Xie Ming

Chapter 305 Crossing the River to Jinan

No matter how hard you try, you won't be able to find anything, and it won't take any effort at all!
Xiao Jingchuan had never imagined that the son of his old friend from the capital, Yan Bo, who ran a breakfast stall at the corner of the alley, was actually the famous anti-Qing figure praised by later generations, Yan Yingyuan!
Then he suddenly spoke excitedly, which made the old man stunned. He even asked him whether he had ever met his son.

"Oh? Ah, haha."

"This, this, is not the case!"

Xiao Lang was suddenly asked this question by Yan Bo, and he stopped abruptly. Then he realized that he must have been too excited just now, and was afraid of losing his composure for a moment, so he hurriedly continued to make amends.

"It's just that this name sounds vaguely familiar. Maybe I've heard someone mention it before!"

"hehe."

"Well, Uncle Yan, when we get to the village, find some writing materials and I will write a letter of recommendation for Brother Ying Yuan!"

"If there is nothing in the village, I can go back to the camp and write it, and then ask Changting to send it back. It will be the same!"

"When the time comes, Brother Ying Yuan, just come and surrender with this letter, and I will make good arrangements!"

In order to prevent Yan Yingyuan, whom he had never met before, from coming to surrender, Xiao Jingchuan made all kinds of arrangements for him.

Mr. Yan immediately noticed this kindness and was truly grateful. He was so grateful that he praised Mr. Xiao again.

About a quarter of an hour passed!
After this trip, Xiao Lang finally arrived at Xirenhe Village at the foot of the slope.

This village is not very big and has a limited population.

Thanks to Mr. Yan's active mediation, the matter of hiring someone to ship the boat went very smoothly.

After some discussion, the village found fifteen boatmen and nine boats. However, as Yan Bo had said before, they were just small sampans with extremely limited carrying capacity.

Xiao Jingchuan was worried that if this continued, the plan to cross the river tomorrow morning might be shelved due to insufficient equipment.

There was no other way, so Xiao Lang had to ask around and see if there was another fishing village nearby, not far away, to see if it would be possible to transfer there.

When Mr. Yan's relative heard this, he actually agreed to the request enthusiastically.

He said that his ancestors had lived here for a long time and were very familiar with the nearby villages. He also said that there were two other fishing villages ten miles north of here, where there were more boats. If the general needed them, he could go with them and the problem would be solved!
Upon hearing this, Xiao Lang expressed his gratitude profusely.

Then he realized that there was no time to lose, so he hurriedly sent Chang Ting and Qin Jing to take the old man, a relative of the clan, to go north to prepare for the loan of the ship!

In this way, we can cross the river in the early morning tomorrow, and all preparations will be completed.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Xiao Lang mounted his horse and was about to leave.

Before leaving, he also said that after returning to the camp, he would send a few soldiers to escort Old Man Yan all the way south to Jiangyin, and to follow and protect him all the way, which would be safer.

However, Mr. Yan was afraid of causing too much trouble to others, so he tried to refuse in every way and finally refused.

Xiao Lang had no choice but to give up. He only gave some instructions at the end, saying that he would ask his brother to come and surrender after his uncle arrived in Jiangyin.

Yan Bo agreed readily, and now that the matter was over, there was nothing more to worry about!

The tenth day of June, the beginning of the Yin hour!

The boats and the laborers were all ready, and Xiao Lang had already prepared the army. So with a command from him, before daybreak, a cavalry battalion led by Hu Chen of the Xiao family army began to rush across the Yellow River!
In the early morning of June, the bank of the Yellow River was shrouded in mist.

Xiao Jingchuan and his entourage of more than 2,000 soldiers and horses, using more than 40 small boats borrowed from them, began to cross the river in batches.

The first group, led by Chang Ting, Qin Jing and others, had to maneuver their boats, which were small and the largest ones could not carry more than a dozen people. Therefore, the river crossing took a long time.

In the rear, Xiao Lang, Hu Chen and others were in charge.

It was not until the beginning of the morning hour, more than an hour later, that the entire army was able to reach the other side.

After crossing the river, Xiao Lang also paid attention to the order and ordered Master Liu to stay here temporarily and take good care of the hired boats, waiting for Peizhong, Jizu and others to use them later!
In addition, the entire army quickly assembled on the south bank of the Yellow River. But a moment later, it was already dawn, so Xiao Lang led the army and rushed to Jinan City!

On the way, there was also a report from the southward exploration line, saying that the situation in Jinan city was already tense and a gunfight might break out at any time!
Seeing the urgency of the situation, Xiao, Qiu and others increased the marching speed, and the entire army rushed all the way to the West Gate of Jinan.

Three quarters of an hour later, it was six quarters past the hour of Mao (six thirty in the morning)!

Xiao Lang led the army and rushed to the city of Xiguan in Jinan!
The reason why we choose to enter through the West Gate this time instead of the closer North Gate is actually due to some detailed considerations.

This is because more than half of the Jiangbei troops guarding the pass are soldiers under the command of Fengyang Gao Jie!

Before the trip, there was a newly promoted centurion among the surrendered soldiers from the north of the Qinghe River who were newly incorporated into the cavalry camp. He recommended himself and said that the army was going to Jinan, but if they advanced through the West Gate, he could act as an agent to knock on the gate and pass the customs.

After asking, I learned that when Li Chengdong went west, the West Gate of Jinan was already mostly controlled by Gao Jie's headquarters, and the officer on duty in front of the gate was his sworn brother!

In this way, with this relationship in place, Xiao Lang will have more room to choose ways to turn things around when he goes into the city.

It is precisely because of this that Xiao Lang was able to make further judgments and plans at this critical moment in Jinan Prefecture.

So when they were five miles away from the city, he ordered the entire camp to change into the military uniforms of Li Chengdong's Jiangbei Army, preparing to have the newly promoted centurion come forward to deceive and sneak into the city first.

Ever since!
At 6:15 am, Xiao Lang and his entourage arrived at the West Gate. Together with the others, they had disguised themselves and pretended to be a cavalry unit under Li Chengdong!
"Hey!"

"Stop! Stop!"

"Fuck it, I told you to stop!"

"Which part are you coming to? Tell me your name first!"

On the city wall in front of the pass, the guards and soldiers were quite rude and cursing. When they saw the troops coming from outside, they started shouting and questioning them.

"Hahaha!"

"Little kite! It's me! Kui Sheng'er!"

"Open the city gate quickly! Don't waste time!"

"I am under the order of General Li Chengdong and have taken on a heavy responsibility. I must go into the city and report to General Gao!"

The newly promoted centurion Niu Kuisheng remained calm and responded according to the plan.

"What?!"

"Oh, it's really you, Kui Sheng'er!"

"Fuck!"

"Look at the way you're dressed. You're wearing socks and changing pants. You've been promoted! Huh? Haha."

"What important responsibility do you have? Why don't you tell me first?"

"Brother, let me give you a piece of advice. The city is in a state of chaos right now!"

"It's easy to get in, but it's hard to get out!"

"Why don't you tell me? I'll ask someone to inform the Marshal first!"

"If the Marshal tells you to let me in, I'll open the door for you later!"

"This is also for your own good! Got it?!"

On the city wall in front of the pass, there was a soldier named Little Yaozi, who had cunning eyes and a sharp mind. When he saw that Kuisheng'er was dressed differently, he became jealous and wanted to use his power to embarrass him.

Secondly, he also wanted to report the news first in order to take credit for it!
The lack of coordination between the left and right sides hinders the team's progress!
(End of this chapter)