After the team had gone twenty miles, Liu Yan ordered a rest. He took the time to visit Liu Xiu and saw his second sister Liu Yuan and brother-in-law Deng Chen's family. Liu Xiu was playing with his niece and was in good spirits. Liu Yan finally managed to It's a relief.
He first asked about Liu Xiu's health, and then warned him to pay more attention to rest. Then he asked Liu Yuan and Deng Chen about the situation there, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong, Liu Yan hurried there again elsewhere.
He is the commander-in-chief of the entire army and has too many things to deal with, so naturally he cannot spend all his time with his family.
Deng Chen cooked a small pot of chicken soup, handed it to Liu Xiu, and said, "Axiu, there are ginseng slices in the chicken soup. Drink more!"
Liu Xiu first thanked Deng Chen and then invited everyone to come and drink together.
Since we were marching and fighting, we couldn't bring everything with us. We were all a family anyway, and we didn't dislike each other. A few people sat around the small pot, each holding a spoon, and you drank the chicken soup one by one. .
Liu Yuan and Deng Chen didn't drink a few sips, but Liu Xiu, Liu Boji and the little kids all drank a lot. After the pot of chicken soup was finished, Deng Chen picked up the empty pot and washed it. Liu Yuan stood up and said Lift your eyes and look toward the back.
They had been resting for less than half an hour, but there were still soldiers and family members rushing to the resting place. After looking at it for a while, Liu Yuan sat down again and said, "Axiu, when can we get to Wancheng?" ?”
Liu Xiu secretly smiled bitterly. In fact, Jiyang was very close to Wancheng. At best, it was less than 150 miles away. However, our marching speed was too slow. They marched all morning and only walked two miles. Only ten miles.
He said: "At the current speed, it will take four or five days to reach Wancheng."
As the saying goes, soldiers need speed and speed. In these four or five days, we don't know how many things will happen.
Liu Yuan sighed softly and said: "It will take another four or five days?! I thought I could get to Nanjuju tonight!"
Nanjiuju is located between Wancheng and Jiyang, less than a hundred miles away from both places.
Liu Xiu smiled and said: "It would be great if we can get together at Nanja tomorrow!"
Speaking of gathering in the south, Liu Xiu suddenly had an idea. At this moment, Deng Chen came back from washing the pots with a pheasant in his hand. Seeing this, Liu Yuanxiao asked: "Husband, where did it come from? Pheasant?"
Deng Chen said cheerfully: "Ziwei hunted it nearby! We happened to meet each other just now, so Ziwei asked me to bring the pheasant over and roast it for Axiu to eat!"
Fu Jun is a famous marksman, and hunting a pheasant is easy for him.
It happened that the bonfire was still there, so Deng Chen added some firewood, shaved the pheasant, bled it, took out the internal organs, threaded it on a stick, and roasted it slowly on the bonfire.
Liu Xiu said to Xuying beside him: "Xuying, go and find my eldest brother. He has been busy all morning and probably hasn't eaten yet!"
Xuying agreed, got up and left. Not long after, Xuying actually brought Liu Yan over. Liu Yan took a look at the roast chicken on the bonfire, swallowed his saliva, and asked: "Axiu, are you looking for me?" ?”
"Brother, Ziwei just hunted a pheasant, so I asked you to come over and eat some together!" Liu Xiu said with a smile.
Not to mention not having lunch, Liu Yan didn't even bother to eat breakfast. Now that he could smell the aroma of roasted chicken, all the five internal organs temples were beating drums.
He grinned, sat down cross-legged by the bonfire, and said, "That's fine! You're welcome, brother." As he spoke, he took out a cloth bag from his arms, opened it, and found two coins in it. Zhang pancake.
Liu Xiu asked: "Brother, can we get together in the south tomorrow?"
Liu Yan thought for a moment and said, "Almost! Even if it doesn't come tomorrow, it will be noon the day after tomorrow at the latest." After a pause, he asked, "Axiu, why did you suddenly get together when you mentioned Nan?"
Liu Xiu pondered for a moment and said: "Brother, what I want to do is, after arriving at Nanjiju, can we temporarily settle all the family members and dependents who are accompanying the army in Nanjiju?"
Seeing his eldest brother looking at him with a frown, Liu Xiu said: "With so many family members and dependents, our army's march is too slow, and it is too inconvenient to fight!"
Liu Yan said inexplicably: "Isn't this how we fight all the way? Bringing family members will affect the speed, but the soldiers have no worries, and because there are family members in the rear, the soldiers are on the battlefield There will be no way out, so we can only fight bravely to kill the enemy."
"But..." Fighting Wancheng is different from fighting other places.
When attacking other cities, the opponents are only county soldiers. Our own combat power is not strong, but the county soldiers are even more rabble. However, when attacking Wancheng, the opponents are county troops, who are truly elite divisions. How can there be any difference between the two? Comparable?
Liu Yan could feel Liu Xiu's nervousness. He laughed, patted Liu Xiu on the shoulder, and said comfortingly: "Just relax, Axiu! There are only a few thousand county troops, but my elder brother hasn't taken it seriously yet!"
As he spoke, he raised his head to look at Deng Chen and asked, "Weiqing, is the pheasant almost ready for roasting?"
Deng Chen smiled and said: "Brother, you can eat it."
Liu Yan started directly, tore off a chicken leg and stuffed it into Liu Xiu's hand. Then he tore off another piece of chicken, rolled it up in a pancake, and ate it.
After resting for nearly an hour at noon, the army set off and continued on its way.
To make a long story short, the next day, the march was a little faster, and we finally arrived at Nanjiuju before it got dark.
Nanjiuju is not a city, but it is one of the most fertile areas in Nanyang and is also an important grain-producing area in Nanyang.
The county government has a fortress here in Nanjiuju, where hundreds of county troops are stationed. However, when Zhu Tiandu's army arrived at Nanjiuju, the fortress was already empty. Not a single garrison was left inside, and even the hoarded troops were gone. He didn't even bother to take away all the food, and threw it all in the fortress. Now naturally, all of it has become the spoils of war for Zhu Tiandu.
When Liu Yan and others entered the fortress for inspection, they found that there were quite a lot of supplies stored inside. In addition to food, there were also weapons, armor, crossbows, etc. When the county army fled the fortress, they did not have time to take away these supplies. .
Liu Ji, who was following Liu Yan, grinned widely and said: "Brother, this county soldier has no other skills, but his ability to escape is the best. When we fought with the county soldiers, the county soldiers at least dared to fight with us. Fighting, the county army is better, it can run faster than a damn rabbit!"
Everyone around laughed when they heard this. Liu Yan also looked proud and ordered slowly: "Tonight, let your family and dependents live in the fortress, and our soldiers will be stationed around the fortress!"
"Yes! General!" All the surrounding generals stepped in to take the order.
Because Liu Xiu was injured, he now became a family member and lived in the fortress with his second sister and younger sister.
There was nothing to say that night. Early the next morning, Zhu Tiandu's troops set off, gathered together after leaving the south, and continued to march north.
From the south we can reach Wancheng, which is even closer. According to Liu Yan's plan, we can reach Xiaochang'an Ju tonight, and we can reach Wancheng tomorrow.
Xiao Chang'an Ju is located near Wancheng. It is a land and water dock with prosperous shipping and prosperous commerce. This is where the name Xiao Chang'an comes from.
After passing Xiaochang'anju, and walking more than ten miles north, you will reach Wancheng.
Zhu Tiandu's trip in the morning went smoothly, but in the afternoon, when he was approaching Xiaochang'anju, it suddenly rained heavily and the roadside became muddy. Under such circumstances, Zhu Tiandu was unable to continue on his way.
If it was just a simple march of the army, then it would be okay to say that even if the road was muddy, they could march forward in the rain. The key is that the Zhu Tiandu Department carried a large number of family members, and the family members also brought a large amount of luggage and belongings. There were many large and small carts, some pulled by horses, some pulled by oxen, and some pulled by people. The carts got stuck in the mire and couldn't be pulled out.
Seeing that his side could not go any further, Liu Yan decisively ordered the entire army to rest and take shelter from the heavy rain.
This heavy rain lasted for more than half an hour. After the heavy rain passed, Zhu Tiandu's tribe set off again.
The heavy rain has stopped, but the mud on the road will not disappear in a short time, and the team is moving extremely slowly.
Liu Xiu sat in the carriage, her body shaking with the carriage.
Distraught, he lifted the car curtain and looked outside. The sky was gloomy and hazy in the distance. He slowly frowned and looked outside the car, remaining motionless for a long time.
Liu Boji came over curiously and looked outside. She didn't see anything strange. She asked, "Third brother, what's wrong?"
"It looks like it's going to be foggy!" Liu Xiu murmured. He moved towards the window, stuck his head out and said, "Xu Ying!"
"General!" Xuying, who was standing next to the carriage, urged his horse to come over.
Liu Xiu asked: "Are Zizhang and Ci Kuang nearby?"
Xuying raised his eyes and looked around, shook his head and said, "Captain Ma and Colonel Cho should be in front. General, shall I go find them?"
Liu Xiu shook his head and said: "No need." He has already explained everything that needs to be explained. Even if Ma Wu and Yao Qi are brought here now, he has nothing to say, but at this time, his heart is very nervous. , I always feel like something bad is going to happen.
He said quietly: "It rained heavily first, and then there was heavy fog. Today's journey is not smooth."
Xuying smiled and said: "General, the general has already said that we can reach Xiaochang'anju smoothly tonight."
As soon as they arrived at Xiaochang'an Ju, Wancheng was within easy reach. With 20,000 troops attacking the 5,000-strong county army, no matter how you looked at it, your side had every advantage.
Liu Xiu's lips curled up and she said no more.
The fog was just hazy at first, but as time went by, the fog got bigger and bigger. Looking around, the place three meters away was basically a vast expanse of white, and nothing could be seen clearly.
Liu Xiu couldn't sit still in the carriage. He stood up and walked out of the carriage. Seeing this, Liu Boji and Xu Xiling asked at the same time: "Where is the third brother (lord) going?"
He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You guys are sitting in the car. I feel a little bored. Let's go outside and take a look!"
Seeing Liu Xiu come out of the carriage, Xu Ying, Xu Fei, and Xu Ting immediately rushed forward and asked with doubts on their faces: "General?"
"Give me a horse and I'll go ahead and take a look!"
"But general, your body..."
"No problem, lend me your horse."
Xu Fei dismounted and handed the reins of the war horse to Liu Xiu. The latter took it and, with Xu Fei's help, he got on the horse.
He urged the horse forward. Xu Ying and Xu Ting looked at each other and left Xu Fei behind. The two of them followed Liu Xiu on horseback and walked forward together.
