Wuhe County is quiet late at night. Looking from the top of the city to the city, there are bonfires everywhere. Many collapsed or burning houses can be vaguely seen. Women's cries or cries can be heard everywhere in the bonfires.

The miserable cry for help was accompanied by the wanton laughter of the Qing army.

Although the streets paved with stone slabs were covered with ice and snow, the ice and snow were red. Even the snowflakes coming in droves could not hide the evil on the ground - the streets were in a mess, with corpses everywhere, and snowflakes falling on them.

The corpses formed inconspicuous snowdrifts.

Three days ago, this city built near Huaihe River was captured by the Qing army led by Abatai. Black smoke billowed between the black sky and earth, and this once prosperous city was completely wiped off the map.

What was left was a dilapidated pile of rubble, which turned into a ghost town. Only the ghosts who died unjustly were wandering around and crying, and there were groups of fierce ghosts, laughing wildly and venting their anger in the ghost realm...

It's been three days.

The army still has not sealed the sword. In fact, there is no order to seal the sword at all. After all, the emperor's will is to kill and capture the Southern Dynasty as much as possible, but now Abatai is very depressed - he can't cross the river!

Although after breaking the wall, he led an army of 30,000 people and marched south day and night. Before the Ming Dynasty could react smoothly, they grabbed a boat to cross the Yellow River, but now they were trapped in the Five Rivers - on the north bank of the Huaihe River.

The ships were either burned by the Ming Dynasty officials or arrived at the south bank.

Now that 30,000 troops are stranded on the south bank, how can he be happy?

As long as there is a boat, he can cross the Huaihe River to the south and the Huishui River to the west. Whether it is Zhongdu or Nanjing, it is just meat on his plate, but right now, there is no need to think about it.

Without a ship, everything is just talk!

"Damn it!"

Abata cursed bitterly in his heart, and then thought again.

"I don't know if they grabbed the boat..."

In the past few days, Abatai has sent out many rangers to grab food and kill people. At the same time, they also had the task of grabbing boats, and they also grabbed a lot of boats - more than two hundred boats, which seems like a lot.

, but that kind of small boat can pass a horse or several people, but the problem is that there are 20,000 Ming troops coming from Feixiongwei and other places on the other side.

Although he had never paid much attention to the Ming army, it was too risky to send a few people there. Being brave but not planning means not knowing how to fight, so Abatai did not take risks.

But the question is what to do now?

Are you just stuck here?

Just when Abate was in a dilemma, a servant reported it.

"Master Beile, Hou Fangyu wants to see you."

"Let him in, I haven't seen him all day today, this kid!"

"Master Beile, I am so happy!"

Before Hou Fangyu entered the door, the voice came in first.

"Hou Fangyu, what are you so happy about?"

"This slave pays my respects to Lord Beile."

Abata snorted when he was greeted by Hou Fangyu.

"Hurry up and tell me, don't lie. You Han people are all of the same character and always like to lie!"

"Reply to Mr. Beile, I have been wandering around the river all day today. I want to explore whether there is a way to cross the river."

"Tell me, what are you looking at?"

"Master Beile, the river is frozen!"

Hou Fangyu's words made Abatai unhappy.

"I'm not blind. The ice is so thin that it may not be able to support a person, let alone a horse."

Abatai, who lives in Liaodong, certainly knows what it means when the river freezes, but the ice on the Huaihe River is too thin to withstand people.

"Master Beile, the weather has been getting colder and colder these past two days!"

Hou Fangyu said with a smile.

"My slaves will go to the river sooner or later these days to explore. When we first arrived at Wuhe, the ice on the river was only more than an inch thick. There were even many places in the river that were not frozen. The thin parts would break if hit. This is also a ship.

The reason why we were able to evacuate to the other side is that last night, the ice on the river was more than two inches thick, and the river was basically covered with a thin layer of ice. It started to snow heavily last night, and by dawn today, the ice was already thick.

It's more than four or five inches. The slave just measured it again. Even the ice in the middle of the river is about three inches thick. If it freezes overnight today, it will be at least four or five inches. Although crossing the river is risky, it will definitely be able to survive.

Moving people and horses!”

"really!"

Abata asked with his eyes wide open in surprise.

"If we wait a few more days, the ice in the river will probably be a foot thick. Mr. Beile, winters are getting longer and colder these years. Even Taihu Lake in the south of the Yangtze River will be a foot thick by the twelfth lunar month.

How thick is the ice, let alone the Huaihe River?"

Hou Fangyu did not know that this was caused by the "Little Ice Age" that would cause the earth's temperature to drop significantly. The lowest temperature was during the late Ming Dynasty. Tan Qian once mentioned in "The Journey to the North",

In November 1654, the ice on the Wujiang Canal was more than three feet thick, and it froze all the way from Wujiang to Jiaxing. This was rare in history, which shows the cold weather in the south of the Yangtze River during this period. There were even cases of the Yangtze River freezing at that time.

record.

As for the ice on the Huaihe River, it is quite common.

"You kid, you've made me proud again, my master!"

Laughing loudly, Abate patted Hou Fangyu's shoulder hard.

"When I return to Shengjing, I will recommend you a sixth-grade, no, fourth-grade court official. Don't worry, as long as you are a talented person in the Qing Dynasty, I will never bury you! When the time comes, you will also be the emperor's adviser.

A major military event!"

"Oh, I thank you for your kindness!"

Hou Fangyu immediately knelt down and kowtowed in gratitude. His father had worked hard all his life to become the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, but now he was still locked up in a prison, and he was only twenty years old when he left home and became a fourth-rank court official.

Official, when the Qing Dynasty takes over the Central Plains in the future, he will not only be the founding father, but also the elder of the cabinet.

Of course, while dreaming about the future, his grandfather, uncles and relatives who either committed suicide or died at the hands of the Qing army when Guide City was destroyed were not within the scope of his consideration.

"Look, boy, you are so happy when I heard that I would recommend you to leave the government. You Han people are all official fans!"

Lord Baylor's words made Hou Fangyu feel nervous and he said quickly.

"Look at what you said, Lord Baylor. It's not all because of Lord Baylor's grace that a slave can become an official. In the future, it's only because of Lord Baylor's reputation that he can serve the Qing Dynasty."

"You're the only one who's sensible!"

Abatai, who was in a good mood, didn't care about it, but smiled directly.

"Come here, tell the three armies to have enough sleep tonight and cross the river before dawn tomorrow!"

Just when Abatai gave the order to cross the river, Hou Fangyu looked at Lord Baylor and asked.
Chapter completed!