Chapter 142 To Greet

"Get off the boat, quick, quick, quick!"

Under the loud shouts of the Commandant, Guo Dong and Xu An ran off the boat as quickly as possible.

Unlike the previous leisurely disembarkation at Jingcheng Wharf, the naval force had now entered the heartland of Chu, so for safety's sake, the fleet adopted a strategy of disembarking and deploying troops in batches.

Firstly, this could be done more efficiently, and secondly, it could quickly spread the field of vision.

Regardless of whether the army scattered like beans would become a disorganized mess, at least it wouldn't result in the extreme situation of being surrounded like dumplings when disembarking together.

For the Yan army, who were accustomed to cavalry warfare, advancing on foot was rather awkward and unfamiliar, but after being gradually tempered in siege battles, and being an elite force after all, their ability to adapt to the battlefield environment and changes was beyond doubt.

"Quick, quick, keep up!"

The standard-bearer ran ahead, with Guo Dong, Xu An, and a group of armored soldiers following closely behind.

In fact, they didn't know exactly where they were now, but they were generally aware that they had penetrated deep into Chu territory. The unfamiliar environment didn't bring them fear or pressure, but rather a strange excitement.

In the past few days, the hundreds of thousands of Yan troops had been burying their heads in sieges, suffering enough from the Chu's city walls and military strongholds. At that time, many soldiers would curse after returning to camp every day, saying that once they broke through the turtle shell and reached Chu territory, they would definitely burn, kill, and loot.

Now,

they had done it.

While the main force of the Yan army was still outside Zhennan Pass, wrestling with the solid city walls, they had already arrived in the heart of Chu; how could they not be excited?

In the end, they hadn't really suffered any setbacks. The battle of Jingcheng was won too easily, and a granary fire that burned for two days and nights had boosted everyone's morale.

If they were to suffer two consecutive defeats now, while being isolated deep within enemy territory, their morale would inevitably plummet.

At that point, even if they were an elite force, it would be useless. They would die in a foreign land, their bones buried elsewhere. When pessimistic emotions enveloped the entire army, they would still collapse as they were destined to.

Therefore, since ancient times, there have been many cases of deep incursions, and there seem to have been many classic examples, but this is actually a survivor bias.

The reason why a military adventure is called a military adventure is precisely because most of them end in defeat.

Back then, Zheng Boye had accompanied Li Fusheng on a southward expedition. Li Fusheng and Li Bao's two Zhenbei armies had Li Bao responsible for diversion, while Li Fusheng directly crossed the Bian River and went straight to the capital.

Putting aside factors such as combat power, the Qian army, which continuously attempted to block them, helped the Yan army tremendously.

Because the Yan army could defeat them again and again, using the victories of each battle to soothe the fear and unease of being isolated deep in enemy territory, and using the Qian people's repeated defeats to replenish their constantly dwindling morale.

Therefore,

the most important thing,

was not to be defeated.

Zheng Boye stepped off the deck, surrounded by his personal guards, with Sword Saint standing by his side.

Ahead, the reeds were tinged with a yellowish hue, carrying the autumn breeze. If a poet were to come here, they might write some inexplicably sorrowful verses.

It's a pity that although Zheng Boye had always enjoyed being sentimental, he didn't particularly like writing or copying poetry.

And as a soldier, when his boots stepped onto this slightly muddy ground, he couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.

If it were normal times, when he led his cavalry in a swift charge, he would never touch such an area. Muddy reed marshes often became the killing fields for the side relying on cavalry as their main force.

"Si Niang."

"Master."

Si Niang, wearing a black cloak and her self-sewn leather armor, stood behind her master.

"I think our guards' armor styles aren't bright enough."

"We'll change them when we get back."

Zheng Boye smiled with satisfaction and nodded.

"Good."

Sword Saint's expression was as calm as an ancient well. He was already used to the fact that this Earl of Pingye's mind tended to wander during major events.

Perhaps, this was a difference in life philosophies.

In the eyes of Zheng Boye and the devils, pursuing exquisiteness was a great respect for life.

Originally, the town led by Gao Yi was considered Zheng Boye's personal guard, but Zheng Boye felt that after this battle, when his territory was larger and his power greater, he would have to change it.

As for the specifics of how to change it, that wasn't something he needed to consider now.

The battlefield situation had already unfolded.

Juyang City, being in the heartland of Chu, was undoubtedly prosperous.

Of course, this prosperity might not have much to do with the common people, but here, there should be many wealthy households, with no shortage of stored grain, treasures, silk, and beautiful concubines.

San'er had taken the first step, leading Dai Li and others to scout Juyang City.

Jin Shuke, Gou Moli, plus Fan Li, each led a group of people and approached Juyang City from three directions.

If Juyang City could be taken in one fell swoop like Jingcheng, that would naturally be excellent. To have a foothold while being isolated deep within enemy territory would be very nice.

Even if they couldn't take it, it wouldn't matter. The Yan army wouldn't foolishly prepare to attack the city, but would instead plunder the suburbs to nurture the soldiers' killing intent with blood.

Of course, it could also be grandly called "seizing food from the enemy," "reducing Chu's war potential," or "creating panic."

"Hmm."

Zheng Boye sighed.

Sword Saint said, "Hungry?"

Zheng Boye nodded.

"I didn't eat breakfast. I deliberately emptied my stomach because I wanted to drink mutton soup."

………

"Tsk!"

Behind the slope, Xue San raised his head, looking at Juyang City in front of him.

Juyang City wasn't a big city, nor was it a strategic location. It was just a county seat in the capital region.

News of Jingcheng's fall should have been transmitted, but the news of the Yan army's downstream advance shouldn't have arrived so quickly.

But Juyang City was tightly closed, looking like it was facing a great enemy.

Xue San smacked his lips. If it was just closing the city gate as a formality, that would be fine, but outside the city, there were two military camps.

One was in the north of the city, and the other was in the south.

The camps weren't big, with only a dozen tents each, and each camp only had about a hundred people, but the interesting thing was that they were all cavalry, and at a glance, the number of horses was actually greater than the number of people.

The armor on those cavalrymen was also a little too bright.

Let's put it this way: even if their master wasn't using flagpoles to lead his subordinates in battle, he wouldn't wear that kind of armor.

In short, it was impractical and purely for looks.

Cavalry was extremely valuable to the Chu. In Chu, those who could use cavalry purely as ceremonial guards would never be ordinary people.

Furthermore,

without absolutely clear enemy information,

the county gate was closed just like that,

completely disregarding the daily production and routines of the people inside and outside the county seat.

Didn't it feel like a great leader's motorcade was clearing the streets in later generations?

Xue San stroked his chin.

He had originally come in the first echelon to check if there was an opportunity to rush the city gate, but now it seemed that rushing the city was impossible.

The soldiers on the city wall were standing in rows. Even if the city wall wasn't high, it would be somewhat unrealistic to take this city with simple siege equipment given this state of alert.

But setting up camp on the spot, building equipment, and finding weaknesses to attack the city with traditional methods was also too risky. The Chu's reinforcements might arrive before the city was broken, forming a large encirclement around them.

"Go back and inform the Earl that Juyang City is heavily guarded, the city gate is closed, and it's impossible to take it by force. Tell them that I suggest that the three groups of soldiers lie low on the spot and not make a sound."

"Understood!"

Dai Li immediately ran back.

Xue San then lowered his body, squatted down, and started stretching his legs, doing warm-up exercises.

The other subordinates around him also immediately squatted down and started warming up.

They were trained by Xue San himself, so they were naturally familiar with these movements.

Seeing this,

Xue San laughed and cursed:

"You bunch of ball-stuffing things, do you want to eat farts?"

The others were a little confused.

"Roll, roll, roll, scatter around and take a look at the surrounding situation. Leave two people here to wait for me. I'll try to sneak in and see what's going on later.

You want to accompany me?

Are you trying to screw me over!"

An excellent assassin must have great confidence in their movement techniques, but if they bring a bunch of burdens with them, they'll be in trouble.

These people could be considered to have climbed out of piles of dead bodies, but the problem was that their level was still too far from Xue San's.

"There must be ghosts in this city."

Xue San muttered to himself while continuing to warm up.

If it were any other situation, or if it were someone else, completing their assigned task would be enough, but San'er was different. Outsiders might not see it clearly, but those in the core circle knew that these gentlemen under Zheng Boye had a great deal of autonomy when doing things.

At the same time, Xue San had always had a "lucky charm" attribute. He was the one who brought back the head of the Prince Fu.

Assassins often have an innate intuition for truly valuable targets.

However, just as Xue San finished his warm-up exercises and was about to touch the corner of the city, a personal guard from the Earl's side ran over from behind:

"Mr. San, the Earl has ordered you to stand by!"

Xue San asked with some suspicion:

"What's wrong?"

………

"It can actually be like this."

Zheng Boye really didn't know what to say.

After his few large ships unloaded soldiers, they were just docked here, and as a result, a Chu army with a scale of two hundred people actually took small boats and approached them on their own initiative.

Note that they didn't sneak over, but rowed over swaggeringly while greeting them.

They took the initiative to stand on the small boats and shout, asking to lower the boarding ladder.

The Yan soldiers on the ship, seeing this, threw down the ladder rope. Then, the Chu soldiers on the small boats began to climb aboard.

One came up and was immediately tied up, and the ones behind continued to come up and were tied up.

Faced with this wave after wave of behavior of actively offering their heads, the Yan soldiers on the deck felt that it was somewhat unreal.

In fact, this Chu army had misjudged the identity of these large ships. Because the ships were still flying the Qu clan flag, to the Chu people, large ships, the navy, and being in Chu territory, weren't they definitely their own?

So, they came up.

After a group went up, they found that the people who went up earlier didn't stick their heads out to greet them. The Chu soldiers left on the small boats finally realized that something was wrong, but when a row of crossbows appeared from the side of the large ship and pointed at them, they also wisely dropped their weapons, surrendered, and were all captured.

When Zheng Boye, who was standing on the shore, heard this news, he felt it was absurd, but in the battlefield, this kind of muddled thing often happened.

Zheng Boye returned to the ship, intending to see the situation.

As soon as he got on the ship, he heard his subordinates report:

"Earl, another ship is coming over there."

"Oh?"

Zheng Boye walked to the side of the ship and found that there was indeed another ship sailing over, but that ship should be carrying a lot of things, so it was relatively slow. It should be together with the previous two ships.

Zheng Boye glanced around and said:

"Take these people down."

"Understood!"

The deck was quickly cleaned. Then, the ship full of boxes finally approached.

The Yan soldiers on the deck took the initiative to open the deck and throw down ropes, giving them enough courtesy.

A Ming moved a chair over and let Zheng Boye sit on it and wait.

Soon, a group of people came up.

The leader was actually an old man with white hair. The old man's body was still quite sturdy, and he could actually climb up the rope ladder himself without anyone helping him.

Beside the old man stood some men in armor, but these people were obviously not used to wearing armor on weekdays. They suddenly put it on, and it was loose and unkempt, not like a proper soldier at all.

This group of people gave people a very greasy feeling. Even if the old man was very energetic, as soon as he saw Zheng Boye sitting there, his face immediately showed a flattering smile.

In fact, there were also people in the army who liked to build relationships and mix in circles. Every industry has such people.

But the problem was that the prisoners who were captured earlier at least looked like they had practiced martial arts. Although their armor was a bit chaotic, they could still chop people.

But the second batch of people who came up seemed to have never held a knife in their lives.

The old man knelt down,

and the group behind him also knelt down together:

"This servant greets the Qu clan nobleman, and dares to ask, are you... ......"

The old man, this group of people, including the guards of their previous two ships, should really have mistaken people.

They had come up expectantly, thinking they had met the Qu clan's fleet.

Although the Qu clan lost their main force of the Qingluan Army under Yupan City in their early years, and also lost their pillar of the family, Qu Tiannan, and were robbed of their bride on the day the princess was married, becoming a laughing stock among the nobles;

However,

a centipede dies but never falls down;

Just looking at the fact that the Qu clan can directly oppress the Liang Kingdom with the strength of one clan and still have energy to spare, one can see how deep the foundation of this family is.

Behind their backs, they can ridicule them however they want, but face to face, they must bow their heads.

Zheng Boye smiled.

This group of people was really a bit...unable to see the situation clearly.

However, it's really not their fault. This is within the scope of the capital region. Who would normally think of encountering a Yan army fleet here?

Zheng Boye replied:

"I am, Qu Peiluo."

"Ah, so it's the consort... ...so it's General Zuo."

"Greetings, General Zuo."

"Greetings, General Zuo."

General Zuo was Qu Peiluo's general title. Actually, it was useless, because the court would not give you a single soldier or soldier for conferring this. You, Qu Peiluo, could still only control the internal power of the Qu clan.

This was just a kind of compensation that the court gave after he couldn't become a consort.

"Who are you people?"

Zheng Boye asked.

"In reply to General Zuo, I am Zhang family from Yue County."

"Zhang family?"

Zheng Boye cast his gaze around.

For a time, He Chunlai and Si Niang and others were recalling which noble family the Zhang family was in Da Chu.

Even A Ming,

after taking a sip of wine,

looked around, and frowned slightly, pretending to be thinking.

The old man didn't feel ashamed, because how could the young master of the Qu clan know about his small family that couldn't even be ranked?

"General Zuo, the Zhang family is of low status, so naturally it can't enter General Zuo's eyes, but Zhang Gonggong, Zhang Guan Zhi, who is next to the King, is my clan nephew."

"Oh,,,is it the Zhang Gonggong's family?"

The old man's face immediately showed a smile, vaguely, he could see a kind of pride,

said:

"Exactly, exactly."

"Zhang Gonggong, and this Earl, cough, and this general's relationship, is extremely good."

"That's natural, that's natural. General Zuo is a true nobleman, a young hero. My clan nephew often mentions General Zuo in his letters, saying that he admires General Zuo's demeanor."

In the officialdom, everyone flatters each other and will not easily offend people.

Especially, eunuchs.

Zheng Boye fell into deep thought,

The Zhang family in front of him, oh, the Zhang family from Yue County, no wonder they looked so unreliable. Although Zheng Boye disdained to agree with the saying that nobles are born noble, the families that have been rich for more than three generations or have been passed down for hundreds of years, they have been living the lives of people on top for a long time, and there will indeed be a "celestial spirit" on their bodies, which is the so-called...aristocratic temperament.

Zhang Guan Zhi should be a eunuch official position in Chu. Since he had to sadly become a eunuch, obviously this Zhang family should have been in a very miserable situation ten or twenty years ago.

Under normal circumstances, who would cut off their own stuff if they were not desperate?

Therefore, later, with that Zhang Gonggong gradually rising up, this Zhang family in Yue County gradually gained some reputation.

This old man was humble in front of him because he was flying the Qu's flag, but he should be able to walk sideways in the Yue County area.

However,

If he knew his true identity later,

It should be a hundred times more terrifying than seeing the young patriarch of the Qu clan.

With this thought in mind,

A smile appeared on the corner of Zheng Boye's mouth.

The old man saw Zheng Boye smile, but misunderstood,

said:

"General Zuo, are you here to guard the king too?"

Zheng Boye's breathing suddenly stopped, and his body stiffened immediately.

Deep in his heart, a monstrous wave had already been set off.

But,

Zheng Boye still forcibly suppressed his emotional fluctuations,

He gave a very casual "um",

said;

"Are you too?"

"Let General Zuo know, although my Zhang family is not ranked, my Zhang family's loyalty to the monarch and love for the country can be seen by heaven and earth. This time, my clan nephew sent a letter, calling on me to spend all my wealth, recruit brave men, and come to guard the king.

Hehe,

There is also a little careful thought, that is, the King can look at our loyalty and help my Zhang family raise the rank, the lowest, the lowest is fine. "

The old man obviously really believed that his clan nephew had a good relationship with the young master of the Qu clan, so he dared to say even this kind of "heartfelt" words.

Zheng Boye swallowed his saliva, his hands were already shaking a little,

But,

Still said:

"This general, naturally also came to guard His Majesty."

"Then, I would like to ask General Zuo to allow me to go to meet the King together. My clan nephew will definitely be extremely grateful to General Zuo. My Zhang family in Yue County will also follow the Qu family in the future."

Zheng Boye nodded and said:

"Easy to say, easy to say, this is what this general should do, but this general still has some things to unload here, so it will take some time."

"Me too, me too, my ship is full of tributes to the King, of course, General Zuo also has a share."

"If Elder Zhang wants to go with this general, you have to wait a little longer, but we can let the tributes go first."

"That's right, that's right, anyway, it's not far from Juyang City. Let the people below take...Ah ah ah..."

The old man's neck was pinched by Zheng Boye, and he was lifted up. He looked at Zheng Boye who was pinching him with a look of horror and pain.

Earlier,

The reason why he was still going in circles,

Was because he didn't want to use force directly, because Zheng Boye didn't want to take risks. Although the people in front of him didn't look like it, who knew if he would meet the kind of Chu people who were greasy on the face but really "loyal to the monarch and patriotic" in their hearts and regarded death as home?

So, Zheng Boye patiently slowly asked the questions, now, he got it out.

Got it out,

A surprise,

One,

A huge surprise!

At this moment,

Zheng Boye even had a feeling that the cold arrows and stones he had suffered on the battlefield before were all accumulating character, all for the outbreak of character at this time!

"The Prince Regent, is in Juyang City?"

The old man, obviously, was not someone who could hold up to a big scene, being frightened by Zheng Boye's aura, he actually lost control directly.

After all, it was a small family that had been forcibly promoted by relying on eunuch relatives, so it couldn't be put on the table.

Zheng Boye frowned slightly and threw him on the ground.

He Chunlai immediately drew his sword and placed it on the old man's neck.

"Yes, yes, yes, the King's carriage is in Juyang City. My clan nephew, my clan nephew wrote a letter to tell me."

The Zhang family members behind the old man also nodded in agreement, confirming the old man's words.

"Heh...hehehe...hahahahaha..."

Zheng Boye only laughed softly at first, then laughed loudly.

Then,

Zheng Boye instantly stopped his voice,

His slightly condensed gaze swept around,

Ordered:

"Pass on this Earl's military order, order Jin Shuke, Gou Moli, and Fan Li, to surround Juyang City for me with three groups of soldiers.

Raise the Black Dragon flag and the 'Zheng' flag, and inform my big brother-in-law that he should wait a while, and he can also prepare a little;

His brother-in-law,

Is coming to him,

To greet him!"

————

Thanks to the student Tai 2 Zheng Shen for becoming the 145th leader of "The Descent of Magic"!