weaving

Chapter 1436 Keeping him alive will be very useful!
On the second day of the eighth month, the sun had just peeked out from the east and its rays had not yet warmed the earth when troop after cavalry were already galloping along the official roads, large and small.

They were either in groups of three hundred or five hundred, and the distance between them never exceeded one mile. They were like long red dragons, winding and flying across the land of Zhongzhou.

Flocks of crows flew overhead from time to time, cawing loudly and clearly, as if warning each other not to approach the people on horseback below, lest they be mercilessly shot down.

Besides these long red dragons, there were also lines of people, some black and some blue, moving in the opposite direction on other official roads and county and township paths.

The red dragon and the black dragon seemed to have some kind of tacit understanding. They cleverly avoided each other's routes. Although they intersected, they did not cross paths. On this vast Central Plains, they created a beautiful picture.

But who could have imagined that behind this beautiful picture, there was a bloody massacre?

…………

Li Yan received the letter sent by Liu Zongmin around 4 a.m. He was only wearing a light jacket and holding Liu Zongmin's letter in his hand, feeling troubled.

Firstly, Li Yan's rebel army was stationed between Tongxu and Qixian, originally intending to use his familiarity with the area to prepare more military rations for the rebel army.

But who would have thought that Tongxu was garrisoned by several thousand troops of Jiang Mingwu, the deputy general of Shanxi, and Qixian had a thousand elite cavalry under Chen De, plus a thousand cavalry under Cao Cao's general Luo Daien, and a thousand cavalry under Cao Cao's general Wang Long in Chenliu.

Li Yan had less than a thousand horse bandits by his side, plus three or four thousand infantry bandits. Surrounded by three forces, he was already on the defensive at every turn. In particular, Jiang Mingwu and Chen De sent hundreds of cavalrymen to harass him every day, making Li Yan dare not make any moves.

Meanwhile, Lu Yingbiao and Tong Shoushan, who had fought alongside Li Yan, were now separately fetching supplies towards Fugou and Taikang, leaving Lu Yingbiao behind to hold off the government troops.

Although the situation was not optimistic, Li Yan knew that things must be very serious for Chuang Wang and General Liu, otherwise they would not have been so eager to recall him.

Furthermore, Li Yan also knew that if it were the order from the rebel king, he might be able to write a letter explaining the situation here. If the rebel king insisted on sending troops back to reinforce him, it wouldn't be too late. But he dared not disobey General Liu's order, and he didn't even dare to delay.

Immediately, Li Yan ordered the entire army to start fires and cook breakfast. After breakfast, the entire army set off immediately.

His idea was simple: to bypass the government troops of Jiang Mingwu who were blocking Tongxu County. So he planned to travel 15 miles north first, and then turn northwest to head straight for Zhuxian Town.

At the same time, two elite cavalry teams were to be dispatched to bypass the government troops' interception and deliver the message sent by Liu Zongmin to Lu Yingbiao and Tong Shoushan.

Li Yan's more than 5,000 bandits cannot be mobilized with just a few words. Even if he were willing to give up those complicated military tents and other supplies, feeding and assembling the troops would not be something that could be done in a short time.

…………

Just as Li Yan received Liu Zongmin's order to mobilize troops, the temporary camp of Liu Zongmin's bandits at Sunjialou was bustling with activity.

Squads of cavalry galloped out of the camp, racing into the distance and disappearing into the morning light.

The infantrymen nervously formed ranks, preparing to leave the camp, while many large carts were being harnessed to mules and horses, and many starving people were loading various supplies onto them.

Meanwhile, the tents are being dismantled in a flurry of activity, with some of the faster ones already loaded onto large trucks.

"Guo Junzhen, gather the men, let's go!" Liu Zongmin shouted. "Yes, sir."

Liu Hongcai rode up and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "General, it will take some time for the infantry to assemble."

"We can't wait any longer. I'll take Guo Junzhen and go first. You lead the infantry as the rear guard. Once we've assembled, catch up immediately."

"Yes, sir."

Liu Zongmin said no more, spurred his horse and galloped out of the camp gate, followed by more than two thousand of his personal cavalry.

Guo Junzhen led the three thousand infantrymen who had already assembled, following closely behind Liu Zongmin out of the camp gate.

After watching Liu Zongmin and the others leave the camp, Liu Hong turned around and ran towards the infantry assembly point. He ran into Zhang Hong, who was directing the starving people to load supplies.

"Zhang Hong, you'd better hurry up. The general has already set off, and we're about to leave too. Be careful not to get ambushed by those thieving soldiers."

Zhang Hong glanced at him, picked up his good hand, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said with a hint of helplessness, "These guys are as slow as oxen. I also want to pack up and leave quickly, but damn it, I just can't speed up."

Liu Hongcai spurred his horse and galloped back to his own troops, leaving behind only a casual remark: "Kill some old and weak, and get up quickly!"

Watching Liu Hongcai's departing figure, Zhang Hong hardened his heart, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes. He shouted in a deep voice to the bandits beside him, "Why haven't you made your move yet!"

…………

Jiang Mingwu and Chen De had already received instructions from the Earl of Yongning that they should not kill Li Yan completely, as keeping him alive might still be of great use.

Because of this order, although elite cavalry were sent out to harass Li Yan every day, they never thought of breaking through Li Yan's camp; they only wanted to keep him occupied.

Wang Long and Luo Daien were instructed by Luo Rucai that their deployment was merely a show of force; if the rebel king's troops did not launch an attack, they should avoid engaging in battle and simply defend their own camps.

Therefore, although Li Yan was surrounded by a large number of government troops, he did not actually suffer much loss, and his losses were even less than those of Lu Yingbiao and Tong Shoushan.

In fact, the group that should have been most protected along the way was Tong Shoushan's men. However, in order to avoid exposing Tong Shoushan's secret line, Li Jiyu actually fought him several times, and both sides suffered casualties.

However, the troops Tong Shoushan sent to fight were not his own trusted men, so even if they were all killed, it wouldn't be a loss for him.

Even so, he dared not go too far, after all, he still had to save face. It wouldn't be good to send out an entire battalion into battle. Therefore, his core troops also suffered some losses, but they were still within an acceptable range.

Tong Shoushan has now received information through special channels. According to the plan, he will cross Taikang, head towards Xihua to collect grain, and then head towards Xuzhou to join up with Li Guo's bandit troops.

In this way, they could perfectly avoid the fierce battle at Zhuxian Town and obtain enough supplies so that they wouldn't be wiped out by the rebel leader and his men after the war.