The reason why Ye Cheng is sure that Kou Zhong wants the East China Sea is because he asked the vanguard to go to the spot and pull out all the outposts and hidden posts outside Zhongli. If this is the case, Zhongli will definitely be on guard against the young commander's army.
The current situation is simply a last resort.
Although some of the sergeants were captured during the victories in Songzhou and Xiapi, the time is still short and it is hard to say whether they can be used for a battle. Moreover, the two consecutive battles have also made the young marshal and sergeants a little tired. If they do not rest for a long time,
It's not a good thing for a while.
And the most important thing is the strength of the troops. Although Songzhou has obtained it, the 5,000 headquarters troops and 3,000 newly recruited soldiers cannot be missing. After all, the Wagang Army is watching eagerly next to it. If you let your guard down for a moment, the consequences will be disastrous.
We must keep the door open for Pengcheng.
In this way, Kou Zhong only has 4,000 men at his disposal, plus 5,000 new recruits. If he wants to capture Zhongli Fortress, even if he succeeds, he will have to pay a huge price, and
It is really a bad idea to directly face the threat of Jianghuai Army.
However, if the name of attacking Zhongli is used to allow the defenders to shrink their troops to prevent unexpected events, it can also attract the attention of Donghai. If the opponent is really happy about his success, he will most likely go out of the city to attack Xiapi. Once such a pattern is formed, Donghai City will really be in trouble.
It is easily accessible, and even if the opponent is unmoved and unprepared, which has always been Kou Zhong's specialty, Donghai still has a chance to be captured.
For Li Zitong, the East China Sea is not as important as Zhongli. It only belongs to his northernmost state. Now that the war is imminent, if he can capture the rich land in the south of the Yangtze River, he will not take even a piece of the East China Sea given to him. The most important thing is
One point is that the navy of the Young Marshal's Army is too fragile, and he must be just like an adult and a child.
But for Kou Zhong, the East China Sea is a treasure land. When the fleet goes down the coast, enters the river from the sea, and goes upstream, it will have a great chance to successfully attack the Jianghuai army and lure Chen Sheng.
The important point is that Shen Faxing's navy is not a vegetarian. If the two sides go to war, they will definitely compete for control of the river. Under such circumstances, the Young Marshal's Army can take advantage of the opportunity to completely break up the Jianghuai Army and Li Zitong, and a three-party melee will begin.
The result is self-evident, the biggest beneficiary is definitely Kou Zhong.
With such an idea, Ye Cheng could say with certainty that Kou Zhong had no intention of Zhongli, and what he really wanted was the East China Sea. If he hadn't thought of this, then in this game of world hegemony, it would be enough to pack up his gear as soon as possible and become a rich man.
.
Kou Zhong smiled and said: "Since I have been discovered by you, I will give you a task. Do you dare to accept it?"
"Young Marshal, it doesn't matter if you say so!"
Ye Cheng smiled and agreed. He didn't know when he had fallen in love with this job, and there seemed to be something fascinating about Kou Zhong. Even when he went to fight and kill, he was full of joy. It can be said that
Facing various challenges, try to find your own limits, which is exciting and fulfilling.
Kou Zhong said: "There are 8,000 defenders in the East China Sea, including 4,000 navy troops, more than 30 warships of various kinds, and 4,000 defenders in the city. Shuyang City, which is closest to Donghai City, is two hundred miles away, and there are several fast horses.
We can arrive in an hour. Once I fail to steal the city, I will probably be attacked from both sides, so I need someone with both wisdom and courage to help me lead the team and hold off Shuyang's troops!"
"Shuyang? Who is the general guarding the city? How many troops are there?"
"Li Xingyuan, the general who defended the city of Shuyang, was a fellow countryman of Li Zitong. He was tall and mighty, and his intelligence was only average. However, his martial arts was quite good and he was very good at defending the city. That's why Li Zitong gave Shuyang to him to help him deal with the East China Sea.
City! The number of defenders is about five thousand, and they are not the most elite troops in our headquarters, but their combat power cannot be underestimated!"
"Where is Donghai? Who is the general guarding the city?"
"Li Ziyun, Li Zitong's younger brother!"
Ye Cheng laughed and said, "I wonder how many manpower the Young Marshal can give me?"
"Two thousand new recruits!"
Ye Cheng frowned. Although it was reasonable, he was still a little helpless. He immediately said: "The number of people is enough, but although they are new recruits, they have basic equipment and configuration? Don't let me go to the blockade with two thousand empty hands.
people!"
Kou Zhong smiled and said: "Don't worry, the equipment and configuration are all in accordance with the standards. What they lack is actual combat training, and when the time comes, you can bring someone with you!"
"who?"
"Jiao Hongjin, the former deputy leader of the Luoma Gang!"
Ye Cheng raised his eyebrows and didn't ask any further questions. He nodded in acquiescence.
As Kou Zhong spoke, he asked the guard at the entrance of the hall to bring someone over. After a while, a man in green warrior uniform came over, bowed to Kou Zhong, and stood aside.
Kou Zhong said: "Jiao Hongjin, you will follow Heishen these days. If anything happens, you must cooperate fully!"
"My subordinate understands!"
Ye Cheng nodded, stood up and said, "I'll go down and prepare. Then I'll follow the Young Marshal's instructions!"
After leading Jiao Hong in and out of the hall, Ye Cheng said, "You should also know what the young marshal ordered?"
Jiao Hongjin nodded and said: "The young marshal has ordered us to bring two thousand soldiers to cooperate with you, sir!"
"Can we mobilize the troops now?"
"This should be fine!"
"Go, pick out two thousand people who are more energetic and bring enough dry food for ten days!"
"Yes, my subordinates will do it now, but it will be night in two hours. I'm afraid it will be dark by the time we select the right people and prepare all the equipment!"
"It's okay, then let's move at night!"
Looking at Jiao Hongjin who left in a hurry, Ye Cheng secretly sighed. Since Kou Zhong said that Zhongli would be captured within ten days, then the sneak attack on Donghai would definitely take place around the fifth day. What he had to do was to try his best.
To make these two thousand recruits obedient, at least they will not run away on the battlefield. You must know that when facing thousands of troops, people like this who have never been on the battlefield are most likely to lose their sense of proportion.
After finding a restaurant and drinking two pots of wine, the sky became dark and the lights in Pengcheng were slowly lit. Jiao Hongjin rushed over and bowed: "Sir, everything is ready. Do you want to set off immediately?"
Ye Cheng motioned for him to sit down and said: "Don't worry, sit down and have a drink. I'm afraid I'll have some good wine while I'm gone!"
Jiao Hongjin said in a deep voice: "It is not easy for the army to get drunk when traveling in large numbers. I hope you will forgive me!"
Ye Cheng was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "It seems that you are still a principled person, yes, no wonder the young commander values you very much!"
"The adults are joking. I just want to surrender and abandon the general. It is enough to be able to serve the young commander well. I don't want to have any other hopes!"
"Haha! Do you know why the young marshal asked me to take you with me on this trip?"
Jiao Hongjin was stunned for a while, and then said: "Of course, let me cooperate with you, after all, I am a native of my hometown!"
Ye Cheng nodded and said: "This is just one of them! What else is there?"
"Um - I'm sorry for being so stupid, but I don't know what the young marshal wants!" Jiao Hongjin said with an embarrassed look on his face.
Ye Cheng smiled and said: "The young marshal wants to train you. From now on, the East China Sea will most likely be handed over to you for management!"
Jiao Hongjin's expression changed and he said hurriedly: "Sir, you are joking. I am a dull boy, and he is also a member of the Luoma Gang. After surrendering, it was all thanks to the Young Marshal's carelessness that I could make a living with the remaining brothers. How dare you think of anything else?"
!”
Ye Cheng said no more, holding the wine bottle and said: "Let's go, don't keep those soldiers waiting, we will train them well in the next few days!"
The two of them left the city one after another and found two thousand sergeants in the woods far outside the city. Although they were all well-equipped, their faces were at a loss, and they still betrayed them.
"Without any bloody spirit, he is really a new recruit who has never been on the battlefield!"
Ye Cheng sighed secretly and immediately said: "Call all the centurion-level people over!"
"Yes, I'll go right away!"
Although these recruits knew not to talk nonsense, they still looked at Ye Cheng with surprised eyes, as if they did not understand the identity of this person who was not an official or a general.
After wandering around for a while, Ye Cheng felt a headache. Not only did these new recruits not have any murderous intent, but no one stopped him at this time. People were lying around in a mess, and the weapons were not known where they were. I'm afraid this
Sometimes there was a sneak attack, and these people didn't even know which direction to escape.
What made him most angry was that there was not a single sentry on the perimeter. He must have thought that no one would make a sneak attack on his own land, so he was so lazy.
After a cup of tea, twenty-two people hurriedly came over and saluted Ye Cheng one by one.
Ye Cheng took a look at these people. They finally looked good. They were generals drawn from the veterans, so he said: "Get ready to line up and get ready to go!"
After everyone dispersed, Ye Cheng said to Jiao Hongjin: "Please take the time to draw a map of the terrain of the East China Sea and Shuyang area for me!"
"My subordinate understands!"
A quarter of an hour later, the noisy recruits were finally arranged, with long swords hanging on their waists and bucklers on their backs. They looked like the same thing, but Ye Cheng still didn't see any war in their eyes.
At least I didn’t see the cruelty beneath life and death.
"Set off!"
Two thousand captains accompanied Ye Cheng. The two thousand people here were not cavalry and could only walk on big feet. However, Ye Cheng chose mountain roads. Everyone followed the mountains and forests and headed south.
He specializes in walking on mountain roads and rivers, and constantly sends out sentinels in groups of ten to survey the area within a radius of fifty miles.
After spending two days, Ye Cheng secretly led his team to the Xiacai area within the Jianghuai Army's sphere of influence.
At this time, the recruits looked at Ye Cheng with eyes that were comparable to those of devils. Some of them were even exhausted. They rested less than two hours a day on average. Sometimes they even walked several times on a mountain. Anyone who was dizzy could not follow.
All those who joined the team were left behind. Anyway, they had dry food. They would return to Pengcheng when they were well. After this trip, the team was reduced to more than 300 people.
After groping into a forest, Ye Cheng immediately ordered everyone to rest where they were, while a hundred-person sentinel team explored the nearby situation. It was not until that night that the recruits slowly woke up after a good sleep.
