Thief Emperor

Chapter 444 I will be the pioneer!
The river has been blocked. Although it is not impossible to cross the river, it is still very difficult.

Fortunately, Li Yun had captured the western gate of Jiangdong, Luzhou, early on.

Luzhou is also in Huainan Road. If we support Yangzhou from Luzhou, there is no natural barrier in between, so we can send troops directly to Yangzhou.

However, Li Yun could think of such an obvious thing, and General Zhou could not have failed to think of it either, so a surprise attack was unlikely. To put it bluntly, they still had to fight a real battle with real guns and swords.

Let's see whether Li's fist is stronger or the fists of the two generations of Pinglu troops are stronger.

After hearing what Li Yun said, Master Xue stared at Li Yun with wide eyes. After a long while, he finally came to his senses and smiled bitterly, "When?"

Li Yun touched his chin and replied, "Maybe this month, maybe next month."

Mr. Xue was silent again, and then asked the question that concerned him the most: "Will it affect Luzhou?"

"uncertain."

Li Yun also answered seriously: "If the fighting is too intense, it is possible that Luzhou will be affected. But don't worry, father-in-law, although Luzhou will be affected, Luzhou City will not be lost. If it doesn't work, I will send someone to send you back to Jinling."

"Why am I going back to Jinling?"

Master Xue was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, and said angrily: "Since I have become the governor of Luzhou, I have to inquire about the affairs of Luzhou and take good care of the people of Luzhou!"

After saying this, Master Xue became depressed again and sighed, "Luzhou was originally a good state, but when I came here in the first half of the year, if not nine out of ten houses were empty, at least five or six were empty."

"It was not easy for me to lead the people to plant the spring seeds, and we have some harvest this year. If there is peace for another two or three years, Luzhou will be able to recover and the people will be able to breathe a sigh of relief. What should we do..."

"Why do we have to fight again?"

Mr. Xue stood up and sighed, "After this war, Luzhou City may be fine, but the people of Luzhou will suffer again."

Li Yun was silent for a while after hearing this. He looked at Xue Song and said softly, "Father-in-law, I also hope that the people under my rule will be peaceful, but now that the enemy has surrounded Yangzhou, we have to fight this battle. Don't worry, Father-in-law, it may affect Luzhou, but the possibility is not very high."

"Plus, the autumn harvest in Luzhou has already ended this year."

Mr. Li lowered his head and drank tea, saying, "Even if it has an impact on Luzhou, it won't be too big. I will definitely finish this matter before next spring planting."

"Luzhou will not have to pay taxes for the next two years."

Only then did Mr. Xue turn around and look at Li Yun.

"really?"

Li Yun smiled and said, "Of course I take it seriously. Luzhou is very poor right now. Even if we collect taxes, how much can we collect?"

"My son-in-law never bullies the poor people."

He said with a smile: "When the people of Luzhou become rich, I will serve fish and meat."

Upon hearing this, Master Xue glared at Li Yun and said, "What bullshit is this."

“That’s not bullshit.”

Mr. Li said seriously: "This is quite serious."

After hearing this, Master Xue thought about it and felt that there was some truth in what he said, so he sat back in his seat, lowered his head and drank a sip of tea, and groaned: "A few days ago, the girl from the Lu family came to the government office to look for me. She said that in order to thank Erlang, she handed over all the land of the Lu family to the government to manage. Between you two."

"What's the relationship?"

Li Yun blinked and said with a smile: "Father-in-law, when I went back to Jinling this time, my mother-in-law asked about you. I didn't tell her that you were in Luzhou and had four young maids to take care of your food and clothing."

Mr. Xue put down his teacup, and the father-in-law and son-in-law looked at each other, and both tacitly did not continue talking.

Pretend nothing happened.

…………

On the third day after Li Yun arrived in Luzhou, Su Sheng also quietly arrived in Luzhou. He also did not bring many people with him, only two followers.

After arriving in Luzhou, he and Li Yun soon met in Luzhou city. After having a meal together, in the afternoon, in a courtyard in Luzhou, Li Yun hung up the map of Jiangbei that he had spent a lot of time and resources to draw.

He stood in front of the map, with Chen Da and Su Sheng sitting on his left and right.

Li Yun pointed to the location of Yangzhou and said, "Yangzhou City is here. The siege has been going on for more than ten days, almost half a month."

"During the past half month, the Pinglu Army surrounded the city but did not attack. Apart from sending a few letters of persuasion to surrender, they did not even launch a tentative attack."

"It's obvious that Zhou Xu doesn't want to attack Yangzhou. He wants to attack our Jiangdong reinforcements, or to directly surround and kill Yangzhou." Su Sheng looked at this rather detailed map, his eyes lit up, and he smiled and said, "Envoy, this map is really good, can you give me a copy?"

Li Yun turned a deaf ear and continued, "Therefore, if we gather a large number of troops to rescue Yangzhou, we are likely to be ambushed by the Pinglu Army and be caught off guard by them."

Su Sheng's eyes were still on the map. He looked at Li Yun expectantly. The latter still ignored him and continued, "That's why I didn't ask Brother Su's troops in Qiantang to move immediately. The Pinglu Army must have spies in our Jiangdong. Once the large force in Qiantang moves, they will definitely notice it and be prepared."

Su Sheng stood up, walked to the map, and stared at it intently.

Li Yun shook his head helplessly and said, "Wait a few days, I'll have someone trace a copy on thin paper for Brother Su. I can't give you this one, this is the only one I have."

"I read many books, invited many people from Jiangbei, found painters, scholars who were proficient in geography, and several postmen from Jiangbei post stations, and finally drew it."

Su Sheng then smiled and said, "Okay, I'll wait for a few days."

In this era, a detailed and accurate map that can be used as a battle map is a great temptation for any general.

Not to mention that this is a map of Jiangbei.

Jiangbei will be the main battlefield for the Jiangdong soldiers for the next period of time.

"Let's continue."

Li put his hands behind his back and continued, "So, I plan to use the Luzhou garrison as the vanguard to engage in a clash with the Pinglu Army and catch them off guard."

He looked at Su Sheng and said, "As soon as the Luzhou defenders make a move, the troops in Qiantang will immediately move across the river to Luzhou. We will use Luzhou as our base and fight them in Jiangbei."

Su Sheng thought about it seriously, then clapped his hands and said, "This method is good, but the Luzhou garrison only has more than 3,000 people at most. Isn't it too few?"

"How useful will these troops be when they arrive at the Yangzhou battlefield?"

"As long as we don't run into the main force of the Pinglu Army, it will be enough. Besides, we don't expect to repel the Pinglu Army with this force. It will be no problem to fight in the vanguard."

Su Sheng's eyes fell on the map, looking towards Yangzhou City, and said, "Envoy, can we contact Zhao Cheng in the city now?"

Li Yun nodded: "Of course it is possible, but it's not easy. In the past six months, I have had people train a few cages of pigeons in Yangzhou, which can basically be used to deliver messages."

The principle of carrier pigeons is very simple. Train each pigeon to recognize its nest, and then take these pigeons to other places. When you need to send a message, tie the message to its leg and release the pigeons. They will naturally fly back to their own nests.

In other words, this is actually a one-way message transmission, which is rather troublesome and involves many uncertainties. Generally, particularly important messages are better delivered manually, which is relatively more reliable.

Su Sheng whispered, "Then can we ask General Zhao to cooperate with us and catch Ping Lu's army off guard?"

"I don't think so."

Li Yun shook his head: "Three thousand people are too few. It's no problem to use them to gain a small advantage, but it's too unrealistic to want to win in one battle."

"The real decisive battle with the Pinglu Army should be considered after Qiantang's main force arrives."

Su Sheng nodded quickly, agreeing with Li Yun's opinion. He smiled and said, "When do you plan to take action? I will lead these 3,000 people to serve as the vanguard."

Chen Da, who had been silent, suddenly clasped his fists towards Li Yun, then towards Su Sheng and said, "Envoy, General Su."

"If the Luzhou garrison is used as a vanguard, I would like to be the vanguard."

Su Sheng looked at Li Yun and said with a smile: "Brother Chen is not willing to be lonely."

Li Yun thought about it seriously and said to Chen Da: "This is not a joke. You have to think carefully about whether you want to take on this responsibility."

Chen Da thought about it seriously, then lost his temper again and whispered, "I...I will still listen to your arrangements, but I have been in Luzhou for several months. This time, no matter what, I want to go with my brothers to fight as the vanguard."

After all, his character is still a bit soft. Although he wants to stand out, his self-confidence is not enough.

Li Yun thought about it and said, "How about this, I will lead the troops and you will go with me."

"Most of the time, I'll leave it to you to command."

Mr. Li said softly, "It's time for you to learn and practice."

Chen Da stood up, half-knelt on the ground, and bowed his head deeply.

"Thank you so much, envoy!"

(End of this chapter)