After Jiang also informed Jia Da Jia Er of the news, the three of them packed up some things and went to wait outside the camp as scheduled. Xue Ziqin and Guo Linchong rode on the horses without saying a word. Seeing them coming, Xue Ziqin said to Jiang Ye, "Get on the horse."
Jiang was also a little puzzled. There were only five of them in front of him. Could it be that Xue Ziqin planned to support Qin Guan with the power of five? He wanted to ask, but he didn't dare to ask more, but it was Jia Da, who bowed to Xue Ziqin with a solemn face and said, "I don't know if General Xue remembers us, my two brothers, Jia Da and Jia Er, are from Qinguan. I am willing to go with the general to support!"
Xue Ziqin glanced at him: "Well, get on the horse and go."
"Yes!"
The night was dark, and all the people in the barracks were sleeping except for the night watchmen. Xue Ziqin and Guo Linchong were in front, Jia Da, Jia Er and Jiang Ye were behind them. They rode their horses out of Hanzhou City and went straight to Yanhangu.
A few days ago, Xue Ziqin tortured Jiang Ye every day, and asked him to practice riding. At this time, Min Qiu's war horse was under his crotch. torment. A group of five people galloped through the night, and in the empty Yanhang Valley, the sound of horse hooves reverberated. Jiang also rode the horse and looked at Xue Ziqin's back from time to time. He always felt that there was something he forgot to explain, except for Wei Lin's side.
He didn't say anything to Wei Lin until he left Hanzhou City.
Jia Da Jia Er said goodbye to Wei Lin, and said aloud that Wei Lin should take care of his injuries, but he said nothing.
It was not until they reached the central area of Yanhangu that Jiang also vaguely looked at someone not far ahead, and there were still many people.
Xue Ziqin's speed was very fast. Not long after Jiang Ye saw someone in front of him, Xue Ziqin pulled the reins ruthlessly, Bai Liu raised his front hoofs, and his high neigh resounded through the night sky. Walk slowly towards the crowd.
As it approached, Jiang also saw clearly that there were only a lot of people in the open space in Yanhang Valley in front of him, but there were clearly hundreds of people. And they were all riding on war horses, and after walking in, they could hear the sound of the armor on their bodies rubbing with the movement.
Xue Ziqin drove the horse to the front of the crowd, Guo Linchong and Jiang also stopped on either side of him, and Jia Da Jia Er followed behind. The leader of the other party saw Xue Ziqin, followed by the moonlight, and Jiang also saw him bowing his hands respectfully in front of him, his voice full of energy, and said, "General!"
The people behind him followed, shouting out the word "General" in unison. The voice was a bit terrifyingly loud in the silent night, and the most terrifying thing was the momentum contained in the voice. Jiang couldn't tell why, but he could vaguely sense that the group of people in front of him were probably all good soldiers.
Xue Ziqin nodded and got off the horse.
Seeing this, Jiang also quickly dismounted.
The leader also dismounted and walked in front of Xue Ziqin. I only heard Xue Ziqin say in a deep voice: "Zhou Xiao, you come first, and Jiang Ye, Guo Linchong, the three of you come with me."
"Yes."
Xue Ziqin took the three of them to the side, keeping a little distance from them. Jiang was also a little concerned about these people, so he paid some attention to them, only to see the four of them walk away, but everyone remained motionless, sitting on horseback one by one.
Well-trained, that's about it.
Xue Ziqin sat on the ground, and the other three also sat down. He took out a piece of parchment from his arms and laid it flat on the ground. Xue Ziqin took out the fire book from his arms, and Guo Linchong knowingly took the small torch he was carrying. Come out and let Xue Ziqin order it. The firelight immediately illuminated the parchment on the ground, and Jiang could see it clearly. It was a map, and it was a map of Xuan Sui and Sui. And Xuan Guo is a hundred times more detailed.
Then Xue Ziqin took the torch, approached the map, pointed to the lines on the map with the other hand, and said, "We are now in Yanhangu. According to reports, they should have entered Qinguan. Look here, this place is all from Wuqu. The plain, the terrain is high in the north and low in the south, sloping, without any obstructions. And this side is close to the Sui country, it is more reasonable to camp here, so that the Sui country can provide timely support."
After Xue Ziqin finished saying this, he looked up at the expressions of the three of them. They were all staring at the map, and he continued to say: "The nearest way is to go through the border along Yan Hangu, but if you go there directly, It will definitely be discovered by the scouts of Sui Kingdom, five hundred people will be of little use in the frontal battlefield, and they may even be attacked at the border first."
The man named Zhou Xiao followed Xue Ziqin's hand and kept looking at the map. Going from Yanhangu to Qinguan, Xuansui and Sui are close to each other, and it is impossible to pass silently. Zhou Xiao bit the nail of his right thumb, as if thinking about something. At this time, Jiang was also thinking, but he had no concept of these at all. He could understand the city and mountains marked on the map. If he saw the terrain on this small map, he could do nothing.
Zhou Xiao thought for a moment, then raised his head and looked at Xue Ziqin. Xue Ziqin was also looking at him, as if waiting for his opinion. I only heard Zhou Xiao say: "In the current situation, it is too difficult to find another way. In my humble opinion, it is better to pass through Yanzhou and go straight to the hinterland of Shangzhou." He said, drawing a route on the map with two fingers, " Then out of the city from the side of Shangzhou, the general’s analysis just now makes a lot of sense, this is the best choice for them to set up camp, if so, although we have taken a long detour, we can directly attack the camp from the flank.”
Xue Ziqin frowned and asked, "But if you enter the hinterland of Shangzhou from Yanzhou, it will take at least three days longer than the border."
"General's calculation, if the northern army transfers troops to Qinguan, it will be at least half a month, and as many as 20 days, let alone a large army marching, the time will be even slower. We only have five hundred people, and we will go out at night and night. Set off, you can pass through Shangzhou within ten days.”
"Ten days?" Xue Ziqin was a little puzzled.
Zhou Xiao smiled, reflecting the firelight, Jiang also looked up at Zhou Xiao's face, wanting to hear him continue. Although I don't know who this Zhou Xiao is, but after listening to his analysis, I'm afraid he is not an ordinary person. He wanted to ask what the origin of this Zhou Xiao was, but without Wei Lin by his side, Jiang also didn't know who to ask.
After only a few hours of separation, he started to get used to it.
"General, don't forget, the thousand brothers borrowed are all the general's personal soldiers. They have been fighting for more than ten years in the south and north, and they travel 800 miles a day, so it's not a problem."
Xue Ziqin nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, as long as we can leave the country from the side of Shangzhou, then we can have a good time with the barbarians in Wuqu."
After deciding on the marching route, Xue Ziqin put away the map, handed over the torch to Guo Linchong again, and returned to the front of the crowd. Xue Ziqin ordered the march, only to meet the five hundred people in front of him, without wasting any time and without any extra action, he lit the torches one after another. There were two of them, before Xue Ziqin could speak, but Zhou Xiao whispered in his ear as if he had ordered something, so they took the lead in the direction of the target.
Xue Ziqin got on his horse and shouted, "Let's go!" Then he waved his whip and ran out, followed by Guo Linchong and Zhou Xiao, Jiang Ye and Jia Da Jia Er followed in this group of well-trained elite soldiers , move forward together.
Xue Ziqin's lead was not fast, and the team did not stretch very long. The torches in the hands of the elite soldiers illuminated both sides of the avenue. Jiang was also on horseback, and he was also moving forward with concentration. Even Jia Da Jia Er, two people who were usually out of shape, were also infected by this atmosphere at this time. With a serious expression, he only cares about driving the horse, and he is not in the mood to even chat.
Jiang also looked back to see that they were so serious, and said in his heart that, for Jia Da Jia Er, Qin Guan was his hometown, sacred and inviolable.
More than 500 people went out day and night, marching very fast, and hardly did any superfluous things. Apart from finding a place to rest, eat and sleep during the day, there is only one thing to do when it gets dark, march. Everyone prepared dry food in their carry-on bags, including Jiang Ye, who also had a memory, and brought a lot of dry food in their bags.
The dry food was unpalatable, and the cured meat was unpalatable, but no one complained.
At first, he felt that it was hard to endure in the military camp, but with these elite soldiers this time, Jiang also suddenly understood what the chilling air of a soldier was and what an iron-blooded general was. Although he had not seen it with his own eyes, he was certain that he For the enemy, they are absolutely like this now, only obedience, only offensive momentum.
After ten days of military march, as Zhou Xiao had said beforehand, he had already reached the border of Shangzhou.
Along the way, Jiang also figured out a lot of things, such as the two who set off first were scouts. They inquired about the situation in front, and they would rush back after a while, and there were not only two scouts, but two others who took turns with them. It is precisely because of their hard work that the road to the battlefield is unobstructed, bypassing the city all the way, avoiding the places where other carriages and horses pass, and only passing through the desolate wilderness, saving time to the greatest extent.
During the march every day, Jiang also thinks of Wei Linlai.
I don't know how he is now, whether the injury is more than half healed. After two months of getting along day and night, Wei Lin has become his close brother, and he is worried when he does not see him for a day.
Shangzhou border.
Xue Ziqin had five hundred troops stationed at the border and rested for a whole day, but the scouts did not get to rest. Five hundred people, although the target is much smaller than the army, it is far less flexible than one or two people. After the scouts arrived at the border, they were sent out by Xue Ziqin to inquire, especially where the other party was camping and arranging troops. There were also more than ten people who did not rest. They were sent by Xue Ziqin to the neighboring Yuzhou to purchase food supplies. Of course, it was Xue Ziqin who provided the money.
The purpose of this cavalry is very clear, that is, to disrupt the enemy's camp and attack the flanks and small groups of men.
Along the way, you can constantly hear news from the Qinguan War. The battle of Qinguan, the urgency of the situation, is already urgent. Wei Yuanting had ordered the army to withdraw, leaving only the generals of Qin Guan and the 2,000 remnants to fight against it, and instead focused on defending the hinterland of Shangzhou. Of course Xue Ziqin knew his intentions, but he was just waiting for Xue Changfeng to come over to clean up the mess.
The scouts went out for three people, and one person came back first, and this person brought back a lot of news.
"General!" After the scout came back, he went to report to Xue Ziqin before he could rest for a while, "The campsite of Suiguo and Wuqu is as the general expected, but Wuqu has a large number of people and the camp is very large, with four camps in each of the east, west, north and south. Surrounding the camp in the middle, it looks like an iron barrel, and the people of Sui Kingdom seem to be stationed on the border of other countries, and they are not with the people of Wuqu."
"How many people can you find Wuqu?"
"What my subordinates have inquired about is that there are 5,000 troops. At present, about half of the people in Qinguan are still fighting against General Wei. According to observation in the military camp, there may be about 3,000 people."
Hearing this number, Xue Ziqin's face became even gloomier. Zhou Xiao started to bite his nails again, Jiang was watching not far away, but couldn't hear the specific content, but seeing Zhou Xiao's performance, it was estimated that something was wrong. After several days of observation, he had already discovered Zhou Xiao's little habit. Once he was thinking, he would start to bite the nails of his thumb.
Xue Ziqin had previously estimated that Wuqu's troops should be slightly smaller than Sui Kingdom, because Wuqu was originally a nomadic barbarian, and there were not many people in the entire clan. But if he is really judged correctly, then there will be more than ten thousand people. If Wei Yuanting did not move his troops now, it would be a lie to fight against 10,000 people with only 500 people.
"You go to rest first." Xue Ziqin said, and then asked Zhou Xiao, "What do you think?"
"Well..." Zhou Xiao thought for a while, "The general is worried. The combined forces of the two sides may exceed 10,000 people, but I think there is a problem in this."
"Oh?"
"It is reasonable to say that Wuqu cooperated with Sui Kingdom to attack Qinguan. Once Qinguan is completely occupied, it will bring huge benefits to the Wuqu clan, but it is not so important for Sui Kingdom."
After Xue Ziqin heard the words, he thought for a moment and said, "Go on."
"Qinguan is not a fertile land, and its geographical location is not as useful as Yanzhou, especially Shangzhou, which is huge. If you want to get it all in your pocket, it's just a dream. Starting from Shangzhou is really the best strategy. General Sui, what do you want in this war?"
"Naturally, it is to ask for land reparations, and then step by step to nibble at Yanzhou." Xue Ziqin said, and as soon as he said this, he wanted to understand the general idea, "You mean, Wuqu is a large number of people, and Sui country just wants to borrow money. Potential robbery?"
"It's possible." Zhou Xiao said, "Wuqu is a group of barbarians on the grassland, but they are strong in combat. They all grew up on horseback, and they are good at riding and shooting, but even so, Wuqu gathered 5,000 people and horses. , I'm afraid he's also doing his best. Wuqu did his best, only because Sui Guo didn't plan to do anything to help."
Zhou Xiao said, looked at Xue Ziqin, and finally came to a conclusion: "Sui Kingdom will only send 2,000 people at most, and it should be on the sidelines. Qu, how can I be afraid when I declare that the country is a big country
Xue Ziqin nodded, he thought about it again, and said, "Then Hanzhou City, is Suiguo planning to abandon it? This is unreasonable." As soon as he finished speaking, he realized that something was wrong. Zhou Xiao nodded at him: "They are afraid of the general's garrison in Hanzhou City, and dare not start a war at will. It should be true, but if they know that the general is not in the camp, they are likely to attack. Even if they don't, if Qinguan is completely lost, Wuqu Invading the hinterland of Shangzhou, I am afraid that the court will also make peace and exchange Hanzhou for Qinguan."
"What's the benefit of doing this?" Xue Ziqin asked.
He couldn't understand why he had to go around like this, it was time-consuming and laborious, and he exchanged cities just to make peace.
Zhou Xiao had a serious expression and said, "If Xuan Guo seeks peace, it will be inevitable to repay the land."
Xue Ziqin immediately understood the meaning of it: "I am afraid that there are experts in Sui country who are pointing. Just convincing Wuqu to dispatch so many people, it is obvious."