233 Send troops

Early the next morning, outside the camp gate. Ying Yi's three thousand golden-armored guards had already lined up in order.

"The west road crosses the river from Mengjin, attacks the three prefectures of Huaiqing, Weihui, and Zhangde, and then enters the capital. The time for dispatching troops is set within two days, and you can decide the timing." Ying Yi said: "There is no clear day for an organized system in Guanzhong. Army, the Ming Dynasty mobilized troops south from Xuanda. On the one hand, the road is far away and beyond the reach of the whip. On the other hand, Li Huan of Tongguan is also there to contain it. You don’t need to worry about it. After crossing the river, focus on attacking the capital. Don’t be held back by small towns and counties. , remember in May, the capital will meet."

Zhu Bingkun and others all beat their chests and nodded: "Here!"

After giving the instructions, Ying Yi got on his horse and said, "Let's go!"

After going all the way east to Zhengzhou, Zhenren Li split his way south and returned to Nanyang. Ying Yi followed without stopping and led his personal guards to Lanyang.

Lanyang is located east of Kaifeng, close to the Yellow River. Zheng Wu and Qian Yue had already stationed their troops and horses here, practicing while waiting for military orders.

Ying Yi passed through Kaifeng without entering and went straight to Lanyang. He arrived in one day and joined Zheng Wu and Qian Yue.

In the camp, Zheng Wu spread out the map and detailed the tactics.

"Lord, our troops gathered here three days ago and blocked the news. It is expected that Hou Xun on the other side has not responded yet." He said first, then pointed to the map and said: "Lanyang is here, and four miles to the north is Zhao. Pizhai, Tongwaxiang, Zhujiazhai, Xiaosongji, and Chenqiao Town on the other side of Zhaopizhai are where Hou Xun's front troops are stationed."

Ying Yi nodded slightly: "Do you mean to cross the river from Zhao Pizhai?"

Zheng Wu cupped his fists and said, "My lord is wise. Although the water surface of the Yellow River near Zhao Pizhai is slightly wide, the current is gentle and easy to cross. Although the last general and others have collected many boats, they are all small boats and cannot withstand strong winds and waves."

Ying Yi smiled and said: "Zhao Pizhai is Zhao Pizhai. Since you are already prepared, I have no objection."

"Here." Zheng Wu paused and said, "There is no wind today. Before the Lord comes, the general has made a plan with Qian Xiaowei. Tonight, we will cross the river at midnight to catch him off guard."

Ying Yi nodded again.

Ying Yi would not interfere casually with specific tactics. The generals below had already made decisions, so it would be a bad thing if he interfered casually.

He said: "So, how many people can be transported across the river by the collected boats at one time?"

"Three thousand." Zheng Wudao.

Ying Yi laughed: "Okay. I will be the vanguard this time."

Zheng Wuyi was startled, looked at each other with Qian Yue, and couldn't help but said: "My lord has a body of ten thousand gold..."

Ying Yi waved his hand and laughed loudly: "I am not only a body of ten thousand gold, but also a mighty one. What can Hou Xun do to me?"

Seeing that Ying Yi had made up his mind, the two of them did not dare to say anything, so they agreed.

Qian Yue said: "Hou Xun Baoding has seven towns with soldiers and horses, four of which are on the other side. Chenqiao Town, Tongwaxiang, Zhujiazhai, and Xiaosongji each have one town with more than ten thousand soldiers and horses. If my lord crosses the river first, Then he attacked the bronze tile box and sent another one to follow..."

When Ying Yi heard this, he waved his hand and said with a smile, "No need. I will punish myself for the mere tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. You two just follow the established strategy and make sure to capture all the soldiers and horses of the four towns on the opposite bank."

Zheng Wu and Qian Yue's specific tactics were very simple, and there was no conspiracy. Logically speaking, we can concentrate our forces to attack Tongwaxiang. Tongwaxiang is located among the four towns. Normally speaking, once we attack this place, reinforcements will come from the other three towns.

However, the virtues of the Ming army were well known, and they were afraid that once the soldiers and horses from the other three towns saw the fierce fighting in the copper tile box, they would stop moving forward and not dare to come to help.

Therefore, they abandoned this strategy and directly divided their forces to attack, without giving the Ming army time to react, and killed them forcefully.

Then he ordered the soldiers to eat well and rest. At midnight, the whole army broke out of camp and came to Zhaopi Village in the dark.

Zhao Pizhai was abandoned during the rebellion of bandits. Later, Zheng Jiutun troops were stationed here to guard against Hou Xun and cleaned up the place. All the food and supplies needed for this journey north to the east are stored here.

When they arrived at Zhao Pizhai, Ying Yi and his personal guards acted as vanguards and pulled out 20 squatting tiger cannons from Zhao Pizhai. Each of them carried a pack of fixed bullets and three solid artillery shells, as well as 30,000 enemies. Prepare.

Zheng Wu had already pulled out the requisitioned boats, and in the night they looked like big fish, rising and falling with the waves on the river.

These boats are all small boats, more than 270 in total. Except for some of them, they are newly built, and the rest are fishing boats requisitioned from fishermen.

Each boat can hold about ten people, and more than 270 boats can carry 3,000 people across the river at one time.

Accordingly, there were more fishermen recruited to support the boats.

As soon as the troops were ready, Ying Yi waved his hand, and the three thousand golden-armored guards were divided into teams of ten to twelve. The twenty teams in front immediately raised a squat cannon and boarded the ship. As soon as the ship was loaded, they set off immediately. .

The soldiers acted quickly, and in less than a cup of tea, they were all on board. The first ones to set off were already in the river.

Ying Yi stood on the bow of the ship, his feet rooted to the ground, following the ups and downs of the ship. A squatting tiger cannon was stepped on under his feet, and the moonlight falling from the sky shone on the squatting tiger cannon, forming a circle of faint golden light.

These squatting tiger cannons were not made of copper and iron, but of gold and yuan alloys. The Tiger Crouching Cannon made of Jinyuan alloy is smaller and lighter, and has a longer range and greater power.

In the past, artillery was made of copper and iron. In order to be strong, its barrel and base were very thick. The performance of Jinyuan alloy is extraordinary, and the artillery made of it reduces the use of many materials, but the power is greatly exceeded.

Today, a squatting tiger cannon only weighs two hundred kilograms. Throughout the army, there were many soldiers who could easily carry the Crouching Tiger Cannon and fly forward.

At present, the artillery in Ying Yi's army is mainly the squatting cannon. It is rare to cast large and heavy artillery such as the French cannon and the red cannon. It's not that Ying Yi doesn't like large and heavy artillery, but it's just that there is no need for it for the time being.

The range and power of the Tiger Crouching Cannon cast from gold-yuan alloy have reached the level of a French cannon or even a red cannon. With its lightness, it can defeat any opponent. There is no need to waste more materials to cast those for the time being. big guy.

The river is turbulent. Although there is no wind and the water is gentle in this section, it still makes people feel excited.

Under the moonlight, the outline of the other shore is clearly visible.

The fishing boat rowed across the water, stirred up waves, bumped and landed!

Ying Yi walked as fast as flying and was the first to land on the other side. The golden-armored guards carried the Crouching Tiger Cannon, quickly landed, cleared the soldiers' ships, and immediately turned around and returned.

Not long after, all three thousand soldiers boarded the river bank.

"Good work."

Ying Yi bowed his hand to an old man.

The old man smiled and said: "My lord, I have brought peace to the world and taught the people to have enough food and clothing. I can be a guide and I will be lucky in my lifetime."

Ying Yi laughed: "Thank you very much, father-in-law."

This old man has been active on both sides of the river for many years and knows the nearby towns very well, so he recruited him as a guide. What Ying Yi did in Henan fully won the hearts of the people. For example, once the boatmen were recruited, they all rushed to follow him without any reluctance.