Chapter 123 Enemies meet
After the Chinese New Year, before his elder brother Li Xiaoyan arrived in Luoyang, on the fifth day of the first lunar month, Li Yuanhui asked for permission to return to Jianghuai.

Lujiang prefect Lu Xiang and Huainan prefect Zheng Shandao both reported that there were many bandits in the territory, especially the big thief Guo Fenghuang, who relied on the terrain of the Dabie Mountains to rob everywhere.

Previously, Murong Ying personally led his army to Jianghuai to quell the rebellion, which silenced the bandits in the Jianghuai area for a long time.

After all, these bandits are relatively pragmatic. They are fine at robbing rich families and merchant caravans, but if they have to fight with the imperial army, they would all want to run away for eight hundred miles.

In addition, Li Yuanhui also made a special request, hoping to transfer 1,000 cavalry from the central army to fight against the rebellion. After all, the court in Jianghuai no longer had any organized cavalry.

The two thousand cavalrymen who originally belonged to the Huainan governor, Chen Wang Murong Anguo, were disbanded after the war and exiled to Youzhou.

There were war horses, but it took too long to train cavalry from scratch, and the Jianghuai area was an important place.

Crown Prince Murong Chao, who was handling government affairs on behalf of Murong Ying, immediately approved it after asking for the opinion of Zuo Pushe Xue Chu.

He also generously allocated 300 heavy cavalry from Li Yuanhui's old subordinate, the Xiaoguo Army, and 800 light cavalry from the Zuolongxiang Army to him.

The reason why Li Yuanhui wanted cavalry was actually more for his own safety.

The journey from Luoyang to Guangling is not safe, whether by land or water. The areas around Liangjun and Chenliu are better because Zhao Da is in charge.

The rest of the Yingchuan and Runan areas were infested with bandits.

If you travel light, with just a few dozen people, the chance of reaching Jianghuai safely is only about 50%, and the chance of encountering bandits is 100%.

When Li Yuanhui returned to Jianghuai this time, he brought dozens of subordinates with him. Most of these people brought their families and servants with them, and there were hundreds of people with them.

If there weren't enough guards, something might go wrong.

There were many civilians and their families in the team, so the route was chosen to be waterway, which has a large transport capacity, low consumption, and is more time-saving and labor-saving. This is why ancient marches usually followed rivers. The advantages of waterway transport are much greater than those of land transport.

A typical example is that Liu Bang and Han Xin were able to enter Guanzhong quickly, thanks to the help of water transportation. But the earthquake in Wudu destroyed the Tianchi Lake, so Prime Minister Zhuge had to rack his brains to find ways to transport food.

In addition to Li Yuanhui's Pingnan General's Mansion and others, the team of Pei Minzhi, the former General Zuo Longxiang, who was going south to take up his post, also followed.

Pei Minzhi went to Pengcheng, Xuzhou, to take up the post of commander-in-chief of Xuzhou's military affairs.

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, two large five-tooth warships, dozens of large and small warships, and a team of more than 2,000 people set out south.

Murong Jiayin did not travel with Li Yuanhui because Murong Ying's condition was still not very good.

When the two said goodbye, they were not reluctant to leave. When Li Yuanhui left, he joked that they were all children of the underworld and would meet again if they were destined to.

Murong Jiayin laughed so hard that she almost couldn't straighten her back.

For Li Yuanhui, it was great to be able to leave Luoyang. Once he arrived in Jianghuai, he would be far away from home.

The water route was very fast, covering more than a hundred miles a day. On the tenth day of the first lunar month, we reached Xingyang, and on the thirteenth day, we reached Junyi.

We replenished supplies in Junyi and purchased wine, meat, fruits and vegetables, because the Lantern Festival would most likely be celebrated on the ship.

On the morning of the fifteenth, Li Yuanhui woke up very early, went out of the cabin and came to the top deck of the ship. Li Qinglian was practicing sword on the second deck.

Li Shixian was wearing a white robe with fluttering clothes and a flying sword.

Li Yuanhui had practiced archery and horse lance the most since he was young, but he had not practiced swordsmanship much, so he could not judge the level of Li Qinglian's swordsmanship.

However, it seems that the moves are graceful, but as to whether they can be used to hit targets and how many targets they can hit, I don’t understand.

But being handsome is enough.

It made Li Yuanhui want to practice it. If he had mastered this skill in the original time and space, put on Hanfu, and shot a short video, wouldn’t he have become an instant celebrity?

Only after Li Qinglian put away his sword did Li Yuanhui walk down from the deck.

"Brother Qinglian, you have great swordsmanship." Seeing that it was Li Yuanhui, Li Qinglian intervened and saluted, saying, "General, you are overpraising me. It is just a casual practice to strengthen the body. It can be used for self-defense, but it cannot be used to kill the enemy in battle."

Li Yuanhui smiled when he heard this and was about to say that he was being modest, but then a cold voice came from a dozen steps away.

"That's because you haven't learned the skill well enough. Who says swordsmanship can't kill the enemy?"

Li Yuanhui looked over and saw that the sound came from the adjacent Wuya warship.

The person who was speaking was wearing a silver-green round-necked robe and a fu hat, and had a fair and handsome face. She was Pei Yu, the daughter of Pei Minzhi.

Li Yuanhui took the opportunity to ask, "I wonder what your opinion is, brother."

Pei Yu said: "Swordsmanship is the art of killing people. Before the Han Dynasty, soldiers all carried swords instead of knives. Why do you say that swordsmanship cannot be used in battle?"

Li Yuanhui asked in return: "The ancient swords are different from the modern swords in terms of shape, and nowadays, can soldiers kill the enemy with swords in battle formations?"

Pei Yu was about to open his mouth to refute, but was interrupted by someone: "Ayu, don't be rude."

Pei Minzhi, who was nearly fifty years old, walked out of the cabin and said, "I am young and ignorant. I am sorry to make you laugh."

Li Yuanhui laughed when he saw this, and bowed to Pei Minzhi on the opposite boat, saying: "General Pei, you are too serious. I was just joking."

Pei Minzhi turned around and said to Pei Yu, "General Li has fought for many years and has made many outstanding achievements. How can you glimpse his experience in the battlefield? Why don't you apologize to the general?"

When Pei Yu heard this, he gave Li Yuanhui a sidelong glance and turned away.

Pei Minzhi shook his head and smiled when he saw this: "General Li, please forgive me."

Li Yuanhui waved his hand and said, "General Pei, there is no need to do this. As the saying goes, gentlemen are harmonious but different, and disputes are inevitable. I have heard for a long time that General Pei is brave and good at fighting, and is feared by the northern border. I am just lucky to have a high position. If there is anything inappropriate, please give me more advice."

Pei Minzhi was very polite when he heard this and called Li Yuanhui a young hero.
Pei Minzhi returned to the cabin and said helplessly: "Ayu, didn't I tell you to be more low-key? Why did you quarrel with Li Pingnan?"

Pei Yu said, "Father, I just don't like the way he talks. Besides, what's wrong with General Pingnan? He's just a playboy who relies on his family background to bully others."

Pei Minzhi said seriously, "You had some quarrels with him, but it was just a joke, it doesn't matter. But you said that Li Pingnan was just a playboy who relied on his family background, don't say such things in the future."

Pei Yu said, "Isn't that right? This Li Si was just lucky enough to capture and kill Yang Xun, which earned him the favor of the Saint and the princess's favor. Since then, he has had a prosperous career. In terms of ability, my brother is much better than him."

Pei Minzhi shook his head. "Alright, you won't understand even if I tell you these things, but remember, don't quarrel with Li Pingnan again. Although you have left Luoyang, you still have to keep a low profile."

Pei Yu said: "Yes, Aye, I understand."

Pei Minzhi had just left when his son Pei Xingyan came in. Seeing the dejected Pei Yu, he asked, "What's wrong, Wu Niang? Were you scolded by your father again?"

Pei Yu said angrily, "It's Li Si across the street. He has no skills, but he is in a high position and he speaks arrogantly. I think he is just an unlearned person."

Pei Xingyan laughed when he heard this and said, "How dare you say that. Li Si was praised by the saint and the old King Wei, but you think he is unlearned. Although I don't know how he offended you, Li Si was awarded the title of General Pingnan at a young age, so he is definitely not an ordinary person."

Pei Yu snorted coldly when he heard this, but did not refute. However, he looked unconvinced.

Pei Xingyan also shook his head helplessly. He felt that women naturally did not understand military affairs. Explanations might not be able to explain it clearly, so he gave up the debate.

But whether it is Pei Minzhi or Pei Xingyan, neither of them knows that there is a reason why Pei Yu is unhappy with Li Yuanhui.
After each unit had breakfast, the fleet continued on its journey.

When they reached noon, still forty miles from Suiyang, someone on the shore suddenly shouted, "But the imperial navy, stop going forward. Stop now."

When Li Yuanhui and his companions heard this, they hurriedly ordered people to come forward and ask, "This is where General Pingnan is. Who are you and why are you not letting us go forward?"

A messenger dressed as a messenger on the shore shouted: "The Wagang Army is besieging the city. Suiyang is in danger."

(End of this chapter)