In the afternoon of the next day, Tang Qian and his men arrived ten miles south of Yichuan County. They hid in a mountain col and waited for two scouts to go on foot to find out the news.
When it was getting dark, the two scouts came back, bringing the latest situation in Yichuan County and an old man.
"Commander Qi, this Mr. Wang is a hunter nearby. He knows a path to Wuren Road and is willing to lead the way for us."
The old man hurriedly clasped his fists and said: "Although the 70,000 to 80,000 Jin soldiers are stationed in Yichuan County, they have deployed thousands of heavy troops near the exit of Wuren Road. No one is allowed to pass, but the little old man knows a small road that can cross
We can go to Wuren Road, but we can't ride horses."
Tang Qian was overjoyed and said, "That's good work!"
Tang Qian then left ten of his men to guard the war horses, and ordered the captain, Ma Xingwu, to lead twenty of his men to continue to monitor the main force of the Jin army. If there was any abnormal movement of the main force of the enemy's army, he would immediately send an eagle message to notify the central counties."
He himself led seventy of his men over the mountains and ridges.
At the first watch of the night, they climbed over a mountain ridge, and below was Wuren Road. They saw that Wuren Road was not narrow, about one foot wide, but there was a section of twenty or thirty miles that was very narrow, and large cars could not walk on it. The whole road was not very narrow.
Not narrow.
Moreover, about every two miles or so on Wuren Road, the Jin soldiers built a sentry tower, and Jurchen patrol cavalry rushed past from time to time.
"How far is it from Yichuan County?" Tang Qian asked the old hunter.
"About fifteen miles or so."
"Then how far can we go east along our path?"
"Forty or fifty miles will definitely be no problem. I remember there was a cliff at the end."
"Please, my father-in-law, please take me a little further."
Everyone continued walking eastward along the path. Tang Qian marked the big trees on both sides from time to time and drew the path on the map.
After walking for about fifty miles, at the fourth watch, a cliff several feet wide suddenly appeared in front of them, and they could not cross.
"This is it, the end!"
Tang Qian looked down at the bottom of the cliff. It was more than ten feet deep, and some large rocks were vaguely visible.
A thought suddenly flashed through Tang Qian's mind and he asked urgently: "Is there such a cliff on Wuren Road?"
"Of course there is. The cliff is more than ten miles long. How come there is no Wuren Road? It is all connected by a wooden bridge. The wooden bridge is almost 20 years old."
Tang Qian led everyone up the mountain ridge, and looked down at Wuren Road at the foot of the mountain. Under the moonlight, he did see a wooden bridge spanning the cliff.
At this moment, a shout came from the distance, "There is a cliff ahead, guys, walk slower!"
I saw a mighty army of mules and donkeys coming from the east. Each mule and donkey was carrying a heavy load of grain. In front of them was a group of fat sheep opening the way. The sheepherder kept shouting that the sheep should beware of the cliff ahead.
Soon, a huge team of mules and donkeys passed in front of them, seemingly tens of thousands of them, followed by a huge number of sheep, and a large number of Jurchen cavalry guarding the grain transport team.
Tang Qian suddenly saw his men raising their crossbows and taking aim. He immediately shouted angrily in a low voice: "Stop it all!"
The scouts looked at him in astonishment. Aren't they just here to ambush the Jin soldiers' food transport team in Wuren Road?
"Everyone come down with me!"
Tang Qian led everyone away from the mountain ridge and returned to the path.
Tang Qian then said to everyone: "It is certainly unrealistic to ambush the Jin Bing grain team with our small force. Everyone saw that they were all using mules and horses to transport grain. We could kill dozens of mules and horses at most, but the enemy army had
We are heavily guarded. Once we are exposed, the enemy will know that there is a trail and it will cause serious trouble."
The scouts all realized that they had gone beyond the scope of scouting. Not to mention that it was difficult for them to stop the enemy's food team. Even if they had the ability, they could not do it. They were scouts, not ambushing the army.
Gu Liang
After thinking about this, one of them turned to Tang Qian and said with shame, "It's just that I'm a little eager for merit in my humble position."
Tang Qian nodded and continued to talk to everyone: "Our mission is to detect and monitor the movements of the enemy's main force, not to ambush the enemy's food team without authorization. Now that the mission of detecting Wu Rendao has been completed, everyone will follow me back and continue monitoring.
The main force of the enemy army."
Tang Qian then led everyone to follow the hunter back from the original route, and they memorized this path firmly.
...........
At this time, Wanyan Yinkeshu did not know that Chen Qing's army had already arrived in Fucheng County, which was still about two hundred miles away from Yichuan County.
The main force of Chen Qing's army dared to leave the central county because of the support of intelligence. The main force of the Jin army was still in Yichuan County.
Fucheng County is a middle county with a population of tens of thousands during the Xuanhe period. After three sharp population declines including those who fled the war, those who died in the war, and those who migrated to Guanzhong in large numbers, the population of Fucheng County has been less than 10,000, leaving only
There were more than 6,000 people, and most of the houses were empty and were temporarily used as military camps by the Song army.
Chen Qing, surrounded by a group of generals, went to inspect the city. The city wall was not low, less than three feet tall, and not generous enough. It was not a strategic location and lacked the tall and solid momentum. There was also a moat outside, but it was not
It is wide and has a high suspension bridge.
"This county town is good and can be used as our logistics supply base." Chen Qing was quite satisfied with this city.
Yang Zaixing bowed and said, "To inform the capital, this canyon is relatively wide, which is conducive to the Jurchen army's cavalry advantage. Why don't we continue to recommend to the east and look for complex and narrow terrain to fight the Jin soldiers."
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "My army left the central county not to fight the enemy, but to defeat them one by one. I have already laid a nest, and I will wait and see if Yan Yinke is willing to swallow it."
bait."
Chen Qing smiled and asked again: "Is there any news about Liu Qiong's army?"
"Reporting to the capital, General Liu's army is hiding in the mountain col, and the food and grass can last for ten days!"
Chen Qing nodded, ten days is enough.
.........
The arrival of the grain team finally solved Wanyan Yinkeshu's urgent need. They had already slaughtered and eaten thousands of livestock in Luojiao and Yichuan counties. If the grain team didn't come, Wanyan Yinkeshu would have to give up.
The first batch only has 50,000 shi of grain and 100,000 sheep, but it can still sustain an 80,000-strong army for more than half a month. As more and more grain arrives, a large logistics supply camp can be established.
Wanyan Yinkeshu was in a good mood, so he immediately ordered the killing of 20,000 sheep to reward the three armies.
When the news spread, the 80,000 golden soldiers suddenly burst into joy. They ate dry food every day and had complained for a long time. Now they could finally eat barbecue and drink milk wine, so why couldn't they rejoice.
In a large tent, Wanyan Yinkeshu and other generals sat in a circle, eating meat, drinking wine, chatting and laughing. Several Jurchen men in the middle were performing wrestling, and bursts of cheers could be heard from time to time.
At this time, a soldier quickly entered the tent, came to Wanyan Yinkeshu along the edge of the tent, and whispered a few words to him.
Wanyan Yinkeshu's expression changed, "But is it true?"
"The general who reported the message is outside!"
Wanyan Yinkeshu stood up and went outside the tent. The Centurion of the Ranger Cavalry who was waiting outside quickly stepped forward, knelt down on one knee and reported, "See the Marshal!"
Wanyan Yinkeshu asked in a deep voice: "Chen Qing's main force is in Fucheng County. Is the information accurate?"
"Reporting to Marshal Du, the intelligence is accurate. I saw with my own eyes that the main force of the Song Army, about 70,000 to 80,000 troops, entered Fucheng County."
Wanyan Yinkeshu thought for a moment and then asked, "How is the condition of the city wall in Fucheng County?"
The centurion said quickly: "The city wall is about two feet and five feet high. It is made of large green bricks. It looks relatively new. It has a moat. The county town is neither big nor small. It has a circumference of more than twenty miles."
It looked like it was not easy to attack. Wanyan Yinkeshu frowned slightly, as if he was thinking about something important.
He thought for a long time and said to his soldiers: "Go quickly and notify all the captains to come to my tent to discuss matters!"