After eating the rations, Gongzi Jiu sent two retainers. Si Mang sent out ten of the entire army who were able to ride horses and were still in good health. They took 20 horses to Yicheng and contacted the government to ask for money and food. Because they had to walk more than a hundred miles on a mountain road, and there was no good news along the way, everyone had a full set of crossbows and halberds. Those with armor even took off their armor and gave it to them to put on. When the sun rose and the sunlight shone into the valley, the twelve men left on twenty horses and galloped towards Yicheng at the foot of the mountain.
In the southern section of the Taihang Mountains, there are Taiyue Mountain in the north and Zhongtiao Mountain in the south. They are both on the edge of the mountains, blocking the way down the mountain. There is a dustpan-shaped slope between Taiyue and Zhongtiao, which allows you to reach the foot of Taihang Mountain and enter the Fenshui River basin relatively smoothly. There is an ancient country on this land, the Tang Kingdom, which is said to be the fiefdom of Emperor Yao. The so-called Yao and Tang Dynasties are also called. In the eighth year of King Cheng of Zhou, Duke Zhou destroyed the Tang state and moved the Tang people to Dudi near Haojing. He also moved the Zhou people to Tang. Among the Zhou people who were moved, the leader was Shu Yu, the son of King Wu of Zhou and the younger brother of King Cheng of Zhou. This is the origin of the famous Jin State in Chinese history. The Jin State moved several times on this slope, and the first capital to enter historical records was Yi, but that was already three hundred years after the founding of the country.
As the capital of Jin, Yi had a poor reputation because at that time there was another larger city in the Jin state, Quwo, which was managed by Uncle Huan, the uncle of the Marquis of Jin. Yi and Quwo are dozens of miles apart, both on this slope. After sixty-seven years of overt and covert fighting for several generations, Qu Wo finally destroyed Yi and was recognized by Emperor Zhou, legally becoming the new Duke of Jin. In this year, Duke Huan of Qi became the overlord of the world. The newly promoted Duke of Jin is the grandfather of the next overlord, Duke Wen of Jin, Chong'er.
Chong'er's father, Duke Xiang of Jin, killed all the family members of the original Marquis of Jin, and moved from Quwo to Jiang, not far from Yicheng. Jiang became the new capital of Jin for 85 years, and later moved to Xintian (historically known as Xinjiang) at the intersection of Hui and Fen. When the three families were divided into Jin, only two cities, Jiang and Quwo, were left in Jin. Later, even these two cities were confiscated, and the Jin people were moved first to Duanshi and then to Tunliu. The sloping land where the Jin State was founded belongs to South Korea, including the cities of Tang, Yi, Jiang (new and old), and Quwo.
The group of people rode for half a day and arrived at the edge of the plateau. Since it was unsafe to ride a horse while going down the mountain, ten sergeants led 20 horses and walked down the mountain. After going down the mountain, they saw a city. Everyone rode horses and found a post station outside the city. The retainer showed the Korean festival talisman, and the group got free food and lodging here. After asking the post official, it turned out that this was not Yicheng, but Tangcheng. Yicheng is twenty miles away to the south, while Jiangcheng is twenty-five miles away to the west.
The retainers returned to the courtyard and conveyed the news delivered by the post officials to the soldiers. They believed that since Yicheng and Jiangcheng were about the same distance, it would be better to go directly to Jiangcheng. Jiangcheng was larger and had more wealth, so they could go from Jiangcheng to Jiangcheng. The city is more likely to gain support. Naturally, the soldiers would not have any objections and could only act according to plan.
Wei Jun had been camping outside Duanshi for three days. After taking Imperata Imperata and taking a few days of rest, the edema of most soldiers has completely subsided, and the symptoms of chest tightness and shortness of breath have also been greatly improved.
Si Mang took three doses of medicinal decoction, and the edema had completely subsided. It seems that the disease problem has been temporarily solved, but the food problem is difficult to solve. He could only allow the entire army to eat two liters of food every day to maintain a half-full state. Except for the military call every morning, the drills have completely stopped. On the one hand, the soldiers lacked physical strength and had no food in their bellies; on the other hand, they did not want to irritate the surrounding cities and cause unnecessary trouble. After a long day of nothing, Si Mang inspected each battalion, said some words of encouragement to morale, and took a look at the condition of the sick and wounded soldiers. Although the condition of most soldiers has improved, there are still more than 200 people whose condition has not improved or even worsened.
Only those merchants seemed to have nothing to do. They sent out a load of mountain goods every day and sold them in a city, which was quite pricey. They made two to three hundred dollars every day. Si Mang wanted to ask the doctor to come back for a check-up, but unfortunately there was no money in the camp. The merchants' money was hard-earned, and it often took them a whole day to get rid of it. Secondly, it was just a drop in the bucket, and he was embarrassed. Ask them for help. He looked forward to the news from the mountain every day.
At noon that day, I heard a horse galloping towards me. When Si Mang saw it, his heart sank: there must have been an accident. That man was one of the commanders sent down the mountain to help organize supplies. None of the others had returned, and he was the only one to return. Obviously, everything was not going well. Holding the military envoy's talisman, the man crossed all the camps and got off his horse in front of the middle camp. He threw himself into the camp and said, "Jiang ordered us to be detained as traitors. We, the common people, stayed behind and escaped on horseback."
Si Mang asked anxiously for details, but the man couldn't explain clearly. He only knew that after the two retainers entered the city, a group of soldiers came out soon after, surrounded them, gathered their horses, and wanted to take them into the city. The ten soldiers resisted with all their strength and finally managed to grab a few horses. However, although one man grabbed the horses, his riding skills were not good and he fell off the horse not far away. In the end, he was the only one who escaped.
When Si Mang heard this, he felt anxious and asked, "What city is this?"
The man replied: "Maybe it's Jiangcheng."
Si Mang asked: "Why didn't you go to Yicheng?"
The man replied: "After we came down from the mountain, we stayed in Tangcheng. A gentleman consulted the post official and said that both Yicheng and Jiangcheng are more than twenty miles away from Tangcheng. If this is true, the gentleman said, if we go to Jiangcheng, we can get So much profit!"
Si Mang had no other choice but to invite Prince Jiu and other generals to discuss the situation. Young Master Jiu was also very surprised and said, "Why is Jiang Ling so rude?"
Si Mang said: "The matter is urgent, and we must obey his authority. I am willing to lead my elite soldiers down the mountain overnight to attack the city to avenge their grievances. If we delay, we may not be able to save everyone's lives."
One of Gongzi Jiu's retainers said: "There are so many soldiers in Jiangcheng that it may be difficult to defeat them."
Si Mang said: "This is the only battle. Now they don't know what is real and what is true. They are afraid and come into my trap. It's not my Wei who betrays the alliance, it's true that South Korea is not my support. Young master, he knows it!"
Young Master Jiu said: "Why do you do this? Why do you do this!" He shook his head and retreated with a sigh. The other retainers did not comment and left.
Si Mang ordered that able-bodied warriors be mobilized from the entire army and concentrated in the camp immediately, and all the crossbows and arrows in the battalion were handed over to them. The rest of the soldiers all set off down the mountain after dawn and followed the route. Then he invited all the disciples of Lord Xinling and asked the chief to report what happened when he went down the mountain again. Then he said: "I have no other plan but to fight. Please help me, sir!"
Mr. Jin said: "I am a humble concubine who has been ordered by the king to serve the lieutenant. The lieutenant has an order and does not dare to resign. I would like to hear his plan!"
Si Mang said: "My soldiers are often sick, and there are few who can fight. But when Jiang is on the battlefield, the troops are strong and strong. Only when we are weak, we should be strong, and when we are weak, we should be afraid of many enemies. Then send envoys to tell them, and we will be able to escape." also!"
Mr. Cao said: "What Wei said is true. I am willing to follow his plan." When the other gentlemen saw what Mr. Jin and Mr. Cao said, they had no other opinions.
While Simang was discussing specific plans with various guests, a team of more than 2,000 people from different groups had gradually gathered outside the camp.
Si Mang ordered those who could ride horses to come out. About three hundred people walked out of the queue. Commander Mang ordered each to lead a horse. After appointing officers such as the Shiwu soldiers and the camp school, they killed two cows in the middle camp. More than 2,000 people ate dry food with broth and set out overnight.
Three hundred cavalry were patrolling in front. Although the mountain road was rugged, it was still clear. About 2,000 people followed closely behind. When they reached the edge of the mountain, Si Mang ordered the entire army to rest and let their horses graze. He made an appointment with everyone to go down the mountain after dark and join him. He and his disciples put down their weapons and walked down the mountain first.
Their clothes were in tatters, and they looked like a group of mountain people descending the mountain in groups. Although he passed through some towns on the way, he did not attract any attention. After descending the mountain, Tangcheng looms ahead, surrounded by numerous settlements with thousands of households. Si Mang made an appointment with all the disciples at a gathering place and dispersed to inquire about the news. After gathering and dispersing several times, I got a general understanding of the terrain and situation in various parts of the city. I knew that although this place was a border town, because it had not been attacked by war for a long time, there were not many soldiers and insufficient training. Eat, but also act as a domineering person! Knowing this, Si Mang decided to attack Tangcheng in a sneak attack!
After the city gate was closed, Si Mang and others returned to the foot of the mountain and waited at the mountain pass for the troops to go down the mountain.
After eating a few mouthfuls of frozen hard food, they hid in the darkness of the night, observing the surrounding situation and trying to avoid the news of the troops going down the mountain being revealed.
The early spring morning was extremely cold. With the sound of drums in the city, the soldiers opening the city shouted their hands, stamped their feet, and opened the city gate. He also asked: "You must have some ginger soup to keep out the cold!" The city gate guard cursed: "You dog slave, how can I ask for it! I will give it to your wife!" which made everyone laugh.
Many mountain people waiting to enter the city have gathered outside the city gate, including those carrying burdens, carrying baskets, and some with bare hands. The soldiers asked everyone to line up and pay the tax into the city: those with goods would take a hundred and those without goods would only take a penny. After collecting customs duties from several people, one person suddenly said: "Did you hear the sound of horse hooves?"
Another person mocked: "When will you hear the sound of horse hooves?"
The man said: "I once had a baby, and I heard the sound of horses! ... the sound of horse hooves!"
Someone next to me said: "I heard it too!"
So someone went to the city and reported to the gatekeeper. Others still collect taxes as usual. In the morning fog, the sound of horse hooves became clearer and clearer, and soon a group of horse soldiers emerged from the morning fog. The guard was a little surprised. This was the first time he saw such a huge horse army. He didn't know where it came from. He ordered: "Order him to stop!"
So a soldier ran to the front and shouted: "The horse army stops! The horse army stops!" Before he could shout twice, there was a crossbow sound, and the soldier turned over and fell to the ground. This frightened the guard and screamed: "Guan Cheng, Guan Cheng!" He ran up to the tower and was about to beat the drum, but found that the drum hammer was missing. While looking around, he was hit hard on the back of the head and fell unconscious next to the drum. ——But it was a retainer who went in first.
The soldiers below the city heard the guard calling "Guancheng" and saw the horse army rushing towards them. The soldier was shot down, and they panicked for a moment. Only a few of them were calm and hurriedly pushed the mountain people who were about to enter the city out, saying "Guan Cheng, Guan Cheng!" When the mountain people saw the horse army coming, they shouted and ran away. However, 80% of them ran into the city and crowded at the door, unable to close the door. The soldiers pushed them out wherever they could. Seeing the cavalry troops approaching the city, the soldiers shouted and ran away. The mountain people who entered the city were actually Lord Xinling's retainers, and they led the horse army to quickly occupy the whole city.
