There are often cliffs along the Dadu River. Whenever we encounter them, we cannot march in the valley. We can only take a detour over the mountains to avoid the cliffs and then go down to the river again.
With a journey of nearly two hundred miles, we can only travel more than ten miles a day.
The soldiers at the front were cutting through thorns and thorns to clear the way. The "cutting through thorns" mentioned here is actually cutting away the stinging thorns on the road, not a metaphor. When Xue Bai saw that their skin was cut open, the bones inside were exposed, and the wounds were festering.
, I can’t help but feel that this idiom is really not suitable for the trivial troubles that most people encounter in life.
Thorns bring disability and death, and no one has time to cry.
That day, in order to bypass a large cliff, the scouts searched for a long time, hoping to find a way over the mountain. In the end, they only found a steep slope. People had to climb vines to go up the slope, and it was even harder for horses to catch up.
Gradually it was Xue Bai's turn. He stepped forward, held a vine branch as thick as his forearm, and was about to start climbing when someone suddenly shouted: "Xue Lang, slow down, I'm here to help you!"
However, Wang Tianyun, who was sitting aside and bandaging his wounds, saw him and rushed over to him. Since the march, Xue Bai rarely encountered Wang Tianyun several times, because the other party was the vanguard and had been clearing the way in front.
"General Wang is injured?"
"It's a small injury, nothing to worry about." Wang Tianyun looked fierce, but at this time he tried his best to show a smile to show his respect for Xue Bai.
In his eyes, a young champion, not enjoying the glory and wealth of Chang'an, ran to the battlefield in Jiannan, not only strategizing, but also waiting for the good life to be rewarded. However, sharing the joys and sorrows with the soldiers, such a person certainly deserves respect.
.
However, in the eyes of the scheming powerful people in Chang'an, such a person must have great intentions.
"Xue Lang, your shoes are torn, how about a new pair?" Wang Tianyun shouted: "Shi Da, bring a pair of shoes, mine is short, bring Ruan Chengzong's."
The shoes on Xue Bai's feet had been worn out in the past two days. Because they often had to wade in water, they got soaked and dried, and the soles were about to fall off. But he had actually changed a pair, and other soldiers
Haven't had to change it yet.
"No need." Xue Bai said: "My shoes can still be used. If you give the soldier's shoes to me, what will he wear?"
"Ruan Chengzong is already dead. Damn it, he was only bitten by a snake and died before nightfall."
Wang Tianyun seemed to be talking about an ordinary thing, with no reverence for life in his tone.
Xue Bai was not a soft-hearted person, but he had seen too many partings between life and death in recent days, so he took the pair of shoes in silence.
"This dilapidated road going south is really not as easy to walk as the road we used to attack Xiaobolu. You can't ride a horse for several sections." Wang Tianyun pointed to his pair of bow legs. He didn't think they were ugly, but felt proud, and said, "My legs are like this."
, you have to ride a horse, and you’re not good at climbing mountains.”
Although he said this, Wang Tianyun actually climbed the mountain very quickly, and he could move as fast as flying on the dangerous path.
Xue Bai changed his shoes and stepped on them. They felt quite thick. He thought to himself that they might have been sewn by Ruan Chengzong's mother-in-law or wife.
Climbing up the steep hillside, the terrain is getting higher and higher. Gradually, you can see that the Dadu River is like a river. Going further, there are many places where there is no road. The soldiers have cut down trees to make temporary structures.
I simply cut off the branches and the bark was not peeled off, so naturally I can't expect it to be very stable, and it will be wobbly when I walk.
That is, when Xue Bai and other officials passed by, Wang Tianyun shouted and asked the soldiers to hold on to the tree trunk.
My feet stepped on the round tree trunk, and below the trunk was an abyss.
Xue Bai walked through this section of the road, still feeling frightened. When he reached the woods ahead, he leaned against a tree trunk to rest for a while.
Wang Tianyun came forward and asked a few questions with concern, but he was obviously not good at caring for others. He kept asking questions like "Xue Lang is tired?"
"General Wang, do you have a request?"
"Not at all." Wang Tianyun scratched his head and murmured in a low voice, "Um, telescope. Can Xue Bai in the future... Can I exchange my military achievements with Xue Lang for one? The heads of Nanzhao rebels below Ge Luofeng, Xue Lang
You can have as many as you want."
The telescope was given to Wang Zhongsi by Xue Bai, and he also brought one himself. He usually used it to observe the battlefield and learn Wang Zhongsi's commands. At this time, Xue Bai thought about it and thought that Wang Tianyun was a person he could befriend, and said: "
Then let’s exchange it for the heads of two important rebel generals?”
"Really?!" Wang Tianyun was overjoyed, rubbed his hands excitedly, and said: "I have been coveting it for a long time. Xue Lang is just waiting. When I conquer Taihe City, I will give you the credit and guarantee that you will be promoted to the third rank.
"
"It's a deal."
After saying this, Xue Bai heard a whistle sound and turned around to see Wang Zhongsi standing on a high place, holding a telescope and looking around. From time to time, he ordered people to raise the command flag. He should be personally commanding the small team.
Scout.
Xue Bai then climbed up a little further, took the telescope from Diao Bing, and looked around.
After the Dadu River broke out of this section of the canyon, the front gradually opened up and the water slowed down slightly. On the east bank, the soldiers were building bamboo rafts, cutting off a large bamboo, tying it tightly, and following the method Xue Bai said
Tannery bag.
The leather bag is to peel off the sheepskin completely, tie up the air leakage areas such as the limbs and anus, and blow the air into it to make it float.
The soldiers tied several leather bags to the bamboo raft to increase its buoyancy, but although the river seemed to be very slow, if they just put the bamboo raft down, they would be washed away.
Then a soldier tied a leather bag to his body and led a rope into the water first. He must have good water skills, but soon after he entered the water, he was washed dozens of steps downstream. The soldiers on the shore hurriedly
After tightening the rope, he gradually adjusted and swam to the other side...
Taking advantage of this moment, Wang Zhongsi turned to look at Xue Bai and said: "The Tubo people have already discovered us, so I deliberately let Luo Zhui go to let the Tubo people know that we will cross the river at the bend of the Dadu River."
"But we rush to the ferry in advance?"
"Thirty people should cross the river first," Wang Zhongsi said. "If the Tubo people want to stop us, they will gather troops and ships at the corresponding places before we cross the river. These thirty people can go to inquire about the situation and even seize the ships."
Xue Bai asked: "Is only thirty people enough?"
"No baggage, no more, no more, no trace of whereabouts can be hidden."
From this incident, we can see that Wang Zhongsi was very assertive. Although Xue Bai suggested crossing the river in Shimian County, Wang Zhongsi did not intend to fully comply. He sent a team of scouts to the other side to explore in advance and look for better opportunities at any time.
Xue Bai did not feel slighted because of this. Instead, he learned that a general should listen to opinions while being assertive and maintain flexible tactics instead of rigidity.
While he was talking, the soldier crossing the river had swam across the center of the river, and at the same time, he was also washed a long way downstream.
Suddenly, the river water around him was dyed red and was quickly washed away.
Xue Bai quickly moved the telescope to observe, but did not see anyone shooting arrows on the other side. However, the soldier stepped on a reef in the river and was cut by a stone. He struggled a few times in the water and was unable to continue swimming forward. He felt like death.
The fish usually floats in the river and is washed away by the water. It relies on ropes and leather bags to prevent it from being washed away or sinking.
"Pull him back." Wang Zhongsi ordered.
The flag was waved, but before the people on the bank could pull back the soldier who was crossing the river, he rested for a while and swam hard again, waving his arms to fight against the rough waves. He kept being washed downstream and swam hard.
forward.
Finally, he landed on the shore, walked back for a while, wrapped his rope around a tree, leaned under the tree, and then began to treat the wound.
The people on the shore pushed the bamboo raft into the water. Wang Tianyun was the first to board the bamboo raft. He and the soldiers pulled the rope and pulled the bamboo raft to the other side.
The Tang army divided three times, with ten men crossing the river each time. After that, Wang Tianyun led the thirty warriors and disappeared into the woods on the west bank.
~~
The Dadu River rushes down, enters the territory of Shimian County, and turns eastward.
In the upper reaches, the Dadu River has an east bank and a west bank; here, it has a south bank and a north bank. During the Shu Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang pacified Menghuo and established Hanjia County and Hanniu County on the north bank, and Yueqi County Qiongdu was on the south bank.
County. Further south, there is Menghuo City.
In the Tang Dynasty, they marched nearly two hundred miles along the river valley and finally arrived here.
Li Sheng led his men to capture a Si hunter in the mountains and forests. Wang Zhongsi asked the military interpreter to ask a few questions and learned that the best place to cross the river here is called "Zida Di". What is the meaning of this name?
I asked that person but couldn't find out anything.
The situation was different this time. There was less room for flexibility. Wang Zhongsi did not play any counter-intuitive tactics. After asking questions, he killed the hunter with a knife.
After that, the soldiers were ordered to rest and wait for news about Wang Tianyun.
That night, Xue Bai lay in the field covered with only a layer of felt, listening to the sound of the water flowing in the Dadu River, and suddenly regretted not handing the telescope directly to Wang Tianyun.
It's a pity that Wang Tianyun didn't say in advance that he wanted to cross the river. He was laughing one moment, and then quietly got on the bamboo raft the next.
"Cuckoo, cuckoo."
Suddenly, birds chirped from the other side of the river, and crows responded from this side.
Xue Bai stood up, looked at the sparkling river surface under the moonlight, and felt the restlessness of the Dadu River...
~~
"The Yak tribe is right behind, with more than a thousand people."
"Only this few people?"
Wang Tianyun was a little surprised. Based on the information he knew, the Yak Division could mobilize at least 3,000 troops. How come there were so few?
"The strange thing is that they didn't rush ahead. They marched and explored all the way."
"That means Luo Zhui didn't tell the Yak tribe that we were going to cross the river at Zidadi?" Wang Tianyun pondered, "He is a man who keeps his word."
He sent someone to return the obtained information to Wang Zhongsi.
The current situation is that the Yibu on the other side of the Dadu River have not yet noticed the approaching Tang army, and there are boats on both sides of the river near Zidadi. The Yak tribe is still on the road and may support the Yibu at any time.
The countermeasure didn't work. What Wang Zhongsi had to do was very simple. He directly seized the boats on both sides of the strait, including asking Wang Tianyun to row the boats he could grab on the south bank back to the north bank, and the main force quickly crossed the river.
We must establish a foothold on the south bank before the Yibu tribe reacts. Defeat the Yibu tribe before the Yak tribe arrives. Last but not least, ensure that no one will escape across the Jinsha River to report the news.
After making a plan, Wang Zhongsi recruited Li Sheng and Qu Huan, ordered them to seize the ships, ordered Guan Chongsi to cross the river first, and cooperated with Wang Tianyun to form an array on the other side, and ordered Tian Shengong and Tian Shenyu to lead the follow-up troops to cross the river.
After the assignment was complete, with a few birdsong, the military order was delivered to Wang Tianyun.
The Tang army rested for a night and then began the battle across the river.
…
Wang Tianyun received the military order and left two people to conduct reconnaissance in the mountains and forests to the north, keeping an eye on the Yak tribe's movements at all times.
He personally led the remaining soldiers to rob the ships on the south bank.
Zidadi is the easiest place to cross the Dadu River, so there are some Si people living there who believe that Tibetan merchants are ferrying people there, and sometimes they kill people and steal goods.
Wang Tianyun led the people closer and closer, and finally some people discovered their traces and shouted loudly.
"Whoosh."
Wang Tianyun shot the opponent down with an arrow, and his soldiers no longer concealed their traces, but rushed forward with shouts of death to frighten the opponent.
Compared to the battle with Xiao Bolu, the scene before us was nothing. The small victory of Stealing the River was easier than expected since the base was unprepared.
Unfortunately, it was inevitable that some people would blow the horn made of horns.
"Woo——"
The sound carried far away, and it had obviously alarmed Sibu.
"Move quickly! Row the boat over to pick up the people!"
Wang Tianyun strode forward, knocked down a Tibetan tax collector, took the unfinished naan from his hand, and took a big bite.
He crossed the river without any luggage. Although he had caught some small birds in the past two days, he did not dare to light a fire to roast them and eat them. At this time, he was very hungry, and he was no different from a robber.
The mountain city in the south responded to the sound of horns, and the troops from the Yi tribe were already rushing here.
Fortunately, the first batch of Tang troops crossing the river today have arrived.
Guan Chongsi was tall and had been feeling uncomfortable since he entered the western Sichuan Plateau. At this time, he jumped off the boat and shouted, "Form up!" without even knowing the direction.
Before he finished speaking, he vomited because of seasickness.
"Array up!" Guan Chongsi stood up and shouted without wiping his mouth.
The array of soldiers of Tang Dynasty on the south bank was thin, but they drew their bows and arrows one after another. When the troops coming from the Yi tribe began to charge this way, the first round of arrow rain had already been fired, suppressing the enemy's morale.
~~
The battle in Zidadi had just begun. On the upper reaches of the Dadu River, two Tang soldiers who were watching from a high place had already seen the soldiers and horses of the Yak tribe approaching from the north.
"Go and report to the general, the Yak Division is here!" a Tang soldier named Shi Da ordered.
"good."
Shi Da stayed, lowered his body, and listened to the Yak tribe's enemies running past his feet one by one, silently counting their number.
After that, he waited for a long time to make sure that all the people from the Yak tribe had crossed the border, and then stood up.