Yi Song

Chapter 121 Meeting a confidant in the snow

With everyone watching, Liu Guozhang solemnly took the bamboo tube sealed with lacquer, tore open the seal, removed the cork, and poured out a roll of paper.

After reading it, Liu Guozhang's expression was gloomy and undecided.

Everyone held their breath and did not dare to speak randomly.

The wind and snow are fierce, sweeping over the land of Gyeonggi Province, like thousands of troops coming from the junction of heaven and earth, like a tide, giving everyone and everything a hard blow, and then roaring away.

Liu Guozhang put away the scroll and laughed twice: "Sure enough, some people are starting to slap me in the face, deny me face, tie my hands and feet, and prevent me from dredging the Bianhe River."

"Big Eyes, pass the order. In a quarter of an hour, the whole command and control department will set off and go straight to Nanjing. We are traveling lightly and must reach Nanjing before dark."

"Yes!"

"Qu Ji, you go notify Kaocheng County and take good care of the surveying and mapping team I left behind. If you neglect it, I will burn down his shabby government office!"

"Yes!"

"Pengju!"

"exist!"

"I'll write a reply. You take two of your entourages, rush to Nanjing City as fast as you can, and hand the letter into Deputy Ambassador Zhang's hands in person, and then you do this."

Liu Guozhang whispered a few words in Yue Fei's ear.

"Control, Yue Fei remembers it."

"Brother Fei, do you still remember what I told you about the big test when we left Kaifeng City?"

"I remember. My brother said at the time that Bianhe River Engineering was our first major exam. If we passed the exam, we would stand firm from then on. If we didn't do well, we would have no choice but to go to the Taihang Mountains."

"Yes. Now, the first question we face in this big exam is before us. We brothers will work hard to take the exam and try to get a good start!"

"it is good!"

Liu Guozhang waved his hand, and a cavalryman rode over, turned his back, and showed the armor on his back to Liu Guozhang. Another trooper handed over paper and charcoal.

Liu Guozhang took the charcoal pen he invented and used to deliver emergency orders, flattened the paper on the back armor of the cavalry, scribbled down dozens of words, rolled it into a paper roll as thick as a small finger, and stuffed it into a bamboo tube. Add the cork and throw it to Yue Fei.

Yue Fei put it away solemnly, cupped his hands, and galloped away with the two cavalrymen.

Watching the shadows of Yue Fei's three cavalrymen gradually disappearing in the wind and snow, Liu Guozhang looked sternly and pointed at the soldiers: "Blow the trumpet to assemble! Beat the time drum!"

"Yes!"

Four horns blew on the land of Gyeonggi Province. It was thick, long, and desolate. Even the roaring wind and snow could not cover up the sound.

"Dong dong - dong dong" Not far away, on three drum carts, three soldiers were beating cowhide drums.

The sound of the drums became louder and louder, like an invisible hammer beating everything in the world.

Further away, I heard the sound of rushing footsteps, the clang of soldiers' armor, the sound of hunting flags waving, and sometimes the sound of commands and the neighing of horses, rising and falling with each other in the wind and snow.

Liu Guozhang rode his horse and stood quietly on the hill. After a drum beat, Yang Xiaojie rode his horse forward and loudly reported: "Report! The left cavalry of the Bianhe left guard camp has been assembled. Wait for the order to set off!"

One and a half drums were still missing, so Ma Kuo spurred his horse forward and loudly reported: "Report! The right cavalry of the left guard camp of Bianhe River has been assembled. Wait for the order to set off!"

Just after the second drum beat, Wang Xun and another officer Kuang Yousheng came up on horseback and loudly reported: "Report! The left/right infantry of the left guard camp of Bianhe River have been assembled and are waiting for orders to move out!"

The wind and snow gradually dissipated, the sky and the earth cleared up, and only half a mile away, four horse and infantry troops were neatly lined up.

The flags are like a forest, the swords and armor are bright, solemn and neat, and the morale is high.

"Let's go!" Liu Guozhang said loudly, raising his whip toward the southeast. As the horns of different lengths were blown, two parts of the cavalry came out, lined up in two lines, and moved forward. They were the pathfinders.

The two infantry units formed two square formations and moved forward unhurriedly, as slowly as a forest.

The other cavalry was divided into three groups, two cruising back and forth on the left and right flanks, and one disappeared at the end.

Two thousand men and horses actually showed the momentum of thousands of troops.

On a hill in the distance, eight people were standing on horseback. The leader was wearing a gray robe. He was over fifty years old, and his face was covered with weather marks. Next to him is a twenty-year-old young man wearing a green robe, whose appearance is sixty-seven times similar to him.

The rest are followers.

The gray-robed elder witnessed the whole process and asked in surprise: "Is this the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army? Why is it so different!"

The young man in green robes beside him also had a look of shock, "Dad, I originally thought that the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army had become rotten under the control of Gao Qiu. I never expected that such a horse and infantry army would appear. It is no worse than our Western Army."

The gray-robed elder turned to look at him and said, "Silang, let's follow him and take a look."

"Dad, aren't we in a hurry to return to Bianjing?"

"There's no rush. We're going back to Bianjing just to celebrate New Year's Day for the officials. It's early. I want to see who has trained such a soldier."

"Okay, my son will accompany his father to catch up and have a look."

Several people galloped down the hill and chased him over there.

The elder in gray robe warned: "Two people go up first and inform the horse infantry in front of me about my identity and intention of coming. Seeing that it has strict military laws and well-organized arrangements, there must be a ranger guarding the rear. Don't rush up without any misunderstanding." "

"Yes."

On the hill on the other side, two men stood on top and witnessed the scene just now.

The man wearing a cross-dressed headdress and a large cloak asked in surprise: "Brother Bo Ji, whose soldier are these?"

Li Gang next to him had a complicated expression and his eyes flickered.

"This is the army of the new nobles in the court, Dr. Zuo Wu, the governor of Mingzhou and the commander of the Changshui Army, the water supervisor of Quannandu, and the governor of Gouguan Bianhe River, Liu Hu and Liu Guozhang, who are commanded by the Xiaoqi Army and Guangjie The three thousand horse infantry troops mobilized from the army are now called the Bianhe Zuohu Camp."

"The famous Liu Erlang?" the man in the big cloak asked in surprise.

"Yan Xiu has also heard of his reputation?"

"I was crossing a river one day, and my ears were full of stories about Liu Erlang. I thought he was just a reckless hero, but I didn't expect that he had a lot of beauty in his heart."

"Yan Xiu thinks too highly of him."

"No, Bo Ji, I have been to Bianjing many times, and I have many friends in the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army. I still know a few details about it. Gao Qiu has wielded power, and the exercises of the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army have been almost abandoned in the past few years. Morale is low and the morale of the troops is disorganized.

But this forbidden army in front of me is completely different from what I have seen before. I want to meet this Liu Erlang. Brother Bo Ji, do you know him? "

"We know each other, but the relationship is a bit subtle." Li Gang replied coyly.

The man said unceremoniously: "It's good to know each other. Please introduce me to him."

Li Gang hesitated and said, "Aren't you going back to Bianjing?"

"Why are you in a hurry? You are just inspecting the place at the end of the year, official matters are not urgent. I have already delivered all the Shaanxi New Year gifts and tributes as usual, and no one clicked my thumb. Brother Boji, let's go."

"Let's go, okay, let's go! I don't want to see him! I'm annoyed when I see him. This time it's for Yan Xiu's sake." Li Gang muttered as he followed behind.

(End of this chapter)