Chapter 1239 Smuggling thick mulberry

  yuan is a unique landform in the Yongliang area of ​​Guanzhong.

  Because of the perennial erosion of running water, the loess geology follows the direction of the water flow, forming a long platform-shaped terrain with steep sides and a flat top.

  For example, during the First World War in Guanzhong, the Wuzhangyuan where the prime minister stationed troops was actually a kind of Yuan.

  The plateau where Hangu Pass is located, from Dahe in the north to Qinling in the south, is called Chousangyuan.

   You can tell from the name that this plateau may have been covered with mulberry trees in the past.

  Chousangyuan is surrounded by cliffs on both sides, and there is a precipitous stream in the east. Together with the dense forest on the plateau, Hangu Pass has been constructed as a dangerous terrain.

  It's just that today, the water level of the big river keeps cutting down, exposing a large area of ​​the river bed.

  The army can bypass Hangu Pass directly from the river bed exposed on the south bank of the great river, and the plateau will naturally lose its role in blocking the enemy.

  However, in the early years, Cao Cao begged Zhang Lu and Ma Chao in the west, and ordered Xu Chu to build a pass tower at the narrowest part of the river bed in order to transfer troops, horses and food.

  This pass building is built at the northernmost tip of the plateau, only ten miles away from Qinhangu Pass, and it is called Xinguan.

   Today's Wei army is guarding Qin Hangu Pass and Xinguan at the same time, blocking the advance of the Han army.

  Jiang Wei and Liu Yin were short of troops, and the Wei army had already made preparations to dig deep trenches and build barriers in front of the new pass in advance, so there was nothing they could do for a while.

  Hearing Jiang Wei's words, and seeing his eyes looking south along Chou Sangyuan, Liu Yin immediately guessed what the other party was thinking, and he couldn't help feeling a little worried:

   "Bo Yue intends to find a way to climb the plateau? Most of these plateaus are cliffs, and there are dense forests on them. It may be difficult to climb up."

  Chousangyuan at this time, although it is no longer a forest of mulberry trees, is still densely forested, and it is extremely difficult to climb up.

   "If the west and east sides of Chou Sang Plain are both facing the Juejian, then we have no choice but to attack."

  Jiang Wei looked at the endless plateau with firm eyes:

   "Now there is no dead end here, we have to try it out, otherwise we two will return without success, how can we be reconciled?"

  Hearing this, Liu Yin knew that Jiang Wei had already made up his mind, so he couldn't persuade him anymore, so he could only ask:

   "Then how should I cooperate with Bo Yue?"

  Jiang Weidao:

   "The previous battle was fierce, and the soldiers may have been a little tired. If you just arrange for them to rest for a while, the thieves will definitely not suspect it."

   "I will take this opportunity to lead the army to the south to look for opportunities. If I can find a mountain path, I will send someone to inform Xiuran at that time, and we will act together."

  Liu Yin nodded upon hearing the words:

   "It's so good, the soldiers really should take a rest."

  So the two summoned the generals, and Jiang Wei said:

   "The thieves are well prepared today. If they attack by force, the casualties will be immeasurable. Therefore, I want to lead an elite group to find a dangerous path to defeat the thieves."

   "However, there are so many dangers and dangers here, who is willing to follow me?"

   All the generals responded enthusiastically:

   "I am willing to go with the general!"

Seeing that the morale was available, Jiang Wei was overjoyed, and carefully selected three thousand dare-to-die men who did not wear armor, only leather armor, and enough dry food. go.

  It’s just that the thick mulberry plateau is as sharp as a knife, lying between the Qinling Mountains and the Dahe River. How difficult is it to find a dangerous path across the past?

  Even if there are occasional places where they can cross the plateau, because it is too close to Hangu Pass, the Wei army has already prepared for it.

  Jiang Wei had no choice but to lead the army to continue south.

   It's just that the further south you go, the harder it is to walk.

  Jiang Wei led the people and traveled southward for dozens of miles, but saw that the place was desolate and overgrown with weeds, so he could only rely on the cliffs of the plateau to find out the direction.

  The soldiers can only open the way with swords and axes, stepping on a path with one foot high and one foot low.

  This trip started at the beginning of August, and it took about ten days to walk seventy or eighty miles, and the journey in a day did not exceed ten miles.

  Except that the places where you go are all rare human footprints, there is no way to go, and you need to open your own way.

  Jiang Wei and his soldiers had to carefully search for places where they could climb up the plateau, so the speed was naturally extremely slow.

  The terrain near Chousangyuan is inherently undulating, with thousands of ravines.

  The road of a hundred miles does not seem to be far away, but if you really want to walk, climb mountains and ditches, it is actually two hundred or even three hundred miles.

  In addition, from the Qinling Mountains down, a lot of water flows into the direction of the big river, but due to insufficient flow, it accumulates under the plateau, forming mud pits and even swamps.

   These mud pits and swamps are often hidden among the weeds that are as tall as a person, and if you don't pay attention, you will sink into them.

  If Jiang Wei hadn't asked people to bring more ropes and pull them out in time, the soldiers who might have fallen in would have been swallowed by muddy water.

   Even so, several soldiers still disappeared in the deep pool of wild grass, and nearly a hundred people were sick and injured due to various reasons, and had to be sent back.

   Fortunately, Jiang Wei came all the way, found several dry places, and temporarily set up camps, but they were not demolished, so there is no need to worry about going back this way.

  When the terrain rose significantly, even Jiang Wei had to abandon his horse and walk with the soldiers to explore the road.

   "General, if you go further, you will reach the Qinling Mountains. What should I do?"

  If they fail to find a suitable place in the Qinling Mountains, then they will really return without success this time.

  Jiang Wei looked up, but the last ten miles of Chousang Plateau remained the same as before, and its end had already submerged into the Qinling Mountains, forming an integral body with the Qinling Mountains.

  Jiang Wei looked back at the soldiers around him, but he saw that everyone was covered in mud, water and dirt, and their faces were tired.

   Fortunately, the Guanzhong Eighth Army has received rigorous training and is led by veterans of many battles, and their morale is acceptable.

  So he summoned the generals to come and said:

   "As the saying goes, half a hundred miles can reach ninety. This is the end of the road. How can our army retreat here?"

   "Tomorrow, I will search the last ten miles with you and others. If we are blessed by God, we can cross this plateau, and I will share the great achievements with you."

   Those who can take the initiative to ask for orders to follow Jiang Wei to explore the way, naturally have already been psychologically prepared for the current situation, and they all responded:

   "We are willing to follow the general!"

  Jiang Wei then ordered everyone to go down and encouraged the soldiers to wait for tomorrow.

   It's just that no matter how useful the military spirit is, it depends on God's will.

  At dawn on the second day, Jiang Wei ordered the camp to be pulled out and the search began.

   It's just that until the sun passed the mid-heaven, none of the teams had any good news.

  Jiang Wei stood under the plateau and looked up at it, but saw that the plateau was jagged with mud and rocks, looking like a monster, as if if disturbed, he would fall down and smash people to pieces.

  Looking at the Qinling Mountains not far away, the mountains are layered and endless, and the white clouds in the sky wrap the mountain peaks, which are mysterious and unpredictable.

  He could not help but let out a long sigh:

   "If God doesn't bless me?"

  Who would have expected that when the sun went down, the last group of troops returned to the camp, and one person was escorted back secretly:

   "General, we caught one person, it might be a spy!"

  Jiang Wei's heart skipped a beat when he heard it, "Smart work?"

  But seeing the team lead up with a knife and a bow:

   "General, this is a weapon collected from this person."

  Jiang Wei took it over and took a closer look, and couldn't help raising his eyebrows:

   "Is this... the thief's military weapon?"

  The appearance of this sword and bow is a bit old, but Jiang Wei joined the army in Tianshui, Liangzhou at any rate, and he can recognize it at a glance as the style of the Wei thief's early military weapons.

  He couldn't help but look up at Xizuo who was tightly bound and his mouth was sealed.

  There are thieves working in this place?

  Could it be possible that the bandits had already expected my actions?

  Thinking of this, his heart sank.

  But seeing the detailed work, his eyes were anxious, he kept whining, twisting his body, as if indicating that he had something to say.

   "Take the thing out of his mouth, I have something to ask."

  The meticulous worker got a chance to speak, and before he could catch his breath, he collapsed on the ground with a "plop", kowtowed repeatedly, and begged for mercy:

   "General, General, villains are not meticulous, not meticulous, really not meticulous!"

  Jiang Wei's eyes fell on him, but seeing this man's frightened face and ragged clothes, it really didn't look like a fine work.

   "Where did you find him?"

   "Return to the general, we followed the general's order and went to the foot of Nanshan Mountain to investigate. Who would have expected this person to hide in the jungle and set a trap. If we hadn't searched carefully, we would have almost been injured by the trap."

   "I am wronged, General, I am wronged by the villain! The trap set by the villain is originally for hunting, how dare you hurt the general's soldiers?"

   "Hunting?"

   What a smart person Jiang Wei is, he immediately captured the important information in this person's words.

   But seeing him raise the sword and bow in his hand, he gestured:

   "This is the weapon used by the Wei thief army. If you are just a hunter, how can you explain this?"

   "Besides, I have never seen anyone live this way. You said you were hunting, so where do you live?"

   As he spoke, Jiang Wei pointed to Qinling, "Could it be possible that you live in the deep mountains and old forests of Qinling? Isolated from the world?"

  When the man heard this, his expression changed, and he immediately hesitated to speak.

  Jiang Wei saw it, and immediately shouted:

   "Sure enough, it's a spy. Take him down, torture him, and ask him everything he knows!"

   "Here!"

  Who would have expected that Wei Jun’s secret work was so spineless, before the sergeant pulled him up, he immediately shouted:

   "General, general, spare your life! The villain has recruited, the villain has recruited!"

  Jiang Wei waved his hand, and the sergeant put him down knowingly.

  Jiang Wei raised his chin and gestured: "Speak."

   Seeing the other party lying on the ground, he hummed a few times, his eyes rolled around, and Jiang Wei said "Huh?"

   "The villain said, the villain said, the villain's name is Li Liu, and he really lives in the mountains..."

  Before he finished speaking, Jiang Wei threw the knife and bow in front of him with a bang, and shouted sharply:

   "How dare you argue! This weapon is a weapon in the Wei bandit army, you don't know it!"

   "If you live in a deep mountain, then let me ask you, where did you get this weapon?"

  But seeing Li Liu's body trembling, he said in a squeak:

   "Yes... it was passed down from the villain's father..."

  Jiang Wei came up to him and said word by word:

   "That is to say, the adults of your family served in the Wei thief army, didn't they?"

  Li Liu suddenly raised his head and looked at Jiang Wei in disbelief.

  Jiang Wei didn't give him a chance to react, and continued:

   "And, he's a deserter?"

  The blood on the opponent's face suddenly faded, and it was extremely pale.

  Jiang Wei saw the other party's expression, and he already guessed in his heart. He sneered, stood up straight, and looked down at Li Liu:

   "If you are really not a spy, then you appear near here, and I am afraid that you live near here. If I send people to disperse to search, maybe I can find some clues..."

   "General, general, spare your life, general, spare your life!"

  Jiang Wei directly defeated Li Liu's psychology as if he could guess everything. He kowtowed, "I'll do it, I'll do it all!"

"explain!"

   "The villain, the adult of the villain, indeed once in Wei...Wei..."

   "Wei thief!"

   "Yes, yes, yes! I used to serve as a soldier for the Wei thief, that is, that is," the man thought hard, "that was more than twenty years ago."

   "The villain's father was a person from Guanzhong. Later, he suffered a military turmoil, and his family fled to Hanzhong. Unexpectedly, Wei, Wei's thieves later invaded Hanzhong and moved all the people in Hanzhong."

"The villain was only thirteen years old at that time, and he moved back to the village with his late father. Unexpectedly, he had not settled down and had no livelihood. Join the army with the adults."

   "My father and son have just passed through Hangu Pass with the army. It is said that the Wei bandits have suffered another defeat in Jingzhou in the south. The war is tense. The king of Wei is moving the capital, causing panic."

   "Many soldiers fled privately at that time, and the villain and his father also fled taking advantage of the chaos and hid in the Qinling Mountains."

  Jiang Wei understood this when he heard this.

   Isn’t this the reason that Cao Cao was at a disadvantage in the battle with the first emperor in Hanzhong, and then encountered the battle of Xiangfan, and the troops were insufficient, so he had to urgently recruit slaves from all over the country?

  Of course, Jiang Wei doesn't care if there are some truths or falsehoods in this person's words.

  Anyway, he is the general who conquers the East of the Han Dynasty, and has nothing to do with the Wei thief.

  He only cares about whether he can turn over the plateau in front of him and get around to the rear of the bandit army.

   "Is what you said true?"

   "The villain guarantees with his life, every word is true."

   Judging from the flags of the army in front of us, most of them are Shang Chi. Now that Wei is called a thief, it is undoubtedly the Han army.

  If it was Wei Jun, he would definitely not dare to tell the truth.

   "Okay, since you dare to make such a promise, it means that you have been hiding in this mountain for more than 20 years?"

"yes."

   "In other words, you are familiar with this area?"

"yes."

   "Then you must know how to get over this plateau?"

   "Know, know..."

  Jiang Wei approached the man again, staring at him: "Lead the way, as long as you can lead the right way, I will trust you."

  In troubled times, it is not a strange thing for people to flee to the mountains for refuge, but it is the most normal.

  Li Liu's words really made people unable to find any faults.

  Jiang Wei got up and waved.

   "General?"

   "Bring one bag of sugar, three bags of dry food, and five blankets."

   "Here."

  The things were brought over quickly, and Jiang Wei threw a piece of candy in front of him, beckoning:

   "Try?"

  The man picked it up hesitantly, hesitated for a moment, and took a bite carefully.

   Just chewed it twice, his eyes suddenly lit up: "Salty? Delicious!"

   "Of course it's delicious. It's mixed with salt, shredded pork, chicken and many other good things. One piece can fill you up."

  Jiang Wei said, and patted the cloth bag:

   "These three bags are all good things."

  He took out another piece and threw it over. "Try this again."

   This time, the man didn't hesitate any longer, and just bit off a big piece.

   Then her eyes widened suddenly: "Sweet?"

  Speaking too hastily, foam spewed out of his mouth accidentally, and then he subconsciously covered his mouth in fright, carefully paved the ground, picked up the foam the size of a grain of rice, and put it back into his mouth.

   "Sweet, of course." Jiang Wei showed a smile on his face, and then patted the cloth bag containing sugar and grains, "Such a big bag, full of it."

   "There is sugar added in it, just this one in your hand, it can last half a day's hunger."

   "What is sugar?"

   "It's honey."

   I'm too lazy to explain to him, and I can't explain it clearly anyway.

   "Should be shortened..." The man's eyes were a little dull, and he murmured, "If you eat it, your life will be shortened..."

   "Peng!"

  Jiang Wei shook off the blanket, and threw it in front of him, "The blanket is very thick! It's very cold in the mountains, so if you cover it at night, it will be very warm! If you don't believe me, touch it!"

   "General, General, you are..."

  Li Liu's body trembled, and even his lips trembled.

   "As long as you can take us to the opposite side, these are all yours, and I will let you go at that time."

  Jiang Wei pointed to the thing in front of him, then stared at the other party coldly:

   "But if you can't do it, then it must be the secret work of the Wei thief. At that time, I will use your head to sharpen my sword!"

  Li Liu hurriedly kowtowed:

   "The villain dare not lie to the general. The villain just knows that there is a place where you can climb up and cross the plateau."

"good!"

  Jiang Wei was overjoyed.

  When the sergeant took Li Liu down, someone on the left and right asked worriedly:

   "General, if this person is lying, or the Wei thief is acting secretly, I'm afraid it will be dangerous for me to follow!"

  Jiang Wei smiled and said:

   "How can I not think of it? It's just that this person's clothes and demeanor don't look like those in the army. Even if what he said is false, it is half true."

   Then lowered his voice again:

   "Just now I used words to deceive him. Judging from his reaction, I guess he must live nearby. You should lead someone to search carefully."

   "It would be best if I could find the same kind. Even if I can't find it, I still need to find clues. Then I will try again, and I will know whether he is a spy or not."

  If the other party's accomplice really escaped to seek refuge, I'm afraid they have already started hiding elsewhere.

   But in a hurry, all traces cannot be destroyed.

   At that time, as long as they verify each other, they can know the true identity of the other party.

   "Here!"

  (end of this chapter)