Chapter 3575 Serial Horse
In February of the tenth year of Taixing.
The cavalry army rushed from Hangu Pass eastward, preparing to meet with Zhang Liao's vanguard.
Although Zhang Liao's vanguard troops opened up and marked the road, the central army led by Fei Qian was still very cautious.
Zhu Ling led the scout camp and headed for thirty miles first, while Pang Tong's rear army was thirty miles away from Fei Qian's central army. Even if there were any special circumstances, they would be able to gather together within half a day, at most within one day.
During the ancient marching process, it was undoubtedly the time when the army was the weakest.
The army on the march is like the "target of activity". This problem will not be exempted because of the leadership of a commander. Even if the food and grass are not mentioned, and various complex terrain problems during the march, just talk about the soldiers, especially long-distance marching, will not bring all the equipment on their bodies. After all, the higher the load, the worse the endurance, and the distance of travel will naturally be shortened. Therefore, during the long-distance marching, the equipment of the soldiers is basically on the baggage truck. Once attacked, they must not only line up to fight back, but also get back their weapons and equipment in time...
This feature also explains why "to wait for labor" and "intercepting the food road" became classics in ancient wars, and everyone knew it, but no one was good at defending tactics.
Now behind most of the Feiqian Central Army are various carriages, mule carriages, and rickshaws, winding around, as if they can't see the end at a glance. On the road, scouts, wearing helmets, hanging tokens, carrying flags, running back and forth.
After walking for three days, the last logistics force left Hangu Pass and entered the Heluo boundary.
Walking on the land of Heluo, a feeling of desolation came towards him, which made Fei Qian feel a little emotional.
Since the Zhongping period, not to mention how many heroes and heroes have come and go in this land, even how many people who are like wild leeks have fallen on this land? The corpses are buried here forever, and perhaps there will be no chance to see the light of day again in a thousand years.
China, or humans, are good at internal consumption, but the civilization of ancient China was too fast and too high, so it was more obvious than other regions. This may be a sign left in the genes, so that humans can one day destroy themselves.
Compared with Chang'an area, Heluo will be relatively wider, while Shandong's Central Plains area is even larger than Heluo. The Chinese dynasty gradually moved from closure to openness.
Of course, there are two exceptions.
This is also in line with the laws of nature. After all, China is a civilized development route that focuses on farming, so it is inevitably inclined to move towards areas that are more suitable for large-scale land farming, but this also brings defense difficulties.
During the Qin Dynasty, Hangu Pass could isolate most threats. In the Han and Tang dynasties, it was necessary to defend against Guanzhong or Heluo. When it developed into the Ming Dynasty, there was Shanhai Pass in the north, Yumen Pass in the west, Japanese pirates in the southeast coast, and Tusi Shanman in the southwest...
In the final analysis, it is because of insufficient "education".
In other words, internal education is more important than external education.
In this regard, the later generations of Midi undoubtedly had a relatively successful period. Through various publicity, infiltration, and endorsement of Cicada, Midi could continuously draw outstanding talents from other countries like blood-sucking leeches for a considerable period of time, and then expand their own advantages through these excellent talents, and then use these advantages to attract talents.
Therefore, talent is the most important thing.
However, these landlord classes in China are just staring at the land, and then trying to confine the people to the land, exploit the value of their labor, and try to form a chain of pressing that has been passed down from generation to generation. It is obviously impossible to last long. However, because humans themselves are short-lived species, they inevitably have the idea of ​​drinking and getting drunk today.
Entering the Heluo area, Feiqian saw many villages abandoned.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Heluo area was originally very prosperous. Although there was no question of three miles a village or five miles a village, there were still many villages and towns distributed along the surrounding area of ​​the official road. However, now they are basically abandoned, leaving only some wreckage here.
After all, the closer these villages and towns are to the official road, the more likely they are to be affected by war.
Moreover, there is a big difference in Heluo from Guanzhong area, that is, the road is very difficult to walk, not to mention the bumpy pits, there are some areas that are like being gnawed by dogs, and the foundation of the entire road is gone, which is completely inconsistent with the memory and impression left by Fei Qian before...
As a later generation, Fei Qian is naturally better at the overall situation than the Han Dynasty. Even long-term strategic planning is needed. All levels of the entire country, including fiscal taxes, food and wage collection, etc., must start from the overall situation and not be biased in one place.
The Eastern Han Dynasty's preference for the imperial township and Jizhou also destined the birth of the Western Qiang issue, and the Western Qiang eventually led to the shock of the government and the country in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the chaos. So what are the benefits of the Eastern Han Dynasty's preference for Nanyang and Jizhou?
The key is that these gentry gentry who were favored by the Eastern Han Dynasty took this preference for the sake of this preference.
When he learned that Fei Qian was leading his troops, Zhang Liao went out with his men and horses to meet him for fifty miles.
When they saw the Flag of Fei Qian Central Army appear, all of these vanguard soldiers cheered "Wansheng".
Amid the cheers like a tide, Fei Qian seemed to see Luoyang City like ink dots in the distance.
"Meet the lord!" Zhang Liao stepped forward to see.
Fei Qian turned over and dismounted, stepped forward and pulled Zhang Liao up, "Wenyuan doesn't need to be too polite."
Zhang Liao greeted other accompanying generals and advisers again.
Everyone gave way and allowed the soldiers to move forward.
Fei Qian and everyone climbed the earthen plateau next to the road, looking east, "After leaving Luoyang, I have been feeling for several years."
When Zhang Liao heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned, and his expression was a little sad.
On the soil plate, the little flowers that felt the warm spring bloom quietly in the grass, as if they wanted to use the color of their petals to welcome the new spring and new hope.
Fei Qian exhaled a long breath.
The trivial and ordinary things that happened in Luoyang City seemed to have appeared in front of me again.
A piece of blackened pottery bowl with a bit of a stinging pain.
Fei Qian bent down and picked up the broken pottery, turned it over and looked at it. There was no inscription, and it was obviously burned in an unknown small kiln.
What did you put in this pottery bowl?
『I remember there was a shop making soup cakes at the entrance of the alley where I lived...』 Fei Qianxuxu pointed to the direction of Luoyang City and said with a smile, 『The shop is called soup cakes... At first, I thought the soup cakes made in that shop were the best in Luoyang, but later I found out that the shopkeeper's surname was Wang... His soup cakes were filled with large pottery bowls, and the best sold were leek leaf soup cakes...』
In my memory, when morning light climbed onto the copper cauldron of the soup cake shop, Manager Wang would emerge from the store, with flour on his body, knocking the wooden spoon on the edge of the counter, and shouting loudly as the water vapor in the copper cauldron rose.
And the garrison soldiers who were on duty all night, wearing short brown clothes, were like Shi Gandang, squatting one after another on the bluestone steps outside the shop, holding a large pottery bowl, and picking up the leek leaves in the bowl and sucking them.
Mrs. Zhang, who was selling oil next door, would dress up specially, with a gold-plated silver hairpin on her head, so that the amber embedded in the tangled branches of the hairpin was shaking golden in the sun, greeting other shops along the way, shaking and buying soup cakes, regardless of how many gazes of the soldiers on her butt were stained.
At the corner of the street, Grandma Zhao would hand the newly steamed date cake to her great-grandson, showing a loving smile, squinted her eyes and dipped the residue of the date cake that the great-grandson fell with her fingers, and put it into her mouth where she was missing, saying that when the class in the West Market started, she would take her great-grandson to watch the juggling, and would buy a pottery whistle with Chiyou painted.
Apart from the market, the most lively one is the bookstore street in front of the Taixue Gate. Those unsung students squeezed in front of the silk painting stall, blushing and arguing about the red period in the prophecy and divination map. The old man selling bamboo slips looked at it with a smile and never participated in the students' discussions, but he always liked to sell "Jijiu" and pickled plums side by side, and said that reading is like eating plums, first sour and then sweet...
Fei Qian's smile gradually closed.
Perhaps now, the store of the soup cake king has collapsed, and the oil-selling lady Zhang has died. The big locust tree at the corner of the street has become a scorched branch of dead trees, and the academy that once gathered all the students around the world has also become a place where wild dogs wander...
"Luoyang City West Plain,
The broken wall welcomes the rising sun.
The ruins are buried in weeds,
The abandoned well covers the frost.
Three or four sons of old friend,
Now they are all alone.
Still remembering the words of parting,
Holding hands with tears flows.
Suddenly, spring flowers bloomed,
Chasing the old rivers.
May gather wind and thunder wings,
Stretch your wings and change your new sky!』
...
...
In the Heluo area, spring is warm and flowers bloom, but if you walk among the mountains, especially the mountainsides with higher altitudes, it is still relatively cold, and you can still see some residual snow on the top of the mountain.
The mountain wind was wrapped in broken snow and poured into the collar. Zhuge Liang tightened his fur and cloak, looking at the mountain wall ahead, which was like a knife and an axe chopping.
The pass of Tiegu Ridge looms in the distance, like a dead white snake curling between the thousand-foot cliffs.
That's right, Zhuge Liang took the risk...
Didn’t Zhuge Liang be cautious all his life?
He is indeed cautious, but in the same way, he will take risks.
However, Zhuge Liang's adventures were at least 60% or 70% of the probability, so he would do it. He refused such low-probability events and would not bet on anything that would win one in a hundred, so he seemed to be more cautious than others.
This adventure was also Zhuge Liang felt at least 70% sure, so he convinced Xu Huang, who led the troops to pull Cao Zhen in Jiangling, while Zhuge Liang returned to Zigui with his small troops, headed north from Zigui, and rushed to Fangling.
The reason why I didn't go to Jiangling was that Zhuge Liang and Xu Huang were not familiar with Jiangling, and if the enemy noticed it earlier, it would be almost a dead end. On the other hand, from Jiangling to Zigui, there was a boat trip all the way, and it was just enough to set off. The soldiers who crossed mountains and rivers could rest on the boat and supplement their nutrition...
It happened that when Zhuge Liang arrived at Zigui camp and was about to set out, he encountered Shamoke.
So Zhuge Liang simply took Shamoke with him, crossing mountains and ridges from Zigui, and heading straight to Fangling.
"Report—" The scout returned from the front, looked worried and bowed his head to report, "There is a cliff blocking the road ahead, which is difficult to pass!"
Zhuge Liang frowned, expanded the map, and checked carefully, "You're not going wrong, how could there be a cliff?"
When he set out from Zigui twelve days ago, eight hundred elite soldiers were strongly armored. At this moment, they looked back at the winding mountain road, but they saw soldiers holding guns and sticking to the mountain wall, somewhat tired.
Zhuge Liang took the people to the cliff reported by the scout, and only then did he know that there was a cableway here, but after being disrepaired, it had already decayed and collapsed, leaving only some bare and broken piles on the stone wall.
If it is just a stone wall, it is nothing, but this stone wall not only has the lower part up and down, but also has a small section at the top, which is protruding out and hanging outside...
The lower half can fall on this small stone platform, but if it falls down in a section above, it will probably fall directly into the deep valley!
Shamoko walked over and looked up at the remaining pit on the stone wall, "My people can go up."
Zhuge Liang looked up and said, "How to climb? This stone wall is straight up and down... and the section above..."
Shamoko pointed at the pillar pits left on the stone wall and dug holes. "If you have any, you can climb up. When you get on it, you will hook it up with ropes and go up one by one..."
"Okay, give it a try." Shamoko didn't express it very clearly, but Zhuge Liang obviously couldn't think of how to deal with the convex stone wall in the above section.
Most of the general stone walls, Sichuan and Sichuan soldiers can deal with them. For example, cutting wood and building wooden ladders in other places, using long wooden ladders like climbing the city. Although it will take more time to climb, there is basically no problem.
But this convex stone wall...
Shamoko waved back and asked the tribesmen he brought, "Come here and unload the armor! Make a ladder, climb up there first, and dig out the stigmas below!"
The people of Shamoko were also used to climbing in the mountains and forests. Facing the straight up and down stone wall, there was no hesitation at all. They just ran under the stone wall, piled up ladders and climbed up.
The stone wall in the lower half is progressing very quickly, and the main difficulty is the top part...
Zhuge Liang looked up and didn't understand how to climb when he got on it.
As a result, when Zhuge Liang saw that Shamoke's tribe members crawled to the stone wall protruding outward, he took out a dagger and inserted it directly into the crack of the rock, creating a relay point and foothold for climbing out of thin air!
"Understood."
Zhuge Liang suddenly realized and immediately ordered the soldiers to gather all the short weapons they carried to use for the Shamoko tribesmen.
The short weapons of the soldiers of the Sichuan and Shu army were obviously much stronger and more durable than those of the Shamoko tribe.
『Vine!』 Shamoko said, 『You must use good vines, but the rope cannot be used.
Zhuge Liang also nodded and understood, and asked the soldiers to collect mountain vines around him.
"Don't take dry vines and old vines... thick, thorny..." Shamoko added.
Things like mountain vine are very strange.
The tender mountain vines can be broken as soon as they are pulled, but some of them are full of spikes, which are very tough.
What Shamoko wants is such a mountain vine.
As for the spikes on it...
Who can still care about cutting at this time?
Of course, temporary vine ladders are more durable than plank roads like wooden ladders. The vines can maintain a certain degree of toughness just after being cut down. However, after a long time of rotting and drying, they will naturally lose their toughness and collapse and fall back to pieces at any time. However, they are not going to walk like this every day, maybe they just have to go...
Whether it is successful or failure.
At the third update, the vine ladder finally came to the top of the stone wall, and the front army began to climb rocks.
During the climbing process, there are not completely no risks.
Someone stepped on the air while climbing up and fell down the stone wall, slid down the abyss, screaming echoed in the valley.
Although some people did not fall down, they accidentally stepped on their hands or touched those daggers with bare blades, or were stabbed by the spikes of the vines. They could not be said to retract and wrap them up and crawled, but they could only grit their teeth and endure the pain and continue to move upwards...
All the way up, bloodstained.
The torches were clear in the night wind, climbing upwards as if ascending to the sky.
"Entertainment, why don't we go up first and then use a sling..." Zhuge Liang's guard whispered, "This stone wall is too high..."
Zhuge Liang was silent for a while and shook his head, "No need, they can crawl... I can do it too."
Some soldiers had already climbed onto the stone wall, and then began to pull up the armor of the soldiers with ropes.
The hemp rope sways and rubs on the cliff.
It is certainly safer to wait for soldiers to organize hanging baskets, but if the ropes are worn during the process of hanging and pulling...
It's better to climb by yourself.
Although there are also risks.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you." Shamoko said to Zhuge Liang, "Get the rope and tie me and the worker together!"
Zhuge Liang was not pretentious and bowed to Shamoke to thank him.
Standing in front of the stone wall, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but reach out and touch a jade ring in his arms. It was given to him by Xu Shu when he went to fight. It was the jade that was introduced from the Jiange Road to the Hetian area of ​​the mountains and the Western Regions. The jade ring had been fumbled very well by Zhuge Liang, and the gentle feel also made Zhuge Liang's nervous heart slightly relieved.
"I'll get on first, where I step on, where you step on."
Shamoco specifically instructed.
"good."
Zhuge Liang followed Shamoke and climbed up the vine ladder, and heard the creaking sound under his feet.
When he climbed to the suspended position of the upper floor, he didn't know whether he was nervous or the cracks in his vines, Zhuge Liang heard some broken sounds, as if the god of death was murmured in his ear.
Zhuge Liang tried not to think or look as much as possible, focused all his attention on Shamoke in front, followed his steps and went up little by little...
Until the last part, when Zhuge Liang felt a little weak and couldn't hold on, Shamoke had already climbed up to the stone wall, and grabbed Zhuge Liang's arm with his hand, and together with the other soldiers, he pulled Zhuge Liang to the top of the stone wall cliff.
Zhuge Liang went up to the top of the cliff and turned around to look back. A ray of dawn in the east was quietly blooming.
The distant mountains are stacked up, all under your feet.
The morning light on the top of the cliff passed Zhuge Liang's clothes covered with rock chips, and was also reflected on his face.
When he looked at the winding mountain path, he suddenly remembered the comments of General Huoqi when he was reading "Salt and Iron" under the Lushan Mountain.
"All things are like scattered stars, but they are actually the connection between heaven's chess."
Chapter completed!