Chapter 113 Come and Eat Horse Feed
At night, the lobby on the first floor.

Black Bear and Gan Ning are still studying the Wuguan Road map.

Gan Ning was in a hurry to attack. As long as there was no rain in the mountainous area of ​​Wuguan Road and the road drainage was smooth, they could often march the next day after the rain.

If it is just a light rain, it won’t even affect anything.

Unlike the Central Plains or flat areas, the soil in the mountains is mixed with more sand and gravel, the terrain difference is large, and the permeability is good.

As for the integration of Li Yi's troops, Gan Ning believed that war could speed up the integration.

There was a day of rainfall the day before yesterday, and now there is abundant surface water in the Qinling Mountains. In addition to evaporation, this water will continue to drop and replenish the Danshui River.

Therefore, in the next ten days or so, the Danshui River Basin will be very conducive to water transport.

After much discussion, they abandoned the previous battle plan.

The entire army advanced by boat, with Gan Ning as the vanguard and Hei Xiong as the successor. They first surrounded Shang County to see the reaction from Guanzhong.

If Guanzhong sends reinforcements, we will surround and attack the reinforcements while engaging in a long-term consumption of energy with the enemy.

Relying on the high-efficiency logistical supplies brought by the Dan Shui canal transportation, the logistics were used to drag down Guanzhong and bring out the war-weariness of the people in Guanzhong and Wugu Pass.

When war is about to begin, the tense atmosphere can speed up the army's training efficiency.

Gan Ning really didn't want to stay in Nanxiang for another day. Every extra day he stayed would mean using precious material and human resources to develop Nanxiang instead of his own.

Gan Ning's urgency to achieve success was something that Black Bear could hardly understand.

After everything was settled, Hei Xiong escorted Gan Ning out the door. A military officer was waiting at the door holding a scroll of bamboo slips: "General Qu, a spy from the Central Plains has been detected in the camp."

"Found it today?"

"It happened in the afternoon when Sun Gongyou left."

The military officer presented the bamboo slips to Black Bear, who returned to the living room, sat down beside the fish oil lamp, flipped through the slips, and read the information organized below.

"Call Zhang Ding here."

"Yes."

The officer left quickly. Black Bear couldn't help but sigh as he grabbed the heavy bamboo slips: "Why bother?"

I couldn't help but close my eyes, as if I was back to that day in Xia Pi.

Emotionally speaking, the fleet still has extra space, so there is no problem in luring Heiyun and his family on board.

But there are two hidden dangers. The first is that if one thing is damaged, all will be damaged, and there will be no room for recovery.

Huainan was indeed a good place at that time. If I had not happened to capture three transport ships, I would have also wanted to go to Huainan.

The second hidden danger comes from the fleet. They keep it secret and there is no information to check. People like Xuan Liang will not have any bad ideas.

It's not just your enemies who want to exploit your weak spot; your own people will not show mercy when trying to do so.

In order to protect Heiyun and other disaster victims who were fleeing from Liangpei, he even took the initiative to go towards Langdangqu.

It was just an information gap, otherwise it would be almost impossible for Cao Cao to break through the blockade if he had made preparations.

It was also because his performance was too conspicuous that it triggered an in-depth investigation by the Xudu court.

People leave traces behind, this day may come sooner or later.

While he was pondering and weighing the options, Zhang Dingjian, the commander of the Zhonglei Camp, came walking in and waited outside the door.

The message came in, and Black Bear threw the bamboo slips in his hand over: "This Black Cloud should have some kinship with me. Prepare a mask, a cage, and so on, and keep him by your side as a groom."

"Yes."

Zhang Ding opened the bamboo slips and read. After reading more than 200 words, he roughly understood them, but he was still a little confused: "What about the others?"

"Torture him severely, and it would be best if his face is unrecognizable. If there are any dying soldiers in the wounded camp these two days, and if their appearance and beard are similar to Heiyun, they can be brought here to impersonate Heiyun."

Black Bear had no experience with this kind of thing, so he said, "My request is that Black Cloud fake his own death, creating the illusion that these ten people were tortured to death together."

Zhang Ding thought for a moment and said, "Commander Qu, hand these ten men over to me. I will arrange for people to whip and torture them all night on the riverbank. Tomorrow morning, they will be bloody and unrecognizable. As for this Heiyun, when there are wounded people in the city who die, I will replace him and he won't suffer at all."

Black Bear frowned: "Tortured to death all night?"

"Yes, the fewer people involved, the more hidden the matter will be."

As Zhang Ding spoke, he bowed deeply and waited for the decision.

Black Bear blinked at the fish oil lamp wick and shook his head. "Although torture can interrogate other possible spies, the constant wailing at night is not conducive to the camps' overnight stay. When night falls, give them a quick death, and then torture them. Tie them to the stake tomorrow and cremate them three days later."

He hastily added, "Put the stake away from the water and nail it on the hillside on the east bank. Make the stake taller so that it can be used as a warning to the public. Put up a notice stating the crime."

"Yes, I'll do my humble job now."

Zhang Ding bowed again, and when Black Bear didn't tell him anything, he took a few steps back to the door before turning around and leaving.

Less than two miles away, Zhang Ding and his group arrived at the shore mudflats holding torches soon.

There was a campfire here as well. The officer in charge of the interrogation came up quickly, bowed and smiled: "Why is Zhang Zhonglei here?"

"The spy is a serious matter. Commander Qu ordered me to deal with it personally."

Zhang Ding didn't need any written proof. He could just use his face to handle this kind of thing. He pointed at the wooden stake on the shore and asked, "Who is Xu Ding?"

"Center base, right here, this is the guy."

The military officer led the way quickly, raised his hand and pointed at Xu Ding, smiling kindly at Zhang Ding: "You also said that you are the Tiger Warrior Captain."

Zhang Ding's personal soldiers held torches close to Xu Ding's face. Another personal soldier saw Xu Ding staring at him and hit him in the chest with his elbow without any hesitation.

Xu Ding's vision went dark, and then he recovered his breath: "I am willing to work for Commander Qu!"

"My Master Qu won't tolerate any assassins here." "You are trying to deceive my Master Qu with this little trick?"

Zhang Ding reached out and drew his sword, then turned his head to the interrogating officer and said, "There is nothing for you to do here, let's go."

"Yes!"

The interrogating military officer bowed, took a few steps back and waved to his subordinates. A dozen people gathered together to form a single column and left holding two torches.

There is no specially established interrogation agency now. They are under the command of military advisor Liu Ye, who inspects criminal disciplines in various places and performs interrogations part-time.

If restrictions on violence are relaxed, there will be no shortage of people in the military who are good at interrogation.

When only his personal soldiers were left nearby, Zhang Ding sheathed his sword and turned to look at another personal soldier.

Just when Xu Ding and his men breathed a sigh of relief, a personal soldier grabbed Xu Ding's hair and pulled it forward, exposing his neck.

Behind the wooden stake, a personal soldier held a wooden wedge and an iron hammer. He placed the wooden wedge against the junction of Xu Ding's skull and spine, then raised the iron hammer and smashed it down.

The struggling Xu Ding immediately became quiet; then he made the same execution gesture to the next person.

At such times, Zhang Ding would ask a few questions, and after confirming the other party's identity, he would execute the person on the spot if he was not satisfied with the answer.

Several people followed Heiyun through the auditions, and then there was a targeted second round of interrogation.

During this round of interrogation, Heiyun was hit in a mock manner, and at the suggestion of the people around him, he lowered his head and pretended to be dead.

The remaining three were close to being eliminated by Zhang Ding.

After untying Heiyun's rope, one of Zhang Ding's personal soldiers took off his armor. When Heiyun was at a loss, several people helped him put on his armor in a mess.

The body shape of this unarmored soldier was similar to Heiyun, wearing Heiyun's clothes, with disheveled hair. He was tied to Heiyun's wooden stake, and then lowered his head to pretend to be dead.

It took me several tries to finally find the feeling.

Heiyun didn't understand and didn't dare to ask.

After doing all this, Zhang Ding's personal soldiers said, "Only we know about this matter. If it gets out, I will be willing to die. You are my relatives and fellow villagers, so don't make mistakes. Don't blame the commander for being ruthless in military law."

The atmosphere was dull, and Zhang Ding said, "This is to capture the spies and their accomplices. Before we capture them, neither you nor I will go to the battlefield. Until we capture them, this achievement will be no less than Gan Xingba's killing of Cai Mao."

Then he looked at the personal soldier who was pretending to be dead: "At dawn, I will use the dead body to replace you. When the thieves come to investigate at night, if the situation is critical, I will allow you to attack and kill them."

"Yes."

The soldier responded in a low voice, the noose on his body in his hand.

The army is so large now, there must be all kinds of spies.

Not to mention Cao Cao in the Central Plains and Liu Biao in Jingzhou, it is estimated that the people stationed in Jingzhou by Sun Quan and Liu Zhang are also waiting for an opportunity to send spies over.

As for his ally Liu Bei, he had already absorbed a group of wounded soldiers before, and Chen Zhen brought another group of people, among whom there must be some who were on Liu Bei's side.

But... these are all small fish in Zhang Ding's eyes.

Even he could sense that his own Commander Qu's special skills were not omnipotent, let alone other people who were smarter than him.

It is only a matter of time before these smart people collude with outsiders.

He was not sure whether there were any big fish ready to make a move, but he felt that there were such people inside.

The opportunity is right in front of you, just cast your rod and see what happens.

Three personal soldiers were left there to guard the fire. Around the second watch, the three personal soldiers would fall asleep back to back guarding the fire.

Zhang Ding led the black cloud back to Zhonglei Camp, which was close to the Xishui Floating Bridge.

In the barracks, Heiyun had his armor stripped off and was waiting helplessly.

Soon Zhang Ding came in with a set of uniforms, motioned Heiyun to sit down, and said, "From now on, you are the groom of my Zhonglei Camp. There are three grooms in the camp, and you are the fourth. However, when the General's Mansion allocates rations on a daily basis, your share will not be included."

"General, what about that villain?"

"You come to take care of the horses of the commander, and learn the driving skills from them. When I am in the camp, I will give you rations; if I am not here, you will eat the horse feed of the commander."

After Zhang Ding finished speaking, Heiyun obviously swallowed his saliva.

Everyone knows that there is a group of Donghu horses in the army, and they eat good food. All kinds of beans are ground and steamed, and wheat is ground into powder and mixed with salt to make wheat cakes.

Each Donghu horse can eat an egg every day.

Only the Zhonglei Camp can ensure that the horse feed can reach the horses’ stomachs!

Seeing that Heiyun did not object to the horse feed, Zhang Ding said, "Tomorrow I will apply for more fine feed quotas from the general's mansion in the name of preparing for pregnancy. Don't worry about other things, just focus on taking good care of the three horses of the commander. Also, unless I take you out of the camp, if anyone forces you to leave the camp, you can shout loudly, and my trusted men will save you."

Seeing that Heiyun was silent, Zhang Ding did not think that the other party was Qu Shuai's close relative.

The gap in their educational attainments was too great. After all, the Hei family was a notoriously small family, and they were from Liang, so they must be distant relatives.

When there are too few people in the tribe, every one of them is precious.

Zhang Ding thought about it from the other party's perspective, and then said, "Don't hang out with the horsemen in the camp. You are here to take care of the horses of the commander. I will arrange for a skilled driver to teach you how to drive the chariot. The commander usually doesn't use the chariot, but his wife does."

"When you go out, you and the driver can just wear masks."

Zhang Ding asked again: "What kind of weapons are you good at? If you are not good at it, I will arrange for you to learn the art of crossbow shooting. As the commander of the canal and the lady's hand, you must master a shooting technique to kill the enemy and defend yourself."

"General, I know sword and shield techniques, and I have also learned halberd techniques. I haven't practiced archery for a long time and it has become rusty, but I have some experience in crossbow shooting."

Heiyun finally felt relieved and explained, "When King Chen was recruiting soldiers, my brother and I served under King Chen for three years. We returned home after the Yellow Turbans were quelled."

"Since you have military experience, I won't say any more. You should have a good rest. Don't ask me anything else. I won't tell you."

Zhang Ding stood up and took out a string of five-zhu coins from his waist bag and handed it over: "If you are short of money on weekdays, you can let my personal soldiers buy it for you. Now the commander is also walking on thin ice, so we must not cause trouble."

(End of this chapter)