Fenghou

Chapter 1253 Communication

In the middle of the night, several cavalry scouts came rushing from the south, but were soon stopped by the outer patrols and led them to the camp.
Dozens of candles were relit in the big tent, and the lights were brightly lit. Liu Qiong and a dozen generals returned to the big tent of the Chinese army. In the middle of the big tent was a sand table of Jiangnan West Road, which was successfully made a few years ago. , which didn't work until now.

The scout commander Wei Sheng explained the latest information to everyone in front of the sand table, "At present, the [-] troops led by Han Shizhong are in Linchuan County, Fuzhou, while the [-] troops led by Zhang Ziqi are in Nanchang County. The distance between the two armies is about [-] miles.

"How long has Han Shizhong's army stayed in Linchuan County?" Tang Qian asked.

"Reporting to Tang Dutong, I just arrived in Linchuan County this morning."

"What about the logistics?"

"The logistical supplies consist of [-] carts, which are traveling at the same time as the army. They are also in Linchuan County, and they mainly consist of food."

Liu Qiong pondered for a moment and asked: "How is the equipment of Han Shizhong's army? Do you have cavalry?"

"About [-] cavalry, the equipment is relatively ordinary, all leather armor, spears, and knives, and [-] people seem to be relatively elite, and the other [-] people obviously feel like recruits, lacking rigidity and murderous intent. recruits."

"Where are the siege weapons?" Liu Qiong continued to ask.

"Reporting to Dutong, the [-] carts have only food, and the siege weapons have not been seen."

Liu Qiong nodded and said to the crowd: "Zhang Jun's Huaixi Army carries a lot of fire oil. It is obviously unrealistic to use Han Shizhong's [-] troops to attack the city. Moreover, Han Shizhong's army only has [-] elite troops, and the other [-] troops are relatively weak. In addition, there were only [-] cavalry, while the Huaixi Army had [-] troops, which was superior in terms of strength. Therefore, Han Shizhong's army went to Jiangnan West Road, and put on a posture to compete with the opponent for Jiangnan West Road, but it was actually just a false move. , His fundamental purpose is to prevent the Huaixi Army from attacking Lin'an Mansion, but he just pulled the defense line to Jiangnan West Road."

Tang Qian also laughed and said: "This can explain clearly why Han Shizhong's army did not carry siege weapons, because he never considered attacking the city at all."

Li Fuxing said slowly: "Then we have to let the Huaixi Army understand this."

"There is a way!"

Liu Qiong pondered for a moment, then slowly said: "We have an intelligence point in Nanchang County, we can let the intelligence point find a way."

Nanchang County is now in a state of war. Every day at noon, the south city gate is opened for an hour to let the people in the city go out to buy vegetables, and then they must come back within an hour, otherwise they will be locked outside. At the vegetable stalls, the city residents and vegetable farmers bargained for prices, and it was extremely lively.

At this time, the rapid bell rang on the top of the city, "Dang! Dang! Dang!" This is urging everyone to enter the city.

There is only one stick of incense time between the ringing of the bell and the closure of the city gate. Thousands of people outside the city rushed into the city with baskets of vegetables. Disputes often occur at this time, such as short scales and less change, but everyone doesn’t care. It's up, we can only talk about it tomorrow.

Thousands of people flocked into the city, the city gates were closed immediately, the drawbridge was pulled up, and the people went home. In fact, the control was not very strict, and if spies sneaked into the city, they would not be able to find it.

A middle-aged man in a short jacket also sneaked into the city. His name was Wang Yong, and he was a cavalry soldier who joined the army. He was chosen because he was from Yihuang County, Fuzhou and could speak Fuzhou dialect.

Wang Yong quickly found the Ping An Inn near the south of the city. The Ping An Inn was the intelligence point set up by the Western Army in Nanchang County, and it was also the intelligence point of the entire Jiangnan West Road. They were not collecting military information, but collecting information on population, cities, shipping, To disclose information on grain production, prices, officials, etc., and at the same time establish contacts with wealthy noble families on Jiangnan West Road.

The shopkeeper's name is Ge Wenli, a native of Nanchang County. He has been collecting intelligence on Jiangnan West Road with five staff for nearly three years. All the information collected is sent to Ezhou, and then transferred to the Intelligence Department.

When Wang Yong walked into the inn, the shopkeeper greeted him warmly, "Welcome to stay in the store!"

Seeing no one on either side, Wang Yong asked, "I'm looking for Ge Wenli!"

"Ah! I am."

Wang Yong took out the military badge and showed it to him, and Ge Wenli hurriedly said, "Please follow me!"

The two came to the inner hall and sat down. Ge Wenli poured him a cup of hot tea and asked with a smile, "Your Excellency is also from the Intelligence Department?"

"No! I am Wang Yong, who rides Cao Canjun under the tent of Tiger Benwei. I am a civil servant. I came to Nancheng to act under the order of Liu Dutong."

"It turned out to be a civilian officer, no wonder!"

Ge Wenli smiled again and said, "From the accent, Wang Canjun seems to be from Fuzhou! Fuzhou people have a strong accent, so you can hear it."

"That's right, I'm from Yihuang County, Fuzhou, that's why I was picked here."

Ge Wenli nodded, "What is Wang Canjun's mission?"

"I want to see Zhang Ziqi, the commander of the Huaixi Army, and tell him the information about Han Shizhong's army. General Liu doesn't want them to confront each other."

Ge Wenli pondered for a moment and said: "Although I can find him directly, I can't expose it. How about it! I'll take you to meet a wealthy patriarch, also surnamed Wang, who is also very famous on Jiangnan West Road. Let him take you there."

"It's all right, you arrange it!"

The person Ge Wenli was looking for was Wang Lusheng, the largest landlord in Nanchang County and even Longxing Mansion, and one of the three wealthy families in Nanchang County.

Wang Lusheng had already bought a house and a shop in Jingzhao City, and in fact he bet his family's fate on Chen Qing. Ge Wenli was of great help in collecting intelligence on Jiangnan West Road.

Hearing that he was looking for Zhang Ziqi, Wang Lusheng agreed without hesitation, and immediately took Wang Yong to the Marshal's Mansion.

Of course Zhang Ziqi attached great importance to local tyrants, and when he heard that Wang Lusheng was visiting, he greeted him personally.

Wang Lusheng clasped his fists and said, "Excuse me, Marshal Zhang. This is Wang Yong, my younger brother. He came from Fuzhou and was conscripted by Han Shizhong's barracks for a few days. I want to know something and see if Marshal Zhang needs anything."

Zhang Ziqi was overjoyed, he was worrying that he didn't know about Han Shizhong's military situation, yet someone with knowledge came to his door.

Zhang Ziqi hurriedly invited Wang Lusheng and Wang Yong to the back hall. The three guests were seated, and Zhang Ziqi served tea again.

"Excuse me, why does Mr. Wang work in Han Shizhong's camp?" Zhang Ziqi asked with a smile.

Wang Yong said in crappy official Chinese with a distinct Fuzhou accent: "Han Shizhong's army recruited a group of scribes to write letters to the soldiers. I was one of them. I stayed in the camp for three days. There was a conflict over wages. , I won’t do it.”

"What's the problem with wages?"

Wang Yong was a little unhappy and said: "At first, it was three pennies a day, but later it became twenty pennies for a letter. I write slowly, so I can only get ten pennies a day at most. I think they are not trustworthy." , After three days, I quit, and it happened that the clan brother asked someone to send me a message, asking me to be the manager of the manor, so I came over."

"So that's the case. It's really not right to go back and forth. I wonder how much Mr. Wang knows?"

Wang Yongxiang thought: "I probably know a little bit about them. Chat with their soldiers, and their soldiers will say everything."

Zhang Ziqi hurriedly called for the deputy general Han Jin. Zhang Ziqi was also a civil servant, but it was the deputy general Han Jin who could really represent the war.

After listening to the introduction, Han Jin frowned and asked, "Mr. Wang, does Han Shizhong have a hundred thousand troops?"

Wang Yong was stunned, shook his head and said: "They only have [-] people! I never heard that there are [-] people. Who did the general listen to?"

Han Jin was actually just trying to test Wang Yong to see if he was talking nonsense. It seemed that the other party really understood the situation.

Han Jin laughed and said: "I heard some rumors, it seems that the rumors are not reliable!"

"What does General Han want to know?"

Han Jin thought for a while and asked, "Are the [-] people all veterans?"

Wang Yong curled his lips and said: "What veterans? There are [-] sailors, and the other [-] are recruits. The newly recruited recruits were all scared to death. They cried and begged their family members to find a way to transfer them back. If you fight, you will die, and they don't want to die."

Han Jin's eyes widened all of a sudden. Of course he knew that it was about morale and combat effectiveness. This information was too important.

"How is the training for these recruits?" Han Jin asked anxiously again.

Wang Yong sneered and said, "What kind of training! There was no time for training. Many soldiers cried and said that they couldn't even use a crossbow, so the superiors forced a crossbow into them and let them be crossbowmen."

(End of this chapter)