Gao Yingxiang led the white horse up a high slope and looked at the generals marching on the plank road.
He didn't know why, but the further he went down this road, the more frightened he became, and the further down he went, the more uneasy he felt.
Gao Yingxiang's expression was deep and he looked up ahead. The Ziwu Road was winding and undulating. They had been traveling for five days and had covered almost half of the journey.
At the far end, the soldiers marching on the Ziwu Road turned one after another between the two mountains and disappeared from Gao Yingxiang's sight.
Suddenly, Gao Yingxiang had the illusion that the end of the road was like the mouth of a ferocious beast, and everyone who walked forward would be swallowed up by it...
…
"Something's wrong..."
On the Wangbao on Ziwu Pass, Sun Chuanting looked at the Ziwu Road hidden among the mountains with a gloomy expression.
It was already July 9th. If they had rushed all the way from Ziwu Town, the vanguard of the rogue bandits would have arrived at Ziwu Pass long ago.
But now the Ziwu Road is still quiet and no one is around.
In order to avoid alerting the enemy, Sun Chuanting withdrew all the reconnaissance cavalry previously arranged on Ziwu Road from the plank road.
After learning about Gao Yingxiang's purpose and plan, Sun Chuanting thought about a lot of things.
It's not enough to just stop Gao Yingxiang's plan to attack. Sun Chuanting wants more. He wants to kill Gao Yingxiang and wipe out all the elite bandits led by Gao Yingxiang...
Now Gao Yingxiang leads most of the elite bandits concentrated in Ziwu Road. If they can all be annihilated, the rebellion in the country will be quelled, and the remaining bandits will bow their heads and lower their eyebrows.
Now among all the rogues, only Gao Yingxiang can take charge of the seventy-two battalions.
As long as Gao Yingxiang is killed, the rest of the battalion leaders will not have enough ability and prestige to overwhelm the entire 72nd Battalion.
As long as Gao Yingxiang is killed, the rogue bandits in the pass will become a complete mess.
It is difficult for a group of dragons to become a leader without a leader.
The gangsters in the pass are just a bunch of rabble, and they can be defeated by covering their hands.
"Military gate."
General Li Yuchun, who was standing beside Sun Chuanting, thought for a moment, took half a step forward, and whispered.
"The intruders haven't come for a long time. Maybe something has changed. I have a few of my men who stay up all night and are quite alert. We can go and investigate."
Sun Chuanting's eyes deepened, but he did not immediately respond to Li Yuchun's proposal.
However, one thing Li Yuchun said was indeed correct. Judging from the time, the intruders should have arrived long ago, but now there was not a single soldier on the road.
There must have been changes.
But what exactly went wrong?
Sun Chuanting felt that his mind was in chaos, and the information he had was really too little.
Standing outside Ziwu Road, he didn't know what happened on the plank road, let alone what Gao Yingxiang was thinking.
A few days ago, he indeed received news that a large group of bandits were marching along Ziwu Road.
Could it be that at the last moment, Gao Yingxiang sensed the danger and chose to return to Hanzhong Fuzhong?
Sun Chuanting's expression darkened, this possibility did not exist.
Perhaps it was the first batch of soldiers he sent to explore the intelligence that made him feel the danger...
Or maybe something else happened that made Gao Yingxiang change his mind...
"Rumble————"
The muffled sound from the horizon interrupted Sun Chuanting's thoughts.
Sun Chuanting frowned slightly and subconsciously raised his head to look at the mountains in the distance.
…
"Rumble————"
Gao Yingxiang looked up at the distant sky, his expression becoming increasingly gloomy.
In the distant sky, a large number of dark clouds are slowly gathering.
The sky is gradually becoming dark, the sun's light is becoming dim, and the endless clouds are eroding the golden crow hanging high in the sky bit by bit.
"King Chuang..."
Liu Zhe's shout interrupted Gao Yingxiang's thoughts.
Gao Yingxiang followed Liu Zhe's footsteps and saw Liu Zhe's gloomy expression.
"Look at the river..."
Gao Yingxiang was slightly startled and subconsciously turned his head to look at the river beside the plank road.
I don’t know when the gurgling Ziwu River below the plank road became turbid.
The river is turbid, the sky is cloudy, and there are signs of thunderstorms.
It would be fine in other places, but now when marching on the plank road, rainy days are a huge threat.
"When traveling on a rainy day, firstly, the road will be muddy and difficult to walk on, and secondly, the soldiers may catch cold and get sick."
Liu Zhe looked serious and whispered.
"I have asked all the soldiers in the army to keep a set of dry clothes and hide them under the saddle or under the horse's belly."
"The logistics mule team has prepared some ginger, and also arranged for people to cook it in a ration... It's just..."
Liu Zhe didn't finish what he said, but he didn't need to finish.
The biggest problem with marching in rainy days is that many soldiers will become sick and chill, losing combat effectiveness. In severe cases, they may even die.
Although there are some military doctors in the military who specialize in treating wounded soldiers, the medicines are limited, the resources are limited, and there is not much time for treatment.
Gao Yingxiang looked sideways at the group of soldiers who were marching hard on the plank road, his expression becoming more and more gloomy.
Liu Zhe led his horse forward a little, worried Zhongzhong said.
"If it keeps raining, even if it is overcast, according to the best-case scenario, we will not be able to reach Heishuiyu, the exit of Tangluo Road, until the 13th, which is about three days later than we expected."
"On the 12th..."
Gao Yingxiang stared at the soldiers leading their horses on the narrow plank road in front of him, his eyes becoming more and more gloomy.
On the plank road ahead, many parts of the plank road are seriously damaged.
"save----"
A scream suddenly sounded, and Gao Yingxiang watched helplessly as a soldier lost his balance at his feet and fell onto the broken guardrail of the plank road.
The guardrails on the plank road have long since rotted due to disrepair and cannot bear the weight of an adult man weighing more than 100 kilograms.
The guardrail broke instantly. While the soldier fell towards the cliff, he still held the reins in his hands. It was precisely for this reason that the war horse he was pulling also lost its balance due to this sudden change.
One man and one horse fell into the abyss together.
Everything happened in a flash, and the people around him had no time to rescue him, and they had no way to rescue him.
Gao Yingxiang's heart sank again. He had seen this scene countless times during this period.
This is not Ziwu Road, but Tangluo Road, a plank road that has not been used for many years and has been abandoned for a long time.
Tangluo Road was most prosperous and used most frequently in the late Tang Dynasty.
In the Tang Dynasty, officials often went to their posts and reported on their duties, and envoys were sent on envoys mostly through this route.
However, due to political and social reasons in the late Tang Dynasty, the Tangluo Road fell into disrepair for a long time, and by the Five Dynasties it was gradually abandoned and blocked.
Although it was built once during the Mingzong period of the later Tang Dynasty, it was not completed due to the huge project and arduous task.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Tangluo Road regained some traffic capacity, but later due to the continuous widening of Ziwu Road and other roads.
The Tangluo Road gradually began to fall into disrepair and was often blocked.
During the Yuan and Ming dynasties, although the Tangluo Road was repaired and used, it was still unable to restore its former glory and fell into disuse over time.
But although it is abandoned, it can still be used, and most of the roads are relatively smooth, but they are much more difficult to navigate than more convenient roads such as Ziwu Road.
During the Qing Dynasty, the peasant uprising army led by Lan Dashun entered southern Shaanxi from Yunnan, then went north along the Luo Valley from Yangxian County, Shaanxi Province, out of the Heishui Valley, and captured the county town of Wuxi, confirming that this ancient road is still open and can be traveled.
Gao Yingxiang naturally didn't know about the events of the Qing Dynasty. He was incapable of predicting the future. The reason why he came to the Tangluo Road was because he had already sent scouts to investigate the situation on the Tangluo Road.
Originally, this was only an alternative plan, but the deeper into the Ziwu Road, the more Gao Yingxiang felt uneasy, and finally he chose to let everyone transfer to the Tangluo Road.
"July 13th..."
Gao Yingxiang sighed in his heart, one problem after another came one after another, constantly disrupting his original plan, like a huge burden pressing on his shoulders.
Looking at the dark sky in the distance, Gao Yingxiang felt that breathing was starting to become difficult.
Compared with the surprise attack on Xi'an from Ziwu Road, it was safer to go from Tangluo Road.
Firstly, it is because Ziwu Road has always been in use, while Tangluo Road has been in disrepair and has been abandoned for many years, which is even more unexpected.
Secondly, if the Ming army is really prepared, the mountains along the exit of Ziwu Road are steep and the road is narrow. Once the road is blocked, it will be difficult to look at the beginning and the end, and there will be no resistance at all.
The Heishui Valley, the exit of the Tanluo Road, is relatively more suitable for the deployment of the army. Even if there is an enemy ambush, there will be no solution.
But the disadvantage is that it takes more time and takes greater risks. Along the way, non-combat casualties have reached hundreds, and the morale of the army has become increasingly depressed.
The mountain wind is howling and cold as water, and the trees and pines are swaying with the mountain wind and making waves.
A strong wind suddenly rose and howled across the plank road. Countless flags on the plank road were blown up and unfolded by the strong wind in the blink of an eye.
For a moment, the sound of hunting echoed throughout the entire mountain path.
"Pull the flag!" "Pull the flag!"
Among the marching troops on the plank road, the military commander issued military orders.
In such windy weather, holding up the flag will greatly consume the soldiers' physical strength.
Gao Yingxiang held his felt hat in his hands and got off the horse to the ground.
The sudden mountain wind made Gao Yingxiang's mood sink again.
The mountain wind is cold and the air is hot and humid, which is the most excruciating weather.
Before the heavy rain in summer, although the temperature dropped a little, it was still extremely muggy.
The sweat on his body made his clothes stick to his body, making him extremely uncomfortable whether he moved or not.
As the clouds slowly pressed in, the sky became darker and darker.
"Send the order to the whole army to speed up the march. The vanguard cavalry will choose a camp location nearby to survive the heavy rain first."
Gao Yingxiang gritted his teeth and issued the military order.
It was definitely a heavy rain, and it was a downpour. The army had to pay a huge price every mile it marched in such a rainy day.
And he can't afford such a price...
I just hope that the rain lasts for a shorter time...
…
"We can't leave anymore. Send an order to the entire army to camp on the spot."
Chen Wang reined in his horse, stared at the dark sky above his head, and said in a deep voice.
"The general has ordered us to set up camp on the spot."
"The general has ordered us to set up camp on the spot."
The messenger cavalry, carrying the order flag on their backs, drove the strong horses under them to gallop towards the front and rear ends of the queue, conveying Chen Wang's military order.
Chen Wang fell off the horse, and the guards around him had already found high ground and started to set up tents.
The terrain here is quite open and can be used as a temporary camp to rest.
Chen Wang looked up at the sky. At this time, the sky was already dark and gloomy, almost like night.
The sky above the entire plank road was tightly covered by large clouds, and even the originally dazzling sun was now obscured.
From the appearance of dark clouds to the blocking of the sun and making the sky darken, the whole process only took less than half an hour.
Even though Chen Wang was prepared, he couldn't help but be shocked when he saw such weather.
"Rumble————"
Muffled thunder suddenly exploded, passing through the mountains on the horizon, across the plank road and river, and rolled all the way.
The insect beasts in the mountains were flying in the rain, trying to escape the heavy rain. Lightning and thunder made the insect beasts in the Qinling Mountains become manic.
The howling mountain wind blew through the mountains, and the trees were blown by the strong mountain wind. Countless leaves rustled in the strong wind, and even the trunks of many small trees could not stop shaking with the mountain wind.
The mountain wind on the mountain road was much lighter than that on the mountainside, but it still made Chen Wang feel a lot of strength.
"Da da da--"
There was a rapid sound of horse hooves coming from the front. Chen Wang raised his eyes and looked ahead, and saw Chen Gong coming quickly on a war horse.
Before he even got close, the war horse was still marching, and Chen Gong had already fallen down from the war horse.
His figure followed the horse for seven or eight steps, and finally he and the horse stopped.
"Ten miles ahead, the bandits were discovered!"
Chen Gong was half-kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily with a happy expression on his face, and his voice was trembling with excitement.
A huge bolt of lightning flashed across, illuminating the dark land as bright as day.
Chen Wang's eyes were scorching, as bright as a torch, and he clenched his fists.
After the lightning flash, the huge muffled thunder rolled from the sky again.
"Rumble————"
Lightning and thunder made the insects and beasts in the mountains become frantic. Birds flew in the forest and beasts ran in the mountains, each looking for a place to take shelter from the rain.
Zhou Yumao stood beside Chen Wang, his breathing quickening.
When he received a message from Chen Wang asking him to lead the elite cavalry of the army to Ziwu Town, he was still wondering why.
He had calculated everything, even if he thought about it, he never thought that it was to pursue Gao Yingxiang.
They followed the footprints left by the march of the Chuang army, first from Ziwu Road, and then turned into Tangluo Road.
If it weren't for the large number of marching tracks that couldn't be faked, Zhou Yumao would never have believed that Gao Yingxiang would be so bold.
Chen Wang's face was calm, but his heart was not as calm as his face.
But Chen Wang knew very well that now was not the time to celebrate.
Once Chuang Jun found out that someone was following him, he would definitely react.
Now there are only 1,800 cavalry under his command, and there are tens of thousands of intruders. There is a huge disparity in strength between the two sides.
A person who travels a hundred miles is half-ninety. The more times like this, the more calm you must be.
There are countless things that fall short of success.
Several flashes of lightning across the sky once again flashed across the mountains, illuminating a large area, and then a huge roar came.
The next moment, heavy rain poured down from the sky like an overwhelming force.
This heavy rain was heavier than everyone originally expected...
…
Heishui Valley is the exit of Tangluo Road, not Ziwu Road.
"Sui Kou Chronicle·Volume 4":
"Gao Yingxiang, the king of Chuang, has fallen into Shiquan in Hanzhong. He sent general Ziwu from Chencang to peep at Xi'an and told the court to fight at Heishui Valley in Yusi on July 20th."
"Sun Chuanting's Epitaph":
"The Gongbiao camp had just formed an army, and Yingxiang took the Heishui Valley from Hanzhong and invaded Xi'an."
"History of Peasant War in the Late Ming Dynasty":
On July 15th, Gao Yingxiang led his troops out of Heishui Valley in Yuxi (today's Zhouzhi) County to visit Tunxian Temple.
