Unable to find a place to rest in the woods, the soldiers hastily built straw huts in the woods to take shelter from the wind and rain, and then lit fires to keep warm. Kuang Ren also sent Wang Fuchen Wu Mushan to the riverside to see if they could cross the water.
Chang Yu had to go to the opposite side of the Yangtze River, but after entering Sichuan, the terrain on the river bank was so dangerous that it was extremely difficult to find a suitable place to cross the water. Moreover, Zhang Xianzhong entered the Sichuan along the river and captured the prefectures and counties along the river. Those prefectures and counties were almost everywhere on the Yangtze River.
It was blocked by bandit soldiers, so it was best to cross to the other side before entering Sichuan. In fact, there was a ferry just now on the other side of Jingzhou City, but the Yangtze River happened to make a big bend south of Jingzhou City. The water flow is fast and does not freeze, and it is too close to Jingzhou. Once
There are soldiers and horses crossing the river in the city. They will definitely send troops to attack and harass. It won't be that easy to get through.
Some people may ask, since we have to go to the other side, why cross the river from Jiangxia to Wuchang? Brother, the Yangtze River is not straight. There are many bends, and each bend is hundreds of miles. Crossing the river from Jiangxia
The direct journey to Jingzhou is less than four hundred miles, but if you go along the Yangtze River to Jingzhou, you have to go southwest to Yueyang first, and then turn to the northwest, which is at least a thousand miles, and the road is difficult to travel.
The fire was lit, and they drank hot water to warm it up. Although it was still raining outside, it was no longer as cold as before. The soldiers hid in various places to warm themselves against the wind and rain, ate dry food and cursed the damn weather. Chang Yu frowned.
Looking at the rain streaks in the sky, I used to love falling asleep listening to the sound of rain the most on rainy days. But after joining the army, I hated rainy days the most.
But there is no way. Although he is the governor of the East Factory under one person, he is not blessed to enjoy the life of fine clothing and fine food. Of course, he does not want to live that kind of life. In this case, he has to endure the hard life he has asked for.
.
Although shelter from the wind and rain is not a long-term solution at the moment, the place is too close to Jingzhou, and no one can predict what the bandits in the city will do. They may be fooled for a while, but if they are able to explore the surrounding area, they will be a force.
If the horse tries to cross the water to the other side, he might be killed.
Trouble is coming!
It was not the rebel spies who were chasing and watching from a distance, but Wang Fuchen reported that after searching for three or four miles, no villages or ferries were found on the riverside, and the ice on the river was very thin. He could barely pass through the narrow place, but the war horses
Definitely can't pass.
Chang Yu knew that it was not suitable to stay here for a long time, so he made a decisive decision to cross the river in batches. He and his guards abandoned their horses to cross the river. Ji Jike and Hao Yaoqi continued along the river to find village and town ferries to find boats to cross the river. Tu Yuan was responsible for blocking the following thieves.
Detective, so that they can't figure out what these officers and soldiers want to do.
Soon, dozens of people from Chang Yu crossed the river and came ashore. They found that there were many villages and towns more than ten miles away along the river, so they gathered boats to help soldiers and horses on the other side cross the river. This area already belongs to Songzi County, which is a combination of plains and hills. To the north is
The Yangtze River has plains in the east and vast mountains in the west, and this place is also a similar Sangui area. Li Zicheng on the other side did not want to divide his troops to such a place. Zhang Xianzhong, who occupied the Yichang area on the northwest side, did not send troops either, but because of the Jingzhou River in the northeast,
Separated from it, the southeast is bordered by Gong'an County. Although Li Zicheng did not have any garrison troops, he often came here for walks, so it was still considered his territory.
This turned out to be advantageous to Chang Yu. He mobilized civilian boats to pick up soldiers and horses along the coast in the rain. Ji Jike and Hao Yaoqi were also doing the same thing on the other side. Finally, before noon, all the soldiers and horses crossed the river and dispersed to take shelter in the surrounding villages along the coast.
After resting, the rebel spies on the other side were confused and hurried to Jingzhou to report.
Niu Wancai and Ta Tianbao were even more deceived! This Ming army was crazy. They came to Jingzhou to call for help. Could it be that they wanted to go to Sichuan to provoke Zhang Xianzhong?
Impossible! Only a fool would send cavalry and only a thousand cavalry into Sichuan. That would be giving away lives!
Yes, the ultimate goal of these officers and soldiers is to occupy Songzi County! Does Zuo Liangyu want to surround Jingzhou City and cut off its retreat across the river into the mountains? At least it can contain their troops in Gong'an County on the other side (both Gong'an and Jiangling are there)
The two cities are not far apart in the lower reaches of Jingzhou, but Jiangling and Jingzhou are on the same side of the east and north of the Yangtze River, but Gong'an County is on the opposite bank.) What a cunning person. The purpose of coming to scold the formation was to provide cover for crossing the river! It's true!
So cunning! Damn it!
Zuo Liangyu, who was being speculated by Niu Wancai and Ta Tianbao, was also confused with a group of staff in Wuchang City at this time. Dongchang Guards' 500 cavalry crossed the border and entered Sichuan. Why did Huang Degong's 1,000 cavalry also enter Sichuan and leave separately?
, but when Ma Jinzhong came to report that they had merged into one, they almost started to fight, and his strength was indeed tyrannical.
What on earth are this group of people going to do, and why do they feel like they are not as simple as they think? There must be something going on!
What could possibly happen? What bad intentions could the little eunuch have?
While the two families were still making random guesses, Chang Yu and his party had arrived in Songzi County in the evening. After a short rest, they purchased some items and headed up the river in the light rain. After a few dozen miles, they reached Yiling Prefecture (today's Yichang).
), Yidu County, the first stop into Sichuan, was the bridgehead of Zhang Xianzhong's forces and the buffer zone with Li Zicheng's forces. The Zhijiang River downstream of Yichang was within the jurisdiction of Jingzhou and was Li Zicheng's territory.
It's just that Zhijiang is on the other side and Yidu is on this side, which is Chang Yu's ultimate path.
Can it be smooth?
Of course, it can't be too smooth. Yidu is the bridgehead. If you pass it, you will enter Zhang Xianzhong's territory. How can the country he conquered with great difficulty allow others to come and go freely? Li Zicheng can't do it, and neither can the officers and soldiers.
There may be a fierce battle ahead!
This is what everyone inferred.
Chang Yu never fights an unprepared battle. When he was approaching Yidu, he spent a lot of money to find three guides. He was surprised to learn that Yidu City is close to the river, but to the west is a small plain. It can be bypassed, but it has to pass through Changyang.
The territory of the chieftains (today's Changyang Tujia Autonomous County), these chieftains are very sensitive, if they find that there are troops trespassing, there may be a firefight. Moreover, Zhang Xianzhong is now wooing the chieftains everywhere. The chieftains of Changyang and Yidu are neighbors, no matter what
Know if you are a good neighbor or a bad neighbor now.
This is the only variable.
And the real test has just come after passing Yidu. The next stop is Xiaoting, a pass between the Yangtze River and the dangerous mountains! A natural and dangerous place with nowhere to go!
Running is the first priority.
Fighting is a last resort!
Although the mountainous road here is not suitable for riding, the same is true for the enemy. If I run first, he may not be able to catch up, and he may not dare to chase. Yidu is the bridgehead of Zhang Xianzhong's forces. Chang Yu does not know how many troops are stationed there, but if
If you are stationed here and a group of more than a thousand troops suddenly crosses the border, how will you react?
First of all, he will definitely not send troops to pursue and encircle him immediately. Instead, he will send detective horses to investigate his intentions and find out whether they are real or not. However, he has already gone far away. His only worry is that he will block Xiaoting in front and chase after him from behind.
When the soldiers came, they were attacked from both sides by mountains or rivers. There was no way to escape. At that time, we could only fight hard.
But for now, let’s go through Yidu first. As long as we go further around, we may not be discovered by the bandit army, so we don’t have to worry about the pursuers from behind. However, if we go further around, we will have to enter the chieftain’s territory. These people are all
Food-protecting dogs are quite sensitive!
After in-depth discussions, Chang Yu and Li Muxian decided to enter Tusi's territory and bypass Yidu, because although Tusi is sensitive to food, if you don't mess with him and have a friendly attitude, he may not beat you. Even if they have colluded with Zhang Xianzhong,
He would not take the initiative to send troops on behalf of Zhang Xianzhong, but would only pass on information.
Without further ado, let’s leave. Although marching at night is inconvenient, it can still conceal your whereabouts. It would be best if you can cross the border without anyone noticing. So Chang Yu ordered a rush march, and the team of thousands of people only