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The Flag Enters the Yanyun Chapter 136: Under the Baigou

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    "That's right!" Liu Sheng's tone was very firm. He took out a willow stick and said: "Look, I have found the rope that I tied during the day. The bottom of this section of the river is gravel, and the deepest part of the water is only  It's more than two feet deep, which is the place to cross the river!" Zhou Ping took the willow stick from his hand. As expected, the length of the stick soaked by water was only a little more than two feet. He nodded and ordered in a deep voice: "Light the fire and cross the river.  "The convoy suddenly became busy. People quickly lit torches and cut bundles of wild grass from both sides of the road to lay under the wheels to prevent the wheels from sinking into the soft soil on the river bank. They also pulled several people over at the crossing point.  A thick rope, when everything was ready, Liu Sheng directed the first car to drive slowly towards the river.  Zhou Ping stood on the river bank and looked at the figures and cars flashing in the river with the help of the flashing firelight. He heard the heavy breathing of people and animals. In order to reduce the load and prevent the vehicles from sinking into the river bed, the carts were used when crossing the river.  Part of the cargo on board must be unloaded and moved to the other side by manpower or horses.  From time to time, people and animals stumbled and fell into the river, but they quickly stood up again with the support of their companions.  Zhou Ping looked at the sky anxiously, trying to judge how long it would be until dawn through the constellations, but the night sky was pitch black and he couldn't see anything. Suddenly, he felt a chill on his forehead and heard Li Bao's voice in his ears.  "General, it's raining!" "Yes!" Zhou Ping nodded. He could see the crackling sound of the burning torch a few feet away. It was the sound of rain falling on the burning pine trees.  ¡°The rain is getting heavier and heavier, please get into the carriage and take shelter!¡± Li Bao continued.  "No need!" Zhou Ping shook his head: "The rain is good. The heavier the rain, the less likely it is that the Liao people will come out for inspection. I hope it rains for a few days in a row and allows us to pass Zhuozhou safely!"  He took a step forward and shouted loudly to the people struggling in the river: "It's raining. The Khitan people must be resting in their houses. Everyone, work harder and cross the river. Everyone will be rewarded with fifty guan!"  Zhuozhou is located in the central part of Hebei Province.  After the Later Jin Dynasty ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, this place became the front line for the confrontation between the Central Plains Dynasty and the Liao people.  It and Yizhou are like two door gods, guarding the south gate of Yanjing.  When the clouds of war gradually shrouded the sky over the land of Yanyun, the small imperial court in Yanjing finally made a decision - to appoint Yelu Dashi as the commander of the southwest road and lead two thousand Khitan cavalry to garrison in the new city of Zhuozhou.  Xincheng, county government.  The rain falling on the tiles made a slight sound.  Yelu Dashi sat in front of several desks.  Looking at a letter in front of the oil lamp, judging from his face, the content in the letter was not good news. His deputy Xiao Erlu saw Yelu Dashi carefully putting the read letter in front of the oil lamp and lighting it, and lowered his voice.  He asked loudly: "Is there any good news from Yanjing?" "Good news?" Yelu Dashi smiled bitterly and said: "There is no good news at this time. If there is no news, it is good news. The Jin people rejected my invitation to surrender and offer soil.  "Oh!" Xiao Erlu sighed: "Don't we even want to offer this Yanjing city to others?" "We want to use this fat piece of Yanjing as bait to attract the Jin people to destroy it.  The alliance, and then profit from it!" A sarcastic smile appeared on Yelu Dashi's face: "But I am not a fool, so I will definitely fall into your trap. That Wanyan Aguda knows very well that he will not look at us for a day.  When Liao takes his last breath, he won't be at odds with Nan Chao for a day!" Xiao Erlu sighed.  He lowered his head and said nothing. It turned out that Song Fang's intention to start a war became more and more obvious.  The small imperial court in Yanjing finally resorted to the last resort, sending envoys to beg for surrender from the Jin people, in an attempt to lure the Jin people south, break the alliance with the Song army, and start a war between the two powers, and then the small imperial court in Yanjing could win a living space.  "Dashi Linya, what do you think we should do next?" Xiao Erlu asked after a while.  "The only plan now is to fight the Southern Dynasty first!" Yelu Dashi replied: "If we win, we can use this to seek peace and at least seek a vassal status." "What if we lose?" "  If we lose?" Yelu Dashi sighed: "If we lose, we will just go back and forth like our ancestors did!" "That's all we can do!" Xiao Fulu sighed: "What if we lose?  The beating must be quick, it¡¯s almost June, but, but¡ª¡± At this point, the strong Khitan man sat down with a look of sorrow on his face.  Yelu Dashi didn't speak. He knew very well the meaning of Xiao Erlu's half-sentence.  Generally speaking, the Song Army's Northern Expedition will be launched after June. The reason is very simple. At this time, the summer grain has been harvested and the autumn grain has been sown (all times here are based on the lunar calendar).  The Song army could recruit enough farmers to serve as civilian husbands, and there were a large number of seedlings and crops that were about to mature in the fields. No matter what the soldiers said,?You don¡¯t have to worry about the fodder for your livestock.  Moreover, if time is delayed, it will also help Tong Guan strengthen the training of the large but not yet well-adjusted army on hand.  For the Liao army, it would be disadvantageous to continue to delay. By recruiting the Xi tribe in front of and behind the mountains and mobilizing the Khitan people around Youzhou, Yelu Chun (actually Xiao Qian) had an army on hand that exceeded the number of troops.  An army of 50,000 people (excluding the ever-victorious army), but the existing civilian power of the small imperial court in Yanjing is simply not enough to maintain such a large army for a long time. For example, the newly-built "thin army" made those Han officials  They complained that the only way to solve this problem was to start a war quickly, move the battlefield to the Southern Dynasty, and use the looted loot to replace military pay.  But neither Yelu Chun nor Xiao Puxian had the determination to start the war - otherwise, they would not have given Yelu Dashi only two thousand cavalry to enter Tunxin City. This was obviously just a posture to prevent the Song people from attacking. They were not the kind to fight in desperate situations.  A true hero who fights his way out.  "I have a way, I have a way to make His Majesty decide to go to war!" Yelu Dashi suddenly shouted loudly.  "What?" Xiao Erlu was stunned: "What method?" "Didn't Tong Guan raise a big banner to recruit the Yan people to surrender? I will use the trick and send the cavalry to patrol along the Baigou. As long as they encounter Han people fleeing south, they will  Press him to the river and behead him, let¡¯s see what the Song army does!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea!¡± Xiao Erlu said with a smile, and then asked: ¡°What if Tong Guan doesn¡¯t pay attention?¡± ¡°Then select some sergeants.  We disguised ourselves as Han people fleeing south and took the opportunity to attack the enemy camp. Anyway, as soon as the Song army moves, we can ask the king of the Fourth Army to lead the troops southward! " "What a plan, what a plan!" Xiao Erlu said with a smile: "You are sure of it, Dashi Linya!  There is a way!" "Come here, send the order and send out far-reaching troops to patrol near Baigou. If any Han people are found fleeing south, they will be arrested and taken to the Song people's fortress to behead them in public during the day." North bank of Baigou, Baihe River!  Dian.  After a night of trekking, by the next morning, Zhou Ping and his party had crossed Baigou and arrived at a small village about ten miles north of Baigou. The residents of this village had already fled, leaving only an abandoned village.  In order to prevent being discovered by the Liao people's horsemen, Liu Sheng suggested resting and eating in the village during the day, and then hitting the road in the evening, preparing to resume the normal itinerary after passing the border area between the two countries.  The exhausted people lay down and rested after eating some dry food. Only those on duty stood sentry under the big locust tree at the entrance of the village.  As the person with the highest status in the team, Zhou Ping naturally occupies the best house in the village, and there is even an intact earthen bed in the house.  But he did not sleep peacefully. After sleeping on the kang for about half an hour, he got up and walked around the village. If according to his original intention, he wanted to pass through this dangerous area as quickly as possible, there was no other way.  He knows better what kind of bloody battle is about to break out here in the next few months. Anyone with a little military knowledge knows that before such a war breaks out, the generals of both sides will send a large number of sentries to explore the roads to the battlefield.  Rivers and terrain prepared for the upcoming battle, but in the end Liu Sheng convinced himself.  "General, we are smugglers now, not cavalry. If the animals are not allowed to rest and the vehicles are not repaired, the animals pulling the carts will die, and we will have to throw away the 'goods' on the carts. As for the Liao people's  Sentry, I know how to deal with them!" The confident look of the thirty-seven-year-old man with a tall nose and brown eyes reappeared in Zhou Ping's mind, and he asked him: "What if you can't deal with them?  ?" Liu Sheng replied with a smile: "Then you have to show your skills with the bow and sword. Did the general choose this path? Do you still want to live a peaceful life?" "Yes!  It is not a peaceful road!" At this time, Zhou Ping couldn't help but laugh: "But it would be great if the people in the Central Plains can be peaceful. I don't want to see the tragic situation like Liaodong and Jiangnan again!" "General, General!  !" Li Bao rushed in from outside and whispered: "The people on guard at the entrance of the village saw the Liao cavalry, they must be Yuanbaizi!" "Yuanbaozi?" Zhou Ping's face immediately turned gloomy.  He got up and jumped down from the Tukang. Li Bao hurriedly handed over the waist knife and coat, and asked in a low voice: "Do you want to send the crossbow down with the armor, so that you can be prepared if your face is torn!"  " Zhou Ping hesitated. In addition to two hundred pieces of rock salt and miscellaneous food for the road, there were also one hundred and fifty sets of iron leaf armor, fifty divine arm bows, and some other weapons hidden in the carriage.  These were specially allocated to him by Tong Guan because of his great achievements last time.  But in order to pretend to be a smuggler, Zhou Ping did not let his men be fully armed.  "Choose twenty old brothers, hide in the house with divine arm bows, and wait for my order!" "Here!"
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