Just when Xu Maogong and others were planning how to divide and surround the Sui army that was slowly marching along the canal, so as to achieve the purpose of cutting off one of Zhang Xutuo's arms. Li Xu and Luo Shixin were also planning how to kill Ben Wagang by surprise.
Mountain.
In order to take care of the infantry marching on the official road, the cavalry under Li Xu walked very fast. Every time he arrived at a dock where the anchor could be anchored, he sent people to give orders to the fleet transporting baggage in the river, asking the team to stop for a while.
Doing repairs. Such repairs were so frequent that many soldiers started to slack off, saying that they were not marching, but enjoying the scenery along the river. In fact, the scenery on both sides of the canal was indeed very beautiful.
When the canal was being built, local officials deliberately planted many willow trees along both sides of the river in order to protect the riverbed from being engulfed by silt. Over the years, those green willow trees have become shady and swayed by the breeze, making them a perfect place for people walking on the road.
Travelers add a bit of coolness.
The scenery in front of him was beautiful, but Li Xu felt a little anxious. The further north he went, the more panic he felt in his heart. Sometimes there was an oncoming sail shadow, or a person on the river bank was frightened by the sound of horse hooves.
A white bird would make him tighten his horse's head and look around intently. At this moment, the surrounding guards and junior officers would have to order the team to stop and wait for the commander to make a judgment on the risks ahead. And this behavior also
Every time it spreads into the river, it causes the sound of stopping boats and steadying the rudder.
It was not only the baggage ships belonging to the children of Qijun that were slowly moving northward in the river, but also many civilian ships and traders' cargo ships. These days, the canal was not peaceful, and tragedies of being robbed by bandits often happened. Therefore, merchant ships were in
Large bazaars always like to form a whole team and go to the next destination together. When encountering bandits, they either spend money to buy a way or force their way through. Every time you go, it is a gamble of life and death.
As soon as the baggage ship left Chenliu, smart merchant ships quietly came up. Although the Sui Dynasty official army was not very disciplined, they would not directly rob civilian ships. Following the official ship, the chance of being intercepted by the bandits was high.
It's a big loss, even if you are extorted by an official to get some fat people, it is better than losing everything in the hands of bandits.
The next day, seeing that the general on the shore had no objection, more smart people began to follow the baggage ship. "With more than 2,000 cavalry protecting us along the way, this cargo should be delivered safely." Sitting on the bow of the ship.
The shopkeeper and the boys talked with a bit of luck. There are many children of nobles in Luoyang, the eastern capital, and the prices are ridiculously high. A shipment of freight can receive at least 30% of the profit. In the face of huge interests, people often lose their courage.
It will also grow bigger. Therefore, the group of officers and soldiers on the shore who are usually not liked by everyone received countless blessings along the way. Although this group of cavalry moved slower than the infantry, it delayed everyone's time to make a fortune.
On the third day after leaving Chenliu, merchant ships and passenger ships following the baggage ships almost blocked the entire waterway. Because the waterway was not smooth, many ships were waiting in the larger market towns for the monthly patrol of the river by officers and soldiers. Everyone did not
Thinking that there would be two opportunities to make a fortune this month, I happily leaned in. During the break, some shopkeepers who had seen the world even took the host's name card and visited the military camp, expecting to receive part of the commission by paying the general who led the team.
In this way, the cavalry sent them directly to the mouth of the Yellow River 200 miles away. "Our master is Lord Yu's distant cousin, a real relative who broke the bones and connected the tendons!"
He introduced himself to Li Xu's soldiers like this. "If the general allows us to take advantage of his glory and walk smoothly to Luoyang, we will definitely not forget his great kindness!" After saying this, he waved his hand.
He waved his hand and ordered the waiter to bring a large amount of "labor labor" supplies.
Without exception, their visit was blocked by Zhou Xing, a member of the Guards Corps. "My general has official duties. If you want to follow, you can follow. But don't expect us to always go with everyone. As for these," Zhou Xing pointed at the merchants.
The big and small bags they carried, "Everyone, please take them back. My general is not in the habit of accepting gifts from others!"
"Really, may I ask which prince your general is from?" Hearing that there are officials who give free benefits without accepting gifts, the usual reaction of the shopkeepers is to be stunned, and then ask the same questions.
"Weicheng Marquis Li Ye, Tiger General Li Zhongjian, have you ever heard of them?" Every time they were asked about their generals' names, Zhou Xing and others immediately straightened their backs, and their answers were full of pride.
To their slight disappointment, the traders who often walked between Dongdu and Chenliu seemed a little ignorant. These traders had carefully observed them on the ship in the past two days. The general who led the team was definitely under twenty years old.
Young man. In their memory, there was no one with the surname Li in the dynasty. But if he were not the nephew of several wealthy families in the dynasty, how could an ordinary person have the possibility of becoming a marquis at such a young age?
"Could it be that your general is the general Li Lang who ran thousands of miles to attack Liyang City?" Occasionally, a smart person could guess the true identity of the general leading the team and asked in surprise. When he got the affirmative answer from the soldiers, he immediately took pictures with joy.
Get started.
"It's General Li Lang who opened a warehouse to store grain in Liyang City and has countless living people. He has been made a marquis. God really has eyes!" As the insider walked, he loudly spread the good deeds of Li Xu back then.
Li Xu and Yu Wenhua used prisoners to defend themselves against the enemy, but did not hold those people accountable for their "rebellion" as promised, and cashed in the food they had promised to distribute to the prisoners one by one during the defense of the city. Although in their eyes, the prisoners were just
He received the reward he deserved. But among the people, it was spread as a great virtue. Especially after the rebellion was subsided, and compared with the atrocities of Fan Zigai, Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, who killed tens of thousands of prisoners at one time, Li Xu
His actions that day showed that he had a good heart like a Bodhisattva.
"Master Li is here. With Master Li here, which rebel dares to come forward and cause trouble?!" People spread the news along the canal. "Master Li only brought five thousand people back then."
They destroyed Yuan Wuben, who had one hundred thousand troops, and then turned around and defeated Li Mi's one hundred thousand troops. It was really majestic!"
"That was not the most powerful time. It is said that hundreds of thousands of troops were beaten under Xingyang City and did not dare to fight back. Only Mr. Li led the charge and killed seven in and seven out among the rebels.
In the end, even the brown hair of the war horse was dyed red!" The more the news spread, the more outrageous it became. People wanted to exaggerate the abilities of the good man in their minds, and did not care that Li Xu was riding a black war horse with almost no hair.
"The imperial court should have sent Master Li long ago to tie up the thieves along the river with stones and sink them to the bottom of the river!"
"Nonsense, Mr. Li could not be so cruel. At most, he took the bandits outside the Great Wall and sold them, and the money in exchange was rewarded to the brothers!" People knew the name of the general on the shore almost overnight, and quickly told his story back then.
Transformed into a legend.
When the legends were processed by the soldiers and then returned to the ears of Luo Shixin and others, they were no longer consistent with the original facts. However, many legends were interpreted with nose and eyes. Not only the time and place were well-founded, but also the names of the witnesses.
Not bad at all. Later, Luo Shixin was also doubtful and ran to Li Xu to ask, "Zhongjian, I heard that you captured Yuan Wuben alive at the foot of Liyang City and forced an army of 100,000 people to lay down their weapons.
?”
"Nonsense, it's not like you haven't fought before. When did the other team's coach become so stupid, with tens of thousands of brothers around him who don't need it, to rush in and let you capture him alive?" Li Xu was dumbfounded by Luo Shixin's nagging performance.
I spat at him and asked back.
"That's true. Don't I think that Yuan Wu was originally a civil servant and had never fought in a war?" Luo Shixin patted his helmet and smiled to find a reason. After a moment, he ran back again and continued to ask, "In Xingyang
What about the time you defeated Li Zixiong outside the city? Did you really wear it seven times?"
"Have you ever seen a military formation that has been penetrated seven times and still not collapsed? Even if I have that physical strength, no one is willing to be a living target for me!" Li Xu shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly. Unknowingly,
He discovered that his past experiences had become legends, but the people in the legends were nothing like him.
The young man in the legend is so honest and kind, brave and fearless. He is like a freshly bladed sword, bright and solid. The young man in the legend has always stood on the side of justice and has no doubt about his actions.
But now, he doesn't know whether he did the right thing.
"You seem to have been restless in the past few days?" Luo Shixin finally discovered that Li Xu was not in a high mood and asked in surprise. Being admired by so many people, but respected by so many people, he seemed to be distracted. In Luo Shixin's view, this situation in front of him
This guy is either sick or a fake Taoist.
"I have some doubts about whether our original arrangement can deceive Li Mi?" Xuzi nodded and answered frankly.
"So what if I can't deceive you? When you face the enemy head-on, have you ever beat him to pieces?" Luo Shixin shook his head and said nonchalantly, "He is the one who should be worried. He was defeated so miserably last time. Now,
If he loses to you again, he will never want to face you on the battlefield again!"
"Li Mi is not that bad. He always likes to use surprise troops, so he wins and loses easily." Xu Zi explained with a wry smile. In fact, he cared more about Xu Maogong. Intuitively, Xu Zi always felt that Xu Maogong was in front.
Somewhere is waiting for you. This feeling is like being stared at by a wolf in the mountains, aware of the existence of danger, but unable to find out where the danger comes from!
"Anyway, we will arrive in Yangwu soon. If you are really worried, we will camp in Yangwu for a day and wait for Mr. Zhang and Brother Qin to catch up with their brigade before turning eastward!" Luo Shixin saw that Li Xu was still worried.
, had no choice but to accommodate his caution.
"I'm going to send someone to deliver a letter to Mr. Zhang, asking him to come to Yangwu as soon as possible!" Li Xu thought for a while and replied. Yangwucheng is not far ahead. If we drive hard, we can arrive in half a day. "We
Put the baggage in the city, and you and some of your brothers will stay behind to guard it. After passing Yangwu, I will ask the fleet to speed up." He looked at the ships on the canal behind him that were following the army, and he still had the last hope for the Sui Dynasty.
The trusted cargo ship said slowly: "I will take the other brothers to give them a ride. When they arrive safely in Xingyang, a hundred miles away, I will turn back immediately!" (To be continued)
