At nightfall, the lights in the city first come on. The city of Xishu County is bustling with activity, with rows of pavilions and pedestrians on the streets. It is indeed a land of abundance with hundreds of miles of fertile fields and abundant products. The registered population in the county is about 120,000 to 30,000. Thousands of merchants and travelers traveled from north to south and east to west every day. Because the Southern Wei Dynasty is about to attack the city of Western Shu County, it has begun to strictly interrogate people entering the city in recent days. To prevent spies and people from the Southern Wei Dynasty from getting in. Daxia people who are not from Xishu County need to hold documents issued by the government before entering.
"I have met the head of the Qingshan Sect, two elders! The lower official is Shi Gongsunxie, the governor of Xishu County. Governor Lu invited the three of them to the meeting hall for a banquet. Please come with me, three of you." Gongsunxie is the assistant of Governor Lu , in the evening, Gongsun Xie came to invite the head Qinghao and the two elders to a banquet.
"Thank you, Mr. Shi Gongsun. Please!" Qinghao returned the greeting.
After the four people came out of Jixuan, where the guests were entertained in Xishu County Mansion, they passed through the second entrance hall and arrived at the meeting hall. At this time, there were more than twenty people sitting in the meeting hall. The front seat and the three seats next to it are still empty.
"I've seen the leader of Qinghao and the elder Qingxuan in Qingyi. I haven't seen you for several years. Are you okay?" Master Yuanyi, the abbot of Nanchan Temple, was sitting next to the empty seat on the front seat. He saw Qinghao and the second elder. Entering the hall, he was the first to stand up and say hello to the three of them.
"Pindao has met Master Yuanyi", "Qingyi has met Master Yuanyi!", "Qingxuan has met Master Yuanyi!" The three of them stepped forward and bowed to Yuanyi.
"I have met the leader Qinghao, Elder Qingyi, Elder Qingxuan"...
"I have met the leader of Qingwei Mountain Song Dynasty"...
"I've seen Master Mo of Jinghu Lake"...
Everyone greeted each other and said hello.
A few moments later, Governor Lu, led by Gongsun Xie, came to the meeting hall. Take a seat in the main seat. Gongsun Xie stood beside him.
"Thank you, all the leaders, abbots and talkers of Gaozong's great sect, for taking the trouble to travel hundreds of miles to come to the county government to discuss matters. I am Lu He and I have met you all." Governor Lu said, "Dear high-ranking monks, Qing Dynasty Build in the mountains and forests, nourish the soil and water, and bless the people. Help our Great Xia Dynasty live in peace for generations to come. Lu He hereby expresses my solemn thanks!" After saying that, Lu He stood up and paid tribute to everyone. Everyone picked up drinks and tea to greet Governor Lu.
After drinking for a while, he said, "You must have heard that Cao Xian, an old thief from the Southern Wei Kingdom, has been attacking Nanchen for a long time and is plotting against us in Western Shu. Why should I be afraid of a frontal military battle? The old thief actually made a dirty plan. The Jianghu people of the Southern Wei Dynasty gathered together to attack our city in Western Shu at night. I cannot comment on the Jianghu people of the Southern Wei Dynasty. After all, they are people in the Jianghu and are under the pressure of the temples and cannot help themselves. However, as the governor of Western Shu, I must do my best to protect the West. Shu is in danger. After many twists and turns, I have no choice but to invite you all to gather together to discuss how to resolve the danger in Western Shu." Governor Lu stood up again and talked to you.
"The affairs of the Jianghu are done by the Jianghu. Even if the governor does not summon us to discuss the matter, we will form an alliance on our own to stop the shameless behavior of the Southern Wei Dynasty. As the saying goes, the governor Lu is trying his best to keep Western Shu safe and sound, so we will of course do it. Do your best to advance and retreat with the governor to protect our Western Shu!" The head of Qingshan Sect stood up and was the first to respond to Governor Lu.
"Yes, yes! We will advance and retreat together with the county guard to protect our Western Shu!" Everyone agreed.
"I think the governor has already learned about the sneak attack plan of the Jianghu people in the Southern Wei Dynasty. Please tell us in detail, and we will discuss the containment strategy." Master Yuan Yi said.
So Assistant Lu He and Chief Shi Gongsun Xie told everyone in detail the secret messages reported from the court.
After listening, everyone pondered for a moment, each thinking about strategies to face the enemy.
"The imperial court's secret text states that the Jianghu people of the Southern Wei Dynasty will gather in Jiangbei on the night of the first day of the Lunar New Year three days later, cross the river by boat, and attack the city in the middle of the night." Leader Mo of the Jinghu faction said, "If we wait while the night is dark and the wind is high, we will attack the city." Wait for the thief quietly on the official boat, and when the thief's boat reaches the center of the river, we can take small boats to pursue them separately?"
"That's good, but I don't know where the people of the Southern Wei Dynasty entered the water and where they landed. If you wait for the water by mistake and miss the thief, you will be at a disadvantage if you pursue him again." Chaoyangmen Sect Master said, " Besides, we don’t have many water-savvy disciples, so we will inevitably suffer losses in close combat in the water, and we are not as good as the Jinghu disciples who practice on the water all year round.”
"I am stationed in the northwest mountains of Xishu, near the Xia River, and I am familiar with the landforms of this area. In the northwest area of the Three Thousand Mountains, there is a plain to the east. There are many official roads and there are many government and military outposts. I believe that thieves will not go to the plains. Then we will just go around the mountains." Song Min, the leader of Qingwei Mountain, said, "There are two shortcuts available in the mountains. One is to go through the eastern foot of the Mangshan Mountains. This road is relatively gentle. To Qushan, which straddles the east and west. After the mountains, pass through the Qushan cliff, and then turn along the Qushan valley to the southeast. After leaving the valley, you can go straight to the county town."
"The other road is through the western foothills of the Mangshan Mountains. This road is more rugged and short. After reaching the Qushan Mountains, Diqushan Mountain is extremely steep. You need to walk eastward along the northern foothills of Qushan Mountain for more than ten miles, but it is still It will pass by the Qushan cliff."
"According to this, the cliff is the only way. We can ambush the thieves here." Head Song concluded.
"Just in case, the governor can order the young generals in the army to form a formation of a hundred people with swords, and ambush them at the place where Qushan leaves the valley. This is the second place that must be passed through, and it should be able to withstand it for a while. If the ambush on the cliff is successful, we will gather as soon as possible When we go out of the valley, we will join up with the sword formation soldiers and go to the rear of the Southern Wei army to plunder the formation. If we fail to ambush the thieves at the cliff, we will rush to the place where we come out of the valley and attack the thieves together with the sword formation soldiers." Head Qinghao added road.
"The cliff in Qushan is about a hundred miles away from the valley. You can send a disciple who is skilled in the art of lightening to hide near the soldiers in the sword formation. If the traitor appears here, this disciple can quickly rush to the cliff and notify us. "Headmaster Song continued to add.
"Our sect can arrange for Junior Brother Qingxuan to ambush the soldiers in the sword formation. Junior Brother Qingxuan is the top master of the Qingshan Sect's light body technique. If we succeed at the cliff, but there are fish that slip through the net, Junior Brother Qingxuan can also lead the sword formation to eliminate them. The remnants."
"This plan is very good and should be considered a foolproof strategy! Taoist Priest Qinghao, the head of the Qingshan Sect, can lead it for the president. I wonder what the other sects would do?" The governor listened to the suggestions of the sect leaders and thought it was feasible.
"Master Qingshan should be the president, and we have no objection." Master Yuan Yi agreed.
"I have no objection."
"I agree."
"Well, please, all sect leaders, please rest for a while at the county mansion tonight. Early the next morning, ride a fast horse back to the sect and gather your disciples to meet at the cliff of Qushan Mountain."
…
Early on the next morning, each sect leader left the county on fast horse and returned to his sect to gather elite disciples.
On the evening of the first day of the Lunar New Year, hundreds of masters from each sect were already ambushing them on the left and right sides of the cliff. Five hundred sword formation soldiers also ambush at the east exit of Qushan Valley. This place is only more than 200 miles away from Xishu County. Qingxuan is hidden on the ridge at the exit of the valley. The ridge is open and can be viewed for miles. Hard to be discovered by thieves.
In the middle of the night, the sentry post ambush on the top of the cliff saw a group of people galloping towards the cliff. It was about three miles away from the cliff. It was visually estimated that the group numbered two to three hundred people. So he picked up two small stones next to him, exerted all his strength, and shot into the open space beside the masters who were ambushing on both sides of the cliff to notify everyone. Everyone heard the sound of the sky breaking twice and the sound of stones falling to the ground. They knew that the thieves had arrived, and they also knew that the thieves' troops were divided into two groups. So they all drew out their knives, forks, swords and halberds and prepared to face the enemy.
…
In the valley, Taoist Priest Qingxuan, who was hiding on the ridge, suddenly discovered a group of black figures, rushing quickly from the foothills on the north side of the valley. Judging from the winding length of the figures, it was estimated that there were about two to three hundred people. Immediately he shouted secretly: "Oh no! The thieves are afraid that they will divide their troops into two groups, one going along the cliff, and the other at the foothills on the north side of Qushan Mountain heading straight for the exit of the valley."
So Qingxuan made a quick decision and flew towards the ambushing sword formation soldiers. After just a few ups and downs, we reached the flat ground at the exit of the valley.
"Uncle Master, why are you here?" Yuan Ruo, a disciple of the Yuan generation, was also among the sword formation soldiers. The leader was worried that the sword formation soldiers were weak, so he asked Yuan Ruo to join in and take command on the spot.
"The traitor soldiers divided into two groups, one heading to the cliff, and the other heading around the northern foot and heading directly towards the valley entrance. There is no need to inform the leader!" Qingxuan replied, "Where is the Sword Formation Army?"
"The young one is here." The military commander in charge of the sword array quickly ran to Qingxuan.
"I'll rush to the northern foot of this mountain to meet the thieves. I'll be there in a moment." Qingxuan pointed to a hill behind him.
"No! All sergeants, listen to the order. The third camp should stay to the left and the second camp to the right. Go to the north foot of the back mountain to meet the enemy." After the military commander finished speaking, he immediately ordered all the ambushed sword formation soldiers to get up and run to the north foot of the back mountain.
This time the soldiers in the sword formation composed a song, and the leader of the song was a military commander. Establish 500 soldiers. This song also contains five villages, each with a hundred people. Each village is divided into a front team and a rear team. Each team has fifty people, with one person leading the team. Due to the special sword formation, there are seven people in each formation, so there are seven "shi"s under each team, with seven people in each "shi", which is different from the ten people in each "shi" of ordinary infantry. There is no "Wu" under "Which" like ordinary teams. The sword formation is the smallest unit, and the chief is the leader of the sword formation, responsible for leading the other six members of the sword formation to transform and kill the enemy during battle.
…
On the other side of the cliff, when the enemy rushed to the bottom of the cliff, the head of Qinghao gave an order: "Kill!" People from all sects came forward to fight. The monks in Nanzen Temple were not good at riding, so they all held Zen staffs and sticks and flew forward along the left side of the cliff. The people in Qingwei Mountain held spears and rode in the middle to attack the bandit team. Chaoyangmen, Jinghu Sect and others flew forward along the right side of the cliff. The disciples of the Qingshan Sect flew forward above everyone's heads. Head Qinghao and Elder Qingyi flew at the front. They took off twice and reached the middle of the thieves. They were halfway faster than a galloping horse!
"Old man Qinghao, it's you again!" The leader of the thieves was Xiao Qian, the master of the Wuying Sect in the Southern Wei Dynasty. The two had a holiday a few years ago. The reason was that Xiao Qian wanted to take his disciples to sneak into Tianshu Peak at the northernmost point of Daqing Mountain. When his disciples discovered it, he rushed to report to the leader. The two fought a battle at the northern foot of Tianshu Peak, and Xiao Qian was defeated.
"People in the world are not afraid of being ridiculed by their colleagues when they get involved in temple disputes!" Qinghao shouted at Xiao Qian, "We didn't have a good fight at Tianshu Peak. This time we will have a good fight."
"I'm afraid you won't make it!"
Qinghao stepped on the ground vigorously, turned around and shot at Xiao Qian's horse. I saw the mysterious sword of Master Qinghao buzzing under the stimulation of the inner energy. The tip of the sword exhaled a foot-long sword energy, emitting a gleaming blue light in the dark night. The distance of tens of feet was reached in an instant.
"I have actually developed sword energy!" Xiao Qian was shocked when he saw this, suddenly stepped on the galloping horse, and flew upwards. The galloping horse beneath him neighed, and was crushed to the ground by Xiao Qian's step, motionless. The horse was afraid that he would not survive.
Qinghao saw Xiao Qian flying into the air. Before the move could be used, he stepped on the back of the fallen horse and spun around. He stabbed at the sole of Xiao Qian's foot, whose rise was gradually slowing down. Xiao Qian was shocked again when he saw this. Qinghao, an old man, had improved a lot in his self-lighting skills. He was the last to come first! He had no choice but to slash down with his sword and block the tip of the sword that stabbed at the sole of his foot. Just hearing a clanging sound, Qinghao's sword was blocked to one side, and his left foot barely landed on the tip of the sword. so close!
Xiao Qian then raised his right foot and kicked Qinghao. Qinghao was already prepared and used his left hand to strike at Xiao Qian's right foot. "Bang!" After the two fought, they were pushed away by more than ten feet with their own remaining strength, and then slowly landed on the ground.
"Old man, I haven't seen you for a few years, but my kung fu has improved a lot!" Xiao Qian sneered.
"Xiao Thief, you're not bad either! Keep fighting!"
…
