Doom Roar

"Map? Where did it come from?"

Even a simple map is a rarity in this era, not to mention this kind of military-grade map, it is definitely a good thing if you have money and nowhere to buy it.

But Xu Mo didn't remember such a map at home.

"I drew it."

Yan Wan's words were astonishing, and Xu Mo couldn't help being a little shocked. You know, this is not the "Three Friends of Suihan" drawn by literati in their free time. It's a so-called one more stroke and one stroke less. This is a map, and it can shake with a shake of the hand With an error of tens of miles, this Yan Wan couldn't just draw for fun, right? [

"I saw a map of the Jin and Song Dynasties in the Jin Kingdom's palace, and I drew one from memory in my spare time. Although the other areas may not be accurate, I still remember the situation at the border between the two countries very clearly."

Seeing Xu Mo's puzzled expression, Yan Wan hurriedly explained.

It is reasonable for the Imperial Palace of the Kingdom of Jin to have a military map, but how could a court lady like Yan Wan pay so much attention to something that she didn't need at all?This is not a book in the form of words, and the ability of photographic memory is useless for complex graphics such as maps that have no rules at all.

Although Xu Mo was puzzled, he didn't ask any further questions. He had always felt that Yan Wan was hiding some secrets, but since Yan Wan had never had any ill intentions towards him, he didn't intend to interfere with Yan Wan's affairs. privacy.

"This, and this, are all possible routes for the Jin army to dispatch troops?"

Xu Mo pointed to several red lines on the map. These lines crossed the Yangtze River on the map and finally converged to Lin'an, the capital of the Great Song Dynasty.

Yan Wan nodded and said: "Jiankang Mansion area is the current main attack direction of the Jin army, but in order to break the blockade of the Song Dynasty navy across the river, the Jin army must split up and cross the river. The most likely breakthrough points are Jiangzhou and Yangzhou. land."

"Is there any possibility of landing from elsewhere along the coast?"

"This is impossible. The purpose of the Jin army is to destroy the Song Dynasty, not to harass the Song Dynasty. If you want to ensure that the army goes south, you must ensure a smooth logistics channel. Except for these two places, they are all barren mountains and wild mountains. It is dangerous at all. Shou, if the Song army steals the way, even if the Jin Kingdom has a million troops, it will be defeated without a fight."

Xu Mo vaguely remembered that the traffic conditions in ancient times were not as good as those in modern times. Whether it was marching or packing grain, one had to strictly follow a certain route, not like a real-time strategy game where you could just run in a straight line.

It seems that he has a specialization in the arts, and he is really not suitable to be a general who leads troops to fight.

"Hanwen, you came to me, you must have made up your mind, right?"

Yan Wan put away the map casually, sat down on the side of the bed, folded her hands on the long skirt of light luse, that kind of elegance seemed to have penetrated into the marrow of her bones.

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you." Xu Mo smiled.

"Let me guess..." Yan Wan lightly tapped her green fingers on her thighs, as if she was tapping some kind of beautiful tune, "Although you know in your heart that fishing in troubled waters is the best choice, but the one you chose It should be taking advantage of the momentum."

"Oh? How did you know that?" Although Yan Wan had already guessed the correct answer, Xu Mo still wanted to test her.

"Because you don't have the heart of a tyrant."

Xu Mo smiled wryly, Yan Wan's words really hit the nail on the head.

If he chooses the third way, he will inevitably have to go to war with Song Dynasty. Xu Mo doesn't want to do it for his own selfishness, but his hands are covered with the blood of the people of Song Dynasty. [

"Although people like you are very pedantic, I like people like you very much." Yan Wan gently placed her hand on the back of Xu Mo's, without hiding her approval.

"Really, I always thought you liked the kind of decisive heroes." Xu Mo always felt that Yan Wan was comforting himself.

"It's easy to break the line, but it's hard to stick to it all the time, isn't it?"

Yan Wan's answer was very philosophical, and even Xu Mo himself suddenly felt that his image was a bit taller... Well, although he is not that noble, it's just the sense of rules that he has cultivated for a long time.

……

Jiangnan, Lin'an Prefecture.

Although the news of another war with the Kingdom of Jin has already spread throughout the Song Dynasty, it is still a scene of singing and dancing, and there is no tension in the wartime at all.

It can't be blamed that the people in Lin'an are so numb. There is always a sense of security under the feet of the Son of Heaven compared to other places.

But behind this seemingly peaceful scene, only a few people know how corrupt the current situation is.

Outside the recruiting hall on the east street of Lin'an City, a soft sedan chair lightly parked outside the door, the curtain of the sedan chair was lifted from the inside, and the bearer rushed forward to help the occupants out of the sedan chair.

Inside the sedan chair was a middle-aged man in his 40s, with wide ears and a long beard. Although he was not romantic and suave, his eyebrows and eyes were also majestic.

The most eye-catching thing is the purple official uniform, with curved collar and large sleeves, and a fish bag on the waist, which is the attire only for civil servants above rank four.

"It's almost November, and the sun is still so hot. Everyone says Jiangnan is good, but the weather is really annoying."

The middle-aged man took the sweat towel handed by the bearer and simply wiped it on his neck and forehead. He was born in the north and still can't stand the sultry climate in the south of the Yangtze River. He couldn't help but miss the refreshing autumn when he was still in Bianliang City. , But this kind of thing is fine if you think about it in your heart. If it gets to the ears of the officials, you might be assigned directly.

When it comes to distribution, in the past, the distribution of prisoners was uniformly sent to Lingnan. Now that the army of the Jin Kingdom is suppressing the border, the defense line of the Yangtze River is in jeopardy, and Lingnan, which is far away from Lin'an, has become a good place. Why didn't I think of the trick of distributing to Lingnan? When the officials reacted, the place of distribution would be changed to the area along the Yangtze River.

Well, you have to be content, at least compared to those rude warriors, civil servants like yourself are still safe at the moment, and this place is at the feet of the emperor, if you really have to run away as a last resort, wouldn't it be a disadvantage to follow the officials?

Just as he was thinking, two officials, one civil and one military, hurried out of the recruiting hall, wearing red robes and armed with armor, and stepped forward one after the other to salute the middle-aged man.

"Master Li."

"Master Li."

"Lord Liu, General Zhang, you and I are colleagues, so you don't need to be polite." The middle-aged man in purple robe returned the courtesy politely, and entered the gate of the recruiting hall first under the courtesy of the two.

The two parties sat down separately in the living room, and the maid served tea and closed the door to leave. The middle-aged man in the purple robe said leisurely: "Lord Liu, General Zhang, the current situation is different from the past, and those vain courtesies can be avoided or avoided. I am here this time to see Look, this recruitment list has been posted for almost half a month, how many useful talents you two have recruited for me, Da Song."

"This……"[

Although they had already made psychological preparations, knowing that Mr. Li from the Ministry of Officials would inevitably ask about this matter, Liu Yuan and Zhang Meng still couldn't help but change their expressions slightly.

There is no way, the recruitment list has been posted in all states and counties across the country half a month ago, but so far there are only a few hundred people who have taken the exam at the recruitment hall in Lin'an. Excluding those green skins who are purely for food and travel expenses, there are very few people who are really capable.

"What? Don't tell me that this recruitment list has been posted for more than half a month, and there are thousands of people in Song Dynasty, but I can't even find a person who can lead soldiers to fight? Trash! They are all trash!"

Li Erli was immediately annoyed, and threw the teacup in his hand on the ground in disregard of decency. For the matter of recruiting talents from all over the country, the court officials would call him to the palace every now and then to inquire about the progress, and his tone became more and more unhappy every time. You know, if you can't find a suitable candidate, I'm afraid he will also be dispatched to the front line to move rocks and dig earth.

Li Erli's fury caused Liu Yuan and Zhang Meng to be silent. They got up and said "My lord, calm down", and they even cried in their hearts.

When the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of War arranged for them to take over this matter, they knew that this was by no means a good job. The Song Dynasty at this moment is no longer the Song Dynasty that was clean and stable when the Taizu was in power. Constantly, those who have a little ability are basically forced to go to the mountains and become bandits. At this time, where can I find talents who can lead troops to fight?

But no matter how outrageous the tasks assigned by the higher authorities must be done, otherwise the officials will be furious, and they will just wait to pick off the black yarn that their heads are targeting... Anyway, the Song Dynasty was very overbearing, and there must be alternate officials waiting eagerly Make up for the deficiency.

Li Erli scolded the two of them fiercely, but Liu Yuan and Zhang Meng didn't dare to refute, they could only listen obediently with their heads lowered like quails, and they didn't even dare to wipe the saliva sprayed on their faces.

Cursing is also tiring. After a long time, Li Erli was also tired of scolding. Gu Dongdong drank the cold tea at hand, waved to the two of them angrily, and said, "Let's go, let me see you guys. What kind of people has been recruited in the sky, it is really not good, if you pull a big one out of the box, you have to give an explanation to the officials..."

Liu Yuan and Zhang Meng heard the words as if they had received amnesty, and hurriedly led the way for Li Erli on the left and on the right.

The Zhaoxian Hall was originally a residence of a wealthy family in Lin'an City. Later, when it was found out that this person was a spy from the Kingdom of Jin, they were ransacked and executed. This mansion was also sealed up.

Although the recruiting hall stated that it is widely recruiting talents from all over the world, it is not filled with everyone like a garbage collection station. Liu Yuan and Zhang Meng, the civil and military officials, are not just decorations. Only those who take the first test can enter the recruiting hall to live in, waiting for further assessment.

Those who have passed the preliminary examination are each assigned an independent room in the backyard of the recruiting hall, and there is no shortage of servants for food and clothing, and the treatment can be regarded as very generous.During the period of waiting for the re-examination, the recruitment hall did not prevent these people from communicating with each other, so when Li Erli came to the backyard, he saw most of the applicants directly.

"Thirty? No, forty people?" Li Erli glanced across the garden in the backyard, and he roughly figured out the number of people present.

"Your Excellency has good eyesight. After the initial screening, there are a total of 48 applicants who stay here." Liu Yuan hurriedly continued, not forgetting to pay a little flattery by the way.