Chapter 550: Really Good at Playing
In accordance with the secret order, Yang Yingqin, the general of the Zhenxi Army, was stationed in a secret valley a hundred miles away from Lingnan.
That night, when he saw the person holding the other half of the tiger talisman, he was stunned.
"Xie Zhan, the Governor of Lingnan, thanks you, sir?"
"Um."
Yang Yingqin's face was numb. He had felt something was amiss since he received the secret decree, but he never expected that Xie Zhan, the prey that was apparently being surrounded, was actually in cahoots with the imperial court.
The only words in his mind at this moment were "making a feint to the east and attacking in the west" and "repairing the plank road in the open while secretly marching through Chencang".
Who would have thought?
Your Majesty, you and Xie Zhan are really good at playing games. You have fooled everyone! He thought to himself.
Xie Zhan looked at Yang Yingqin and took out a secret decree. "The Emperor's secret decree, General Yang Yingqin, obey it."
Yang Yingqin took a deep breath and slowly knelt down, "I will obey your orders."
…
Just before dawn, a boat docked at a certain section of the river.
The army led by Qin Sheng was the first to set off and the first to arrive at the coastal waters of the East China Sea.
However, all ports and terminals in the East China Sea have been closed during this period, making it difficult for them to land.
The King of Jin was not stupid. When the troops were insufficient, it was necessary to shrink the defensive line.
Fortunately, their ally Xie Zhan seemed to be afraid that they would not be able to find the landing point and turned around and left, thinking that they had found a relatively safe landing point.
This was the condition we had previously agreed upon. It was fine for them to send troops from Pingzhou, but it was not acceptable for them to attack the heavily guarded port terminals in the East China Sea and establish a landing point abruptly.
Besides, this isn't their Pingzhou warship. Even if the Pingzhou soldiers were brave enough to do it, the Cao Gang wouldn't do it.
Deputy Gang Leader Lin Shanlin and their governor were discussing the business of renting Cao Gang ships to help transport troops and food, and that they would have priority use of the ships within three months. This did not include using Cao Gang ships to fight.
That is a different price. Otherwise, who would be responsible if the ship was damaged or crippled and confiscated by the King of Jin?
It was clear that the Southland couldn't afford it.
Steward Bi said to Qin Sheng, "General Qin, the water ahead is too shallow and there's a lot of silt. It's difficult for our ship to dock there."
Qin Sheng nodded. He had already seen this situation. He looked towards the shore. It was estimated that the distance from the boat to the shore was ten feet, and there was a long section of mud close to the shore.
"I'll go take a look first." Someone had to get ashore first. It was such a long distance, and they had to wade through the water.
Manager Bi nodded. He liked people like Pingzhou, who didn't easily cause trouble for others. Of course, if Qin Liuye asked the sailors of their Cao Gang for help, he would agree.
Qin Sheng didn't say much and asked Manager Bi to lower two small bamboo rafts into the water.
Then he tied five or six thick ropes to his hands, took the pole handed to him by Zhu Dazhuang, jumped vertically, and got off the small bamboo raft.
"Sixth Master, be careful."
Zhou Da, Zhu Dazhuang, and the others weren't worried about him. Their Sixth Master had always had good luck, and he was sure he'd make it to the other side. If something happened to him, then they wouldn't have a chance either.
Daybreak was approaching soon, and time was of the essence. The officers and men on board were also busy, each carrying rectangular cloth and sacks to pack the food.
In the current situation, it is obvious that the supplies on the ship cannot be easily transferred to the shore.
The method of repackaging is a bit troublesome, but it is a solution after all.
Soon, the small bamboo raft reached the muddy section and could not move forward.
Qin Sheng rolled over and kicked the raft in front of him hard into the mud. It slid forward quickly and stopped right in the middle of the mud. Qin Sheng landed on another raft. He used the reaction force of the other raft to leap again. As he fell, his foot lightly touched the raft in the mud and flew ashore.
Qin Sheng reached the shore smoothly.
After arriving, Qin Sheng found a tree, tied the rope around his waist to it, and then he surveyed the terrain.
Qin Sheng soon discovered that the river bank in this area was a swamp. He thought to himself that it was no wonder that no one patrolled this area.
In addition, the ground looks hard, but it is soft and not strong underneath and cannot bear too heavy weight.
In this case, it is impossible to carry too much baggage and food.
Finally, after Qin Sheng's test, the ground in this area can only withstand a weight of about 150 kilograms, and if it is overweight, it will sink.
Then Qin Sheng found two other suitable places to tie the ropes, untied the four ropes that were tied to the tree, and tied them to the other two places respectively.
The other end of the rope was tied to the boat. Soldiers crossing the river could climb over the rope and carry cloth bags or sacks filled with 20 to 30 kilograms of supplies on their shoulders without worrying about getting them wet.
Zhou Da, Zhu Dazhuang and others were the second group to cross the river.
When they were told by Sixth Master that the land could only bear a weight of 150 kilograms, they felt completely screwed. Fortunately, the soldiers of the Jintai Army were not fat, otherwise it would have been even more troublesome.
In the end, they could only pick out the important supplies and take them away quickly, because it was almost dawn and they didn't know when the patrol would arrive.
"Sixth Master, do you think that Xie did this on purpose?" Zhu Dazhuang and the others started a conspiracy theory.
"No matter whether he did it on purpose or not, let's see who comes out on top after all the calculations."
…
That night, Fang Xinkai asked his generals to go to Dong Guowei's main tent to request freedom of movement.
Dong Guowei frowned but agreed.
After everyone left, one of his trusted generals complained, "Prince Cheng's men are all troublemakers. Tomorrow is the day of the massive attack. What are they planning?"
Another trusted general said, "Let them be. They're just not contributing anything anyway! Do you really expect them to be the main force of this attack?"
"Yes, we can't count on them."
Not long after, Zhao Biao also sent people over, saying that he wanted to move freely.
Everyone in the tent: ...
"We told them to join us in encircling and suppressing the rebels, but they refused to obey orders at all."
"They're birds of a feather."
"Forget it, let's stop talking and let them be. The South is obviously at the end of its rope. Even without them, we, the imperial army, can take over the South tomorrow." Someone tried to smooth things over.
"Okay, if you have nothing else to do, go back and have a good rest, and try to take over the South Land tomorrow!" Dong Guowei said, and sent his men away.
If it is true that Fang Xinkai from Prince Cheng's side wants to move freely, then the free movement that Zhao Biao from Prince Jin said is false.
Fang Xinkai wanted to achieve great merit, while Zhao Biao simply wanted to work without putting in any effort and preserve his strength.
This was because he had just learned that Xie Zhan had loudly announced in the city that the Southland and Pingzhou had formed an alliance, and that Pingzhou would send troops to help.
When Zhao Biao heard the news, he realized that Pingzhou would either send troops to Donghai or directly send troops to the south to rescue Xie Zhan.
Although there was no news from the King of Jin, Zhao Biao did not dare to be careless. The reputation of the Pingzhou soldiers who had never been defeated since their rebellion had spread throughout the world. He had to preserve the strength for the King of Jin and Donghai.
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