Xie Ming

On the night of the tenth day, after Xiao's army led by Hu Chen and Chuan Wu arrived at Anqing City, the three generals were not allowed to rest.

Because the situation of the rebels was unclear and he had not yet come up with a plan to deal with them, he urgently went to Yuan Ping's place to inquire about the situation and discuss it with him.

Later, when General Yuan was ready to lead us, I brought Xiao Lang to the front of the river bank.

At this moment, a team of local soldiers were urgently transporting military equipment and supplies to the opposite boat.

The leading general had a solemn expression and had no time to look around. He was also doing his best to supervise the work.

"Oh, this man's name is He Zhou, and he's from Anqing."

"He is a pacification officer of the Jiangdu Thousand Households Office in this city, a junior military officer of the sixth rank, and is not well-known."

"But this time, I retreated here from the east by water, and I found that he was quite courageous and strategic."

"He's a good candidate for leading troops."

"Come on, Xiaochuan, go and take a look. Open your eyes."

Three parts teasing and seven parts praising, Yuan Ping did not hesitate after finishing his words. He led the three generals Xiao, Li and Wang behind him and gradually walked towards the shore.

Wait until you are within sight of the soldiers' torches.

"Congratulations Zhou?" Yuan Zi called first.

Upon hearing this, the young general He Zhou quickly turned around, looking slightly stunned.

Seeing Yuan Ping coming, he bowed and hurried to agree, but he didn't know what the other three people behind him could do.

"Ah, oh, General Yuan!" He Zhou saluted with a fist.

"Oh, He Zhou, this is our army commander, Xiao Jingchuan, Commander-in-Chief Xiao."

Yuan Ping spread his arms and introduced them.

Upon hearing this, He Zhou suddenly raised his eyes and looked over, looking very surprised.

But without giving it much thought, he quickly bowed and performed the etiquette of a subordinate.

"Ah, this"

"General Xiao is such a brave young man, he is definitely an extraordinary person."

"I am He Zhou, the pacification officer of the Jiangdu Thousand Households Division in Anqing."

"Meet General Xiao!"

Kneel down and bow, and speak powerfully.

"Yes, and the one on the left is Li Huchen, General Li."

"On the right is Wang Chuanwu, General Wang." Yuan was reasonable and considerate, and Li and Wang on both sides did not fall behind.

Seeing the situation, Hezhou also responded with a fist.

"General Li, General Wang!"

After the ceremony, everyone was taken care of. Xiao Jingchuan was quick-witted and courteous. He hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and picked up the person.

Taking a closer look, I could see that He Zhou had a broad frame but rather thin skin and flesh.

But he has sharp edges and corners, a big square face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, which is quite spirited.

"Hahaha, good, what a spirited general."

"He Zhou, you, what are you doing here with your troops?!" Xiao Suiyan asked.

"Uh, back to the Overseer."

"The rebels have reached Jiujiang City, less than 300 miles away."

"In order to block the enemy, I collected some firearms and weapons that were placed on the other side at night, and quickly sent troops to transport them to the city for future use." He Zhou's answer was appropriate.

"Well, we should do our best to prepare."

"Well, let me ask you, in the city of Anqing, your government troops and the Jiangdu Qianhu Division should all be considered part of the navy, right?"

"I wonder how many soldiers can be gathered for the naval battle?"

Xiao Jingchuan searched for clues and asked for details.

In fact, questions like these can be answered immediately.

Unfortunately, when He Zhou was asked about this, he was obviously hesitant to speak, and he lowered his head and gritted his teeth to say it.

Yuan Ping looked over at the side and quickly interrupted.

"Hey, just say whatever you want to say."

"Why should I cover up for others?" Yuan Hua helped.

Seeing the situation, He Zhouyi finally made up his mind and took a deep breath.

"Uh, yes."

"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, the soldiers of this city, including the thousand households, deputy thousand households, and other hundred households, heard that the rebels were strong and knew they were no match for them two days ago, so they all fled in all directions."

"Most of the soldiers and generals under his command fled out of the city, and disappeared without a trace, never to return."

"Little, little general, your words are of low status and are difficult to control."

"At present, only 200 sailors are detained by our army."

"Awaiting orders from the commander-in-chief!"

After saying this, He Zhou was so ashamed that he knelt down again.

Seeing him like this, Xiao also thought hard, and realized that his son was taking the blame for others, and he had the overall situation in mind. So he immediately did what was right and hurriedly picked the man up again.

"Gou Li's country lives and dies, how can it be avoided because of misfortune and good fortune!"

"He Zhou, come on, hurry up, get up."

"Anqing, to the west, is the junction of the Yangtze River and the Wan River."

"When I came here, I looked at the map and saw that the west bank was Wangjiang."

"The south bank is Dongliu and Anqing."

"This is the key point of the waterway."

"It is useful for the navy's warships to conduct naval battles."

"He Zhou, I wonder how many warships are left in Anqing now?"

Xiao Lang spoke eloquently about the strategic location of this place, and took the opportunity to ask about the water warfare equipment.

When he had finished speaking, He Zhou told the truth in a serious tone without hiding anything.

"Uh, back to the Overseer."

"On paper, Anqing has 347 warships."

"But, most of the senior officers and generals just made false reports and used false names."

"In reality, the number of ships that can be used here, regardless of size, is less than a hundred."

“Moreover, up to the last two days, because the generals and officers sent by this city went forward, they were deeply afraid that the rebels would have millions of soldiers and would flee without a fight.”

"Later, I was afraid that the imperial court would hold me accountable and punish me."

"So, when they escaped, they took away most of the money."

"At present, there are still 45 ships remaining in Anqing City."

"Well, two days ago, General Yuan arrived here and said that the commander-in-chief's army would arrive soon, and he wanted to lead this place to stop the rebels."

"So I dare not be careless. Last night, I was in Chizhou Prefecture downstream and dispatched another 30 ships."

"At most, let's make up... 75 ships."

"I am incompetent. I hope the governor will forgive me."

After they finished speaking, He Zhou bowed again.

Because he didn't know Xiao Jingchuan's temperament and was also afraid that the previous bad things would cause trouble in the future, he was very cautious in his words when they first met.

Hearing such unfamiliar words, Yuan Ping, who was trying to mediate, couldn't help but laugh out loud to save the situation.

"Haha, this kid is still shy with you."

After saying this, Yuan Ye took another step forward, put his hand on He Zhou's shoulder, and mocked himself towards Xiaochuan.

"This guy, in the past two days, what kind of tactics and methods are you using? I have asked you all about them."

"Don't worry, he's a generalist."

"No matter whether it's the naval warfare techniques or the navy training and organization strategy, there's nothing wrong with it."

"The main thing is to apply what he said before to our army's actual situation and how to stop the rebels from advancing eastward."

"It sounds like he has a good idea, too."

"Xiaochuan, if you really want to start a war from here, you might as well listen to it."

Yuan Ping spoke on behalf of Jiang Bang, and what he said was true.

It skips the polite words from both sides and goes straight to the point of refuting the strategy.

When Xiao Lang heard this, he immediately understood what he meant.

"Oh?"

"In that case, we should discuss this carefully."

"He Zhou, to be honest, we have a lot of soldiers and horses, but we have been fighting in the north for years."

"There are only a limited number of soldiers in the camp who can swim."

"Before this, I had no experience in serious naval warfare."

"This time, I just arrived in Anqing, and Brother Yuan strongly recommended you."

"I'm sure the general must have some real abilities!"

"Ha ha ha ha."

"well."

"The enemy is nearby, there is no time to lose."

"Let's just forget about all the empty articles and high and low positions."

"Now, let's be serious. This is the way to repel the enemy."

"In this case, this is not the place to discuss for long."

"In my opinion, we should go back to the city government office and discuss the important research in detail."

After that, the four generals Xiao, Yuan, Li, and Wang, as well as Congratulations on the boat, also said nothing more and hurried back to the city gate.
(End of this chapter)