The next day, Geng Gong gathered the generals in the tent, and everyone sat around the sand table. This was piled up by Geng Gong and Wu Meng overnight, the sand table was high and low, and the terrain was very steep. Geng Gong pointed to the highest mountain road on the border of Wusun: "There are two roads leading to Wusun, one is dangerous and the other is flat, and the steep road is at the foot of this Tianshan Mountain, and the flat road is from the west of the Cheshi and crosses the Alashan Pass." Last night, I discussed with my brother and thought that taking the dangerous road would have a better chance of winning. ”

As soon as the words fell, Li Dare shouted at the top of his voice: "Big brother, I can't help it, I can't help it!" The Tianshan Mountains are so steep and so cold, how can you go? If you are not careful, you will fall into a meatloaf, but it is not a joke. How comfortable it is to walk on a flat road, walk and walk, and suddenly arrive at Wusun, how good it is to save your strength to fight! Fan Qiang also said: "Big brother, on weekdays, didn't he teach us to be fast?" The last time I climbed the Tianshan Mountain, it was very dangerous, and now I am frightened. If you lead the army to take a dangerous road, the speed of the march is even slower, and if the news leaks and Wusun deploys troops in a dangerous place, then our army will not be very dangerous. At this time, Gao Feng had been ordered to go to Shule and contact Ban Chao to attack Qiuzi, Gao Yuan, Zhang Feng and others felt that what Fan Qiang said was very reasonable.

Geng Gong smiled: "What you said, Brother Meng and I have thought about it. There are two reasons for marching from dangerous places: first, there are no unscrupulous generals in the Western Regions, who take Kusi as the handsome, and Kusi is a self-righteous person, with the courage of a horseman, without a good mind, and only knows how to fight; The second is that our army has few soldiers, only 2,000, and we have to divide troops to garrison Jinmancheng, and the maximum number of troops who go out with the army is 1,000 and 5. Therefore, I suspect that Wusun will put the whole army on the defensive flat road and ignore the steep road. Everyone was skeptical, Li Dare muttered in his mouth, Wu Meng frowned, and said, "Brother Dare, are you scared?" If you're scared, stay in Jinmancheng and defend it. When Li Dare heard this, he jumped up and shouted, "What is there to be afraid of? I don't want to defend the city, go into battle to kill the enemy with more energy, defending the city is a turtle with a shrunken head, don't defend it! I'm just complaining that the road is not easy to walk! Brother must go, just go, what are you afraid of! ”

Geng Gong looked around and said, "Since everyone has no objections, then, at noon today, we will set off immediately!" "Yes!" Wu Meng and the others stood up and shouted loudly, and the loud voice was overwhelming, startling the birds on the tent, and the birds fluttered their wings and flew into the vast sky.

At noon, Geng Gong left Zhang to defend the city, ordered 1,500 soldiers, and prepared to set off. Suddenly, I heard a commotion outside the tent, which was very strange: "Our army has always been strictly disciplined, why is it so noisy when we go out on the expedition?" Geng Gong was puzzled, paced to see, only to see that on the military tent, there were countless birds, black and pressing, chirping, non-stop, surrounded by many soldiers, looking very frightened, they pointed and discussed.

Wu Meng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Geng Gong coming, hurriedly squeezed out of the crowd, and said, "Big brother, after we finished discussing the military in the morning, many various birds flew from the west, gathered around the top of your tent, refused to leave, and kept screaming, as if crying. When everyone saw it, it was very strange, and they were frightened, some people said that this was a 'crying bird', which was not good for the army, and this expedition was probably more auspicious and less auspicious, and it would be besieged by the enemy. Alas, before the troops set off, such a thing happened, and I am afraid that this will make the morale of the army unstable. ”

"Nonsense! What a lot of bad luck! If it's not just a flock of birds, how can it be disadvantageous to the army? It is really sad and ridiculous that a manly man marches and fights, and when he relies on intelligence, bravery, and perseverance, how can he rely on a flock of birds to decide the victory. ”

"Big brother, the three hundred troops who followed us at the beginning, most of them stayed in Jinmancheng to defend the city, this time, except for some who followed us to fight on the plains, most of them were transferred from Liu Zhang's army, although after a hundred battles, but the army was different, and it has always been timid, this time with less than 2,000 soldiers to attack Wusun, which has 100,000 troops, many soldiers were cowardly before fighting, thinking that they would be defeated. Now that there is a 'Crying Bird' incident, they are even more afraid, how can such morale defeat Wusun. ”

Geng Gong frowned, thought about it, and said, "Don't worry, I have my own ideas." After speaking, he paced forward with his hands behind his back, and Wu Meng followed closely. As soon as the soldiers saw the commander coming, they got out of the way. Geng Gong went in to take a look, only to see Li Dang shirtless, the muscles of his arms were uneven, his fingers were pointing, and Fan Qiang was bending his bow and arrows, preparing to shoot birds. Geng Gong shouted: "Stop! ”

Fan Qiang put down his bow and arrows, Li Dang jumped over, and said, "Big brother, do you see, there are so many 'crying birds', if you don't shoot them, how can you win this battle?" Geng Gong was angry and funny, his face sank, and he said, "Nonsense! What kind of 'crying bird' is this, obviously it is a 'lucky bird', and it is shouting the words 'triumphant return', don't believe it, listen carefully. When everyone heard this, they were very surprised, and they all listened attentively, and after listening for a while, Li Dang jumped up and shouted happily: "Big brother, it's really calling 'triumphant return'!" Listen, don't you? ”

The crowd shouted yes. It turns out that this sound, especially the sound of birds, is preconceived and born from the heart, and with Geng Gong's guidance, everyone naturally hears the birds calling "triumphant return, triumphant return." ”

Li Dang scratched his head and said, "Big brother, does this 'Ji Bird' have anything to say?" ”

Geng Gong said: "Of course there is!" In the past, when Xiang Yu attacked the 400,000 army of Qin General Zhang Han with 40,000 troops, there were many birds that flew to Xiang Yuzhong's military tent and chattered non-stop. In this battle, Xiang Yu broke through the cauldron and defeated the Qin army in one go, so that the main force of the Qin State disappeared. Now, so many birds have flown to my account, this expedition, how can it be invincible! ”

Wu Meng hurriedly said: "Yes, Brother Geng is right! With such auspicious signs, what do we have to fear? This attack on Wusun must be the same as the bird's call of 'triumphant return', everyone said, isn't it? ”

"Yes, yes, yes." The sound of response came and went, and it was noisy and earnest. Li Dang grinned and said, "Big brother, this time I will be a pioneer!" Then he pointed at Fan Qiang, Shi Xiu and others, and said, "None of you are allowed to fight, and whoever fights with me, I won't treat him as a brother!" Wu Meng smiled and said: "I just want you to be a pioneer, if you weren't reckless last time, how could the eldest brother make a military order?" ”

Geng Gong said: "Li Dang can be a pioneer, but he has courage and no strategy, and he is easy to break, and the ancient road to Wusun is extremely dangerous, and he still needs a deputy pioneer, who wants to go?" I saw a general come out of the crowd, and said loudly: "A certain wish!" Geng Gong Dingqing looked at it and saw that it was Shi Xiu, and said with great joy: "Shi Xiu has a strategy, which is enough to be a deputy!" ”

"Pass my command, go immediately!" Geng Gong pulled out the sword in his waist and said in a deep voice. More than 1,000 warriors of the Han Dynasty quickly assembled, facing the whistling north wind, walking in the majestic sound of war drums.

(End of chapter)