Chapter 663: Enemy at the Gate

The north wind was howling, and the eight ships sailed against the wind and waves.

The flag of Duke Yun fluttered in the wind, brighter than the sun hanging overhead.

"Godmother, the news from Henan County is that General Yun led his troops to capture Qi County!" Li Mingde went up to the cabin on the third floor, where Gu Nanxi was making tea.

The telescope was handed to Song Shoujie.

Song Shoujie was like a child who had found a new toy. He couldn't let go of the telescope and looked at the mountains and rivers through it.

After hearing what Li Mingde said, Song Shoujie turned around and asked in surprise: "It's so fast?"

Li Mingde drank a glass of warm water and said, "If some people hadn't been uncooperative, we should have arrived in Anwu County by now."

Song Shoujie nodded, pretending not to understand. This person was referring to him: "Then we have to speed up our journey."

Li Mingde snorted coldly and rolled his eyes.

After Li Sui surrendered that day, Li Mingde took inventory and found that there were still eight tower ships that could be used after simple repairs.

However, Yunzhou did lack talent in operating tower ships, so Li Mingde wanted Song Shoujie to do ideological work for the captives.

These captives were all Song Shoujie's former soldiers. With Song Shoujie's intervention, the effect of achieving half the effect should be achieved.

Unexpectedly, Song Shoujie still had the burden of his image. He hesitated for several days before agreeing.

Now, eight tower ships carrying three thousand Yunzhou soldiers and twenty Yunzhou warships are marching south along the Jinsha River in a mighty manner.

Guangde Prefecture has a well-developed water system, with rivers running through almost every county.

However, among the five counties of Guangde Prefecture, only Anwu County had the intention of securing the border, because it governed Hengshan Pass, controlled the key points, and governed the Jinsha River water transport hub.

It can be said that Wu'an County is a strategic location.

When going to Anwu County, Gu Nanxi planned to take the enemy by surprise and occupy this strategic location in the shortest possible time.

Li Mingde took out the map, found a bright spot, and began to wonder why his godmother chose Wu'an County as the first target to be captured.

Guangde Prefecture has five counties.

Tongli County is named after the Tongli River in the county, which is derived from the "Tongshui River originates from the Guangde Mountains" in the "Shui Jing Zhu". The government is located at the southern foot of Taiji Cave and governs the ancient Tea-Horse Road at the northern foot of Tianmu Mountain, which is an important land trade route for Guangdefu.

Anwu County: Named after the name "Anzhen Wujiang", it is an important water transport hub in Guangde Prefecture.

Suining County: It represents the aspiration of "pacifying the southern capital and maintaining peace in the border towns". It governs the alluvial plain of Tongli River and has 37 military settlements.

Xuanzhen County: It is named after the Taoist holy site of Taiji Cave in the area, and is named after the words "Mysterious and Mysterious" and "Return to the Original Nature" in the Tao Te Ching. It governs the temple hills and manages the tribute of the Bamboo Sea and Lacquer Garden.

Jianping County: Restored the old name of the Western Han Dynasty, showing the legacy of "Jian De Cheng Ping". Governed by Meizhu Town, it governs the fishing and salt benefits of Nanyi Lake.

The capital of Guangde Prefecture was located in Jianping County, and adjacent to Jianping County were Suining County and Tongli County.

Anwu County and Xuanzhen County are both located in the north, adjacent to Hezhong County.

If you want to pick the easy ones, then you must go to Xuanzhen County. Taoist culture is prevalent in Xuanzhen County, and both men and women like to become Taoist monks and hide in the mountains.

Compared with Anwu County, Xuanzhen County's defense is weaker. Since Godmother planned to launch a blitzkrieg, she should start from Xuanzhen County. Why did she choose Anwu County?

Before Li Mingde could come up with a conclusion, the sails of the ship were fully opened and the speed increased. Song Shoujie saw the city wall of Anwu County through the telescope.

"Sir, we are almost at Anwu County!" Song Shoujie's voice trembled a little, this was his desire for merit!

The county seat of Anwu County is not far from the Jinsha River.

When the huge ship dropped anchor in the Jinsha River, the county town's gates had already been closed.

Gu Nanxi didn't care and ordered the soldiers on the ship to disembark and set up camp.

Twenty warships guarded the tower ship.

Although it was said that all the ships and warships in Guangde Prefecture were transferred to Hezhong Prefecture to fight, what if Guangde Prefecture still had ships? Or, they requisitioned civilian ships and launched a suicide attack.

Although ants are small, they can pose a threat to ships as long as there are enough of them.

Gu Nanxi didn't want to be affected by her own carelessness at the critical moment and affect her pace of moving south.

The Yunzhou soldiers who came along this time were carefully selected elite soldiers, and every squad leader had attended night school training.

Therefore, Gu Nanxi didn't have to worry about anything. Under the command of the officers, they built the camp quickly.

Under the city wall of Anwu County, the county lieutenant and the county magistrate looked solemn.

The county magistrate said, "Did you see clearly? Are they the men of Duke Yun? The governor and the judge took their men to Hezhong Prefecture, but it has only been a short time and Duke Yun has his troops at the gates of the city! It sounds like a dream."

The county lieutenant narrowed his eyes and looked for a long time, until tears came out of his eyes, and then he looked away.

"It should be Duke Yun without a doubt. The building ship is the one that departed from Guangde Prefecture, and judging from the way they set up camp, they must be a team of extremely high quality."

Setting up camp is the most challenging thing for a general and soldiers.

The way to set up camp is like living at home. If the doors and gates are not maintained, you will be robbed.

The general principle is to follow 70% defense and 30% attack, but the details are where the general's level is truly tested.

A good method of setting up camp is often a secret method passed down from father to son, and from son to grandson.

The county magistrate was puzzled: "The first choice for setting up camp is high ground with mountains behind and water in front. The second choice is flat and open land, close to water but not next to it. They are so close to the Jinsha River. Isn't this a violation of principle?"

The county lieutenant sighed. He was originally the top military scholar in the 15th year of Jianlin, but because the court valued civil officials over military officials, and most military positions were occupied by people with outstanding achievements.

He was born in a humble family and could not get a job in Kyoto, so he spent some money and used some connections to get sent to Anwu County as a county lieutenant, where he remained for many years.

The county lieutenant explained, "Because Duke Yun is very confident that he can take Anwu County in a short time! Their baggage and supplies are all on the tower ship, close to the Jinsha River, which can save them time and effort, and also free up more troops for the attack."

The county magistrate frowned tightly. Most of the tens of thousands of soldiers recruited from Henan County were in Suining County.

I heard that the soldiers were starving to the point of being skin and bones, like refugees. It would be better to save the food and give it to the existing garrison than to expect them to help in the war.

County Magistrate: "Do you have the confidence to hold on?"

The county lieutenant looked at the surging waves of the Jinsha River with mixed feelings in his heart.

When he was young, he longed to go to the battlefield and make achievements, but he never had the chance.

When his passion had died down and he just wanted to live a peaceful life, someone asked him, "Lian Po is old, can he still eat?"

The county lieutenant gritted his teeth and said, "As long as Duke Yun doesn't come in person, I can defend the city for half a decade! Sir, go write a letter to ask for reinforcements."

It is easy to defend a city, but difficult to attack it.

Anwu County is relatively wealthy, and if they tighten their belts, they can get by for half a month without any problem.

The county magistrate turned around, preparing to go back and get a pen to write a letter, then he seemed to have thought of something and turned back to ask, "What if Duke Yun comes in person?"

The county lieutenant touched his neck and said expressionlessly: "Wash your neck clean and you can chop it off."

I am having vomiting and diarrhea... The temperature is changing unpredictably, my dears, please pay more attention to your health.