The army sets off

Not only did the Black Flag Army in Guyuan City all set out, but also the Zhuque Mountain.

The reason why I waited for so long was that it was for safety and the other was that I was waiting for someone.

Fang Jie was waiting for Chen Dingnan's army to come back.

After receiving Fang Jie's military order, Chen Dingnan dared not delay it. He would all the soldiers available on Yunnan Road. He first went straight to Xinyang City by water, and then sent people back to Zhuque Mountain to mobilize people to gather in Xinyang. Chen Dingnan and his men were waiting in Xinyang City with his men, while Chen Dingshan returned to Zhuque Mountain camp to mobilize the remaining available men.

After the two met, they did not go east to the south of the Yangtze River according to Fang Jie's instructions, but went north to cross the Huangniu River and enter the northwest of the Great Sui Dynasty.

Fang Jie's reason for this arrangement was because he was sad that the number of soldiers and horses was too large. If the troops were concentrated together, the speed of crossing the river north would inevitably be slow. Although the navy is strong now, it is not a matter of escorting so many soldiers and horses across the river in one day or two. Chen Duanshan and Chen Dingnan, two men, took their men and horses to cross the Huangniu River, which was not particularly wide, without the assistance of the navy, so they could build a crossing bridge.

The two of them had the task of going to the northwest first and asking Jin Shixiong for advice in the remnants of the northwest. Then they took down the iron ore in the northwest, and left the people to station them. After the group of people crossed the Yishui River and entered Hedong Road.

There are two benefits to this arrangement.

Needless to say, although the northwest is exhausted, it is thousands of miles away, not to mention that there is a huge iron ore. Second, entering Hedong Road from the northwest, it cut off the way back to Gaokaitai.

Both Chen Dingnan and Chen Duanshan knew how important this battle was, so neither dared to slack off. After the army gathered, they sent someone to send a letter to Fang Jie, and then the two immediately raised an army. Naturally, there would be nothing wrong with Huangyang Daozhi, and it would be no difficulty to cross the Huangniu River. Even when they arrived in the northwest, the resistance they faced would not be strong. Jin Shixiong almost came out in full swing, and the number of defenders left in the northwest was not large and the equipment was simple.

Fang Jie was not worried about Chen Duanshan and Chen Dingnan, but he cared about the teams rushing to assist Dongjiang. There was no problem with Nalan Dingdong leading troops, the problem was the chaotic situation in the East Xinjiang. Now there are more than two teams rushing to assist Dongjiang from Jiangnan, Jiangbei, and Nalan. After arriving in Dongjiang, all teams nominally belonged to Mu Guangling's control, but it is difficult to manage such a complex team well.

It’s good for everyone to fight against foreign enemies, but you should know that whether it is Fang Jie’s past or present life, the desire for power in the Central Plains Han people never distinguishes between time and place. It’s true that Mu Guangling is the nominal commander, but how many people sincerely listen to his military orders? How many people think they should be the deputy commander?

I am worried, but since the team has been released, Fang Jie knows that he cannot intervene too much.

Winter passed in such a hurry. 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 routes. The front was Xiahou Baichuan, leading 50,000 troops. Zhuge Wuyin was on the left wing, and Liu Xuri was on the right wing, each leading 50,000 troops. Cui Zhongzhen was in charge, leading 80,000 troops. Fang Jie led his own central army, and Dugu Wenxiu was in charge of military affairs, leading 200,000 troops.

This is a typical formation of the Great Sui army in front, back, left and right. Although the Great Sui army was behind in weapons compared to the foreigners, the Great Sui army never lags behind in terms of formations.

The army of 380,000 is vast.

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 naval division. After integrating the original Nanyan naval division and the newly built warships, Duan Zheng's naval division was no less than Zheng Qiu's fleet in terms of scale.

Such a massive military use was the first time since Fang Jie established the Black Flag Army.

Fang Jie has been accumulating strength steadily over the years since planning in the Southwest. By now, this strength is enough to make people afraid.

"Master"

Dugu Wenxiu looked at the map and sat in the slightly shaking carriage. The literati's upper body was straight and he was already looking 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. According to the scale of the navy, it takes at least ten days for the entire army to cross the river. There are 380,000 soldiers, more than 100,000 auxiliary soldiers and civilians, plus the war horses and carts, especially the baggage camp, crossing the river is even more time-consuming."

Fang Jie nodded: "I have ordered Duan Zheng and Zheng Qiu's navy to capture a place on the north bank. The Sui army on the north bank has basically been cleaned up by Gao Kaitai's troops, and there is basically no defense on the river bank. The navy has sufficient troops, so it is not difficult to take down the places needed to land."

"Although Xiahou is impatient, he is not unsafe."

Dugu Wenxiu said: "The Lord uses him as the pioneer and is the most suitable candidate."

"Your duty is not to flatter."

Fang Jie smiled and said, "Find out the best route from this map, this is what you need to do."

Dugu Wenxiu also laughed and then drew a line on the map with a charcoal pen: "It's best to land from Qiongai City. However, Qiongai City is near the riverside. It used to be a supply place where merchant ships must dock when passing by on the Yangtze River. Now there are much less war than in the past few years, so there must be many ships in Qiongai City, and those merchant ships can be requisitioned at that time."

Wu Yidao said from the side: "The fleet that carries 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 you advance according to this route, you can reach the city of Chang'an within a month after crossing the river.

"The most powerful person in Jiangbei now 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 ten or two hundred and twenty-one. It was a joke to count on these troops to break through Chang'an, but blocking us was an obstacle."

Dugu Wenxiu sighed: "It would be great if the conflicts in Gaokaitai Camp could be further intensified before the battle. Wang Yiqu's subordinates, even those who stayed to obey his orders, might not be convinced by him. If some suitable people could be found to instigate rebellion, then the first battle in the true sense would be much smoother."

Fang Jie nodded: "I already know that Chen Xiaoru started to do it. The Xiaoqi School is doing this errand, and no one is better than them."

"If Gao Kaitai is not a problem... then the biggest problem is the wall of Chang'an City."

Dugu Wenxiu said: "Although my subordinates have never been to Chang'an, they can imagine how solid and tall the city walls built by the power of the Sui Dynasty for 200 years are. Even if we have a firearm, it will be difficult to break the city wall."

"and……"

Dugu Wenxiu said: "We don't know much about what happened 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 attack."

“Not difficult”

Wu Yidao smiled: "I have a fat man named Jiu Si Cai, who is in Chang'an City. Even though his light skills are unparalleled, it is not too difficult to enter and exit Chang'an City."

Fang Jie nodded: "I know the ability to drink, sex and money. When he runs, he looks like a ball of willow catkins blown by the wind."

"Although... it looks like a big ball."

Dugu Wenxiu's eyes lit up. He really didn't expect Fang Jie to leave a chess piece in Chang'an City.

"It's not just the number of defenders. If we can contact our people in Chang'an City, we can completely divide the nobles in the city. Yang Jian died. His general Wei Mu led 5,000 iron generals to defend Chang'an. This is like installing a knife on Chang'an City, which is an absolute defense. Not only can you defend but also attack. However, my subordinates think that not all the high-ranking officials and nobles in Chang'an City want to accompany Wei Mu to defend."

Wu Yidao nodded: "Those people are the best at changing their minds when they meet Feng. Maybe they won't do anything at first, but as long as the lord shows his might in the battle, many people will take the initiative to contact the lord."

Fang Jie nodded: "Wine, sex, money, aren't stupid people. If he learns that the army has arrived, he knows what to do."

Wu Yidao thought for a while and said, "The Princess's proclamation for rebellion..."

He looked at Fangxue, but did not say anything later.

"hair!"

Fang Jie had no hesitation: "Notice to all places."

"The next thing I want to talk about is food and grass..."

Dugu Wenxiu said: "If it weren't for Chen Duanshan and Chen Dingnan's team, the total number of troops led by the lord personally exceeded 500,000, plus war horses and animals. Such a huge team would cost a huge amount of money every day. We brought Shengtu and Yang Jian's military rations, brought from Zhuque Mountain, and paid by the Jiangnan families... It is estimated that it is enough for the army to need a month. No matter how many it is, we can't bring it..."

"It seems that the food is worry-free for the time being, but after arriving in Jiangbei, the place has been swept away by Wang Yiqu Gaokaitai for two or three years. The people are in poverty and the land is barren, and it is difficult to supply military food. If it is transported from the Zhuque Mountain Camp to the north, then the Marquis' fleet and navy will be occupied by a large part."

He shook his head: "It's better to solve the problem of food and grass in Jiangbei."

"So... the route marked by the subordinates turned a small turn here..."

Dugu Wenxiu pointed to a place: "Anqing Cang"

Wu Yidao shook his head: "Gao Kaitai has been in Jiangbei for several years, but I am afraid he has already eaten up Anqing Cang."

"uncertain"

Dugu Wenxiu said: "The reason why Gao Kaitai plundered the people was so cruel is that I thought it was not that he had eaten up the Anqing Cang, but that he wanted to keep the Anqing Cang for the end. I had a special understanding of Gao Kaitai, who was extremely cautious in his personality. His team first ate the plundered food and kept the food in the Anqing Cang for emergencies."

"I'll fight after all."

Fang Jie thought about it and said, "In addition to Anqing Cang and Zhuque Mountain Camp, there is also Xinkou Cang in Xinyang City. It is the fastest to transfer grain from Xinkou Cang along the water road north."

He said as he looked outside the carriage: "I'm almost at the riverside, and I can already smell the fishy smell of Zihe."

At this moment, the carriage suddenly stopped.

Chen Xiaoru's voice sounded outside: "Lord, there are many famous people and countless people gathered by the river in front of him, saying that they want to work hard."

"Hard work?"

Dugu Wenxiu smiled: "It's time for them to make postures."

"How much does the labour army bring?"

Fang answered the question.

Chen Xiaoru came in from outside, holding a big wooden plate in his hand.

"In addition to food and grass... there is this."

Fang Jie turned his head and looked at it, and his heart suddenly became tight.
Chapter completed!