No one has walked on the plank road for hundreds of years, and it has long since rotted away. Only a few stone pillars, stone piles, and stone holes are left, densely distributed on the cliff. Let alone walking on such a road, just looking at it will make you lose your mind.
On the stone wall on the east side, rows of cursive inscriptions are carved, each one six or seven feet in size. Although they have been eroded by wind and rain and covered by moss, everyone can still clearly identify them:
"Gaozu was ordered to rise in Hanzhong. The road started from Ziwu and dispersed into the Qin Dynasty. He established the emperor's throne and named it Han's Yan, and then Ziwu. The road was difficult and difficult. He also surrounded the valley and restored the light of the hall. All these four roads,
The barriers are particularly difficult..."
It is the famous "Ode to the Stone Gate", also known as "Ode to Yang Mengwen", which was written by Wang Sheng, the prefect of Hanzhong, and Yang Mengwen, the governor of Sili, in the second year of the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The story of Liu Bang’s entry into Hanzhong.
After the Kwantung Allied Forces overthrew the violent Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu enfeoffed eighteen princes and kings in one fell swoop. Because he was afraid that Liu Bang's talents would threaten his rule, he named him King of Han to manage Bashu and remote areas in Hanzhong, and established his capital in Nanzheng City.
!
When the Han army went to Nanzheng, they took the Ziwu Valley Plank Road. As a result, they saw that the mountains were dangerous and the road was difficult to navigate. The soldiers were unwilling to go forward and asked to fight back to Guanzhong. Liu Bang used this strength to
The prelude to the unification war began!
The soldiers of the Han army would rather return to Guanzhong and fight to the death with hundreds of thousands of Chu troops than take the Hanzhong plank road. This shows how difficult it is to walk through the Ziwu Valley. It is really more terrifying than the murderous overlord!
Back then, the Han army was scared out of their wits when they walked on the intact plank road. Now, Geng Yan and his party faced a dilapidated plank road. There was no telling how many enemy troops were ahead, and the difficulty increased more than ten times!
"Go! Ask the guide to come over!" Geng Yan said with a solemn expression.
Although this task also requires someone like Geng Yan to carry out the task. However, Li Jing would not just hand over this task to just one person.
This industry is inherently dangerous. If the people who go there are not capable enough, the original nine-death life will become a ten-death life.
Although Geng Yan was a demoted general, his abilities were recognized by Li Jing, so Li Jing was willing to give him this task.
Just after receiving this mission, Lianyang had already taken the initiative to send people to find a large number of hunters, woodcutters, and herb collectors. These people have been traveling in the deep mountains and forests all year round, and are very familiar with the situation in this area.
Rich wilderness survival experience.
These hunters, woodcutters, and herb collectors were pushed in front of the groups of soldiers, and their hearts trembled. It all showed that the people did not fight with the officials. After these ordinary people saw the officers and soldiers, they naturally felt a sense of fear, and even more
Not to mention that the people in front of them were obviously high-ranking officials!
And when these people heard that Geng Yan asked them to lead the army into Ziwu Valley, they were frightened to the point of losing their souls. Each of them was so frightened that they knelt on the ground, and even worse, they were beaten directly.
I shivered.
"The Ziwu Valley runs from the northeast to the southwest, with a total length of 660 miles. Its exit is on the north bank of the Han River. Across the river is Nanzheng City. However, no one has taken this road for more than two hundred years!"
"The road that no one walks on naturally has no one to repair it. It has been ruined for a long time. I usually walk Baoxie Road and Chencang Road. I really don't dare to walk through Ziwu Valley!" one of the herb gatherers said Zhuang.
Courage said softly.
"I heard from the old people that the Ziwu Valley is rugged and difficult to navigate, and there are countless poisonous snakes, beasts, and miasma..." One of the hunters also echoed.
It is common for hunters, woodcutter, and herb gatherers with similar identities to enter the mountains. Otherwise, they will have no source of income. The whole family will point at them. If they have no source of income,
Wouldn't that mean that a whole family would starve to death there?
But even they don’t dare to set foot in Ziwu Valley!
With these two bolder people taking the lead, the rest of the people were more or less brave enough to add a few words. In this way, with one word and one word, they all learned everything they knew about Ziwu Valley.
That's pretty much it.
However, these are basically rumors passed down by some old people, and they have never been to that place themselves.
Moreover, these people cannot be sure that their words are exaggerated. After all, these people themselves are absolutely unwilling to actually lead the Jin army to the Ziwu Valley. People have the mentality of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages.
The more dangerous they say there, the more they might be able to "persuade" these officers to take another path.
It is impossible for people like Geng Yan and Geng Chun to completely believe what they say, but even if they only believe part of it, it is enough to trouble them.
In fact, even if they could not get through Ziwu Valley and failed to attack Nanzheng, it would not be a big deal. In the end, Li Jing did not put his hope in their group. If they could succeed, for Li Jing
, naturally it was a big surprise. But if they failed, Li Jing would have already done it, and it would not affect their other plans.
However, although it is acceptable to be impassable through the Ziwu Valley, there is a fear that the large group of people will be halfway through, their food and grass will be cut off, they will be in a dilemma, and they will be trapped alive in the heavy mountains. There are many examples of this kind of thing in ancient times!
In the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Huan of Qi led his army to attack Guzhu. Spring turned to winter, and he was confused and almost fell into despair. Fortunately, he followed Guan Zhong's advice and found the way with a few old horses. This was relatively lucky, but
There are also unlucky ones!
In the first year of Taichu in the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked General Li Guang of the Second Division to lead an army to attack Dawan in order to obtain a bloody horse. Because the roads in the Western Region were difficult to travel, there was a lack of food, grass, and drinking water. In addition, the Han army suffered a disastrous defeat due to the fierce resistance of the Dawan people.
, the survivors are less than one tenth!
What these generals in the army are not afraid of is not dying in battle. If the jar is broken without leaving the well, the general will inevitably die in battle. For a general, it may be his luck to have the opportunity to die in battle.
However, if a coward is trapped in these mountains, and the sky is not responding, the earth is not working, and in the end he can only die of thirst and exhaustion, then for these military generals, it is definitely not an honorable death.
Law?
"Let's go!" Geng Yan's expression was gloomy but ever-changing, but after a long time, his expression suddenly became firm again.
For a general on the battlefield, if he really chooses to die this way, it is indeed a relatively useless way to die.
However, as a general, if you choose to fight and flee, it will not only be as simple as being useless, but also a shame, an indelible shame.