The coalition forces hung the headless body for several days. The weather was bad these days, with exposure to the sun, rain, and strong winds, but no one claimed it. When the general at Chaoli Pass received the report from the scouts, he was also puzzled: "What are these people doing?"
Why hang up a headless corpse for no reason?
The subordinate officer guessed: "Could it be to intimidate us?"
Upon hearing this, the general at Chaoli Gate raised his face and sneered: "Who can be frightened by this threat? Not to mention just hanging out a headless corpse, they just cleaned, peeled and fried the corpse into pieces. There's nothing to be afraid of if you let it dry out."
The military advisor guarding the gate had a different guess: "With this move, could it be that we suspect that this corpse was sent out by us?"
The guard at Chaoli Pass was silent for a while.
Ask the people below: "Have we sent this person out?"
Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads.
A lot of scouts were sent out, but they were all to inquire about the military situation, survey the battlefield, and monitor the movements of the coalition forces. They did not go deep into the enemy's camp. Most of the scouts were brave warriors, and the corpse was obviously dressed as a scribe. If it was really one of our own who was hung on the wall, They had made a fuss a long time ago, how could they not know about it until today?
The general guarding Chaoli Gate was puzzled.
In the end, he didn't even bother to laugh and forgot about it.
Outside Chaoli Pass, dozens of miles away.
Shen Tang climbed to the highest point near the coalition camp and looked at Chaoli Pass in the distance. After looking at it for a long time, he always felt a little strange. After the fog.
"My lord, be careful where you step."
If you lean forward any further, your whole body will roll down the mountain.
Shen Tang murmured: "It's strange..."
Xun Ding asked with his ears pointed: "What's so strange?"
Shen Tang pointed to the shadow in the distance: "The mountains there are continuous, but they are incompatible with the gentle terrain of Yanzhou. Is the small soil slope under our feet a little higher? If Yanzhou is compared to a human face, Chaoliguan is as abrupt as Pimples that appear due to inflammation.”
And they are still pox that are connected in an orderly manner.
Divide Yanzhou into two parts.
Chao Li Pass, it is more like a heavenly being holding a sword and splitting it open.
It doesn't look like it was formed naturally.
Xun Ding asked: "Is there any?"
Shen Tang ignored Daer.
Her gaze went directly past him and fell on Xun Zhen, who was accompanying him. Xun Zhen was well-informed and naturally much more reliable than his son.
He said: "There are no natural dangers in Yanzhou. The steepness of this pass is actually man-made. It is said that more than 150 years ago, there was a 20th-level Chehou named Yan who had his fiefdom here. He became famous, but he also had great achievements. Lord. One day he took people out for hunting and saw that Yanzhou was vast and stable. He lamented that this place was "easy to attack but difficult to defend". He was worried about the safety of his descendants, so he created a natural danger. The people nearby thought that the earth dragon had turned over, and they were frightened all night until dawn. Seeing the continuous high mountains, covering the sky and the sun. The twenty-level Chehou also split a line of sky with a shocking sword, and carved the word "Chaoli" on one side of the cliff. Looking at the masterpiece, he laughed, Go away gracefully."
"Man-made? Twenty-second Chehouhou?"
"According to legend, this is the case, but there are many fabrications."
Shen Tang asked him: "Where is the fabrication?"
Xun Zhen said quietly: "Twenty-level Chehous are indeed capable of creating such a majestic and dangerous pass, but even twenty-level Chehous are just mortal bodies, and their martial energy is not enough to complete it at once. Not to mention one night, half a year. It won’t work either.”
Having been with her lord for a long time, Xun Zhen knew what she was planning when he saw her sparkling eyes: "There are man-made and dangerous passes like Chaoliguan Pass, and there are many places in the whole continent. It is not unusual. But the inscriptions on Chaoliguan Pass , quite recruiting.”
Some brave warriors will come here to watch and learn.
It is said that there are still the remaining sword intentions of twenty Chehous on it.
I hope I can understand three points from the traces left by the sages.
Xun Zhen said this, and Shen Tang thought of something: "No wonder the maps within the territory have to be redrawn every ten years."
Although not every brave warrior has the destructive power of twenty-level Chehou, there are too many people to fight with, the fights are frequent, and the fights last for a long time. The original landscape has been ravaged by more than two hundred years of war, and it has been updated many times. Back to...
Xun Zhen smiled and said: "This is also one of the reasons."
Shen Tang went down the hillside and when he came back, he saw Tao Yan leading a group of people returning to the camp. What was subtle was that wherever they met, they could see the headless corpse hanging from the camp. Shen Tang asked: "Where did Mr. Tao come back from?"
Tao Yan said: "Check the military in front of the formation."
Shen Tang immediately said: "Thank you, Mr. Tao."
Tao Yan sat on the horse and took a closer look at Shen Tang's appearance. He didn't know what he thought of, and responded perfunctorily, adding that he had to leave in advance. Halfway there, he bumped into Gu Chi who came out to "view the scenery" - this was Gu Chi's latest news in recent days. My favorite hobby is watching the sunrise and sunset from the position in front of the camp gate, which is particularly tragic and magnificent...
However, Shen Tang knew that he just wanted to deal with his enemies.
The two of them passed by each other.
Shen Tang was worried that Tao Yan would suddenly strike Gu Chi and chop him with a knife. Fortunately, this did not happen.
"This group of coalition forces are more thieves than the others." Seeing the body hanging for so many days without anyone paying attention, Shen Tang came to think of it. No one believed that the body belonged to Zheng Qiao's side, and they were eager to close the coffin. The final conclusion is just to avoid trouble.
Be prepared to brush this matter off in a blur.
Just keep the surface calm.
Shen Tang didn't care, but Tao Yan felt uncomfortable.
Going in and out of the camp every day to see the corpses of his confidants hanging, but he couldn't jump out and take the blame, otherwise he would be the enemy of the entire coalition. What was the intention of sending someone to assassinate the leader of a force on the first day? Tao Yan didn't dare to admit it. He couldn't recognize it, or even take the risk to steal the body out, and with everyone making jokes, all he could do was hold it in.
As he held it in, Gu Chi became happy.
Looking at Tao Yan's disappearing figure from a distance, he sneered: "A dead Taoist friend is not a poor Taoist. No one in the coalition may know that there is something fishy about this, but no one wants to have twists and turns at this juncture, so they can only aggrieve Tao Shen who stole the chicken but failed to lose the rice." Talked."
In a few words, he characterized the matter and put the blame on Zheng Qiao.
Anyway, Zheng Qiao is bad enough, so he doesn't have to worry about having too many lice.
Back at the camp, Shen Tang received the letter submitted by Jiang Sheng.
There is not much else to say, except that it has been windy and foggy lately.
Shen Tang could tell at a glance what Jiang Sheng was worried about.
"Are you worried that Chaoli Gatekeeper will take the initiative to launch a sneak attack?" The group of old men under Shen Tang's tent like to carry out night raids, targeting themselves and others. On the battlefield, they are especially wary of enemies suddenly poking at chrysanthemums in the middle of the night, she said, " Okay, I'll go see the leader."
Various experience tells her that the more worried about something happening, the easier it is to happen, and she should not delay, let alone say things like "tell the leader tomorrow" because according to the routine, the enemy will come that night.
It's midday.
Huang Lie was surprised to receive the news from Shen Tang asking for a meeting.
Because this young county magistrate has been the center of gossip in recent days, some people were bored and speculated on which scribe Magistrate Shen was having an affair with. Even a reclusive person like Huang Lie was forced to listen. , I don’t believe that the person involved, Sheriff Shen, didn’t know that he was still running around. He was surprised: “Jun Shen suddenly came to visit, but what happened?”
Shen Tang said: "There is a scholar under my tent who is good at observing the sky. He said that the fog has been thick and windy in recent days, and the enemy will take action."
Huang Lie cheered up upon hearing this.
"Seriously? Can I meet that gentleman?"
Shen Tang said: "Of course, Xianden is waiting outside the tent."
Huang Lie: "..."
The word Xianden seemed familiar to him.
When Jiang Sheng entered the account, Huang Lie found that this face was familiar.
"I've met Alliance Leader Huang."
Huang Lie put away his expression: "Mr. Jiang, I haven't seen you for a long time. When I left Luxia County, Huang kept thinking about him and worried about his safety. He never thought that he would join the guard of Shen County..."
Jiang Sheng said nothing.
Huang Lie also realized that he had talked too much and turned the topic back on track: "Sir, did you say that the soldiers and horses from Chaoli Pass will attack at night?"
"The coalition camp has no shelter everywhere. Unlike the Chaoli Pass, which has dangerous and high mountains to rely on, if it encounters a night attack, it may be passive." Jiang Sheng is not a prophet, how can he give a definite answer? But the coalition forces do need to be on guard in case of a night attack. just in case.
Each family is fighting independently.
Once the fog starts, it won't turn into a mess?
Huang Lie also took it seriously.
"Huang will send someone to inform everyone about this matter."
When Shen Tang saw that the news had been conveyed well, he took Jiang Sheng away. The latter said: "After all, it is a pieced together coalition, not the whole. It's hard to say how many people will listen..."
"...There is a saying that goes well - the best way to save the coalition forces is to eliminate them! If there is a night attack, the crisis will make the coalition forces completely give up the mentality of fishing in troubled waters. If we cannot win this battle, everyone will die!"
Jiang Sheng said he had never heard of it.
But it does make some sense.
As the military construction in front of the formation was coming to an end, the atmosphere in front of the formation became more and more intense, and troops and horses were mobilized frequently. Shen Tang ordered the night patrol under the tent to expand the scope and frequency, and the exchange of orders was also changed from every three days to every two days. It's still her turn.
For example, the previous sentence is [the dock without French fries], and the next sentence is [meaningless], or [the mission cannot be completed] and [all must die]. In short, the password style is incompatible with the entire coalition, but the confidentiality function is indeed First class.
This was personally verified by the troops who attacked Chaoliguan at night.
Chaoli Pass is one of the man-made dangerous passes. In the eyes of unfamiliar outsiders, the weather here is unpredictable and more fickle than a child's face. However, few people know that there is a private vault in the pass that specifically stores daily weather records. There are experienced The soldiers guarding the gate have long figured out the rules. On the other hand, looking at the location where the coalition camp is stationed, the terrain is flat and there is no cover in all directions, which is an advantage and a disadvantage.
The advantage is that the enemy will be discovered immediately if they want to make a sneak attack. The disadvantage is that once the weather is established for the enemy's sneak attack, the impact will be great. The coalition's line of sight advantage will be lost under the thick fog. Because the line of sight is blocked, the fog will become the enemy. The best natural bunker. The guard general of Chaoli Pass also knew the pressure of guarding the pass this time. On the advice of the military advisor, he took advantage of the fact that the coalition military project had not been completely completed and launched a night attack to dampen morale.
The sneak attack was divided into three groups.
They are all relatively weakly defended among the coalition forces.
Shen Tang's camp was prominently listed.
It's not that her camp is not stable, it's simply because she joined the latest, the camp is relatively close to the side, and the coalition allies nearby are just a few novices. From the perspective of the people in Chaoliguan, this place is not safe. Make a hole!
The moon is in its last quarter, and the moonlight is dim.
It was dark and foggy.
At that time, I was feeling sleepy, and there was a figure in the black mist.
As I got closer, I realized they were our own troops.
The two teams of soldiers and horses exchanged commands and handed over smoothly. The replacement soldiers and horses patrolled "dutifully", crossed a military obstacle area, and headed towards the back of the camp. The speed was slow at first, at a leisurely pace, but after a few moments, The human feet and horse legs lit up with an inconspicuous dark light, and the speed suddenly accelerated, as if they were blending into the fog, and drifting past like a hazy piece of blue smoke.
It is less than fifty feet away from the camp.
The guard at the watchtower discovered an inconspicuous thing moving in the dark night. Before he could see what it was, there was a buzzing sound, a cold feeling on his forehead, and warm blood flowing from his eyebrows poured into his eyelids. His body was unstable and fell forward, and his body fell to the ground from a high place. In the short breath of falling, he seemed to see something falling from the nearby watchtower.
After that...
He could vaguely see horse hooves trampling in front of his eyes.
Until his hands and feet were cold and he completely lost consciousness.
at the same time--
"The people in front stop and say the command."
The line of people who had been ordered stopped moving forward.
The patrol leader said the last sentence of the password.
“The pier without fries.”
The leader opposite: "..."
After a breath, the other party replied: "It's meaningless."
The high-intensity and frequent patrols were a bit overwhelming for the night watch team. Now they were really sleepy. When they first heard the command, they were still confused about the next sentence. They yawned to judge whether the other party's answer was correct.
However, the yawn suddenly stopped halfway.
The hairs on my back stood up.
In an instant, everyone in the night patrol team woke up.
Why?
Because this set of passwords was from the day before yesterday, the second half of the new password was changed today. The correct answer should be [cannot attract horse gulls]! You cannot blindly get the passwords, because even if you don't get it right, someone will die. .In other words——
Opposite is the enemy.
In order not to alert others, she said: "Pass!"
As he said that, he waited for the other person to come forward and hand over his shift.
When the distance got closer, I was surprised to find that it was a familiar face.
At that moment, countless thoughts flashed through her mind.
Isn't it an enemy?
Did you really mix up the passwords?
Should we let the person go?
The answer is, of course, no!
Just when the two columns of troops were about to pass each other, a ray of martial energy flashed in the hand of the patrol leader, and a halberd was shot out like lightning, aiming directly at the head of the opponent's leader. As soon as she took action, the other soldiers followed. Draw swords and surround.
bite--
The other party didn't expect this to happen either.
But the instinct of a brave warrior allowed him to avoid this blow.
Immediately afterwards, the halberd was retracted, and the tip of the halberd was hooked at the vital point of his neck. He had to immediately lean back, raise his hand and knock it crookedly with his saber. Without thinking about when it would be exposed, he could only take action and kill it. This team of night patrol soldiers and horses were killed to avoid alerting the enemy. Unexpectedly, the person who took action was not simple. Although his martial arts was weak, his skills were very handsome.
"Shoot arrows for help!"
Although the enemy will not come out in large numbers, the scale of the night attack is not something that this small group of soldiers can withstand. At present, they can only delay as much as possible, fight and retreat, and wait for reinforcements. Of course, there is a possibility that reinforcements will not arrive. That's it.
