choke element

Chapter 1025: The Great Tide (Part )

Liu Ran looked back suddenly and heard a faint sound. He stopped and waited for a moment, then he saw the sudden rise of fire on Pangang from the end of the endless reeds.

"Cai Baer and his men have taken action!" One of the subordinates said excitedly, "With so many people taking action at the same time, the Mongols will be defeated!"

Liu Ran nodded and quickened his pace.

Although there were many people rioting on Pangang, they were no match for the Mongols. Yesterday afternoon, facing a riot in a prisoner camp, the Mongolian army mobilized three hundred-man teams to suppress it in just half an hour. This proved that the Mongols were still vigilant and had the speciality of swift mobilization.

The riot yesterday afternoon also reminded the Mongols to deal with the captives gathered in one place as soon as possible. So the slaughter was imminent, and the men prepared for the slaughter had already sharpened their knives. When Cai Baer and others took action this time, the number of Mongolian cavalry gathered from various places to suppress them would definitely be greater, and the speed would definitely be faster.

If Liu Ran's arrangement stopped there, Cai Baer and the others would have no choice but to die.

Liu Ran himself really had no other plans. After all, he was just an assistant officer, and his department had few people, and they had been exhausted in the previous battles. But he was very sure that the war potential of the Great Zhou was not comparable to that of the Jin Kingdom.

The Great Zhou Dynasty was founded by military men and focused on industry and commerce. The foundation of the dynasty was not only formed by hard-working farmers, but also by a large number of craftsmen, miners, boatmen, and cart drivers. These people were different from farmers in that they were not only generally strong, but also well organized and used to observing discipline. Only in this way could they work together and gain a foothold in the industry. Moreover, there were many retired soldiers as their leaders or backbones.

After being caught off guard for the previous ten days, people in many places should have reacted. Once they have recovered, they will naturally gather around the leader and no longer be slaughtered like cattle and horses.

The group crossed the hills in front of them, which were piled up with layers of sand and moraine. After walking for another three or five miles, the night wind gradually filled with water vapor. But it was not the water vapor stirred up by the rushing river, but the water that had been silted up in the low-lying areas for a long time, and had been constantly carrying various foul and strange smells for dozens or hundreds of years.
As the group walked, their calves often sank into the mud, and there was not only mud and ice under their feet. Sometimes they would trip over rotten wood, sometimes they would get entangled in sticky water plants, and sometimes they would step on something that was both soft and stiff, like a corpse.

This is a common swampy area on the south bank of the Yellow River.

The Yellow River burst its banks a hundred years ago, and from then on it took over the Si River and flowed into the Huai River. This mess became even worse when it came into the hands of the Jin Dynasty. During the heyday of the Jin Dynasty alone, the Yellow River burst its banks six times, causing disasters to dozens of prefectures and millions of people. During the reign of Emperor Zhangzong, Tian Li, the chief of the Water Conservancy Department, proposed to use the old course of Liangshan Luo, and to breach the river in various places one after another to divert the water to reduce the water flow.

This plan was approved by Prime Minister Xu Chiguo, who then went to the province to personally control the flood. However, during the construction, the Yellow River burst again. The court officials criticized Xu Chiguo for this, saying that it was beyond human power to deal with such a situation, so they had to restore the Yellow River to flow eastward. The project was not completed, and the previous investment in the project had reached more than 8.7 million yuan, and the money spent was more than five times the military investment in the northern border during the same period. The accumulated wealth of Emperor Shizong was thus consumed.

In this sense, it is not wrong to say that Genghis Khan’s rise was due to the flooding of the river.

Since the great rivers are so difficult to control, even the area around Kaifeng in the heart of the Central Plains has suffered greatly from them. The Yellow River branch that flows eastward along Fengqiu, Chenqiao Town, Pangang, Qi County, and Suizhou is one of the most unpredictable and terrifying seasonal rivers in the world. Whenever the water level rises, countless turbid water flows through the land, washing away all traces left by humans and forming various lakes and swamps. When the water level recedes in autumn, the lakes and swamps turn into muddy and dangerous swamps or sandy land.

Liu Ran and his companions were now in the old course of the Sui River, which had been washed away by the Yellow River. The Sui River was famous in history because of the Chu-Han War, when Xiang Yu led his army back to rescue Pengcheng, defeated the Han army, and pursued them to the lower reaches of the Sui River, forcing more than 100,000 Han soldiers to enter the Sui River. But now the old course of the Sui River can only be barely found in a series of lakes and sand beaches.

It was deep winter, and although the swamp had not frozen over completely, the water was freezing cold. After walking for a long time, there were still endless reeds and wormwood in front of us, which were dim in the night and made a terrifying rustling sound in the wind.

A person behind Liu Ran was walking with difficulty and couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Judge, will there be helpers for us here?"

"perhaps."

"Maybe?" Several people raised their voices and asked back.

These were the subordinates who had gathered around Liu Ran in the past few days. Their fighting spirit and bravery were commendable, but they were unfamiliar with Liu Ran and were somewhat shocked.

In fact, this is nothing to be surprised about. Although military tactics always talk about making careful plans, in fact, when it comes to practice, the ever-changing battlefield is difficult to predict. In such a complex situation, one can only act based on estimates. Moreover, Liu Ran has been in a hurry for the past few days, so how can he have time to contact people everywhere?

He just ran with the tenacity of a soldier, and because of his understanding of his colleagues, he was sure that since he was still fighting, his colleagues must also be holding on. In this desolate place in front of him, those who continued to hold on would most likely be targeted... When they noticed that Pangang was in chaos, they would inevitably notice his group of people who were traveling late at night.

Sure enough, when Liu Ran and the others walked a few miles further, someone suddenly shouted in a low voice: "Stop! Who are you?"

The sound came from deep in the swamp, and it was so dark that it was hard to tell where it came from. Several soldiers immediately became alert, holding their knives in a defensive posture.

"People from Pan Gang." Liu Ran took a few steps forward and answered.

"From Pangang?" The reeds deep in the swamp shook violently a few times. The man sneered and asked, "The prisoners on Pangang are making a fuss. They can't resist the Mongols and are starting to flee?"

"No." Liu Ran shook his head: "The captives in Pangang are all good men. They have made up their minds to die this time, so they will fight the Mongols to the death and will not flee easily."

"Then you..."

Liu Ran said, "I came here to tell you that the Mongols will at least transfer four or five hundred-man teams from Qi County and Chenliu to suppress the riot. At least two of them will march along the old course of Suishui River in the early morning to save time. If you are brave enough, eat them!"

"Eat up two Centuriae?"

The voice in the shadows was silent for a moment.

"The Mongols are indeed fierce, but there is always a limit to how fast they can run. They can't grow wings and fly. There are so many roads to block, so many cities to monitor, and so many villages and towns waiting to be plundered. How can they gather together in a short time? Two hundred-man teams, without successors, can fight!"

Liu Ran added: "Taking away these two centurions does not seem to help the overall situation. But this is the beginning of us taking back the initiative and mobilizing the Mongols. The Mongols besieging Guide Prefecture have lost two centurions, and they have to divide their troops to guard Suishui. The pressure on Guide Prefecture will inevitably be reduced. The Xuanwu Army Jiedushi Guo Alin stationed in Guide has sufficient troops under his command. He is also very good at using troops. He will not just try to defend the city... He will not miss this opportunity! As long as Guide Prefecture takes action, Bozhou, Suzhou and other places in the east will be able to breathe a sigh of relief, and even the troops in Xuzhou will..."

The person in the shadow suddenly laughed.

Liu Ran was a little unhappy and asked angrily, "What are you laughing at?"

"Great at commanding troops? Haha, Lao Liu, you think highly of me."

Liu Ran was surprised and was about to ask again. The reeds in front were pushed aside layer by layer, and a general in light armor stood up. Wasn't it Guo Alin, the governor of Xuanwu Army who controlled the largest military town on Nanjing Road, Guo Zhongyuan's right-hand man?
Seeing Liu Ran stunned for a moment, Guo Alin laughed again: "Don't worry, I didn't escape from Guide Prefecture. There are enough people left in Guide Prefecture, and they will not be lost! There are 800 elite soldiers here. I originally planned to rush to Kaifeng to take action, but I never thought that I am not the only one who has the courage. Hehe, if we can fight here first..."

Before Guo Alin could finish his words, Liu Ran waded through the mud and strode forward, giving him a fierce hug, which was common on the grassland.

"Two hundred-man teams?" Liu Ran asked.

"Then eat them!"