Funiu Mountain, which is more than 200 miles long and more than 100 miles wide, is a remnant extending eastward at the end of the Qinling Mountains, and its northern foothill is where Luyang is located. At this time, a huge army appeared on the Nanyang Plain connected to its southern foothill - the Wei army led by Cao Cao.

Zhang He, beside Cao Cao, pointed to the towering mountain peak in the distance and said, "Your Majesty, Funiu Mountain is ahead. Do we really want to climb over the Funiu Mountain, which is a hundred miles wide? If a small group of people is not a problem, but such a large army, even if there is no interference from the enemy, they will probably be lost and dispersed and damaged many people."

Cao Cao said calmly: "I know this, but if we follow the original route, no matter how we avoid detours, we will inevitably be blocked by Liang's chariots on the plains. Their four hooves of war horses and the wheels of the chariots are much faster than the two legs of our infantry, not to mention that they also have elite scouts and lifting lights and other detective weapons. Suppose we set up camps on the spot and wait for reinforcements from Fangcheng and Ping's direction, do you think we can defend this camp? You must know that the Liang army is best at attacking tough situations. They can break through cities like Wancheng and Huyang in an instant. How many camps we have set up in a hurry in a short time can do them?"

Zhang He quickly bowed and replied, "Your Majesty is so wise that you think more carefully than us. I will now ask the soldiers to prepare to cross mountains and ridges."

Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "We don't need to enter the mountain in such a hurry. Because we still have the possibility of bypassing the Liang army chariots along the southern foot of Funiu Mountain. You only need to send two scouts. One way along the foot of the southern foot of Funiu Mountain to Fangcheng to see if there are any traces of Liang army. If not, come back to report the message and ask Guo Jia from Fangcheng to also allocate some troops to reinforce. The other way is to enter Funiu Mountain to explore easy roads and prepare for the backup!"

"I obey the order. However, it takes a day or two to go back and forth by scouts into the mountain to explore the road or to walk to Fangcheng. Do we need to camp on the spot?"

While Cao Cao was pondering, Xu Huang next to him continued, "I think it's not appropriate to set up camps on the spot. Such a camp that connects the sky and the earth is easy to be discovered by the Liang army scouts. Moreover, building a camp requires a lot of manpower and material resources. If the Liang army comes to attack, it is not easy to defend. Just seven or eight miles away, there is an abandoned small city called Zhicheng. This city is surrounded by mountains and rivers. If a large number of Liang army troops attack, they can defend by relying on the city. If the enemy's troops are huge, we can retreat to Funiu Mountain behind the city. It is perfect for the army to guard this place."

Cao Cao said decisively: "What Gongming said is that our army will station in Zhicheng. After the two scouts find out the situation, we will make a decision!"

Half an hour later, the Wei army drove into Zhicheng, a deserted city. Not only was the small city in Zhicheng City, there were also broken houses and tiles in the city, and the ruins were everywhere. It was impossible for tens of thousands of troops to be stationed in the city. Cao Cao ordered people to set up two camps, one east and one west on the hillside close to Zhicheng. Two camps and one city were supporting each other. The two scouts had already run away, and they were all doing their own things.

...

In Funiu Mountain, several Wei army scouts cursed and used a mountain knife to cut down the bushes and thorns, looking for paths that could be passed. Funiu Mountain was originally a small path made by merchants and hunters. But now it is winter, not the season for merchants and hunters to go out and go out. Such paths are covered under weeds and shrubs, and you need to search carefully to find them.

"Damn, why is your luck so bad today? I'll get the draw for hundreds of people!" One of them was still muttering unwillingly.

"Hey, who made us a mountainous person in Jinzhou? If we weren't a mountainous person, it would be our turn to draw this lottery to do this chore. Don't complain. How about it, it's better than a chore on your trousers and belts. If we do it well, maybe we can remember a high-quality military merit..."

Before he finished speaking, the man exclaimed: "What beast!...ah!" A huge black shadow jumped up and bit his ankle in one bite, making him scream heart-wrenchingly. Several companions next to him were stunned for a while before they reacted. When they looked closely, they found that it was a big dog. The bitten man also woke up from the severe pain, waved the mountain knife in his hand and slashed at the big dog, but there were an extra arrow on his head.

"There is an enemy ambush! The enemy attacks!" One of the people first reacted and screamed heart-wrenchingly. As soon as he finished speaking, he was shot in his chest and fell to the ground with a scream.

Until now, the enemy seized in the dark has not emerged. Someone of the remaining three shouted: "Run!". They turned around and ran along the way. With a barking, the big dog rushed up again, biting one of the people's calf, forcing him to fall to the ground. At this time, two figures jumped out of the bushes, one of them bent his bow and arrow, shot out quickly, and another shot into the vest of a Wei army scout.

Among the two, one was guarding the prisoner bitten by the dog, and the other was chasing the last Wei soldier. After more than a hundred steps, the Wei soldier who was running away from the front sank and disappeared. He chased forward a few more steps before he found that it was a cliff blocking the front, and under the cliff was a deep ravine.

These two men were naturally the mountain scouts of Liang's army. They were not separated from Feng Yu's main force. At this time, Feng Yu's main force was still resting and preparing defense near Wancheng, so it was impossible for him to send scouts to such a far place.

Before Feng Yu headed south from Dankou, he sent more than a thousand mountain scouts. They were two of them. The more than a thousand scouts set out from Shang County, Luojun, on the starting point of the Danshui Waterway, crossed mountains and ridges, and walked two or three hundred miles of mountain road into the Funiu Mountain area. Then, two to five people were divided into hundreds of groups of people to guard the movements of the Wei army in the mountains. Feng Yu instructed them that if a small group of Wei army was found to cross the Funiu Mountain, they would immediately kill them. If a large number of Wei army marched through the mountains and ridges, more than a thousand people would gather together, and while continuing to harass them, they would quickly hand the information to the Liang army in Nanyang.

...

In Zhicheng, Cao Cao waited for more than twenty hours in anxiety. During this period, he couldn't even sleep well. It was not that he had no time, but that he couldn't sleep. The scouts of the two routes had not yet been able to return to the report, which made him even more uneasy.

Cao Cao sat in a dilapidated temple, pondering that the Liang army was unlikely to appear at the same time, especially the Liang army that entered the mountain. How could the Liang army set up an ambush in the deserted Funiu Mountain? It was impossible for the scout who entered the mountain to encounter any other dangers or lost his way. As for the one who went to Fangcheng, it was possible that he would encounter the Liang army's cavalry and could only leave it to fate.

Just as he was comforting himself, a personal guard Lingbing ran in panic.
Chapter completed!