After listening to the old man's words, Zhang Dezheng thought about it and realized that his home was not far away. He was looking for someone to inquire about some information, so he nodded in agreement. Zhang Dezheng brought two soldiers to accompany the father and daughter to their home. The old man invited them to sit down, served tea, and then sat down opposite him and said, "My benefactor, may I ask what kind of army you are?"
"We are Tang Jun."
"Tang Army? So, the Tang army has come back?"
Zhang Dezheng shook his head and said: "No, we are just a partial force. We were ordered to go to Liu Wuzhou's rear to cut off their food route, but we never got the point, so we are very troubled." The old man nodded and said: "This place is to the north. Fifty miles away, there is a place called Zhangnan Fort, benefactor, you can go there and have a look."
"Zhang Nanbao?"
"Yes, Zhang Nan Fort is located between Pingyao and Yong'an," the old man said, dipping some water in his tea cup with his finger and drawing a circle on the table. "This is Pingyao and this is Yong'an. Pingyao and Yong'an are separated by There is only one official road to go through the steep mountains." The old man said and drew a connecting line between the two circles, "This is the Fen River, and the official road for thirty miles runs along the Fen River."
Although Zhang Dezheng was not familiar with the terrain in this area, he still knew the general direction. Yong'an was near them, and Pingyuan was two hundred miles away to the north. Song Jingang's grain was transported from Pingyao. He understood and said hurriedly: "Old man, you are saying that there is only one official road from Pingyao to Yong'an, and that official road is thirty miles in the Fenshui River Valley, right?" The old man nodded and said, "You said that. That’s right. The little old man made a living by hunting and collecting herbs when he was young, and he is very familiar with the terrain in that area. Within a few hundred miles, the official road in the Fenshui River Valley is the most dangerous, with one side facing the mountains and the other side facing the water. , and Zhang Nan Fort is located at the mouth of the valley. If it gets stuck there, the north-south trade route will be cut off at once."
Zhang Dezheng was very happy when he heard it. He really couldn't find it anywhere, and it took no effort to get it. He finally found the key to cutting off Song Jingang's food path.
After Zhang Dezheng returned to the camp, he told Mao Jie what he had obtained. Mao Jie was very happy when he heard it and said: "Then let's set off early tomorrow morning to go to Zhang Nan Fort."
The next day, Zhang Dezheng and Mao Jie led the team. After a day of rapid march, Yu Chenshi arrived at a small village five miles away from Zhang Nan Fort and stationed there. Zhang Dezheng asked the villagers and learned that there were about a thousand enemy troops stationed in Zhang Nan Fort.
The next day, Zhang Dezheng led two soldiers to Zhang Nan Fort for close reconnaissance. They climbed a hill a mile away from the castle and hid themselves in a bush. Zhang Dezheng looked up and saw that Zhang Nan Fort was built against the mountain. The east city wall was close to a cliff dozens of feet high. Outside the west city wall was the fast-flowing Fen River, and the official road from Pingyao to Yong'an was Just passing through the castle, it looks like a majestic pass guarding a key point.
Like all castles, Zhang Nan Fort has complete defense facilities. The city wall is about two feet and five feet high, and its circumference is about two miles. There is a moat outside the city, which is about four to five feet wide. The moat is filled with river water drawn from the Fen River. . The flag of Liu Wuzhou's army was flying on the city wall. The enemy troops at the top of the city were heavily guarded. Every five steps away, a soldier stood with a weapon in his hand. Their armor and spears shone brightly in the sunlight. .
Zhang Dezheng observed for a long time and could not help frowning. There are a thousand defenders in the castle, and the city walls are so high and blocked by a moat, but he only has six to seven hundred men at his disposal. With this small number of troops, it would be even harder to break through the impregnable Zhang Nan Fort than to reach the sky.
Just when Zhang Dezheng was feeling depressed, the city gate that had been closed was opened and the suspension bridge on the moat was lowered. Immediately afterwards, one cart after another of mules and horses drove out of the city, filled with bags of grain. Obviously, this is an enemy grain transport convoy. This grain transport team has a total of thirty or forty carts, and there are four to five hundred soldiers escorting them. After the coachmen drove the cart across the suspension bridge, the suspension bridge was pulled up and the city gate was closed again.
The enemy's grain transport convoy meandered southward along the official road. Looking at the retreating back of the convoy, Zhang Dezheng suddenly had an idea in his mind. He excitedly said to the soldiers: "We have a solution, let's go back."
Zhang Dezheng returned to the station and told Mao Jie what he had discovered, and then said: "The enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered. We cannot attack by force. We can only outwit them."
"How to outsmart him?"
"We climbed over the mountains, inserted into the Fenshui River Valley, ambush the enemy's grain transport team, and then disguised themselves as enemy troops and entered Zhangnan Fort to bloom in its center."
"This is a good idea." Mao Jie agreed.
So Zhang Dezheng found a local hunter, gave him a sum of money, and asked him to lead a detour into the Fenshui River Valley. To cross the high mountains, of course, the mules and horse baggage cannot be carried. Zhang Dezheng left fifty soldiers to guard the baggage. The others were all lightly equipped and headed deep into the mountains under the leadership of the guide.
The mountain lying on the east side of the Fen River is Yunqiu Mountain, a branch of the Taihang Mountains. The team climbed up the mountain along the path trodden by the woodcutter. After walking for a short time, they could no longer find the road. The further you go, the more steep the mountains become, with towering peaks and towering rocks, and you can encounter steep cliffs from time to time. Each time, the guide climbed up first, then lowered the rope, and the soldiers climbed up again. The team walked through high mountain canyons that even apes could not pass through. After more than two hours, they came to a cliff. Zhang Dezheng leaned over and looked down. Below was the turbulent Fenshui River. Parallel to the Fenshui River was a three-foot-wide official road.
finally reached! Zhang Dezheng was very happy. The guide found a small trail and led the team down to the river valley. At this moment, the official road was empty, with no cars, horses, or pedestrians. Zhang Dezheng ordered the team to enter a forest beside the road. The soldiers rested and ate the dry food they carried with them.
About an hour later, the scouts sent out came back to report that a food transport convoy had arrived, with forty or fifty carts and five to six hundred soldiers. Upon hearing this, Zhang Dezheng was overjoyed and immediately ordered everyone to get ready. He himself came to the edge of the woods, hid behind a big tree, and observed the movements on the official road.
About a stick of incense later, the enemy's grain transport convoy appeared. Walking at the front was an officer riding a tall horse. I saw him shaking his head and looking around. The soldiers escorting the transport were in a scattered formation. They carried spears on their shoulders and followed lazily behind the grain truck. These soldiers probably never dreamed that an enemy would ambush them here.
Following Zhang Dezheng's order, the Tang army ambushing in the woods fired their bows and crossbows, and arrows shot out like locusts. The enemy soldiers were caught off guard and fell to the ground one after another. The soldiers who were not hit by the arrows panicked and looked for shelter.
After a shower of arrows, the Tang army rushed out of the woods and launched a desperate fight with the remaining enemy troops. After Zhang Dezheng killed two enemy soldiers, he found that the officer abandoned his subordinates and fled forward on horseback. No, he must not be allowed to escape alive to Zhang Nanbao to report the news! Zhang Dezheng took off the hard bow he was carrying, took out the white-feathered arrow from the quiver, pulled the string to the full length of the bow, and shot the arrow, hitting him in the back of the heart. The officer fell off his horse. Zhang Dezheng ran over and found the customs clearance document from his body.
The battle was over quickly and no enemy soldiers survived. Zhang Dezheng ordered the corpse's armor to be stripped off, and the corpse was carried to the woods for burial. Then, he ordered everyone to put on armor and dress up as enemy escorts. He also told the remaining cart drivers to keep their mouths shut and asked them to drive the grain carts, and the team headed towards Zhangnan Fort.
When they arrived at Zhangnan Fort, it was Shenshi. The city gate was closed. When the soldiers on the gate tower saw the grain truck arriving at the city gate, some soldiers came down and opened the city gate. A city gate official came over and asked for the pass. Zhang Dezheng took out the Guanwen and handed it over. The city gate official looked at Guan Wen, glanced at him and said, "Isn't this the escort of Lao Song? How come they have been replaced?"
"Oh, Lao Song has malaria and can't walk, so I took his place."
After hearing this, the city gate officer nodded, returned the Guan Wen to him, and waved his hand to let them enter the castle. Zhang Dezheng directed the carts to file in. When the last grain cart passed through the city gate, Zhang Dezheng nodded to the gate official and said with a smile: "Thank you!"
After leaving the city gate, Zhang Dezheng's heart dropped from his throat. However, he had just taken a dozen steps when a soldier suddenly caught up with him and shouted, "Stop, everyone!" Zhang Dezheng turned around and asked in surprise, "What's going on?"
"Sir ordered the grain truck to rush to the grain store."
When Zhang Dezheng heard this, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly: "Can you please lead the way from the front?" The soldier ran to the front of the convoy and directed the grain transport convoy to turn right and enter the grain store. All the grain trucks were Stopped in the yard of the grain store.
Zhang Dezheng asked the soldiers about the location of the inn and led his men to the inn. After everyone settled down, he said to Mao Jie: "I will take people out for a walk. You stay here and send people to watch the drivers so that they don't let the news go out." Mao Jie nodded and said: "Okay. Do not worry!"
Zhang Dezheng took Wang Wu and Gong Lin out of the post house and walked along the street. Zhangnan Fort is not big. Judging from the number of houses, there are about four to five hundred households. There is only one street in the castle, which leads from the north gate to the south gate, which is the official road that passes through the castle. The official road is three to five feet wide, and the soil is compacted and extremely hard. There are only a few scattered shops on both sides of the street, and their doors are now closed.
They walked for a while and found a large courtyard not far from the road. There were more than a dozen houses in the courtyard.
There were two soldiers with guns standing guard at the gate, and soldiers wearing armor came in and out. Zhang Dezheng estimated that this courtyard should be Zhang Nanbao's barracks.
They stopped near the south gate. There were soldiers guarding the gate tower and the city gate. In order not to arouse their suspicion, Zhang Dezheng did not walk over. He just took a few glances from a distance and whispered: "Let's Let's go back."
