The road was muddy and difficult to navigate, and the Zhou soldiers were too tired to form a strong offensive pressure, and the two sides exchanged bows and arrows dozens of paces away, and a large number of Zhou soldiers on the hillside gradually retreated.

Xiang Gong looked at the smoke behind the fortifications above, and the surrounding soldiers who were rolling and crawling, and couldn't reprimand the soldiers. They weren't immortals, and he couldn't blame people for their poor fighting in such a state of the road.

The fighting gradually eased and stopped. Only a few men remained on the hillside, supporting and carrying the wounded soldiers, and gradually walked back. Xiang Gong turned his head to the envoy of the Jingyan Army, Zhi Deran, and said: "Today's temptation can't be achieved overnight. Who is the general of the Shu army here? Very capable. ”

Zhe Deyan said: "There are famous generals in Shu? ”

Xiang Gongdao: "There are no famous generals, but there are still talents." This man digs ditches and fences, defends cautiously, is not greedy, tactically dull, but very pragmatic; The subordinates didn't see anything unusual, but the military discipline was strict and orderly. Today, if we meet people who are vain, we will seize the opportunity to take Qingniling in one go, and we will not know; But the Shu army is so rigid in defense, we don't have any good way. ”

Zhede bowed and said: "It is reasonable to say to the public. ”

…… Xiang Gong had no choice but to take the lead down the mountain, set up a large camp in the north of Qingniling, and waited for the rest of the army to come from two roads one after another. Not long after, the Chinese army met Li Gu, the former battalion supervisor who had just arrived at Qingniling, and Li Gu supervised the transportation of the first batch of grain and grass materials from various prefectures and counties.

So Xiang Gong and his generals received Li Gu, and a group of people talked in the big tent of the Chinese army.

Xiang Gong looked at a gray-haired general, this person was called Wang Tingyi, Wang Jing's eldest son...... is older than Xiang Gong and looks at least fifty years old, but speaking of which, Xiang Gong first met Wang Jing and fought side by side as brothers; If you are polite about the relationship, this Wang Tingyi should be called Uncle Xiang Gong.

This is a little embarrassing, Xiang Gong is only forty-five years old and he is young, so he said: "General Wang, Wang Shizhong (Wang Jing) is in good health?" ”

"My father is sixty-eight years old, and his body is still strong, but the long journey is a little unbearable, so he sent the last general to lead the Qinzhou army to serve." Wang Tingyi bowed.

Xiang Gong nodded and said: "Wang Lao Jieshuai was old and strong, and now when I mention it, I have just woken up to the fact that Lao Jieshuai is already in his old life." He pondered for a moment and then said, "The Wang family has been in Fengxiang for many years, and has guarded the Qinfeng Prefectures for three years, so there are many people who should make friends here." I have to ask General Wang to find some people who are familiar with Shu Dao and rearrange the road to Hanzhong. ”

Wang Tingyi stood up and bowed: "The last general has an order." ”

Li Gu listened and asked, "General Xiang doesn't attack Qingniling?" ”

Xiang Gongdao: "Taking Chencang Road and crossing Qingniling is the best way to go, of course, you have to try; I just want to prepare something else in advance. ”

"How long does General Xiang expect to capture Qingniling?" Li Gu asked again.

"This ......," Xiang Gong frowned, "my current plan is to send someone to carry stones and cinders to pave a road on the ridge first; Build fortifications and fortifications in close proximity to enemy fortifications. Then it is possible to attack one by one.

Otherwise, as in the rush the day before yesterday, the soldiers would be exhausted when they arrived at the battle formation, and they would not be able to break through the Shu army line. ”

Li Gu was not very happy and said: "Although the road in Qingniling is difficult, the Shu army has no big city to rely on. Let's attack a mountain so slowly, when can we go to Hanzhong? General Xiang should know that it is a long way to transport grain and goods from Shu Road, and if the 20,000 army is too long in this wilderness, the cost will be huge, and I will not be able to explain it to the imperial court. ”

Li Gu is the prime minister and the superintendent of the army; Xiang Gong was pale, but he did not have a seizure. He said in a deep voice: "Qingniling has a large number of supplies from the Shu army, and the nearest place can only rely on Xingzhou; The cost of the Shu army is not less than ours. If the Shu army is like this, relying on the climate momentum to defend layer by layer, no one can do anything, then there is only the strength to fight for the country. ”

"If this is the case, it is better for General Xiang to personally write to the court and describe the situation here." Li Gu reminded.

…… At this time, on the Qingni Ridge, a black and short man was standing behind the fence with his sword, pointing to the front and saying, "Send someone to the front to pick up all the arrows on the slope, wash and dry." The huts of the occupants were rebuilt at the back, away from the fortifications. ”

The generals were ordered to leave.

The general of the Shu army who gave the order was called Hou Mao, but people generally called him "monkey" behind his back, because his short stature was easy to be ridiculed and unfortunately his surname was Hou. The monkey originally planned to study for the imperial examination, but the article he did was scolded for being incomprehensible, so he had to inherit his father's mantle and become a military general, and he relied on his qualifications to get into the position of Xingzhou defense envoy. Halfway to become a monk martial arts is completely inadequate, it is precisely because the literature is not martial arts...... Naturally, he is not a famous general.

Hou Mao trekked ahead and inspected the camp, and when he returned to the camp on the mountain, he saw more people transporting materials to build simple houses and set up tents. On the back side of the mountain, countless people bent down and pulled the cart slowly, and there were people pushing it behind. A four-wheeled cart loaded with wood unfortunately fell into a mud puddle, and a man covered in mud in front of him climbed the ground with a belt, and the hemp rope was deeply strapped into the clothes on his shoulders, and several people behind stepped forward to help push it.

"One, two, up! One, two, ......" shouted the man with a Hanzhong accent. The people who survive in the mountains are still very hard-working.

As soon as Hou Mao reached the top of the mountain, a group of people bent down and bowed: "General Hou......"

"General He Xihou won the first battle, and he will return to 'Rongcheng' one day later, just waiting for Fengchi to boast." A civilian official said politely. Today, everyone looks a little differently at "monkeys".

Hou Mao's reaction was not enthusiastic, he snorted and left, and when he reached the Chinese army, he said to a relative who was his staff: "Write me a letter to Hanzhong to report the emergency, asking for a large number of people and materials to reinforce Qingniling!" ”

The relative was a whole head taller than the "monkey", and wondered: "We won the battle, but we didn't ask for credit but were in a hurry?" ”

Hou Mao said: "The Shu army was able to block the first battle of the Zhou army, only because of the geographical advantage; This road is not easy to walk, but there is more than one road, and the battle line is too long. As soon as the Zhou Dynasty army arrives and advances in all directions, we will soon be unable to bear it. ”

Hou Mao's Chengdu accent, Xichuan's tone is softer; Dongchuan (that area of Chongqing) has a harder accent. He is a native of western Sichuan, not the group of migrants who followed the Meng family into Shu in the later Tang Dynasty.

"Why doesn't the general defend Xingzhou City?" A junior relative reminded.

Hou Mao snorted: "Do you want to be like others scolded, the Shu people are surrounded by mountains and don't have long knowledge?" The city of Hanzhong is stronger than the towns of Hebei and Hedong? It is better than the Southern Tang State Shouzhou City, it depends on the generals of the Zhou Army and then 'the military order to go down to Xingzhou in January'? ”

He turned to his staff and said, "Write down our situation clearly." The combat strength of the Shu army is completely inferior to that of the Zhou army, and the decisive battle will be lost! ”

The staff said: "I'm afraid that the military government of Shannan West Province will be unhappy." ”

"Will you be happy when the Zhou army captures Hanzhong?" Hou Mao's black face was very ugly, "The terrain around Qingniling is difficult to walk and sparsely populated, so it is very inconvenient for supply operations; But Zhou Jun is no better than us. If you don't defend the city, you will fight to consume and see who can consume whom; Shu is rich, and it is no worse than the Zhou Dynasty.

But if the decisive battle is based on the city, it depends on the combat power of the soldiers, and the Shu army faces the Zhou army that has been fighting in the south and the north all the year round, and it is to attack the enemy's strength with its own shortcomings. ”

Several people had to say together: "But it's up to General Hou to decide." "Hou Mao has no prestige in the army, but this time he won a game, which was recognized by the generals for a while.

There was still mud on Qingni Ridge, and everyone seemed to be rolling in the mud and struggling to survive.

……

But Chengdu is a different scene, the flower capital of Rongcheng, not a waste of fame.

The fertile, moist plains, the paddy fields that have been harvested are white, and even in winter, the fields are full of green vegetables. After decades of peace, the vast western plains and the abundant materials from the hilly and mountainous areas were transported to Chengdu, making this capital of Shu very prosperous and rich. The sound of silk and bamboo orchestras is endless, day and night, the antique streets and alleys are densely populated, and the peddlers and pawns are making all kinds of snacks in them, and the fragrance has been wafting on the streets in winter, making people salivate.

In the palace, there are carved railings and jade buildings, and the paintings are clear and clean, and there are many flowers and trees in the south that will not wither even in winter, and there are also green embellishments among them at this time, which is very vivid and lively; Compared to the north, Tokyo is a completely different situation.

But the atmosphere is not very good for a while.

The Northwest Zhou army went south on two roads, and the movement was too big, and Meng Chang had already learned about it. The Zhou Dynasty did not intimidate him once or twice, but this time it seemed to be serious, and the army was mobilized. Meng Chang was frightened, so he wanted to deal with it actively...... But as soon as he went to court, he didn't know what to do. had to adopt the most conventional method and send a large number of troops north to reinforce it; However, the candidates for generals everywhere are very ridiculous, many people recommend them, and some of them recommend themselves.

Meng Chang finally came out of the women's pile for a while, and Mrs. Fei seized the opportunity to persuade him again: "Your Majesty should choose the best and the most capable, and reward the soldiers for a long-term plan." ”

Meng Chang was now worried, but he could still listen to Mrs. Hua Rui's words, and his attitude became more modest for a while, and asked: "How to choose the virtuous and capable, how do I know who is loyal and who is traitorous?" ”

Fei's mouth was soft Chengdu Shuyin, and his voice was not crisp, but it had a bit of alto charm: "Your Majesty spends less time with those women and scholars, and meets more with the ministers of civil and military affairs. ”

"It makes sense." Meng Chang nodded solemnly and said, "How to reward the soldiers?" ”

Fei said: "The countries of the world are fighting endlessly, and all the kings are focusing on military affairs, and constantly increasing taxes to support the army. Your Majesty does not need to re-legate, as long as the wealth and taxes that have been received are skewed from the civil servants to the military soldiers, and the soldiers will check His Majesty's heart, and they will naturally use their lives. The concubines have the courage to speak, the royal family has been in Shu for decades, His Majesty is benevolent, and the people of Shu yearn for it; Your Majesty doesn't have to be partial, and you can delegate some power to the local capable ministers and wise men in Shuzhong. ”

Meng Chang accepted them all and couldn't help nodding. But Madame Hua Rui knew that she was a courtesan, and it was strange that an emperor could take the courtesan's discussion of military affairs seriously, so she sighed faintly.

Meng Chang was very enthusiastic at this time, and said with great ambition: "Tomorrow, I will go to the court, govern the country with my heart, and work hard!" ”

……

……

(I went on a blind date in the last two days, because the girl I saw was very good, so I was a little concerned and spent a lot of time.) I'll find time to make up for what I owe.,It's 18 chapters in total.。 Thank you for your understanding. ）