The next countermeasures were made, and the generals in the army had no objections, so the matter was decided.
After the matter was decided, the first thing Zhang Xi did was to send people to find local village elders and local woodcutter hunters to inquire about the local geographical details.
The military maps these days are really too simple. Broad avenues will be marked on military maps, but some mountain and forest paths will not be marked on military maps. You have to ask the locals to find out. Once confirmed.
Zhuge Kongming was so impressed by this Zhang Xi, and even thought that some overly cautious guys, how could they not check out these roads? !
I have read "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" a lot in my last life. In this book, the famous general used the mountain trails to find a way out. It is not only the most famous one that happened once or twice, but it was also a good thing done by his apprentice in this life. Son.
Destroy the country in one battle! ! !
Zhang Xi was also afraid that Zhang He would do such a trick to him. He openly confronted him, but actually secretly attacked Wuzhangyuan from the alley. Although Zhang Xi felt that Zhang He would be in trouble even if he attacked him secretly, but he really made Zhang He run away like this. I have lost all face.
Therefore, we must ask clearly about this matter.
Zhang Xi was cautious and called village elders, woodcutter, and hunters near Wugong County to inquire about the road from Wugong County to Wuzhangyuan.
As for the village elders, they represented the local gentry and local gangsters. Winning the support of these people would only benefit Zhang Xi, who came to fight from afar, and would not bring any harm.
As for the woodcutter and the hunter, one is familiar with the woods and the other is familiar with the mountains. If you ask these people about what are hidden in the mountains and the roads in the woods, you will generally not go wrong.
After some simple inquiries, Zhang Xi roughly knew the road conditions.
There seem to be only two roads leading from Wugong County to Wuzhangyuan.
One is the main road where Zhang Xi is stationed, and it is also the most important transportation artery from Wugong County to Wuzhangyuan.
Don't worry about this road. Zhang Xi's camp is set up next to this road and is always guarding this road. As long as Zhang He doesn't defeat himself, he will not be able to take a step forward to Wuzhangyuan.
The other one is a mountain path provided by woodcutters and hunters.
This is a mountain road. It is usually used by woodcutters to cut firewood and hunters to go hunting. On the one hand, it is convenient to go into the mountains to cut firewood and hunt, and on the other hand, it can lead to a place called Dachangji forty miles away, where they can be sold. Firewood and mountain goods were exchanged for salt money.
After passing Dachangji, take a slight detour to the south and take a five-mile path, and you can directly enter the main road leading to Wuzhangyuan.
In other words, this trail can bypass the main road where Zhang Xi is stationed and go straight behind Zhang Xi's army.
This road must be guarded against.
Zhang Xi repeatedly confirmed with the hunters and woodcutter that after these two roads, he would entertain them with delicious food and drinks, but he did not let these people go back immediately.
Firstly, there are only a few days left, and secondly, Zhang Xi can't believe it completely. He will have to wait until the sergeants personally investigate before letting these go.
Don't go back and let others lead you into the ditch, that is the real trouble.
But no matter what, Zhang Xi already had a large army stationed on the main road. The only trouble was the small road. Zhang Xi immediately asked Gao Xiang to personally lead the troops to investigate the small road, find out the terrain of the small road, and then come back and report to Zhang Xi.
Gao Xiang didn't waste any time and set off directly with hundreds of guards. Under the leadership of the woodcutter, he came to the mountain path and investigated carefully.
The main thing is to see how wide the road is, whether it can accommodate the passage of a large army, what the terrain is like on both sides, and whether there is a place suitable for an ambush or blocking. After reading, return to the camp and report to Zhang Xi.
"The mountain road is only five feet wide, with dense forests and rocks on both sides. Although there are high slopes, there are no steep mountain walls. Forty miles to the southwest, there is a market called Dachang Market. It is the only market within a radius of fifty miles in Wugong County. , the last general also sent people to investigate. Now the market is closed, there are no merchants coming and going, and no large army has been found passing by. After passing this market, go south for another ten miles, then turn east and go straight to Wuzhangyuan."
Gao Xiang reported back carefully and marked the mountain road terrain he saw on the military map one by one.
Zhang Xi listened and asked. After roughly understanding the topography of this mountain road, he nodded slightly.
"In this case, you should send troops to monitor this mountain road day and night. They must report every day without making any mistakes."
Zhang Xi said.
When Gao Xiang heard this, he was slightly stunned and asked with some confusion, "General, if you want to prevent the enemy from detouring from here, why don't you order a general to lead the army to station in Dachangji?!"
Gao Xiang really doesn't understand this.
Although this mountain road can bypass the surveillance of the main road, it cannot bypass Dachangji anyway.
As long as you send a general and some soldiers to block this place, isn't it better than monitoring the mountain road day and night? !
Of course, if you have to say that you have selfish motives, in fact Gao Xiang also has some. Isn't it that Feng Xi is now under his own command?
The relationship between Feng Xi and Gao Xiang is really good, and Gao Xiang also wants to take care of Feng Xi.
Let Feng Xi lead the troops to guard Dachangji. If Zhang He really leads the troops from that way, then Feng Xi only needs to temporarily block Zhang He for a period of time and cooperate with Zhang Xi to lead the troops to attack in a pinch. Zhang He will not even have a way to retreat. It can be said that it is bound to fail.
At that time, Feng Xi will not only have the opportunity to prove his ability, but once Zhang He's army is defeated, Feng Xi's military exploits will not be insignificant. It is not impossible for Feng Xi to be promoted, let alone reinstated. .
As for whether Feng Xi can block Zhang He, Gao Xiang has also considered this issue.
If it's a field battle on flat ground, let alone Feng Xi, even if he adds Gao Xiang, he may not be able to stop Zhang He with the same force.
But that’s not a mountain road.
The five-foot-wide mountain road, as long as the wide area at the exit is guarded, Zhang He, even if he has great ability, cannot directly break through.
Even if you take a step back, even if Zhang He is really powerful and allowed him to break through the mountain road, Dachang Market is not a big market. It is just a small market in a small county. It covers a small area and is not suitable for large troops at all. Start fighting.
Fighting here can only accommodate the fighting of hundreds of people. A battle of this scale relies not on command ability, but on the bloody courage of close combat. If Feng Xi can't even achieve this courage, then No matter how much Gao Xiang wanted to help, it was useless.
Gao Xiang understands Feng Xi's temperament. If he really fights to the death, he can really fight to the death. He may not be able to defeat Zhang He's army, but it can still be done to hold him back.
So, after returning from inspecting Dachangji, Gao Xiang was thinking about how to talk to Zhang Xi. However, Feng Xi went to guard Dachangji. As a result, Zhang Xi didn't want to guard Dachangji at all.
Well, although Gao Xiang really wants to help Feng Xi, if Zhang Xi objects to guarding Dachangji, Gao Xiang won't be too insistent.
It would be great to be able to help ask for a reason.
Zhang Xi's reason was that he wished Zhang He would choose to march through the mountain road.
Zhang Xi knew Zhang He's purpose very well. He wanted to march into Wuzhangyuan, and time was not kind to Zhang He. Therefore, as long as there was a chance, he would definitely choose to take a detour and send troops.
If you had stationed troops in Dachangji in advance, how could Zhang He be so stupid as to crash into it? !
Zhang He must be made to think that he did not discover the existence of this mountain road, so that when Zhang He leads his troops into the mountain road, things will be easier to handle.
Gao Xiang suddenly realized that Zhang Xi was deliberately using this mountain road to set up an ambush to lure Zhang He, who was eager to advance, into the mountain road. But there was another problem.
"But General, there are no cliffs or dangerous places on this mountain road, so how can we set up an ambush?!" Gao Xiang asked in confusion.
This mountain road, which Gao Xiang has carefully surveyed, is not the kind of mountain road halfway up the mountain.
This mountain road is at the junction of two mountains. It happens to be a low-lying area. There are no cliffs several feet high on both sides. Although there are some bulging hillsides, they are basically only one or two feet high. Moreover, the slope is very gentle, not much different from the flat land. Although there are dense forests on both sides, it is winter now. There are no evergreen trees in the woods, and the leaves have almost fallen off. Even if the soldiers are hidden in the dense forest, then It can also be seen at a glance and cannot hide people at all.
Although the mountain road is narrow, with a width of only about five feet, which is barely enough for two large vehicles to travel parallel, the terrain is relatively flat, which is not only unsuitable for large armies to fight, but also does not exist in the kind of terrain where one man can guard the gate and ten thousand men cannot move.
There is almost no danger to defend this mountain road, and there is no possibility of throwing stones to cut off the enemy's retreat. How to ambush? !
After all, Gao Xiang was a general with the ability to lead an army independently. When surveying the terrain, his first consideration was the use of troops. But he really couldn't see how to set up an ambush and cut off the enemy's retreat in such terrain.
But Zhang Xi didn't think so.
If we can't ambush inside the mountain road, then we shouldn't ambush inside the mountain road. We can use our troops outside the mountain road.
Isn't it difficult to cut off the enemy's retreat because the terrain is flat? !
Yes, it can't be cut with a stone, but what if you use something else? !
As the saying goes, fire and water have no mercy.
Zhang Xi turned around and asked Gao Xiang. Gao Xiang immediately understood what Zhang Xi planned to do.
"How much fuel, sulfur and other materials are left in the army?!"
When asked this question, Gao Xiang didn't know what Zhang Xi was going to do, so he was really not very good at it.
Obviously, Zhang Xi wanted to use fire attacks to block Zhang He's army's advance and retreat routes.
Indeed, although the terrain of the mountain road is gentle, its width is limited after all.
Once a fire breaks out in the mountain road, the enemy has no high ground to hide from the fire. The only way out is to hide along the hillside into the dense forests on both sides.
But the problem is, it is winter now, not to mention the dry weather, the mountain road is full of fallen leaves and other flammable things. Even if a fire is started in the middle of the mountain road, it will spread to the slopes on both sides in a short time.
The woods are on fire again in the middle of winter. This is not about hiding in to escape. This is about hiding in and dying.
As long as a fire is lit, it is basically impossible for the enemy to withdraw.
The only thing to pay attention to is probably to grasp the timing of lighting the fire, choose the area where the fire is set, and at the same time not let the enemy notice it. Zhang Xi chose this location at the end of the mountain road, close to Dachangji.
Zhang He is not easy to fool. Even if he is eager to advance troops, he will still have the necessary precautions after entering the mountain road.
This is the basic quality of a famous general.
Therefore, Zhang Xi compared his feelings and felt that only at the end of the mountain road, when he was about to arrive at Dachangji, could Zhang He relax his vigilance a little.
After all, as soon as he arrived at Dachangji, Zhang He would have completely bypassed his camp on the road, and then he would make a long-distance attack on Wuzhangyuan.
Humans, when they see that their goals are about to be realized, tend to be a little careless. This is called "A person who travels a hundred miles is half a mile".
The darkness before dawn is the most deadly.
(End of chapter)
