The horse didn't run very fast, which was Li Yuan's intention, because he was on a tight and narrow mountain road on both sides, and Li Yuan needed to observe any disturbance around him.
However, the distance was already more than a mile. Although no enemy movement was found, moving forward would mean that we were one step closer to the Zhennan Army camp, and might be about to enter the visual range of the opponent's sentry. Within, Fu Hong and other generals were standing beside Li Yuan and were about to remind Li Yuan not to go any further, but they found that Li Yuan raised his arms to rein in the horse.
"It seems that the commander-in-chief made the right bet," Li Yuan said.
"Betting? What is the Generalissimo betting on?" Fu Hong asked, reining in the leaping white horse.
Li Yuan chuckled and said: "I was betting on whether the sky would help us, and finally I discovered it at the last moment. You see."
As he spoke, Li Yuan raised his hand and pointed towards the mountain wall on the west side. Everyone looked in the direction of his finger, but they saw that the originally smooth and mirror-like mountain wall had undergone some changes in this section. There was a row of short trees growing in the middle of the mountain wall. , the dense yellow and green pine needles are very conspicuous. The height from the ground is about seven or eight feet.
"Remember, ever since we entered this valley, there have been many landslides on the mountain walls on both sides. If you look at this mountain wall again, the earth and rocks more than ten feet above the ledge have all collapsed. It was obviously washed away by rain a long time ago. There was a big landslide, so a huge stepped ledge was formed. Those pine trees took root and grew on the ledge. It has a great view from above and is also an excellent place to garrison troops." Li Yuan said with a smile. Smiled.
"Generalissimo, please clarify." Fu Hong said in confusion.
Li Yuan smiled and said: "What Huang Daoquan said just now is so bizarre and confusing that it is difficult to tell whether it is true or false. But you have overlooked one thing. Since you know that the knot is difficult to untie, why bother getting entangled in it? Just cut it off with a knife. This shows the true seal. Why did we lead the army from Jinling?"
A general immediately replied: "Of course it is to counter the rebellion."
Li Yuan nodded and said: "That's it. Right now, the Zhennan Army is a rebel army. They must fight or surrender. This is what we should be concerned about. If the Zhennan Army wants to fight against the trapped beasts, they will definitely be on guard against the imperial court. The Zhennan Army is at an absolute disadvantage in terms of the numbers of the two armies. If they want to win this battle, they need to transform their disadvantage and increase their chances of winning. They cannot change the disadvantage of military strength. What they can do is to win strategically and some things that can be changed. transformation of disadvantages.”
Fu Hong was originally confused. He followed Li Yuan's words and thought for a moment. He suddenly looked at the cliff on the west side and suddenly said: "General, I understand! The Zhennan Army is not superior in strength. If we fight, they will We can only rely on the geographical advantage. The valley is narrow and densely forested. For our army, it is difficult for our army to march here even with the large cavalry. The cliff is condescending and is not far away from the Zhennan Army camp. They can just sit back and wait for their work, just like one man blocking a barrier and ten thousand others trying to change the situation to gain the advantage of victory!
If the Zhennan Army had the will to fight, how could they let go of this perfect ambush place? "
Li Yuan nodded with admiration and said: "As expected of Fu Tongjun! That's right. So what we have to do is very simple. As long as there is an ambush on the cliff, it will prove that to this day, the Zhennan Army still wants to fight with our army. Fight, if there are no soldiers above, it means that they are more willing to surrender, because after passing this point, there will be an open area, and the Zhennan army will have no danger to defend."
A general said: "Then how does this relate to what Huang Daoquan said?"
At this time, it was Fu Hong's turn to narrow his eyes and say: "If thousands of arrows were fired from the cliff at this time, do you think we could still be alive? There are no soldiers above. According to the words of the generalissimo, it proves that the Zhennan Army really intends to surrender. .”
Li Yuandao: "That's true. Now it seems that what Huang Daoquan said is 80% true. I roughly infer that the Zhennan Army must have the intention to surrender, but rebellion is a serious crime that kills the clan. Your Majesty may be lenient to ordinary soldiers. There are great risks for the principal criminal to surrender. Don't forget who your Majesty named, Li Zhenggu, Song Mojie...
At this time, a group of people pretending to be the imperial army were sent to intercept and kill Li Zhenggu and others, so as to pour this dirty water on His Royal Highness King Yan and even this commander. The Zhennan Army and Song Mojie could naturally surrender with peace of mind. And one of the main criminals who knew the truth has been silenced. Maybe he can take the opportunity to blame the dead man. This can be said to kill three birds with one stone! "
"Bah! Shameless traitor, this plan is really good!" Although the generals were confused, they still came to their senses one after another.
Li Yuan stopped and did not reply. He only said one sentence silently in his heart: Li Zhenggu died unjustly. At the same time, I also have a secret feeling of luck. If Huang Daoquan really goes straight to the Forbidden Army camp to spread distorted facts, I'm afraid there will be a lot of trouble...
Thinking of this, the only thing that I can't figure out at the moment is that the Zhennan Army's plan of killing three birds with one stone could have been implemented smoothly. The plan was successful by allowing the four Huang Daoquan people to return to the Forbidden Army camp. Why did they turn around and kill them? Wouldn't this be in vain? It is meaningless to release and kill once. Is it possible that Song Mojie is the kind of indecisive person who hesitates?
"So the bet that the Generalissimo just mentioned was to bet on whether there were soldiers on the cliff and whether there would be an ambush along the way? That's really a bet with one's life." Fu Hong suddenly asked.
"We, the imperial army, and the righteous army will have God's help, so why should we panic?" Li Yuan swallowed, stood up and said seriously.
The generals felt a little worried for a moment, but they did not forget to raise their hands and praise in unison: "The Generalissimo is mighty!"
In fact, although Li Yuan's face was calm, he was sweating inside the thick armor.
Why did he dare to attack so boldly and easily into such a dangerous and unknown place? In addition to Li Yuan risking his life, it was also because Huang Daoquan captured the message that all the pursuers had withdrawn from what Huang Daoquan said. Since the Zhennan Army finally decided to encircle and kill There were four people in the Zodiac, so why did the pursuers of the Zhennan Army stop searching forward when they killed the last person?
In addition to the late night and dense forest, they were probably worried that they would get closer to the Forbidden Army camp if they went further. Maybe they would encounter cavalry scouts scattered by the Forbidden Army. Out of helplessness, they had to withdraw to the camp and report back.
】
But will the Zhennan Army give up on Huang Daoquan's lucky escape?
Li Yuan suddenly raised his finger and pointed to the cliff on the west side: "Since there are no soldiers on that cliff, let's try to go up and have a look! This row of cliffs alone can ambush more than a hundred archers. From a high position, these hundreds of bows and arrows can be ambushed. You can seal off this valley with your hands. How do you think about how to climb this seven or eight-foot-high ledge?"
Fu Hong shook his head and said: "It's too high, otherwise it would be possible to build a long ladder, but a long ladder of seven or eight feet would definitely not be possible. It would be impossible to erect it at all. It would be easier if there was a rope hanging down, but how can the rope be lifted from there? Is it hanging down?"
Li Yuan sighed softly: "As long as one person goes up, hangs down the rope, and pulls a few people up, the rest can be pulled up one by one. Are there any brothers among the more than 300 of us who are good at rock climbing?"
Fu Hong thought for a while, glanced around, then gritted his teeth and stepped forward and said, "Generalissimo, there really is a man."
"who?"
Fu Hong scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly: "General, maybe I can climb... When I was young, I had climbed the mountains and mountains around Jinling countless times, so I won't talk about it here. Come on, just take some time..."
Li Yuan blinked his eyes and did not reply. He just looked at Fu Hong who was slightly hesitant quietly. Then he heard the sound of "The general is gone" and then nodded with a smile.
But seeing that Fu Hong had just taken off his heavy armor and revealed two strong tendon arms, he suddenly turned around and frowned: "But Generalissimo, there is another question. Is it possible that we are climbing high to set up an ambush? Could the Zhennan Army come from Are you throwing yourself into a trap..."
Li Yuan chuckled and said: "As I said before, we have God's help. You will see later, and go up with peace of mind. Brothers, prepare quickly. Time is urgent. All preparations must be made within an hour. Things will change later. I am afraid that the first battle will start here. It has been a few days since my imperial army arrived. If the fight does not start yet, some people should be anxious and some should hesitate..."
