After the negotiation, He Yundeng returned to Shouzhou to prepare. Li Yuanyin sent someone to Xiacai Town to collect the ferry, and ordered the soldiers to rest well.

It was night, and just as the sky got dark, the army ate some dry food, and quietly set out under the cover of the night to detour downstream and cross the river.

When the army arrived in Xiacai Town, the village chief and squire in the town were already leading the young and strong, wearing torches, and waiting for a long time.

"General, the villain has prepared the ferry!" An old man stepped forward to salute.

Li Yuanyin nodded slightly, and indeed, seeing that there were ships everywhere on the shore, countless civilians and people, he couldn't help but sigh at the correctness of the Regent's mobilization of the people.

"The army boarded the boat and crossed the river!" Li Yuanyin thanked the old man and shouted loudly.

When the Zhou army approached the Huai River, the Ming army had already concentrated ships on both sides of the Huai River to the south bank to prevent the enemy troops from crossing the river and ramming the prefectures and counties in Huainan.

At the same time, the official newspapers of the Ming Dynasty also began to publicize, criticizing the Zhou regime as a remnant of the Qing Dynasty, and acting as cruel as the Qing Dynasty.

Under the publicity of the government, the people in Jiangbei all remembered the horror of the Qing army's going south and the massacre of Yangzhou. Therefore, the people along the river all consciously formed patrols to help the court defend the Huaijiang line.

This made the Ming Dynasty have a strong human foundation in Jiangbei. When the people around Xiacai Town heard that the official army wanted to cross the river to attack the thieves, they all dared to come for reinforcements.

With the help of the people, teams of cavalry led their horses onto the boat, and the civilians drove the boat to the other side.

In the middle of the night, with the help of the people from all over the countryside, ten thousand Ming troops crossed the Huai River and arrived at the eastern foot of the Kushi Mountain.

The mountain was heading north and south, and the mountain was not high. Zhao Liangdong's 15,000 Zhou army was stationed thirty miles west of Yuqiushi Mountain. Li Yuanyin led the cavalry to the east of the mountain, and there was a mountain blocking it. The Zhou army could not observe the Ming army crossing the river.

The army marched along the mountains, walked twenty miles northward, bypassed the Kūstone Mountain, and reached the northern foot of the mountain.

At this time, a scout rushed over, clasped his fists and saluted: "General, a grain transport team from the west was found by the enemy!"

When Li Yuanyin heard the words, he raised his eyebrows and couldn't help but smile and said, "God really helps me!"

In the north of the Yangtze River, the Ming Dynasty implemented large manor planting. For economic benefits, the owners generally planted cotton to provide raw materials for the cotton textile industry in the south of the Yangtze River.

This made it possible for the Zhou army to obtain cotton after entering Huaibei, and the army could not obtain food. They could only rely on the supply from the rear to barely maintain their rivalry with the Ming army.

Forty miles north of the Zhou army camp, on the bank of the west Feishui, a team of Zhou army grain transport teams could only stop temporarily and rush to the Zhou army camp tomorrow.

The grain transport team surrounded the vehicles in a large circle, and the soldiers and the villagers lit a bonfire in the circle and lay on the grain truck to rest.

At dawn, a group of Ming soldiers quietly touched the big circle. Li Yuanyin opened his bow and took an arrow. With a "swoosh", an arrow hit the sentry's throat. Zhou soldiers covered their throats and fell to the ground with a scream.

The Ming army archers immediately set off their bows together, and the arrows were shot at the grain trucks with a "whizz" and the Zhou army soldiers screamed in a mess.

"Kill!" Li Yuanyin shouted loudly, and the Ming soldiers rushed forward.

The Zhou army and civilians in the circle were shocked and hurriedly pushed away the cart and fled in a hurry. However, the crowd did not take a few steps. A large group of cavalrymen with torches came roaring, and the war horses galloped, surrounding them.

On the other side of Shouzhou, at the Zhou army camp, the north wind whistled and the flags were waving.

In recent years, the Zhou army has fought one after another. The war has not only innovated the Zhou army's equipment, but also tempered many newcomers, and a large number of young generals have emerged.

Zhao Liangdong was a rising star in the Zhou army. His outstanding achievements in Hetao and the Western Expeditions made Wu Sangui particularly value him.

At this time, in the Zhou army camp, Zhao Liangdong stood in front of the map with his hands on his back, feeling a little uneasy.

In recent years, Zhao Liangdong often led his troops out of the frontier to fight against the Mongols. On the grassland, the army had no support, and the Mongolian cavalry came and went like the wind. The biggest threat to him was the sudden raid of the Mongolian cavalry.

On the grassland, if you are not prepared and are rushed by cavalry, it basically means a great defeat.

Therefore, during the war, he gradually could premonition the danger and smell the crisis.

In recent days, although the Zhou army and the Ming army on the other side have been in peace, Zhao Liangdong's heart has become increasingly uneasy and has a premonition that the crisis is coming.

Of course, his concerns were not groundless, but the results of analysis based on the situation on the battlefield.

At present, 15,000 Zhou troops are stationed on the north bank of the Huai River and are in a confrontation with the Ming army across the river. They seem to be evenly matched, but they are full of crises.

Shouzhou is too close to Nanjing, and Jiangnan is a place where the Ming army gathers heavily. The Zhou army came from afar, as if in front of a sleeping lion, striking wildly.

The main force of the Zhou army has not captured Xuzhou so far, and the situation in Nanjing cannot be known.

Although the war in Nanjing may end at any time as time goes by, once the Ming army ends the Nanjing civil war and launches a large-scale counterattack, it is hard to say whether these 5,000 people can escape unscathed.

This made Zhao Liangdong unable to strengthen the camp while praying in his heart, hoping that the King of Zhou could capture Xuzhou as soon as possible, and then approach the Huaijiang line to share his pressure. Otherwise, he would have only 15,000 people and would not be able to take into account the entire Huaijiang defense line.

Zhao Liangdong thought for a while, turned around and asked, "Are the food and grass delivered today?"

"It's time to go, and it's time to arrive yesterday." The clerk said: "If you don't arrive today, the grain transport officer will be punished. I believe that before dark, you will definitely be able to arrive at the camp!"

Zhao Liangdong said a little uneasy: "It's dark, send a scout to see it, but no problem!"

At the Zhou army camp, several scouts turned over and were about to leave the camp when they saw a group of carriages slowly coming in the distance.

"The grain team is here!" Seeing this, the cavalry who were about to leave the camp immediately turned over and dismounted.

They had just returned from outside inspections and were tired for a day and were very tired. Before they could even eat dinner, they saw the food team coming, so they were too lazy to leave the camp.

To the north of the Zhou army camp, there was a flat horse. The soldiers in the camp saw the grain transport team, but when the grain truck approached, it was already dark.

"Why did you come?" asked a Zhou Jun general.

The leading grain transport officer handed over a bronze medal and smiled and said, "I encountered some trouble on the road, and I was delayed."

"Go into the camp quickly, it's dark!" Mr. Zhang said kindly: "The military gate is angry!"

With a wave of his hand, the soldiers moved away the horses, and the vehicles and the soldiers who were escorting the grain came in one after another.

"Brother is Mr. Xia? You're a little bit of a dating!" The grain team came from the north and showed the token again. The president had no doubt at all, but had a conversation without saying a word.

The grain transporter nodded, "It's indeed Mr. Xia's subordinate!"

"No wonder! You're not familiar with the terrain!" said the general, and his eyes fell on the grain transport team again. He suddenly frowned and found that the escorts were all young and strong men. He turned his head and said, "Why don't you see the civilians~"

Before he finished speaking, he saw a flash of sword light, and with a "crack!", he cut his neck into two sections by a sharp sword. The heads rolled down, and the headless corpse fell softly to the ground, blood flowing all over the ground.

The sudden change shocked all the Zhou army in front of the battalions. The Ming army officer immediately yelled and took action, "Take it!"

The soldiers who entered the camp ignited the grain truck and rushed into the camp.

The Ming soldiers who were escorting food and grass pulled out their battle swords and started killing the enemy.

At this time, Li Yuanyin, who was in the distance, saw the campfire rising, yelled, "Kill!"

After speaking, he pulled out his horse and rushed out. Nearly ten thousand iron cavalry behind him accelerated together, and rushed towards the Zhou army camp with horse hooves.

On the other side, on the Huai River, He Yundeng drew his sword and roared: "Cross the river!"

Nearly ten thousand Ming troops boarded a small boat, and thousands of sails advanced together, and rushed towards the other side. The Zhou army camp was in chaos in an instant.
Chapter completed!