From the prison island to the north, take the post road in the east of Tangyi County, all the way north, to Shanyang County, about 400 miles.

Ignoring Shen Rong's opposition, on 12 June, Lin Jian personally led 2,000 cavalry from the eastern part of Tangyi County to enter Weiyang Mansion, and then went north along the east bank of the Baisha River, crossing Baisha County, Gaoyou County, and Jinhu County, and arrived in Shanyang County, Huai'an Prefecture four days later.

In the middle of June, when the weather is very hot, you can bake eggs when you beat them on the stones in the heart of the sun. Four days and 400 miles, such a high-intensity march is a test for both men and horses.

In order to reduce the consumption of military horses, when marching, everyone leads the horses, and it is strictly forbidden to ride. When camping, you also have to be distracted to take care of the horses, which is extremely difficult. Not only the cavalry generals represented by Zhou Pu had to lead by example, walking on foot, that is, the forest and the entourage, but also wearing heavy armor and leading the horses.

Along the way, the only people who could ride horses were the scouts who accompanied the army.

In this world, there has never been poverty but inequality, generals can lead by example, and for ordinary generals, no matter how difficult things are, they are not difficult. It was regarded as a marching exercise, all the way to Shanyang, the people were tired, the morale was up, and there were no complaints in the army.

The Jinhai and the two Jiyun-class warships escorted the female dependents back to Chongzhou first, and more than 140 members of the military commander cadet team, including Zhang Ming, Zhang Jiheng, and Han Caizhi, also participated in this high-intensity march.

The members of the study team worked even harder, in addition to participating in the march, camping and caring for the horses, and also surveying the terrain along the way as a normal training subject. The members of the cadet team are all military attachés, and there are a considerable number of generals from the artesian people's army, and their physical fitness is excellent, but they can't bear it all the way.

After arriving in Shanyang County, the cavalry camp rested on the spot, and the cadet team also crossed the Huai north to Siyang to survey the terrain of Shanyang Bay from Shanyangkou to Shuyangkou. Shanyang Bay is the most important section of terrain after Huaishui flows out of Hongzepu, and the Huaidong Military Division is at both ends of Shanyang Bay, building two military fortresses of Siyang and Shuyang, and using the terrain of Shanyang Bay to carry out a variety of tactical deductions of infantry, cavalry, and water battalions, which is the main training subject in the middle of the intensive training of the study team.

The activities of the cadet team are relatively independent, and they stay in Huaisi for more than half a month. In the later period, they all went to the vicinity of Yuntiyun to survey the terrain, and even went out to the sea. In the turbulent wind and waves, approaching the sea to Jiaozhou Bay, the boundless rotten yellow ocean, the stormy waves that hit the shore with rocks, and the fleet that covers the sky and the sun, all let Zhang Gou know how wide the world outside is.

It was not until early July that Zhang Gou returned to Shuyang with the cadet team.

Looking at the mighty Huai water in Shanyang Bay, Zhang Gou, who was standing on the embankment on the north bank of the Huai River, was agitated: just over a year ago, the Huangjue Righteous Army swept through Huaibei, and he led his troops to attack Yunti Pass with the pole master, and he also walked from here. At that time, I saw that Huaishui was just a turbid and mighty stream, and I claimed to be resourceful, and my troops were strong and strong, and I had the ambition to sweep the world.

"Da Da Da", hearing the sound of horses' hooves, Zhang Gou looked back, and Chen Yan led a horse over.

"I heard that the cavalry camp has crossed the Huai into Siyang, do you know?" Chen Yan leaned over and asked in a low voice.

Zhang Gou nodded and sat down on the mud embankment.

"Could it be to flank the eldest lady?" Chen Yan asked.

Zhang Gou shook his head and said, "I don't know, maybe not!" Although he guessed so, he didn't have any confidence in his heart.

During this time, the cadet corps was concentrated in the Shuyang area, and the military situation in Huai'an was not clear, and Zhang Gou only learned about the cavalry camp crossing Huai'an yesterday.

They are no longer the generals of the Wandering People's Army who sat in the well and watched the sky a year ago, and they know how big the gap between the so-called elite soldiers in the Wandering Army is and the real elite of a hundred battles.

In the first battle of Yanling, Chen Zhihu's troops were more than 10,000 elites, and more than 20,000 people from Hu Lao's four divisions who planned to jump out of the encirclement from Yanling were killed.

Chen Zhihu's department, they have no contact, so they can't appreciate the toughness of the hundred battles led by Chen Zhihu.

However, the Huaidong Army, what they have seen, touched, and learned in the past year has brought them into contact with the core of the true essence of the Huaidong Army, and they naturally know the elite of the Huaidong Army.

Of the 2,000 cavalry who went north with Lin Tie this time, there were 400 heavily armored cavalry, and the rest were lightly armored cavalry. The generals can lead the horses to travel hundreds of miles a day in the scorching heat of the big Futian, as long as these two thousand horses enter the west bank of Bianshui and weave in a roundabout, I am afraid that except for a few cities, there will be no place for the rebels to settle in the wild.

In Siyang, in addition to the 2,000 elite soldiers of the Huaidong Cavalry Battalion, there are nearly 5,000 elite infantry soldiers of the Fengli Infantry Battalion and more than 2,000 sailors of the Jinghai Third Water Battalion stationed in Siyang.

If Lin Jian drew the main force from Siyang, crossed Bianshui to the west, and attacked the red-jacketed girl with Chen Zhihu, the red-jacketed girl would either flee west in a panic or be trapped in Huaiyang City, it was hard to imagine that she would have any chance of winning in the field.

It is also necessary to consider that the three divisions of Sun Han in Xuzhou and the Changhuai Army stationed in Haosi are far more elite officers and soldiers than the righteous army.

Zhang Gou frowned, puzzled in his heart.

Chen Yan bit his lip and said, "You said that you wouldn't do it, but you knew in your heart that the cavalry was going to cross the water, right?" ”

"I don't know, maybe it will, maybe it won't," Zhang Gou struggled in his heart, and said, "Even if the cavalry wants to cross the river, the envoy will not ignore the attitude of the pole master." The cavalry crossed the Huai, maybe it was just to warn the pole master not to act rashly! Even if we really want to flank the eldest lady here, what can you and I do? ”

Chen Yan sat on the ground with a depressed face. I don't know when, I was attracted to Huaidong, just like when he swore never to betray the kindness of the pole master and An Shuai, at this time, even if he didn't consider his family living in Chongzhou, it was very difficult for him to escape and go to the pole master.

Chen Yan also wants to follow Zhang Gou's example to learn water warfare, and it is a big deal to avoid the pole master and the eldest lady in the future, and no matter how bad it is, the two will not help each other. Chen Yan had such an idea in his heart, but knowing that the main force of the Huaidong cavalry battalion crossed Huai to the north, and it was likely to join up with Chen Zhihu's department to flank the eldest lady, he was still manic in his heart.

At this moment, the sound of horses' hooves came from a distance, and Zhang Gou stood up and saw a group of cavalry galloping along the causeway.

Zhang Gou and Chen Yan led their horses down the embankment to make way, and when the cavalry leaned, they saw Lin Tie wearing green armor and riding his horse. There were also Cao Ziang, the left army of the marching army, and Ning Zechen, the commander of the left army of the infantry army, accompanied by others.

Zhang Gou was a little worried in his heart, he had a private meeting with Chen Yan here, afraid that Lin Lian, Cao Ziang and others would have something in their hearts when they saw it.

Lin Jian saw Zhang Gou and Chen Yan here, grabbed the reins, and said: "This sunset is about to set, and the scenery of Shanyang Bay is just right at this time!" You're so laid-back! He said to Cao Ziang again, "Ziang, you and Zechen will go to Shuyang Village first, and I will also stay to see the sunset of this Shanyang Bay." ”

Cao Ziang and Ning Zechen went to Siyang Village first.

Lin Jian handed over the horse to Sui Hu and led him aside, he sat on the mud embankment, waved his hand to ask Zhang Gou and Chen Yan not to be polite, pointed to the mud embankment beside him, asked them to sit down, and asked: "Are you worried that the Huaidong army will cross the Bianshui to fight Liu Miaozhen?" Is it difficult for you? ”

Chen Zhi is straight, and when he thinks about it, his face is stunned, and his face is dark.

Zhang Gou said: "The last general and Chen Yan discussed the situation in Huaiyang, but there was no difficulty. After attaching Huaidong, my body and mind were cleansed, and I only felt that the past sins were heavy, but the adults did not give up, and I and Chen Yan were deeply grateful, and they had already broken off with the past. ”

"After you arrived in Huaidong, you have read a lot of books, and you have become elegant in your speech, Chen Yan is not as good as you, he added his own name, does he recognize all 100 words?" Lin Jian knew that Zhang Gou's mouth was wrong, but he didn't break it, and asked about Chen Yan's literacy class.

Chen Yan scratched his head and said in an urn voice: "They recognize me!" ”

Lin Jian smiled, turned around and asked directly and coldly, "What do you think of Yan Ran's first battle?" ”

Chen Yan's soothing face rose again, and Zhang Gou was also caught off guard by the question, and he didn't know how to answer for a while to satisfy Lin Tie.

"If you can let the Henan Prefectures, the Central Plains, and the world change from chaos to governance, and the people can live and work in peace and contentment, if 350,000 people should die, I will never be soft," Lin Jian said solemnly, "If you kill so many people, the peasants still have no way to live, and they still have to rebel with hoes and wooden sticks, and what good is it to kill more people?" Huaidong will not participate in the war on Huaiyang's side, and there is nothing to make it difficult for you. It is not easy for the Huaisi area to barely survive, and I transferred the cavalry camp to cross the Huai, hoping that Sun Gongzi would live in peace and not cause me any trouble. ”

"......" Zhang Gou choked on the words in his throat, but he couldn't spit them out.

"Some people rebelled for 'Xiangning has a kind of' and wanted to earn some wealth and glory. Some people rebel for a way to survive. If you don't rebel, you will die, and it is better to rebel and break out of your life. Some people are for the sake of faith, and some people are involuntarily. There are also some people who take the righteousness of the world on their shoulders, and want to fight for a world that does not eat people for the common people in the world," Lin Jian asked, "Why did you two rebel in the first place?" ”

"......" Zhang Gou saw Lin Lian's eyes staring at him and Chen Yan, as if he could see through people's hearts, and Lin Lian's every word was like a sledgehammer, hitting his heart.

Chen Zhen said: "I have a lot of strength, one person can do the work of three or four people, and the family has to be hungry for three days and two ends, this thief still has heavenly reason?" In the early years of banditry, I was recruited to be a burger, and I got six heads at a time, but when I reported my merits in the fort, I changed to someone else's head; When the bandits came again, I took the head of the fort to cast the bandits, and at once I made the flag head, and I became a bandit with an iron heart! Later, he followed An Shuai. ”

Zhang Gou turned over and got up from the mud embankment, took a step back and knelt down, and said: "The last general was lonely and miserable when he was young, lived in the border areas, and was assigned to the military household, and was often bullied by the generals in the tunbao. In the early years, the fish class and boat tax in Puzi increased again and again, and several new names were turned over every year, and there was no way to survive in the water village, not to mention the fishermen below, so they simply raised their flags and rebelled. I want to break out a way for everyone to live, and let those officials and men who are full of fish and flesh a lesson. It's just that this road is difficult, hitting walls everywhere, bleeding from the head, killing and killing, there is no way out, and the people around him die one stubble after another, and they become numb, and there is a kind of irritability in my heart that I think of blood...... I forgot why I rebelled in the first place! ”

"I often said to the generals and officials in Huaidong: The money you eat, wear, and take is all cultivated by the people, woven and sewn by the people, and donated by the people, and you can only repay it with red blood loyalty. And I said to them, "If you fail to do this, and even bully and exploit the people as cattle, do not blame the people for gathering together and taking their food from your mouths, and stripping them of their clothes, and taking back the money they have given them, and even cutting off your heads and rebelling against you!" Lin Jian said slowly, "The two of you, one of you hates injustice, the other hates exploitation, and hates that the world is so big that there is no way for the poor to live." Huaidong has no grand ambitions, just want to do the best possible to earn more life for the people in the world, you have been in Huaidong for a year, what you have seen, heard and seen, how can I have half a sentence to tell you? Isn't there a place in Huaidong that can accommodate the two of you? ”

Zhang Gou's heart was beaten heavily, kowtowed and said: "Since you enter Huaidong, there is no second heart, Zhang Gougan is an adult dog and horse, forever!" ”

Chen Yan knelt up and kowtowed at this time, and said, "As long as I don't want to beat the eldest lady and play the master, I don't want to leave Huaidong!" ”

"Okay," Lin Jian patted his ass and stood up, and said, "Zhang Gou, I know that you are working hard to practice water warfare, and I will transfer you to the second water battalion in Jinghai as the commander of the army." Naval warfare is complicated, you have to learn more, ask more and watch more. Chen Yan, I will transfer you to the Chongzhou infantry camp to be a deputy battalion general first, and you will fight Daishan in the autumn, leaving you not much time to familiarize yourself with your subordinates...... Remember what you say today, and I will do what you want not to take away from what you say today. ”