Gao Huaiyuan walked in front of the team, turned his head and glanced in the direction of Daye County, and then looked at the villagers who followed him, and felt a little emotion in his heart, he didn't know what would happen to Xiangyang this time, and how many of these people could come back in the end!

But since he has chosen this path, he has no way back, so he can only go to Xiangyang step by step to see what the war of this era is like!

They set off from Ezhou, all the way west along the Yangtze River, every day under the drag of those township soldiers behind them, the team walked out of thirty or fifty miles a day at most, so don't look at Ezhou is more than five hundred miles away from Xiangyang, but stunned to let these people walk for almost half a month, Gao Huaiyuan has no temper at all, if you don't know that this time the Song and Jin War has to be fought, according to their way of walking, I'm afraid that the cucumber vegetables in Xiangyang will be cold!

So Gao Huaiyuan simply took advantage of this opportunity to train the troops while walking on the road, and it was not fast to sharpen the guns in battle, so it was better to let these villagers practice more than to stop and delay their work like this.

In order to avoid the attention of the pile of garbage in the back, the provincial gang of guys made irresponsible remarks, when the outcropping rafters in the team, Gao Huaiyuan and Zhang Qing discussed, and told Zhang Qing his idea, and Zhang Qing also supported his idea, thinking that it was not a bad thing to let the villagers practice and save their lives more, and he couldn't get used to the style of the guys behind, so he supported Gao Huaiyuan's idea.

After making up his mind, Gao Huaiyuan once again ordered his township soldiers to speed up the pace, set off early every morning, spend a morning to hurry, at least fifty miles, and then bury the pot to make food, so that after everyone was full, they began to practice in the afternoon, so that after they finished the exercise in the evening, the guys behind them dragged on to their station, and everyone camped and rested together.

Just if he did this, he had to get the consent of the officer of the Ezhou Metropolitan Department who led the way in front, Gao Huaiyuan simply bribed him a few times for money, saying that he didn't like to see the people behind him delaying things, and wanted to speed up the way and fight for the army, so after the officer got the money, he readily agreed to Gao Huanyuan's request, and also took the initiative to march with them.

In this way, they have an extra helper, this officer's surname is Zhao, his name is Zhuzhu, his identity is a general after the garrison army, he is a low-level officer in the army, he happened to have participated in the battle of the Kaixi Northern Expedition before, but he was beaten by the Jin army at the beginning, saved his life and ran back, and he is also an experienced officer, and he is also a person who has rolled in a pool of blood, so he is quite strong and a bit of a soldier.

Although Gao Huaiyuan has been instructed by the Sanshan Sanren and knows a little about the method of training, but the real battlefield has never been seen, after hearing that this officer surnamed Zhao has participated in the war, he is secretly happy in his heart, and after a good pat, he coaxed this guy to be happy, and along the way, he also had a good impression of Gao Huaiyuan, so Zhao Xuanzhu gave Gao Huaiyuan and them an off-site guide by the way, and told them some methods of forming in front of the army.

After getting Zhao Xuanzhu's guidance, Gao Huaiyuan immediately combined the things he said, divided these people under his command into two groups, and as long as they were stationed every afternoon, they let these people practice fighting, one side attacking and the other defending, and the next day they rotated to continue such offensive and defensive drills.

Although these people didn't know what Gao Huaiyuan was crazy about, they saw that even Zhang Qing was messing around with him, so they had to let him command his people to do this kind of thing, and they rushed like crazy every morning, and in the afternoon they were divided into two groups to fight, and the two groups of people were very happy, they were tired like donkeys every day, and they immediately slept when they lay down at night, and they even owed homesickness.

In this way, these villagers gradually began to master some offensive and defensive skills in battle, and also understood the importance of mutual cooperation.

During this period, Zhao Xuanzhu gave them a lot of advice, and also told them a lot about how to save their lives on the battlefield.

Just like that, they walked and practiced along the way, after more than ten days, they finally saw Xiangyang City from a distance, after arriving here, everyone began to feel the tension of wartime, a team of exhausted troops retreated from Xiangyang, most of these people were injured, either missing arms or legs, no armor, and the clothes on their bodies were also stained with bloodstains, and all parties continued to transfer materials to Xiangyang, and the roads were crowded.

The soldiers of the herald rode back and forth on the road leading from Xiangyang to the interior, constantly calling out in their mouths, driving the people who stood in the way to get out of the way, so that they could pass quickly, and even in the fields there were many soldiers who retreated from the front, each with a tired look on their faces.

When they saw such a scene, Gao Huaiyuan slowed down and their mood became heavy, although they had not really gone to the battlefield yet, but just by seeing such a scene, they knew how cruel the war was.

And when Zhao Xuanzhu, who was very arrogant along the way, saw such a scene, he also put away the smile on his face, revealing a solemn look, and there was no longer the same ease as before.

"I said brother, how is the North playing now? Where did the Jin army hit? Zhao Xuanzhu grabbed an officer who passed by them and asked him.

This officer was missing an arm, covered in blood, his broken arm was bandaged in rags, his face was pale, and his steps were staggering, when he was pulled by Zhao Xuanzhu, he raised his eyes and looked at him coldly, and then looked at Gao Huaiyuan and others behind Zhao Xuanzhu, as if he was looking at a group of dead people, and the corner of his mouth sneered: "How is it?" Hum! Bear-like! Lao Tzu came back from Xinyang, Xinyang and Luoshan have been lost, and the Jin army has now arrived at the Zaoyang army, and is rushing towards Xiangyang, you are also coming at the right time! Hum! Let go! Lao Tzu is going back! ”

Zhao Xuanzhu froze and let go of his hand, and the officer with the broken arm passed by them, stretched out his remaining right hand, and tore half a bag of dry food from their car, Huang Yan immediately stepped forward and tried to take the bag back from his hand.

Gao Huaiyuan immediately shouted: "Huang Yan, stop! Stand down for me and let him take it!" He has done enough for the country! ”

Huang Yan immediately retreated to the side, silently looking at the officer with the broken arm, Gao Huaiyuan stepped forward and took a few pieces of dried meat from the car, walked to the officer's side, took the bag in his hand, stuffed the dried meat into the bag, and took a roll of clean bandages and gold sore medicine, and stuffed them into his arms.

The officer with the broken arm looked at Gao Huaiyuan, his lips moved slightly, but he didn't speak, but sighed, turned around and walked slowly in the opposite direction to them.

Zhao Xuanzhu walked to Gao Huaiyuan's side and whispered to him, "Thank you, brother!" It's not easy for us to be soldiers! ”

Gao Huaiyuan didn't speak, just nodded, but he also saw the pain in his heart from Zhao Xuanzhu's eyes, and thought to himself, could he be wrong? Wasn't the Jin Army defeated in the south this time? Why is the news I hear now so unfavorable to the Great Song Dynasty?

Everyone was completely silent, escorting the vehicle and continuing to walk towards Xiangyang, no longer hearing nonsense among them, all of them had a solemn face.

On the side of the road, many soldiers who retreated from the north sat on the side of the road to breathe, and when they saw the grain cart that Gao Huaiyuan and they escorted, some people's eyes flashed a trace of greed, and some people slowly stood up on the ground and patted their companions who were still sitting on the ground, so more and more defeated soldiers stood up and locked their eyes on Gao Huaiyuan's carts.

"Be on your guard! I'm afraid things are a little troublesome! We're too far ahead! Zhao Xuanzhu saw the hungry gaze in the eyes of these routs, so he slowed down and said to Gao Huaiyuan.

Gao Huaiyuan also felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere at this time, he knew that the military discipline of the Song army had collapsed, and the composition of the army was very complicated, because of the implementation of the unique recruitment system in the Song Dynasty, the good and bad soldiers in the army were uneven, including both good people and some criminals, plus the officers were not strict, and there were often things that caused trouble for the soldiers, especially once the army was defeated, many of the defeated troops became robbers because they had no food supply, and today it seems, This group of routs was eyeing the grain, straw, baggage and other things escorted by their own people, and they couldn't help but be awe-inspiring in their hearts, and secretly added a little caution.

Huang Yan, Guo Liang, Zhang Qing...... The order goes down and tells the brethren to protect the vehicle, and no one is allowed to approach the vehicle! Gao Huaiyuan immediately called his subordinates, and ordered them to go down, although they are village soldiers, but the escort is to supply the army's grain, straw, baggage and other things, once there is a loss, now he is an escort, if the things can not be handed over to the army, then his escort team will be punished, the light is the rod punishment, the heavy is the danger of losing the head, Gao Huaiyuan does not want to be pulled to cut because of this, so immediately ordered everyone to go down.

And these people under his command also saw the ill-intentioned eyes of the defeated army on the side of the road, and they all began to get nervous, and after receiving the orders of their respective teams, they all tightened their weapons, approached the vehicles, and protected these vehicles.

As they continued to move forward, there were more and more routs on the side of the road, as if that greedy atmosphere would be contagious, and these routs also stared at Gao Huaiyuan and his party.

"Stop! Leave your car and unload the food for the Lao Tzu, who hasn't eaten for two days! I'm hungry! Suddenly, a low-ranking officer in the rout with a helmet and armor and dozens of rout soldiers blocked their way, and shouted to Zhao Xuanzhu, who was walking in the front.

"Bold! Get out of the way of Lao Tzu, these grains are ordered by Lord Zhao to be sent to Xiangyang from the Ezhou battalion. Don't you know that snatching military rations is a capital crime? Zhao Xuanzhu immediately raised his hand to stop Gao Huaiyuan's team behind him, pressed his hand on the handle of the waist knife, and shouted loudly to the defeated soldiers who blocked their way.

"Whew!" The officer with a foul face at the head spit hard at Zhao Xuanzhu's feet, and scolded: "Lao Tzu doesn't care what kind of military food is not military food, Lao Tzu is desperate with the Jin army in front, and he has retreated, and he doesn't even have anyone to take care of food, can he let Lao Tzu starve to death?" Don't talk nonsense, I won't embarrass you, leave us two carts of grain, what should you be busy with, otherwise, don't blame Lao Tzu for being unkind! Brethren, unload the grain and start eating! ”

With the shouting of this guy, the surrounding routs responded one after another, arguing about something that they could not not eat, and then surrounded their convoy.

"Stop! If you dare to step forward again, you will be killed! Zhao Xuanzhu is also a hardliner, as soon as he saw that this group of defeated troops wanted to take food, he immediately pulled out his waist knife from his waist with a pout, and pointed at the defeated soldiers who were trying to take food.

With Zhao Xuanzhu's movements, Gao Huaiyuan did not hesitate to pull out the waist knife from his waist, and stood side by side beside Zhao Xuanzhu, staring coldly at this group of defeated soldiers, what he hated most was that the soldiers were not loyal to the country, and they couldn't fight wars, but they had a lot of trouble for the place, for such a rout, he couldn't sympathize at all, and these grains were related to his net worth and life, and he would not let the routs take away these grains.

With Gao Huaiyuan's movements, Huang Yan's group of teenagers immediately pulled out their waist knives together, and the pikemen also flattened their spears one after another, aiming the tips of their spears at the surrounding routs, and the archers immediately took off the bow under their ribs, pulled out the arrows from the quiver behind their backs, and put them on the bowstring, making a posture of opening the bow and releasing arrows at any time.

After these days of training, those villagers have gradually formed a sense of teamwork, and their courage has also increased, as soon as they saw Gao Huaiyuan draw their swords, they also lifted the guys with their team, and the two sides immediately became tense and formed a confrontation.

"Yo and! Today, the uncles have encountered hard stubble! You native soldiers also want to fight the masters, can you? To tell you the truth, what scene has Lao Tzu never seen? Will I be afraid of you? Phew! If you don't want to die, get out of here, the province has annoyed Lao Tzu and slaughtered your local soldiers! Today's grain is going to be decided! The leader of the rout looked unimpressed, scolded and threatened them, and waved his hand to let their rout soldiers copy the guys, ready to forcibly take the food.

"How dare you?" Zhao Xuanzhu looked angry and shouted angrily at those defeated soldiers.

"All of them, put the cart together, bow it up, limit it to ten paces of the cart, and shoot anyone who tries to misdestruct the cart on the spot! The spearmen stepped forward, and the sword and shield men followed! Gao Huaiyuan saw that things were probably going to get big today, so he immediately ordered in a loud voice.

As his order was passed down, dozens of carts immediately drove the carts together under the drivers' drive, and the five hundred villagers immediately stood in their respective positions according to the previous plan, and protected the carts, the spearmen stepped forward, the tips of their spears pointed directly at the surrounding routs, and the sword and shield men immediately stood at their sides, covering themselves and the bodies of the spearmen around them with their shields.

Without saying a word, the archers immediately flew up to the vehicle and aimed their bows at the routers who were trying to approach them.

As a result, the routs were also taken aback, and they stopped approaching, and the two sides immediately stalemate.

The head of the rout didn't expect to really run into hard stubble today, he originally thought that these villagers were just a rabble, and his own gang was also a regular army, but the people who had seen blood on the battlefield were not good at dealing with the Jin army, but against these villagers of their own Song people, wasn't it a matter of being caught?

But when he was about to be rough and forcibly seize the grain, he found that the group of villagers he met today seemed to be very simple, and he actually had the courage to confront them, and he also showed his guys, so he suddenly froze on the spot, and his face turned into a pig's liver, and he had no idea for a while.

After all, don't look at the number of them, but the rout here is not his subordinates, many of them are improvised, followed by dozens of other stragglers who want to take the opportunity to grab some food, they don't necessarily listen to him, if they do it, they really can't get cheap, maybe they will really be overturned by these desperate township soldiers!

The two sides immediately stalemate, although the defeated soldiers surrounded Gao Huaiyuan and his party, but the group of dragons had no leader, but they did not dare to risk death to step forward, try whether these township soldiers dare to release arrows to themselves, if they really meet this group of township soldiers to play with their lives, they will die here, and they will die in vain, so suddenly the defeated soldiers were suppressed by Gao Huaiyuan's gang.

Gao Huaiyuan also saw the strength of these defeated soldiers, a mocking smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and his expression fell in the eyes of the defeated soldiers opposite, which immediately made the guy at the head a little annoyed and angry, so he also pulled out his waist knife and shouted to the surrounding defeated soldiers: "Damn! I don't believe that we, the veterans, will be frightened by these buns, and the brothers listen to me and give it to me, I don't believe that they dare to shoot arrows at Lao Tzu! Look at Lao Tzu and don't slaughter them all! ”

At his instigation, this group of routs suddenly became a little eager to try, Zhao Xuanzhu's face suddenly became ugly, to be honest, he didn't really want to do anything to this group of routs, although these people are not the people of the Ezhou garrison, but they are all his robes, if they really move, it is difficult to ensure that no one dies, this is not what he wants to see, so he peeked at Gao Huaiyuan.

The result was that he was taken aback, Gao Huaiyuan saw that the guy on the other side was so arrogant, so without saying a word, he put the knife into the sheath, reached out and took off his big bow from under the ribs, wound the arrow, squeaked and pulled the bowstring, pointed the sharp arrow directly at the guy who was the leader, and sneered: "Then you might as well just come forward and try it!" I know you, but I don't know you with my arrows! Listen to it all, ten steps is limited, idle people dare to approach, just let me put arrows! ”