incorporated into a military household. He was often bullied by the generals in the forts. He hated this world in his heart.
They bullied the weak and did not give the poor a way to survive. In the early years, the fish tax in Puzi and the boat tax increased again and again, and several new tricks were introduced every year. There was no way to survive in the water village, let alone the fishermen below, so they simply raised the flag to rebel.
I want to break out and give everyone a way to survive, and teach those officials who are full of fish and meat a lesson. But this road is difficult, bumping into walls everywhere, bleeding heads, killing here and there, there is no way out, and people around me die one after another.
Then I became numb, and I felt irritable at the thought of being stained with blood... and I forgot why I came to rebel in the first place!"
"I often say to the generals and officials in Huaidong: What you eat, what you wear, what you wear, and what you receive as salary are all cultivated by the people, all woven by the people, all donated by the people, so you can only be loyal with red blood.
To repay. I said to them again: If you can't do this, and even bully and exploit the people as cattle, don't blame the people for gathering together, taking away their food from your mouths, and taking away their clothes.
Take back the stipends they donated, and even cut off your heads to rebel against you!" Lin Fu said slowly, "One of you hates injustice, the other hates exploitation, and hates that the world has not given enough money.
The poor have a way of living. Huaidong has no great ambitions. It just wants to do its best to help the people of the world earn a way to live. After you have been in Huaidong for a year, what you have seen, heard and seen, how could I have said anything to you?
Is there no place in Huaidong that can accommodate you two?"
Zhang Gou's heart felt as if he had been beaten hard, and he kowtowed and said: "Now that I have entered Huaidong, I will never have any second thoughts. I am willing to be a dog and a horse for you, and I will do so forever!"
Only then did Chen Zhi kneel down and kowtow, saying, "As long as I'm not allowed to fight the eldest lady or the pole master, I don't want to leave Huaidong!"
"Okay," Lin Fu patted his butt and stood up and said, "Zhang Gou, I know you are working hard to learn water warfare. I will transfer you to the Jinghai Second Water Battalion as the commander to join the army. Naval warfare is complicated, and you need to learn more.
Ask more. Chen Zhi, I will transfer you to the Chongzhou Infantry Camp to be a deputy camp general first. We will attack Daishan in the fall, leaving you little time to get familiar with your subordinates... You must remember what you said today, I only want you
Don’t live up to what you said today and just do it!”