Perhaps it was because of the Di guide, or perhaps it was because of the luck of Cao Zhen. Although it was very hard and difficult to cross the mountain road, Cao Zhen was not lost in the vast Qinling remnants and found the right direction.
But the problem is that just crossing the mountain road does not mean all victory. Cao Zhen still needs to defeat the Mulan Pass to be considered a great success. Tactical, once the interlude is successful, the effect will naturally be excellent, and the interlude troops will also have to bear great risks.
Cao Zhen did not go straight to Zhu Tu Mulansai, but instead sent a scout first.
As a result, I really encountered a situation...
『General! An enemy scout was found in front of him!』 A scout from Cao's army came hurriedly, 『We met on that ridge! As soon as I crossed the mountain, I saw several heads appearing on the opposite mountain... We chased after a while, but then disappeared!』
If you are a hunter, you will usually have one or two people, and you will not have armor.
Wearing armor and the number of people is between five and ten, you can basically confirm that it is a scout team.
"No, see, right?" Cao Zhen glared, seeing that it was his own division, and did not scold him, but just asked, "What does it mean to disappear? Going to heaven? Going into the ground?"
The scout Cao army replied carefully: "The mountain road is narrow and there are many trees. After three or two turns, there is another mountain... When we climbed the opposite mountain, they had already run away... We didn't dare to disperse too much, so... and then it disappeared...
The Cao army scout lowered his head.
Cao Zhen snorted, knowing that this is the truth.
The cavalry scouts have many small tricks, and the Cao army scouts have experienced them more than once or twice.
It may be difficult for anyone to come back alive.
Although Cao Zhen's army was more brave than ordinary Cao's soldiers, it was a bit too powerful for such cavalry scouts in the mountains and forests.
Chasing, fearing that he is ambushed, not chasing, and not knowing the other party's background.
The scout Cao army whispered: "General, we have few people... Then what if we get caught, we will be asked about our strength...why should I bring more people next time?"
『Tele people more?』 Cao Zhen snorted, 『Do you want us to expose it?』
The scout Cao Jun uh and stopped talking.
There are few people, and it can be said to be a scout, and there are many people...
"Check clearly what part it is?" Cao Zhen asked, "Is it the defender in the rear, the checkpoint, or the scout of the traitor?"
The scout hesitated and replied: "It's just that there are cavalry people who recognize the flag, but there is no general's flag..."
Cao Zhen frowned and waved, "Investigate again and explore again!"
Hussars no longer adopted the flag recognition mode a long time ago, but used copper whistle codes and other methods to determine their belongings. After all, the anti-counterfeiting performance of such things is too poor. Even if there are any other tokens to be handed over and verified, the two sides are still close to a certain level, and a charge may not be enough to fight together.
Cao Jun also wanted to abandon the flag recognition system, but...
Not yet able to do it.
Therefore, Cao Zhen could not determine whether the scout whom he met this time was from the local checkpoint or the scout sent by Li Dian.
In this way, the information is very vague.
According to the information collected before, the scouts appearing on the opposite side may be ordinary garrison troops, or scouts who come to investigate temporarily, or may be Mulan Se Li Dian's men.
Of course, the worst result is the last one.
Cao Zhen also imagined passing through Li Dian's defense line quietly, but this situation was too ideal. Normally, if a large army was stationed, there would inevitably be a checkpoint warning and scout patrol. Unless the garrison generals were slackening, generally speaking, the closer they were to the other party, the easier it would be to be discovered by the other party.
After thinking for a long time, Cao Zhen had no idea, so he couldn't help asking his confidant: "What do you think?"
At some point, Cao Zhen’s confidant could be used as half a general.
The confidant thought for a moment and said, "We couldn't find them clearly, and they didn't know us either... I think it was more like an ordinary checkpoint... When we saw our scouts, they retreated, which shows that they were not very willing to fight... If it was Li Zhe's troops, at least we should come to investigate our specific number... So you might as well send more scouts to stop the other party's detection, and then quickly attack Mulan Pass, and attacked the back of the front and back, and it would definitely be able to break it."
Another shook his head and said, "This is not necessarily the case. If they set up an ambush in front and we crashed into each other, wouldn't it be the same as the other party's thoughts? General, I think we should be more cautious and investigate first and then make a decision."
Cao Zhen looked at the surrounding mountains and grinded his teeth.
Already here...
I've come all the time, and I can't stand it when I go back empty-handed!
『 Staying here is not a solution.』 Cao Zhen looked around,『Although it is hidden here, there is only one exit. If it is blocked, it will be difficult to get out... At most, one night is here and you must set off tomorrow!』
『General, where are you going?』
Cao Zhen pondered, but did not answer for a moment.
Between these hills, it seems that you can climb any mountain, but in fact there are only a few that can be walked, unlike plains where you can choose from.
Now that the enemy is unknown, it is full of risks when you go.
『Continue to move forward!』 Cao Zhen gritted his teeth and said, 『Since we have already reached this place, if we just evacuate like this... No matter what, Mulansai must be defeated! If there is a trap in front, send more scouts...If we really lead Li Zhe out, we can set a trap in reverse...』
...
...
The vast Qinling Mountains are like the sea.
There is a little green on the mountain and it is eager to emerge.
But there is still a lot of snow on the top of the mountain.
As the winter snow time is extended, these impetuous greens will inevitably suffer a greater blow.
There are steep mountain walls on both sides of the road, and some places are like axe-cut.
After walking in such a place for a long time, some pressure will inevitably arise in your heart, just like the stone walls of two mountains will move at the next moment, and then squeeze the group of people into meat sauce.
"The entire army stops!"
Cao Zhen suddenly shivered and shouted.
This terrain...
Cao Zhen swallowed, turned his head, and glanced around, "Where is the scout?!"
The scout, who was originally scheduled to pay back every two hours, seems to have not come back yet?
Is it not yet time or is there something happening?
There are no watches these days.
Cao Zhen looked up at the sky.
The sky was cut by the stone wall and became a thread of sky.
Cao Zhen's feelings became worse and worse.
In fact, sometimes human organs are very wonderful. Most people who have been engaged in dangerous occupations for a long time have more or less similar feelings. For example, when you are riding in a black car, your head hurts suddenly, and when you enter the elevator, your legs suddenly cramp...
It is not entirely because Cao Zhen can develop into the late stage.
"Come! Send more people to investigate!"
The guard answered and went to send the order.
Cao Zhen looked at the stone walls on both sides, found the guide of the Di people, and asked: "Is there only this way?"
The Di guide nodded and gestured, "There is only this way to go to Mulan Pass..."
Cao Zhen nodded.
He actually realized that there is indeed only one way.
There are stone walls on both sides, and a winding mountain road in the middle is a mountain stream below the mountain road. The mountain road is not very high, falling down may not cause death, but it may not be able to protect the arms and legs.
Looking up, the stone wall is steep. Although there are trees and layers of stone slabs and stones on it, it is almost impossible for people to climb on this stone wall that is nearly seventy or eighty degrees.
After all, not everyone is Laura.
"How long is this mountain road?" Cao Zhen asked the Di people again.
The guide thought for a while and stretched out a finger.
"Two miles? Twenty miles?" Cao Zhen said.
The Di guide shook his head, "Two days."
"Two..." Cao Zhen was speechless.
When can time become a unit of measurement for distance?
But looking at the clear eyes of the Di people, Cao Zhen could only nod helplessly, and then ordered the scout to be dispatched. After repeated detection of the surrounding area, it was not until it was confirmed that there were no soldiers ambushing on the stone wall that Cao Zhen took a breath and ordered the soldiers to continue moving forward.
Although it took a little time, Cao Zhen thought it was worth it...
But Cao Zhen did not expect that the time he was delaying happened to be what Li Dian needed.
This is often the case in wars.
From a single individual perspective, sometimes doing the right thing may not necessarily lead to the right result. But if you look at it overall and in terms of probability, the probability of those who do the right thing will be significantly greater.
On the other end of the Shibi Canyon, Li Dian and a group of soldiers were resting and eating.
Li Dian and the soldiers rushed over and were exhausted.
If we encounter a battle with Cao's army at this time, we will not be sure who will win or lose.
It’s a pity that Cao was really investigating the dangerous Shibi Canyon area, but instead gave Li Dian and others some time to rest and adjust.
Although most of the mountain soldiers were concentrated in Sichuan and Shu and Guanzhong, Hanzhong was the beginning of Feiqian's training of mountain soldiers back then, so when Li Dian re-engaged his mountain soldiers' training in Nanzheng, he could not be considered starting from scratch.
Li Dian now deeply feels Fei Qian's forward-looking nature.
The Di people around Hanzhong provided Li Dian with a very high-quality military source.
One of the strategies to differentiate the Di people was to gather their courage.
These Di people who are either in the Qinling Mountains or in the Bashan Mountains seem to be walking on the plains on a regular basis, and there is no pressure at all. The most important thing is that these Di people are hard-working and most of them have certain experience in survival in the mountains and forests. When they are trained, in addition to having some difficulty in cultural discipline and military rules, they are unique in combat in the mountains and forests.
In addition to being less educated and less orders, these Di soldiers were almost full in hard work. Even in order not to alert Cao's army, they could not make fire, but they were all given some coarse cakes, and they still had sweet food. There was no problem at all. If they were in extreme environments, they could even keep walking and fighting without eating all day...
Just like this time when he discovered that Cao's army had signs of detour, Li Dian thought of the mountain soldiers constructed by these Di people at the first time.
The Di soldiers who arrived here almost overnight did not lose their morale after running around and eating in a rough place, and were still lively and jumping around. Even if the food was single and lacked, it did not have much impact on the Di mountain soldiers. Li Dian also saw some Di mountain soldiers spontaneously searching for prey, collecting wild fruits, and replenishing ingredients.
This is indeed a very good quality, but for some reason, Li Dian felt that something was wrong.
Standing on the hillside, Li Dian looked into the distance and thought for a while, but could not figure out what the problem was. So he simply summoned several military academies to check the map while making the final pre-war arrangements.
Li Dian said, "From here to go to Mulansai, you must pass the intersection here... We are here now, waiting for Cao's army to come to the door... But now it is not clear where Cao's army is... Our scout met the other scout because he was afraid of alarming the snake, so he did not get too close...
"What if Cao's army did not come to Mulan Village, but continued to walk backwards?" a military academy asked, "There is a three-fork here, why don't we go there to block Cao's army?"
『Cao army came at a speed faster than we expected...』 Li Dian shook his head and said, 『We just met Cao's scout yesterday, and we met again today... This shows that Cao's army is very close to us! Although this time, in order not to be exposed, we intercepted some Cao's scouts, which is a possibility of arousing the other party's alertness, the scout detection itself is an unexpected risk... So as long as our troops are hidden well, there should be no big problem...』
"Will we send scouts to detect it again? Is there a determination of the location of Cao's army?" another military academy asked.
Li Dian thought for a moment, shook his head, "It's not appropriate. We can roughly infer the position of Cao's army based on the batch of scouts of Cao's army, and Cao's army can also infer our position based on the number of scouts appearing... What's more, if the scout accidentally falls into the hands of the enemy, it's better to wait here. This time, the general of Cao's army is Cao Zhen and Cao Zidan, a very outstanding young general under the Cao family. If he can capture and kill this general, it would be a great achievement!"
Who can guarantee that the soldiers under his command will not be captured?
Who can ensure that the captured soldiers are loyal and unyielding and would rather die than be recruited?
At least in the era of the Han Dynasty, no one could do it.
Feiqian could not do it.
So instead of betting on impossible risks, it is better to stick to the existing bargaining chips.
Li Dian was to seek stability, and in order to prevent his military academy from realizing his thoughts about the scouts, he also named his meritorious service at the end and diverted his attention from the military academy...
Obviously, Li Dian's strategy succeeded.
When the military academy heard that the big fish came, they were all quite excited. They looked at each other and were a little ready to go.
Li Dian pointed to the three-way intersection that the military academy had just mentioned before, "This road must be guarded against... In this way, Li team led you to take a hundred people and turn over from the medicinal road, bring more war drums and flags, so it's better to hide. If Cao's army really comes, it's going to be a clamor to be a suspicious soldier... and here...
After a while, Li Dian assigned combat missions, and each military academies took their troops and left separately.
...
...
Several Cao army scouts left the large army, looked at the surrounding mountains and forests with some fear, and walked forward.
After Fei Qian engaged in an arms race, Shandong was forced to call.
But no matter what, it is a step slower.
The original military system of Cao Cao was not refined at all, but still followed the original structure of the Han Dynasty. After being critically attacked by Fei Qian, he learned his mistakes and began to reform the military system. Unfortunately, due to innate reasons, there were always some problems here or some problems.
Just like treating elites in the army, Fei Qian's approach is to cultivate, while Cao Cao's habit is to scatter.
There are competitions in Feiqian Army every year. If you win a big game, you can go to Beijing for further studies, and if you have good small game, you can get better treatment. However, whether you are going to Beijing for further studies or those who are originally given benefits in the military, you can freely choose your future direction, or become a higher-level military academy, go to other regions to command troops, or become a skilled backbone locally, have relatively high degrees of freedom and focus on personal wishes.
But Cao Cao's side couldn't do it...
For some reasons, among the Cao army, the Central Guard Army, which is directly under the Central Leadership Army, is the first floor, and the other local soldiers governed by the Xiahou family of Cao are the second floor, and the rest are the third floor. Lao Cao, who has extremely high dual commerce, just pulls it into his pocket. When he wants to use it, he is very sincere, but he is also straightforward when he pulls out his dick and leaves. This leads to the lack of talents in the Cao army, but it is easy to have faults. At the same time, a large number of talents are concentrated in the core area of Cao Cao, and the promotion is difficult to retract, and the surrounding areas are short of people.
In history, even after Cao Cao's death, this problem was not alleviated. For example, when Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, the entire Guanzhong and even Longyou were weak, and the cavalry of Cao's army actually remained in the central area of the Central Plains. If Brother Zhu was lucky and his teammates were more powerful, he might have taken Longyou at that time and advanced to Guanzhong...
Of course, even if Zhuge successfully took Longyou at that time, he might not be able to stand firm in Guanzhong, because in fact, when Zhuge Liang had not yet eliminated the people behind Sichuan and Shu, he was doomed to be a failed attack.
Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition was doomed to fail. So how did Cao Zhen's first advance westward plan?
After sending out scouts again, Cao Zhen's troops stopped one after another to rest.
He looked back and saw that the long queue on the mountain road gave him a bad premonition.
Jingzhou is not as rich as originally thought. Even if it is taken over Wancheng, Cao's army may not have received much supplies and strengthening. This is a very embarrassing fact. The reason why Wancheng looked so prosperous was entirely because the commercial goods in the relevant area were supported by it. It seemed like a small supermarket in a residential area. It seemed very lively. After all, not everyone likes to go to large supermarkets far away, but in fact, once the external purchase channels break, they will be out of stock in minutes!
Wancheng is such a small supermarket inside Nanyang. Although the price is slightly higher than that of Guanzhong, it is close and convenient, so it was still very prosperous. However, with the war between Cao Fei and the two families, Wancheng's purchase channels were closed, how much inventory can there be in the granaries?
Therefore, Cao's gain of Wancheng was not a loss, but he definitely did not get rich overnight.
The main purpose of Cao's army advancing west was not to eat Hanzhong in one breath...
Of course, if you can really win Hanzhong, it will naturally be great.
Just like Zhuge's Northern Expedition in history, it would be great if he could really achieve Guanzhong, but in fact, Zhuge was ready for failure on the first day of his march.
The same is true for Cao Zhen. He tried his best, but he didn't really want to kill himself on the Qinling Mountains and Daba Mountains.
Looking at the scouts in the distance, they went further and further away, then became small dots and disappeared from their sight without any abnormalities. Cao Zhen also became a little dazed. Maybe it was just thinking too much?
He was about to order the troops to continue moving forward when suddenly some riots occurred in front of him.
Cao Zhen's pupils contracted instantly, and he looked into the mountains ahead.
The distance was a bit far, and he couldn't see it in detail, so he could only see some small dots shaking.
The scout he sent out seemed to have encountered the sentinels of the Hanzhong defenders, and the two sides fought in the forest...