Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 390 Pedestrians but Cloud Points Travel Frequency

Seeing Gu Shun crying bitterly, Guan Chongyan couldn't bear it anymore and stepped forward to help him up.

"Are they also signed the army?" Guan Chongyan raised his chin towards the other refugees and handed a pancake to Gu Shun.

Those skinny people had already eaten half of the pancake along with the dirt, and were now looking at Guan Chongyan with eager eyes.

"No, they are all from Huaixi. Two of them fled all the way from Guangzhou, and the rest are locals. They were conscripted as coolies and their lives are even worse than ours. We at least have a bite to eat, but they are all stick men. They can starve to death anytime. After all, there are many people from Huaixi, and if one group dies, another group can be conscripted." Gu Shun said as he divided the pancakes in his hand into several equal portions and distributed them to everyone. A refugee tried to grab it, but he knocked it over with a punch: "We did hard labor together, and I was considered a small leader. After nightfall, I took advantage of the Jin bandits' lax security and took them away."

"We've been running for most of the night, tired, hungry and cold. We just found a dilapidated temple, lit a fire and rested for a while, and then the generals arrived." The pancakes were not big, and after being divided equally among nearly ten people, each person only got one bite.

Gu Shun threw his portion into his big mouth, chewed it twice and swallowed it.

"Hmm?" Guan Chongyan keenly sensed something was amiss. "You've been running for most of the night. Did you encounter any patrolling thieves?"

"Report to the commander, that's not the case..." Gu Shun muttered in his heart, if he met one or two patrol teams, how could he survive?

Guan Chongyan's heart sank.

The sheer number of Rangers in the past few days had made it difficult for the Flying Tigers to navigate, forcing them to take detours even at night. But today, there were no Rangers? Why?
Cao Dache obviously realized this and asked in a low voice: "Seventh Brother, is this a good thing?"

"No, it might be the opposite." Guan Chongyan thought for a moment, then his next words crushed the other two's newly sparked thoughts into a frozen state. "It's very possible that the Jin thieves were hiding something before, but now they're not trying to hide it. This only means that no matter what they wanted to do, they've already accomplished it. That's why they've withdrawn their cavalry and are no longer afraid of anyone discovering them."

Li Jihu opened his mouth and was about to say something, but Guan Chongyan pulled out four more pancakes from his pocket and asked, "What do you do on a daily basis? Tell me everything!"

“Dig ditches.”

"Cut down trees! Cut down lots and lots of trees!"

“Tear down the house, remove all the beams, and carry them to the camp.”

"Oh, by the way, not all the wood was brought to the camp. Instead, it was piled up at intervals."

"Before, they were digging to widen the river, but several people drowned. I was washed downstream and captured by the gold thieves. Then I went to cut down big trees."

Those stick men also spoke up, vying to pour out all the things they had done.

Guan Chongyan did not break his promise and threw a pancake in his hand for every answer.

But this was the answer they got. Apart from digging the canal, they were just cutting and moving wood. As for what the wood was used for, these coolies, who were not even signed soldiers, had no idea.

I guess the use of these woods was decided by another group of people.

"Are they planning to build multiple pontoon bridges across the river simultaneously? A full-scale attack?" Li Jihu pondered for a long time, only to come up with this excuse. "Forget it!" Cao Dache scoffed. "The Caishi Floating Bridge was a prime location identified by the Song Dynasty when it conquered the Southern Tang. How could it be so easy to build a pontoon bridge anywhere else? Besides, the Song navy isn't just there to sit back and wait. They already tried to stop the Jin invaders from laying the pontoon bridge. If they had the ability to build a pontoon bridge under attack from the navy, they could have just swam over."

"But if we make small boats out of wood and force a crossing..." Cao Dache said this, and then he thought about the fighting power of the Huaixi Army, and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

Whether attacking a city or crossing a river, the most difficult part is the deployment of troops. Even if there are thousands of troops, only a small number of soldiers can be sent to the enemy in a short period of time. These soldiers are not enough when facing a large army with strict military discipline.

If the Jin army made a desperate move and built countless small boats to cross the river, the Jingnan army would be defeated, but even if the Huaixi army waited on the shore to tire themselves out, they would most likely be unable to resist.

However, Cao Dache thought about it and shook his head. It was not a time when the enemy was at the gates and the country was destroyed. The Jin thieves would not be so desperate as to gamble with the country's destiny.

"Don't think about it anymore, let's go and take a look first!" Guan Chongyan shook his head.

After distributing the pancakes, Guan Chongyan clapped his hands and said, "We have important things to do and cannot escort you. But I tell you one thing, there is a way to survive after crossing the river. All of you must find a way to cross the river, even if it means swimming!"

"Thank you, General..."

Cao Dache added, "The Jin thieves have no cavalry to enforce martial law. You can look for fishing villages along the river. You'll definitely find one or two fishing boats."

"Thank you, General, for your guidance..."

"Thank you, Gu Shun. You are not included in this." Gu Shun's expression froze instantly, but Guan Chongyan ignored him and continued, "You need to take us to the nearest wood pile you know of and let me see it with my own eyes. Then I will let you go."

"General...General, that pile of wood is usually guarded by Jin thieves. Going there is seeking death, General." Seeing that Guan Chongyan didn't seem to be joking, Gu Shun's legs went weak and he knelt on the ground again.

"Did I allow you to bargain? Do you really think my pancakes are for free?" Guan Chongyan sneered.

Gu Shun shuddered all over. Under Guan Chongyan's gaze, he didn't dare to say anything more and followed him out of the dilapidated temple.

"Brother Gu!" one of the hungry people called out. Seeing Cao Dache turn around, he put his hand on the hilt of his knife and swallowed, but still mustered up the courage to say, "We know you're from the north and can't swim. Don't worry, we'll wait here for you to come back. When you come back, we'll cross the river together."

"General, General, Brother Gu is a good man, but he doesn't have much strength, not as strong as the Song Dynasty's heavenly army. If he has shown you the way, can you let him go? I would like to thank you here." Another hungry man also spoke.

From the accents of the two hungry people, Cao Dache knew they were from the same village, or at least from Huainan. Maybe they were related to him in some way, so he couldn't act like a soldier. He could only agree casually and turned to leave with Guan Chongyan.

Guan Chongyan lifted Gu Shun onto the horse's back, and the two of them rode on the same horse. This was because Gu Shun had become thin due to hunger, and Guan Chongyan was not wearing armor. In addition, the warhorse was very strong, so it could support two big men.

Gu Shun used the dim morning light to try to identify the direction and finally pointed to the north.

Guan Chongyan whistled, and the three horses started up again.

(End of this chapter)