Late spring flying flowers flutter melodiously in the air, and the brown ground is speckled with spots. Guo Shao stood at the door of the county government and glanced at several women next to him. Jing Niang was dressed in leather armor and a sword, and behind her stood a strong black woman carrying a large burden.

Wushan Bai's grandmother was dressed in a cloth robe, her hair was completely white and wrapped in cloth, and she was also carrying a burden. Guo Shao stopped his eyes on Lu Lan, a little lady, with a swollen chest and bulging waist, and a young lady at a glance; The girl's figure is very different, you can see it at a glance.

"You're not going to set off, what are Guo Dashuai staring at me?" Lu Lan muttered.

Guo Shao persuaded: "The march is very difficult along the way, and it is inconvenient for women. In this way, let your third aunt go to Chengdu with us to find someone; I'll send you to Tokyo. Can't you trust me about this? ”

Lu Lan whispered: "I'm worried that the third aunt has no one to take care of on the road, and the third aunt has never been far away...... General Guo, I'll follow you to Kuizhou, see if the third aunt is safe on the road, and then go to Tokyo? ”

Guo Shaoyi thought that Wushan County would only be a hundred miles away from Kuizhou, and he could send her away in a few days, so he immediately said: "Is this true? A gentleman's word......"

"It's hard to chase a horse!" Lu Lan said briskly.

Guo Shao nodded and looked up at the sky: "I only hope that God will not rain for three or four days." ”

……

Two days later, it rained.

In the lobby of the Kuizhou Zhongjun march, Gao Yanyan, the envoy of Ningjiang Jiedu, stood at the gate and looked at the rain outside, and said: "This rain is good!" ”

Wang Zhaoyuan, who was reading the file on the public seat, asked casually, "What's good?" ”

"It's raining, how can Zhou Jun take the mountain road to Kuizhou?" Gao Yanyu said, "This season, if there is a light rain in January and a half next month, it doesn't need to be too big, it will be so rainy, and Kuizhou will be able to guard it for a while." ”

Wang Zhaoyuan said: "What mountain road? Does Zhou Jun want to turn over the mountains of Qutang Gorge? ”

Gao Yanyu said: "Cross the mountain from the north of Chijia Mountain (Qumen North Mountain) and go south along the Caotang River Valley; Then he crossed the river and came to the city of Kuizhou. Why did Zhou Jun still go to Qumen? ”

Wang Zhaoyuan, who was still very indifferent, stared at him and stood up in shock: "Why didn't you say it earlier?!" ”

"Wang Jianjun is strategizing and taking charge of the military power of the East Road, hasn't he even figured out the terrain and roads around Kuizhou?" Gao Yanyan was also surprised, "I thought you had already known it, so I didn't say much." ”

Wang Zhaoyuan's staff helped: "How long has Deputy Envoy Wang been in Kuizhou?" It is necessary to deploy defense and plan a strategy, how can we have a clear understanding of any mountain road? Since General Gao has been an envoy in Kuizhou for a long time, such an important matter is only said now! ”

Gao Yanyan frowned and couldn't justify: "This ......"

"Mountain Road?" Wang Zhaoyuan was only shocked for a moment, and quickly calmed down, "Can you walk a large army on the mountain road?" ”

Gao Yanyu said: "As long as you want to go to a place, you will definitely be able to go to the army." The cliffs on the Shu Road can also build a way out, not to mention just a mountain road? Let's burn the plank road in Qumen, if Zhou Jun doesn't want to wait for the plank road to be repaired slowly, he should find another way over...... However, the deputy envoy of the king is a little calm, now it is raining, the mountain road is full of mud, and it is really impossible to walk the army. Zhou Jun couldn't come over for a while. ”

"The rain will always stop!" Wang Zhaoyuan said angrily, "We can't stop the Zhou army, sooner or later they will come to the city!" ”

Gao Yanyu was also confused: "The deputy envoy of the King of Dare still thought that the Zhou army would not come to the city?" ”

Wang Zhaoyuan said: "I burned the plank road, and our army's water division is upstream." The Zhou army can't advance by land and water, how can it come over? Who knew there was a crooked way! He stretched out his finger and pointed at Gao Yanyan's nose and trembled, "You...... Gao Jieshuai! Even if you have a prejudice against Wang, you can't know about military affairs and not report it, and delay the big thing. What is your heart? ”

Gao Yanyu said: "What can I do, is it good for Gao to be able to keep Kuizhou?" But what can we do if our men and horses can't win, now we can only close the city gate and defend the city, blocking one day is a day, anyway, sooner or later the Zhou army will come, and sooner or later it will also capture Kuizhou. Unless this rain really falls in a month or two, the Zhou army can't stand it and retreats, maybe ......"

"Haha......" Wang Zhaoyuan suddenly raised his head and laughed, "Ridiculous!" It's weird! There are still military generals like you in this world, and you are determined to be defeated before you fight, so what are we going to fight? ”

"yes, what are we going to fight?" Gao Yan was stunned, "But you and I are deeply favored by the emperor, and we can only fight to the death here to fulfill our duties, even if we are defeated, we are worthy of Your Majesty and the people of Shuzhong." That's why I said that blocking one day counts as one day, and it is the best policy to stick to delaying time. ”

Wang Zhaoyuan said angrily: "You wait and see how this official defeats the Zhou army." Come back to the court another day, see if I don't participate in your book! ”

……

The rain at this time was indeed a disaster for the Zhou army. Nearly 20,000 troops were trapped in the valley of the Caotang River. It is a small river, the valley is not deep or flat, the banks are all low but rugged mountains, and the roads are relatively narrow. The 20,000 horses and horses were estimated to have pulled fifteen miles back and forth, and they could not move in the middle of the road, and had stopped marching and set up tents and camps.

Guo Shao carried a wooden stick and tried to trek in the rain for a while. His clothes were all wet, and the rain flowed from the edge of his helmet to his face, and he reached out to wipe it, and said in his heart: I don't think I have done anything hurtful, this God, it doesn't rain sooner or later, but it's raining now.

"The lord goes back, soldiers, horses, and vehicles can't walk on this kind of road." The accompanying subordinate general persuaded.

Guo Shao looked up and saw the endless tents by the river, with no head in front and no tail in sight, like a long dead snake on the road. He slipped step by step, supported by a wooden stick, and then walked back cautiously and with difficulty.

The environment here looks beautiful, but it is not such a comfortable place. When it rains, it is simply a sin, where did the clean cement road come from in ancient times, the road is full of mud, and half of the body is muddy when you walk for a while...... The muddy puddle is still dirty at most, and the key is to fall if you slip a little carelessly; It didn't rain much, the road was still rough and rough with hard soil and a layer of mud above. Anyway, Guo Shao himself walked very hard, and those soldiers pushing vehicles and carrying heavy loads were probably even more difficult.

In the gray sky, Guo Shao was already in a low mood when he returned to the tent of the Chinese army.

Everyone hid in the tent to avoid the fire, and the ground inside was also full of mud, and people cut some branches and put them on the muddy ground, cut the grass and put another layer on it, and then spread tung tarpaulin, blankets and quilts on it, which was the bed. The rain was still running between the branches under the bed.

The fire didn't dare to burn too strong, and the pot on top was used as a flame, otherwise the tent would have to be burned. Guo Shao took off his wet clothes and changed into dirty but dry clothes, and Lu Chengyong helped hang the branches by the stove to roast.

The people in the tent saw that Guo Shao's face was not worried, and they did not say anything. Guo Shaoyu sat by the fire and looked at the sky, and said in his heart: "What's the matter, this rain is dripping and soft, and it doesn't stop, it won't be ten days and a half months, right?" If it rains for too long, the food and grass brought with the army will not be enough. With the rainy mountain road, it is very difficult to transport grain from the rear of Wushan County.

Guo Shao sat down in front of a rough board, pulled out a newly made map from the package, and took out a ruler to estimate the approximate distance.

Now throw away some baggage, insist on walking slowly can also get to Kuizhou, the key is that I am afraid that the Shu army will not be able to take Kuizhou for a while and a half, and the military food will not be enough: 20,000 troops will need 4 to 60,000 catties of grain a day for just one person, and the amount of food for horses is even greater...... Arriving at Kuizhou was farther from the rear, relying on the supply line of the Caotang River Valley, it was extremely difficult to transport grain to meet the needs of the army on rainy days. In case the rain does not stop, the Zhou army will be in a dilemma. Carelessness can have serious consequences.

If you seek stability, while there is still food in the army and the road is only half gone, you can consider returning along the same road, at most losing some baggage and returning in vain. But what about when you go back? You have to take this road to attack Kuizhou...... Such a blind toss is very demoralizing, so that everyone braves the rain to climb back to Wushan County on this rugged mountain road?

"Find two messengers to send a letter to Wang Pu in Wushan County!" Guo Shaodao.

He picked up the pen, and the wording was very serious: even if the people and strong soldiers were organized to line up from Wushan County to Caotang River, they would have to pass the military rations over by people.

At this moment, Shi Yanchao, Yang Biao and other generals arrived in Guo Shao's tent, and there was a commotion in the tent for a while, and Shi Yanchao complained: "Whoever chooses this day, don't find a half-immortal to turn over the yellow calendar." ”

Yang Biao said: "Big brother, what should I do now?" ”

Guo Shao said coldly: "As long as it rains, we will stay here for as long as we want." I have decided that even if it goes down next year, I will definitely take Kuizhou this time! ”

When the generals heard this, they immediately stopped the noise and bowed one after another: "Obey the orders of the lord." ”

"Li Dazhu, are you cured?" Guo Shao suddenly eased down and asked.

The solemn atmosphere just now was immediately alleviated by his words, and everyone laughed at Li Dazhu again, Li Dazhu blushed, but he didn't dare to ignore the main general, so he had to say: "Almost...... Healed. ”

Guo Shao asked again: "You and Dong Zunzhi went to Qumen a while ago, and Dong Zunzhi couldn't go back to the water and land, what is the specific situation?" ”

Li Dazhu said: "I saw a torrent, the river is only a few dozen steps wide, unless a strong east wind blows over, otherwise the force of the oars and the waterwheel is not enough for the river to rush quickly...... Experienced porters can pull boats from the rocky walls of the river; But the upstream relied on the Shu army sailors, and shot the slender man to death with a bow and crossbow, and there were ballistas on the Shu army warships. ”

Guo Shao drew two lines and asked in detail where the Shu army sailors were leaning and where the slender man was pulling the boat from. After he finished talking to Li Dazhu, he wrote a letter to Dong Zunzhi to ask Dong Zunzhi, since the slender man can go, can he think of a way to take the road of the slender man to send troops, reach the docking point of the Shu army's naval division, and stand still, so that the Shu army ships have no fixed place...... According to Guo Shao's idea, the river is so fast, the warship can't be fixed just by anchoring, as long as the Shu army ships float down, they will be besieged by the Zhou warships and catch the turtle in the urn.

But the specific situation has to be judged by Dong Zunzhi, Guo Shao is not there, and he can't just give a death order based on a few words of description and imagination.