During dinner, Wang Hao commented on the performance of each army today and pointed out areas for improvement. Bai Qi never showed up, didn't make any suggestions, let alone issue orders. He ate a few mouthfuls of fried millet and fell asleep soundly in Wang Lu's tent.
At night, the patrol reported that a large group appeared by the Zhangshui River and might enter Shangdang Changzi City. Wang Hao was taken aback and quickly reported to Bai Qi. The two of them took their guards and left in a hurry.
After the Qin army occupied the valley, lookout posts were arranged along the commanding heights around the valley. Changzi City is the seat of the Shangdang County Sheriff in South Korea. Now only a few old, weak, sick and disabled people are lingering there. But the solid city still has the potential to become an important offensive and defensive stronghold. At present, the eldest son is not a top priority for both Qin and Zhao, so no one has the energy to occupy it, but they always keep an eye on it. So when the lookout reported that reinforcements were coming from Changzi City, Wang Hao immediately became vigilant. Bai Qi is also very familiar with the geographical environment around Changping, so he naturally understands the importance of the eldest son. Hearing that the eldest son was stationed in the Zhao army, he was also a little nervous.
Wang Lu's tent was set up below the highest peak in the entire valley. On the highest mountain peak is the main lookout post of the entire army, with 500 people stationed there. They are responsible for the warning and lookout of the surrounding mountains, focusing on observing the activities of the Zhao army camp in the eastern mountains and the movements to the north. It takes more than ten miles of mountain road to get from Wang Lu's tent to the main lookout post. Although Bai Qi, Wang He and his entourage were riding horses, they did not dare to walk quickly. They walked along the rugged mountain road for more than half an hour before reaching the camp. After coming up, I suddenly felt that the sky was vast and my mind was widened. The chief general here is a public official, and there is another official under him who is responsible for the lookout in the north. The northern lookout post is about ten miles northeast. The two places can see each other, but if you want to get past, you have to go down the mountain and then up the mountain, so a separate deputy general is in charge.
There is no need to go to the sentry post in the north. Under the half-moonlight, you can see a group of people gathering on the horizon on the main peak. The official reported that there were people there as early as sunset, but they were sparse and not in a line. At dusk, the number of people gradually increased, and then he reported to the foot of the mountain.
Wang Lu said: "Here will be the reinforcements. If we get a surprise attack, we will be successful."
Bai Qi raised his eyebrows with great interest and said, "Do you have any idea?"
Wang Hao pointed to the ridge and said: "This mountain is not steep. If hundreds or thousands of people can walk on it, it will be possible!"
Bai Qi said: "There are hundreds of thousands of people, nothing can be done. What will happen if ten thousand people come out?"
Wang Lu said: "If you can find the way to it..."
The two seemed to have figured something out and said at the same time: "Build a way!"
Bai Qi said: "Sima Dafu once assisted the marquis in building roads, or if he mastered his skills and asked his master to do it, he would definitely get good results."
Wang Lu said: "I should ask someone to investigate the way and wait for the doctor!"
Bai Qi said: "No! Since it is a surprise soldier, it is not enough to show off to the public. You should return to the camp and continue to attack and harass them as before. I should return to Anyi and discuss with Dr. Sima. If you can get through to the party... Zhao Kuo's children..."
He suddenly seemed to remember something and asked Dr. Gong, "Is there anyone from Zhao who has arrived?"
The official said: "I was in charge of the sentry post in June, but I have never seen him before."
Bai Qi said: "Now we will have hope in the seventh month, and we will lose one in the second month..." He calculated silently in his mind for a moment, and said to the official: "If you order the soldiers to observe their movements carefully, who can know the amount of grain and fodder that have been transported?" , meritorious service!" the official responded loudly.
After watching for a while, the fire gradually began to rise over there, and the figures stopped moving. It was obvious that they were setting up camp and preparing to spend the night. Bai Qi asked Wang Lang to go down the mountain and return to the camp, while he stayed at the sentry post to observe, and would return directly to Anyi from here tomorrow. Wang Hao was worried and Bai Qi said: "There are hundreds of people here. It's a beautiful place for people. What's the harm!"
After Wang Lu left, Bai Qi and the Duke and the doctor chatted while looking at the Changzi City in the distance. Bai Qi listened with great interest to Dr. Gong's description of the good and bad things that happened among his subordinates, and asked about his family situation. The mountain is very high and there are not many mosquitoes. The soldiers in the distance are sitting together, most of them have fallen asleep. Bai Qi knew that they were all from Bashu and had been out for almost three hundred days. For three hundred days, they interacted with immigrants from Guanzhong and the generals from Guanzhong in Hedong. They got along well with each other and could talk to each other in each other's local dialect; but homesickness still surged from time to time.
Bai Qi asked the official, "When will you enter Shu?"
The official said: "I have been in Shu by mistake with Sima for more than ten years."
Bai Qi asked: "Have you ever returned home?"
The official said: "My family is in Longxi, and I haven't returned yet. I heard that my father and brothers in the family have quite a few knights, but they are not as good as my ministers! Now my family is in Shu. It's hard to see them."
Bai Qi said: "I heard that Shu also had many mountains. How is it compared to today?"
Doctor Gong said: "Sichuan is very mountainous, but the people of Shu have lived by the river for many generations, and they eat a lot of fish. There are only a few people who live in the mountains. The mountains of Shu are all majestic, reaching into the clouds. They are not comparable to this mountain."
Bai Qi pointed to the surrounding mountains and said, "How tall are the mountains? How can they be compared to them?"
Doctor Gong said: "The mountains in the east of Shu may be on par with it; the mountains in the west of Shu sometimes don't reach their tops and are covered by clouds and mist."
Bai Qi said: "Where the clouds and mists are born, are there immortals?"
Dr. Gong said: "I have heard a lot, but I have not seen anything."
Bai Qi said: "If I disarm you, I should go to Shu to find it!"
The official said: "I should sweep the room and welcome him!"
Bai Qi then asked about the officials assigned to the sentry posts in the north. Doctor Gong said that the two men were in similar situations. They were both soldiers who followed Sima Cuo to Shu and participated in the Pingchu War. Accumulate merit and rise to this position.
Bai Qi said: "The people of Shu are difficult to obey and easy to rebel. Why?"
The official said: "The land of Shu is difficult to pass through. In spring and summer, the rivers overflow, and in autumn it is often difficult to get food. Therefore, the people are often poor. Therefore, it is easy to rebel but difficult to subdue."
Bai Qi said: "Li Bing, the commander-in-chief of the county, is very good at water conservancy, which may be helpful!" Suddenly he remembered that Li Bing had also been a captain of Hedong and a public official. I don’t know if he was drafted to Hedong this time.
After chatting in the middle of the night, Bai Qi lay down on the spot in the Duke's tent. He told the Duke and his entourage to set off after a while, but he fell down and caught fire.
When the cock crows for the first time, Bai Qi wakes up. He called his entourage and asked the official to send someone to lead the way down the mountain to the sentry post in the north. Here, closer to the eldest son, more details can be observed. Coming down from the mountain, Bai Qi unexpectedly discovered that there was a small stream flowing through the mountain. He suppressed the ecstasy in his heart, and followed the military envoy to the northern outpost more than ten miles away - just upstream of the stream, as if nothing was wrong. . The soldier's steps were light and he walked across ditches and ridges as if he were walking on flat ground. Although Bai Qi and others were riding horses, they could only be cautious, but they could not pull him down.
After matching the password, Bai Qi went to the northern sentry post. These officers and soldiers from Shu, including Mr. Gongdafu yesterday, actually did not know Bai Qi. The main reason why Mr.gong was respectful to Bai Qi was because Wang Lu was respectful to Bai Qi, which made Mr.gong feel that this elder's status was not low. . This time, the military envoy who led the way simply told the official that this elder was the elder of the general! The officials saw that Bai Qi was not wearing the royal crown that marked his title, and only tied his hair back with a cloth belt. He was also wearing simple clothes; he should be a white man without a title. But even the entourage has horses and titles, and some of the entourage are wearing doctor's crowns, which shows that the old man has an extraordinary status. The official politely invited Bai Qi into the tent.
Bai Qi did not enter the tent, but asked the officials to take him to the lookout post. The official quietly remembered that the military envoy just now said that this man was the general's military adviser and must be the one who made suggestions for the general. Thinking of this, his face became more respectful, and he ran as fast as he could to bring Bai Qi to the lookout post. Bai Qi asked him, what happened to the people far away at night? He replied that he saw nothing but fire.
It was already broad daylight. When he arrived here, the first thing Bai Qi saw was the Zhao army barrier on the opposite side of Zhudan Ridge, which seemed to be closer than the sentry post just now. Bai Qi subconsciously crouched down to avoid the other party's observation. The official smiled and said, "Sir, don't worry. The mountains where I live are high and the grass is long. They can only see their appearance, but not their person."
Bai Qi looked at the situation in Zhao Jun's camp with great interest. This was a place he had not been to before, and had probably only been opened as a lookout post in recent months. Here you can observe the Zhao army's camp in the valley, which is indeed crowded. It should be time to mobilize the troops now. Each battalion is gathering in its own camp, and there is no space in front of the camp.
Bai Qi looked towards the horizon. Although the fire was not so dazzling in the morning light, it was still clearly visible. Obviously, the troops there did not have a routine system of ordering troops at dawn.
Bai Qi was very satisfied with the location here and decided to take another day to take a good look at Zhao Jun's activities. He sat down leaning on a stone and observed Zhao Jun in the distance and near through the grass.
Throughout the day, the Qin army was conducting charge training here and there. Correspondingly, Zhao Jun is also conducting defensive combat training. To the south, the general there was very active and kept sending one team after another over the ramparts. The Qin army in the south was also full of energy and fought resolutely. The two sides advanced and retreated near the hillock, training each other. The foot of the mountain extending from the opposite mountain blocked the view, and Bai Qi could not see what was going on in the southern camp.
When the Danshui frontline battle was in a hurry, Bai Qi accidentally discovered a huge army appearing behind the mountain, with about 20,000 to 30,000 people. This shocked Bai Qi. He did not expect that when the battle on the Danshui front line was in full swing, there would be such a huge force hidden behind the mountain. But then he sneered in his heart: "It's a waste of time to leave a large army in a useless place!" Originally, there was not enough food to eat, but we had to feed idle people. Isn't this adding insult to injury! However, due to the obstruction of Danzhu Ridge, he could not observe most of the movement routes of this unit. But it was obvious that these people were pulling many vehicles, and they should be here for transportation.
Bai Qi called the officials and said, "Can your soldiers count the number of chariots?"
The official looked into the distance and said, "It should be done sparingly."
Bai Qi said: "Those who can get the number have merit!"
The official immediately called a few people and ordered them to observe the number of cars. Two people took turns reporting the number, and the other two took turns recording.
