If the army exceeds 10,000, it will be boundless; if the army exceeds 100,000, it will penetrate the earth and reach the sky.
The two armies of Shandong and Huainan combined totaled nearly 50,000 people. When such a team marched, the scene was really scary. If someone stood at the front of the team and looked back, they would see teams of officers and soldiers at a glance, and they would not be able to see the end.
The crowd of officers and soldiers was naturally very powerful, but it also made the march of the team much more troublesome. If there were only Shandong troops, there wouldn't be any problems under Sun Tu's many years of training. However, coupled with the Huainan Army, whose military discipline is not strict and their physical fitness is generally inferior, the situation of the entire team seems to be a bit chaotic. Often there is no tacit understanding between the front and rear teams, or the gap is too wide, or the rear team always collides with the front team, causing chaos and chaos, and the marching speed is completely slowed down.
This not only made the Shandong Army feel uncomfortable, but the Huainan Army also felt inferior and confused because of the comparison. After all, on one side there are high-spirited and elite troops, and on the other side there are some people who are showy and showy, and the gap between the two groups of officers and soldiers is also too great, which can easily make many generals of the Huainan Army feel jealous. .
However, under Peng Yongzhen's insistence, the two groups of officers and soldiers cooperated and marched slowly. As a result, after most of the day, the team had traveled less than thirty miles. Seeing that the sky was getting dark, it was almost impossible to move on.
It is only over two hundred miles from Jinling to Changzhou. If you ride a light horse, you can reach it in a day or two. But if we march slowly with tens of thousands of troops like now, I'm afraid we won't be able to arrive in seven or eight days. After understanding this, even Peng Yongzhen felt a little uneasy. If they delayed time and rushed to Changzhou and fell, they would be guilty.
So when the army stopped in front, he thought of discussing with Sun Tu to send an elite group forward to reach Changzhou as early as possible. But just when he came out of the camp gate and walked towards the Shandong Army camp not far away, he saw several people striding over there, and the person in front was Sun Tu.
"Sun Qianji, I have something to do with you. Come into the tent and talk quickly." Peng Yongzhen was overjoyed when he saw this. He hurriedly let Sun Tu into the camp, invited him into his tent, and then directly expressed his concerns and thoughts Tell them all.
"That's why I came here. After all, being delayed on the road like this is not the answer. We have to separate a group of people and hurry over. I just wonder, in Peng Qian's opinion, which side of us should send troops?" Sun Tu asked with a smile. road.
"Shandong soldiers are all brave and good at fighting. I believe that even if only a few thousand are sent, they will be able to reverse the war ahead, so I'd better ask Sun Qian to send his elite troops there." Peng Yongzhen was sincere and immediately suggested.
"In this case, I will naturally do my duty. In this way, tonight I will lead the five thousand elites under my command to rush through the night and rush to Changzhou as soon as possible. As for the other soldiers and horses, they will move forward with the Huainan Army. I only hope that Peng Qian will let you The soldiers and horses under your command can be more energetic and rush on the road, and don't procrastinate like today."
These words made Peng Yongzhen blush, but he couldn't argue with it. He could only vaguely agree, and then asked with concern: "Is Sun Qianji planning to lead the elite in an adventure himself?"
"It's a very important matter, and I don't dare to be careless in the slightest." Sun Tu replied meaningfully, then stood up and said: "The military situation is like a fire, so I won't delay. Later.
After my son had eaten, I led the army first, and Lao Pengqian would take care of the rest of the war. "
Peng Yongzhen agreed with some confusion, and until he sent Sun Tu out of the camp, he was still muttering in his heart, you rushed to the rescue first, why did you still let me worry about the war? However, he didn't think much about it. He just said that Sun Tu had said the wrong thing casually. He quickly called some of his generals to the tent and scolded them, telling them that they must not be as slack as they were today.
Not to mention that the Huainan Army wanted to correct the slack during the day, but the Shandong Army camp was in a state of solemnity at this time. Thousands of Qingzhou Army elites were eating their meals silently, while other comrades around them were helping them pick up the food. The food for the next few days was put into the small backpack that I carried with me. Everything was so quiet and orderly.
Seeing Sun Tu return, Dong Ping, Song Jiang and others quickly stepped forward and asked, "Qianji, did they see any flaws?"
Sun Tu smiled and said: "Then Peng Yongzhen also saw the problem of the slow march and thought that I was planning to go ahead to save Changzhou. Naturally, he was there."
"That's good." Song Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, and then persuaded: "Qian Ju, how about letting Director Dong return to his humble position and lead the army to Danyang on your behalf? After all, this matter violates military orders. If we pursue the investigation afterwards..."
At this time, Sun Tu, like other soldiers, took a dry biscuit and ate it with water. After swallowing a mouthful, he said: "I understand your thoughts, but Danyang is closely related. We must attack with all our strength. When it comes to attacking the Qingzhou Army, No one can match me in control, so I can only lead the team myself. Also, if I really want to pursue the case, I can withstand the pressure, but you can't."
After eating the entire dry biscuit in two or three mouthfuls, Sun Tucai clapped his hands and said, "Okay, what you have to do next is not much easier than mine. Maybe there is still a tough battle to be fought in Changzhou, plus Once we get there, we still need to deal with the Huainan Army. As long as we handle these two things well, your contribution will be no small feat."
Seeing that he had made up his mind, Song Jiang and the others couldn't hold on any longer, and they all crossed their hands and responded: "General, I will take the order. Please be careful along the way, Qianjia, and wish me victory with the flag!"
"Haha, of course I have to win, and of course I can win!" Sun Tu said, looking at the dark sky ahead: "I don't think even those rebels thought that I would suddenly attack Danyang! As long as the enemy is unprepared, , there is a 70% to 80% chance of winning!”
With the shouts of orders, the originally quiet Shandong military camp quickly began to boil. In less than half an hour, as soon as the front camp door opened, an army of 5,000 people roared out and quickly marched along the official road. The road headed south, and the marching speed was more than twice as fast as during the day.
Everyone in the Huainan Army who saw this scene couldn't stop admiring, and many people even felt ashamed. After all, their own army was too weak in comparison. On the other hand, some generals showed jealous expressions when they saw the hundreds of cavalry in front of the Shandong Army. They had never dreamed of having so many cavalry.
The Shandong Army, led by Sun Tu, moved quickly through the vast darkness, with undulating hills and hills on both sides of the road. Although it is autumn and winter, the trees in this area south of the Yangtze River have not completely withered. In addition, there is cover of night, so the mountains and forests in the distance are not clear.
It was difficult for anyone to figure out the situation in the area. Even if Sun Tu sent out hundreds of scouts for safety reasons, he couldn't really explore all the nearby woods.
At this time, in the woods ahead, there were actually several pairs of eyes observing the movements of this army. Some of them still had some doubts in their hearts: "How dare this army go on the road at night? They are so fast."
"I have inquired, and one of the reinforcements sent by Jinling this time is from Shandong Sun Tu. That army is quite famous now, so it must be them."
"The Shandong Army? They can pacify Liangshanbo in just one or two months. Their combat power is indeed impressive. The brothers in Changzhou may really be in trouble. We have to go back quickly and report this news. .”
"What about here? There are tens of thousands of officers and soldiers here..."
"We only need to leave two or three people here to follow. Their march today is no more than this. We can handle it." The leader quickly made a decision, and then led the two people to also march towards the starry night. Galloping away to the south - yes, they also had horses hidden in the woods, so they could maintain sufficient mobility.
Relying on their familiarity with the roads in the Jiangnan area, this group of riders took shortcuts and trails. Although they started later, their speed was much faster than that of Sun Tu's troops - after all, they were all fast horses, and Sun Tu's side was extremely large. Most of them could only travel on their own two feet, so naturally there was no comparison - so when the sky was dark, they had already reached the front of the Shandong Army, and sent this key information to the detailed operation point in a small town, and sent it by The people here then move to the next station by fast horse.
Neither Sun Tu, Zhu Meng, nor other generals would have thought that Fangla's rebels had now extended their tentacles, setting up more than ten detailed operations stations near Jinling and other places, and constantly transmitting intelligence from the front to the south. This is the reason why they have hesitated since taking over Suzhou two months ago. In order to achieve the final victory, this time the rebellion was much more prudent and smarter than imagined.
Just like this, the news was passed back and forth, and it only took two days for this information to reach Suzhou and be delivered to the hands of an elegant-looking and tall general. After listening to the report and reading the relevant intelligence content, a faint smile appeared on the corner of the man's mouth: "Sun Tu? This man is a famous general in the north, but I don't know that he is a northern tiger. How much ability does he still have when he arrives in our Jiangnan land? But from the current point of view, he is nothing more than that, and he has no idea that he has fallen into the calculation of our Jiangjun."
"What General Pang is saying is that no matter how famous Sun Tu is, he is still just an outsider in our Jiangnan. In addition, our Jiang Military Advisor has always been clever and clever, how can he be undefeated?" The subordinate next to him smiled and agreed: " Then can General Fang take action next?"
"It's almost the same. The officers and soldiers in Jinling should have moved to Changzhou and Wuxi. It's time for Brother Shifo to take the opportunity to take down Danyang. Even if Danyang asks for help and the Jinling army is mobilized, with Zhu Even if he is too courageous, he would not dare to transfer more troops to Danyang. Moreover, if he really dares to do this, it will be me, Pang Wanchun, who deserves this illustrious military achievement!" When he said this, a gleam flashed in the general's eyes. , in his opinion, the situation of the battle has been completely clear, and it is only a matter of time before his victory!