(2-in-1)

On the northeast side of Fangcheng Mountain Pass is a natural col with a radius of several miles. Fangcheng Mountain was originally the remnant vein of Funiu Mountain, and the continuous hills that extended and spread from the west to this area became dozens of small hills of high and low, large and small. And this col is the only gentle place in this mountain range.

When the Great Zhou Dynasty built the official road, the official road leading to the southwest was to avoid directly passing through the lofty mountains of Funiu Mountain, but it was necessary to connect Tangzhou and Dengzhou and other state capitals, so it was inevitable to pass through here. Therefore, the official road chose this terrain that is rugged but not too difficult to open up. The pass of Fangcheng Mountain is not precipitous, the slope is very gentle, and after the pass of Fangcheng Mountain, the terrain tends to be flat again. The official road can be smoothly detoured from the east of Funiu Mountain, leading to the various state capitals and counties in the southwest.

The reason why the terrain under this pass is gentle is not entirely due to natural reasons, but when the official road was built, it was considered that the carriages and horses walking on the official road would be exhausted after traversing this rugged and winding official road. Facing the pass ahead of him. Therefore, the officials in charge of the construction deliberately did some manual rest work in the depression under the mountain pass. Dirt and rocks used to open up the mountain road were brought here to fill in some of the storm drains and small canyons in the cols. Later, a post station was established here, considering that whether it was from Fangcheng County, which was more than 50 miles away in the southwest, to reach here, or from Yexian County in the northeast, it was necessary to be extremely tired and tired, and this post station was where they could rest.

With the establishment of the officially established carriage and horse station, more merchants built hostels here, and where there was a flow of people, there were crowds of people, and soon there was a prototype similar to a small town. In time, it is not known whether this place will become a wealthy town due to its unique geographical advantages. Unfortunately, all this came to an abrupt end.

In the early days of the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, small countries were still standing in various places. The founding ancestors of the Great Zhou Dynasty conquered several small surrounding countries at great speed, annexing and unifying their territories. The reason why this official road to the west was built was to allow Bianliang's army to attack westward. The target was the Houshu Kingdom at that time. Within a few years, the Great Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Later Shu Kingdom. After the rest of the Shu Kingdom with the royal family from Shu to break through and hide in the Funiu Mountain to fall into the grass as bandits, although the Great Zhou, naturally it is a great thing to destroy a country, but for the surrounding area of Funiu Mountain, it is a nightmare.

The villages in Funiu Mountain are booming, and there are still people who dare to pass within a radius of dozens of miles of Funiu Mountain, not to mention the official establishment of this large post station and the embryonic town at the pass. In the past few months, it has been patronized by bandits in the mountains several times, and the people have fled to death, stifling the vigorous development of this place.

After a hundred years, the post stations and houses under the mountain pass have become ruins. It is overgrown with grass and trees, and it has become a veritable wilderness. That's why there is this three- or four-mile stretch of flat land between these mountains, which is actually the site of a large post station and a thriving town.

The Jurchen army arrived at this col at dark, and the soldiers quickly set up camp and set up a simple camp here. In fact, they are not the first army to camp here, for a hundred years, the Great Zhou Dynasty has sent troops to encircle and suppress the villages of Funiu Mountain countless times, and each time they have camped here to rest. The last time a large-scale army and horses camped here was back to the encirclement and suppression of Funiu Mountain after Guo Xu seized the throne. At that time, more than 100,000 forbidden army horses and infantry, including baggage soldiers and horses, were temporarily camped here to rest.

While the army was busy camping, Yalu Buhua stood on a dirt bag and watched from the distant pass and the hillsides on both sides. Although the sky was dim, you could still see the situation on the hillside and at the pass. The slopes on both sides are quiet with barren grass and low trees. There was also silence above the pass. The gentle slope extends above the pass, and it is not easy to see the whole situation from below. However, there are flocks of birds rising and falling on the slopes and at the passes to feed, so it is clear that there will be nothing unusual there.

Yalu didn't take a breath of relief, what Lu Zixing said before made him somewhat vigilant, so he would personally observe it. He didn't even send anyone to the hillside and the pass to see the sight, because it was getting late, the mountain road was rough, and the soldiers were very tired, and Yalu didn't want to think about it. Anyway, the location of the camp is still a mile away from the pass and the hillside, and there will be soldiers on guard at night on the high ground near the left, and there are secret sentry posts around the camp, so there is no need to worry at all.

What's more, Yaru doesn't trust his own judgment. At this time, even if the Luoyan army in the Funiu Mountain cottage knew that their army had arrived, they should have shrunk in the cottage and trembled. Abandon the fortifications in Funiu Mountain and make trouble? Isn't that looking for death? This is the most basic common sense, and if the opponent does not even understand this basic common sense, then there will be no challenge to win this battle at all. That's too boring.

Of course, Yalu Buhua didn't know, all he saw was the calm appearance of it.

At the pass and on the hillside, after some operation yesterday night and this morning, simple fortifications have been built and a lot of arrangements have been made. Just to prevent the other party's scouts from probing, from noon, Gao Muqing issued an order, and all the soldiers and horses were dormant and disguised, without showing any traces.

Therefore, what Yalu Buhua saw was an illusion, and on the slopes of a low tree and grass, there were actually a large number of soldiers of the Luoyan Army lurking. The dwarf trees were cut down and stood on the hillside as a camouflage. The slope of the front hill to the north is actually a rocky slope, and there are a lot of wild grasses, but there are no large bushes. This was deliberately cut down in the morning from the valley behind the mountain and transported as a disguise.

As for the location of the pass, there is really no one. Everyone stayed at the back of the pass, silenced and grounded, and stood still. Of course, there are a lot of temporary fortifications built on the pass, but they are all in the shape of mud and gravel mounds. Camouflaged with grass and trees, you can't see the clues from a distance. As long as the traces are not revealed, there will be basically no flaws. Moreover, in order to confuse the Jurchens, Gao Muqing also had dozens of pigeons among the scheming generals who were released and fed at the pass. This creates the illusion that birds are resting and foraging for food, and no one is disturbing.

Of course, all this was not exposed in the end because of Yalu Buhua's relaxation of vigilance. As long as Yalu Buhua sent people to touch the passes and hillsides to inspect the spot, they would find clues. But that's nothing, Gao Muqing is ready for battle, the reason why she wants to hide her whereabouts is not because she is worried that the other party will find an ambush and attack, she still thinks that it is best to delay the time, and survive one night is one night. It would be better to fight them until tomorrow morning, when the Jurchen army has begun. Because, with every moment of delay, the reinforcements that Ma Bin went to move may be one step closer. The whole project is closer to success.

On the northeast side of the col, in the dim skylight, as the last cart slowly drove into the col from the official road in the mountains, in a valley a few miles away on the south side, the thousand soldiers led by Lin Hu finally began to act after a day of dormancy.

In order not to alarm the Jurchens, Lin Hu nested in the valley a few miles away from the official road for a whole day. When the Jurchens arrived, the soldiers who climbed the surrounding hillside to keep guard did not notice them at all. It was precisely in order to avoid these vigilant soldiers and horses of the other party that Lin Hu did not arrive at the scheduled dormant location last night. If Gao Muqing knew about Lin Hu's actions, he would have nodded in approval. From the moment he stepped out of the camp, Lin Hu began to mobilize all his strength and devote himself to this operation.

Therefore, the peace that Yalu Buhua saw was not real peace, and while his Jurchen army slept soundly in the camp in the col, countless eyes were staring at them in the passes and on the hillside in front of them, enduring the cold of the spring night and waiting for the battle to come at dawn.

On their way to come, a thousand soldiers and horses also managed to reach an excellent blocking point. Under Lin Hu's orders, these people began to dig loose rocks on the hillside, began to cut down trees and grass on the hillside, and began to act overnight to seal their retreat.

In addition to these people, in the northwest direction one hundred and eighty miles away, a cavalry army of 30,000 people was crossing the official road of the valley on the west side of Taihang Mountain under the leadership of Ma Bin and Sun Wanchun, and rushed overnight under the bright stars.

A large net was spreading, hanging over the heads of the ignorant Jurchens. Whether the fish dies or the net breaks, no one knows the answer.

……

The morning mist is quickly dissipating, and the white air that lingers above the mountains flows slowly under the morning sun, and the scenery is quite beautiful. Below the mountain col, the Jurchen camp was noisy, the soldiers and horses were being pulled, and there was a busy scene of people neighing horses everywhere.

The 10,000 cavalry forwards led by Battle were still the first to advance, and they quickly formed a group and trotted out of the camp in black pressure. Under the light of the morning sun, the armor and blades of the Jurchen cavalry reflected the light, quite the posture of a majestic and mighty army. The 10,000 vanguard cavalry quickly picked up speed and headed straight for the hillside pass beyond Rich.

In less than a stick of incense, the Jurchen cavalry vanguard had arrived under the pass. The official road leading to the pass is a long, gentle slope. The official road is based on the terrain, and there is not much rest, because it is not necessary. As a result, the road leading to the pass is basically a primitive hillside. The gentle slopes are covered with thick weeds and deep ruts in places. It's just that the rut marks are very old, and grass grows in the trenches. It can be seen that this official road is actually rarely used by cars, horses and goods.

Battle showed a rare cautious side of the Jurchens, and yesterday his men did not fully survey the entire pass and the nearby mountain range, and he was still a little uneasy. As the general of the vanguard cavalry, he had to be properly cautious. Therefore, he ordered his troops and horses to stop advancing under the gentle slope. He reined in his horse and squinted in the direction of the pass and the hills on either side. Under the spring sun, there is silence on the mountain passes. The breeze blew, the grass grew on the hillside like waves, and the low trees swayed and rustled. Other than that, there was no movement.

For some reason, Battle suddenly had a sense of foreboding. As an excellent hunter among the Jurchen tribe, he has developed a special skill when hunting in the mountains and forests of Changbai Mountain, and even if he can't see his prey, he can sometimes feel the aura of danger. Moreover, the situation on the slopes of this mountain range in front of me was a little different. Compared to the most hillside, the trees and weeds seem to be too dense. How can there be such a big difference in the same terrain? Moreover, Battle also smelled something unusual in his keen nose. It was the smell of freshly turned earth, mixed with the smoke of some campfires. It's light, but it's there.

"General Battle, why did you stop? General Yalu Buhua asks what happened? The rear number rode fast horses and galloped over, and several of Yalu Buhua's heralds on the horse asked loudly.

Battle turned his head to see that the army in the rear was pouring out of the improvised camp last night. The fact that his own forward army is staying here has already caused congestion and confusion in the rear army.

"General Battle, if there is nothing unusual, act quickly. General Yalu Buhua was furious. The back is all blocked. The Jurchen guards who gave the order said loudly.

Battle was helpless, he couldn't stop because of his hunch, and his hunch was not 100% sure. The smell of the earth is also unusual, and it may be the smell of spring in this mountainous area. Those fireworks can't say anything, countless bonfires rose in the camp of the Jurchen army last night, maybe it was the smell of the bonfires in his own camp.

"Let's go." Battle waved his hand and ordered. The cavalrymen waved their whips, and the horses neighed and rushed up the ramp. The gentle ramp had little effect on the horses' speed, and they were soon running.

The ramp under the pass is hundreds of steps long. The wide ramp could accommodate hundreds of horsemen in parallel, and when the front team of thousands of horsemen rushed to the middle of the gentle slope, all the cavalry in the rear also rushed up the gentle slope. The entire vanguard army of 10,000 cavalry stepped on the slope in an extremely dense formation.

But soon, the soldiers and horses in front of them were in trouble. They suddenly found that there were many thorns and vines piled up on both sides of the originally wide hillside, and from a distance, they thought they were barren grass and low trees, but the horses knew what was going on, and they squeezed desperately into the middle, refusing to touch those thorny vines. The spikes were layered on both sides of the hillside, turning the ramp more than a mile wide into a passage of hundreds of steps.

Hundreds of paces was already a wide road, but it was enough to make them more crowded for a large contingent of soldiers and horses. What's even more incredible is that even the width of these hundreds of steps is getting narrower. The area of the thorns and thorns grew larger and larger, and the passable hillside slowly shrank, like the mouth of a funnel.

Battle didn't think much of it at first, and it was common for thorn vines and thorns to grow on the deserted mountain roads. But these things grow densely and clearly, which is obviously a trace of man-made. When he finally couldn't help but lean down and slash at the thorns on the ground with the scimitar in his hand, the secret was revealed. The thorny vines were cut off, but they emerged from the ground with their stalks. The thorny vines had no roots, they were all planted in the ground, and they were planted by man.

Battle was stunned, and he immediately realized that something was wrong, as if someone had done it on purpose, as if an ambush had been set up here. Just as he was about to give the order to give a warning, he heard the mournful neighing of the war horses in front of him, and hundreds of horses rushing to the front jumped up like crazy, screaming and biting, and jumping and scurrying. The cavalry on the horse desperately pulled the reins, and the reprimand could not be restrained. Dozens of war horses rushed into the thorn bush like crazy, and they were instantly stabbed with blood by the thorn vines, and all over their bodies were covered with blood. The horsemen on their horses were thrown down, and they screamed loudly from the thorns.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Battle yelled.

"There are thorns, there are thorns. The soles of the horses' feet were pierced. Someone shouted in alarm.

Then Battle noticed that all the hooves of the horses that were jumping wildly were bloodied, and they seemed to be unable to touch the ground at all, so they scurried and let out a cry of pain. Battle was not far from the front, and he soon saw rows of sharp iron thorns rising into the grass on the hillside not far ahead, dense and terrifying. They were hidden in the grass, and the hooves of the more than 100 horsemen who rushed past kicked away the grass that covered them, revealing the terrifying true face of those sharp thorns several inches long. Judging by its arrangement, it turned out to be a whole strip of ground spikes across the ramp, which was obviously set up to deal with cavalry.

At this moment, Battle could hesitate for a moment. He shouted loudly: "U-turn, withdraw, withdraw." There are ambushes, there are ambushes. ”

The cavalry on the slope was in great confusion, and they turned their horses' heads and retreated, and in the confusion, many war horses strayed into the thorns, and the men and horses were screaming loudly, which added to the confusion.

At this moment, above the hillsides on both sides, at the pass above, the horn sounded and the flag was unfurled. Countless figures appeared in view. The soldiers and horses of the Ambush Falling Goose Army finally emerged from the dormancy. They threw away their camouflage branches and long grass, and stood on a high place looking down at the Jurchen soldiers and horses that were messing around below.

Of course, everything on the ramp was arranged by Gao Muqing, and the method of digging the pit was time-consuming and laborious, and only a few positions carried out the operation of this primitive means of defense. On the ramp below the pass, Gao Muqing used a large number of thorny vines and thorns cut from the southern slope. Planted on both sides of the ramp to inadvertently make the opponent's formation denser and narrower. And the methods of the Luoyan army against the cavalry have long been renovated. Firearms are naturally the best means, but in cases where firearms are scarce, some primitive means are extremely useful in specific terrains.

The Iron Thorn Array, the sharp weapon of the Falling Goose Army, was born from the iron thistle terrestris that had dealt with the cavalry horse's paw before. Although the tribulus terrestris is also very effective, but the tribulus terrestris is not conducive to recycling, and it does work well when sprinkled on the road when facing the enemy, but because it cannot be fully recovered, the tribulus terrestris nailed to the horse's feet is naturally unable to be recovered, and the tribulus terrestris sprinkled on the ground cannot be recovered, and it will poison others later. The inability to recycle also results in a waste of valuable iron resources. In terms of effect, the thistle array can only resist one charge, and the first wave of the opponent's cavalry will naturally be unlucky, but then it is equivalent to the passage after the mine is cleared, and it cannot have the effect of continuously resisting the opponent's charge.

So, in response to this, Lin Jue proposed this kind of anti-cavalry equipment of the Iron Thorn Array. To put it simply, it is to create large iron plates covered with spikes several inches long. This spiked iron is laid on the road to form an obstacle belt, and these iron plates will not tip over because of the heavy chassis, and they are buried in the ground and connected together by hook cables, which are stable and strong, and will not be dislocated by trampling and collision at all. When the cavalry stepped on the iron plate, it hurt the hooves of the horses. After the horse's hooves leave, the iron plate will not be taken away, and the subsequent cavalry will continue to take damage if they continue to charge.

Of course, this kind of iron barbed array also has limitations, it must be buried in advance, and it can only be laid on narrow terrain such as crossings. If it's a field battle, this kind of thing is not even as useful as the horse rejection formation. Because the opponent has multiple options for attacking directions, the casting of the Iron Spike Array consumes a lot of iron resources, and it is impossible to manufacture this thing in large quantities. But in the gentle slope of Fangcheng Mountain Pass, this thing is definitely useful. Gao Muqing brought all the iron plate thorns here, and he was able to lay three obstacle belts. It is covered with turf, and there is no trace of it at all.

The enemy appeared on the hillside, the forward army was attacked, and the formation was in disarray. Yalu in the rear was stunned. He quickly figured out the situation and cursed. This group of Luoyan troops did not act according to the routine, and they really set up an ambush here, and this matter was a slap in the mouth. My judgment was completely wrong.

He quickly calmed down, and it was actually unwise for the other party to do this. They gave up their advantage and ran here to ambush them, and they themselves annihilated them here. It's also saved to go to the Funiu Mountain.

"Command the whole army to stop advancing and set up a retreat. Tell Battle not to panic. The troops and horses withdrew and prepared for the attack. Yaru gave the order without a word.