In very hot and dry weather, the occasional hot wind blows by, or people and horses step on it, and it is a cloud of sand and dust.

Although the Yellow River is not the chaotic turbid soup of later generations, the long-term war has also caused great damage to the vegetation on both sides, so that bamboo and wood materials have become scarce. The most important effect was that under the scorching sun, many small rivers became dry, which brought great difficulties to the Huainan army's grain transportation.

"I also know that this year's army has gone north, and there are many people who have suffered a lot, but this is inevitable. Now that the army is gathered on the banks of the river, all uses must depend on logistics, and there must be no shortage of them, and this is the only thing I ask of you in literature. ”

In the sour jujube camp, Shen Zhezi met with Ji You and other Huainan subordinate officials in charge of logistics, and once again emphasized that logistics must be sufficient.

Hearing Shen Zhezi's words, Ji You and the others also had solemn expressions. Although these people did not directly fight on the battlefield, they did not have an easy time in the past. Every time there was a slight tactical adjustment on the front line, they needed to work day and night to keep up with the movement of the army.

For example, in the previous battle of Chen Liu, the original plan should have been to absorb a part of Chen Liu's villagers as a large army after defeating Chen Guang. However, due to the fact that the fighting was not going well, the northward movement began early.

In particular, breakthroughs were made on the south bank of the Yellow River one after another, and in a very short period of time, the supply line of the army was more than doubled. Moreover, because the Huainan people did not have the experience of organizing a large-scale northward war, although they had made a lot of preparations before, they often found that there were still things that were not well thought out.

For example, in terms of mechanical use, several major smelting and casting bases in Huainan have also made a large number of sophisticated armor in the past few years, but after arriving in the Yellow River, they found that the practicality of these iron armor tools is not too high. Wearing iron armor in scorching hot weather is simply torture, so a batch of rattan armor was urgently mobilized and sent to the front line as soon as possible.

Moreover, the hot and dry climate along the Yellow River also brought great trouble to the Huainan Army, although the Huainan Army also recruited a large number of people from the Central Plains into the army in recent years, but the backbone of the army is still Huainan and Jiangdong people. A considerable number of them have not experienced this climate at all, and even the entire battalion has died of heat stroke.

If it's just the heat, it's not like that. In the middle of summer in Huainan and Jiangdong, the temperature is even higher than along the Yellow River. However, the problem was the lack of dense vegetation and climate regulation such as precipitation along the Yellow River, and the previous army had to march and build fortifications at high intensity in order to catch up with the military period.

In terms of summer retreat, although the Huainan Army was also prepared, it still underestimated it. Therefore, the front line has urgently issued an order to step up the mobilization of plums, gypsum and other materials to avoid the heat and prevent the heat, all of which need to be transported to the front line as soon as possible.

In addition, the shortage of service required a large number of people to go north in the Huaishui River Basin, which aggravated the consumption of grain and grass. Originally, the 500,000 Hu military rations assembled in Xuchang were intended to be used to sustain the entire war, but now it seems that this estimate is somewhat optimistic.

According to the current average grain consumption, the Huainan Army will raise about 200,000 more military rations in the future. If this burden is completely borne by the Huainan Governor's Office, even if it can be completed, it will definitely be overdue. If it is raised in Jiangdong, the transportation line will be more than doubled, and the consumption along the way will also be doubled.

Such a large-scale, cross-regional long-range container transportation is also a test for the logistics system of the Huainan Army. Therefore, Ji You and other Huainan logistics officials were also under great pressure during this time, and they lost weight at a speed that was almost visible to the naked eye.

Especially Ji You, this guy, originally had a somewhat gentle and elegant demeanor, but after months of running around and working hard, the whole person became dry and thin, and fine stubble appeared on his lips and chin.

Shen Zhezi was originally a little dissatisfied with the cooperation of logistics, but as the follow-up army successively gathered near the sour date, the original next step was to continue to increase the number of troops on the slide. However, due to logistical supply constraints, the pace of troop reinforcement can only slow down, and it is now nearly mid-July, less than half of the plan to increase the number of troops by 30,000 troops.

But seeing Ji You and the others so tired, the anger in his heart also subsided slightly, after all, the current logistical pressure is due to many reasons, such as not being able to get enough people on the battlefield of Chenliu, the obstruction and containment of the Heluo army on the Yellow River, and the hot and dry weather.

"When two armies fight, it is not a battle that can be won by a soldier who is brave and fearless. Hundreds of thousands of people feed on livestock, which is the top priority. I also know that you have been working hard recently, but if it is really easy to revive China and revitalize Jinzuo, it will be established in the past, and there is no need to wait for us to undertake this great cause! Now that the army has gathered here, it is really difficult to ride a tiger, if it is not victorious, the Huainan masses inside and outside the barracks, half of Thailand will have to sleep here! ”

When Shen Zhezi said this, he couldn't help but raise his hand and rub his eyebrows: "The two armies have faced each other to this day, and in addition to fighting bravely, it is more about making fewer mistakes. I know that all of you are in difficulty, but since I surrendered, who can be calm in Huainan? Because they are performing their duties, they don't have to work hard anymore, and if they don't succeed, they will die, and they can't be exempted! ”

When everyone heard this, they were all awe-inspiring, and they all gave up their orders and did not dare to slack off. It was not until Shen Zhezi prepared all kinds of military supplies as warrants and distributed them to everyone one by one, and then everyone got up and retired.

It's just that Ji You saw that Shen Zhezi was a little speechless and stopped, so he was a few steps behind, and returned and said in a low voice: "The princess has entered the county a month ago, and there are many good nurses in the garden and the mansion to accompany her, and Ge Shibo is also with her......

When Shen Zhezi heard this, the file in his hand trembled, and then his face showed a little unnaturalness, and he waved his hand and said, "Got it." ”

When Ji You saw this, he didn't say anything more, turned around and left the military tent.

After Ji You left, Shen Zhezi put aside the file in his hand, his mood gradually turned irritable, and he stood up and paced in the tent. It's just that the more I walk, the more bored I become, so I simply ordered someone to present light armor and go out to patrol the camp.

During this period, all units of the Huainan Army arrived on the south bank of the Yellow River one after another. Especially after the main force of the naval army led by Xu Mao turned into the Yellow River from the chasm, with the men and horses of Guo Yusuo of Chenggao, they controlled the middle section of the Yellow River waterway, and liberated the Huting army to transfer to the sour date.

Moreover, the drought in the Yellow River valley also affected Chen Liu, and the area of activity of Chen Guang's rebellion was further reduced. If it weren't for the fact that the Huainan Army had already confronted the army in Shikan in the north on the south bank of the Yellow River, the Hui Army would have been wiped out in a battle at this time.

But at the moment, Chen Guang is no longer the focus, and there is no need for Shen Zhezi to change the rhythm of the battle for this chaotic army, as long as enough pressure is maintained, it is only a matter of time before Chen Guang's chaotic army collapses.

Xie Ai's brilliant results in Ji County far exceeded Shen Zhezi's expectations, and he broke the main force of Tian Ni in Ji County in the first battle, but when he attacked Hebei Yaojin Fangtou, he suffered a small setback due to insufficient troops and retreated to Ji County.

This is really a great surprise for Shen Zhezi, originally he was worried that after changing the time and environment, Xie Ai's talent may not be able to be fully developed, but it turns out that he is too worried.

The acquisition of Jijun gave the Huainan Army a greater choice in tactics, especially Xie Ai's performance in addition to military performance, and his performance in stabilizing the hometown and rectifying civil affairs was even more eye-catching. After the recovery of Ji County, a part of the villagers was quickly united, and some unstable factors were cleaned up selectively and step by step, which was regarded as a preliminary control of the situation in Ji County.

Shen Zhezi has always been stuck in the fact that he has no all-round talents under him, and Du He is considered one, but now he wants to replace Shen Zhezi in charge of the government affairs of the Governor's Mansion. The other Guo Yu, Mao Bao, Wang Shu, Xie Shang and others all have their own biased abilities.

Xie Ai's appearance brought great help to Shen Zhezi. Therefore, after the first battle of Jijun, he appointed Xie Ai as the superintendent, and increased the army by 3,000, and the affairs of Hebei were completely settled.

Such an astonishing promotion, even in the eclectic Huainan army, is really eye-catching. A staff member who has only joined the Governor's Mansion for half a year has become an important general alongside Guo Yu and Mao Bao. However, under the premise that the Huainan Army is meritorious, this appointment does not seem abrupt, and it shows Shen Zhezi's intention to promote young generals.

Xiao Yuandong is an example, Xie Ai is another example, it is conceivable that after this war is over, the young generals of the Huainan Army will become the backbone of the future.

Of course, this is under the premise that the power position and power have been greatly improved, and the authority of the veterans will not be impacted. And those veterans are also in their prime, like Mao Bao, Han Huang and others are under forty years old, as long as they follow closely behind the governor, the future will only be more prosperous.

Now the distribution of Huainan troops, Guo Yu led nearly 5,000 people and nearly 10,000 Xingyang Township people to besiege Chenggao Tiger Prison City. Lu Yong's 20,000 naval army controlled the Yellow River waterway from Hugao to Suozao and Yanjin, Xie Ai's 8,000 Huainan army was stationed in Ji County, Han Huang's more than 5,000 cavalry and Tianjing's 2,000 Shengwu army surrounded Chen Liu's rebellious army, and Mao Bao led nearly 30,000 troops to arrive on the south bank of the Yellow River.

Coupled with the nearly 10,000 troops obtained by dividing and integrating the troops on the front road, the Huainan Army has gathered nearly 90,000 troops in the north of Yuzhou alone, except for the two parts of Tiger Prison and Chen Liu, which cannot be moved, Shen Zhezi now has nearly 70,000 mobile forces!

Of course, some of these troops are still on the way, and some have already been transferred to the defense area, at least until the end of July, and all the men and horses will be in place.

Now in the sour jujube alone, the Huainan army has gathered nearly 40,000 people on land and water, and it has long since lost its previous weak appearance. The sour jujube was originally a cluster of cities and barracks, enough to accommodate tens of thousands of troops.

At present, the camps and the like of sour jujube have already been stationed in Huainan with troops from all walks of life. Many of the preliminary preparations made by the troops on the front road are also in use at this time. In the hot season, the army does not need a heavy camp tent at all, and many cattails are built on bamboo frames, sprinkled with water and coated with thin mud, which can not only shade and drive away the heat, but also prevent fire and dryness, and is convenient and fast.

Fires are strictly forbidden in the camp, and the water is unusable due to the fact that the ground is so dry that even if a channel is dug to divert water. But after all, this place is close to a large river, and after digging deep into the soil, many deep wells have been dug out, which are enough for the daily use of the sergeants.

Under the wall of Tucheng, there are rows of large earth stoves, and the thick soup of mushrooms and miscellaneous grains is boiled in the huge pot stove, which is put in a clay pot and put into the well to cool down, dissipate heat and satisfy hunger. In addition, there are several pots and stoves boiling a slightly pungent taste of the decoction, the white tiger ointment licorice japonica, which is the anti-heat decoction circulated in the "Treatise on Typhoid Fever", which is used to supply the serious illness of summer fever.

As for the soldiers, if there is no task of fighting and moving defenses, they do not have to be fully armored in the battalion. The ordinary soldiers wore bamboo clothes made of bamboo silk bundles, which could not only prevent exposure to sunburn, but also not cover sweat in the heat. As for the commanders, most of them wore ramie shirts, which were cool and sweaty, even if they were completely soaked and shaken slightly, they would soon become dry again.

The army is on an expedition, and the outcome of the war is not considered for the time being, and the most important thing is to maintain the momentum. The Huainan Army has maintained a very good situation in this regard, although the various armies and battalions belong differently, but they are all under the jurisdiction of the Huainan Governor's Office, and they are not a patchwork army of various families.

Moreover, since Shen Zhezi, commanders and generals at all levels must patrol the camp once a day. This atmosphere of unity is extremely important in the case of a guest expedition, and even if a brave soldier is in a completely unfamiliar environment, there will be more or less trepidation in the heart.

In this case, the generals are not only their commanders, but also the embodiment of spiritual sustenance. Appearing in front of the soldiers every day, even if you don't join the army to condole, is enough to give people comfort.

Shen Zhezi's appearance between the camps caused quite a commotion, and many soldiers stood on both sides of the road with eyes on both sides of the road, their expressions half proud and half reverent. The scorching heat was really unbearable, and although Shen Zhezi was only wearing light armor and several layers of silk cloth under his armor, he was soon sweating.

He walked into a camp and sat in the bamboo forest that had not been transplanted for a long time, the shade was not enough to block the sun, but when the bamboo leaves were sprinkled with water, they could still bring some coolness.

There are more than 800 soldiers stationed in this camp, and the commander is a building owner named Xu Frame. Knowing that the governor had personally entered the camp, the lord of Xu was also a little busy for a while, and was about to lead the crowd to greet him, but he found that his sackcloth was really a little unkempt, so he returned to the tent and went out with heavy armor, and the governor had already entered and sat in the bamboo forest.

The armor was heavy and impermeable, and in just a distance of more than ten zhang, Xu Jian was already sweating, his face became red, and he stepped forward to salute.

Shen Zhezi smiled when he saw him like this: "The owner of the building doesn't need to be polite, I am just an ordinary visit, and I don't need to set up too much." ”

Having said that, in the camp, since Xu Frame, one Sima, two captains, and other military commanders and other military commanders all stood solemnly outside the bamboo forest, not daring to slack off. Especially the commander at the bottom, when he saw that the governor was actually close in front of him, his face was full of surprise and excitement, and he was sweating unconsciously.

Shen Zhezi heard that these people's answers were quite rural, so he couldn't help but ask: "Aren't the several army commanders also from Wuzhong Township?" ”

Hearing this question, those people were all excited, and they rushed to admit themselves one by one, and it turned out that most of them were actually from Wuxing or even Wukang Township. Especially the owner named Xu Frame, who is even a little related to the Shen family, and the main body of their people is also expanded after the original Dongyang Army goes north.

The nostalgia is amiable, and Shen Zhezi is naturally not exempt from vulgarity, so he simply used Wuzhong dialect to answer with these soldiers, and instructed the soldiers to set up a table in the bamboo forest and have a meal with these villagers. The food in the camp was simple, in addition to the soup in the cool town of the well, Shen Zhezi also asked people to take some plum soup, sour bamboo shoots, dried meat and other things.

Everyone ate and talked, and the estrangement and restraint gradually disappeared when the country accents came and went, and in terms of military intelligence, it was naturally difficult for these low-level commanders to talk to the governor, but they only stated the specific predicament faced by the Wu soldiers in such an environment.

Shen Zhezi also listened carefully, and said that he would definitely attach importance to these matters and solve them as soon as possible. Now he has more than 100,000 people under his command, and it is no longer like the basic plate that was originally composed entirely of Wu people's children when he went north, and after several expansions, the Wu people's children and soldiers were gradually diluted.

But Shen Zhezi still has a different affinity for these township parties than others. Previously, because of the initial establishment of many codes and regulations of the Huainan Governor's Mansion, it was inconvenient for Shen Zhezi to flaunt his hometown too much to exacerbate the regional disputes within the Huainan Army.

Now that the Huainan Army has become a climate, especially if the next battle can be won, then the Huainan Army's sphere of influence will more than double, and its influence will directly reach Hebei.

Later, Shen Zhezi also planned to carry out some military reforms, and create a few elite troops with special names like the Shengwu Army, and take this opportunity to gather the Wu soldiers in the Huainan Army to form a single army. Through such a unique core, in order to strengthen the cohesion and combat effectiveness of several main forces.

Because if it comes to this point, Shen Zhezi no longer needs to do anything to avoid his hometown, he is a well-deserved Jin Zuo Zhongxing Yuangong, and he is also a well-deserved light of the Wu people! If you still want to be treated equally at that time, it will be a manifestation of unkindness, and you can't even treat the villagers with kindness, so what kind of love for the world!

Just as Shile developed in Hebei, he gathered the Qianghu who were originally scattered in the north and moved to Xiangguo and other places to be resettled. The reasoning is similar, Shen Zhezi no longer has to rely entirely on the Wu people's team to get things done, but when he is in need, the Wu people's soldiers will definitely treat him more loyally!

This meal was eaten until the evening, although there was no wine in the army, Shen Zhezi also held the plum soup and tried his best to meet with the villagers in the camp. It wasn't until Mao Bao and Lu Yong, two generals, came to see each other that Shen Zhezi left the barracks, walked around the rest of the barracks, and returned at night.

Lu Yong and Mao Bao, as the veteran generals of the Huainan Army, although the later generals rose one after another, it was not enough to shake their status.

Among these two people, Lu Yong has a heavier responsibility as the supervisor of the navy, and the 20,000 sailors in Huainan plus the successor ships will have more soldiers to board the ship to fight. It is necessary not only to cooperate with Guo Yu to blockade Heluo, but also to reinforce Xie Ai of Ji County, and in recent times, he has also been working hard to open up the waterway from Yanjin to Baimajin, which can be described as a great responsibility.

And Mao Bao will go to the slip platform to confront the enemy of Liyang, Hebei Province after the food and materials are in place later, and it is very likely that the future war will happen there, so Mao Bao will need to preside over this big war.

As for the generals that Shen Zhezi has promoted recently, whether they are able or qualified, they are still a little useless in such a critical battle.

Xie Ai's ability is enough, but his qualifications are insufficient. Moreover, its people are defending in Ji County, even if they can't shrink out, as long as they can ensure the existence of the Huainan Army in Ji County, it will be a big help for the Huainan Army as a whole. As long as Xie Ai stayed in Jijun, Hebei's Shikan flank would be threatened, and he would not dare to fully engage in battle.

Because of this, although Shi Kan's army occupied a favorable position during this time, it was conservative, giving the Huainan army the opportunity to deploy and win the initiative.

If there is no threat from Ji County, the enemy army can rely on its geographical advantage, gather superior forces to cross south first, break through the reinforcements of Huainan from all directions, and advance the battlefield to the south of the Yellow River at the worst. It will not be like now, completely shrinking on the front line of the Yellow River, the main force is only assembled towards Liyang, the tactical arrangement is rigid and conservative, and the advantage of the home field is not brought into play at all.

After sitting down with each other, Lu Yong first asked people to send a box of bamboo arrows, leather coupons, silk books and the like. When Shen Zhezi saw this scene, the corners of his mouth were grinning, and he rummaged through the bamboo box for a while, there was very little paper, and he couldn't help but feel the suppression of productivity and technology promotion by the war.

Although until now, if taken as a whole, Hebei's vitality is still not weak, but in some small aspects, it has lagged behind Jiangdong. For example, the promotion of paper, due to the emergence of a large number of papermaking workshops in Wuzhong, and in recent years, it has spread to Jiangzhou and other places, and paper has become a daily commodity in Jiangdong, especially in terms of correspondence, and has completely abandoned the cumbersome simplicity.

The promotion of a technology is not enough to prove that Jiangdong as a whole has surpassed the Central Plains and Hebei. However, in the process of promoting this technology, it can be seen that Jiangdong has far surpassed Hebei in terms of social stability. As long as society can be stable, productivity and technological progress will accelerate.

This kind of thinking, which extends to the whole social level, only lasted for a moment, and soon Shen Zhezi listened to Lu Yong preach: "What is contained in this box are all the submissions obtained by the navy along the river recently, and the contributors are all the township clans and martial arts ...... in Hebei."

Shen Zhezi listened to Lu Yong's narration while flipping through these letters of different materials, and his heart was filled with a strange taste. These letters are much the same, but they have only one theme, and that is to surrender. The tone varies, the content varies, and the form of surrender varies.

Some of them were extremely humble, saying that as long as the Huainan army was willing to surrender, they would immediately lead their troops to surrender. However, some put forward many conditions, such as Chen Guang in the early years, first talked about how much land he owned in Hebei and what kind of position he hoped the Huainan Army would give.

Some are more specific, not only introducing their own strength, but also saying that they have a lot of regret for the early years of slavery, and are willing to make meritorious contributions, arranging where the Huainan army will attack from, and the other party will make countermeasures.

It is impossible to distinguish between the true and the false in these letters. At present, the two armies are facing each other across the river, and the Huainan Army does not have an absolute advantage, so such a matter must also be taken seriously. It is true that there are plans to burn the black nest, but there is also a big defeat of Huang Gai's deception and Chibi, and Zhu Xu roared with a voice that Fu Jian was a soldier.

Especially in the Three Kingdoms era not long ago, the Wu people were experts in deception, some succeeded, and some failed. Now that the situation is reversed, Shen Zhezi needs to face this problem. Shen Zhezi originally didn't want to worry about it, but after thinking about it, he still sent someone to transcribe some of the surrender letters, and ordered someone to send a copy to Xie Ai in Hebei.

Next is the arrangement of the follow-up war, at present, the Huainan army is occupying a certain initiative, but the enemy army is also very strong, more than 50,000 troops have been assembled in Liyang alone, and Liyang is only a day and night away from Yecheng, and it is still increasing troops.

The Huainan army also has nearly 20,000 men still on the way, and it will not be in place until August. If you want to completely lock in the chances of victory, then you still need to wait for the Xuzhou army to rush into the Yellow River from Juyeze, and attack up and down on the river, and Baimajin will attack head-on. But in doing so, the confrontation will be extended by almost a month.

Therefore, for the Huainan Army at the moment, it is not seeking a big breakthrough, as long as it stabilizes the current battle result defense line. But after Shen Zhezi discussed with the generals, they all felt that it was impossible for Shi Kan to wait for the death period to come, but he couldn't guess where the other party would break the situation.