The road that the Shu army is walking on is called Baoxie Road. It is also called a plank road because during the reign of King Zhaoxiang of the Qin Dynasty, Fan Ju, the Prime Minister of the State, made holes in the mountains between the cliffs, inserted wood into beams, and laid wooden planks together to form pavilions and connect roads.
Since the completion of the plank road, Baoxie Road has been the main road from Chang'an to Hanzhong and Bashu. Therefore, after the Hongmen Banquet, the great ancestor Liu Bang burned down all the plank roads he passed in order to confuse Xiang Yu to show that he had no intention of returning. During the reign of Emperor Shizong Xiaowu, he worshiped Zhang Xuan as the prefect of Hanzhong and sent tens of thousands of people into the Taoist road. They "cut rocks on the cliffs and built stable pillars. They faced the deep abyss, which was more than 300 feet long. The trees were connected with each other, and they were named Wanzhu." , and then Baoxie Road was revived. In the past three hundred years, merchants from Guanlong and Bashu have been coming and going on this road, and they have made countless wealthy merchants. However, this is the first time that troops have been sent to Guanzhong from here since the founding of the great ancestor.
When the Shu soldiers stepped onto the Baoxie Road, they quickly got a glimpse of the hardships of one or two predecessors. Walking on the plank road, I looked around and saw mountains connected to each other. Looking around my feet, I could only see narrow valleys. The so-called poor valley of Yinxi River and the steep cliffs cut off even the sound of wind from the sky. People felt like they were walking in mid-air, and even their steps were unconsciously lighter. But even so, they could still hear the creaking sound of the wooden boards under their feet, but until people finished walking from here, no wooden boards had collapsed. .
After walking further north for four days, they turned a corner and reached the end of the first section of the plank road. Hanzhong locals said that if you walk further east along the valley, you will soon see the source of Baoshui River. There is a shallow slope with a village and three pavilions where you can take a rest. To the northeast of the shallow slope is the sloping water and the second section of the plank road.
There were originally more than ten Liang army scouts in the pavilion here, but they had already fled after seeing the Sichuan army. However, Liu Fan had no intention of keeping it secret. He just sent a few hundred people as pioneers to continue moving forward to prevent the Liang people from burning down the plank road. He swaggered in the village pavilion while resting and waiting for the follow-up troops.
When we got here, the wind and snow in Guanzhong also rolled in. Shanlan roared above the head like a tiger or lion, and the cold snow air caught people's throat like a ghost, and the breath was like a sharp knife piercing the throat and lungs. Under the dark sky, the snow was so dense that it seemed like thick clouds were moving, making people feel that the eyes were flickering, as if the fire of purgatory was emitting a strange light. When the wind blows around the mountain, the mountain top is like a rock in a huge sea, as if it is about to fall down and sink into the boundless white waves and flames. All these scenes are so shocking that people are so frightened that they have the illusion that the end of the world is coming and the world is about to close. The Shu people had never seen such a scene, so they hid in a temporarily borrowed residence, wrapped themselves in cowhide, hugged each other like lambs, held tightly to their companions' hands, and prayed softly in front of the fire.
I spent two days and two nights in this state of fear and trembling. At dawn on the third day, most people fell asleep due to excessive fear and exhaustion. At this time, a thin layer of ice formed on the eaves in the early morning, turning into dew and dripping on the snow. A bright golden breath penetrated their nostrils. Someone was the first to open his eyes and look outside the door. It was quiet and there was no sound at all. The sun pierced down from the sky that was almost within reach, making people dizzy and unable to open their eyes. Everyone woke up one after another, and someone shouted in a hoarse voice:
"Xieshui, Xieshui!"
The clouds have cleared and the fog has dispersed, and a clear white river is very close, flowing silently. Thousands of mountains all around fall into view, and a rainbow can be seen across the mountainside, with towering green and white peaks standing out. When Liu Fan saw this scene, he couldn't help but sigh: "With all the four universes in Kyushu, it is rare to see such a glorious top of white clouds!" He then said to Pang Xi who was accompanying him: "Who is this mountain born for, and what is this water for?" Who will die? If I die one day, it would be a good idea to be buried here."
Then he led his army to continue northward. Before setting off, in order to prevent anyone from getting frostbite and getting sick, he ordered the few horses among the generals to gather together and load them with loads of hay and branches. He also asked the soldiers to fill them with boiled snow water before continuing north. OK. This second plank road includes Yaling, Qingfeng Gorge, Longzuiya, Baiyun Gorge, Shangbaiyun, Dongmo Mountain and other places. There are almost no people along the road, so the road becomes more undulating. The wind and snow in the past few days made it extremely difficult to travel. The marching soldiers all thought that if someone blocked the front, the army would be unable to advance or retreat. But fortunately, no enemy troops came to stop them.
The Shu soldiers walked the last one hundred miles of mountain road for more than ten days. By the time they came out of the Xie Valley entrance, it was already the first ten days of the twelfth lunar month. In total, they had walked on the Baoxie Road for nearly a month. No matter how difficult and difficult the journey was, when they saw the vast and flat Guanzhong Plain, the resentment in people's hearts was wiped away. They talked privately: "Looking at Weinan from here, it is really like a paradise on earth, extremely beautiful." Then they encouraged each other and said: "We have traveled thousands of mountains and rivers and it took more than a month to get here. How can we return empty-handed?"
At this time, hundreds of knights who were the vanguard returned, led by Wu Yi, the general of the army. Wu Yi reported to Liu Fan that there were almost no defenders on the south bank of the Weishui River, and there was only a stone water to the west of the entrance of Xiegong. The west bank of the stone water was a mountain plateau, where a large number of camps were stationed, and there seemed to be a lot of people among them. In Xi County on the north bank of the Weishui River, there have been rumors of constant exchanges of troops and horsemen and constant mobilization.
After hearing the enemy's situation, Liu Fan smiled and said to his generals: "Although there are soldiers on the north bank, they dare not face the south bank directly. It seems that the main force has not arrived yet. We still have some time to organize, and we must first establish a foothold in front of the valley entrance and Weinan. "After that, he left Liu Dan to cut trees at the mouth of the valley to make a camp and meet the following troops who were still in the valley road. He led the 20,000 infantrymen who had left the valley and strode towards the west bank of Stone Water.
The stone water had already frozen, which allowed them to easily cross the ice and approach the high plateau that Wu Yi had mentioned. On the way, the Shu people looked at the high plateau like a pipa. The east, west and north sides were all steep cliffs, and only the south side was gently undulating. When they got closer, the Shu people looked up at the top of the plateau, which looked like a staircase with overlapping edges. The weather was gloomy and foggy, making the top of the plateau faintly visible. It's hard to tell the height, it seems to reach straight into the sky.
Liu Fan looked at the terrain and couldn't help but praise it repeatedly. I thought in my mind that this high plateau has three overhanging walls, which can provide an unobstructed view of the movements in Weibei, but only the south can be reached. For the Shu people who first entered the Qin Dynasty, it is really an excellent place to base themselves in Weinan. Unfortunately, for the Liang army who stayed here, it was not easy to defend. After all, reinforcements could not come, so they had to build a fortress along the mountain and barely defend themselves on the south slope.
Liu Fan called a local villager and asked about the name of this high plain. The villager replied: "This is Wuzhangyuan."
"Wuzhangyuan." Liu Fan chanted repeatedly, and finally smiled, nodded and said, "What a good name."
That night, he led the vanguard to camp two miles below Wuzhangyuan. Shouyuan Liangjun was very frightened when he saw the Shu army full of campfires on the mountain. They took turns repairing the fortifications all night long and were on duty at the Pipi to ensure that there were people staring at the plains at all times and not daring to slack off. It started to snow in the second half of the night, and the Shu army had already turned off their fire and slept in the open. Although it was dark night, the sky above and below were all silvery white, just like the white light reflecting back the moon.
On the morning of the next day, Liu Fan asked Zhang Ren, the guard captain, to come and ordered him to attack Wuzhangyuan from the north in a roundabout way. He encouraged Zhang Ren and said: "In Yizhou, you are famous for your bravery, conduct and courage, and are recognized as the first-class warrior. This time you conquered Wuzhangyuan for me and helped me gain a foothold in Weinan. Your contribution is no less than that of conquering Chang'an." . No matter whether the great event is successful or not, I will make you the governor of Hanzhong." He also said: "During the time of Shizu, Lai She led 2,000 men to attack Lueyang and was the sole leader of Weixiao. If we capture Guanzhong this time, you will be Lai She!"
Having said that, Liu Fan assigned Zhang Ren's first battalion about 600 troops. Before leaving, the soldiers gathered in the snow in the mountains. Liu Fan ordered to fetch jade belts, gold and silver utensils and accessories, bow bags, good armor, stomach and other items from the people, as well as strong and fat horses, and gave them to the soldiers.
Zhang Ren then led his soldiers around to the deep ditch in the original northeast and climbed up the mountain plateau after dark. The mountain rocks were covered with snow and were extremely slippery, so the Shu people untied their stomachs deep in the woods and rocky cliffs and piled up their baggage and other items. Then the brave and brave men climbed up first, gradually dropped the rope to guide the follow-up, and then pulled up the armor and stomach bow. Climbing up slowly step by step, in the second half of the night, hundreds of people were vertically distributed among the cliffs, stopping to catch their breath and rest, head to toe. Even though it was winter, people's underwear was already soaked through. At this time, clouds and mist spread from the bottom of the plateau, and when you looked up or down, you would see a hazy lake.
People who are in the plateau cannot go up or down. They have to press their hands and feet against the hard and cold rocks and grit their teeth without making a sound. Fortunately, the wind soon passed through the mountains and gradually dispersed the fog, allowing the Shu people to continue climbing cautiously.
There was no snow after dawn the next day, and the sky was slightly gloomy. When the Liang people who were guarding the original suddenly discovered that the flag of the Shu people was flying on the top of the original high place beside them, they were all horrified. You must know that the plateau slope in the northeast is the most steep, and even elk rarely pass by it. The Liang people relied on three dangerous sides to defend the south. Now the Shu people who attacked unexpectedly reached the summit from the northeast, which is simply unbelievable. The Shu people on the top of the original mountain not only looked down at the interior of the original mountain, but also shot arrows at them repeatedly, causing the Liang people on the original mountain to evade in embarrassment.
Before noon, the Yizhou White Marines, who had completed their reorganization, began to advance forward, gradually clearing the obstacles to the south. There are many Guanlong people among the Bai Shui soldiers, so they are famous for their ability to attack the city on foot. They seem to be unhurried, but they have considerable experience in advancing at every level. Morihara Ryoto panicked under the attack from the north and the south, and gave up resistance within half a day. As a result, the Liang people's only foothold on the south bank of the Wei River fell quickly.
After the Shu army broke through Wuzhangyuan, they moved their main force to the plain. While reorganizing and resting, they sent out rangers to explore the situation on the north bank and make further plans for the next situation.
