The scout team brought by Sun Jichao happily left Niujia Village and headed for the nearest city, Linghe City.

Niujia Village is next to Xiaoling River, less than a hundred miles away from Linghe City.

Linghe City is located at the confluence of Xiaoling River and Daling River.

The Xiaoling River is narrow but long, while the Daling River is wide and short.

The two Linghe Rivers jointly forged the prosperous Linghe City.

There is some distance between Linghe City and Dongting Lake, and there is no shortage of rivers in the county. There is no flood in Dongting, and there is sufficient water for irrigation and breeding.

It is a famous land of fish and rice in Nanhu County and even the whole Shun country.

Why would the General Staff prefer to give up the biggest advantage of Qianguo to launch an attack from here?

In addition to wanting to train the national navy, it is also because Nanhu County is important!

What is there to capture in those counties in the northwest!

The land is not fertile and the population is not large.

Even for horses it is not the best choice.

The whole north is occupied by the Qian State, so can Yang Yuan lack the land to raise horses?

If it is really lacking, it will not be snatched from Shunguo. Isn't the endless prairie in the north not wide enough?

Isn't the grass in the prairie sweet?

Occupying Nanhu County, Shunguo will not only lose an important production area, but also lose a large number of people.

This is the foundation of a country, without both, everything else is a castle in the air.

It is precisely because of the sufficient food and population in Nanhu County that Shunguo can station 100,000 troops here.

Sun Jichao really wanted to see the prosperity of the Nanhu County city in person, but he needed to connect Dongting County and Nanhu County, so he would inevitably encounter obstacles in the city, so he could only stay in Niujia Village.

Niujia Village is also good, with a beautiful environment, fresh air, and you can enjoy the delicious food bestowed by nature at any time!

With tears in his eyes, Sun Jichao gave Niujia Village a thumbs up and praised in his heart.

…

Thirty large and small warships were going up the river in a river thousands of miles away from Nanhu County.

Except for local fishermen and merchants, few foreign ships pass by this river.

In other words, this is not a major transport waterway.

The main reason is that the width is not enough, and it is easy to form a blockage when there are too many ships.

However, the depth is not a problem. Dozens or hundreds of people will be drowned every year.

It looks inconspicuous, like a small river, but actually has a deep meaning!

This fleet is the Shunguo Navy that was transferred to Nanhu County.

In the past, they were stationed on the north bank of Honghe River in the south, guarding against Chu State.

Later, Shun State was defeated in the north, and Dongting Lake and its water system became the biggest barrier in the north of Shun State.

King Shun could only transfer the southern navy back to Dongting Lake.

At the same time, he ordered Nanhu County to train the navy, and 10,000 of the 100,000 Shun troops were from the Shun army.

It's just that the navy hasn't been trained yet, and the 100,000 soldiers and horses are all infantry.

There were 3,000 sailors transferred to Dongting Lake, and the commander was named Xu Fan.

It was Xu Fan's order to walk along this remote river.

"General, this river is deep enough, but the river is too narrow, which is not conducive to our passage. If we encounter the enemy, the fleet may not be able to use it!"

A lieutenant general beside Xu Fan said doubtfully.

The width of the main channel, which is more than two meters deep, can be over twelve meters.

The largest warship in the navy can block the entire river with one ship.

Of course, there is no such first-class warship in Xu Fan's army.

He has only 3,000 people, 15 warships, and the rest are logistics supply ships and troop carriers.

There are also some scout ships, etc. that are not counted.

These boats can be built in situ or requisitioned at any time.

In order to ensure privacy, Xu Fan chose to sail at night, which made the passage even more difficult.

Gu They can move unimpeded on the big rivers, but they can only move forward cautiously when they get to this narrow river.

If you are not careful, you may run aground, which is even more uncomfortable than sailing in the sea!

It is very difficult for Shunguo's naval warships to have the opportunity to go around the sea, even if it is near the sea.

Not to mention that it is a once-in-a-century opportunity, but also an opportunity that can only be encountered in ten years.

Xu Fan was lucky to have such an opportunity.

At that time, the relationship between the three overlords eased a lot, and it was in a period of peace.

Only at this time can Shun country's warships enter the sea through the Canglan River.

There is also a quantity limit, even if there are too many warships.

Xu Fan, as the backbone general of the navy, once led the fleet to cruise the sea.

"Let the boat in front go slowly. If you go on a big river, you have to go on a small river. Will the enemy let you choose the battlefield?"

Xu Fan looked at both sides of the dark river bank and said casually.

He believes that his navy must not only be able to navigate large rivers, but also drill reeds and ponds.

The passage condition of the small river in front of me is not bad, but the river surface is a bit narrower, so what's the problem?

Xu Fan didn't think it was a difficult task, but the captain at the helm and the sailors at the front did not dare to relax at all.

What Xu Fan implemented along the way was war requirements, and if he ran aground, his head would be beheaded.

Usually when there are problems in training, you can still talk about love, but now you can't talk about love at all.

The helmsman was even more nervous, usually they were very supportive of the captain.

If the captain said to move forward, they would stay still, if the captain said to go left (right), they would go left (right).

There is no need to think about running aground or hitting the rocks at all. At most, be careful not to hit the enemy ship without an order.

This voyage is not the same as before, the captain's order is very simple, forward!

There are no other requirements other than these two words.

But it is these two words that make every helmsman dare not relax.

This river is an unfamiliar waters to each of them. Whether it is training or combat, they have never been to the water system of Dongting Lake. Sailing at night.

Each river has different hydrological characteristics, and if you break into it without knowing the situation, the final result can only be the destruction of the boat and the death of people.

The speed of the fleet was not fast. If someone came out from the shore at this time, they would be able to see the fleet stretching hundreds of meters above the water at a glance.

Although it is unlikely, it is not guaranteed that there will be people who suffer from insomnia and want to go out for a stroll, or some people like to come out at night.

So what about confidentiality?

Xu Fan had thought of this situation a long time ago. He contacted the Shun Army in Nanhu County and asked them to secretly send people to block the river, and arrest anyone who was spying on the bank.

Then it is judged whether it is a secret agent of Qianguo or a commoner who wandered inadvertently in his own country.

Even the people of the country have to be locked up and released after the fleet leaves or even after the war is over.

It happened that a Shenwuwei scout was moving around.

Originally, they didn't pay much attention to the rivers that the Shunguo navy passed. After all, the nautical fleet couldn't pass through the creeks. The river was indeed not wide enough for warships to pass through.

Unexpectedly, good luck came inadvertently.

A team of Shenwuwei scouts camped on the top of the mountain. When they patrolled at night, they found that their trap at the foot of the mountain had been destroyed!

"There are enemies!"

Ordinary people would not go here, and even hunters would not go to such a remote place.

At most, there will be a few pheasants and hares passing by, but they can't cause such a big damage.

"It must be a scout from the Shun Army!"

The Shenwuwei scouts were all excited.

Shunjun scouts would not come to such a place for no reason.

This shows that the Shun army must be taking action around here. No matter what it is, it is their goal to find out the enemy's movements!