In fact, even without Li Liu to lead the way, Jiang Wei would probably be able to find a suitable place and cross the high plateau.
Because there is a ravine at the junction of Choosangyuan and Qinling Mountains.
That was right near the place where Li Liu was found - the people originally sent out to search had almost discovered that place.
Climb up this ravine and you can directly reach the top of Choosangyuan.
Of course, having Li Liu lead the way would definitely be much more convenient, at least it would save a lot of time and energy.
The Choosang Plain in the Qin and Han Dynasties was no different from that of later generations. It was a dangerous place with deep grass, dense forests, and steep slopes.
When you enter the forest, you can feel the intertwined branches overhead and the dense canopy blocking out the sky and sun.
Looking up, I can only see the sky dotted with stars. The rare sunlight that escapes is like brightly colored insects, as if crawling on the green moss and pale red withered ferns.
Where the sunlight is slightly revealed, many miscellaneous trees are entangled with old vines, forming bushes.
Many of these coiled vines have barbs.
The thick thorns and weeds have made the already dense forest more and more airtight, acting like a natural barrier to prevent people from walking in the forest.
Therefore, it was not unreasonable for the Qin State to use the dense forests on the Choosang Plain to block the armies of the Six Kingdoms in the Kwantung.
If someone who is not familiar with the terrain comes here, they will get lost because they are not allowed to go around.
Even if you don't get lost, marching in this dense forest is a great test of the quality of the soldiers.
Not to mention that you are lucky enough to get out, but when you get to the other side, the wall is as sharp as a knife. How to get down is also a problem.
If the Qin army discovers it, and there are no reinforcements behind it, it will really be a big deal.
The Qin Army is called the Tiger and Wolf Army, which is no joke.
"General, I usually hunt in this area, so I am familiar with it."
Li Liu led the way at the front and explained at the same time, "There is no road here at all. If you are entering here for the first time, you will probably not be able to tell the direction."
Jiang Wei followed him and saw that what this man said did not seem to be a lie.
It looked like there was a bush in front of him, which was impossible to get through, but when the person walked up to it and turned around, a gap suddenly appeared in front of him that he could walk through.
If you weren't familiar with this place, you wouldn't be so relaxed.
Even so, within half a day, the clothes of Jiang Wei and others had several large and small holes hanging from branches or thorns.
But no matter what, as long as we can get on the stage, everything will be easy.
After all, although the platform is long, it is not too wide, and there are people leading the way.
Jiang Wei and his party soon arrived at the other side of Chou Sang Yuan.
"General, please look."
Li Liu took Jiang Wei and others, stood on the edge of the cliff, pointed down, and said:
"From here, there is a slight slope. If you want to go down, there is no more suitable place nearby than here."
Jiang Wei looked down and saw a river like a white ribbon at the bottom of the cliff, winding to the north. He thought this was the absolute stream in front of Hangu Pass.
He stretched his neck again and looked towards the cliff.
The slope mentioned in Li Liu's mouth was like being cut down by a giant's knife.
Jiang Wei was so shocked that he couldn't help but lost his voice:
“What is the difference between this slope and a steep wall?”
Then he looked north again and couldn't help but sigh:
"Sure enough, there are still some differences..."
The cliffs elsewhere are not inclined, but cut straight down, like the tallest city wall in the world, without any leverage at all.
In contrast, the slope here seems less desperate and people don't know how to climb.
After all, the army brought a lot of ropes when they came here this time.
Just connect the ropes, tie them to the tree, and then use the ropes to descend.
The hemp rope, a specialty of Nanxiang, has been tested for a long time, and the quality cannot be said.
Anyway, when he was tied to death with Nanxiang hemp rope, he wanted to escape unless he became a dead person.
"General, after going down here, the road will be much easier. The waterside is very flat. Just follow the valley to the north, about a hundred miles away, and you will reach Hangu Pass."
When the surrounding soldiers heard this, they all looked happy and eager to try.
"General, without further ado, while it's still dark, please let me lead a group of people to explore the road first!"
Some people can't help but ask for help.
"That's right, general, if we suddenly show up behind the thief, the thief will be frightened to death. Why worry about Hangu Pass?"
Seeing the high morale of the soldiers, Jiang Wei was also happy.
It was just that he looked down the cliff, and then followed the Juejian to the north, thoughtfully, but he did not immediately agree to the soldier's request.
After a while, he said:
"Hangu Pass is hidden in the valley and is as deep and dangerous as the letter. If we go directly down and follow the water to the north, it will be easier to march, but it is not the best strategy."
"Although descending suddenly behind the thieves can scare the enemy, if the thieves shrink inside the pass and refuse to surrender, waiting for reinforcements from the east, we may not be able to attack them in one fell swoop."
Jiang Wei's eyes showed determination:
"We have gone through all the dangers just to scare the enemy? If we want to do it, we must win Hangu Pass."
"May I ask what the general wants?"
The expression on Jiang Wei's face became more determined:
"If we don't go down, we can continue to walk through this dense forest until the end. We can take advantage of the convenient terrain and attack the thieves in the valley from a high position, just like building a water barrier from a high house."
Hearing Jiang Wei's words, not only the surrounding soldiers were shocked, but even Li Liu couldn't help but persuade:
"General, please think twice! If you really want to follow the general's words, you will have to walk more than a hundred miles in this dense forest at least."
"Moreover, the land above the plateau is not all flat, and there are also places that need to be climbed. I'm afraid the general's tiger soldiers will be overwhelmed."
When Jiang Wei heard this, he looked at the soldiers around him and asked:
"Everyone who came here with Wei Wei, have you ever complained because of the hardship?"
Everyone burst into laughter:
"As long as you can perform meritorious service in front of the formation, your life will be ignored and you will only be harmed. What's the point!"
"If you can accomplish great feats just by being tired, what's the harm in being tired again?"
…
Jiang Wei looked at Li Liu again:
"You don't have to worry about military affairs. Just your lieutenant general will lead the way."
When Li Liu saw the Han army's reaction, he couldn't help but marvel:
This is a sincere and elite soldier!
Hearing what Jiang Wei said again, he couldn't help but be shocked:
"General, although I have some experience, I have never walked through this forest before!"
"Double! As long as you can take us out of this forest, I will give you twice as much as I gave you."
"Uh..." Li Liu was suddenly stuck.
What the Han army gave him was indeed what he needed most - it was something harder than money.
Jiang Wei saw his expression and continued:
"Anyway, we can't let you go before we reach our destination. You have to follow us to avoid leaking the news."
"If I were you, I would agree immediately and find a way to help us get out of this forest as soon as possible. In this way, you can get your things as soon as possible and we can leave as soon as possible."
Li Liuyi heard that this was indeed the truth. He gritted his teeth and finally nodded:
"Young man, just try your best."
Jiang Wei showed a smile, turned around and ordered:
"Let the soldiers camp where they are, take a good rest today, and continue tomorrow."
"Here!"
Climbing into Choosangyuan was a great encouragement to the soldiers.
As for whether to climb down the plateau directly or continue walking in the dense forest on the plateau.
For them, they are all here anyway, and there is not much difference anymore.
After all, no one would think of retreating at this time, so they would naturally grit their teeth and move forward.
If not, wouldn’t it be a failure?
Just as Jiang Wei was leading his army sneaking forward in the dense forest of Taiyuan, Liu Yin, who had been looking forward to it, finally received the first good news since Jiang Wei left.
"good!"
After Liu Yin read the secret letter sent back by Jiang Wei, he couldn't help but slap his thigh:
"As expected of Jiang Boyue!"
After saying this, he raised his head again, looked at Hangu Pass in front of him, and shouted:
"Somebody come!"
"General?"
"Pass my order, the entire army has rested and reorganized, and will continue to attack Guancheng tomorrow!"
"Here!"
Just when the beacon fire at Hangu Pass was ignited again, the war broke out again north of the river, as if they had made an appointment.
The first person to come into contact with the Wei army was not Feng Duhu who was leading the army walking on the Zhiguan Road, but Shi Bao who set out from Gaoping Pass and prepared to attack the eldest son.
The first barrier for the eldest son, to the east of Danshui, the Wei army was already ready.
"General Zhonglang, this is the thief. You have been prepared for it!"
Hu Zun, who followed Shi Bao to observe the enemy's situation by the water, couldn't help but feel worried, "Are our troops insufficient?"
"According to the spies' report, the bandits have set up camps to guard any place where it is easy to cross the water, and there are beacon fires every three miles along the water's edge."
"The vanguard sent by the last general tried to cross the water several times, but they were discovered by the thieves and had to retreat."
The pioneer in Hu Zun's mouth was none other than his own son, Hu Fen.
Hu Fen was eager to achieve success. After clearing away the Wei army scouts on the west bank, he once thought of erecting a pontoon bridge before the arrival of the army.
But I didn't expect that the rebel generals on the other side were not mediocre people. They were extremely defensive and had to camp on the west bank to wait for the army.
Shi Bao raised his telescope and looked at the other side. He saw many camps on the other side and knew that what Hu Zun said was not a lie.
Thinking in his mind, Shi Bao asked:
"Going upstream from here, have you examined everything?"
Hu Zun pointed to the upper reaches of Danshui and asked.
"The water goes up to the Danshui River Valley. There are dangerous mountains on three sides of the river valley. Behind the dangerous mountains in the north, there is the Stone City Pass, which is the second line of defense for the bandit army."
Shi Bao put down the telescope and followed what Hu Zun pointed at, with a look of surprise on his face:
"Could it be that place where the Zhao army was gathered and annihilated during the Battle of Changping?"
"General Mingjian, that's exactly what happened."
At least he was a man who tried his best to find ways to engage in smuggling. How could Shi Bao not know about Shangdang, a famous place?
Why Zhao Jun's hundreds of thousands of troops failed to escape was because of that river valley.
The valley is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and there is only a narrow valley mouth to exit.
At that time, the Qin army only needs to follow behind, quickly block the mouth of the valley, and then use the high mountains on three sides to surround the Zhao army in the valley.
Zhao Kuo even wanted to fly out with his wings, fearing that he would be shot down by the Qin army.
And because of the special terrain of the river valley, it would be difficult for the Zhao army on the periphery to come over for reinforcements.
As long as Bai Qi's deployment speed is fast enough and he can send partial divisions in time to occupy the favorable location, he can easily block Zhao Jun's reinforcements.
The main force of the Zhao army in the river valley had no other choice but to starve to death.
It's hard to say that Bai Qi deliberately wanted to starve Zhao Jun to death, or at least starve them to the point where they had no strength at all and could not move. That's why he delayed for so long before finally accepting Zhao Jun's surrender.
Anyway, if it were Shi Bao himself, he would do this.
After all, it is definitely dangerous to accept the surrender of hundreds of thousands of enemy troops whose morale has not dropped and their physical strength is still there.
But wouldn’t it be much easier if there were hundreds of thousands of enemy troops who couldn’t even stand up, were killing each other and eating human flesh, couldn’t even believe their robes, and even had to be wary of each other?
As for why Zhao Kuo led hundreds of thousands of troops into this trap that was obviously a pocket formation when he knew there was a Qin army just downstream of the valley mouth, probably only those involved in the matter knew.
Shi Bao himself definitely did not dare to lead the army inside.
Therefore, although Danshui is long, the most suitable place for crossing the water at the moment is really only the downstream section of the valley mouth.
Hundreds of years ago, the Qin army was probably facing the Zhao army across the water here, right?
Shi Bao could think of this, and naturally the generals of the Wei army on the opposite side could also think of this.
Therefore, the two sides had a tacit understanding and stationed a team of troops on both sides of the mountain pass at the mouth of the valley to monitor the other.
"Tell the whole army to immediately cut down wood and make rafts. I will test it today to see how prepared the thieves on the other side are."
When Hu Zun heard this military order, he couldn't help but feel worried:
"General Zhonglang, the soldiers came from Gaoping Pass in a hurry. They were a little tired along the way. Why don't we let them rest today..."
Shi Bao raised his arm, stopped what Hu Zun said, and explained:
"General Hu, I asked the soldiers to move forward in a hurry on this journey, just to let the Wei thieves know that I am eager to regain Shangdang."
"Now that we're here, if we don't show some urgency, how can we make the Wei thieves believe that we are in a hurry to cross the water?"
Hu Zun suddenly realized:
"Is Zhong Lang planning to confuse the thieves?"
"No, not just confused."
Hu Zun is the chief general of the Tuchen Army, and the Tuchen Army is the main force in this battle. Naturally, Shi Bao wants to make it clear to Hu Zun about some plans.
"What I have to do is to mobilize as many thieves from the party as possible."
"So the way we confuse the thief is to really hit him until the thief doesn't dare to have any remaining strength."
"Really?" Hu Zun became more and more confused after hearing this:
"General Zhonglang, please forgive me for speaking frankly. Even if we are in a hurry to cross the water, it is best to plan ahead..."
It was clear that when General Zhonglang was at Gaoping Pass, he planned well and had the style of a general.
Why is it that when you get here, you feel a little reckless?
Shi Bao laughed:
"General Hu, I am in a hurry to cross the water. As I said, I just need to attract the thieves as much as possible."
"If they don't come, then we will really fight them and take the opportunity to forcefully cross the Danshui. If they come, there will be someone on the other side of Huguan to cut off their retreat."
"Anyway, it's not us who are anxious, but them."
After hearing this, Hu Zun suddenly realized:
"General Zhonglang means that we create opportunities for General Zhendong?"
"Of course."
General Zhendong is his noble man. How can he dare to compete with General Zhendong for regaining Shangdang's great achievements?
After regaining Shangdang, it was time for him to show off his talents.
The eagle's claw must have the consciousness of the eagle's claw.
Shi Bao considers himself to be Zhongdu Hu's minion, so naturally he has to consider issues from Zhongdu Hu's standpoint in order to be worthy of Zhongdu Hu's cultivation.
Those powerful families in Shangdang had no chance to deal with them before.
Now they actually dare to collude with thieves to cause trouble. They simply don’t care about life and death!
Hu Zun naturally didn't know what Shi Bao was thinking, but when he heard Shi Bao's plan, he couldn't help but feel admiration in his heart:
Zhongduhu is really good at handling his subordinates!
If it were someone else, how could he not take the credit?
However, the generals under Zhongduhu were able to cooperate so well even though they were thousands of miles apart and could not communicate with each other. Not only did they not have any intention of competing for credit, but they took the initiative to humbly give up the credit. How rare it is!
No wonder the big man has won many battles over the years.
The soldiers are elite and brave, and the generals are united, so why worry about failing to achieve a great cause?
Thinking like this, Hu Zun couldn't help but lick his lips when he saw Shi Bao, like a jackal drooling. For some reason, he suddenly shuddered.
