Three Kingdoms

  Chapter 2575 People are tired and horses are exhausted

  In the Taihang Valley, Sima Village.

   Le Sheng stood under Sima's cottage, gnashing his teeth.

  He never expected that in the Taihang Mountains, under their watchful eyes, there would be such a large-scale cottage!

   Moreover, this cottage has obviously been built for some time. On the mountain ridge in the distance, there is even a not-so-small sentry post, which stands on a place surrounded by cliffs on three sides, providing Sima Village with an additional view.

   No wonder the old thief Sima abandoned Wubao in Hanoi and came here. No matter from which point of view, this cottage is obviously more dangerous and difficult to attack than Wubao on flat ground.

  Understanding is understanding, but the problem is to attack, which is very troublesome.

  Although Wubao is enough to cause headaches for ordinary soldiers, it is really nothing compared to the cottages, especially the ones that have been prepared for a long time. As far as grandeur is concerned, copycats are generally not good-looking, but when it comes to the difficulty of attacking, copycats are at least a notch higher than Wubao.

No one knows when the Sima family built this cottage in the Taihang Mountain Trail, because Shangdang to Hanoi, basically the caravans circulate through the Taihang Mountain Trail, so the main passage is relatively smooth. But for a fork like this, maybe if it weren't for this incident, no one would have discovered that there is such a thing hidden in the fork of the mountain trail.

  The cottage is built on top of rocks on an earth slope, and there are rocks below the steep slope. It's almost like a piece of land carved out of rocks. The front route is a climbing gap in the middle of the rock, about the width of a car.

  Below the rock, there is a relatively wider piece of soil slope, not very steep, but it is not flat either.

  『Damn it, how did these guys build this cottage? 』Lesheng, who has no idea about engineering equipment such as cranes, finds it difficult to understand how the wood and stones needed for these cottages are transported to the rocks.

Several shield carts were pushed up and headed under the rock. The shield carts were divided into two rows, the front two and the rear three. It's very difficult for me and my son-in-law.

   They are cannon fodder, always the first to die.

  The shield cart was pushed up with creaking noises, because it was going uphill, and every person pushing the cart exhausted all their strength to push the cart up.

   Lesheng plans to nail the shield vehicle under the rock first, then build a platform to climb up, and then control the narrow passage, use ladders or other things to attack, otherwise it will be difficult to directly threaten the cottage above the rock.

  When the shield car was about to approach the bottom of the rock, it suddenly heard someone screaming in the queue.

Le Sheng looked up and saw a huge rolling stone pushed down from the top of the rock, and jumped to the bottom. Fortunately, there seemed to be some problems with the aiming head, and a shield car passed by, jumping high, It hit the ground again with a bang, splashing a large pile of sand, gravel and mud, and then crashed into the opposite stone wall...

The shield car that passed by the rolling stone didn't know whether it was because it was frightened and its legs became weak, or because it forgot that it was still on the **** for a while, so it slid down a little bit. After a while, it couldn't be pushed anymore. The prisoner and son-in-law pushing the shield cart turned around and ran out. Seeing the shield cart slump down and down, knocking down several people following behind, they wobbled to a stop again at the bottom of the slope.

  『Come on! Runaways, behead! 』Le Sheng's face was gloomy.

   Immediately, soldiers rushed up, held down the prisoners and son-in-law who had escaped while pushing the shield cart, and chopped off their heads one by one, and then displayed them in front.

  『Forward! keep going! ’ Le Sheng’s soldiers urged.

  The cannon fodder continued to push the shield car upwards, and more rolling stones began to be thrown from the rocks one after another.

Another shield car was hit head-on, and the huge stone easily smashed the shield car open. The potential energy was transformed into fierce kinetic energy, and the shield car was torn apart like a toy. Resisting the powerful impact, the broken pieces of wood scattered in all directions, and the rolling stone continued to castrate. It also knocked a prisoner behind him into blood and flesh, bounced down the slope, and hit the people behind by the way. The sky shook.

  The cannon fodder behind the shield car was a little flustered again. Lesheng's war supervisors cut down a dozen in a row, and they barely suppressed the front line, allowing these cannon fodder to move forward.

  The battlefield is so narrow that Le Sheng is extremely aggrieved, and even has the urge to roar, but the narrowness also has its advantages, that is, he is working hard here anyway, and it is over if he breaks through.

As the remaining shield chariots in front finally settled under the rocks of the cottage, the subsequent shield chariots were also pushed up. This kind of chariot has two wheels and thick wood boards, and there are piles of earth and rocks on it. When you reach the trench, you can set it up directly on the trench, and if you encounter the current situation, you can also set up a relatively flat platform so that the soldiers who will attack later will have a foothold.

The cannon fodder pushing the cart was threatened by Le Sheng soldiers' swords and guns, struggling to push the cart forward, and was also hit by rolling stones and trees in the process, but the center of gravity of the cart was more stable than that of the shield cart, and It is thicker, so even if it is hit by a boulder, it may not be scattered like a shield car, and it can still move forward to some extent. It's just that the unlucky ghost who just happened to be hit has become rotten flesh and blood under the wheel.

Le Sheng pushed the cannon fodder forward regardless, just like these prisoners and sons-in-law are as cheap as mud and rocks, if they can use wooden carts, mud, and the flesh and blood of these cannon fodder under the cliff passage It's all worth it to set up an offensive platform.

In the cottage above the rock, private soldiers of the Sima family also began to shoot downwards. Bows, arrows and crossbows flew in all directions. From time to time, cannon fodder or soldiers of Le Sheng who were relatively in front were shot and fell to the ground, howling loudly. .

If he was directly shot to a vital point and died, it was a good thing to some extent. After all, in such an environment, in the middle of a battle, being shot but not receiving medical treatment was basically the same as death, and he had to watch Watching myself bleeding continuously and enduring great pain...

Sima Fang on the cottage, leaning on a walking stick, stretched his head and glanced down, then shrank back, "Don't worry, don't throw away everything in one go, save some use... 』

  『Patriarch, why is this **** Le Jin staring at us? We have all given up on Wubao, are we still unwilling to give up? ’A disciple of the Sima family asked beside him.

"why? Sima Fang sneered, "When have you ever seen a prey weak and flinching, the hunter would easily let it go?" 』

  Sima Zi was silent for a while, and then said with a little hesitation: "Then...our... this cottage..."

  『Are you worried that you won’t be able to keep it? ”Sima Fang slightly raised his eyelids, “Or are you afraid of being attacked and unable to escape? 』

  『This…』The Sima family was a little embarrassed.

"Do not worry! The hussars will come soon..." Sima Fang said with a smile, "What's more, we are such a large group of people, if we want to go to the hussars, shouldn't we prepare some greetings? So what other meeting ceremony would be more suitable than that fool's head below? There is no way out for our cottage, which means that these guys also have no way out! Remember, the prey can also become the hunter... As long as we hold on for a few days, we will definitely win! 』

  Sima Fang didn't seem to be affected by all the hustle and bustle below the cottage, but looked in the direction of Huguan with some confidence.

  The people who were sent in advance to ask for help should be arriving soon, right?

  Of course, Sima Fang will never admit that he has bad legs and feet, so he can't run fast even if he runs.

  …(;￢￢￢)…

   Outside the mouth of the pot.

   Taihang Mountain Trail.

   A group of people are on their way.

  Although the Taihang Mountain Trail is narrowed in the Huguan area, there are still countless trails in the mountains.

  Some of these trails are dead ends, some detours, some can only accommodate feet, and some are rugged and dangerous. If you are not a local, you will definitely not be familiar with it.

  Zhang Ji separated the scouts far away, and from time to time, he saw the scouts waving a blue-green flag representing safety and non-abnormality on the distant hills or ridges.

  Mountain roads like this are the most vulnerable to ambushes and must be guarded against.

  Send out scouts in advance to check key areas, especially those places that are easy to be ambushed. It is necessary to check in advance to ensure safety before large troops pass.

  If it was a few years ago, Zhang Ji would definitely not understand this.

  After all, when I was under Dong Zhuo, I still paid attention to the art of war, and it was over if I was reckless, but when I was under the hussars, if I didn't know the art of war, even if others didn't say it, I felt that something was missing.

   The improvement of the martial arts hall is multi-faceted.

If you only know how to go into battle to kill the enemy, and only know how to wield guns and knives, then at most you will be a military lord, at most a captain. Arranging soldiers, if you can't predict the risks in advance to avoid them, you won't be able to get promoted. Even if it is promoted, it will be eliminated.

  Zhang Ji doesn't want to be eliminated, so he can only study and study hard. Even though he is a little older, he still can't stop learning.

   This time is the time to test Zhang Ji's learning achievements.

  Sima Fang sent someone to ask for help. Before Zhang Ji set off, Jia Qu discussed with him and said that most of this matter is basically true, but a small part may be a trap, so we still have to be careful.

   It is still necessary to send troops to rescue. After all, this is not only the Sima family, but also represents an attitude of the hussars towards the powerful local Hanoi. If it is true that the Sima family was attacked, and Jia Qu and Zhang Jiming received the information asking for help, but did not respond in any way, which eventually caused some problems in the Sima family, then let alone the officials in the same family. Sima Yi bowed his head and looked up, even the children of other families might have some thoughts in their hearts.

   Therefore, after Jia Qu hesitated for a while, he immediately asked Zhang Ji to lead the troops to rescue Sima's cottage.

  This risk must be taken.

   Fortunately, Zhang Ji and others are more familiar with the Taihang Mountain Trail than ordinary generals because of the long-term detection and sorting out of the Taihang Mountain Trail.

  The road that Zhang Ji chose at the moment is different from the general road. It is a slight detour, avoiding the Baicheng Valley, which is the easiest to be ambushed, and he can also take the opportunity to go around to the back of the Baicheng Valley...

   It’s just that such a detour will take longer, and the road is not very easy to walk. In some places, the horses had to be dismounted, and the horses were involved to climb the mountain roads, and they could not walk two or three miles in an hour.

  Zhang Ji led the horse like ordinary soldiers, and in front of Zhang Ji were scouts with more agile hands and feet.

   In the Taihang Mountain Trail, war horses are not necessarily necessary, but it is definitely more convenient to have war horses. Even if some mountain roads are narrow and inconvenient to ride, they can provide additional bearing capacity, making traveling easier.

  In the Taihang Mountain Trail, I watched the morning mist fluttering on the top of the mountain little by little. The air in the mountains is fresh. Although the air in winter is a bit cold, it is not completely unbearable.

  Roads represent the territory of human beings. It's not that there are fierce beasts in the Taihang Mountains, such as tigers, leopards, bears, and so on, but those guys generally will not leave their own territory and invade the human area on their own initiative.

  Only human beings can change their territory at any time, enter a new area, invade a new territory, and take it as their own. This kind of behavior is not a simple division of good and evil, but the characteristics of human beings, like the double-edged sword.

  In the evening, Zhang Ji led his men to repair in a mountain depression.

   Zhang Ji held a grass stalk in his mouth, sat cross-legged on a dry high place, and stared at the sky. The spear was stuck in the soil behind him, and the reins of the war horse were casually wrapped around the gun shaft, and then the war horse stood quietly behind Zhang Ji, lowering its head and gnawing some hay on the ground.

  In other seasons, Zhang Ji would definitely let go of the reins and let the war horse find food by itself. Now there are not no evergreen trees around, but there are basically no herbs and shrubs, so the war horse can only eat the forage it carries.

  In other relatively dry areas, Zhang Ji's soldiers are also building temporary huts one after another.

The shed doesn’t have to be rigid in a certain shape, it can be built in a sheltered stone crevice, or next to evergreen trees. After all, there are fewer insects in winter, so as long as you don’t look for some corners, you don’t have to go too far. Worried about insect infestation. Whether it is a blind bear or a long worm, they will find a relatively hidden place to hibernate, such as these places on both sides of the road, because there are some human breaths left, and these animals will be relatively few.

  Thanks to the excellent logistics system of the Hussar General, the experience and knowledge of long-distance combat now also makes many ordinary soldiers more calm and adaptable when facing camping.

  Several soldiers are climbing up the mountain, on the one hand to establish an observation point, and on the other hand to collect some residual snow in the shade of the mountain.

  Winter also has the advantage of winter, that is, after snowfall, you don’t have to take the water source route. In other seasons, if you don't take the water source route, it is almost an act of courting death, but in winter, as long as the remaining snow on the mountain tops has not completely melted, it is not a big problem to occasionally deviate from the water source route and take a shortcut. .

   Marching in winter, in addition to the problem of water, is the problem of heat preservation in winter.

  After the gradual expansion of cotton planting, cheap and warm cotton clothes became the equipment of soldiers, making marching in winter no longer an impossible task. A campfire, together with felt blankets and oilcloths, can also withstand some nights in non-harsh conditions.

  As long as it is snowing...

  Zhang Ji is looking at the sky right now.

  There are clouds in the sky, but there are not many, and they are not thick, so it will probably be a good day tomorrow.

  Well, relatively good weather.

  Zhang Ji took out the map from his arms, unfolded it while there was still some light, and then looked for his position on the map, and estimated the route and time to arrive at Sima Village.

  Sima Shanzhai is actually not in the deep mountains of Taihang, but slightly to the east side, so it is not a short distance to go there from Huguan. Well, the distance in a straight line is not too long. If it is a plain area, you can let go of your horse and run for a day. But the mountain road is different. Sometimes you go up the mountain and turn around, and then go down the mountain. It's just a mountain...

  If it was a few years ago, Zhang Ji would not have dared to take people into the mountain like this, because at that time, he could not even understand the map.

   But the map at that time was indeed difficult to understand.

It is much better now. The paths and rulers on the map are fixed, so how long the road is means how far the distance is. There will never be any beautiful patterns, tampering with the distance and position at will. The situation is gone.

  Zhang Ji stretched out his thumb, using the thumbnail as the standard of measurement. The width of one of his fingernails is about five miles on the map, and then the width of a few fingernails can roughly calculate how far he will travel.

  How long can the Sima cottage last?

   Three days, five days?

"Tomorrow... probably we can get here..." Zhang Ji gestured and murmured softly, "The day after tomorrow...here, um, if we choose this road, maybe we can go faster...but this canyon... um... come Someone, call Zhang Duwei to come...』

   Not long after, Zhang Duwei and Zhang Tian came, bowed their hands and greeted Zhang Ji.

  Zhang Tian can also be regarded as a member of the Zhang clan, a crooked relative of Zhang Jiyuan's house. After learning that Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu were doing well under the hussars, he defected from Xiliang to Zhang Ji's men.

  『Tomorrow, you will take a shortcut from here...』 Zhang Ji didn’t talk nonsense, and didn’t ask Zhang Tian if he was willing or not. He directly ordered, 『The point is this canyon! After you arrive here, you have to check whether there is an ambush above the canyon, and in the front of the canyon...』

  (end of this chapter)