Chapter 253

"I have no objections!" Han Xiao naturally couldn't go to Wei Xikang to ask for silver, because the Crown Prince had no money at all.

Jiang Jinshi then asked Han Xiao: "The Zhenbei Army must have planted spies in each county before; can they still be used?"

Han Xiao nodded affirmatively: "Yes!"

"Good! From now on, they are also part of the Ming Army, and their military pay will not be a cent less!" Jiang Jinshi was overjoyed; in order to prevent internal turmoil in Beijiang, the Zhenbei Prince naturally wouldn't have planted few spies, and such an information network was very useful to him!

Immediately, Jiang Jinshi looked at Luo Feng, "We don't know the Xiongnu's combat power and movements yet, so for now, the three cities will focus on training troops and defense, but Luo Feng, you can go out and look around!"

Luo Feng was overjoyed, "What do I need to do?"

"Take enough dry rations, I'll give you three thousand cavalry, and try to find the location of the Xiongnu Royal Court!" Jiang Jinshi had great expectations for Luo Feng; after all, when it came to fighting the Xiongnu, 'Huo Qubing' was a professional!

Han Xiao was shocked and hurriedly tried to stop him: "Chief, you cannot! The grasslands are vast, and one slight mistake will lead to getting lost.

The Prince had also tried to find the location of the Royal Court before, but they all returned without success, and some teams were even ambushed by the Xiongnu, suffering heavy losses!"

"It's fine!" Jiang Jinshi waved his hand, his face full of confidence, "I believe in Luo Feng, he has this ability!"

"Luo Feng accepts the order!" Luo Feng stood up and cupped his hands, showing no fear!

Seeing that his dissuasion was fruitless, Han Xiao didn't speak again, but the worry on his face was clearly visible.

Jiang Jinshi continued to issue orders: "Old Xie, you take ten thousand men to garrison Shuang City, along with the soldiers of Shuang City, that's a total of thirty thousand people. If you lack anything, just say so; don't let the Xiongnu break the city!"

"As long as I live, the city lives!" Xiexiezi didn't decline, stood up, and took on this responsibility without hesitation.

"Jiang Ze, you go to Yin City, same as Old Xie!"

"Jiang Ze accepts the order!"

With the Ming Army plus the Zhenbei Army, there were a total of 103,000 men; with 30,000 in each of the cities of Shuang and Yin, and letting Luo Feng take 3,000 men out to roam, Lin City would have 40,000 garrison troops left.

"Han Xiao, you stay and guard Lin City with me for now! There are many miscellaneous matters at the moment, and I need you to put in a lot of effort!"

"Understood!" Han Xiao didn't decline, but what puzzled him was why no one on their faces looked the least bit nervous, and even...

Were a bit excited?

This left him completely baffled, and in the end, he could only attribute it to the Ming Army's lack of experience!

At this moment, Han Xiao felt as if he had returned to the time when the Zhenbei Prince was still alive; he didn't need to think about any decisions, just settle the matters below, and he felt a long-lost sense of relaxation.

The Ming Army brought a lot of logistics, but repairing armor and weapons was still a significant project.

The Xiongnu had just suffered a defeat and should not dare to invade in the short term.

Adunla was injured and needed time to recuperate and gather intelligence on the Ming Army, and Jiang Jinshi also needed intelligence on the Xiongnu, so neither side had any intention of taking the initiative to attack for the time being.

Of course, Jiang Jinshi couldn't just leave the Xiongnu alone, so scouts still needed to constantly find the location of the Xiongnu camp.

Anyway, the Ming Army now had men and grain, so they weren't afraid of wasting time with the Xiongnu, and they could also let Luo Feng go and probe the Xiongnu Royal Court.

If they didn't fight, fine; but if they were going to fight, they would cripple the Xiongnu so that they would never have a chance to turn things around in the future!

And in the counties far in the rear, they had also learned the news of the Ming Army's uprising.

When Jiang Jinshi set off, he had asked Wang Hou to spread the news, and now it was the time for it to spread continuously.

"Where did this Ming Army come from?"

"Pah! Isn't that just that group of mountain bandits from Guangwu Jun?"

"Are you talking about Yangguangzhai?"

"What can a group of mountain bandits accomplish?" Beside the Great Ming righteous army's proclamation to the world, a scholar couldn't help but shake his head and say something discouraging.

A butcher on the side couldn't help it, "It's a pity you're a scholar; this Yangguangzhai dares to fight the Xiongnu, so they are people of courage and righteousness!"

"In my opinion, whether they are mountain bandits or a righteous army! Aren't they all our people of Beijiang? They are resisting foreign enemies on the front line; how can others slander them?"

Hearing this, the scholar felt somewhat ashamed and hurried away to a place with fewer people.

"They are all good men of Beijiang! But this Xiongnu..."

"It's hard! It's hard..."

Everyone hoped they would win, but the Xiongnu had even defeated the Zhenbei Army; wouldn't this righteous army just be going to their deaths?

Many people saw things clearly, especially the refugees who had been displaced by the war; at this critical moment of life and death for Beijiang, as long as someone dared to stand up, they could be called a 'hero'!

As for the Imperial Court, the people of Beijiang had long since lost heart, and the Zhenbei Army had suffered successive defeats, with the Zhenbei Prince even ending up with his head and body in different places.

Now who else could they rely on? The County Magistrate?

Ironically, the County Magistrate of Jingping Jun, upon learning the news of the defeat on the front line, ordered the city to be sealed and no one to enter or leave.

When the garrison went to report the news the next day, they found that their County Magistrate had already disappeared; it was said that he had taken a few guards and his family wealth and fled south overnight.

Could such a person be a County Magistrate?

Could he be called the father and mother official of the people?

Therefore, the appearance of the Great Ming righteous army was no different from giving the people of Beijiang their last hope; their ancestors had lived in Beijiang for generations, and even if they fled, there was nowhere to go.

Those refugees who had fled at the beginning had already returned, because the Guansongling pass was sealed, and refugees were not allowed to enter the pass!

This had already cut off their hope of fleeing, looking exactly like they were forcing the people to their deaths.

And the General guarding Guansongling was also very helpless; the higher-ups ordered that Beijiang refugees were not allowed to enter the pass, saying it was to prevent spies and bandits from mixing into the pass.

Now the situation on all sides was chaotic, and they had to be on high alert!

It was said that the Western Liang King had already broken through five cities and occupied a significant amount of territory; if the Imperial Court hadn't arranged 400,000 troops to block them in time, who knew where they would have fought to by now!

By comparison, Beijiang didn't seem that important, and the Imperial Court's eyes were all focused on Western Liang.

The people of Beijiang were like they were trapped in a cage, with the Xiongnu sharpening their knives in front and their retreat cut off by the Imperial Court behind; at this desperate moment, the Great Ming righteous army was the last ray of light.

And when the news spread that the Zhenbei Army and the Great Ming righteous army had joined forces to resist the Xiongnu, everyone finally began to believe that perhaps this suddenly risen righteous army could really resist the Xiongnu!

Li Xinyue wasn't idle either; when she learned that the Zhenbei Army had merged into the Ming Army, she immediately had an idea to win over the hearts of the people for the Ming Army.

Open the granaries and sell grain!

Of course, not everyone could enjoy the low grain prices like the people of Guangwu Jun!

She had to make sure there was a difference, so that the many benefits of the cities under the Ming Army's governance could be reflected, making the people yearn to join the Ming Army's management.

Even if the grain price doubled, it was still much lower than before; the people would definitely be able to afford this price, and might even be grateful to the Ming Army!

And she could also earn quite a bit of silver from it, which was a win-win situation!

It was just that the points consumed would rise exponentially, and the timber she needed to purchase would also increase!

Thinking of this, Li Xinyue didn't delay any longer and once again took the people of the Xinyue Chamber of Commerce to Guansongling; this time, even if she had to use money to smash her way through, she would make those merchants pull timber for her!