Bai Qi waited until the fighting on the Danshui frontline had subsided before calling his entourage to prepare for the return journey. He pointed to the creek in front of the mountain and asked the official casually, "Where does this water go?"
The official said: "I heard that I returned to Shaoshui."
Bai Qi said, "Can we reach Duanshi by going down the river?"
The official said: "The upcoming trip is unknown."
Bai Qi said: "I would like to use military envoys to lead them south."
The official called two military envoys and asked them to escort "Sir" to Duanshi. Those military envoys were a little confused, Bai Qi said: "But if you go down this water, you will arrive." But Bai Qi did not order the military envoys to accompany them, but asked them to go to the main post to deliver the order, and asked the public official to also send two Military envoys, and add two military envoys to the northern outpost. The two military envoys recalled everything correctly and rushed away. They did not take the relatively flat mountain path at the bottom of the mountain, but followed a trail next to the ridge. Bai Qi said goodbye to the official and told him to try his best to find out how many trucks of grain were transported to Changping. Get on your horse, go down the mountain with your entourage, and meander southward along the creek. After walking for more than ten miles, I saw four military envoys waiting at the mountain pass.
Bai Qi said to the two military envoys in front of him: "I see that your journey is as dangerous as a desert, and you have lived in the mountains all your life?"
A military envoy said: "I lived in the mountains when I was young, and then lived in the wilds for several years. Unexpectedly, I lived in the mountains again."
Bai Qi said: "Do you know how many good mountain walkers there are in the camp?"
A military envoy said: "Ba people mostly live in the mountains, and the speed of traveling in the mountains is far inferior to that of the Shu people."
Bai Qi said: "Do the Ba people live in the east mountains? In the west mountains?"
The military envoy smiled and said: "The Ba people are in the east, how can they get to the west!"
Bai Qi asked: "Does anyone live in Xishan?"
The military envoy said: "The Western Mountains are high and there are many Qiang and Di people. They are different from the people of Shu! Don't dress up and eat people! If they are in the mountains, they will move like flying."
Bai Qi said: "Have you seen it?"
The military envoy said: "But if you hear it with your ears, if you see it with your own eyes, you may die." Bai Qi laughed loudly.
The group walked for more than ten miles and came to a wider river valley. Bai Qi invited everyone to sit down, put out warnings on all sides, and sat by the stream with everyone and ate some fried millet with the water. In addition to the northeast-southwest valley, this valley is also connected to a northwest-southeast valley, forming a four-way link. Bai Qi pointed to the road leading to the southeast and asked, "Can this lead to the Qin camp?"
A military envoy replied: "It's possible!" He pointed to the nearby mountain peak and said: "From the sentry post here, go straight to the general's tent, which is the shortest way."
Bai Qi secretly remembered it. Take a break and ask everyone to get up.
Although the mountains on both sides are not very high, they are in a valley after all, and the light gets darker earlier than outside. After walking for more than twenty miles, there turned out to be a small settlement with about ten households cultivating the surrounding fields. Bai Qi asked everyone not to trample on the fields and pass quickly. Thinking that in a few days this place will be filled with rammed earth roads, and all the food will rot in the fields, and the annual harvest of these ten families will be wiped out, I feel bitter in my heart.
After walking for more than ten miles, a large mountain divided the valley into two branches. But the stream did not branch off, but headed steadily toward a valley to the west. After walking along the valley for more than ten miles, it suddenly became clear: Duanshi City stood in front of us. From the time I came down the mountain to now, I have already made up my mind.
Bai Qi did not alert the Duan officials, but went to the west of the city and woke up the post officials. After showing his talisman, the postman realized that the person in front of him was Hedong Shou, and he was so frightened that he fell to the ground. Bai Qi ordered the post officials to arrange accommodation for the four military envoys first, explaining that if he had military envoys to deliver news to Wang Lu's camp, only these four military envoys would be responsible, and no one else was allowed to deliver it; he also asked the post officials to arrange the dismounting materials. Give it to your own group of horses. He and his entourage huddled in a small courtyard to rest for a while, indicating that they had to start their journey soon. The post officer wanted to report to the county officials, so Bai Qi asked him to report again in the morning. There was no need to disturb their sweet dreams now. After the post officer arranged the affairs, he could go back to rest on his own without waiting for his instructions. I will notify him when I leave.
When the cock crows for the first time, Bai Qi waits for a while to get up, lead his horse, and finds the postman sleeping in the courtyard in front of the door. Hearing the sound of horse hooves, he jumped up. When Bai Qi was tired of talking, he went out on his way. The postman sent him out. After Bai Qi had gone far away, he closed the door and went back to rest.
From Duanshi to Anyi, there is still at least four hundred miles. In order to observe the situation along the way, Bai Qi rode his horse slowly, calculating the journey in his mind. After dawn, he went down the mountain and appeared outside Yicheng. Bai Qi asked the Yicheng Order to block the news and not spread the news about his entry into Yicheng. After taking a short rest here, the group changed horses and hurried to Anyi.
It was already afternoon when we arrived at Anyi. Bai Qi entered the "Qin Camp" (actually the swordsman camp) and met Sima Jin. Sima Jin saw Bai Qi's face covered with dust and his eyes sunken, and knew that he had a plan. Leading to the lobby, he said: "Your Majesty, please rest for a while while I prepare dinner."
Bai Qi hurried to the front of the case, sat down and said, "I'm not in a hurry. I'm in a hurry now, so I'll discuss it with you."
Sima Jin had no choice but to sit down in front of Bai Qi's case. Bai Qi said: "There is a mountain behind Wang Lun's camp, and a valley behind the mountain, which can lead to the eldest son of the party. However, the road is dangerous and narrow, and it must be rammed to pass through the army. Is it possible?"
Sima Jin said: "Where is the road? How much is the construction?"
Bai Qi said: "From Duanshi to the north, it is hundreds of miles long! There is a river in between, which pours in little water."
Sima Jin said: "It is not difficult to build it in the river valley."
Bai Qi asked urgently: "How long will it take?"
Sima Jin said: "Ten thousand people build a road, and it takes ten miles in one day, and a hundred miles in ten days."
Bai Qi said: "What about twenty thousand people?"
Sima Jin said: "If there are many people, we can build it in sections, and the effect will be different!"
Bai Qi said: "Can it be doubled?"
Sima Jin said: "It can be done quickly, but it cannot be done twice as fast."
Bai Qi said: "There are many criminals in Hedong today. What if we order them to build a road?"
Sima Jin said: "First of all, you must carefully survey its directions and draw them one by one before you can use them."
Bai Qi said: "I will be able to get through in ten days, is that possible?"
When Sima Jin heard this, he sat up in shock and said, "Ten days? It's more than four hundred miles from Anyi to Duanshi. It still takes ten days for the prisoner to reach Duanshi. How can we get it?"
Bai Qi thought for a while and said, "I will take care of the prisoner's affairs. You quickly go to the valley and look at the terrain. As soon as the prisoner arrives, you can build it."
Sima Jin said: "I would like to seek those who can build things as my peers."
Bai Qi said: "Everything in the camp is up to you to choose." Sima Jin cried out in his heart, let me choose, who should I choose? If I have a day or two, I can still make a choice. I see that I have to finish it tonight and set off tomorrow at the latest...
Sima Jin said: "Hedong Lieutenant is willing to assist Yinghou and go with him."
Bai Qi's eyes widened and he shouted: "How dare you...?" He then retracted and said: "That's right! Do you know Li Bing? Is he in the camp?"
Sima Jin said: "Let me investigate."
Bai Qi said: "No need! Go ahead!" He took out a "Jun" talisman from his arms and said: "Whatever you need, do whatever you want!"
Sima Jin knew that he was being put on fire. He saluted and took the festival talisman, immediately went out and ran to the city to find Pi Wan. After listening to Sima Jin's breathless words, Pi Wan was also startled. But he was good at government affairs. Although he was surprised, he was not panicked. He made calculations on the case, fiddled with it for a while, and said, "It's urgent!" He called an attendant and ordered him to go to the carpenter's camp and summon the carpenters. Then he said to Sima Jin: "May the doctor prepare a hundred swordsmen and two hundred horses. If a craftsman cannot ride a horse, he needs the support of a swordsman. One horse cannot carry two people for long, and horses can be changed every ten miles without stopping."
Sima Jin heard this and said that this matter was within his scope of authority and was not difficult to do. He ran out of the city again, ordered a group of Qin swordsmen, and asked for 200 horses from the stable, two horses per person. Sima Jin explained the task to them alone: he would escort a group of craftsmen to the front line, and they had to arrive within a day; these craftsmen could not ride horses, so they had to escort them and ride on horses. Hearing this, the swordsmen all laughed and said, "If the child can still be held in his arms, what can the craftsman do?"
Sima Jin said: "Two people and one horse, changing for ten miles, without stopping. If he is strong, he can sit behind him; if he is weak, he must be placed in front of him and make him lie down on the horse."
Everyone responded helplessly.
Sima Jin arranged all these troops next to his big tent. Go back to the city to find Pi Wan. Pi Wan was discussing the specific details of the construction with the craftsmen in the hall. Sima Jin only heard Pi Wan say: "... If it is not difficult for you to walk, there will be no construction. If it is difficult for you to walk, you can build it a little to make it easier for you to walk!"
All the craftsmen responded: "Here!"
When Pi Wan saw Sima Jin coming in, he said, "The craftsmen are ready and we can set off the next day."
Sima Jin said: "I hope you, gentlemen, will rest in your tents tonight and ride your horses together tomorrow. - I know that gentlemen are not good at riding, so they all have scholars to support them, so there is nothing to worry about." Let an entourage lead these craftsmen. Go to your big tent, arrange accommodation, and prepare for the night.
Then, Pi Wan and Sima Jin analyzed the entire construction process one by one and each condition in front of the case. All the implementation details complemented each other and were finalized one by one. Both of them are good at administrative affairs. After a night of dismantling, they had a rough distribution of the entire construction process.
The next day, Sima Jin and Pi Wan, with their entourage, all mounted their horses; one hundred swordsmen led thirty craftsmen and also mounted their horses. Before that, the swordsmen helped the craftsmen onto their horses, told them the essentials of riding, and held the horses to let them experience the feeling of riding. Since there are not a hundred craftsmen, most of the swordsmen actually serve as guards. Assembling a hundred swordsmen at a time also shows the importance of the task. The remaining swordsmen were led by Bai Qi.
That night, Bai Qi also wrote a slip, briefly explaining his strategy: "I wish to leave the mountains and valleys, join the Shangdang, and attack Zhao's back. I have ordered Doctor Sima and 20,000 prisoners to build the road first. It will be done within ten days." He sent someone to Xianyang. At the same time, he ordered all the prisoners to prepare to set off immediately and move towards Changping. Without Sima Jin and Pi Wan, Bai Qi had to rely on his own sergeant to plan the time and direction for each unit to advance, and the time and place to arrive.
