Zhang Xuan and Gongsun Shangzhe talked for half an hour before sending him away and agreed to speak to the court for him.

Zhang Xuan returned to the military conference hall, but saw Fang Xuanling standing in front of the hall. Fang Xuanling had just returned from the Jiangdu government office. He walked up and smiled and said, "General should have gained a good harvest today!"

"After talking to an insider, I feel a little clear about it. What is the situation with the military advisor?"

Fang Xuanling went to handle the grain delivery procedures today. The Ministry of War promised to give them 100,000 stones of grain. Emperor Yang Guang also approved it and paid from the Jiangdu Grain Depot.

Fang Xuanling followed Zhang Xuan into the lobby, and the two sat down and said, "Wei Zheng promised to deliver 100,000 s of grain to us in two batches, first 50,000 s, and then 10,000 s of grain per month."

"Why didn't he give it to us at once and have to hand it over in batches?" Zhang Xuan asked in confusion.

"They were also in trouble. They originally had more than 500,000 stones in stock, but the 100,000 stones were robbed by Du Fuwei. They had to send another 100,000 stones to Beijing, and there was only 300,000 stones left. Then we were given 100,000 stones. The Ministry of War also approved 100,000 stones for General Chen Ling. In the end, there was only about 80,000 stones left in the grain warehouse. Wei Zheng told me that he was afraid that something would happen again and the pressure would be too great."

Zhang Xuan walked back and forth a few steps with his hands behind his back, and turned to Fang Xuanling and said, "If Wei Zheng wants to transport grain north, he still has to face the threat of being robbed of grain. I originally planned to recruit three thousand water ghosts to train first, but now it seems that time is not allowed. We must act as soon as possible to open the transportation line of Tongji Canal. Only by giving the court an explanation first can we have a reason to recruit sailors."

Fang Xuanling could fully understand Zhang Xuan's somewhat anxious mentality. Only by taking the first step successfully can they stand firm in Jianghuai, which is also an extremely important first step.

Fang Xuanling pondered for a moment and said, "Where is the general planning to attack?"

Zhang Xuan said slowly: "Gongsun Shangzhe gave me an important clue, and I plan to start in Conghuaming County."

Two days later, the Sui army who arrived in Jiangdu finally sent troops. Zhang Xuan left Pei Xingyan with 5,000 troops to help defend Jiangdu. He personally led 15,000 troops and 80 warships, advancing on both water and land, and heading north along Hangou.

At this time, Du Fuwei's power had already penetrated into Jiangdu County, and spies were covered with spies on both sides of Hangou and even in Jiangdu City. The Sui army had just set off. A spy immediately used a flying pigeon to send a message to inform Du Fuwei urgently.

Du Fuwei is a very suspicious person. He has more than 20 old nests in the Jianghuai area. He has no fixed place and has to change his place every six months.

At this time, Du Fuwei was located in the old nest of Lianhu Lake in Liyang County. The water surface of Lianhu Lake is hundreds of hectares, backed by Luozhu Mountain, with wide water and high mountains. There is an island in the water called Lotus Island. It is about a hundred acres in size and looks like a lotus, so the lake is named.

Du Fuwei's old nest is located on the east bank of Lianhu, surrounded by mountains and rivers. It is a wall-shaped barracks covering an area of ​​500 acres. There are about 5,000 troops garrisoned and thousands of hectares of fertile land around them. The families of the thieves' army are responsible for farming. Once the officers and soldiers go to encircle and suppress, they will immediately retreat to Luozhu Mountain to defend, or retreat directly into the Yangtze River.

Although the retreat route of Du Fuwei's military camp has been arranged, in fact, they have never been encircled by officers and soldiers. Even if there is Liyang County twenty miles away, they are safe and sound, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that. If the Liyang government has nothing to do with the thief army, that would be a ghost.

In fact, the reason why Du Fuwei was able to travel across the Yangtze River and Huai River was also related to his ability. They relied on water to draw water. Foreign merchant ships that robbed the Yangtze River and Tongji Canal, and often plundered the Central Plains counties.

But he did not offend the locals of Jianghuai, so the people of Jianghuai were quite respectful to Du Fuwei. On the other hand, Du Fuwei also shared his kindness with local governments. If he surrendered to him secretly, he would be very etiquette and would not harass him. However, officials who dared to oppose him were cruel and vicious, and he would not even let his wife and children go.

In this way, all the officials of various counties in Jianghuai were treated with obedience. At the same time, Du Fuwei did not make things difficult for local officials. Most of his nests were not set up in the city, either in the mountains or in the water and land. They were called the Jianghuai wolf.

However, there are exceptions. For example, Miao Haichao occupied Huaming County, which was also the only county town occupied by Du Fuwei's army.

In the military camp at the foot of Luozhu Mountain, Du Fuwei opened the pigeon letter he had just sent. The content of the letter made him breathe a breath of air. Zhang Xuan led the main force of the Sui army to advance north by land and land, with unknown intentions.

"Go and invite the Left Military Advisor!" Du Fuwei shouted repeatedly.

Soon, a middle-aged scholar quickly came to Du Fuwei's tent. The man was named Zuo Caixiang. He was originally the leader of the bandit in Huaibei. After surrendering to Du Fuwei, he was named a military advisor because of his resourcefulness. He walked into the tent and smiled: "General, but is there any movement in the Sui army?"

"How does the military advisor know?" Du Fuwei asked in confusion.

"It's very simple. Zhang Xuan was urgently sent to Jianghuai by the Sui Dynasty. If he didn't open the Ji Canal, the Emperor of Sui Dynasty would be in a hurry."

"The military advisor thinks he is going to the Huaihe River?"

Zuo Xiang nodded, "It must be going to the Huaihe River. If I was not wrong, his target was Huaming County. Everyone in Jianghuai knows that it is the foundation of our Huaihe River. Where will Zhang Xuan go if he doesn't go there?"

Du Fuwei felt annoyed and paced back and forth in the room with his hands on his back. In recent years, he gradually grew and grew stronger in Jianghuai, and the court did not do anything to him. However, since he sent troops to plunder 100,000 grain from Jiangdu, he was pushed to the forefront.

He originally wanted to replace the Wagang Army and become the banner of the rebel army in the world, but it seemed that the rebel army in the world did not recognize him. Instead, it attracted the encirclement and suppression of the Sui army, which made him feel a little like he could not steal a chicken and lose a handful of rice.

The left prime minister felt Du Fuwei's frustration and advised him: "It's time for this, and it's useless for the general to retreat. Fortunately, our territory is vast and we don't have to fight hard with the Sui army. If the Sui army comes, we will leave. If the Sui army goes deeper, we will surround and annihilate it. If the Sui army attacks from all directions, we will defeat each other. Instead, the soldiers will block the water and soil will cover it. Zhang Xuan has only 20,000 people, which is not to be afraid."

The military advisor's strategy made Du Fuwei feel a little clear in his heart. He sighed and said, "Many people asked me to concentrate my troops to fight the Sui army. Even Fu Gongyu wrote a letter to persuade me to consider the opinions of the generals. But I felt that it was not the time. Only by knowing myself and the others could he be defeated. I knew nothing about Zhang Xuan, but I recklessly hit the troops and fought him in a decisive battle. It was really unwise!"

"What the general saw was that he was against Zhang Xuan in Jianghuai for a while. It would not be too late to fight him after he had fully understood it. However, I think the general was a little afraid of him. I was right!"

Du Fuwei nodded slightly for a long time, "The military advisor is right. Because I am from Qi County, I know very well the situation of Qi County and the surrounding counties. He can actually sweep Qingzhou, defeat the strong with the weak, and wipe out the 80,000 troops claimed by Zhang Jin, and defeated Wang Bo. This is a strong enemy that is no less than Zhang Xutuo. I am a little afraid of him, but because of fear, I am cautious, otherwise I wouldn't know how to die."

"Since the general also thinks he should be cautious, please send an order to let Miao Haichao evacuate Huaming County quickly, and save his strength first. After Zhang Xuan's army retreats, it will not be too late for us to return to the Huaihe River."

"As the military advisor's words!"

Du Fuwei immediately ordered: "Tell me my order, and I will order Miao Haichao to evacuate Huaming County quickly and not fight against the Sui army. Those who violate the order will be killed!"

Zhang Xuan's army arrived in Xuyi County after four days of marching, but Zhang Xuan did not continue to advance westward, but set up a camp in Xuyi County. At the same time, Zhang Xuan received the latest information that more than 10,000 bandit soldiers from Huaming County had evacuated, and Huaming County is now almost an empty city.

The central army tent was particularly lively. Four soldiers who went to Jiangdu to take office happened to meet Zhang Xuan's army halfway and were directly incorporated into the army.

The four participating soldiers were Lu Yuanqing, Pei Hong, Li Qingming and Cui Yuanhan. They each shouldered the expectations of their families and participated in the most active army in the Sui Dynasty. Although they were all scholars, they all had the rare talent in the army and could help Fang Xuanling to free himself from the heavy chores. Their arrival was welcomed by Zhang Xuan.

At this time, the four participating soldiers also participated in military affairs. They sat on the side and listened quietly to Zhang Xuan explain the current situation to everyone.

"According to the latest information of the scout, Miao Haichao's army evacuated Huaming County overnight last night and left on hundreds of ships. Their destination is unknown and the warehouse has been evacuated by them. In other words, we will find nothing when we kill Huaming County now, so I am considering where Miao Haichao went? Intuition tells me that they went here!"

Zhang Xuan pointed to the Huan Waterway on the map: "This is a river parallel to the Tongji Canal. The nearest is only twenty miles, and there is a small river in the middle. When they retreat into the Huan Water, they can still continue to cut off the transportation of the Tongji Canal."
Chapter completed!