Thief Emperor

Chapter 573 The Khitans are coming!
After a few simple pleasantries, Li Yun stopped talking nonsense and got down to business.

"Since General Li is leaving tomorrow, I must ask him about the general situation in Jizhou in detail."

"It's natural."

Li Zhang looked at Li Yun and said, "I came here to explain the situation in Jizhou to Lord Li."

He sat in front of Li Yun, quietly waiting for Li Yun to ask questions.

Li Yun didn't waste any words and asked directly: "In the past six months, how many battles did Jizhou fight with the Khitans?"

Li Zhang thought for a moment and replied, "Three games. Two of them were before the New Year, and the last one was last month."

Li Yun nodded and asked, "How is the situation?"

"We held the city and did not leave. The Khitans were not very good at attacking the city and did not dare to go too deep. They only looted Jizhou and then retreated."

"Hold the city and defend..."

Li Yun frowned and asked, "Isn't there a closed city?"

Li Zhang shook his head: "There used to be a Yuguan Pass, but it was later abandoned. Now it is usually guarded according to the city."

He paused, and then continued, "It's just that the Khitans were not as rampant as they are now. At most, they came to rob things, and they ran away when our army arrived. The general went to Guanzhong and gave them a chance to breathe. Now the Khitans are united and powerful."

"Youzhou has been attacked by them several times."

The advantage of defending a city is that as long as the city is there, it is like a nail driven there. The enemy cannot bypass the city and go too deep into the city, otherwise it may be attacked from both sides.

However, if you stay in the city and don't go out, the disadvantages are quite obvious. You cannot guarantee the safety of the people under your rule, especially when the enemy is obviously stronger. Once the enemy attacks, you can only hide in the city and not go out.

Allow the enemy to do whatever they want within the country.

The Khitans' act of looting and killing Han people was called "dacaogu" among their people.

Li Yun frowned as he listened.

What happens in this world and that world is obviously completely different.

Because there is no corresponding time node, some geographical knowledge cannot be used.

Moreover, Li Yun didn't know much about the history and geography of the other world, so he could only base everything on the geographical knowledge of this era.

After listening to Li Zhang's description of the situation in Jizhou, Li Yun thought for a moment and asked, "How many Khitans came to Jizhou last time?"

"More than five thousand people."

Li Yun looked at Li Zhang and said, "You didn't go out of the city to fight?"

Li Zhang shook his head: "Lord Li, Jizhou is not the main battlefield, but Jizhou must not be lost, so everything should be done in a safe way."

"And the general..."

"All right."

Li Yun interrupted him and said with a smile: "No need to explain, I roughly know what's going on."

He looked at Li Zhang and asked a few final questions.

"Are there any civilians left in Jizhou City? How much food can be left for me in the city?"

"There are still about three to four thousand people left in Jizhou City."

"The food is enough to feed Lord Li's 10,000 people for two months. The general has instructed that when I leave tomorrow, I will not take a single grain with me."

"Ah."

Li Yun nodded slightly and asked the last question: "Can the people of Jizhou City be relocated?"

Li Zhang shook his head: "There were originally nearly 10,000 people in Jizhou City, but most of them have left now. Most of those who are still in the city are unwilling to leave Jizhou."

"Okay, I think I've finished asking questions."

Li Yun looked at Li Zhang and said calmly, "When General Li sees General Xiao, tell him for me that as long as the Khitans do not attack Jizhou with their main force, I will defend Jizhou for three months and will never lose it."

Li Zhang lowered his head, answered yes, and then looked at Li Yun.

"Jizhou is entrusted to the Duke!"

…………

The next morning, Li Zhang's troops withdrew from Jizhou City, and Li Yun, with his own troops and Zhou Chang's troops, officially entered Jizhou.

After most of the soldiers entered Jizhou, Li Yun looked at Li Zheng and ordered: "Go around every place in the city, especially the city gates, and find a place for the brothers to stay before dark."

"Also, send someone to watch over the food that the Fanyang Army left behind. Don't let it be less."

After all, Li Zheng had led troops in the eastern part of Jiangnan for some time. His ability on the battlefield was still questionable, but he had no problem leading the army on a daily basis. After hearing Li Yun's order, he immediately bowed his head and clasped his fists, replied yes, then turned around and began to order several captains to take the soldiers to carefully travel through Jizhou from beginning to end.

After instructing Li Zheng, Li Yun looked at Meng Qing and said, "Xiao Meng, you lead the scout camp to look around the area. Come back before dark and sweep the area within ten to twenty miles. Once you are familiar with the area, you can send out scouts densely."

Meng Qing was not good at other things, but he was best at execution. After hearing what Li Yun said, he quickly bowed his head and saluted: "I obey your command!" After that, he led the scout camp out of the city very neatly.

Zhou Chang was next to Li Yun at the moment. He looked at Li Yun with a strange look, but couldn't help but ask, "How many people are there in your Jiangdong scout camp? How is it possible to spread out scouts for twenty miles in one day?"

"Even if I run twenty miles, it will be very strenuous."

He looked at Li Yun and said, "Be careful not to go too far out of the city and run into the Khitans. The Khitans may take advantage of our instability and come directly to us..."

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile, "Why is the young general suddenly so talkative?"

Zhou Chang frowned: "I'm just reminding you out of kindness, I'm afraid you'll suffer."

Theoretically speaking, it is impossible for scouts to spread the intelligence area so quickly. After all, Jizhou is the center, and people have to be sent in all directions. Sometimes it is necessary to explore bit by bit.

"It is naturally difficult for ordinary scouts to cover 20 miles in one day, but our Jiangdong scouts can do it."

Li Yun thought for a moment, took out a monocular telescope from his arms, handed it to Zhou Chang, and said with a smile: "This is our Jiangdong treasure. Let me show you."

Telescopes have endless applications in the military. If used properly, they can even help you anticipate the enemy's moves.

Today, the Jinling workshop is able to mass-produce telescopes on a small scale. In the Jiangdong army, every lieutenant-level officer is equipped with one.

The scout battalion received extra treatment, with each brigade in the scout battalion being given two telescopes.

Originally, Li Yun and the Zhou father and son were in a relationship of both enemies and friends, so he shouldn't have seen this thing. However, they would be fighting side by side in the next few months, and the two sides had been in contact for such a long time, so it was unlikely that this thing could be kept secret.

Just stay single and show him.

Zhou Chang took the telescope with some doubts.

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile: "Use one eye to look into the distance."

Zhou Chang did as he was told, then immediately let out a scream, froze in place, and almost dropped the mirror.

After a long while, he came back to his senses and looked at the other side in disbelief. After playing with it for a long time, he reluctantly returned it to Li Yun and murmured, "No wonder the people who came back from Huainan Road said that there was something strange about the Jiangdong Army. They said that the Jiangdong Army could detect them in advance from a long distance. It turns out that there is such a strange thing."

Li Yun put the mirror into his arms, looked at him, and said with a smile: "Major General, your 5,000 Pinglu troops will be under my command for the next three months. After three months, I will give you one of these things."

Zhou Chang was very excited when he heard this. He looked at Li Yun steadily without moving for a long while. After a long time, he gritted his teeth and shook his head and said, "I can cooperate with my uncle, but I can't give orders to him directly."

Li Yun smiled silently.

"Forget it, I'm going to get busy."

He turned and walked away. Zhou Chang followed him and whispered, "Uncle, how about I buy it from you?"

He stretched out a finger and said in a deep voice: "I'll give you one thousand strings of cash!"

Li Yun looked at him with a half-smile and shook his head slightly: "You want to copy it, but you want to buy it for only one thousand strings of cash? How is that possible?"

"Ten thousand!"

Zhou Chang gritted his teeth and said, "Ten thousand strings of cash, I'll buy one!"

Li Yun still shook his head and said with a smile: "In this world, what's the use of me asking for money? The young general must give me some real benefits."

Zhou Chang gritted his teeth and said, "Then in these three months, as long as your words make sense, my five thousand men will try their best to follow your arrangements. How about that?"

"Then wait three months."

Li Yun smiled and said, "If the Pinglu Army performs to my satisfaction, I will give you one."

Zhou Chang nodded slowly: "It's a deal."

This thing is too new.

Even if we ignore its use on the battlefield, it is still a great temptation for men.

What man can resist a telescope?

The "uncle and nephew" quickly agreed on the terms, and then returned to their respective armies to arrange follow-up matters.

Because there were too many people, it was already afternoon and evening when everything was settled. Li Yun had just taken a rest and was about to eat something and then patrol the city defense with Li Zheng when a soldier from the scout battalion hurriedly ran up to him, half-knelt on the ground, and bowed his head to salute.

"Sir, General Meng has discovered Khitans in the northeast of Jizhou City!"

Li Yun was startled and asked, "How many people?"

"At least five thousand people!"

Hearing this, Li Yun narrowed his eyes and whispered softly.

"This Fanyang Army..."

"There's a traitor."

(End of this chapter)