As the highest commander of the armored artillery brigade, Guo Qiang had to stay with the main force at all times. Therefore, he sent his subordinates to cross the river first. He would only cross when half of the vehicles had crossed.
Zhang Erniu and the first batch of armored artillery vehicles crossed the river first. Li Feiyu stayed by Guo Qiang's side and watched the ten steam ferries cross the river.
"Colonel Guo, at the current speed of the river crossing, it will take until dusk for all the vehicles to cross the Yellow River. It seems that we will have to rest for a day on the other side of the river."
Li Feiyu looked at the slow moving steam boats and said.
In fact, the steam boats were not slow. The Yellow River was not very wide, but a round trip would take twice the time. In addition, the armored artillery vehicles would not be able to get on and off the boats smoothly, which would waste even more time.
As such, a steamship could only transport goods back and forth four times in two hours. Twenty trips would take ten hours, which was equivalent to ten hours in the future. It would last from seven in the morning to five in the afternoon. Wouldn't that be an entire day?
"That's right! There are too few ferries and too many vehicles. This will delay us for an entire day. I really hope that the Yellow River Bridge that Assistant Minister Li mentioned can be built as soon as possible. As long as the bridge is built over the Yellow River, our nearly two hundred vehicles will be able to reach the other side very quickly. "
Guo Qiang sighed.
The Yellow River had been a natural barrier for the Hua Xia Empire since ancient times. This natural barrier not only stopped the nomads from the north from going south, but also made it extremely difficult to travel between the two sides of the river. Everything could only be transported by boat. Of course, the efficiency of boat transportation could not be compared to a bridge.
"Colonel Guo is right. If a bridge can really be built over the Yellow River, we would have already reached the other side of the river. Moreover, we can continue to advance a few dozen miles to the north."
Li Feiyu agreed with Guo Qiang's point of view. As for building a bridge over the Yellow River, Li Feiyu had no doubts. This was because Ang Lee had said it, and Ang Lee was not one to speak carelessly. Since Ang Lee had said it, it could definitely be done.
"Strange, why did Colonel Zhang suddenly come back?"
Through his binoculars, Guo Qiang noticed that Erniu was standing on the bow of the returning steamship, which made him feel strange.
"Colonel Guo, Erniu wouldn't have returned for no reason. Something important must have happened on the other side of the river, and he came back to report it."
Li Feiyu hurriedly replied.
Guo Qiang and Li Feiyu looked at each other and said, "Let's go to the ferry."
By the time Guo Qiang and Li Feiyu reached the dock, Erniu's boat had already docked.
"Erniu, why did you suddenly come back? Did something happen on the other side?"
Li Feiyu hurriedly asked.
Erniu looked at Li Feiyu and Guo Qiang and nodded. "As soon as I arrived on the other side, I saw many hunters, fishermen, and woodcutters armed with all kinds of weapons. There were at least seventy to eighty people in three locations, and all of them looked fierce. They didn't look like ordinary people at all. When I went over to greet them, I could tell from their accent that they were from Yingzhou. I guess they must be the Pinglu Army."
Li Feiyu and Guo Qiang looked at each other in shock. Why would the Pinglu Army disguise themselves as hunters and come so close to Luoyang for no reason? And on such a large scale.
"The Pinglu Army is hiding at the Yellow River crossing. They must be up to something. Colonel Zhang, did you send people to keep an eye on them?"
Guo Qiang immediately realized that something was wrong. An Lushan had just launched an attack on the two Tibetans. Why would he suddenly send his men disguised as hunters to the north bank of the Yellow River crossing? This place was very far from Pinglu and Fanyang Towns. There must be a reason for this.
"Yes, I've sent many people to keep an eye on these hunters. If they do anything, we'll know immediately. I came to inform you so that you can be prepared."
Zhang Erniu nodded and said.
Guo Qiang and Li Feiyu looked at each other and said seriously, "Let's cross the river now. Let's see what happens first."
The three boarded the boat and headed straight for the other side of the Yellow River.
Before they reached the shore, Erniu pointed at the twenty or so men near the Yellow River and said seriously, "Look, these fishermen aren't fishing at all. They don't look like fishermen at all. From their accent and feeling, we can tell that they must be An Lushan's Pinglu Army."
"We haven't figured out the situation yet, so we can't be sure!"
Guo Qiang felt that they couldn't tell that these men were Pinglu Army soldiers just from their accent.
"Colonel Guo, I used to be a soldier in the Pinglu Army, so I have some understanding of them. My intuition tells me that these men are Pinglu Army soldiers, and all of them are elite soldiers."
Erniu said with certainty.
Guo Qiang did not express his opinion. He quietly looked at the fishermen. These fishermen had clearly never seen an armored cannon before. They all curiously looked at these huge objects climbing up the Yellow River's northern bank. Of course, they only took a few glances before deliberately looking away, pretending to continue fishing.
After they reached the shore and traveled for three li, Erniu continued to point ahead and said, "Colonel Guo, in the forest on the left, there are many unusual hunters in groups of twos and threes. I estimate there to be thirty of them. In the forest on the right, there are many woodcutters, about twenty to thirty of them. With so many fishermen, hunters, and woodcutters gathered in this area of less than ten li, there must be a big problem."
"There are more than three. There are many people sitting in the teahouses. They don't look like people on a long journey, but more like people deliberately waiting here. Look at their eyes, they're full of vigilance when they look at everyone. They're not ordinary people at all."
Guo Qiang also found many suspicious people in the teahouses by the roadside.
"Pass down my orders. After all the vehicles reach the shore, drive ten li forward. Don't all gather at the ferry. Also, keep a close eye on these people."
Guo Qiang gave the order to his subordinates.
After leaving a small number of people to keep an eye on them, Guo Qiang, Li Feiyu, and Erniu took the armored artillery vehicles that had already crossed the river and drove ten li north of the ferry. They temporarily set up camp and waited for the teams behind them.
"Colonel Guo, I think we can't just sit here and do nothing. We should take the initiative and ask the locals about these people. Ask them about their background and how long they've been here. We'll definitely find something."
Li Feiyu suggested.
Guo Qiang nodded and said seriously, "You're right, Colonel Li. We should ask the locals. Only the locals know about these people. I'll send my subordinates to ask around."
After sending out some of their subordinates, the three of them continued to investigate what these people were doing and came up with various guesses.
Soon, the people they sent out to ask around returned one after another. They immediately reported what they found to the three of them.
"Tell me, what's going on?"
Guo Qiang asked impatiently.
"Colonel, there's really something wrong with these people. According to the locals, these people came here more than ten days ago. As for what they're doing, the locals don't know either. In short, these people just wandered around the area all day long and kept an eye on the people coming from the north. Other than that, they didn't do anything else. I didn't see them actually catch any fish or prey. Even chopping firewood was just for show."
"Strange, what are these people trying to do?"
Guo Qiang furrowed his brows.
"Colonel Guo, why don't we capture one of them and ask them? We'll know."
Erniu suggested.
"No, we'll alert them. We can't act rashly. Let's leave some of our men here and keep the main force moving north!"
Guo Qiang was a cautious person and didn't dare to do anything too risky.
"Alright, then I'll set off with the first team. If there's anything, we'll contact you immediately."
Zhang Erniu and the first team of armored cannons set off immediately and continued north. Guo Qiang and Li Feiyu stayed behind to wait for the main force behind them.
"Colonel Guo, from the current situation, if these people are really An Lushan's subordinates, they're deployed here for only one purpose: to prevent the two Tibetans from sending people into the capital to intercept them. If that's really the case, then An Lushan's purpose is very suspicious."
Li Feiyu analyzed calmly.
"That's right. Assistant Minister Li once told me about what An Lushan did. My father also met An Lushan and told me that he's not a good person. Now it seems that your speculation is correct. The purpose of these people is very likely to prevent the two Tibetans from sending people into the capital. As long as no one from the two Tibetans comes to the capital to defend themselves, His Majesty won't suspect anything An Lushan says."
Guo Qiang said calmly.
"The Yellow River crossing should be the last line of defense for An Lushan to stop the two Tibetans from entering the capital. There should be a lot of people deployed in the north. It seems that he's set up an inescapable net. If the two Tibetans want to enter the capital, it'll be as difficult as ascending to the heavens! Fortunately, Big Brother asked us to come. Otherwise, my sister wouldn't even have the chance to enter the capital. "
Li Feiyu said.
Guo Qiang nodded in agreement. "Assistant Minister Li has foresight. We should hurry up north. We'll find a lot of people along the way. As long as we find the two Tibetans, we'll bring them back to the capital."
Li Feiyu nodded in agreement.
The people sent out to monitor the situation came back one after another. The people at the Yellow River crossing were doing as usual and didn't do anything out of the ordinary. This made Guo Qiang and Guo Qiang feel helpless. The other party didn't do anything wrong. They just stayed there and no one could do anything to them.
After half of the main force arrived, Guo Qiang arranged for a group of people to stay at the north bank of the Yellow River crossing. The main force immediately moved north to catch up with the first group.
The speed of the mechanized vehicles was undoubtedly very fast. The speed at which they advanced was shocking. The first group of vehicles had already arrived at the Malao Mountain area a few hundred miles away and temporarily stopped moving.
Zhang Erniu also found more than twenty people who didn't seem normal. He sent a few soldiers to secretly follow them.
"Colonel Zhang, there's the sound of fighting up ahead. It seems to be very close."
It was very strange to hear the sound of fighting near where the first group of armored artillery vehicles had stopped.
"The armored command vehicle, move out immediately. See what's going on."
Zhang Erniu took over command for the time being and ordered loudly.
The armored command vehicle quickly approached the fighting area and saw a group of people retreating into the forest. There were more than ten corpses on the road.
"Let's go down and see what's going on."
Zhang Erniu was the first to jump out of the armored command vehicle. He looked at the corpses on the ground and said, "It's the Xi Tribe. These people are all from the Xi Tribe."
Having lived in the Yingzhou area for many years, Erniu naturally recognized the Xi Tribe. Moreover, he definitely recognized them.
"Colonel Zhang, there's a survivor here."
"It's great that there's a survivor."
Zhang Erniu was overjoyed. He quickly ran over and helped the Xi Tribe member who was still alive up. He asked, "Who are you people? Why did those people want to kill you?"
"We're warriors of the Xi Tribe. An Lushan slandered us for being anti-Tang. We were ordered to rush to the capital to explain to His Majesty. Unexpectedly, An Lushan was prepared and intercepted us halfway."
The Xi Tribe member died after saying a few words.
"These assassins really are An Lushan's men. Quickly send a vehicle back and report this to Colonel Guo."
Zhang Erniu put down the corpse and led the rest of the team to continue north. He believed that the further north they went, the more they would discover.
The situation at the front was quickly reported back. When Guo Yu and Li Feiyu heard this news, they were even more certain of their previous judgment. They felt that An Lushan's motives were not pure. The rebellion between the two Tibetans was definitely not as described in the battle report. Thus, they immediately sped up north to discover more. To the outside world, they announced that it was a field training for the armored artillery brigade and that they were heading north to intimidate the two Tibetans.
The next day, the first vanguard team arrived at Xiangzhou and stopped to wait for supplies. After all, the armored artillery vehicles were powered by charcoal. Once the charcoal stored in the vehicles was used up, they would have to wait for the transport vehicles behind to resupply. Otherwise, they would not be able to move.
On the way, Zhang Erniu discovered another place that An Lushan's subordinates were secretly monitoring, and he also discovered the corpses of the Xi people hidden by the roadside. Moreover, they were Xi warriors disguised as merchants.
After Guo Yu's main force arrived at Xiangzhou, they stopped for a short time and received a tour from the local officials of Xiangzhou. They introduced the power of the armored artillery vehicles to them and announced that they were leading the armored artillery vehicles here to conduct long-range training and intimidate the two Tibetans who had just rebelled in the north.
The arrival of the armored cannons had attracted far too many spectators. After all, Xiangzhou was rather far from the capital, and none of these wondrous things had ever appeared in Xiangzhou before. Thus, when the armored cannons were allowed to be viewed by outsiders, all of the officials in Xiangzhou City came to see the excitement. They praised the Great Tang's rapid technological advancement and felt extremely proud to be officials of the Great Tang.
The reason why Guo Yu held such an event was to let the officials of Xiangzhou see the latest scientific research results of the Tang Dynasty. The second reason was to wait for supplies later. The third reason was to confuse everyone and make them think that their purpose was to train and intimidate, not to doubt the fact that the two Tibetans had rebelled.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
