In the twilight of winter, even the clouds in the sky have become heavy, pressing down layer by layer. When you raise your head, you will be close at hand.
The marching cavalry battalion suddenly stopped under the Shuzhou Mountains.
"Military advisor, I saw Xihe."
Stepping out of the carriage, Sima Xiu silently held his hands and looked at the scene ahead. Beside him, the corpses of several decapitated Shu scouts were lying on the cold river bank.
As the accompanying general said, lying at the foot of the mountain, there is a river that goes around the mountain, about five feet wide, and the entire river bed is winding like a snake. Debris washed down from the mountains covered the river banks.
"Military advisor, the water is about two feet deep." General Pi took back the withered bamboo and wormwood with a determined look on his face.
Sima Mao was sitting on the ground, drawing something with a dead branch. After a long time, he spoke seriously.
"Can I ride across the river and into the mountains?"
"It can be ridden... but the mountains in Shuzhou are rugged. Beyond the ten miles of mountainous terrain, the horses will not be able to run. At that time, I am afraid that I will have to lead the horses to march. Besides, the horses we are waiting for are all hidden in the mountains according to the requirements of the military advisor. The woods twenty miles away."
In addition to the three thousand cavalry camp holding Yuguan down, the other seven thousand people had already hidden Liang Ma'er twenty miles behind them.
Simiao's face was expressionless. He knew that after Xia'er's spies brought back the news, Xu Buyi must be hiding a large army in the mountains of Shuzhou to guard the Qidao.
There are three ways to enter Shu. Needless to say, Yuguan is easy to defend but difficult to attack due to natural dangers. As for Bailu County, it has always been the focus of Shu people's defense. Along the way, I don't know how many cities must be conquered before entering Shuzhou.
The last road is the strange path in the mountains in front of us.
"Is there a river bridge nearby?" Sima Xiu frowned.
"Military advisor, there are several old wooden bridges nearby. There were some retail investors near the old wooden bridge before, but when the war started, they fled to Shuzhou."
Sima Xiu stood up, his voice was calm and steady, as if he was confident. This time, he left Liangzhou City, which was considered an adventure. Of course, he also considered whether Xu Buyi was behind the plan. But according to his disciples, many people died in Shuzhou.
Judging from Xu Buyi's temperament of loving the people as his own son, it should be impossible to make a move.
"The army converted into infantry and camped near the river bank."
Raising his head, Sima Xiu looked at the mountains in front of him. The weather is about to enter winter, and everything looks yellow and desolate.
"Send five hundred people to go into the mountain to investigate first. There is no need to go too deep. The Shu army hiding in the mountain should be the plain barbarian camp in Shuzhou, and they are most familiar with the battle in the mountains and forests."
After a pause, Sima Xiu added, "Please be careful. If something goes wrong, run down the mountain. Our army will be here to meet you."
A subordinate general took the order and hurried into the mountain with 500 people.
Just waiting for the people to go away, Sima Xiu suddenly looked up to the sky and sighed.
…
On the mountains of Shuzhou, for the sake of safety, Meng Huo had already set up a dense spy network. As long as they enter the mountainside, close to Shuzhou, they will definitely be discovered.
However, the people who had gone to explore the area at the foot of the mountain had not returned for a long time.
"King, there are enemy troops!"
Meng Huo, who was peeling the animal skin, suddenly stopped, raised his head, and looked at the Pingman scouts who were rushing back.
"What?"
"King, the enemy has sneaked into the mountainside! There are about a few hundred people, and they are getting closer and closer to the camp where we are waiting."
"Could it be a spy outpost?"
After waiting in the mountains for a long time, Meng Huo was either leading his men to hunt for animals or competing with his subordinates on their arrow skills, which was extremely boring. But he didn't dare not listen to his lord's words, and he really stayed here firmly.
Now, hearing that there were spies outpost, Meng Huo was naturally surprised and angry.
"Pick up the sword and bow and come with me to take a look."
Meng Huo lowered his voice and led more than a thousand people in pursuit through the mountains and forests. Relying on their familiarity with fighting in the mountains and forests, the hundreds of enemy spies who had entered the mountains and forests were chased up in an instant.
Blade lights and flying arrows kept popping up in the mountains and forests. The sounds of fighting and screaming suddenly echoed through the mountains.
Even in the stream at the foot of the mountain, Sima Xiu could vaguely hear it.
"Military advisor, the sentinel who entered the mountainous area startled the ambush troops."
There was no surprise on Sima Xiu's face. After a pause, he coldly gave the order.
"Liangzhou infantry, pick up your guns and shields, prepare to fight in the mountains!"
On the other side, it was not until he saw the figures of the Liang soldiers at the foot of the mountain that Meng Huo suddenly understood why the Pingman scouts who went out to investigate had not come back.
"King, these Liang people are going into the mountains!"
"Call the people here and shoot them to death with a war bow!"
…
Lucheng two days later.
"Xiao Menghuo fell into the trap." Jia Zhou sat on the chair in the governor's mansion and spoke in a deep voice.
Xu Mu also frowned.
Just after the capture of Lucheng, before many things could be dealt with, they got the information that Meng Huo was being set up.
"Sima Xiu pretended to be defeated and lured Meng Huo to press forward step by step and cross the river to attack. But... Sima Xiu did not fight. Instead, he led his men and retreated."
"This doesn't make sense."
"Of course. After retreating for nearly twenty miles, the Liang troops led by Sima Xiu picked up their horses from nowhere. After several rounds of killing, they only waited for the Pingman camp to suffer heavy losses, then hurriedly drove their horses and rushed off again. The mountains of Shuzhou.”
"Great idea." Xu Mu sighed. The sudden appearance of the war horse must have been hidden by Sima Xiu in advance. If it were Yu Wen or Chai Zong, he would definitely not be greedy for merit. But Xiao Menghuo had just become the barbarian king and wanted to gain fame and power, so he suddenly fell into a conspiracy.
Otherwise, if the plain barbarian camp of more than 10,000 people fights steadily, it will not be a big problem to use the mountains and forests to block Sima Xiu's thousands of cavalry.
"Besides, Chengdu is in turmoil." Jia Zhou's tone was still calm, as if he had expected it.
Xu Mu also knew about this news before. He didn't understand...Whether it was Meng Huo or Han Jiusunxun, in fact, these people were the candidates proposed by Jia Zhou to stay and guard Shuzhou.
"Wen Long, why is this?"
However, these people, more or less, fell into the tricks of Sima Xiu and his disciples. For this reason, he specially kept Wang Shenzhi.
Jia Zhou stood up, then knelt down and bowed several times to Xu Mu.
"If I had told my lord before that he cares about people's livelihood, he would definitely not agree. There is no other way. I can only kill him first and then report him. If my lord wants to ask for guilt, I can only wait for Sima Xiu to die in Shuzhou, and then I will die to apologize."
"My lord needs to understand that the biggest enemy of Shuzhou is not Dong Wen, but Dong Wen's Lianghu military advisor. With him here, even if the lord takes the second city, it will only be a temporary solution. If you want to swallow Lianghu, There is only one way for the state, and that is to kill Simiao."
"But Sima Xiu has been in Liangzhou for a long time and rarely shows his face. As a last resort, I used the hands of Liangzhou's internal officers to expose Shuzhou's flaws. People like Han Jiu Sunxun and Meng Huo are all reckless people. I guess, Whether it is to rescue the siege or to enter Shuzhou in danger, Sima Xiu is likely to take charge of the troops himself this time."
"He should have guessed that I am still alive."
Jia Zhou raised his head, his face full of pain.
"I know that many people will die this time, not only Shuzhou soldiers, but even Han Jiuxunxun. But if this plan is successful, once Sima Xiu dies, my lord's strategy of dominating the west will be half successful."
"I also know that I may lose my life... but just like my name, people all over the world call me the 'Poisonous Owl'."
