On the evening of October 23, the Chinese army rushed to the Obo River, which was already the northernmost edge of the traditional Xiningwei, and as long as it crossed the front section of the mountain, it was the southern entrance to the Dadou Ba Valley, Hongtukou.

Li Zicheng ordered the army to camp here, waiting for Li Guo in front to send back a message, while informing Liu Yunshui with the herald, he ordered the first cavalry to immediately move closer to the Chinese army.

Ma Youshui was a little puzzled, "My lord, if all Liu Baihu's soldiers are withdrawn, in case the Mai Li cadres make a comeback, won't our back road be cut off?" ”

"Back?" Li Zicheng laughed, "In the past, when the overlord of Chu crossed the Zhangshui River, he ordered the soldiers to break the kettle and sink the boat, do you know what it means?" ”

"My lord is saying that the overlord of Chu is determined to fight to the death and not retreat?" Ma Youshui didn't know Xiang Yu, but Li Zicheng's meaning was very clear, and after a little thought, he understood what the adult meant.

"This is very similar to us going to attack Ganzhou, there is water to think about, if we lose, is there still a chance to retreat? If we capture Ganzhou, do we need this back road? Li Zicheng saw that Ma Youshui's expression was different, so he asked, "Are you afraid of water?" ”

When Ma Youshui heard this, his body shook up, and he puffed up his chest and said: "Your subordinates are not afraid, as long as you follow the adults, you won't lose the battle!" ”

"Youshui's words are pinning victory on me," Li Zicheng glanced at the overlapping mountains in the distance, and said: "Don't worry, I will definitely return to Xining with my brothers victoriously, my confidence comes from the brothers' daily training, does Youshui know the difference between Xining soldiers and Ganzhou soldiers?" ”

Ma Youshui is also from Ganzhou Zuowei, originally belonged to the same small banner as Li Zicheng, and naturally knew everything about the training of Ganzhou soldiers, he took a step forward, straightened his waist, and said loudly: "My lord, my subordinates understand, my subordinates know, follow my lord, and I will be able to win the battle!" ”

Li Zicheng nodded slightly, and asked Ma Youshui to urge the soldiers to set up camp, but he took out the binoculars from his arms and looked into the distance, the mountains in front of him were vast, and the shadows were full, and the trees in the mountains had already faded their dead leaves, leaving only bare branches, watching like sentinels.

There is only a trail up and down, hidden in the bushes, but the mountains on both sides are very steep, if there is a surprise army in ambush......

"Such a dangerous place is so easy to give up," Li Zicheng shook his head as if he hated that iron could not become steel, and muttered in his mouth: "Heaven is evil, you can still live; You shall not live ...... of your own iniquity"

Li Zicheng was still sighing, and He Mi walked over gently, "My lord, Chief Banner Officer Wang has sent someone to answer your lordship!" ”

"Oh? Let him come! Li Zicheng was overjoyed, and Wang Anping sent the rangers to answer them, indicating that they had taken control of the canyon and ensured the passage of the army.

After a while, the ranger was brought to Li Zicheng, he walked two steps quickly, bowed to the ground, "Subordinates knock to see your lord!" ”

"Get up and speak," Li Zicheng put down the binoculars and handed them to He Xiaomi, "Where is Wang Anping now?" ”

The ranger hurriedly got up, bowed down and replied, "Lord Hui, the chief flag officer is in the fried noodle village at the other end of the canyon." ”

"Did you alarm the people of Chow Mein Village? Where is Li Guo now? ”

"The answerer, the chief flag officer disguised himself as a merchant guest, and did not alarm the people in Zhuangzi, they did not know that our army had come to the valley," the ranger took a breath and continued: "Li Baihu has entered the valley, and the cavalry is fast, it is estimated that they can pass out of the valley and enter the fried noodle village before dark." ”

Li Zicheng pondered for a moment, and then said, "What is the situation in the valley?" Can there be a wide avenue? ”

"Back to my lord, there were originally shepherds in the valley, but now it is winter, the grass is dead, the herdsmen have long since evacuated the valley, in the valley, the road twists and turns, undulating, the width can reach three or four zhang, and the narrow place can only accommodate one person and one rider to pass, you must be very careful," the ranger looked at Li Zicheng, and suddenly said: "My lord, the valley is extremely cold, and some places are covered with snow almost all year round, so you must be prepared." ”

Dadou Tu Valley is a canyon that crosses the Qilian Mountains, the altitude is very high, although people and animals can pass through, but the temperature in the valley must be very low, but the snow all year round is still beyond Li Zicheng's imagination, is it comparable to Mount Everest? He thought for a moment, and he already had a plan in his heart, "How long is the valley, and can it be crossed in one day?" ”

"According to the estimation of the chief flag officer and his subordinates, the valley is about fifty or sixty miles, and if you march in a hurry, you should be able to pass in one day, and your subordinates will start from Chenshi, and you can only see your lord at this moment."

Li Zicheng nodded, "You've worked hard, let's go down and rest first!" ”

"Yes, my lord, my subordinates will guide you tomorrow!" The ranger kowtowed, and then retreated.

Li Zicheng turned around and asked, "When will Yunshui arrive?" ”

He Xiaoxiao bowed down and replied, "My lord, you should be able to get here before noon tomorrow." ”

On the second day, Li Zicheng slept lazily, and it wasn't until three o'clock in the morning that he got up lazily and pushed open the camp tent, Ma Youshui and He Mi were already waiting outside, "My lord! ”

Li Zicheng smiled: "Why, you got up so early?" ”

"Haven't adults always woken up early?" He Xiaomi doesn't understand, why did adults get up so late today, and they didn't stay up late last night!

"Haha," Li Zicheng laughed, "It's only twenty miles away from Hongtukou, and you can easily reach it today, and the brothers can also rest, and you will only pass through the Dadou Valley tomorrow." ”

"This ......" He Xiaomi understood that the Dadou Valley was very cold, and the soldiers should not spend the night in the valley, so they set off from Hongtukou in the early morning and rushed to the fried noodle village overnight...... When do we go? ”

"Eat breakfast first," Li Zicheng yawned and said, "We will leave at the end of the hour, and we should arrive at noon, and we will eat at Hongtukou." ”

"Yes, sir." Ma Youshui returned to the soldiers, but He Xiaomi, but he brought dry food for Li Zicheng and settled breakfast with hot water.

At the end of the hour, the army set off on time, twenty miles of mountain road, but two hours, in the middle of noon, arrived at the Hongtukou, at this time, Liu Yunshui's cavalry had also arrived, and set up camp outside the Hongtukou.

After lunch, Li Zicheng did not arrange military activities, the soldiers could move freely, as long as they did not leave the camp three miles away, in Li Zicheng's eyes, although the scenery of Qilian Mountain was beautiful, they were not for fun, but to fight.

The soldiers did not wander all over the mountain, most of them rested in the tents, or took out their rifles and wiped them clean, and some of the soldiers fell asleep in the sun outside the tents, and they were very tired after eight or nine days of driving the mountain road.

On the 25th, as soon as the sky dawned, the soldiers were awakened and began breakfast, in the middle of the day, Liu Yunshui's cavalry went first, Li Zicheng followed closely behind, and the rear was Ma Youshui's infantry, and more than 1,000 people pulled out a long line of two or three miles.

Fortunately, at the beginning, the valley was still three or four zhang wide, and the cavalry was fast, and it quickly distanced itself from the infantry, which would not affect the speed of the infantry.

But after traveling four or five miles along the Baishui River, the road began to narrow, and hundreds of war horses were crowded in the valley, and it was impossible to gallop quickly.

Compared with the valley, the peaks on both sides do not appear abrupt, which is due to the fact that the valley itself is very high, but the mountains are rocky, the strange peaks are numerous, and the mountains are endless, almost mountain after mountain, no wonder there are no ambushes in the valley.

However, Li Zicheng still couldn't figure it out, with the temperament of the Han people, if they built a pass in the valley to defend it, it would be difficult for foreign enemies to stick their wings, could it be that the general soldiers and governors of Ganzhou were all blind?

Isn't there enough silver?

There are also a lot of gentle slopes on both sides, people and horses can go up the mountain, but I don't know if there is a road, but the blue-gray grass stalks are still there, all the way to the bottom of the valley, two mountains and a river, there is water and grass, typical pastures, no wonder the ranger said, there are often herdsmen in and out here.

The forest is dense in the gentle place, and there is no grass in the steep place, Li Zicheng really can't describe the feeling of this big bucket valley, and he doesn't know how the merchants and pedestrians crossed this valley.

But Li Zicheng obviously felt that the wind in the valley was windy, and if it wasn't for a quick hurry, it would really feel cold and cold, and it was really not an ideal place to play.

After another three or four miles, there was a right-angle turn, two times in a row, before returning to the original direction, after that, there were more and more spiraling mountains like this, and the angle of the turn was also getting bigger and bigger, and there was even a reciprocating loop.

After passing through the Zhuge Monument, the mountain suddenly becomes undulating, sometimes spiraling up and straight into the peak, sometimes swooping straight down to the bottom of the valley, the strong wind in the valley blows the stones on both sides of the river and constantly falls into the roaring and rushing river, people and horses walk along the river, the two wars, a little careless, it is possible to be blown down by the wind, the road is already narrow, the boulders stretching out of the mountains on both sides cut off the road in half, Li Zicheng had to get off the horse, lead the horse through this section.

"People can't stand side by side, horses can't be side by side", and the road is undulating and circling until it passes the mother's grave, and the road is slightly wider.

Fortunately, Wang Anping sent rangers to lead the way, and the army would not get lost in the valley, let alone take many detours.

In the last few miles, the terrain was not only flat, but also open, and when it came to such a wide road, the speed of the cavalry suddenly accelerated, but despite this, out of the valley, it was already unitary time, Li Guo and Wang Anping had already come to greet them, and bowed together: "My lord! ”

"Finally through this big Dou Tu Valley, in the past, when Emperor Yang of Sui passed through the big Dou Ba Valley, it is said that no less than fifty percent of the soldiers, concubines, and palace maids froze to death, in fact, the valley is not as cold as the legend." Li Zicheng laughed, but when he looked back, Ma Youshui's infantry did not follow, and not only frowned.

Li Guo and the others naturally didn't know who Emperor Yang of Sui was, and couldn't help but look at each other, he didn't see Ma Youshui, and knew that he was still walking through the valley, so he said: "My lord, it's cold in the valley, let's drink some hot soup to drive away the cold first, we will send someone to wait for Ma Baihu at the mouth of the valley!" ”

"Well," Li Zicheng nodded, turned over and dismounted, and followed Li over to his big tent that he had set up earlier, and saw that the firefighters were busy delivering hot mutton soup, and tunneled: "Prepare more hot soup, and there will be brothers out of the valley in a while, prepare some for them!" ”

"Yes, sir!" The firefighter left a large pot of hot mutton soup and went out of the tent to prepare for it.