Mother, I have returned to the throne.

Chapter 248: Soldiers are powerful and fast

Early the next morning.

Wei Da was busy with official duties and had to say goodbye immediately.

At the time of parting, Song Yuan and Si Shujing personally saw him off, and even used a water bag to fill dozens of kilograms of white wine for Wei Da.

"Brother Wei, you must remember that drinking is strictly prohibited in the military camp!"

"Don't worry, brother, we are not like that!"

Wei Da patted his chest and promised, then he got on his horse and said goodbye reluctantly.

Looking at Wei Dayuan's back, Song Yuan had no time to be happy before a cold voice came from behind him.

"Brother Wei is gone, and I'm leaving too!"

Because of yesterday's teasing, Situ Jing could no longer pretend today.

Facing Song Yuan at this moment, she scowled at him coldly and was unable to maintain her previous good temper. This guy was really too irritating and Situ Jing could no longer pretend.

"Where are you going? I think it's almost time now. Come with me to the Peacock River!"

Song Yuan came forward shamelessly, and the more he looked at Situ Jing's gloomy face, the more relieved he felt.

Between husband and wife, the most important thing is to remain sincere.

In the past, Situ Jing pretended to be uncomfortable, and Song Yuan also felt uncomfortable watching her, but now he just feels much more comfortable!

The current frozen state of the Peacock River is of paramount importance in Song Yuan's plan. When the time comes, he will definitely judge the time when the barbarians may launch a surprise attack based on the degree of ice on the river surface.

This matter must be prepared in advance. Song Yuan felt that as the commander-in-chief, he should go and check it out in person.

With Situ Jing by our side and relying on his rich experience, we can infer the possible route of the barbarians based on the layout on both sides of the river.

As long as the intelligence is accurate, maybe we can make a big deal out of this and make the barbarians suffer huge losses before they even cross the river!

"Go to hell, you're already such a grown-up, do you need someone to accompany you in everything you do?"

Situ Jing glared, extremely reluctant.

Song Yuan deliberately put on a serious expression: "This is a big deal and can't be delayed. Don't forget what you promised me before!"

Seeing Song Yuan's attitude, Situ Jing hesitated again and again, but finally agreed and followed Song Yuan with her head down.

However, such an important matter naturally cannot be handled by only two people.

In order to ensure that everything goes smoothly, Song Yuan even called Jinlian along, and when passing by Beidaying, he also specially called Huo Jianchuan.

The group was ready to go, even Wang Chao and Ma Han joined the team.

The main point is that more people can get things done more easily; three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang!

However, the turmoil never stopped along the way.

Situ Jing took off her disguise, completely let herself go, and kept bickering with Jinlian.

Seeing this scene, Wang Chao Ma Han's eyes showed some worry, and he immediately went to Song Yuan's side.

"Your Highness, I see you can't do it, so I'll try to persuade you!"

The two are now busy with military affairs and have not returned for a long time, so their current situation is still unknown.

Song Yuan was remarkably calm about the matter. "What's there to be afraid of when women bicker? This is a good opportunity to use up their energy. Then they won't have to deal with me!"

"I'm not saying anything, but if they really want to, even if they put on a show and start a fight now, as long as no one gets killed or injured, I won't object!"

In Song Yuan's opinion, it is easy to dodge an open attack but difficult to guard against an arrow from the dark.

Just like the two of them now, they vented all the resentment in their hearts on the surface, so there is naturally no such thing as a conspiracy.

Besides, neither of these two women is easy to get along with, and they scold me like my grandson.

Now watching them fighting each other is definitely a pleasure in Song Yuan's eyes!

"Haha, Your Highness's realm is indeed beyond the reach of ordinary people!" After hearing such a reason, Wang Chao's face was full of admiration.

Faced with such flattery, Song Yuan rolled his eyes in annoyance and interrupted him directly.

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. What are you talking about, grown-up men, about children's daily lives?"

"Let me ask you two something. If possible, would you two be willing to lead the troops on the front lines?"

Although Wang Chao and Ma Han are now serving as the commander in the military camp, they are only in charge of training. After the real war breaks out, they will eventually have to return to Song Yuan's side.

After all, in name they are Song Yuan's personal guards, so they should prioritize Song Yuan's safety.

But when it comes to charging into battle, which man doesn't have this idea?

However, considering their own responsibilities, the two finally shook their heads.

"Your Highness, we..."

Song Yuan naturally understood what the two meant and waved his hand immediately.

"Stop talking about responsibility. You two should pay more attention to yourselves. When you have time, ask General Huo for advice and learn how to lead troops!"

"If there's a chance, you two might be able to be of great use. Don't worry, I will never bury your talents under my command!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Faced with Song Yuan's promise, the two immediately expressed their gratitude.

During this conversation, the group finally arrived at the Peacock River.

From a distance, the surface of the river was a white mass.

From time to time, there are layers of ice floating down from upstream. This detail alone is enough to show the temperature at the moment.

The width of the Peacock River is really not worth mentioning. Standing on this side of the river, you can directly see the other side!

This is still a wide area. In some places, the river is narrow and the water level is extremely shallow, not even enough to cover a horse's hooves.

Originally, when the Qin Dynasty controlled the Peacock River, it built many bridges on both sides of the river.

However, with the invasion of barbarians, in order to prevent the other side from launching a large-scale attack, the bridge is now directly demolished.

That location is where Zhenbei City is today!

Therefore, that area is definitely the top priority in defending against barbarians.

Looking at the environment in front of him at this moment, Song Yuan secretly calculated in his heart that it might not be long before the river was blocked by heavy snow, and his chance would come.

It is nearly a hundred miles from Beidaying to Kongque River. For infantry, this distance would probably take a lot of time.

But if you are fully armed and riding a horse, it probably won’t take much effort to cross this distance!

At that moment, Song Yuan looked at the river and pondered for a moment, then finally asked, "General Huo, according to your estimate, how long would it take for the cavalry to get here from our Beidaying if they were marching at full speed?"

"Your Highness, it depends on the situation. If we're fully armed, it will probably take at least a day. If we're lightly armed, half a day should be enough to get there!"

Huo Jianchuan responded immediately. Song Yuan nodded after hearing the answer and then continued to ask.

"Then let me ask you, does the Peacock River normally fog up?"

Hearing this, Huo Jianchuan frowned slightly and immediately knew what Song Yuan was thinking.

"Your Highness is just worried. What if we encounter a foggy day and the barbarians cross the river without us being able to detect them? What will we do then if they catch us off guard? Is that right?"

Seeing that the other party was so smart, Song Yuan smiled and nodded.

Huo Jianchuan then responded, "Your Highness, it's not unreasonable for you to be so worried. Hearing you say that, it reminds me that the Peacock River used to be foggy. When people saw this scene, they always said it was so cold that it was smoking. It was because of this kind of scene!"

"And I think we need to consider more than just foggy days. If there is a heavy snowfall, it will block our vision and may even attract a surprise attack from the barbarians!"

Faced with such a reminder, Song Yuan smiled and nodded: "Such a statement must be guarded against!"

"However, I think the terrain here is a bit too steep. If possible, can you tell me where is suitable for passage?"

In Song Yuan's eyes, the position in front of him was at a large angle to the river bank. If a large group of cavalry advanced, whether they could climb up would definitely be a big problem!

When Huo Jianchuan heard this, he immediately thought about it and gave an accurate answer after a while.

"Your Highness, I've thought carefully. About thirty miles downstream from here, there's a place that's convenient for passage!"

"Also, there's a canyon forty miles upstream. If I really had to choose between the two places, I would definitely choose upstream!"

"Are you... worried that the area downstream is too close to the city of Daqin?"

"That's right, Your Highness!" Huo Jianchuan nodded in response.

"Da Qin is also well aware of the two places I know about. To prevent accidents from happening, there are cavalry patrols in the downstream area from time to time. If you rashly cross the river under such circumstances, you are likely to give the enemy a handle!"

"On the contrary, the upstream is more difficult, but it is located in a remote area and will not be exposed. In the end, it is more reliable there!"

When Song Yuan heard this, a smile appeared on his face. It was so much easier to communicate with a smart person like Huo Jianchuan.

Often, you only need one sentence for the other person to know what you are thinking, and the key point of each response happens to be the detail that you care about most.

However, Huo Jianchuan's idea was a bit too outdated.

It is not safe to speculate on the movements of barbarians based solely on convenience.

"Then have you ever considered this? If the barbarians first send out a small group of troops to test the waters, and even encounter a small group of scouts, we can definitely take action and wipe them out!"

"If they can't raise the alarm, what choice will they make?"

"If that's the case, then downstream is probably more convenient after all, right?"

"This……"

Hearing Song Yuan's idea, Huo Jianchuan was speechless. It must be said that trying to infer the route of the barbarians from this angle was really too complicated.

Noticing Huo Jianchuan's silence, Song Yuan frowned slightly.

It has to be said that the victory of the previous war between the barbarians did show some ability.

The only thing we need to do now is to face our opponents squarely.

Never underestimate them, otherwise you will suffer a great loss!

In this case, some things must be done with great care and attention to detail. Any carelessness may lead to big mistakes!

"Then does Your Highness have any idea to solve this problem?"

After thinking for a long time, Huo Jianchuan took the initiative to ask. After hearing this, Song Yuan finally gave his answer.

"Actually, if you ask me, the most convenient way is to send someone to take the initiative and go to the other side of the river to investigate the situation of the barbarians!"

"We don't need to ask our men to raid the barbarians. Even if we just understand their movement routes, it will be of great benefit to us!"

In Song Yuan's plan, the ones who would complete such an important task were naturally the Golden Saints that he had been expecting.

After the Peacock River freezes, the ultimate move that he has been planning for a long time can finally unleash its power!

Moreover, we must seize the initiative this time. Otherwise, if the river is completely frozen, we might fall behind the barbarians.

As the saying goes, speed is of the essence in war. Sometimes, all that matters on the battlefield is time.

This time, only by seizing the initiative can we advance step by step.