Wang Wenzuo carefully moved his thigh. Due to the long period of horseback riding, the skin on the inner side of his thigh was abraded again. The bursts of pain forced him to divert his attention to other places as much as possible.
It had been three days since he left Sixian City. He crossed the Xiongjin River on the first day, walked westward for twenty miles, and then turned northeast. The tan, rutted road stretched forward through hills and plains, the terrain becoming increasingly rugged as it went further inland.
Wang Wenzuo couldn't help but began to miss his residence in Sixi City, the soft bed, the hot food, the hot foot-washing water before going to bed every day, and the attentive servants. But now there is only a seemingly endless road in front of him. The danger that emerged... Wang Wenzuo could only pray silently that everything would go well.
Although Wang Wenzuo tried his best and sent out all his best scouts, sharp whistles still came from both sides of the road from time to time. He knew that they were the wandering whistles of the Baekje people.
This is the case when you are in a foreign country. No matter how careful you are, there will still be eyes of enemies all around you. Although he was mentally prepared, Wang Wenzuo still felt as if he was walking naked in the busy city.
In the evening, six thousand Tang troops finally arrived at the camp. Wang Wenzuo jumped off his horse and limped with a short spear to supervise the soldiers digging trenches and erecting antlers.
He once heard Liu Renyuan say that when he followed the late emperor to conquer Goguryeo, relying on the late emperor's reputation, even though they were in an enemy country, the Tang army could camp in their own country without digging trenches or erecting antlers, and the Goguryeo people did not dare to come for night attacks. After lamenting Emperor Taizong's fame, Wang Wenzuo pressed the soldiers even harder - neither Liu Renyuan nor these soldiers, Wang Wenzuo thought, could compare with Emperor Taizong and his warriors twenty years ago.
After eating the coarse food, Wang Wenzuo wrapped himself in a lynx skin cloak and fell into a deep sleep until Liu An woke him up in the middle of the night and came out to patrol the camp. Under the light of the waning moon, only the antlers and tents not far away could be seen, and the campfire flickered in the wind, like a blood-colored eyeball peering from the dark. Wang Wenzuo shuddered subconsciously, not sure if it was because of the night wind or because he was frightened.
"Don't doze off, or the Baekje people will cut open your stomach and strangle your neck with their intestines!" Wang Wenzuo threatened in a low voice to the sentry who was rubbing his eyes. He gritted his teeth and tried his best to make his gait less awkward. Strange, continue walking to the next sentry post.
The stars in the eastern sky gradually faded away, and the mountains appeared in front of him, standing above the woods and morning mist. The white moonlight flickered on the water. Wang Wenzuo walked along the edge of the camp with a spear in his hand. He could see the lights of the mountains in the distance. , that should be the goal of this attack. He couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity. He actually wanted to attack a mountain city with such a dangerous terrain. Even if there was no one to defend it, it would not be easy to get there.
When morning came, Wang Wenzuo returned to his tent. Exhausted, he lay on the straw couch for half an hour, then got up and ate some bean porridge and dried meat. Then the march continued, the road running parallel to the mountain stream, which was swollen due to melting snow. Wang Wenzuo could hear the sound of surging water, groaning endlessly, like the roar of a giant beast.
"I hope the enemy has not built a dam upstream!" Wang Wenzuo whispered: "Otherwise we will be doomed!"
"Using water as a weapon? I think those Baekje people didn't know beforehand that we would come!" Liu An said with a smile: "This is a good thing, at least we don't have to worry about being thirsty!"
"That's true!" Wang Wenzuo looked at the rocky hillside in the distance: "Look, there are not many trees on this mountain at all. What will we use to build long cards and large shields? Without these, how can we let the soldiers Do you use leather shields and shields to protect yourself from falling rocks on the mountain?"
Liu An looked at the steep mountain and imagined the scene when the rocks rolled down the mountain. He subconsciously shrank his neck. If he only relied on the shields of the soldiers to resist the arrows, the only result would be to be killed. Smashing them down together with the cards is definitely not a difficulty that can be overcome with courage and manpower.
"We can cut wood from the bottom of the mountain and transport it up!" Liu An said in an uncertain tone.
"It takes one day to chop down trees, at least two days to move them, and then at least another day to build rafts! It's been four days without doing anything, and the Baekje people will definitely not just watch obediently on the mountain, and we only have one month in total. of food!”
"We have at least fifty Scorpions, that thing should work!" Liu An whispered.
"Scorpions can kill people and break the female wall, but it is difficult to destroy the city wall itself, especially the stone wall!" Wang Wenzuo whispered: "If the enemy hides behind the city wall, then Scorpion can't do anything. Let alone such a mountain city. , height is the most deadly weapon!”
Liu An did not speak. He raised his neck and tried to see the top of the mountain clearly, but soon gave up his efforts and shook his head and said: "This is like hell. It's too early to attack a place like this. It's really too early!"
Rencun Mountain City.
"The Tang people are here, they are only half a day away from here!" Sha Zha Xiangru rushed into the long hall, his face pale: "There must be their spies among us, otherwise how could the Tang people come over just after the Prime Minister left!"
"Maybe it's just a coincidence!" Hei Te Changzhi dropped the pig bones in his hand and threw them to the hounds on the ground, causing a fight: "Even if we only have some new soldiers on hand, it is not difficult to defend here!"
"That's true!" Sha Zha Xiangru laughed, but the smile disappeared immediately: "Changzhi, do you remember the last time? The kind of repeating crossbow used by the Tang people?"
"Of course I won't forget it!" Hei Te Changzhi stood up and pressed his hands on the table: "I have thought about it many times. If it is a field battle, it will be really difficult to deal with. But attacking a city, especially a mountain city, is It's another matter, don't worry, after all we are at a high place, send the order down, let the soldiers prepare as many stones as possible behind the city wall, we must entertain our guests!"
"I think this order is a bit redundant!" Sha Zha Xiangru said with a smile: "There is no shortage of anything else in Rencun, except stones!"
The next day.
"Look, that's Rencun Mountain City!"
Liu Renyuan looked in the direction of Wang Wenzuo's finger. At the west end of the canyon, the road began to wind upwards to the top of the mountain, which was two miles high. This majestic mountain is Rencun Mountain, with many mountains rising up to it. Its peak is a full 1,000 meters above the ground. A stream flows down from its towering west mountain. Liu Renyuan can clearly hear the roar of the stream going down. .
"Right next to the stream, those are the white buildings!"
Even though Liu Renyuan has experienced hundreds of battles, he still gasped instinctively. The mountain peaks seemed to be piercing the belly of the sky with a dagger, towering into the sky. Standing on the battlements, the clouds were under his feet. And they had to capture it. No wonder the prisoners under interrogation smiled meaningfully when they heard that the Tang army was going to attack Rencun City.
