This is one of the defensive measures of the Luoyan Army in the Dongshan Canyon, artificially creating a mudslide to block the canyon. There are huge mud puddles dug in the ridges on both sides, which are full of sand and gravel mud. There is a levee on the side near the canyon, which is naturally safe on weekdays, but if necessary, the embankment on the side of the canyon will be blown open. In an instant, the mud and gravel fell, forming two powerful mudslides that blocked the road between the canyons. This kind of sediment is very sticky, and when it dries, it is as hard as concrete. Don't think about it for a while, you have to spend a lot of effort to clean it up. Not to mention being drowned by such a mudslide, it is certain to die.

Fortunately, this canyon is wide, and there are not many places where this method can be used. At the same time, digging a muddy pit and filling it with sediment is too labor-intensive, and it is usually necessary to divert water to moisten it, otherwise it will be dry and useless. It's a lot of work. Otherwise, this method of obstructing passage alone would make the entire canyon impassable at all.

This was still under the situation of officers and soldiers approaching on the slopes on both sides, and the mudslide was released in advance as a last resort. If this had been done in the middle of the march of the army, the whole army would have to be cut in two parts, and they would not be able to care for each other. And this is exactly what Lin Jue is used to. It has to be said that the attack on the hillsides on both sides still put great pressure on the Luoyan army.

However, the mudslide poured down, blocking the passage of the canyon, and the failure of the three-way battle plan was announced. The horses in the canyon had to retreat. Progress on the hillsides on both sides was not great, and as casualties mounted, Mingjin had to withdraw his troops.

Everyone was disgraced and sighed. Who would have thought that the army that was full of ambition and vigor would actually suffer a series of setbacks when entering the mountain pass, which was a huge blow to morale, and it was also something that many generals could not have expected in advance.

Guo Xu was about to go crazy, he was furious, insulting loudly, and completely lost the demeanor that a son of heaven should have. Faced with such a situation, Guo Xu finally made a desperate bet.

"Immediately mobilize the fire wagons, and I will burn to death all those who are hiding on the hillside. I'm going to scorch this place. Whatever he does, plants, trees, people and beasts, all of them will be reduced to ashes. ”

The so-called flame car is a special equipment used for arson in the Great Zhou army. A large amount of oil was stored in the ironclad carriages. Relying on the soldier to push the piston, the fire oil can be sprayed more than a dozen feet away. Then it was ignited by a rocket and caused a fire. The oil is extremely expensive, and there are not many reserves in the Great Zhou army, and most of them are used in key places in border towns. But this time, Guo Xu did spend a lot of money and brought 100 barrels of fire oil. You must know that the cost of a barrel of oil is almost equal to its own weight of silver, which shows the difficulty of refining oil oil. However, it is also extremely useful, and it is said that even if a lake of clear water is sprinkled on its surface, it can ignite a fire, turning a lake into a sea of fire.

The method of fire attack is generally considered to be contrary to the harmony of heaven. Because the law of fire and water is uncontrollable, it often destroys living beings and causes widespread death. Therefore, most people will not do this unless they have to. What's more, from Guo Xu's point of view, this Funiu Mountain is also a part of the great Zhou Dynasty, and it is inevitably a bit excessive to attack with fire.

But at this moment, Guo Xu couldn't care about anything. In fact, he'd wanted to do that for a long time. The reason why the attack was delayed for two months was not only to train soldiers and horses and prepare materials, but also to prepare materials, but also because Guo Xu was waiting for the arrival of the time when the grass and trees were dead in late autumn. In this way, the most effective fire attack method in attacking the mountain can be used.

Before the logistical baggage equipment and horses who had just arrived in the afternoon had time to catch their breath, they were ordered to go to the canyon. More than a dozen flame wagons were pulled by sturdy war horses, and their large and heavy bodies were filled with pungent smell of fire oil. The body is actually a large iron drum, which is to prevent the enemy from shooting through the car with a strong crossbow and causing the oil to leak.

More than a dozen flame wagons were like a dozen stupid reptiles, slowly wriggling to the bottom of the canyon cliffs under a group of soldiers. After setting up the jet faucet, open the valve and pour oil into the faucet. More than a dozen soldiers held the wooden handle behind them and pushed violently, and the piston squeezed the fire oil and sprayed it dozens of feet away. It was like a rain of fire oil falling in the sky, and more than a dozen flame trucks sprayed multiple rounds in a row, and after all the fire oil loaded inside the flame car trickled down, the trees, rocks, and dead grass on the cliffs on both sides were already covered with a layer of pungent fire oil. The fine particles of the oil were scattered everywhere with the help of the wind. The leaves, the blades of grass, the thorns, and the rocks were full of slippery oil.

"Rockets! Get ready! One of the generals shouted.

Hundreds of archers lit their tarpaulin-wrapped arrows, and with the general's command, hundreds of rockets rained down on the steep slopes of the cliffs on either side in smoke and flames. In an instant, the trees and weeds began to burst into flames.

In late autumn, everything withers and dries, and the dense hillsides are full of combustible materials. Even if there is no oil in kerosene, a fire will ignite. What's more, after spraying the fire oil, in a short period of time, it became a raging momentum, and the flames soared into the air, crackling and burning. The autumn wind is active, and the canyon is a place where the wind gathers, and the wind helps the fire, and the mountain fire burns for a while. The smoke rose into the air, and the birds and beasts were frightened away, as if the end had come.

Between the flames and dust, it can be seen that the soldiers and horses of the Luoyan army that were originally hiding in it fled in a hurry from the bunker, between the grass and rocks on the top of the trees, and fled in confusion. There are many people who can't escape the spread of the fire at all, and are engulfed in the flames before their eyes.

Outside the canyon, Guo Xu, who was watching with clairvoyance, laughed heartily and scolded in his mouth: "A group of clowns who jump off the beam, I don't move the real thing, they really think they can stop my army." Now I know what I'm up to. You should have used the fire attack method in the first place, and you don't need to be polite to them at all. ”

Zhao Yuankang smiled on the side: "Your Majesty, it would be good to listen to the emperor earlier." Some people say that the fire attack violates the harmony of heaven and earth, and that a fire that burns Funiu Mountain will cause the destruction of living beings, which is the kindness of women. There are bandits in Funiu Mountain, so they should be burned to the light. ”

Guo Xu laughed and said: "The words of others are all wind in my ears, and no one can stop me from doing what I want." The herald ordered the soldiers and horses to rest, and when the fire was extinguished, they marched into the army. ”

……

The fire burned for two hours, and all the steep slopes on both sides of the Dongshan Gorge were spread by the fire. The trees and weeds were burned by the fire, several huge rocks were crumbled apart by the fire, and a lot of rubble rolled down the slope in the valley. After the fire, the hillside was bare and black, and it was lifeless. There is not a single figure in sight, not a single bird or beast in sight.

Fortunately, after the fire burned off the steep slope, the wind was not strong, and it was a headwind. There is also a barren area at the top of the hillside on both sides, which has become a natural terrain to prevent the spread of fire. The fire did not burn everything on the two mountains. Nor did it continue to spread to other peaks. Autumn is the season of high winds and dust, but today it happens that the wind is not strong, otherwise this fire is bound to spread and the consequences are unimaginable.

After the fire was extinguished, Guo Xu ordered the troops and horses to be deployed. A large number of sappers dug up the obstacle sediment in the canyon to clear the road. More than 100,000 soldiers and horses marched through. During this period, not to mention being attacked, not even a single figure on the other side appeared on the hillside. Before dark, the army arrived in the valley east of Dongshan, where the big village of Luoyan Valley was located, and set up camp on a long slope.

On the slope of the east mountain of Dazhai in Luoyan Valley, Lin Jue frowned and stood on a high arrow tower looking out into the valley. When the black pressure like a long dragon of imperial court soldiers and horses came out of the canyon, Lin Jue's brows furrowed into a pimple.

The previous fire attack caused huge losses to the Wild Goose Army, destroying the fortifications and arrow towers on both sides of the canyon slope, and burning hundreds of Fallen Wild Goose Army brothers as the fire spread. Lin Jue didn't think that the other party might set fire to the mountain. But what he didn't expect was that the other party actually had such a thing as a flame car, spraying fire oil to support combustion, resulting in too much fire. In fact, around each of the fortifications, there was a stone wall camouflaged with trees and weeds, and the stone wall was actually specially designed for fire prevention. Most of the arrow towers on the hillside are also made of mud and rock, and ordinary fires only need to take refuge in the shelter below, and there will be no serious consequences. This has actually been tested. This spring, a lightning strike in the middle of the night caused a fire on the hillside, and the fire was not small, but the fortifications and defenders on the hillside were unharmed, which shows that the fire prevention measures are still effective.

However, this time, Lin Jue made a mistake and didn't expect the other party to use fire oil. Ordinary wildfires are very different from oil-fueled wildfires. With the help of fire oil, it was a state of deflagration. Even if you hide in a sheltered place, you will be killed by the deflagration of the fire that drains the oxygen. And the oil can continue to burn for a long time. Ordinary mountain fires are extinguished when the wind blows, but under the spray of fire oil, a pile of dead grass lasts more than twice as long as usual. This can be hugely disruptive. Ordinary wildfires can't scorch all the trees that are still green, they just burn the leaves and young branches. But with the help of fire oil, the trunks of the trees are scorched everywhere they go, and the rocks can be burned and cracked, which shows its might.

Dongshan Canyon can only give up, in this situation, how can it be defended? Being burned to death and wounding hundreds of soldiers of the Luoyan Army was also a huge loss, and this battle loss ratio was unacceptable. Lin Jue finally realized Guo Xu's determination again. Guo Xu used extremely expensive strategic materials to deal with himself, which shows the urgency of his mood to exterminate Funiu Mountain.

"Husband, don't be unhappy, victory and defeat are a common thing in soldiers, and we didn't expect them to use this trick. Besides, if you ordered the retreat, they refused to retreat, what can be done? Don't be gloomy, everyone is worried. Bai Bing, who was standing beside him, comforted softly.

Lin Jue shook his head and said: "I'm not unhappy, it's common to die in battle, everyone should be mentally prepared like this." I'm just figuring out how to crack their fire attack. I dare to conclude that they will attack the mountain with fire early tomorrow morning. If you can't find a solution, that's a tricky thing. ”

Bai Bing said: "Isn't there arson measures in our cottage?" Fire escapes have been dug between the mountains and forests, so what if they set fire to the mountains? ”

Lin Jue said in a deep voice: "I'm afraid it won't be possible with a fire road." It may be possible to keep the cottage from being burned, but after the fortifications on the hillside are burned, how can you resist the attack of the other party? In addition, the smoke and dust from the fire fueled by the oil can make it impossible for us to gain a foothold, and the smoke and fire alone can be fatal. Once the fire starts, I am afraid that there is only one way to evacuate. ”