Song Che first went to Baiyulou and bought two pieces of crystal at a high price. One was polished into a convex mirror and the other was polished into a convex mirror to make a telescope.
Then he went to the blacksmith shop and ordered five pickaxes and three flying tiger claws; then he went to the market to purchase a batch of ropes and a large bundle of beef tendons.
If you want to secretly infiltrate Chencang, you must cut down trees to clear a path and trek through mountains and rivers. Although Song Che is not a professional mountaineer, he has loved adventure mountaineering since he was a child. This time, he is at least 80% sure of crossing Qili Mountain.
In the afternoon of the next day, Xu Xiao hurried to Yunshuifang with a map. He spread the map on the table and pointed along:
"This is a simple map of Qili Mountain drawn by the bandits in prison. Although this mountain can only be climbed on the east slope, the Feiyun Gang also has sentry posts on the south and north slopes, but there are no posts on the west slope;
The reason is that the west slope is the most dangerous. For forty miles from south to north, there are bare cliffs, each more than three hundred feet high. No one can climb it;
You see, this is the "Tiger Leaping Cliff" on the west slope. If you can climb over here, you can walk directly to the bandits' den in the back mountain in a few hours at most. But Tiger Leaping Cliff is a natural cliff, as steep as this wall. "
No matter how high the mountains in the south of the Yangtze River are, they are not as high as those in Shu. The three hundred feet are no more than seventy meters. As long as you find a way to climb up and put down the ropes and ladders, it is not difficult for the army to penetrate deep.
Song Che said: "Since there are sentinels on the other three slopes, we will go to the west slope. Since our troops are very fast, we can only climb over Tiger Leaping Cliff. I have my own ideas on how to climb the cliff."
"I have full faith in you anyway," Xu Xiao added: "After I returned yesterday, I told Mr. Zhou about your plan. After hearing this, Mr. Zhou praised him greatly. He immediately sent a letter to the Yamen and sent it to Yangzhou. I just sent the letter. The government officials reported that Yangzhou Prefecture has agreed to suppress the bandits. Three days later, two thousand troops and twenty warships were sent down the river to attack Qili Mountain!"
"Okay! In this case, it's time for Xu Dutou to choose a sergeant. Remember, he doesn't have to be strong, but he must have agile legs and feet. He shouldn't be too bulky when crossing mountains." Song Che warned.
"No problem. In three days, please ask Brother Song to come to the north of the city to order troops!"
Xu Xiao clasped his fists and left.
…
In the next three days, the pickaxe, flying tiger claw, telescope, climbing rope, and ladder were completed one after another.
Song Che loaded the equipment into the wheelbarrow one by one, covered it with an old quilt, took off the silk and satin, and put on coarse cloth and rags, pretending to be a refugee.
If Shen Wenjun knew that he was going to suppress the bandits, he would definitely hang up his arms and refuse to let go. Therefore, early on the third day, before Shen Wenjun woke up, he secretly left Shen's mansion and went straight to the military camp in the north of the city.
Troops were ordered in the north of the city, and troops were also ordered in the docks in the west of the city. The plan originally agreed upon was that Su and Yang prefectures would use waterways to contain them head-on.
Suzhou sent 500 sailors and five warships, sailed upstream from south to north, and met the Yangzhou army at the mouth of the Yangtze River. With the speed of the warships, they could arrive before evening today.
The five hundred soldiers who secretly attacked Chencang took the overland route. It was a hundred miles from Beicheng to the western slope of Qili Mountain. If they marched in a hurry, they could reach it in one day. However, they were pretending to be refugees, so naturally they couldn't go too fast, and they had to rest enough to avoid weakness and fatigue in their legs. enemy.
Song Che's plan was to set off in the morning, arrive near Qili Mountain in the afternoon, go around to the west slope tomorrow during the day, sneak across the Tiger Leaping Cliff at night, rest for the night, and recuperate, and on the third day, he would attack the bandits' village at night with cockcrows.
Talking on paper only requires a few words;
Keep your feet on the ground, maybe for more than two or three days.
I just hope the plan can keep up with the changes.
When Song Che arrived at the military camp, all five hundred soldiers had changed into civilian clothes and lined up neatly in the martial arts field.
"I was worried just now. If Mrs. Song didn't let you go, you would show up the next moment." Xu Xiao smiled, and a thin middle schooler stepped forward to greet her.
"Is this Aunt Song? Even though he is dressed in commoner clothes, he is not comparable to civilian warriors like us!" The middle-aged man smiled and praised.
Song Che politely asked: "Who is this?"
Xu Xiao said: "He is the commander of the city defense army I mentioned to you before, Captain Zheng Sui."
All the soldiers were white and fat, but the officer was so thin. Song Che asked again: "It turns out to be Colonel Zheng. I'm disrespectful."
Zheng Sui hurriedly supported Song Che and said, "Master, don't be too polite. We, warriors who eat public food, have to trouble my fellow Confucian scholars and suffer. It's embarrassing to say it!"
Song Che said with a smile: "Captain Zheng is serious. Those who are willing to put on military uniforms and protect their homes and countries are all good men. Song is just a bit of a fool, so he cannot be compared with the brothers Paoze!"
"Hey... don't say any more polite words. Since Mr. Song has arrived at the martial arts field, why not help to see how the soldiers' military discipline is?" Xu Xiao pointed at the rows of soldiers.
"Then let's take a look." Song Che quickly walked around among the soldiers and returned to Xu Xiao and Zheng Sui with a smile.
"How?" Zheng Sui was quite proud, "These five hundred soldiers are all the elites of our Suzhou army!"
"Enough energy," Song Che nodded, but the next moment he said: "But too energetic."
"Oh? What do you mean by this?" Zheng Sui was confused.
Song Che said: "Don't forget that we are pretending to be refugees this time. What are we refugees? We live in the open air, dressed in rags, with yellow skin and skinny skin. We go out with our military appearance. Those who don't know it think it's a gang fight."
Zheng Sui patted his head, "So, so..."
"In Brother Song's opinion, what corrections should be made?" Xu Xiao asked.
Song Che smiled, grabbed a handful of ashes from the ground, rubbed it vigorously on his face, then deliberately messed up his bun and loosened his belt to look sloppy.
"What are you still doing? Come on and do what you did!" Zheng Sui took the lead, plastering the ground like a scholar. The soldiers followed suit one after another.
Song Che added: "To make yourself miserable, you just change your 'form'. If you want to pretend to be more like him, you have to change your 'demeanor' on a deeper level."
"How to change your demeanor?" Zheng Sui asked.
Song Che smiled and said: "It's very simple. Eat one meal a day, half full every meal, hungry and hungry, and the tiredness will naturally come out."
As soon as these words came out, the martial arts field was in a state of shock.
"What? We are going to fight. We only need one meal a day. We don't have enough food to eat. What if we encounter an enemy?"
"That's right..."
This guy is bound to complain a lot whenever it comes to starvation.
"Don't worry, everyone. Of course we have to bring enough dry food for the several-day march, but we must eat it when we get to the west slope. This is also to make it easier to get through," Song Che comforted and said loudly:
"Those who participated in the suppression of bandits are all loyal and brave men. Xu Dutou promised me that if we can return victorious this time, each of us will be rewarded with a big fat pig!"
"Reward a pig! This is so generous!"
Nowadays, the price of pork has skyrocketed. With the soldiers' military pay, they may not be able to get a sore throat even for ten days and a half. A pig is really a big reward!
"No, Brother Song, when will I—"
"Okay, don't say much. The soldiers are quick and set out immediately!" Song Che raised his arms and shouted before Xu Xiao could say anything.
