The four-hundred-mile Tangluo Road is less than half the distance from Luoyang to Chang'an. It is the shortest of the Qinchuan-Shu roads. People are reluctant to come to Hanzhong easily because they have to cross mountains and ridges and the road is difficult.
However, as long as the roads are repaired or there is no bad weather or congestion, the army can reach the Tang Valley exit in eight or nine days and gain momentum.
Jiang Wei, who had just arrived in Lecheng (Chenggu), immediately received an urgent message: "Cao Jun's forward Deng Ai has passed Huayangji!"
The generals around him became nervous, and the crowd started talking a lot.
Huayangji is the most spacious and flat place in the southern section of the Tangluo Road. The Han Dynasty had villages and a market there. Recently, people knew that Cao's soldiers were attacking, and most of the soldiers and civilians had fled, but the Han army had managed that place, so naturally
Can quickly detect Cao Jun's movements.
Moreover, after Cao's troops passed Huayangji, there was a spacious river valley where they could march straight south! The only terrain left to withstand Cao's troops was their momentum!
If Cao Jun passes through Huayangji without being blocked, he will be able to gain momentum within three days.
Jiang Wei climbed to the top of Lecheng along the ramp, and the accompanying civil and military officials also followed him up the wall.
Everyone stood behind the parapet, as if they couldn't help but look to the northeast. The water on the Xushui River was sparkling, and the water flowed southward into the Mian River; the shadows of mountains could be vaguely seen in the distance, but they were not Xingshi. People were in Lecheng
We can't see the momentum, and of course we can't see Cao Bing here.
The two cities of Han and Le are the military garrison nodes on the east and west fronts of Hanzhong!
Lecheng here is the largest city in the eastern part of the Hanzhong Plain. Although the city closest to Xingshi is Akasaka in the east, Akasaka has few soldiers; it controls the front line on the eastern side of Hanzhong, including Tangluo Road, Ziwu Road, and Dongsan Road.
The important military town in the county direction is still Lecheng.
At this moment, Zhang Ni, who took over Wang Ping's position as the governor of Hanzhong, stepped forward, finally faced Jiang Wei directly, and began to persuade him: "In the past, when Cao Shuang's army came to Tangluo Road, the Marquis of Anhan (Wang Ping) took advantage of the favorable terrain.
, we can ensure that Hanzhong is safe. General Wei, please think twice. It is still too late to mobilize troops to build momentum!"
Zhang Yi, the general who conquered the west, had always been conservative about Cao Wei's views, but at this moment he seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Zhang Yi didn't even need to speak, Jiang Wei knew what he thought. Zhang Yi probably knew himself, as he and Jiang Wei had already quarreled several times, and it would be difficult for him to persuade Jiang Wei at this time.
Moreover, Jiang Wei has prepared everything, and Cao Jun is really here! It may not be that simple for Jiang Wei to change his determination temporarily, which will make Jiang Wei appear weak and changeable. After all, Jiang Wei is the commander of all Chinese and foreign military forces, and has already obtained the greatest
of military power.
Zhang Yi then looked at Liao Hua.
The veteran general Liao Hua has never been a strong general. When he followed Prime Minister Zhuge, he often did things like setting up camps and defending. But now that too many of the older generals have died, Liao Hua's words have gained weight. Liao Hua gets along with Jiang Wei
It's okay, at least on the surface it's peaceful.
As expected, Liao Hua said: "Please bring 1,500 troops to Huangjin. We will be able to block the traitors in Ziwu Valley. The general will personally lead his troops to build up momentum. Cao Wei's traitors will not be able to enter Hanzhong, and they will definitely return without success."
"
Several court generals were trying to persuade Jiang Wei. Three vertical marks appeared between Jiang Wei's eyebrows, but he said nothing.
There was also Xiahou Ba beside him, who was quite respected in front of His Majesty. Xiahou Ba should have stood by Jiang Wei, but Xiahou Ba had just surrendered not long ago, so he didn't say much at this time. Jiang Wei could only say "hmm", thinking in his heart
He also considered the situation of both sides again.
...It suddenly started raining in the mountains. The rain in early autumn was not so violent. It didn’t rain heavily, but it wasn’t the kind of continuous spring rain, but a steady rain. It was sometimes heavy and sometimes light, and it didn’t stop once it rained. .
It was probably still very hot in Guanzhong at this time, but it was cooler in the mountains, especially since the temperature difference between day and night was huge. At night, the soldiers of the Wei army who were soaked by the rain were shivering with cold, and they had to find ways to light fires in the humid environment to keep out the cold. .
But these problems are not major. After all, it is not winter. The main problem is that the roads have become muddy.
After countless people walked along the road, the weeds on the road had long been trampled and turned into a piece of yellow mud. It was very difficult for the soldiers to trek through the mud. Moreover, the slightly sloped places were slippery and difficult to walk, which was simply miserable. Unspeakable.
It rained for two days and two nights, but every time it was time to march, Deng Ai still did not allow people to stop and rest, and strictly ordered all troops to arrive at Xingshi on time!
Many people had fallen down and were covered in mud. In addition, the troops were marching without armor and wore all kinds of clothes. The dirty and embarrassed people made the appearance of the army even worse. From a distance, it looked like a large group fleeing from famine. Like a refugee.
Almost all of the people were walking barefoot, with their boots hanging on their bodies. Not because they could grip the ground with their toes, but because they couldn't walk with their shoes on. The shoes got stuck in the mud and couldn't be pulled out.
Deng Aijun has reached Xingshi, and the road is easier to walk. But Xingshi is not a mountain, but a mountainous area. The really difficult section of the road is still in the south.
Several large flat valleys intersect here. When people look around in the valleys, they see tall mountains all around. But if you draw the mountains on a map, or have a clear idea of the trend of the mountains, you can find that this place is really It's a bit like the character "Xing" (and it's cursive or simplified).
The valley entrance going south is not dangerous, and is quite a wide road. However, if a large army blocks here and builds camps and fortifications on the hillsides on both sides, it will really take a fierce battle to break through, because there is no way around this area. .
Fortunately, at the entrance of the valley at this time, no Shu soldiers could be seen at all, and the camp fortifications were also demolished. A large group of Wei soldiers and horses entered the valley directly!
After walking a section of the valley road, there is another mountainous area ahead.
But compared to the large mountains at the back, the slopes here are not too high or steep. They are a bit like a mountainous and hilly area; but they are still taller than ordinary hills.
Normally, there shouldn't be too much of a problem passing through this mountain road; but after two days of rain, it became difficult to walk on such a slope. A large number of soldiers were blocked on the road, unable to move!
Deng Ai continued to walk forward from the crowd, and the soldiers saluted one after another: "General." "Greetings to the envoy."
Deng Ai still wore a straw hat, but his face was dark and his expression was gloomy and angry.
A military general in front clasped his fists in greeting and said: "Your Majesty, we have to climb a mountain ahead. The slope is too steep. The road is full of mud and it is impossible to go up. I am waiting for someone to dig stairs and repair the road."
Deng Ai said "Yeah" and continued walking forward, and soon arrived at the foot of the mountain. He raised his head and glanced at the soldiers who were digging the soil, and then observed the situation on the slope for a while.
After a while, Deng Ai asked someone to bring a spear. He held the spear with his bare feet and walked straight to the mountain road. The general hurriedly advised: "Please be careful, it is very easy to slip on the hillside."
Deng Ai didn't respond. He let his toes tighten inward and climbed up the hillside at one go. The generals and guards around him immediately imitated his behavior, with shoes hanging on their bodies and wooden sticks, spears and other objects in their hands following.
Deng Ai goes up.
The soldiers who were working stopped digging and continued walking up the mountain.
Deng Ai's hair on the temples was already gray, and he was the governor of Liangzhou and the vanguard general in the expedition against Shu. He personally took the lead in climbing the mountain, and the soldiers began to move behind.
Another general said: "People have passed by, but the baggage cannot come up."
Deng Ai finally spoke and said simply: "If you don't starve to death in a few days, you will die."
This mountain road is not a winding road, but there is a twist and turn on the mountainside, diagonally to the ridge. Suddenly, a loud voice came from above: "I'm confused! I'm confused..."
A soldier fell from above and rolled down the road below!
The long queue of people on the mountain road couldn't dodge, and two people were immediately knocked to the ground. One of them also shouted and rolled down the hillside; the other person had quick eyes and quick hands and reached out to grab a bush next to him.
His clothes were caught by the person who fell from above. They both lay on the ground, covered in mud and water, but they finally did not fall down.
Everyone turned their heads and looked down the mountain to see the soldier who had just fallen. This hillside was not a cliff, and the slope was not very steep. The man was sliding and rolling on the hillside. He probably did not fall to death, but injuries were inevitable.
.
Deng Ai turned around and said coldly: "If we call it a thief, the thief army has seized the terrain and wants to attack it... there will be more casualties."
The soldiers gasped and echoed sparsely.
Deng Ai finally led his troops over the hillside and continued to lead the former soldiers southward along the ravine.
Going forward is still a mountainous area. The road is undulating and not easy to walk. But the hills are much smaller than those big mountains deep in Qinchuan. So there are more ravines around. If the weather is good, leave
The road is not too difficult to climb over the mountains.
With such terrain, it would be very difficult for the Shu army to block the Wei army.
However, Deng Ai still did not stop. It was not until dusk that he climbed up a slightly higher hillside and found a piece of flat land in front of him. Only then did he stand where he was.
Holding a spear, Deng Ai stood on the hillside and looked into the distance. He slowly turned his eyes and carefully observed the terrain. He saw that the undulating mountains in the southwest were gradually becoming gentle.
Deng Ai finally turned around and shouted: "Stop, choose a place... to set up camp, and ask those behind to follow as soon as possible..."
At this time, he lifted his straw hat and looked up to the sky. He found that at some point, the rain had stopped. However, he still couldn't see the sunset. If the weather continues to be like this, there will be no mud on the road.
The sky can't do anything.
Just when he thought this, Deng Ai suddenly noticed that on the top of the mountain to the west, there was a faint golden light emerging from the edge of the black clouds! There was only a little afterglow, but it was enough to change the feeling of dampness and coldness. Deng Ai squinted his eyes and faced the west.
The wrinkles on his face seemed to be gradually relaxing.
As far as the eye could see, not even a single enemy soldier was seen. Judging from the terrain, Akasaka should be ahead!
Hanzhong was no longer dangerous and was now open to Deng Ai.