Su Li took the river warship and walked directly past Xunyang Fucheng.

The garrison has taken control of Xunyang City.

The Ming troops in Xunyangfu City surrendered sincerely.

Pang Jian'an smiled and said: "Yunyang Mansion is too close to us, so it is normal for them to surrender.

If the Ming army in Xiangyang City can be made to surrender directly, then our Qin army will truly become famous and scare away the Ming army."

Su Li smiled and did not answer.

He did not believe that the Ming army in Xiangyang City would surrender directly.

Xiangyang City is the core military town in northern Huguang.

After conquering Xiangyang, they moved southward along the Han River. No Ming army could resist them.

The ride was smooth all the way to Hanyangfu, the core area of ​​Huguang.

A guard came over with food.

"Commander, Chief of Staff, it's time to eat."

Su Li looked at the braised grass carp, picked up a steamed bun and ate it with the fish soup.

During this period I ate fish every day, but now I have no appetite when I see fish.

But the vegetables had been eaten up, and he didn't make a small stove for himself.

"On the boat, this is the only bad thing. I eat fish all the time, but now I can't eat any more fish. It would be good to switch to some shrimps!"

Pang Jing'an nodded and said: "After we land, we must stock the kitchen with more vegetables.

Even if you store some cabbage and radishes, it's better than eating fish every day.

But I don’t want this. We eat fish all the time, which proves that the logistics staff don’t have time to get off the ship to buy.

This shows that we have been unstoppable along the way and have not encountered any powerful enemies."

The Fifth Army fleet marched very fast. Most of the small counties around the Han River chose to surrender when they saw that they were surrounded by large armies.

A small number of hard-core soldiers fired their guns from the river warships. The Ming army in the city was so frightened that they had no choice but to surrender.

These small counties did not affect the marching speed of the Fifth Army.

They came all the way to Gucheng. Su Li stood on the river battleship and found a white flag raised above Gucheng.

Pang Jian'an said happily: "In a small town like Gucheng, it is very normal for them to surrender. I didn't expect them to know how to surrender with a white flag.

Could it be that the general in Gucheng was someone we captured before?

Those who were released by our army usually performed meritorious service, such as the Ming army who kidnapped their commander and surrendered.

How can such a person still be reused in the Ming army?"

Su Li was also puzzled, and he immediately sent the garrison to check the situation in Gucheng.

The guns on the river warships have been aimed at Gucheng.

Once an unexpected situation occurs, the Fifth Army will immediately fire artillery to support the garrison.

Su Li was completely relieved when he saw the flag of the Qin army raised on the wall of Gucheng.

"Commander, the guard general in Gucheng wants to see you. He said he has important information to provide."

Su Li heard the guard and informed him of the incident.

I was very puzzled that the guard of Gucheng not only dedicated the city, but also visited him specially to provide intelligence to the Qin army.

Su Li immediately asked the guards to take this man to his flagship.

A middle-aged officer in his forties was brought to the flagship by the guards.

He raised his hand to Su Li and said, "Secret guard intelligence officer Huang Huali has met Commander Su Li."

When Su Li heard his name, he knew he was talking about a code name.

There are secret guards on his ship who are responsible for contacting secret guards in various places.

Su Li called this person directly to verify Huang Huali's identity.

There is a unique way of confirming identity among the members of the secret guard.

This allows two unfamiliar intelligence officers to let down some of their wariness and maintain limited cooperation after they meet.

"Commander Su Li, Huang Huali is indeed a member of our secret guard. You can listen to his opinion."

Su Li received confirmation from the secret guard, and he asked for advice: "Mr. Huanghuali, may I ask what aspect your information is about."

Huang Huali recounted in a calm tone: "Commander Su Li, the Ming army in Xiangyang City is preparing to surrender.

The commander of the Ming army in Xiangyang City was You Shihai.

Born as a concubine of the You family in Yulin, Shaanxi Province, he had good abilities and was loyal to the Ming Dynasty.

The You family has always supported the main lineages You Shiwei, You Shilu and others.

He did not receive support from the You family and his performance has always been mediocre.

After we ransacked You's house, he got the news and hated us deeply.

This time I received news that the Qin army was approaching eastward along the Han River.

After learning that the Ming army in Xunyang Prefecture had surrendered, You Shihai prepared to take advantage of the situation and sent me to lead a group of old, weak, women and children to Gucheng.

He planned to paralyze the vigilance of the Qin army generals through the successive surrenders of the Ming army.

After the Qin army arrived in Xiangyang, You Shihai prepared to surrender the city and lure the Qin army to an ambush location to attack and kill the Qin army.

My status is not high and I don’t know about You Shihai’s detailed preparations.”

A member of the secret guard codenamed Huanghuali introduced Su Li in detail to the situation of the Ming army in Xiangyang City.

After the introduction, he said goodbye and left, handing Gucheng to the Qin army.

He will also go to other places in the Ming Dynasty to lurk.

After Su Li listened to the story of the secret guard, he smiled and said: "Xiangyang Guard General You Shihai, he is also a smart man.

But he used his intelligence in the wrong place. Even without being informed by the secret guards, we would not be able to act according to his request.

You know, we are the victors, we are the ones who accept surrender.

How could the enemy surrender and we follow his request and go to the designated place?

They all ask the surrendered enemies to disarm and come out of the city to offer sacrifices while we take over the city.

How could an officer be so stupid and fall for You Shihai's plan?"

Pang Jian'an frowned and said: "Commander, You Shihai might come up with some strange strategies. We still have to be vigilant and stay the same to cope with any changes.

The worst outcome is that we storm Xiangyang City."

The Fifth Army took over Gucheng, leaving a regiment to garrison Gucheng, and sent a security division to occupy the nearby Daming County.

The large troops of the Fifth Army did not disembark and rushed directly to Xiangyang City.

…………………………

Su Li stood on the river battleship and looked at Xiangyang City ahead.

Xiangyang is surrounded by water and has a wide moat.

Xiangyang's city walls are also very tall and made of solid bluestone.

He looked with a telescope and saw more than a dozen red barbarian cannons on the top of Xiangyang City.

"The wall of Xiangyang City cannot stop the cannons on the river warships. One shot of 150 naval guns can blast a crack in the wall of Xiangyang City.

The moat of Xiangyang City is the most difficult to break through. It is a natural moat formed by several rivers such as the Han River around Xiangyang City.

There is enough water upstream that it is impossible to fill it up with sandbags.

Building dams to hold back water is too slow and takes several months.

Don't wait until the Second Army has captured Wuchang Prefecture, we haven't captured Xiangyang Prefecture yet.

At that time, our Fifth Army became a joke among the military."

Pang Jian'an stared at Xiangyang City and said, "I don't know what method Xiangyang City Guard General You Shihai is planning to use to lure us into the situation."

While they were guessing, they saw that the water gate to the west of Xiangyang City had been opened.

Several Ming soldiers, covered in blood, escaped from Shuimen by boat.

The Hongyi cannon at the top of Xiangyang City kept firing at the small boat.

The boat was in great danger and escaped the bombardment of Xiangyang City.

The boat soon arrived near the Qin army. These people were directly surrounded by the Qin army. They surrendered immediately and said they had something important to do and asked to see the Qin army commander.

The guard came with a Ming army general to find Su Li.

"Sir, I am Ji Zhi, the deputy general of Xiangyang City. My heart is with the Qin army. When I see the Qin army coming, I am ready to surrender the city.
To be continued...