While he was slandering all the princes, Qin Liang had to secretly admit that he was actually one of them.
Qin Liang thought of being appointed as the prefect and adding the title of general, which could promote his long-term plan and accelerate the accumulation of strength; and Xuanji's age could not be delayed. He could hide Xuanji as long as he was appointed as a foreign minister and had his own territory.
; He even remembered what Zhen said, about being more respected if you return with meritorious service. All he was thinking about was self-interest.
Just because Qin Liang had no control over the overall situation of the war, even if he wanted to be selfless, he was just asking for trouble.
Compared with Cao Shuang's "will not treat those who help the general badly", Sima Shi's promise is more specific and accurate. So Qin Liang's idea is to follow Sima Shi's "advice" and try to make meritorious service at the same time, so that after the matter is over, he can get his share.
Your own piece of the pie.
Qin Liang had dinner with Guo Huai last night, and it was considered as an interview with his direct superior, the Yongzhou Governor. This morning, he took the time to meet with Xia Houxuan, the governor of Yongliang. After paying homage to the dock, he still had a lot of things to do.
Except for the dog-headed military advisors around Cao Shuang, Qin Liang could get along with many people. This Xia Houxuan still remembered the poems Qin Liang had copied and had a good impression of Qin Liang.
Although his cousin Linghuyu commented that Xia Houxuan was "pretending to be noble", Xia Houxuan was quite handsome, elegant in temperament, and had a good image. Qin Liang did not dislike this person. However, Xia Houxuan did not look like a military general.
Qin Liang's impression is indeed a bit different from that of the dignified Guo Huai.
Qin Liang unexpectedly met Sima Zhao in the Dudu Mansion.
When Xia Houxuan introduced Sima Zhao, Qin Liang bowed to him first. Sima Zhao returned the greeting, and both of them looked at each other with interest. Probably because they were similar in age, and Sima Zhao must have heard about Qin Liang from his brother.
The father and son of the Sima family are all quite tall and have long faces. Sima Zhao looks a bit like his eldest brother, but his eyes are not as big. Sima Zhao's skin is also better, with a bit of thin skin and tender flesh.
Apart from being young, he probably doesn't work as hard as Master Sima.
He is tall, not fat, and has a long face, but it is a bit strange. Sima Zhao, like his father and brother, does not look handsome. There is nothing wrong with his facial features individually, but when put together they are not very coordinated. His appearance is not as good as that of Xia Hou next to him.
Xuan, the appearance is simply different from clouds and mud.
But for people like Sima Zhao, appearance, age, etc. are not important.
When Sima Zhao came of age, he became a Marquis of Xiang, unlike many people who risked their lives to become Marquis of Ting. When he first became an official, he started as a dianongzhonglang general with two thousand dan, walked around for a while, and found someone to write a few words to brag about his good work.
, but he didn't seem to know what was good about it, so he went straight to the level of Jiuqing. Now he is about the same age as Qin Liang. He had not been an official for a few years and had already been awarded the title of General of the Conquest of Shu. In this campaign, his status was second only to Cao Shuang and Cao Shuang.
Xia Houxuan.
Qin Liang was too lazy to worry about so much. He exchanged pleasantries with the two big shots, understood what they meant, and left quickly.
Time is not sufficient, Guo Huai's departure time will be next month. Because he is a forward, he will send troops earlier than Cao Shuang's main force.
Qin Liang took two of his entourages and began to look for people to question. First, he looked for soldiers in the governor's office who had walked through the Shu road and were familiar with Qinchuan. Then he went to the vicinity of Luogukou to ask officials and residents.
In less than half a month, Qin Liang consumed nearly half of the Saebo paper specially prepared from Luoyang. Fortunately, he had prepared it in advance, otherwise he would not know how heavy it would be if there were so many pictures on bamboo slips.
It is said that these papers are not easy to preserve, but Qin Liang is not doing it for archiving. Anyway, it is enough to keep them for a few months.
The map is of course not accurate, but it is much more detailed than the slips he saw in Luoyang, and it is not limited to the route of the Tangluo Road. Because the Tangluo Road is close to Taibai Mountain, he will know the rivers, terrain, and water sources around Taibai Mountain.
ask.
As expected, as Qin Liang expected, according to the accounts of veterans who walked the Tangluo Road, there were many sections of the Tangluo Road where water sources could not be found. And Guo Huai obviously knew that he had prepared many water bags and gourds when preparing to go on an expedition.
It was too late to do many things, so Qin Liang only made a request to Guo Huai to make some lengthened infantry spears. Spears are the easiest to make. There are workshops for making weapons in Chang'an City. It is just a wooden pole and an iron spear head.
In early February, nearly 10,000 people in the vanguard sent out troops.
At this time, Cao Shuang and his army counselors had not yet arrived in Guanzhong, but they were estimated to have led the Chinese and foreign troops to leave Luoyang.
Qin Liang followed the Chinese army and headed southwest after leaving Chang'an City. The road in the Guanzhong Plain was wide and easy to walk. But as soon as he crossed Mangshui (Heihe River), the shadow of Qinchuan's mountains appeared on the horizon, like black clouds.
Pressure. Soon the army arrived at Luogukou. They first set up camp and then entered the mountains in batches.
The day before, everyone was still on the endless plain. As soon as they entered the entrance of Luo Valley, the scenery changed suddenly. Qin Liang raised his head and looked around, especially the mountains to the west of the road. They were tall and big, forming a mountain range. It was impossible to see the end of the mountain at a glance.
Can climb up.
There were mountains on both sides. Qin Liang looked back at the long army and suddenly felt that the thousands of troops here seemed very small.
Within a few days, there were plank roads and rope bridges. The troops were not moving very fast. They had to stop for repairs when they encountered damaged facilities.
Qin Liang looked at the steep plank road on the barren mountains and felt that no one except the army would be willing to take such a road. The cruelty of war can be felt even before the fight. In order to kill the opponent, such an inhuman place
Would also like to come.
The road is very difficult to walk, and the height difference is also very large, which is very physically demanding. You cannot ride a horse in many places, unless you are not afraid of falling down the mountain. There are almost no people along the way, and it is all about sleeping in the open air. It is estimated that people with poor health cannot bear such a journey.
, had to die on the way.
Maybe Cao Shuang and his advisers only knew that the Tangluo Road was the shortest, and it was only about 400 miles into the mountain. But when they came and saw this scene in person, they would probably be confused.
Whenever he arrived at the mountain pass, Qin Liang would take Yang Wei and others around. When the army set up camp in the evening, he would pull out the drawings he had drawn before and make modifications.
At this time, Guo Huai passed by and stopped to look at it curiously for a while. Qin Liang quickly stood up and bowed to him. Guo Huai said: "There are too many mountains to paint, so we keep it in mind."
Qin Liang followed his words and said: "The general's words make sense. This is my first time walking the Tangluo Road. I drew it casually so I can remember it better."
In the army, he was no longer treated as a relative. Guo Huai nodded after hearing this.
At this moment, there was a "swish" sound, and many people around suddenly looked sideways into the forest, as an unknown animal flashed past.
Then a long and loud cry of "Gah..." came from the mountains, as if there was an echo. At this time, the sun had been blocked by the mountains, and the light was a little dim. This sound suddenly made people feel very scary.