weaving

Chapter 1325 July th?

On June 24th, on the official road from Xiangcheng to Xuzhou.

Wang Tieren, deputy general of the Qinglong Battalion of the Yongyi Army, personally led 500 light cavalrymen from the Jiasi to attack an earthen stronghold where the Chuang Army was stationed, set it on fire and then withdrew.

On the same day, Ma Sanzhuang, a captain of the Light Cavalry Division, also led 500 light cavalrymen from the Light Cavalry Left Division to attack a small group of rebel troops who were foraging for food in the surrounding area and looted dozens of stones of grain.

On the 26th, a cavalry unit of the government army appeared on the official road from Baofeng County, Ruzhou to Lushan County. There were about a hundred of them, riding strong war horses and wearing fine armor and weapons, but there were no flags and it was impossible to tell which government army they were.

They came and went like the wind, and did not stay in any city or stronghold for long!

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In Tongxu County, the city wall that was originally demolished by the bandits was also repaired by the military and civilians. Although it is not as tall and strong as before, it is much better than having no city wall at all, and it can also make the people in the city feel more at ease.

Most of the cities in Henan are like this now. Ruined city walls are everywhere, and only one in ten civilians are left. Many of them are those who escaped during the war and have returned quietly.

Many wealthy gentry were still hiding in the surrounding earthen forts. Although they did not dare to return to the city, they sent servants and assistants back to the city to repair their houses and shops, and stayed to guard the place.

The order in most county towns is very poor. Some government offices are no longer staffed. The former yamen runners have turned into bullies, bullying the very people they are supposed to be protecting.

The situation in Tongxu County was much better than in the surrounding counties because Jiang Mingwu's battalion of government troops was stationed here. There were soldiers patrolling at every street corner and the order in the city was very stable. There were also some yamen runners serving in the county government to maintain order in the city.

Even many people from surrounding counties took refuge in Tongxu County, making it more lively and prosperous than the surrounding areas.

Jiang Mingwu's subordinates all strictly obeyed military orders. Not only did they not rob the civilians, they also insisted on selling at fair prices, which improved the people's impression of the government army. Moreover, because they were flying the banner of the Yongyi Army, they invisibly did a lot of publicity for the Yongyi Army.

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Fifteen miles south of Tongxu County, at the confluence of Shahe River and Woshui River, military tents stand in an orderly manner.

Although the military tents here looked quite neat and much stronger than those of other bandit armies, they were still not comparable to the Yongyi Army.

Among the bandit troops, only the troops led by Li Yan set up camp so rigorously. Don't underestimate Li Yan. Although he is a scholar in charge of the troops, he should not be underestimated!

However, the two camps next to Li Yan's camp seemed a bit messy, especially when compared with the very standardized Li Yan's camp, they were simply unbearable to look at.

These two camps were the camps of Tong Shoushan and Lu Yingbiao who followed Li Yan. Especially Tong Shoushan's camp, from a distance, looked very much like the camps of the Ming Dynasty's official army...

Although Tong Shoushan was very capable in fighting and had a lot of clever ideas, he was not very good at setting up camp. His camp was just as casual and messy as the original government troops.

Lu Yingbiao was almost the same as him. Whether it was the camp wall or the planning within the camp, it was completely incomparable with Li Yan's camp. Although there were horse trails, public toilets, etc., they looked very messy and not as neat as Li Yan's camp.

Perhaps... only the camp of the Yongyi Army would be more strict and standardized than Li Yan's camp!

Human figures could be vaguely seen on the surrounding hills and in the woods, and many knights were running in and out of the camp from time to time, without any rest from morning to night.

At this moment, inside Li Yan’s central army tent…

"Does anyone in the army know this man?" Li Yan pointed at a corpse on the ground and asked Lu Yingbiao. Lu Yingbiao said complacently, "General Li, there are several brothers in my camp who went to Cao's camp to play cards and gamble, and they met this man several times."

"Are you sure?" Li Yan's face showed a hint of hesitation, but his eyes returned to the wrinkled cloth in his hand.

"It's true."

Lu Yingbiao answered confidently: "Those guys have been with me for many years. They are all trustworthy brothers."

Li Yan looked at Tong Shoushan again: "Shoushan, what do you think?"

Tong Shoushan was stunned at first, then he grinned and said, "From our point of view...Brother Lu is still trustworthy!"

"July 13th... July 13th..."

Li Yan looked at the cloth in his hand and muttered for a while before asking Lu Yingbiao, "Yingbiao, where did the spies in your camp meet this messenger from Cao's camp?"

"Reporting to General Li, the brothers found him on the official road northwest of Qi County."

Li Yan nodded and asked again: "How did this brother Cao Ying die?"

Lu Yingbiao took a step forward, kicked the corpse hard, and then cursed: "This guy is very stubborn. Among the seven people in the team, he is the most difficult one...

Damn it... He injured several of my brothers before we captured him... He was originally tied to the horse, but who could have thought that he would not be obedient, and took advantage of the brothers' unpreparedness to cut the ropes, seize the horse and try to escape... He also... He injured two of our brothers. When we saw that he was running far away, the brothers shot him off the horse with arrows."

He kicked again and said, "Who would have thought that I would shoot him to death!"

After listening to his story, Li Yan nodded and said, "If General Cao really disregards our old friendship and joins forces with Xuan's army to attack our camp, it will be difficult to deal with us."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Lu Yingbiao and said to him, "Yingbiao, no matter whether this news is true or false, you have done a great deed this time. I will immediately send out a fast rider to report the secret letter to the Grand Marshal. You should send your personal soldiers to call the leader of the Cao camp messenger who was captured, and have him accompany me to the headquarters in case the Grand Marshal has any questions."

"Yes."

Li Yan turned around and ordered his personal guards: "Go, select ten cavalrymen, lead the team yourself, and set off immediately to report to the Grand Marshal's headquarters."

He pointed to the body of Cao Ying's messenger on the ground and said, "Take this body with you, and ask the Grand Marshal to identify it together."

Tong Shoushan gave Li Yan a thumbs up in his heart and secretly praised him: He is indeed a well-educated man, and his thoughts are so thorough.

He then shook his head quietly and sighed: What a pity, what a pity, such a person actually joined the rebels. Alas... If he was under the command of the Earl of Yongning, he would definitely not be worse than General Zhice!

Just as Tong Shoushan was lost in thought, Li Yan's voice reached his ears: "Each camp should step up its scouting. In addition to the movements of the government troops, you should also pay attention to the movements in Guide Prefecture."

"Yes!"

"The day before yesterday, our two grain-collecting teams were intercepted by government troops near Qi County. This shows that they do have troops active there. We must pay attention to this.

At the same time, we warned the brothers who were on patrol that if they encountered a group of government troops, they should first try to get away from them and never provoke them easily. Once they were entangled, we would be too late to rescue them. "

"Yes. We know, General Li."