Chapter 961: Something So Familiar "The Army Departs" Not only the Black Flag Army in Guyuan City is detached, but also from Suzaku Mountain. The reason why Fang Jie waited for so long was, firstly, to be on the safe side, and secondly, because he was waiting for someone. Fang Jie is waiting for Chen Dingnan¡¯s army to return. After Chen Dingnan received Fang Jie's military order and learned that he was going to attack Chang'an City, he didn't dare to delay. He mobilized all available troops in Yunnan Province and first took the waterway directly to Xinyang City, and then sent people back to Zhuque Mountain to mobilize troops to meet in Xinyang. Chen Dingnan waited in Xinyang City with his troops, while Chen Bishan returned to the Zhuque Mountain camp to mobilize the remaining available troops. After the two people met, they followed Fang Jie's instructions and did not go east into Jiangnan. Instead, they went all the way north, crossing the Huangniu River and entering the northwest of the Sui Dynasty. The reason why Fang Jie arranged this was because the number of sad soldiers and horses was too large. If the troops were concentrated together, the speed of crossing the river to the north would be slow. Although the navy is now very powerful, escorting so many soldiers and horses across the river is not something that can be done in a day or two. Chen Banshan and Chen Dingnan led their men and horses across the Huangniu River, which was not particularly wide. They did not need the assistance of the navy and could only build a crossing bridge. The task of the two of them was to go to the northwest first and consult Jin Shixiong¡¯s remaining troops in the northwest. Then they captured the iron mines in the northwest and left people to garrison them before crossing the Yishui River and entering the Hedong Road. This arrangement has two advantages. Needless to say, for one, although the northwest is exhausted, it covers thousands of miles of land, not to mention a huge iron mine. Second, entering Hedong Road from the northwest cut off Gao Kaitai's return journey. Both Chen Dingnan and Chen Bishan knew how important this battle was, so neither of them dared to slack off. After the army gathered together, they sent someone to deliver a message to Fang Jie, and then the two men immediately launched an army. Naturally, nothing will happen in Huangyang Daozhi, and there will be no difficulty in crossing the Huangniu River. Even if they reach the northwest, the resistance the two people face will not be strong. When Jin Shixiong left, he left almost in full force. The garrison left in the northwest was not large in number and poorly equipped. Fang Jie is not worried about Chen Bishan and Chen Dingnan, but he is quite concerned about the team rushing to support Dongjiang. There is no problem with Nalan Dingdong leading the troops. The problem lies in the chaotic situation in Eastern Xinjiang. Now Zhao Tianzheng and Nalan are not the only two teams rushing to support Dongjiang from the south and north of the Yangtze River. After arriving in Dongjiang, all the teams are nominally under the control of Mu Guangling. However, it is difficult to manage such a large and complex team well. It¡¯s good that everyone went there to fight against foreign enemies, but you must know that no matter in Fang Jie¡¯s past life or in this life, the desire for power of the Han people in the Central Plains has never been divided into time and place. It is true that Mu Guangling is the commander-in-chief in name only, but how many people really listen to his military orders? How many people think that they should be the deputy commander? ??????? Worry is worry, but now that the team has been released, Fang Jie knows that he cannot interfere too much. Winter passed in such a hurry, and on a sunny day, the curtain of the Black Flag Army's Northern Expedition slowly opened. According to Fang Jie¡¯s military order, the army was divided into six groups. The first person to open the way was Xiahou Baichuan, who led 50,000 troops. Zhuge Wuyuan is on the left and Liu Xuri is on the right, each leading 50,000 troops. Cui Zhongzhen was in charge of the rear team, leading 80,000 troops. Fang Jie led his own central army, with Dugu Wenxiu as military adviser, and led 200,000 troops. This is a typical Sui marching formation with front, rear, left and right. Although the Sui army lags behind in terms of weapons compared with the foreigners, in terms of formation, the Sui army will never lag behind any party. The 380,000-strong army is vast and mighty. In addition, the two naval divisions of Zheng Qiu and Duan Zheng were already waiting on the Yangtze River. After Fang Jie's military order was sent to Yunnan Road, the first one to arrive was Duan Zheng's newly formed navy. After integrating the original Nanyan navy and adding the newly built warships, Duan Zheng's navy was no longer weaker than Zheng Qiu's fleet in size. Such a massive use of troops was the first time since Fang Jie established the Black Flag Army. Fang Jie has been steadily accumulating strength over the years of planning in the southwest. When it is taken out now, this strength is enough to make people fear. "Lord" Dugu Wenxiu looked at the map. Sitting on the slightly swaying carriage, this scholar's upper body was upright, already looking somewhat like a soldier. "Duan Zheng's navy is in Qinglin, and Zheng Qiu's navy is in Wanzhou. The two places are only ten miles apart. Based on the size of the navy, it will take at least ten days for the entire army to cross the river. There are 380,000 soldiers. With hundreds of thousands of auxiliary soldiers and civilians, plus war horses and carts, especially the heavy supply camp, crossing the river is even more time-consuming." Fang Jie nodded: "I have ordered Duan Zheng and Zheng Qiu's navy to fight down on the north bank. In one area, the Sui troops on the north bank had basically been cleared by Gao Kaitai's men. There was basically no defense on the river bank and the navy had enough troops to capture the landing site.It's not a difficult place. " "Although Xiahou is impatient, he is still safe. " Dugu Wenxiu said: "My lord, he is the most suitable candidate to use him as a pioneer. " "Your job is not to flatter. Fang Jie smiled and said, "Find the best route from this map. That's what you have to do." " Dugu Wenxiu also laughed, and then drew a line on the map with charcoal: "The best way to land is from Qiongai City. Qiongai City is close to the river and was once a supply stop for merchant ships passing by on the Yangtze River. In the land, the wars are now much less than in the past few years, so there must be a lot of ships in Qiongai City, and those merchant ships can be requisitioned to transport troops. "Wu Yiyi said from the side: "The fleet carrying goods from all over the world is also waiting in Qiongai City. " Fang Jie looked at the map, and the thoughts in his mind extended along the line drawn by Dugu Wenxiu. There is no doubt that although the route selected by Dugu Wenxiu is not the closest, it is definitely the safest. If we follow this route, we can reach Chang'an City in less than a month as long as we cross the river. "The most powerful person in Jiangbei is naturally Gao Kaitai. After Wang Yiqu's death, although some of Wang Yiqu's subordinates were unwilling to respect Gao Kaitai's orders, and several troops even fled, Gao Kaitai still had at least a dozen or two hundred thousand troops in his hands. It is a joke to expect these troops to conquer Chang'an, but standing in front of us is an obstacle. " Dugu Wenxiu sighed: "It would be nice if the conflicts in the Gao Kaitai camp could be intensified a little more before the battle. Wang Yiqu's subordinates, even those who stayed to listen to his orders, may not be convinced by him. If we can find some suitable people to encourage rebellion, then this real first battle will be much smoother. " Fang Jie nodded and said, "I have informed Chen Xiaoru to start doing it. This is what the Riding School does, and no one is better than them. " "If Gao Kaitai is not a problemthen the biggest problem is the city wall of Chang'an City. " Dugu Wenxiu said: "Although I have never been to Chang'an, I can imagine how strong and tall this city wall was built with the power of the Sui Dynasty for two hundred years. Even if we have a firearms camp, we want to break through it. The city wall is also difficult. " "And" Dugu Wenxiu said: "We don't know much about what's going on in Chang'an City. In addition to the five thousand iron generals left by Yang Jian, how many troops are there in the city? If you can find out clearly in advance, it will be of great benefit to the offense. " "It's not difficult." Wu Daodao smiled: "I have a fat man named Jiusecai in Chang'an City. Although his Qinggong is not unparalleled in the world, it is not too difficult to get in and out of Chang'an City. " Fang Jie nodded: "I know the skills of Jiulesecai. He runs like a ball of catkins blown by the wind. " "Althoughit looks like a big group. " Dugu Wenxiu's eyes lit up. He really didn't expect that Fang Jie actually left a chess piece in Chang'an City. "Not only the number of defenders, but if we can contact our people in Chang'an City, we can completely divide the people in the city. dignitary. Yang Jian died, and his general Wei Mu led five thousand iron generals to defend Chang'an. This was like putting a knife on the city of Chang'an, which was already absolutely defensive. It could not only defend but also attack. However, my subordinates thought that not all the dignitaries in Chang'an City wanted to stay with Wei Mu. " Wu Yiyi nodded: "Those people are the ones who know how to steer the ship best. Maybe they won't do anything at first, but as long as the lord shows off his power in a battle, many people will take the initiative to contact the lord. " Fang Jie snorted: "Jiu Secai is not a fool. If he learns that the army has arrived, he will know what to do. " Wu Daodao thought for a while and said: "The eldest princess's revolt" He looked at Fang Jie, but did not say the next words. "Fa! " Fang Jie didn't hesitate: "Notify all places. " "The next thing I want to talk about is food and grass" Dugu Wenxiu said: "Not counting the teams of Chen Banshan and Chen Dingnan, the total number of people and horses led by the lord is more than 500,000. Plus the war horses and livestock, such a huge team The team consumes a huge amount of money every day. We brought the military rations from Shengtu and Yang Jian, plus those brought from Zhuque Mountain, plus the donations from the families in the south of the Yangtze River It is estimated that it will be enough for the army for a month. I can't bring more" "It seems that there is no need to worry about food for the time being, but after arriving in Jiangbei, the place has been raided by Wang Yiqu and Gao Kaitai for two or three years. The people are in poverty, the land is barren, and it is difficult to replenish military food. If it is transported from the Zhuque Mountain Camp to the north, then the Marquis¡¯s fleet willA large part of the navy will be occupied. " He shook his head: "It is best to solve the food and grass problem in Jiangbei. " "So the route marked by my subordinates took a small turn here" Dugu Wenxiu pointed to a place: "Anqingcang" Wu Daodao shook his head: "Gao Kaitai has been in Jiangbei for several years. I'm afraid Anqing Cang has already been exhausted. " "Not necessarily." Dugu Wenxiu said: "The reason why Gao Kaitai plundered the people so ruthlessly is that I don't think he emptied Anqing Cang, but that he wanted to keep Anqing Cang until the end. I have learned that Gao Kaitai is a very cautious person. His team ate the looted food first and kept the food in Anqing's warehouse for emergencies. " "After all, we have to fight. Fang Jie thought for a moment and said, "As for food and grass, in addition to Anqing Cang and Zhuqueshan Camp, there is also Xinkou Cang in Xinyang City." It is fastest to transfer grain from Xinkou warehouse to the north along the waterway. " As he spoke, he looked outside the carriage: "We are almost reaching the river, and we can already smell the fishy smell of the river. " Just at this moment, the carriage suddenly stopped. Chen Xiaoru's voice sounded outside: "My lord, there are many wealthy people and countless common people gathering on the riverside in front, saying they want to work for the army. " "The troops? " Dugu Wenxiu smiled: "It's time for them to make a gesture. " "How many things did Laojun bring? " Fang Jie asked. Chen Xiaoru came in from outside, holding a large wooden plate in his hand. "In addition to food and grass there is also this. " Fang Jie turned his head and looked at it, and his heart suddenly tightened. " On the big tray, there was a set of shining golden armor!