"In the important area of the post road, rocks block it, and the trees are used as beams to ferry people and horses." Notes on famous places.
In the Chinese army camp, Pei Maozheng was pressing a slip with his left hand and holding a pen in his right hand, writing something on it. Although in the past two years, the generals and supervisors of the imperial court developed a paper based on Zuo Bo's paper making method.
In order to use more economical and high-quality paper, and once it was issued, it was immediately praised by Guanzhong scholars, and all letters and articles were written on this paper. However, some conservative ministers still continued to use the traditional form of slips when writing memorials.
Out of caution, before the imperial court clearly reformed the memorials and official documents, Pei Mao thought that this was just a matter of an edict from the emperor. But since the emperor did not say it out of some consideration, there was no need for him to act independently.
He used paper to write memorials, so he still chose to use bamboo slips to write memorials.
A quarter of an hour passed, and only a few words were written on a short bamboo slip. The first few sentences of the memorial: Sili Xiaowei, Chen Mao, paid his respects again and wrote to His Majesty the Emperor. No matter how I read it now, I find it dazzling.
.
"Hey" Pei Mao put down his pen and sighed softly.
Xun You happened to open the tent and enter. Hearing this sigh, he glanced at the table and soon knew that the other party was worried about how to report the battle situation to the emperor. It had been almost a month since the expedition, and the casualties were not great, and morale was greatly damaged. Anyone who saw this
People in majestic mountains and dangerous passes will feel depressed: "Is Pei Gong still worried about the writing of the memorial?"
"Where are you worried about this?" Pei Mao pointed to the second seat beside him, motioned Xun You to sit down, and said with a wry smile: "The contents of the military reports submitted to the country these days are almost the same, and even a few words can be changed as they are.
"Cheng. I just feel ashamed. I haven't made any achievements, but have wasted money and food. I really have failed the country's entrustment."
Xun You thought for a while and said: "Pei Gong, Yangping is an important place in Hanzhong. It is Zhang Lu's throat and heart. The terrain is dangerous. Everyone in the world knows the country's wisdom. They should understand Pei Gong's difficulties. Since ten months, the country has issued edicts every time.
They only inquired about food and grass and the availability of military doctors, but never once urged the troops to advance, which shows that the country also knows that this matter cannot be rushed."
"Then how should I present this memorial? There must be a positive statement." Pei Mao's worried expression did not lighten because of this, he shook his head slightly and said.
What he is really afraid of is not the emperor, but those potential political opponents, especially Dong Cheng, who is jealous that he was appointed by the emperor to be responsible for the southern expedition. These people don't care how difficult Yangping Pass is, they only say that Pei
Mao's incompetence in using his troops caused a lot of unnecessary damage and delayed the court's plan for the southern expedition. If he met a young and impetuous monarch, he might issue an urgent edict or even change his generals before the battle.
Fortunately, the emperor was calmer than Pei Mao imagined. Not only that, Pei Mao knew from his son Pei Qian's family letters that the emperor was silently bearing great pressure for him.
The emperor would never do such a stupid move, and it was impossible for him to do it. Those people also knew the emperor's temperament. The reason why they continued to criticize and impeach him was just to get the emperor to compromise, and sent a few more generals to Yangping for support.
On the front line. If a supporting general comes, whether it is Huangfu Song, Ma Teng, Zhang Ji, or anyone else, Pei Mao's authority in the army will be greatly compromised.
Xun You's eyes narrowed for a moment, then returned to normal. Both sides knew the twists and turns here, so there was no need to argue. If the court really believed that Pei Mao was incompetent, then what about him joining the military? He
Knowing that Pei Mao was deliberately reminding himself that the two of them now have a relationship of honor and disgrace, he said: "As I read below, it is better to leave this memorial to be written in three days."
"Change it to three days later?" Pei Mao objected subconsciously: "This is not possible. The country has an edict stating that battles on the front line must be reported every five days. If the messenger is not entrusted tomorrow morning, the journey of more than a hundred miles will be a matter of changing horses and people.
, I can’t catch up even if I take the Baili Express Express.”
The Baili Express was a new rule set by the emperor when he renovated the Guanzhong Post Road last year. According to the regulations, each post station must prepare fast horses to facilitate messengers to deliver important information. However, after calculation, if it was fully rolled out, only Guanzhong
Thousands of good horses would have to be spent on one land, which was not something the current court could afford, especially since the Hedong expedition had not yet been conquered and enough good horses had not been captured from the southern Xiongnu, so the emperor's idea was naturally shelved.
Come down.
Until this southern expedition, the emperor repeated the story and selected some of the tens of thousands of good horses captured by the southern Xiongnu and placed them on the official road from Chang'an to Hanyang, Hanyang to Wudu, and Wudu to Yangping. This was done
In order to facilitate the timely transmission of battle reports from the front, it is also used as a pilot operation. If it is effective, a complete set of detailed systems will be finalized and implemented in the entire Sili, Bingzhou, Yongliang and other places.
"The Baili Express is also called Baili Express according to the priority of the matter. It is called one hundred miles, three hundred miles, six hundred miles, or even one hundred miles, etc." Seeing that Pei Mao had not yet understood, Xun You couldn't help but explain: "Pei Gong is here.
The expedited report was only three hundred miles away because it was not an urgent matter. If we wait until three days before writing the memorial, who knows if we will send the good news by flying hundreds of miles away?"
"What does Mr. Xun mean?" Pei Mao twitched his brows and suddenly remembered something: "Have we found a small road for our army to make a detour?"
"Exactly." Xun You lowered his voice and said: "Back then, the Marquis of Huaiyin crossed the Chencang Road to the north and entered Guanzhong. He had countless adventures and took this road. However, for hundreds of years, this road was extremely dangerous because of the mountainous terrain, so no one used it anymore.
Instead, a fairly flat mountain road was opened outside Yangping Pass. In the past few days, our army sent local Di people and the guides visited many times, and finally found an ancient path in the northwest. Although the road is narrow, as long as people and horses are tied, it is still possible.
It can pass."
Going back behind Yang Ping can indeed cause a sudden attack on the opponent, and can also cut off the enemy's food route. However, no one has ever walked this road. To send his troops rashly, Pei Mao still chose to ask cautiously: "Is there any
Have you sent someone to try it in person?"
"The Shesheng Camp sent a hundred people to make a trip. After they were able to reach Yangping, they would clear away the thorns and other objects along the road when they came back to make it easier to walk." Detouring to Maming Pavilion Road was a strategy that Xun You and others had already discussed.
, this pavilion road is the throat of Hanzhong and is located near Yangping. It has been in disrepair for many years and is inaccessible. The road is also covered by vegetation. If the locals were not familiar with the terrain, Xun You and others might not be able to find it.
Not only was the Maming Pavilion Road rediscovered, but when the expedition troops sent by the Shesheng Battalion returned, they also discovered something else that made Xun You excited: "If we send troops to walk the Maming Pavilion Road now, it will still take two days.
Wait until the evening of the day after tomorrow, when our army goes up the mountain at night to capture the enemy's camp, and another army attacks Yangping. As soon as the camp is broken, the Yangping defenders will inevitably be in chaos. How can they fight again when they see the troops in front and behind me?"
"Although the camp on the mountain is made of wooden posts and fences, it relies on the strength of the mountain and cannot be broken down without human power. What is Mr. Xun's clever plan?" Pei Mao asked.
Xun You smiled mysteriously, then tapped the table with his finger and said: "Pei Gong, please feel relieved for now. Wait until the day after tomorrow when I invite thousands of reinforcements for Pei Gong to attack the enemy's camp." 11