Yuan Song took the initiative to ask Wang Junkuo for a tassel, "Beizhi is skilled in water and can cross the river. If there is an accident, Beizhi can also jump into the river and escape."
Wang Junkuo valued Yuan Song very much. After the grain ship was robbed, he was able to summon the defeated troops to join him. He also took the initiative to ask Ying to deliver a message to Jiangling. He was a courageous general. He nodded and handed over a letter and a package containing Li Qun's head.
He said, "You don't need to say anything, just hand over the letter and the head to Lu Zushang. You don't even need to go ashore."
"I humbly obey orders!"
Yuan Song took the letter and package, bowed, jumped on the sentinel boat, pointed to the river, and said, "Let's go!"
The long pole opened the warship, the sail was pulled up, and the hundred-stone warship sailed out of the river port and headed towards Jiangling County. Watching the warship go away, Wang Junkuo frowned slightly, wondering if Lu Zushang was willing to make an exchange.
At this time, there was a sound of footsteps behind him, and a soldier rushed forward to report: "General, His Royal Highness the King of Chu has ordered us to arrive!"
Wang Junkuo was overjoyed, "Where are the orders?"
Several soldiers came forward with a messenger soldier. The messenger soldier was originally going to Yiling to deliver a message, but he didn't expect to meet Wang Junkuo halfway. He was secretly grateful. He stepped forward and knelt down on one knee, "See General Wang!"
"
"Where is your highness's letter?" Wang Junkuo asked urgently.
The messenger soldier took out a letter from his arms and presented it with both hands. Wang Junkuo took the letter and quickly opened it. A soldier held up the torch. By the light of the fire, Wang Junkuo read it hastily. His eyes could not help but shine. King Chu personally led the five
An army of ten thousand marched towards Jiangling in a mighty manner, and he was ordered to send eight thousand cavalry troops to prepare to assist in the attack on Jiangling City. This news made him extremely looking forward to it.
.......
It doesn’t take long to get from the police to Jiangling City. At dawn, Yuan Song’s ship arrived at the water village of Jiangling City. The so-called water village is a piece of water on the riverside, surrounded by wooden piles, making it difficult for foreign ships to enter.
.And only water gate can pass through.
There were water sentry towers built on both sides of the water gate. As soon as the ship approached the water gate, it was spotted by the sentries. Several sentry ships flew out, and the leader, a Tang Army brigade commander, pointed at the warship with his sword. From afar, he shouted: "Stop!"
"
Yuan Song waved his hand, and more than a dozen of his men lowered the sails. The ship lost power and slowed down slowly. After a moment, it stopped in front of the sentinel ship of the Tang Army. Yuan Song walked onto the bow and shouted loudly: "I am the Sui Army."
Envoy, come to see General Lu on the orders of General Wang Junkuo!"
The brigade commander glanced at him, turned around and winked, and several sentry ships behind him came forward. The soldiers boarded the ship one after another and searched the ship carefully. All weapons and all dangerous objects were taken away, including those on them.
Searched carefully.
Then Yuan Song was taken on the sentinel boat and sailed towards the water stronghold. However, the Sui army's warships stayed outside the water stronghold and were not allowed to enter the water stronghold.
The sentinel ship was extremely fast, speeding along a waterway. Yuan Song silently looked at the water stronghold of the Tang Army. The water stronghold was about three miles wide and more than ten miles long. Hundreds of warships were densely moored along the river.
.
Suddenly, he saw the grain transport ship captured by the Tang army, parked neatly by the river, only a few hundred steps away from him. Yuan Song's eyes were sharp, and he found that the grain transport ship had a deep draft, and it should be that all the supplies carried on it were gone.
It hasn't been removed yet.
When Tang Jun saw him seeing the grain transport ship, they laughed together, "Yang Yuanqing is good! He knew we were short of food, so he sent food specially. It would be great if we could send some women. Even if she is a princess, we won't dislike it."
Several soldiers of the Tang army burst out laughing. Yuan Song became furious and shouted: "The Sui army is about to unify the world. Who knows? If you don't think about your own family and life, won't you be afraid of being punished by the Nine Tribes for tarnishing the princess?"
?”
His tone was so stern that several soldiers of the Tang Army realized something and were too frightened to say anything anymore. At this time, the brigade commander on the bow of the ship cursed: "You guys, stop your fucking farts, it will embarrass the Tang Army."
He glared at Yuan Song again and said, "This is the territory of the Tang Army. If you act recklessly again, I will kick you off the boat."
Yuan Song snorted coldly and ignored him with his hands folded. The sentinel boat arrived at the shore in a moment. Yuan Song got on the shore, pointed to the bamboo box containing the package, and took out a letter and handed it to the brigade commander, "I just came here."
Send the letter, there is nothing to say, just wait here."
The brigade commander didn't make things difficult for him, and ordered several of his men, "Watch him!"
The brigade commander carried the bamboo box and ran quickly towards the city. On top of the city, Lu Zushang had already seen the sentinel boat coming with the Sui army envoy.
In the past few days, Lu Zushang was also a little preoccupied. Intercepting the Sui army's grain ships was his job and his responsibility. No matter whether he was disappointed with the Tang Dynasty or not, as long as he served as the Tang army for one day, he had to fulfill his duties. It was impossible to intercept the Sui army's grain ships.
The ration ship was released.
But he did not expect that the grain ship incident would become the first battle of the Jingxiang War. General Chai Shao had led an army of 50,000 south and was about to arrive at Jiangling City. This made Lu Zushang feel somewhat depressed. He did not want Jiangling to become a place for a big war.
, but it seems that he has no choice.
At this time, the commander of the patrol brigade quickly ran to the top of the city, knelt down on one knee and reported, "General, an envoy from the Sui Army has arrived on Wang Junkuo's order and has brought this bamboo basket and a letter."
Lu Zushang took the letter and glanced at the bamboo basket again. He had an unpleasant feeling in his heart. Wang Junkuo was in Yiling, why did he come here? Is there something wrong with Gongan County?
Thinking of this, he turned around and ordered the soldiers on his left and right, "Open the basket!"
Several soldiers stepped forward and opened the basket. Inside was a cloth bag. When they opened the bag, several soldiers suddenly exclaimed, "It's a human head!"
A soldier suddenly recognized the head and shouted: "It's the head of General Li Qun."
Lu Zushang felt as if he had stepped in the air and his heart fell into an ice cave. As he expected, the Sui army had captured Gong'an County. He suppressed the anger in his heart and opened the letter and read it. The letter asked for an exchange with him.
Prisoners of war, 1,100 prisoners of war were exchanged for 200,000 loads of fodder, on the other side of the Yangtze River, before tonight.
Lu Zushang was speechless for a long time. This was a very troublesome thing for him. Should he change it or not? It was obvious that the Sui army's cavalry was short of forage and urgently needed horse materials. If he did not change it, it would definitely be a disaster for the Sui army's cavalry.
This was a blow, but in this way, Lu Zushang's reputation for being inconsiderate to the soldiers would spread. If he were replaced, although it would be good for his reputation, he was afraid that Li Xiaogong would cause trouble for him and accuse him of making decisions without authorization.
Lu Zushang was in a dilemma. He thought for a long time. Anyway, Chai Shao would be arriving soon. Let Chai Shao decide the matter. He immediately ordered: "Bring the Sui army envoy here."
After a moment, Yuan Song was brought up, but he did not salute and stood proudly. Lu Zushang glanced at him and snorted, "How dare you be so rude? Are you trying to redeem the life of the murdered General Li?"
Yuan Song sneered, "I'm not a civil servant, so I don't know how to behave like a civil official, but you ask me to behave like a military commander. Don't you think it's funny?"
"So you general, good! I respect you as a man. Tell General Wang Junkuo for me that although I am willing to exchange with him, I have no right to make a decision. I want to ask King Jing for instructions, so I will definitely not be able to reply today. At the latest
I will definitely have a reply the day after tomorrow, and I will ask him to wait for two days."
Yuan Song nodded, "I will definitely tell General Wang."
Lu Zushang waved his hand and said, "Send him away!"
The soldiers of the Tang Army took Yuan Song down to the city and escorted him out of the water village. Yuan Song got on his warship and immediately ordered: "Go back!"
The ship sailed towards the other shore, and after sailing a mile or two, Yuan Song suddenly called one of his men forward and gave him a few instructions in a low voice, which shocked his men, "General, is this okay?"
"I'm fine, just tell General Wang that I'm sure I will succeed."
Yuan Song explained a few more words, then slid off the boat quietly, disappearing silently into the water like a fish.
........
In the Sui army's tent, the returning soldiers reported their mission to Wang Junkuo. Wang Junkuo was so angry that he punched the table with his fist, "Without my order, he acted without permission. How brave he is!"
"
The two generals next to him looked at each other, and one of them stepped forward to persuade him: "General, please calm down. Lu Zushang said he wanted to ask Li Xiaogong for instructions. In fact, it was just an excuse. I guess he didn't want to exchange at all. Even if he asked for instructions, Li Xiaogong would not agree.
, it is also a good thing to simply let General Yuan make great achievements."
Another general also interceded: "In fact, General Yuan made a decision on the spur of the moment. If he came back and asked the general for instructions, he would probably lose the opportunity. Moreover, this Yuan Song has a very high temperament. Maybe he can really accomplish extraordinary feats."
"
After the two people persuaded him, Wang Junkuo's anger calmed down a little. He walked to the door of the tent, looked across the river, and thought to himself, 'I wonder what kind of extraordinary achievements this Yuan Song can perform for himself?'
.......
As night gradually fell, the water stronghold of the Tang Army was extremely quiet. There were only a dozen patrol boats patrolling back and forth around the water stronghold, and ships were not allowed to approach. However, the water stronghold was quiet, and there was not a single soldier.
At this time, a figure appeared under the water of the Sui army's grain transport ship. It was Yuan Song. He sneaked into the Tang army's water stronghold and had been hiding for a whole day. It was not until night fell that he came out of his hiding place and swam to the Sui army.
In front of the military ration ship.
The bow of each grain transport ship was numbered. Soon, Yuan Song found ship No. 65, quickly climbed aboard, hid in the dark and listened for a while. When there was no movement, he opened the deck and got in.
warehouse.
The warehouse was very dry, and bags of grain were neatly stacked like other ships. Yuan Song was extremely nervous. He knew that in addition to grain, there were some special items in ships No. 65 and 66.
I wonder if Tang Jun found out.
He found a knife and pried open the cabin door. There was another cabin on the other side of the partition. Hundreds of skin bags were neatly stacked inside. He breathed a sigh of relief. Tang Jun didn't notice the kerosene inside.
Overjoyed, he bit the knife in his mouth and started to act.
He moved bags of kerosene out of the cabin, but he felt worried. Each bag of kerosene weighed at least twenty kilograms. One or two bags would definitely not be enough, but he couldn't take away a few more bags. He thought for a moment, and felt something in his heart.
He found a way and slid off the ship again.
About a quarter of an hour later, a small sampan docked silently under the grain transport ship No. 65.