When the city guard saw that Mang Mao was going to inspect the city defense, he quickly said: "I'll make arrangements for you. I'll come and invite you soon."
Mang Mao said: "The city guard doesn't have to worry about it. It's just a walk in his free time, not a patrol. There is no need for the city guard to accompany him, just one person as a guide."
The city guard said: "How dare you? I will serve as a guide for the time being. General, please rest for a while and I will come to invite you immediately."
Mang Mao said: "It's so hard to guard the city!"
The city guard went down with a salute, and Mang Mao was sent to the door of the post house to say goodbye. Then he came to the side courtyard and was settled by the gatekeepers. Mang Shen saw Mang Mao and came up to meet him. Mang Mao gave a few instructions and returned to the hall. After thinking for a while, he called the post official and said, "When I was young, I and the city guard were patrolling. If the Nanguan Army envoy arrived, I just asked you to stay with me and come back to the court with me. There is no need to pass it from post to post." The post official saluted and left.
Soon, Mang Shen came over with several diners. Almost at the same time, the city guard also came with ten soldiers to invite him.
Mang Mao said: "There is no need to go to the Great Wall area, just walk in the city."
The city guard said: "Then let's walk along the long street."
"That's very good."
So the group of people came out of the inn and turned onto the main road. After walking a short distance, they arrived at a cross street. The city guard said: "This cross street is one mile away from each of the four gates. There is a school of soldiers in Putian City, divided into two commanders, one commander guarding the Great Wall, and one commander policing the territory. Putian is forty miles from east to west, two hundred miles from north to south, and there are thousands of miles of paddy fields. , are all Wang's fields, housing ten thousand households, and the surrounding four thousand households are placed in the city. The remaining households usually live nearby, and will retreat to the city in case of police. Putian City is five miles away from the Great Wall in the east, and Wangcang City is in the west. Cangcheng is controlled by the Inner Government, and is connected with the city. The students have no subordinates. The city is surrounded by paddy fields, and there are only four avenues leading to the four gates."
Mang Maoyao pointed out: "The city in Yingchuo over there is Wangcang."
"Exactly."
"How are the guards over there?"
"Wangcang is under the command of the inner government, and the status of the defense is unknown."
Mang Mao looked carefully in the direction of Wangcang with great concern and asked: "Is there anyone in the Wangcang family who goes to Wangcang when they encounter the police?"
The city guard said: "The royal family are all vulgar, and the food they pay is only outside the city. They are not allowed inside. How can they enter the warehouse if they encounter the police?"
Mang Mao nodded and said: "In this case, there must be elite soldiers in Cangcheng. Ten years ago, the Qin army plundered Liangye and was in ruins. However, Cangcheng was safe and sound, which shows that the defense is strong."
The city guard said: "The elites in the inner government are beyond our ability to predict."
Mang Mao said: "Yes. How is the defense in Putian City?"
The city guard said: "There are five hundred military soldiers in the city, one for each gate, and one soldier for support. Each of them used a strong bow and powerful crossbow to shoot at the four gates; each of the four thousand civilian households was simple and strong, and each one came to the city in turn to help according to his gate. The old and weak, women and children prepare food, fodder, soup, water, etc., and transport arrows, arrows, and stones."
Mang Mao said: "The city guards are well-organized, which shows their intentions!"
As they talked and walked, a group of people arrived at the edge of the city, and the city guard guided them up to the city. As soon as we climbed into the city and took a look, the terrifying nature of the defensive strategy mentioned by the city guard was immediately vividly displayed. The city is surrounded by endless paddy fields. It has not yet frozen, but it is probably freezing cold. It will definitely be uncomfortable for people to go down there. If you walk three to five miles in it, your feet will be frozen. The only way to get close to the city walls is along the main road. This avenue is about ten feet wide, which is more than enough for two cars to cross each other, but it certainly cannot accommodate three cars side by side. A hundred people blocked it with arrows, making it almost airtight.
Looking at the Great Wall to the west and Cangcheng to the east, Mang Mao asked: "The front line of the Great Wall must be guarded by city guards. How to arrange it?"
The city guard said: "This is a difficult point. In the past, the Great Wall and Putian were integrated. If you want to attack Putian, you must first break the Great Wall. At that time, the remaining soldiers of the Great Wall can retreat to Putian and fight behind the city. Now the Qin army enters the Great Wall from Nanguan , the Great Wall and the field are divided into two places, five miles in between, but it is difficult to echo them. I want to abandon one place, but I don’t know how to choose."
Mang Mao said: "The city guard is really smart, really smart! It's just that I don't know how to choose." Then he used his eyes to ask the city guard to come closer, and lowered his voice and said: "Pay more attention to Cangcheng to the east. This is the key point?" The city guard's eyes were blank at first, but after looking at Mang Mao for a while, he seemed to understand something, and he saluted, "I have already learned the secret of life!"
Mang Mao nodded and said, "Well, think more about why Putian built a city!"
While he was talking, he saw a figure running towards him on the avenue from a distance. Mang Mao said: "The messenger from Nanguan has probably arrived. Let's welcome him here." The city guard agreed and ordered him to go down.
Not long after, the military envoy came to the city and was also dragged up by a big leather bag. The defenders inspected the festival talisman and brought the envoy to Mang Mao and others. The city guard said: "This is the order of the Central Command. I heard that there was a police officer at Nanguan Pass and came here to inspect. Fortunately, I agreed." The military envoy agreed and stood aside.
Mang Mao said: "Now that the military envoy has arrived, we will return to the court immediately." Then he turned to the military envoy and said: "Follow me to the post station to pay the order. If you don't pay the documents, you can take the car back to the capital and pay it directly to the king."
In order not to disturb the morale of the army, the group still slowly patrolled along the city wall to the east city gate, and then went down to the city and returned to the post house. Along the way, Mangmao only exchanged some insignificant details with the city guard, such as how much food and arrows there were in the city, how long it would take for all nearby farmers to retreat into the city, whether there was a casualty department in the city, etc. The city guard answered them one by one, obviously very knowledgeable about matters within his jurisdiction.
After returning to the inn, the regular meals had been cooked by the remaining diners. The military envoy handed over the festival talisman to the post official. The post official noted the time and handed the festival talisman back to the military envoy under Mang Mao's instructions. Mang Mao then ate with all the guests, city guards and military envoys. After the meal, the horses and carts were prepared, and everyone set off again. At this time, the sun was setting in the west. I don’t know if it was a psychological effect. The sky in the direction of Nanguan was gray, which was a little different from other places.
Taking small steps across the paddy fields, the cars formed a formation on the field. Mang Mao said: "One car will go to Xizhong first, and please ask the city guards to meet us outside the city. We will go to Xizhong first, stop for a while and then return to Daliang."
One car with fast horses went first, and the rest of the cars formed a formation and advanced towards the center of the circle at a fast pace.
The military envoy was specially arranged by Mang Mao to ride in his own car. On the right side of the car was the expressionless gentleman. There were four people in the car, which seemed a bit crowded. Mang Mao and the military envoy stood on the left side of the post, holding Che Shi. Mang Mao said: "How will the war in Nanguan go when the military envoy comes?"
The military envoy said: "The Qin army has arrived at Nanguan and is spread over the mountains and plains. I don't know how many of them there are."
Mang Mao said: "There is no need to say what was said in the military report. I just want to talk about what you saw at that time. How did you know that the Qin army had arrived?"
"At sunrise this morning, we closed the door and sounded the drums to warn. The troops lined up and guarded the city. We and other military envoys followed. However, I saw a cavalry sentinel in the distant mountains. When I got to the city, I did not move forward, but turned to the sides. Back. Then it was amazing. Team by team, row by row, people crawled out of the mountain like ants and lined up in front of the mountain. The city guard said, it’s not good, write a military report quickly. I wrote it on the city and sent it. Ershan and I will be sent to the southeast in two directions."
"You two have already set off during the meal?"
"It's not yet time when we set off. There are two houses from Nanguan to Putian, but there is no inn in between. Thanks to your blessing, I drove to two houses in succession, and it's not yet midnight."
Looking at the military envoy's expression asking for merit, Mang Mao said: "The military envoy has fulfilled his mission, and the king will surely reward him!"
