Zhang Xiao suggested from the side: "It's better to send scouts to look around to see if they can find a trail up the mountain."
Chen Qing shook his head, "As Sima said before, the Xixia people know the Xixia Road best. All shortcuts are blocked. Unless we give up this road, we can only attack it honestly!"
Zhang Xiao sighed, "The key is to go up the mountain and store some kerosene, which was captured by the other party."
Chen Qing's heart sank, "How many are there?"
"I asked General Tang specifically. There were 2,000 barrels of kerosene and 500 barrels of gunpowder. General Tang led his army to attack, and some of them may have been consumed."
Chen Qing stared at the top of the mountain for a long time and then ordered: "Set up camp!"
One hundred thousand Western troops began to busily set up camp in the valley at the foot of the mountain, and military tents appeared at the foot of the mountain.
Shang Dongyan stood on the top of the mountain, looking coldly at the camp at the foot of the mountain. He had already sent people to Mingsha County to inform Li Ke, ordering him to abandon Mingsha County immediately and lead the entire army to Cuta Village. There was no need to garrison Mingsha County.
Meaning, recapturing Cuta Village is his real purpose.
It's a pity that they were still a step too late. If it had been one day earlier, he could have captured the south entrance as well, and this road would have been completely blocked.
General Tuoba Gai looked at the dense tents at the foot of the mountain and couldn't help but said: "General Shang, if you set a fire in the Song army's tent, will they all be burned down?"
Shang Dongyan glanced at him coldly and said, "Chen Qing also wanted you to do this. He thought he could succeed in a sneak attack, but when he went down the mountain, he fell into someone else's trap."
"I know my fault for my humble position!"
Shang Dongyan snorted and said: "Pass on my order, anyone who dares to go down the mountain without permission will be killed!"
.........
Chen Qing started out by playing with fire. Of course he would guard against the opponent's fire attacks, so all the marching tents were leather tents, not cloth tents that easily caught fire, or even woolen tents.
Chen Qing also deployed 6,000 people to patrol the perimeter and set up traps, fearing that the Xixia army would not come down the mountain.
The largest tent is Chen Qing's tent. At this time, he stood in front of the map and was silent in thought. Every commander is unwilling to attack at any cost. The life of every soldier is precious. Until the last moment,
Chen Qing would not consider using force to attack.
Comparing the map, he picked up Xixia Notes written by Zhong Shidao. When writing about Geta Village, he described it like this, 'There is a village called Geta, and its ridge is very dangerous. You can cross the stream to attack it.'
The key is how to understand the word "stream"? Is it Hulu River? It doesn't feel like it. The Hulu River cannot be called a stream. The Hulu River is ten miles west of Cuta Village. It has a large drop, many reefs, and cliffs on both sides.
In the past, if you were not careful, you would be smashed into pieces.
Chen Qing pondered for a long time, then turned around and said to the soldiers: "Go and find Tang Qian!"
Not long after, Tang Qian hurried over, bowed and saluted, "I'm humble enough to see you in the capital!"
Chen Qing smiled and said: "I hope you will regard this lesson as wealth and not lose confidence because of it."
“The humble position is unforgettable!”
Chen Qing nodded and asked: "How does attacking Cuta Village from the north compare to attacking from the south?"
"Reporting to the capital, it is slightly easier to attack from the north. Although it is also a winding mountain road, the slope is relatively gentle, and the impact of rolling logs and rocks will be much smaller, so it can basically be withstood."
Chen Qing added: "I was just reading the notes left by Zhongshi Dao. Some of them said, 'There is a village named Jieda. The ridge is very dangerous, and you can cross the stream to attack it.' The rest is not stated clearly, so I will
Wondering what 'can cross the stream and hit it' means?"
Tang Qian hesitated and said, "Is there a stream nearby that can go through the mountains to the north?"
"That's the literal meaning, but where is this stream?"
Gu Li
Tang Qian understood immediately, clasped his fists and said: "I am willing to lead the scouts to find this creek."
"Go! Take Zhong Huan with you. He may understand his grandfather's meaning better."
.........
Zhong Huan was very excited all the way. Not only was it the first time for him to follow the footsteps of his ancestors and come to Xixia, but it was also the first time for him to participate in the battle to exterminate Xia as a soldier.
"General Tang, do you want to hear my idea?"
Tang Qian was in a low mood and said calmly: "You say it, I'm all ears!"
"Since it is said to be a stream, it is the source of the river. There are three rivers in this valley. One is Gourd Water, which cannot be a stream. Then the other two small rivers, one flowing from the opposite mountain, can also be ruled out. , and the source of the other river is unknown, can we follow this river to check?"
"Not bad!" Tang Qian praised sincerely: "As expected from the inner guard, his thinking is really careful."
He turned around and waved an order: "He led more than a hundred cavalry and galloped toward the southeast."
There are two small rivers in the valley, one flowing into the Gourd Water in the east and the other in the west. The river they want to explore is the river in the east. More than a hundred cavalry galloped along the small river for more than 20 miles. The river was again subdivided into Tang Qian immediately divided his soldiers into four teams, each looking for the source of the four streams.
Zhong Huan followed Tang Qian and a dozen cavalrymen to find the source of the largest creek. Soon, they found the source, which disappointed them immediately.
A waterfall-like water flows down from the mountain, forming a pool on the ground. This pool of half an acre of land is the source of the stream.
Not long after, several groups of cavalry came to report. The answer was the same. The source had been found, but there were no deep streams or tunnels, not even stone crevices.
A Dutou said: "General Tang, could it be the river to the west? Maybe there are other creeks flowing into it on the way?"
Tang Qian shook his head, "I went to see the creek to the west. There is no creek flowing into it, it's just a single river."
At this time, Zhong Huan pondered for a long time and said slowly: "My grandfather was very careful with his words. Crossing the creek means crossing the creek. Since it is crossing the creek, the creek should run east-west. I suspect This stream is inside the mountain and is an underground river. This underground river eventually flows into gourd water. Does General Tang understand what I mean?"
"Do you mean, should we walk along the gourd water?"
Zhong Huan nodded, Hurushui passes through the mountains for more than ten miles, and the drop is big in the second half of the journey. Should we go in on a raft and have a look."
Tang Qian struck each other with fists and palms, "Just go and take a look and you'll find out!"
........
At the third watch, the group came to ten miles west of Cuta Village. The Calabash Water flowed quietly to the north. However, the terrain in the north dropped sharply, and the drop in the Calabash Water became larger. The water flow became very turbulent, and finally approached the form of a waterfall. As a result, the army could not pass through the Hulushui River Valley and had to go over the mountains to cut off the stronghold.
The mountain stream was very narrow, and the river narrowed and became turbulent. A soldier lay on the raft, and two long ropes pulled the raft, causing the raft to slowly slide forward.
"slower!"
Tang Qian shouted: "Hold on to the rock wall and pay attention to see if there are underground rivers flowing in on both sides."
The raft flowed forward for more than twenty feet, and the soldier suddenly shouted, "There is a very high cave here!"
The crowd of helpless soldiers pulled the raft back. This time Tang Qian went into battle in person. He also lay on the raft and flowed forward for more than twenty feet. A crack two feet high suddenly appeared in front of him, and an underground river flowed from it. It flows out, and the space inside the crack is very large and dark.
Tang Qian, an expert in art, was brave. He held a short spear in one hand and a torch in the other and waded in. The water was as deep as his belly and the soles of his feet were pebbles. When he walked seven or eight feet in, a palace-like space appeared in front of him. The wind was blowing to the north. Seeing the flames, he climbed ashore and held up the torch. It turned out that there was a passage going upwards. He also unexpectedly discovered that there were shallow stone steps on the passage.