It has to be said that the Southern Tang Dynasty was really rich. A small town on the border could copy eighty or ninety thousand guan from the treasury and distribute it to each soldier, ranging from dozens to dozens of guan.

I was so happy that I couldn't see my teeth, so I found a place where the horns jingled and jingled to count the money.

Uncle Bing has always been a man who eats people without spitting out their bones. It is rare that he is willing to listen to Xu Xian's advice and leave a thousand guan in Guangzhou's treasury for daily expenses. Xu Xian told the Guangzhou governor that if the money is not enough, he can ask the temple "

By the way, according to the laws of the Zhou Kingdom, there is no need for so many temples in Guangzhou City.

The governor of Guangzhou understood immediately, and took advantage of this unattended period to raid all the temples in Guangzhou City. He didn't know how much money he got, and gave another 10,000 guan to Xu Xian.

He got a lot of money, but he couldn't go to war with so much money. He would be exhausted if he didn't wait until Huainan. Xu Xian asked the soldiers to select a few trustworthy people to carry them back to Kaifeng by carriage and horse, and then deposited them in a pawn shop.

Wait until the battle is over and you return to Kaifeng to pick it up.

A veteran oil man took the note written by Xu Xian and threatened him: "If you can't withdraw the money by then, don't blame me for risking your life."

Bai Yanyu kicked the veteran oil man to the ground, "Your life is only worth these ten thousand dollars. Xu Dianzhi has a fortune of tens of thousands. Without the lives of his brothers, these dozen dollars from you would be worth it."

Money, you really get it cheap and you still sell it well!"

"Old Bai, that's too much!" Xu Xian stretched out his hand to help the old veteran Youzi up. These are potential customers who can't look at each other with suspicion. "If this man can't trust Xu, you can escort the car back to Kaifeng and pick it up directly."

Take your own money and go home."

"I believe you are, but I won't go back. I'm going to follow Shouzhou. I heard that Shouzhou is a big city and the money in it must be much more than Guangzhou!"

"Fight Shouzhou! Fight Shouzhou!"

I don’t know who started it, but the people around me were shouting like they were getting chicken blood. They all said that power is the best aphrodisiac, and money is the best stimulant. It seems to be true, with only this little money.

Let them go up one by one.

After taking Guangzhou, Xu Xian immediately contacted the Chinese army. The next day, hundreds of cavalry came to take over Guangzhou. They also brought a warrant from Li Gu, which praised the two men and expressed that they would take over Guangzhou for him.

The two petitioned the imperial court for merit and ordered them to continue their efforts.

There was no need for Li Gu's encouragement. The soldiers with high morale dragged Xu Xian and Bai Yanyu out of Guangzhou that day, and more than 3,000 people crossed eastward and headed straight for Shouzhou.

The road ahead was not a smooth one. Thinking that the young people in Shouzhou had to cross the Huaihe River first, Xu Xian and Bai Yanyu led the people as soon as they arrived at the edge of the Huaihe River, they saw the pontoon bridge above the Huaihe River was already in flames.

Bai Yanyu was so angry that he cursed, "They knew we were coming and deliberately burned it for us to see."

"If you burn it, burn it. This small bridge is only for the people to travel. It can't accommodate the army at all. It will have to be rebuilt when the time comes." Xu Xian pointed to the other side, "It's just that there is a fortress somewhere. I'm afraid it will be difficult to build a bridge."

It’s not that easy.”

On the other side of the river, there is a fort built next to the river. It is estimated that the Tang army inside has just burned the pontoon bridge. Judging from the size of the fort, it should be able to accommodate two thousand people. Bai Yanyu shook his head and said: "If they intercept on the other side, don't

It's not easy to build a bridge or cross the river by boat, and I'm even more afraid that they will attack us halfway across the river."

Xu Xian chuckled and said, "It's not difficult to cross the river. Just send someone to find a boat."

At that moment, the cavalry divided into two sides and looked for boats along the Huaihe River. However, the other side seemed to have already prepared to collect all the boats. It took them a day to travel dozens of miles and just found more than fifty fishing boats. Well

, snatched it, but fortunately they still had some brains and even brought the boatman back with them.

The fishermen knelt on the ground crying and begging to be let back. Xu Xian immediately used his trump card and gave each of them five guan of money and told them that they would still have 5 guan after their work tomorrow.

Money can help people gain access to the gods, not to mention the hardships of living on the river. Haha, ten dollars may be their income for a year or two. At that moment, they all clapped their chests loudly and promised to obey orders tomorrow.

Bai Yanyu said: "You are generous. If you don't give me money, they will have to operate the boat obediently tomorrow."

"They are all fishermen. If they jump into the middle of the river and run away, let's just wait and spin in the river. Anyway, I have never sailed a boat. If you don't have money, that's it. If you have money, you are a fool if you don't want to spend it.

, it’s not my own money anyway. You have forgotten that the late emperor spent money all the way during his Western Expedition, and not many people died after more than a year of fighting.”

"Well... that's the truth, but these dozens of small boats can't carry many people, and I'm afraid they won't be able to stand on the other side. Then it won't be in vain."

"Who told you I was going to land?"

Bai Yanyu asked in confusion: "Then what do you mean?"

Xu Xian turned around and looked to the west, saying to himself: "Today's sunset is beautiful!"

Bai Yanyu had a puzzled look on his face. He looked at the sunset in the western sky and then at the other side, and suddenly laughed ferociously, "Hey... you are so ruthless!"

"You have misunderstood me. In fact, I am very soft-hearted and don't like dead people. I especially don't want my brothers to die. Anyway, I don't recognize the Tang Jun across from me, so I won't be so sad if they die."

"Bah! Hypocrisy!"

After resting all night on the bank of the Huaihe River, Xu Xian got up when the sky was bright, put on his armor, had breakfast and went to the river.

This is the upper reaches of the Huaihe River. The river does not run from east to west, but flows from southwest to northeast. Xu Xian reached out and grabbed a handful of floating soil from the ground. He gently raised it, and the yellow smoke flew towards the river.

Bai Yanyu said: "The wind direction is just right, don't waste time, get on the road quickly."

"Damn it, can you say something nice?" Xu Xian cursed and then said to Wu Liang: "Have you found someone who is familiar with water and not afraid of riding in a boat?"

Boats from the south and horses from the north are mostly landlubbers in the north. Not to mention those who can swim, some people will get scared when sitting on a boat. However, this is an exception in Bianliang. Bianliang is connected by four large rivers and has developed water transportation. There are still many people who can swim in boats.

You can find quite a few.

Wu Liang replied: "I found two hundred people from the Red Scarf Capital and fifty people from Bai Yuhou who were good at shooting and familiar with water. I have taught them how to use the divine arm crossbow."

"Let's board the ship now!"

The fishing boat was very small, and it could only hold five people except the boatman. The two hundred and fifty people were fully seated in the fifty boats. One by one, they were getting ready by the river, just waiting for Xu Xian to say that it was freezing and they would ride the wind to the east.

Xu Xian boarded the boat and took another look at the other side. In addition to the sparkling river, there was an endless reed swamp, with a vaguely visible fortress made of rammed earth standing among them.

A strong wind blew by, and the reeds on the other side undulated and rustled, like turbulent waves, as if there were thousands of ambushes hiding there.

Bai Yanyu patted Xu Xian on the shoulder and warned, "If you can't do it, just come back!"

"Well, you have a conscience!" Xu Xian reached the river and jumped onto the boat with a slight jump. The thin boat swayed violently.

Dakui held on to the side of the boat tightly and said, "Stop, please, what should I do if the boat capsizes?"

"I remember you know how to drink water, why are you so nervous!"

"That's also in the Bianliang River. The Huaihe River is much deeper than the Bianliang River. Besides, I'm wearing armor. If I fall into the river, I'll sink immediately. I'm still waiting for you to swim up."

"Haha... That's true!" Xu Xian waved his big hand, "All troops set off!" Following his order, more than fifty small boats all headed for the other side.

This is the upper reaches of the Huaihe River. The river is not too wide, but it is more than a hundred feet long. The slightly undulating waves gently hit the hull of the boat, making a snapping sound. The boat split two water marks and quickly sailed to the other side.

"Little General!"

Xu Xian turned to look at the boatman, "Are you calling me?"

The boatman was a middle-aged man, and when he saw Xu Xian looking at him, he couldn't help but look nervous, "You have the highest official position here, so I'm calling you!"

"What's the matter with you?"

The boatman said: "I want to tell you that there are people hiding in the reeds opposite!"

"Oh? How do you know?"

The boatman stretched out his hand and pointed to the sky, "Look at the water birds that have been circling in the sky and don't dare to fall into the reeds. There must be people hiding in them."

Xu Xian looked up and saw that it was exactly what the boatman said, "You are from the Tang Dynasty. You have fulfilled your obligation by accepting my money to row the boat for me. Why do you tell me this?"

The boatman said: "I am from the Tang Dynasty, but I am from the Central Plains. I fled from Caizhou in my early years and settled on the bank of the Huaihe River."

"Oh, that's right."

The boatman added: "Young general, you must not go ashore, otherwise you will be stuck on the shore and will not be able to come back. I, the little man, and your family don't want to die."

"Don't worry, I won't go ashore. It would be best if they hide in the reeds."

As he spoke, the boat had already reached the middle of the river. Xu Xian immediately ordered the boatman to stop. The soldiers on the boat immediately took out the prepared crossbow arrows. The arrows were wrapped with oilcloth, and they put the arrows on torches to ignite the forty-five arrows.

Points diagonally toward the sky.

Before the launch, there was already a commotion in the reeds, and some people even screamed in surprise.

"There is no need to shoot people. There are probably boats wherever there are people. If there are boats, there will be water. Just shoot farther and focus on the target and don't scatter them!" Xu Xian ordered and said: "Let go!"

More than two hundred arrows trailed a faint trail of smoke and shot into the depths of the reed marsh. The river here was about a hundred feet wide. This improved version of the divine arm crossbow had a range of two hundred steps (about 1.5 meters per step), in the center of the river.

The arrow was already far beyond the river bank.

If it had been two months later and the reed would have dried out, coupled with its special hollow structure, it would have burned like oil. However, the reed still had a little moisture at this time, so Xu Xian asked the soldiers to focus on their targets.

I'm just worried that I won't be able to catch the fever.

"kill!"

Cries of killing rang out in the reed swamp, and the Tang soldiers inside probably realized that once the reed swamp burned, most of the people in the fort would be choked to death even if they were not burned to death. If they did not want to choke to death, they would have no choice but to run away.

More than a hundred small boats came out from both sides of the reed swamp and formed an encirclement to surround the Tang army in the middle of the river. Seeing that the Tang army was still far away, Xu Xian ordered: "Don't worry about them, just keep shooting from the same position!"

Another burst of fire rain passed, and a faint green smoke finally rose from the reed marsh. The Tang army was getting closer and closer, but Xu Xian could only ask the boatman to stay in the original position as much as possible for fear that the soldiers would not be able to find the direction.

More than two hundred people fired three rounds of rockets in a row, and a flame finally burst out from the reed swamp and expanded rapidly. It could be seen from a long distance. Xu Xian was overjoyed that as long as the hollow reed was ignited, unless it rained heavily,

Hardly saved.

"Ah!" He remembered a scream behind him. Xu Xian turned around and saw that the boatman had been hit by an arrow in his chest and was lying on his back in the river. The Tang troops on the left and right were not far away, and the soldiers on the boat were raising their bows to shoot.

Xu Xian loudly ordered: "The boatman turns around! Brothers, protect the boatman and shoot the other side's boatmen hard!"

More than fifty small boats quickly turned around, and the Zhou troops on board also used divine arm crossbows to fight back. The well-armored Zhou army received two arrows from the Tang army, which could only be regarded as minor injuries. The Tang army was killed on the spot after receiving a divine arm crossbow.

Those who were hit by arrows screamed and fell into the river."
To be continued...