,,,,,,,,,,,,

Soon, a messenger covered in mud hurried in, his face also scratched. It seemed that he had fallen. He knelt down on one knee and saluted, "See the governor of the state."

"Where is General Huang's letter?"

The sender submitted Huang Zhong's letter, and Liu Jing took it and asked, "Is there any verbal news?"

"Reported to the provincial governor, Cao's army broke through the siege from Licheng and was surrounded and annihilated by General Huang, leading the army to escape only dozens of people. The Licheng Lord Xiahou Ba was also captured alive by General Huang..."

"good"

Liu Jing nodded in praise, and then ordered the guards, "Reward him five taels of gold and take him down to rest."

"Thank you for the reward of the provincial governor"

The soldier was taken down. Liu Jing opened Huang Zhong's letter and read it again. He got up and came to the sand table next to him. Sun Shangxiang did not follow him. She knew that she would be better not to participate when her husband was handling military affairs. She packed up the books on the table, placed them on Liu Jing's desk, and got up and retreated.

Liu Jing stood in front of the sand table and compared the sand table to find Huang Zhong's combat trajectory. In his letter, Huang Zhong gave the generals of the Eagle Fighting Army Ren Ping and two other soldiers. They risked their lives to sneak into the city and burned Cao's food and grass, so that the Cao army could not defend the city, so they had to give up breaking through Licheng, which became the key to seizing Licheng.

The capture of Licheng was the first step in the second Northern Expedition and was a key point in realizing the Northern Expedition strategy. Of course, it cannot be compared with the capture of Xicheng, but it is also encouraging. Liu Jing found Licheng on the sand table and found two camps to be built. In addition, the captured Licheng, there was a grain storage transfer station on the Qishan Road in Longxi, which was in northern expedition.

He paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back, thinking about his next strategy to send troops

Xiabian County, Wudu County, has become the military center of the Han army in Hanzhong. Nearly 50,000 troops are stationed here, including Fa Zheng, Pang Tong, Zhao Yun, Wu Yi, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Ma Chao, Zhang Ren, Liu Hu and other senior officials gathered here to prepare for war.

The Han army camp outside Xiabian County stretches for dozens of miles, with thousands of large tents unknowingly ignited at a glance, and the tents are neat. The soldiers train in the camp every day and train physical fitness. A small castle, which is four miles in circumference, is tall and strong, easy to defend but difficult to attack.

This military fort is used to train soldiers to siege and defend cities. Whether it is day or night, soldiers will participate in training, and there will even be real and high siege battles.

Starting from the first update of the night, waves of war drums kept coming from the camp. Tens of thousands of soldiers in the camp knew that this was the start of the night battle training of simulated siege.

Nearly 10,000 soldiers were thrown into this simulated siege battle. Countless torches shone like daylight in the night, and more than 7,000 soldiers carried the siege ladders, pushing the huge nest cart, rumbled forward from all directions.

There were thousands of soldiers defending the city. They used headless crossbow arrows to shoot arrows downwards in a dense manner, and fought with the soldiers who were sieging the city with blunt swords. The shouts of killing sounded throughout the night sky, and soldiers kept falling from the city's head and falling into the pond under the city.

On a high platform not far away, Liu Jing, accompanied by dozens of officials and generals, watched the fierce siege training. This training was dangerous. In less than half a year, more than twenty people had died during training, several were injured, and most of them fell from the top of the city.

Despite this, the training effect is very significant, especially the training of siege at night, which allows soldiers to adapt to the cruelty of night battles and will have an immeasurable effect on improving soldiers' night battle capabilities.

"How many soldiers are participating in night combat training now?" Liu Jing turned around and asked Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun immediately bowed and said, "Qi Bingzhou Governor, all the soldiers participated in overnight battle siege training, and they trained almost every night. This is already eight rounds."

Liu Jing nodded and asked again: "Will this great momentum affect the soldiers' rest? After all, the training volume of the next day is very large. If the rest is not good at night, the training will be reduced."

Wu Yi next to him smiled and said, "It was a bit of an impact at first, but the soldiers were already used to it. They were very tired during the day and they fell asleep as soon as they fell down. It can be said that they couldn't stand it and even the French military advisor could not wake up."

"Yeah"

Liu Jing turned around and asked Fa Zheng with a smile: "The French military advisor is also used to it."

Fa Zheng smiled bitterly, "I'm really used to it."

At this time, a burst of cheers came from the castle, and more than a dozen nest cars played a role. The siege army captured the Xicheng. The city gate opened wide and the soldiers rushed into the city gate. It was still a quarter of an hour away from the prescribed time, which meant that the night battle training won the siege side.

Liu Jing looked at the sky and it was almost up, so everyone laughed and said, "It's too late, everyone can go and have a rest. If you have something to do, I'll talk about it tomorrow."

Everyone said goodbye to Liu Jing and dispersed one after another. Liu Jing also returned to his big tent. Due to the strict military discipline, Sun Shangxiang did not live in the military camp, but in the county town. Liu Jing returned to the big tent and just cleaned up and lay down, but Wei Yan's voice came from outside the tent, "Please report to the provincial governor, I have something urgent to do."

"General Wei, it's too late. If it's not for the emergency military information, it's better not to disturb the provincial governor again."

"Although it is not an emergency military situation, it is also very important. Please beg to be compatible."

Wei Yan stood outside the tent and asked several guards on duty. Since he led his army to successfully block Cao's pursuit, Liu Jing did not break his promise and was promoted to General of the Central Army after returning to Chengdu.

In this way, Wei Yan completely emerged from the shadow of the fallen Chaisang and became one of the eight generals of the Han army. However, Wei Yan's target was a deputy general.

He was a veteran in Hanzhong. As early as when Liu Jing was a military marquis, he became Liu Jing's right-hand man with Liu Hu, and followed Liu Jing to fight in the south and north, step by step to this day.

Although he is now ranked as the General of the Central Army with Gan Ning, Liu Hu and others, Wei Yan is not satisfied. He feels that his qualifications can be appointed as a deputy general like Zhao Yun.

The key is military merits. As long as he can make great achievements, it will be natural for him to be promoted to a deputy general. Now he has a chance, it depends on whether the provincial governor can fulfill himself.

Wei Yan didn't want to report during the day, as it would alarm other generals, and it would not show his contribution. Moreover, he was Zhao Yun's general. If he reported during the day, he would not be able to surpass his level.

This is also human nature, just like if ordinary people have some good ideas and always want to report to their leaders in private so that they can appreciate themselves.

Wei Yan begged again, but saw that the guard was indifferent, and he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed, but he didn't dare to do it, so he had to raise his voice slightly and begged: "I beg for a notification once. If the provincial governor is inconvenient, I will leave immediately."

At this time, Liu Jing's voice came from the tent, "Please come in, General Wei."

Wei Yan was overjoyed and quickly said loudly: "The last general Wei Yan asked for a meeting."

The guard glared at him with a resentful look and said unhappily: "General Wei, please come with me."

In the big tent, Liu Jing had already gotten up, he put on a piece of clothing, and the two guards also lit the lights, and Liu Jing sat down in front of the table.

The curtain was lifted, and a guard led Wei Yan in. Wei Yan knelt down on one knee to salute, "Disturbing the rest of the provincial governor, please don't blame the provincial governor."

"General Wei sit down and talk"

Liu Jing ordered Wei Yan to sit down and let the guards serve hot tea. Wei Yan was unintentional to drink tea and said anxiously: "There is a surprise military plan for our army to quickly win the Battle of Longxi."

"What a surprise weapon plan, tell me," Liu Jing said with a smile.

Wei Yan bowed again and said, "Can the governor of the state go to the sand table to listen to the explanation of Beiyi?"

Liu Jing nodded, stood up and walked slowly to the sand table. Wei Yan hurriedly walked forward, picked up the wooden pole and pointed at the Ji County Road: "From Wudu County to Ji City for only a few miles, Cao's army now thinks we are camping step by step and establishing a supply point along the Qishan Road. Our surname is a surprise soldier. We took the dangerous path of the Di cavalry last year to raid Ji City. Ji City was lost. Tianshui County was our bag. Qishan Fort and Xicheng are no longer a threat."

Liu Jing asked without saying a word: "Then General Wei thinks how many soldiers are better to send out?"

"I think the five thousand troops are the most suitable, so it is best to bring the Eagle Strike Army with me. I am willing to lead the troops to Jicheng."

"Then how to solve the problem of your 5,000 army's food and grass, it will take as long as four days. General Wei thinks it's enough to bring dry food?"

"Reporting to the provincial governor, you can use the wooden ox. Bei Zhi saw the training of the wooden ox with your own eyes, which is simply amazing. If there were no wooden ox, Bei Zhi would not dare to propose this plan."

Liu Jing pondered for a moment and smiled and said, "General Wei doesn't need to worry. It's only October now, and we are not fully prepared. If we are not prepared enough, even if the surprise plan is successful, it will be difficult to continue. What we want is not to capture Jicheng or a victory in the Tianshui County Battle, but to defeat the main force of Cao's army in Longyou and gain a foothold. Our last failure was a hasty dispatch of troops, so we must never repeat the same mistake this time."

Wei Yan's disappointment was beyond words. He thought his surprise plan was impeccable, but the governor of the state was not interested, which made him feel very disappointed and bowed his head for a while without saying a word.

Liu Jing patted his shoulder and smiled and said, "I know you are eager to make contributions, but you have now been promoted to General of the Central Army. Even if your strange plan is successful, I cannot promote you. At most, I will give you rewards. You must understand that if you want to be promoted to a minor general, you can't do it in one or two military merits, but you have insufficient qualifications to conquer the one side. Let's say that, even if you don't participate in the war, as long as you guard the Nian Chaisang, I will directly promote you to General of the General. Do you understand what I mean?"

Wei Yan nodded silently. He understood what Liu Jing meant. He sighed and said, "When I was in Jiangxia, the highest military position of the Jiangxia army was just the General of the Central Army. After seizing Jingzhou, the highest military position was a deputy general. He took Yizhou and promoted the highest military position to a partial general. If the Han army wanted to be promoted to another level, at least he had to wait to take Guanzhong. Is it right to understand the low-level position?"

Liu Jing laughed, "That's about it. Not only is it that you can't be promoted, but Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun cannot be promoted, but the credit can be accumulated. If you take Guanzhong, everyone will be promoted according to their achievements. Of course, that won't be next year. General Wei, you have to be able to wait and endure."

"I understand, thank you for the teachings of the provincial pastor. I will say goodbye to you."

Wei Yan bowed and left the tent, but Liu Jing lost his sleepiness. He stared at Jicheng for a long time. In fact, Wei Yan's proposal was a very good plan.

Xiabian County was originally a large county with a population of 2,000 households. Because the county town became the starting point of the Han army's northern expedition, most of the people in the city were temporarily evacuated to various parts of Hanzhong.

There are only less than one family in the city, and basically they are merchants, business shops, taverns, brothels, hostels, shops, etc. There are more than 20 brothel notes alone, with nearly a thousand young women's football teams from Guanzhong, Longyou, Yizhou, Jingzhou and other places.

The Han army did not follow the military records, and the military discipline was strict. Those who annihilate the silver and civilian women were immediately killed. In order to solve the physiological needs of soldiers, the Han army accused the Record Hall of the Record Hall to follow the army in a certain way. In fact, this is also the rule of the Cao army and the Jiangdong army.

So when the Han army camp was established outside Wudu County, the censorships and merchants from all over the country flocked to it.

In addition to brothels, taverns in the county are also very popular among soldiers. Because they are not in wartime, soldiers are allowed to drink wine by chance, but they can only sell fruit wine, and the portion size is also limited. Despite this, taverns have become places for soldiers to yearn for.

There is a newly opened tavern near the south gate of the county town. It is called Xingshenglou. It can accommodate other people to have dinner at the same time. It can also be ranked among more than ten taverns in the county town. It rented a house covering an acre of land. Its business is usually prosperous. The owner of Xingshenglou is named Yang, a native of Guanzhong. There is also a tavern with the same name in Chang'an City. This restaurant in Xiabian County is considered a branch.

According to the regulations of the Han army, soldiers were not allowed to stay outside overnight and had to return to the camp after dark. Therefore, the stores in the county town had no business at night. When the sky was dark, they closed one after another, and Ruyi Tower was no exception.

It was already the hour of Mao, and the sky was dawning, the city gate had opened, and rumbling drums came from the military camp outside the city. The soldiers began to get up and train.

Because the wartime state has not yet entered the wartime state, it is just the soldiers stationed in Wudu County, so the soldiers have the opportunity to go out of camp every ten days, and they can take a day off, and everyone takes turns to rest. Every day, 5,000 soldiers are given a turnover and can be allowed to go to the city to shop and have dinner.

As the sound of drums sounded in the military camp, shops opened their doors to do business, preparing to welcome the soldiers. Some soldiers with urgent surnames appeared on the streets in pairs. They joked with each other, but their goals were clear and they went straight to the various museums.

Xingsheng Building usually does not open until the morning. At this time, a soldier quickly walked to the back door of Xingsheng Building. He knocked on the door rhythmically. The door opened a crack. The soldier flashed and entered the back door. A middle-aged man looked at both sides of the street and quickly closed the back door.

.........

The middle-aged man was named Yang Lin, who was the owner of Xingsheng Building. He was nominally a businessman, but his real identity was a detective of Cao Jun. He was originally a scholar of Zhong Yao and was sent to the people to explore the people's sentiment, so he opened a tavern in Chang'an to explore the people's sentiment.

During this northern expedition, in order to spy on the Han army, Yang Lin was selected by the Cao army and sent to Wudu County to open this tavern. On the one hand, he obtained information from the Han soldiers who were dining. On the other hand, Cao army also had detailed works in the Han army, and Xingsheng Tower was responsible for conveying intelligence.

This Han soldier was a detailed work placed by Cao's army in the Han army. He followed Yang Lin to the inner room. The two sat down. The soldiers took out a piece of paper from their arms and handed it to Yang Lin. "This is the pattern of the inner cabin of the Han army's wooden ox. The key is the mechanism at the bottom of the wooden ox. Unfortunately, the secret is not obtained. The detailed drawings of the mechanism are not obtained."

The detailed information about the Muniu was issued by Cao Cao himself. The Cao army attached great importance to it. Although they could not get detailed patterns, they had obtained the appearance diagram before, but now they had the inner cabin diagram, so they could barely pass the exam.

Yang Lin looked at the pattern carefully, carefully put it into a box, and asked again: "I heard that another batch of wooden cows was sent to the Han army yesterday. Is it true?"

The soldier nodded, "There are about a car, so there will be 1,500 wooden oxen in the Wudu camp, and there is also an important information."

"What information"

"Liu Jing arrived at the military camp yesterday and is now in the military camp."
Chapter completed!