Following the captain's order, the narrow path was once again crowded with party soldiers.
However, the next second, several spear-like arrows flew out from the grass dozens of meters above, completely blocking the path.
So there were more than a hundred corpses of party members on the ground.
At this time, even Zhuo Ban, who was taking command at the rear, was shocked and quickly withdrew the remaining people.
With such a ferocious murderous weapon guarding the area, sending people there would mean death.
"Didn't you say that the Tielin Army only has a few heavy crossbows? Why are there so many?"
Zhuo Ban asked with a livid face.
But no one could answer his question.
How did Zhuo Ban know that the heavy crossbows currently used by the Tielin Army were modified by Jin Feng.
Although the number is still the same as before, the launch speed is several times faster than before.
The heavy crossbows currently used by the Tielin Army, in terms of firing speed alone, is equivalent to seven or eight of the previous ones.
The path is just that wide, and several heavy crossbows can take turns firing, so it can be completely blocked.
Dangxiang people are not afraid of death, but they cannot send people to die for no reason.
Zhuo Ban couldn't find a way to deal with the heavy crossbow, so he could only order to temporarily stop the attack and go back down the mountain to ask Li Jikui for instructions.
Before he even got close to the tent, he heard Li Jikui getting angry.
"what happened?"
Zhuo Ban did not rush in, but pulled the guard at the door of the tent over and asked.
"The scouts just came to report that someone built a canal and diverted the water from the lake on the mountainside of Gray Wolf Mountain to the bottom of the mountain, flooding the road. Now it has become a new lake and it is impossible to pass."
Zhuo Ban was considered a core member of the Party Army, so the guard did not hide it and said, "The commander is angry about this matter."
"No wonder the Tielin Army wanted to attack the grain transport team and burn down the grain and grass warehouse. That was the original idea."
Being able to be valued by Li Jikui, Zhuo Ban was not only brave in battle, but also not stupid himself, and he quickly figured out many things.
Sir's guess is correct!
Those two smoke pillars are indeed related to the Tielin Army.
Huilang Mountain is located on one side of the road, and it would be too easy for a large group of people to dig ditches to be discovered, so the Tielin Army's attack on the grain transport team was a deliberate provocation so that they could attack the mountain.
Later, after the plan was blocked by my husband, he burned down the grain and grass warehouse.
This is done to attract one's own attention and create opportunities for teammates on the Gray Wolf Mountain side.
But now it's too late to figure it out.
The Tielin Army's plan has been successful.
There is only one road from Qingshui Valley to Weizhou City. If they want to go there, they have to either cross the lake or take a detour.
However, Dangxiang is located in the northwest, and there are very few people who know the nature of water. And since the other party did this, they must be on guard and will not let them cross the lake easily.
There are many mountains between Dangxiang and Dakang. If you want to take a detour, you have to return to Dangxiang from Qingshui Valley, and then walk several hundred miles westward along the border to reach a suitable place to enter Dakang.
To enter Dakang from there, you still need to cross more than a thousand miles of desolate Gobi Desert to reach Guanzhong.
For such a huge army, people and horses eat a lot of food every day. If they travel more than a thousand miles, the property plundered from Dakang may not be enough to cover the expenses of the southern expedition.
Therefore, for so many years, Dangxiang usually chose Qingshui Valley during his southern expeditions.
After thinking about this, Zhuo Ban knew that something was going wrong.
Quickly open the curtain and enter the tent.
Many party generals had gathered in the tent, all of them lowered their heads and sighed.
The staff stood aside and frowned.
Li Jikui seemed tired of scolding, so he sat aside to drink water. When he saw Zhuo Ban coming in, he raised his head and asked:
"Qingshui Mountain was captured? Where is Qinghuai's head?"
"Forgive me, Commander, for being humble and incompetent. I did not conquer Qingshui Mountain."
Zhuo Ban knelt down on one knee, lowered his head and apologized.
"Damn it, nothing went as planned today."
Li Jikui smashed the water bowl on the ground: "The Tielin Army has been hungry for so many days. I gave you two divisions of men, how come you can't conquer Qingshui Mountain?"
"Back to the commander, the terrain of Qingshui Mountain is very dangerous. There is only one way up the mountain. The Tielin Army got a lot of heavy crossbows from nowhere and completely blocked the mountain road. More than 300 of us died without even rushing up."
Zhuo Ban lowered his head and reported.
"If three hundred people can't rush up, then use five hundred people. If five hundred people can't do it, then use one thousand people!"
Li Jikui stared and shouted: "I don't believe I can't rush forward!"
"Commander, don't be impulsive."
Without waiting for Zhuo Ban to answer, the staff rushed out and said: "Commander, our most important thing now is not to attack Qingshui Mountain, but to quickly find a way to raise food and grass."
Li Jikui was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
He was indeed a little impulsive.
The grain storehouse was burned to the ground, and the food stored in the cooking camp could only sustain one or two meals at most.
If you don't find a way to find food, you will be hungry tomorrow.
Li Jikui forced himself to calm down and asked: "What's going on over there at Gray Wolf Mountain? Can you go there?"
The purpose of the Southern Expedition was to plunder, so when he learned that there was a shortage of food, Li Jikui's first thought was not to raise food from the party in the rear, but to continue marching to the Guanzhong Plain to plunder Dakang to support the war.
"No," the staff member shook his head: "According to the information returned by the scouts, there is a forest under Gray Wolf Mountain. The tallest trees are more than three feet tall. They are now flooded and cannot be seen, and the width of the water is more than thirty feet."
My husband, I can’t make it through.”
"Once it rains in the mountains, water accumulates quickly. The terrain under Huilang Mountain is low-lying. How come there was no water in the past?" Li Jikui asked.
"There is a drainage channel over there, and the water is drained away."
The staff knew what Li Jikui would ask next, so he took the initiative to explain: "The drainage channel has been blocked, and it is on the other side. If we want to reopen it, we need to cross it first."
After saying that, the atmosphere in the big tent became even more depressing.
Li Jikui's face was so dark that water dripped from his face.
In previous years during the Southern Expedition, others had great success and made a lot of money.
This year, I finally got the opportunity to lead the army to the south, but as a result, I lost all my troops when I reached Qingshui Valley.
Not to mention, I ended up being stopped here and unable to move.
How do I go back to work?
"Forget it, Zhuo Ban will also suspend the attack on Qingshui Mountain for now. Ada, take people to get the food from the canyon first, and then go back and collect some food from the nearby city."
Li Jikui waved his hand with a tired look: "Sir, you should quickly think of a way to get to Weizhou City."
"yes!"
The general who called Ada bowed and left the tent.
Yesterday, the Tielin Army attacked the grain transport team, which was frightened away by heavy crossbows. The grain warehouse was burned down at night, but these trucks of grain survived and are still in the canyon.
However, there are tens of thousands of people in the southern expedition army, and they need more than one or two carts of food.
Ada gathered three hundred cavalry and one thousand infantry and pushed the carriage toward Qingshui Valley, completely unaware of what was waiting for them.