Kuizhou City

The spring grass of the head of the White Emperor City,

The Shujiang River is clear under the White Salt Mountain.

The southerners came up and sang a song,

The northerners are nostalgic.

……

——Liu Yuxi, "Nine Songs of Bamboo Branches"

Standing beside the big stone on the top of the mountain on the south bank of the river, looking at the White Emperor City on the other side, Xu Cun thought of the poem that the "poet" of this dynasty was also his fellow villager in the Central Plains, Mr. Liu Yuxi.

Being in the same place, and the same encounter as a visitor in a foreign land, Xu Cun will inevitably have the same feeling of homesickness and nostalgia as Mr. Mengde.

He silently remembered his upright, old-fashioned and erudite father in his heart, his gentle and kind mother who died young, his hometown and childhood playmates...... As far as the love goes, there are even two sentences of emotion in my heart: "A line of turbid tears is wet in front of the chest, and a thousand meditations pass away with the wind." "If there is no dead man standing on the stone to pee, this is definitely a poetic picture of nostalgia and grievance.

On this trip, Xu Cun did not have Zhao Wu in the army, so he could only leave Meng Hu to stay in the barracks to deal with daily affairs and supervise the new soldiers to practice diligently. He brought his old brothers Hu Si and Zhang Cheng with him, and a team of ten soldiers, the team was Shi Lingtian, who used to be Guo Yu's personal bodyguard, and had just been transferred to Xu Cun's army not long ago. This time, Xu Cun took the initiative to insist on taking him with him to Chungju. With Shi Lingtian's original intention, he naturally wanted Guo Yu to rest assured, and Xu Cun also believed that He Yin would definitely understand his intentions. Of course, there is also the unemployed idler like a dog skin plaster - Lu Ben.

It has been almost twenty days since the group left Guizhou, not because they were slow, but after the team approached the vicinity of the White Emperor, Xu Cun ordered to camp in secret, and took people to patrol the nearby mountains and forests for more than ten days. Originally, he hoped to find a path that could be used for surprise attacks, but until today, looking at the White Emperor City, which stands abruptly on the north bank of the river with its back to the mountains and three sides, Xu Cun still found nothing.

The White Emperor City, east by Kuimen, west by the eight formations, held at the mouth of the Qutang Gorge of the Great River. The terrain is difficult to defend and difficult to attack, and it has been a battleground for soldiers since ancient times, and the most famous battle is the Battle of Yiling, which took place at the end of the Han Dynasty.

Due to the occupation of Jingzhou by Eastern Wu and the destruction of the strategy of Shu Han Longzhong, Emperor Liu Bei of Zhaolie attacked Eastern Wu with an army of 80,000 in the name of avenging his righteous brother Guan Yu. Unexpectedly, Wu general Lu Xun burned the company camp and broke the Shu army in Yiling, and then chased all the way to here, but the Wu army did not dare to advance an inch after hitting the White Emperor City, so he could only send people to negotiate peace with Shu Han, which shows the danger of the terrain here. After this battle, although Emperor Zhaolie relied on the geographical advantage to guard the door of Shu Han, he was ashamed of the fiasco and worried about the disease, and after half a year of recuperation of the White Emperor, he entrusted the prime minister of Gu Zhuge and finally died in the Yong'an Palace.

Although Jingnan's current opponent is only the desperate vegetable thief Chang Hou, there is a difference between him and the former generation of Emperor Zhaolie of the Shu Han Dynasty, and it cannot be compared; But it's not easy to say that it is easier said than done to take the White Emperor City!

Xu Cun has always preferred to use strange soldiers when he goes to war, first, the victory rate is relatively much higher; Second, the casualties of his brothers can be reduced, but this requires flexible arrangements for troops according to the terrain of the battlefield. But in the face of the White Emperor, who was easy to defend and difficult to attack, he had no clue about the investigation for more than ten days, and the agreed meeting time with Xichuan was almost up, Xu Cun, who was disappointed in his heart, had to choose to give up and decided to leave this place immediately and rush to Zhongzhou.

……

Zhang Cheng is an honest man, whether he was working in the family farming or after being forced to enlist in the army, except for being familiar with the water work of boating and boating, there is no place to shine. But since he came up with a way to swim in the water by the Xingyang River and helped the brothers cross the river, Xu Cun has always been very serious, especially after the Battle of Qingjiang, he has become a well-known captain of Zhaowu. For this, Zhang Cheng is very satisfied and grateful!

Anyone with a little experience understands a truth that cannot be broken; Those who keep the word "love and righteousness" on their lips all the time are not necessarily good brothers of righteousness; And people who usually don't say anything and just do things silently are not necessarily indifferent and ruthless; In most cases, the latter is more trustworthy! For example, Zhang Cheng, who is not good at talking.

Zhang Cheng has a well-known quirk, that is, he still keeps the sheepskin bladder. Although the water bladder has worn out beyond recognition, and there is a big hole on it, Zhang Cheng is reluctant to throw it away in his arms at all times! For this reason, he was often ridiculed by other brothers for being a miser. Whenever he was teased, the honest Zhang Cheng didn't explain it and just laughed it off.

In fact, he insisted on keeping this water bladder just because he was a grateful person. Born poor and born clumsy, he has always had a deep sense of inferiority! And people who usually have low self-esteem have extreme self-esteem at the same time! It's hard to imagine that those who have no face and no skin can suffer so much! But this kind of inferiority caused by strong self-esteem is like being in a quagmire, which is very difficult, and he can't change it! In the end, it was this dilapidated water bladder that made Zhang Cheng gain the recognition and respect of his friends!

At this time, Hu Si's shout urging to set off came from behind him, but Zhang Cheng's eyes stayed on the river on the west side of the White Emperor City and refused to move away, his eyes were full of confident light!

……

There is a river on the west side of the White Emperor City called Xiyanshui, which originates in the mountains on the north side, several small streams converge together, flow for dozens of miles and then flow to the west side of the White Emperor City to join the big river, and the two banks were also densely populated places.

10,000 families in the east and west,

Spring and winter flowers in Jiangbei and Jiangnan.

Back * Crane Remains Qiongrui,

Take advantage of the chick to enter Jiang Ya.

This poem is written by Mr. Du Fu, a famous "poet saint" in this dynasty, and describes the prosperous scenery on both sides of the West River.

……

Xu Cun turned around and looked at Zhang Cheng, who was reluctant to move, and knew that he must have an idea.

Among the brothers, Zhang Cheng was the least close to him, and he always stood silently in the distance. And Xu Cun knew very well in his heart that this was not Zhang Cheng's deliberate estrangement but his personality, in fact, he has always been the most reliable brother.

The group regrouped together and followed Zhang Cheng's gaze to look at the West Rim Water opposite.

Kuizhou City is located in the east of the city, which is close to the side of the White Emperor. In fact, if Kuizhou is willing to send troops to attack the Jingnan Army from the east and west, it will be easy to defeat the White Emperor! It's a pity that the officers and soldiers of the people of Kuizhou City have always been interested in Bashu, and they are deeply hostile to the Jingnan Army that is going up to Shuoshui, and they will definitely not cooperate with it.

"Big brother, I can lead someone to ambush there when you lead the army to attack,...... Rush out and raid Chang Hou. ”

Zhang Cheng of Mu Ne pointed to the direction of the upper reaches of the West Rim River on the opposite side, and stumbled for a long time before he made his thoughts clear.

When Xu Cun heard this, he thought for a moment and said, "Let's go, let's find a way to go around and have a look!" ”

With a goal, the group was immediately full of energy and rushed to the ferry port in the upper reaches of the river.

……

The ultimate victims of the war are the common people! A group of people bypassed Kuizhou City and quietly came to the upper reaches of the West Ridge River, which is full of desolation, where is the prosperous scenery depicted by the Du Gong Department? In the deserted villages, the courtyards of the houses were full of wild grass, and there was no one in the village, only a few wild dogs roaming aimlessly.

Since Chang Hou occupied the White Emperor City, he often sent troops to attack Kuizhou. Han Chuyan, the defender of Kuizhou, was a major general and had no choice but to defend the city, and the people outside Kuizhou had no peaceful life, and they could not stand the scourge of the thieves and could only flee in all directions, leaving behind these abandoned villages.

Xu Cun asked Zhang Cheng, who was standing beside him: "This place is still some distance from the White Emperor City, and if you are ambushed here, how can you avoid Kuizhou and Changhou's sentry guards when you raid?" ”

Zhang Cheng pointed to Xiyang Shuihan and said with a smile: "The village is full of wood, build rafts, build light boats, take the waterway down the river, and you can reach the foot of the White Emperor Mountain without a stick of incense." ”

Xu Cun thought for a while: "The White Emperor City is condescending and has a wide field of vision, and I am afraid it will be difficult to approach during the day!" ”

Zhang Cheng nodded: "Big brother is right!" We can only raid at night. ”

Lu Ben couldn't help but interject and asked, "How can our soldiers avoid the sentry guards and eyeliners and come here to ambush?" ”

I have to say that this is the key to success or failure. Zhang Cheng, who has always done things steadily, has long been in his chest, pointing to the mountains to the east; "I'll try to walk the mountain road and see if I can bypass Kuizhou and White Emperor City!"

Zhang Cheng said it very easily, but Xu Cun knew it when he looked at the layers of lofty mountains in the distance; Zhang Cheng was about to leave, not only did he have to go over the mountains and mountains, but he also had to be on guard against the attacks of Kuizhou and the White Emperor's soldiers from time to time, which can be described as a dangerous and abnormal life! But now, this is probably the only way to go.

Xu Cun had made up his mind, looked at Zhang Cheng's dark face, didn't say anything, just reached out and patted Zhang Cheng on the shoulder: "Be careful!" ”

Sometimes, some things, some people, maybe they don't need much language!

Xu Cun ordered Zhang Cheng to lead three soldiers, bring enough dry food for half a month, look for a road along the mountain road, make secret notes along the way, and repeatedly instructed that if there is still no way out of the mountain after five days, he must immediately return the same way, look for opportunities by the river, and return to Guizhou by water. If there is a feasible way, after returning to the state, he is not allowed to talk to anyone, and directly holds a secret letter to He Yin to inform He Yin of the details, and he will decide whether to ambush troops here.

After arranging the task, Xu Cun went to write a secret letter, and Hu Si pulled Zhang Cheng to nag and tell all kinds of things. Lu Ben walked in front of the two, beat Zhang Cheng's chest with a smile and said: "Brother Cheng is going back, when this battle is over, brother, I invite you to live in Wanhualou for a year, all kinds of girls can sleep with you!" ……”

Lu Ben said it unabashedly, Zhang Chenghong's red face didn't have time to speak, but Hu Si on the side listened to it but didn't do it;

Pretending to be annoyed, he stared at his eyes and said: "Brother Lu is so partial, why did he only make a wish to become a son, and there was nothing about my fourth child?" ”

The real Zhang Cheng hurriedly gave in: "Let's go to sleep with the fourth brother first!" ”

Lu Ben saw that the other party was the master he couldn't provoke, and quickly changed his words with a smile: "It's all there, how can I lose the benefits of my fourth brother!" ”

"That's what it sounds like! Remember to find a fat girl for your fourth brother, so that I can satisfy my cravings......"

The three brothers giggled and laughed endlessly.

Seeing that these three brothers were in a dangerous place, and they were about to part, and there were idle gags, and they were making a fool of themselves, Shi Lingtian, who was standing on the side, looked interesting and laughed, and there was a look of envy in his eyes!