On the second day, Liu Mo led the vanguard troops to climb towards the mountain peak.
The hills rise suddenly from the dense forest, isolated and abrupt, and the windswept peaks can be seen from miles away. The Xingluo people say that this mountain peak is called Fist Peak.
It does look like a fist, Liu Mo thought to himself. It stands tall between the land and the woods, the bare brown hillside covered with rocks.
The road up the mountain is steep and rugged, and the summit is surrounded by a chest-high wall made of rocks. They had to make a long circle to the west before they found a gap that allowed horses to pass.
"The terrain here is good, Master Liu," Sun Kan announced after reaching the top. “We can’t find a better place than this, we’ll set up camp here!”
The scenery on the top of the mountain is very good, but what really attracted Liu Mo was the ring wall: the weathered gray stone was covered with patches of pale lichen, and green moss was gently fluttering.
Legend has it that this stone wall was built by the Zhou Dynasty to defend against harassment by the Xingluo people.
But times have changed, and civilization has made the Zhou Dynasty a powerful country. The Xingluo people also moved their capital to Yirle three hundred years ago, and the stone wall was abandoned.
“The place is old, but it’s still strong,” Hoa’i said.
Considering that the Zhou Dynasty troops might cross the Angula Mountain and cut off the retreat of the Daxia Allied Forces, Liu Mo went up the mountain from the west side of the Angula Mountain according to the terrain and waited for the enemy!
reason? It's very simple. The Fist Peak on the west side is the only way to cross the Angula Mountain. It's "very delicious" to ambush here!
At the same time, the altitude here is not too high, it is easy to retreat, and the view is excellent. The nearby areas are within the view. The slopes are very steep on the north and west sides, but are slightly gentle in the east.
"When necessary, this high ground is easy to defend," Sun Kan pointed out while riding his horse to inspect the surrounding wall, his black cloak surging at the minute.
"Yes, this place is good!" Liu Mo also agreed with their views.
"How to solve the water problem? Mr. Liu!" Tang Die asked.
"At the foot of the mountain, didn't we just ford a stream?"
"There is a long climb between the two places," Tang Die pointed out, "and the stream is outside the stone circle."
"You can carry water up the mountain to ensure sufficient supplies." Sun Kan said.
Carrying water? Liu Mo frowned, this would be a hidden danger. But other than that, there are no other drawbacks.
"Not only that, we must reserve much more water than the current demand. For this reason, I suggest that we start digging the reservoir immediately. The heavy labor will make the soldiers dissatisfied at the moment, but in the end it will be life-threatening for us."
"We should first step up preparations for fortifications, set up spikes and pits, cover the hillside with caltrops, and repair every crack." Hoa'i put forward different suggestions.
"At the same time, we also need to set up alerts near the camp and on both sides of the river, and report immediately if we find an unknown object approaching."
"Both things should be done at the same time." Liu Mo said, "This is Xingluo, Huo Ayi, you find some people with keen observation to be responsible for guarding. Sun Kan, you are responsible for leading people to dig the reservoir. Without further delay, let's start now. "
So Liu Mo's order was issued, and the Daxia and Xingluo coalition forces quickly set up tents behind the stone wall. Tents sprouted up like mushrooms after the rain, blankets and bedrolls covering the bare earth.
They lined up the packhorses in long lines and fed them fodder and water.
In addition, Liu Mo also ordered to take advantage of the sunset to pick up an ax and go to the woods to cut wood in preparation for the night.
After nightfall, new problems emerged one after another.
The severe cold on the mountainside was unbearable for Xingluo's warriors, let alone the cavalry from Daxia.
Bad weather is not a big problem. Soldiers who have experienced many battles can quickly overcome it.
But the enemy who has not been seen for a long time is Liu Mo's biggest headache.
The last time the movements of the Zhou Dynasty troops were detected was two days ago in the morning. Scouts came to report that the enemy troops were camped a day's ride away from here. But after that day, he suddenly disappeared inexplicably.
On the third night after setting up camp, the cold made it difficult for Liu Mo to sleep.
For this reason, he simply put on his armor and led Tang Die around the camp.
And this night, the wind blew strongly.
"It seems that by early morning, heavy snow will cover the ground and the tent ropes will freeze and stiffen." He thought to himself.
In the camp, the soldiers on duty for the night have already taken up their posts. The torch flickered along the ring wall. It was a moonless night, with only thousands of stars hanging overhead.
There was a howl in the darkness, faint and distant, but unmistakable—it was the howl of wolves. Their voices rose and fell, like a melancholy and lonely song, which made his hair stand on end.
Suddenly, Tang Die grabbed the corner of his clothes and said, "Master Liu, there's a situation!"
She pointed not far away, opposite the bonfire, there seemed to be a pair of eyes staring at them in the shadows.
"Enemy spy?" Liu Mo realized immediately. "Tang Die, stay alive!" He ordered softly.
"Understood!" Tang Die responded, and then his body quickly dived into the shadows.
Within a moment, there were bursts of miserable screams.
The spies of the Zhou Dynasty hiding in the dark were thrown out one by one and thrown in front of Liu Mo.
"This girl Tang Qingfeng tamed is so useful!" Liu Mo couldn't help but sigh.
"Master Liu, what should we do with these spies!" Tang Die walked out of the shadows and pointed at those people and asked.
"Let me ask a few questions first," Liu Mo said. "Where is your army?"
A Zhou Dynasty spy spat, "Bah, you bastard, we won't say anything!"
"Oh, that tongue is useless!" Liu Mo's face darkened, "Tang Die, cut off his tongue."
Tang Die grinned, then stepped forward and grabbed the man's throat. With a sudden force, he pulled out all the vocal cords and tongue.
The scene was so bloody.
"I asked you to cut out your tongue, but I didn't ask you to do it so roughly!" Liu Mo thought to himself.
"How about it, can I get you to speak?"
The remaining Zhou Dynasty spies swallowed their saliva and were frightened. However, the nature of soldiers made them grit their teeth.
"You are tough enough, yes, yes!" Liu Mo laughed, "Are you all married?"
This question confused the Zhou Dynasty spies.
And what he said next would definitely make them tremble.
"It seems that they are all married and enjoy being a man." Liu Mo turned his head and said, "Tang Die, have you ever seen castration?"
"What?" Even Tang Die didn't expect Liu Mo to say such a thing. "Sir, do you want it?"
"Cast them and send them to the palace as eunuchs!"
There is no need to explain what it feels like to be a eunuch in a society where men are superior to women.
Sure enough, one of the spies gave in.
"His Royal Highness is leading an army of 50,000 people at the foot of Angula Mountain, and there are another 40,000 troops..."
"Keep talking!"
"I plan to cross the Angula Mountains, detour behind you, and attack from both front and rear!"
I guessed it right!
Just as Liu Mo predicted, the "Military God" of the Zhou Dynasty also liked to do crazy things that ordinary people could not imagine.
"How many investigation teams are there?" Liu Mo asked again.
"About seven or eight." The spy replied. "But when it comes to your camp, we are the only ones!"
Even an eagle cannot fly over the snow-capped mountains, but such efficiency is understandable.
"Then what did you find out? How many soldiers and horses do we have in Daxia? How much rations are there?"
"About... there are 70,000 or 80,000 soldiers!" the spy replied tremblingly.
This number is obviously wrong. The total number of coalition forces does not exceed 40,000, and half of them are stationed at the foot of the mountain.
But since it was a snowy mountain and it was night, it was normal to make mistakes.
"Haha, you have some skills!" Liu Mo deliberately made an expression as if he was being found out. "Go back and bring a message to your prince. I, Liu Mo, am waiting for him here!"
The spy was secretly happy, "Can I go back?"
"That's right! But, it's only you!" Liu Mo said, "The others didn't say anything. Tang Die, you know what to do!"
Tang Die grinned, "I understand!"
"You...you didn't mean..."
"What did I say? Let you go?" Liu Mo's face darkened, then he waved his hand and left.
Is this crazy? Let the spies go back?
Of course not. Wouldn't it be nice to let the other party bring back wrong information and scare Yang Yizhi?
After learning the intelligence of 70,000 to 80,000 people, the Zhou Dynasty will definitely convene an emergency military meeting to discuss countermeasures.
If the other party is confused, Liu Mo will take advantage of it.
At the same time, Liu Mo already had a clever plan in mind!
~~~
The day after he caught the spies, Liu Mo ordered all the troops stationed halfway up the mountain to evacuate.
Why?
As a qualified commander, you must learn to adapt to changes on the battlefield.
Yang Yizhi is not an iron-headed boy. He knew clearly that he would be ambushed after crossing Angu Laxi, so why would he send the iron-headed boy over?
In this case, the only option is to attack head-on.
Moreover, according to Yang Yizhi's ability to lead troops, he would probably send out vanguards to test and attack as soon as he received the news.
After retreating to the foot of the mountain, Liu Mo immediately held an emergency military meeting.
"Huo Ayi, you lead a thousand soldiers and horses to station on the east side of Angula Mountain. Don't allow the enemy to cross the river. When the enemy comes to attack, you must not fight with them. You just want to delay time. If there is an enemy crossing the river, don't come to see them. I."
Hoa Yi immediately took the order and left.
Liu Mo said again: "Amuhe, lead your troops and lead the enemy to pursue them westward. You will only be defeated but not victorious in battles along the way. Flee to the west, the farther the better."
Amuhe has always been fierce and competitive, and he was not convinced by Liu Mo, so he said proudly: "I, the Xingluo Warrior, can only win battles, but I can't defeat them."
Liu Mo frowned: "This is my order. Not only do you have to defeat them, you also have to carry your own cattle, sheep, supplies, grain and grass and throw them away along the way to attract them to plunder."
"What?" Amuka's expression changed, "You want me to send our cattle and sheep supplies to the enemy? My lord, I can't do this!"
Liu Mo's lips tightened and he asked in a deep voice: "You don't even listen to my orders?"
Amuhe snorted, "Lord, you led us to win the battle, and I listened to your orders. You asked me to defeat the battle, but I refused to obey." He said, "Before, you were the one who asked us to run to the mountains to blow the cold wind. Now let us You are the one we deliver supplies to.
Lord, let me ask you, does this look like you want to win a battle? "
"Okay, question me openly!" When Liu Mo heard this, he was already murderous!
