On this expedition to the Magaland people in the Yilan region, Xue Maoxun learned the lesson of the last time.

In terms of route selection, the Jingmeixi River Valley was abandoned last time, and the Beishixi River Valley discovered by the scouts for more than a month was selected.

Beishi Creek is one of the three major tributaries of the Danshui River, the upstream section of the main stream of Xindian Creek, the river valley stretches for more than 70 miles in the mountains, and the river valley is wide and conducive to the passage of the army. Follow the river valley to the source of Beishi Creek, and climb over a gently undulating mountain to reach the northern part of the Yilan Plain. Compared with the Jingmei River Valley last time, it is undoubtedly much more convenient, with a few fewer mountains and dozens of miles of mountain roads.

The 10,000-strong army set out from Taipei and drove more than 20 miles south along Xindian Creek to the valley mouth of the snow-capped mountain range, where the whole army was ordered to rest temporarily.

Xue Maoxun passed the generals to him, and specially ordered the experienced commander Min Cheng to fight with the Fan people in the mountains and jungles as the vanguard, and led the Chaos Guard 200, the United Soldiers 800, and the Fan Soldiers 800 to open the way for the army.

After the commander Wu Sanhe led a thousand united soldiers, the rest of the soldiers and horses were used as the central army, which was personally commanded by Xue Maoxun and commanded in the center.

Although the march route was along the river valley, it was inevitable that it would encounter sections of the river with deep and dangerous valleys, which required cutting down trees on the slopes on both sides to open the way, and sometimes it was necessary to build bridges.

For this reason, Xue Maoxun allocated another 1,000 soldiers to Min Cheng for the purpose of building roads and bridges. Cutting down the trees on the hillside with the iron knives and axes they were given, and digging up a dirt road that was only for five people to carry in parallel, and perhaps it would be washed away by the current in the next rainstorm.

In order to prevent these soldiers from being resentful and taking the opportunity to collude with the Magalam people to rebel, Xue Maoxun did not distribute Tang Army-standard weapons to these recruited soldiers at all, and the food that the whole army needed for two months was also transported by the unity soldiers.

Tens of thousands of troops walked along the Beishixi River valley and repaired the road, and it took ten days to reach the source of Beishixi, and what was dragging in front of the army was a mountain beam with an altitude of more than 600 meters.

It is gratifying that the source of Beishi Creek, where the Tang army arrived, is facing a gentle recess in the middle of the mountain beam in front of them, although it is covered by dense forests, it is undoubtedly much easier for the Tang army to build a road up the mountain.

"Dudu, turn over the mountain in front, the east side of the mountain is the North Gate Pit, and go down the mountain along the stream in the mountain col to the Yilan Plain."

The scout team who had surveyed the terrain was pointing to the mountain range in front of him and said to Xue Maoxun.

Xue Maoxun put away the map in his hand, climbed onto a boulder on the side of the road, and held a monocular to check the situation of the mountains.

The mountains covered by dense jungles, Xue Maoxun held the binoculars and looked at it for a while without finding anything unusual, but he had been vigilant enough for many years.

ordered his own soldiers to pass on Min Cheng, and Xue Maoxun had something to explain to him.

"Governor, you're looking for a certain ......"

Min Cheng held the Hu cake in his hand, trotted over while eating, his whole body was covered with black lacquer Mingguang Mountain armor, and the Fan Yang beast helmet on his head was not taken off. He has been fighting on the battlefield for longer than Xue Maoxun, and he knows too well that during the march, Nuo carelessly unloaded his armor, and maybe he was killed by a cold arrow when he encountered an ambush.

Xue Maoxun pointed to the mountain range in front of him and instructed Min Cheng: "Give your department a quarter of an hour to finish lunch, and immediately go up the mountain to search the mountain range, in case there is an ambush by the Magalans, and determine the direction of the road to the mountain." ”

Min Cheng borrowed a telescope from Xue Maoxun's hand to look at the mountains and said suspiciously: "Our army has been coming all the way, and the birds and beasts in the mountains have been calling from time to time. But our army has been here for almost half an hour, and I have not heard the movement of birds and beasts, and I have not even seen a single sambar deer that is common in the mountains of Taiwan. Governor, there won't be an ambush on the hill ahead, right? ”

"That's why I asked you to lead your troops up the mountain to investigate."

Xue Maoxun snatched back his telescope angrily, knowing that due to the small production and high cost, the telescope can only be equipped with various guards and army commanders, and if it is lost or damaged, it will not be replenished within a few months.

Min Cheng looked at the telescope in Xue Maoxun's hand a few more times enviously, and then reluctantly bit the cake and returned to his troops.

Among the civil and military generals of the Andong Prefecture, having a telescope is a symbol of status, and Min Cheng, who has been a lieutenant for several years, dreams of making great achievements and promotions, and has to be equipped with a telescope by King Yan.

"Have you eaten them all? After eating, I will get up and go up the mountain to search for the Magalans, and the action will be faster......"

Min Cheng urged him with a shout and a curse, and his subordinates plus 1,800 soldiers and horses sorted out their bags and began to climb the mountain to search.

Min Cheng lined up the troops into a fan-shaped formation that was not dense and thin, and slowly entered the mountains, unsheathed his swords and guns, and set up his bows and crossbows, carefully and cautiously pushed through the jungle step by step into the depths of the mountain forest.

The soldiers and horses under the mountain also finished their lunch early, except for the 1,000 soldiers who were responsible for logging and repairing the road and Min Cheng's vanguard troops who kept a distance of 300 steps and began to build the road up the mountain, the rest of the soldiers and horses were all under the mountain without unloading their armor and horses, waiting for news from the vanguard army.

When the Noshi vanguard was ambushed, they had to rush up for reinforcements or attack from the other flank.

In order to succeed in this expedition and avoid the defeat last time, Xue Maoxun recruited 10,000 soldiers and horses to deal with Magalan.

It is said that the total number of Magaland people living in the Yilan Plain and the surrounding mountains is not more than 10,000, after the last confrontation with the Tang army, although it repelled the attack of the Tang army, its own losses are not small, and the number of capable soldiers that can be drawn out at the moment will not exceed 3,000, and they are scattered in various villages and communities that do not belong to each other.

Of course, these Xue Maoxuns would not know, and the scouts had to avoid the Magalans when they came to this area to survey the terrain, let alone inquire about the news from the Magalans.

Min Cheng led his troops to touch the halfway up the mountain step by step, and the more he went up, the more his intuition warned him of danger ahead, which is the feeling that only a veteran general who has fought on the battlefield for many years will have.

If there is no trace of birds and beasts under the mountain, but if you go deep into the mountains for several miles, there is still no trace of birds and beasts, and there is no ambush, then it is a hell.

"Go down the order, everyone should widen their eyes and be careful, there is a high probability that there will be an ambush on the mountain by the Magalans."

Min Cheng whispered an order to the soldiers beside him.

"Whoa."

Hearing the order of their own captain, all the soldiers suddenly exhaled heavily, opened their eyes wider, pushed aside the branches and leaves that blocked their vision, and cautiously continued to move forward. The crossbowmen raised their crossbows and aimed at the jungle ahead, and shot them as soon as they saw someone rushing out in front of them.

In the dense forest, 500 steps away from the Tang army who went up the mountain to search, there was a Magalan wearing feather ornaments and animal skin linen clothes with bows, arrows and spears lying in ambush here, their faces painted in battle, their faces were cold, and they were quietly waiting for the Tang army to enter their ambush circle.

As early as four days ago, the Magalans, who had been hunting in the mountains, had spotted the Tang people who had attacked them a few months earlier attacking again along the Beishixi River valley, several times as many as last time, causing a great visual impact on the Magalans, who had never seen so many armies.

When the leaders of the villages and communities of the Magalan people in the Yilan area learned the news, they knew that they could not resist the Tang army's attack again with the strength of only a few villages and communities, and only by uniting the villages and communities as they did last time, and even uniting with more villages and communities outside the Yilan Plain could they defeat each other.

As a result, not only the villages and communities of the Magalan people in the Yilan Plain united, but also seven or eight Atayal villages and communities living in the mountains west of Yilan to jointly send troops to resist the invasion of the Tang army.