The ferry crossing is only more than a hundred miles to Changshu, and the journey is now nearly half, but the scout cavalry has not encountered the Song army in the brigade. Basa knew that they suddenly crossed the river and caught the Song army off guard. Moreover, most of the Jiangdong troops were transferred north to attack Yangzhou, but it should not be that there should be no people in the villages dozens of miles along the river, as if they were entering a deserted land.

"Ten thousand households, don't hesitate. The riverside area has always been a military important place for the Southern Dynasty, and it is also a place where our dynasty and the Southern Dynasty frequently compete for it. It is not surprising that the people in the south are sparsely populated. Moreover, in order to spy on the Song army, Shushu sent troops to cross the river many times. In order to avoid losses, it is common for the Southern Dynasty to move the people along the river to move inland." Seeing that Basa's marching was slow, this not only violated the order of the Privy Councilor's rapid advance, but also brought difficulties to their next attack, so he advised him again.

Nowadays, if you encounter a three-way intersection, high mountains, and dense forests during the march, the entire army will stop. After carefully searching the reconnaissance cavalry, you will order the brigade to move forward and send a raid to look up at the high place. If you encounter a dense forest, you should first send a reconnaissance cavalry to search deep into the deep area, and then march before marching. To be on the safe side, the main general also sets a secret code for each unit to identify the host and the host and the host and the enemy will not know each other and avoid disguising the enemy. Insurance is insurance, but it also greatly affects the speed of the march.

"Well, but we alone enter the hinterland of the enemy's territory. Once we are surrounded, we will never be repatriated!" Basafei is a reckless person and acts cautiously. This is also the original intention of Yuxi Timuer to be a vanguard army.

Because Yuxi Timuer was also suspicious and understood that if he rashly marched into the siege of the Song army, it would be dead. Therefore, a cautious person needed to explore the way, and the army followed. Basa also knew that he was a stone asking for directions, and the army was a day away from his troops, and he was still watching from the north bank of the river. If he was ambushed by the Song army, in order to avoid the entire army being wiped out, Yuxi Timuer would never order the army to cross the river to rescue, but would turn west to save Yangzhou. Then they would become an abandoned son, and it would be difficult to retreat to Jiangbei.

Although Basa knew that he had made preparations, he had to consider the countermeasures of Zhongfu. After all, they had entered the enemy territory and were not familiar with the geography, so it was impossible to avoid all accidents. When passing through the dense valleys and dense forests and narrow mountain roads, the scout inside had completed a hasty search, and it was also possible that the omissions were not discovered. Therefore, in this case, once they encountered a Fu, they would inevitably be disconnected from the head and tail, and they would be broken into several parts and could not be commanded in a unified manner.

Therefore, when passing through this place, the formation should be changed into a continuous and reverse method. Take the one thousand team as an example, divide the thousand people into ten teams, each team with a hundred people. When crossing the mountain road, the first team advances first, walk to the position where the first scout stays, see what flag the scout holds, and then sets up a warning to the mountain here after there is no danger information; then the second team goes over the first team and advances to the position where the second scout sets a sentinel, just like the first team is alert to the mountain, and the other teams advance in this order. In this way, even if the enemy soldiers are in a hurry, they can be prepared.

"Wanhu, but if we march slowly, Changshu will definitely be prepared and lose the effect of the surprise attack. Once the war falls into a stalemate, it will affect the plan of the Shushu and be severely punished by military laws!" Tuge knew what Wanhu was worried about, but the current situation is that following the order of the commander may not be death, but if the military operation is delayed, death is inevitable. The two weighed the two things, so he said again regardless of Wanhu's ugly face.

"Reporting to ten thousand households, the young man searched west with his orders for thirty miles, but he did not find a large group of Song troops. According to the people captured along the way, most of the garrisons in Jiangdong had crossed the river, leaving only some of the state troops stationed at the ferry." At this time, the scout cavalry searching west returned and reported.

"Well, why are there nine out of ten rooms in Yanjiang Village? "Basa nodded and asked. In order to obtain accurate information, he ordered the detective cavalry to find and arrest local residents on the way, but in order to avoid these people providing false information, they cannot just listen to what one person said, and should search more, and then ask these people separately to confirm each other to see if the information provided in the end is consistent.

"Reported to thousands of households, the young ones have been investigated." The West Road detective cavalry said again, "According to the captured people, because our army crossed the river and attacked the fortress many times, the people were all frightened. After the autumn harvest, the government asked them to move inland for thirty miles to hide, and only a few people who did not want to leave their homes stayed behind. After the war between the two countries, the court recruited young and strong counties in Yanjiang Prefectures and County as husbands to transport food and grass, which led to no one in Yanjiang Village."

"Okay, let's explore again!" The scouts who searched east also returned to report that the information they found was similar. The difference was that they found that the soldiers stationed in Yanjiang Fortress had abandoned the fortress and retreated to the nearby prefecture city, as if they wanted to defend themselves by relying on the city.

After hearing the explanation, Basa breathed a little relieved. He understood that the two sides of the Yangtze River have always been a dense area of ​​conflict between the two sides. Although there was no such war as the current one, they could raid each other, attacking forts, villages and towns with fewer troops, looting people and property, destroying water conservancy facilities, and creating panic. In order to avoid causing major losses, both sides will set up buffer zones to move the people inward to reduce losses. The Song army has always taken the initiative in the past, but with Yuxi Timur's appointment, its side also strengthened its harassment activities. The Southern Dynasties were forced to take internal migration actions, of course, it may also be to prepare for the northward crossing to capture Yangzhou.

"Wanhu, don't pay attention to those scattered soldiers and scattered soldiers. Moreover, the commander of the Shu has already given orders, so he doesn't need to pay attention to the prefectures and counties along the way. You can bypass the target of driving directly!" Seeing that Wanhu was about to let go, Tuge immediately set off the railway while it was hot.

"Reported to ten thousand households, the small one was ordered to search south along the main road, and the foreman had reached less than ten miles below Changshu City. No large brigade of Song troops was found on the way, but they saw the people of villages and towns near the city fleeing into the city." The detective cavalry reported back.

"Can the people in the villages and towns?" Basa ignored Tuge and asked for the return of the sergeant.

"Reported to thousands of households, no population was found in the villages and towns, but there were debris and poultry left over from the escape. Some houses were even fired in the stove. It should be because we learned that our army crossed the river and fled in a hurry, and only took away the fine and soft food. Even the thick guys had no time to clean up and take them away." The detective cavalry replied.

"Oh, so they all avoided the city?" Basa frowned. He knew that if Ding Zhuang entered the city, it would be like a waste of help from defending the city, which would naturally bring difficulties to them in siege.

"There must be aware that the south of the Yangtze River is different from the Central Plains. There are many rivers and lakes here, and the ports are crisscrossing and winding. Therefore, after the police were in charge, many people moved their families to the lake. They usually learn boat driving skills and come and go easily. Some gentry and wealthy families even set up water basins on islands in the rivers and lakes, store grain and equipment, and recruit local brave men to protect them, so as to avoid military disasters." The detective cavalry said with a wry smile. They also found that there were lonely people who wanted to arrest and interrogate to obtain more information, but when these people took the boat into the water, they were unable to go into the water to chase them, and could only watch them rowing and hiding in the water alley.

"Then why don't they avoid entering nearby cities or mountains?" Basa asked in confusion. There are often garrison troops defending the city, and the mountains can also be freer, which is much more beneficial than in the water.

"Ten thousand households, the animal power in Jiangnan is scarce, the vehicle load is limited, and the sedan is expensive and slow. The rivers and lakes in Jiangnan are crisscrossed, and daily transportation mainly depends on ships, and every household has a ship. If there are many grains and utensils, they can also hire several ships to avoid them, so they are not easy to be found. In addition, the mountains in Jiangnan are short and have no steepness to rely on, and are easily searched and killed by bandits. Moreover, human and animal power transporting food is far less than ships. Even if you are lucky enough to escape the search mountain, you will starve to death soon. Therefore, it is a bad idea to take refuge in the mountains." Tuge explained, "As for the people who do not want to enter the city to hide, they are afraid of the reputation of our army, and they are worried that once the city is broken, they will be burned, and it is better to escape into the rivers and lakes, and they may still be lucky enough to survive!"

"I will order each unit to move forward at full speed, and all food will be solved immediately. You must rush to Changshu City before dark!" All problems seemed to be reasonably explained, and Basa's reluctance was greatly reduced. Looking at the sky, he finally ordered a quick march.

But even though the entire army accelerated its attack on Changshu, it was still not enough and the speed was still not fast. The Jiangnan water network was densely packed, and even the road was large and large, and even the main road had to pass through countless ditches, ponds, and rivers. As the more we moved forward, the military and civilians who had received the warning did not forget to demolish the bridges and hide their ships while retreating, and they won time for their escape. In addition, there were paddy fields in the south of the Yangtze River, and ponds were densely packed. Even if there was road in the fields, it was muddy and difficult to walk. If the war horses accidentally entered the paddy fields, they would be trapped, and they could not even pull out their legs, and they could not get around them.

It's okay to encounter those small rivers. The water flows slowly and the water is not deep. Although the water is cold and bone-black, you can still ride a horse and ferry. However, when the army encounters a large river blocking, there is no boat in the water, and the bridge piers are destroyed, then the water has to be sent to carry the thick ropes of the army to swim to the other side, and set the ropes on both sides. Then the soldiers cut down bamboo and wood, make rafts and put them on the ropes to make suspension bridges, and lead the horses to cross the river carefully.

If there are no trees nearby, it will be even more helpless. Then you can only use a long spear as temporary material, tie it up and put it on the rope, and then lay armor on it for emergency treatment. In order to avoid being attacked by half a cross or an ambush by the enemy, you will not cross the river after the bridge is built. Instead, you will first send elite troops to cross the river, and then set up a formation to guard and protect the troops crossing the river behind. Then, every time you pass a team, you will occupy the favorable terrain and form a formation to cross the river, and then cross the river in turn. This greatly slows down the speed of the march.
Chapter completed!