After three days of regrouping, the Jiannan army in the city of Lyre finally marched westward. 3,000 soldiers and horses were stationed in the city as a transit point for transporting grain and grass materials. A few days ago, Ge Luofeng's 5,000 barbarian soldiers were also sent to Yaozhou to transport supplies, so the number of soldiers and horses that followed Wang Yuan was sharply reduced by 8,000, and the casualties of the attack on the two cities exceeded 6,000, and there were only 55,000 soldiers and horses available in Wang Yuan's hands.

The mountains west of the city rose and fell, and the mountain roads were narrow and bumpy, and the army had to rest on the side of the road, which was conducive to the passage of a large number of equipment and supplies. That's all. The key is that the gradually increasing terrain makes the Jiannan army miserable. Altitude sickness was like an invisible ghost entangled in Jiannan's soldiers and horses, which made Wang Yuan deeply worried.

It is not the first time that Wang Yuan has encountered altitude sickness, and when he led the army to attack Nanzhao, he encountered a large-scale attack of altitude sickness. To put it bluntly, this disease is a symptom of hypoxia that occurs with the increase in altitude, and the consequences are very serious if you don't take it seriously.

The Jiannan Army is different from the other two types of soldiers. The Anxi Army has been stationed on the Western Plateau for a long time, and they have adapted to the high-altitude terrain and have long since adapted to the environment. The Longyou and Hexi armies on the north road were stationed in the high-altitude areas of the Tuyuhun area for a long time, and the impact was not too great. But the Jiannan Army is different. The land of Jiannan should actually be regarded as a basin, with high elevation around it and an elevation in the middle. The southeast, northwest, or high mountains or highlands, only the low-lying terrain of Jiannan Road, with an average altitude of only about four or five hundred meters. Therefore, for the Jiannan Army, it is still unable to adapt to this high-altitude situation.

In fact, during the attack on Yak City, many soldiers in the army had altitude sickness. It's just that after Wang Yuan's quick battle, he went all the way to the east, and the altitude of the place where the city was located was not less than a thousand meters, so there was no large-scale illness because of this.

However, since leaving the city and heading west, day after day and day of arduous march to a high-altitude place, the symptoms of altitude sickness among the soldiers in the army have gradually become obvious. Thousands of soldiers suffered from symptoms such as chest tightness, weakness and fainting, and their condition was critical.

But Wang Yuan has no means of treatment, and there are no portable oxygen bottles for them to inhale oxygen these days. The only thing that can be done is to reduce the distance of the march, slow down the march, and let them adapt to it.

As a result, the ruggedness of the mountain roads and the torture of altitude sickness made the army move extremely slowly. It would have taken seven or eight days to reach the city of Metuo, but it took twelve days.

Interestingly, however, the route of the army in the last few days continued to the lower altitudes. The landscape vegetation has also changed a lot. Between the lush mountains, the streams and waterfalls are beautiful and the flowers are beautiful, this landform is very similar to the situation of the Nanzhao Kingdom, which makes the five thousand barbarian soldiers of Ge Luofeng better than the leisurely stroll through the mountain forest slopes, quite a bit like a fish in water.

The reduction of the terrain also alleviated the reaction of altitude sickness, and Wang Yuan was also a matter of concern, although he knew that this was only a small part of the terrain of the area, and Pibo City was an area with an altitude of more than three thousand meters, and it would be even more difficult at that time. But the task at hand is to take the city of Metuo, and not think too much about it.

On the afternoon of April 29, the army emerged from the lush mountains and came to the slopes east of the city of Metuo. The scene in front of him stunned Wang Yuan and all the Jiannan soldiers and horses. But in the sky, two snow-capped peaks stand under the blue sky. Steep and straight. The mountainside is covered with snow, and the top of the mountain is shrouded in mist, like a fairyland.

Wang Yuan knew that the army had reached the eastern end of the Himalayas, and the two snow-capped peaks in front of it were the two peaks in the eastern section of the Himalayas southwest of the city of Metuo. One is called Nanga Bhava and the other is called Galabailei Peak. To the south of these two snow-capped mountains is another country, which is called Tianzhu by the Tang Dynasty. Wang Yuan was a little speechless, according to the description in Journey to the West, Tianzhu is the place where Tang monks learn scriptures, is this already to the West?

In addition to the two stunning snow-capped peaks, standing on the slope and looking down, the valley ahead is lush and green, surrounded by mountains and several peaks, like lotus flowers. Further afield, a large canyon with a bow bends through the valleys and flows south towards the lush and unknowable.

That's the Brahmaputra River, which is the largest canyon on the plateau. The city of Motuo is on the east side of the canyon, on the other side of the valley. It was a small but clearly occupied the entrance to the main road. Surrounded by mountains, the Grand Canyon on the west side stretches out as the only exit.

The city of Metuo was a pass, a pass that had been used to block the entrance to the city from the southeast. There are only two roads leading to the city of Luoqi in the eastern part of Tibet, one is to march from the desert land, pass through the Yak River, go all the way to the east, and then turn south to reach the city of Luoqi. All the way, you can only go up from the Jinsha River to the city of Li, and then from the city of Li, from the pass of the city of Motuo to the city of Pibo, and then the city of Luo. Other than that, there is no way out.

(A few more words here: one might think that there are infinite roads that appear to lead to a place on a map.) That's on the map, of course. In fact, if there is no road, there is no road, and you will not be able to do anything if you have great ability. Just like Sichuan in the past, people couldn't go to Shu a long time ago, because the mountains and valleys were blocked, and Shu had no road to the Central Plains. Later, the so-called Shu Road was opened up on the cliff, so there was an exchange. Most of these paths opened up were also in the service of the war. The so-called Ming Xiu plank road dark Chen Cang, the plank road is Shu Road, Chen Cang is also a Shu Road. Nowadays, there are several Shu roads, but even if there are these roads, it is difficult to pass. This is what Taibai said in the poem: Shu Road is difficult, and it is difficult to go to the sky. In ancient times, when carrying a large number of baggage and grain and grass to go forward, there must be a road to reach it, otherwise everything is in vain. When you get to where you want to go, you're just going to die. ）

In the evening of the same day, the army descended from the eastern mountains to the valley, which was a paradise, full of flowers and trees, and criss-crossed by streams.

It is obvious that the defenders of the city of Motuo had long been aware of the arrival of the Tang army, and when the Tang army was encamped, dozens of streams of horses and streams from the mountain beams of the city of Motuo went down to the valley and watched several miles away from the Tang army's camp. But Wang Yuan knew that it was impossible for the defenders of Motuo City to make any moves, and looking at the majestic and difficult terrain of Motuo City, a fool would give up such a precipitous city and ask for trouble.

Although a hundred miles northwest of Motuo City is Pibo City, where 80,000 or 90,000 heavy troops are stationed, Wang Yuan is actually not worried that the soldiers and horses of Pibo City will come to reinforce it. Because the topography and size of the city of Medog determined that it could not accommodate many soldiers and horses. 30,000 soldiers and horses is his limit. Pibo City is responsible for the defense of the left and right sides of the city, and it is impossible to mobilize a large army to come, if you want to really fight, it is better to be in the flat land of the plateau where Pibo City is located, which is more conducive to the play of superior forces.

It was already the first shift time when the camp was set up, and the camp in the valley was silent. The soldiers of the Jiannan Army were exhausted after walking all the way, and after setting up camp and eating dinner, they all fell asleep, except for the swaying of the surrounding trees in the camp, it was the sound of whirring and snoring.

Wang Yuan was not in a hurry to gather the generals to discuss how to take the city of Motuo. When Song Jiangong came to ask, Wang Yuan asked him to pass the order, everyone should have a good rest tonight, and the matter of attacking the city will be discussed in detail tomorrow. Wang Yuan didn't want to talk empty words in the absence of any knowledge, the real plan needed to be after exploring the terrain of Motuo City, and now except for a few quick glances on the hillside, he didn't know anything about the soldiers and horses in the other city's city and the specific terrain.

Princess Aluo had fallen asleep because she was very tired, but Wang Yuan had no sleep, her mind was full of things, so she got dressed and got up and planned to go outside the camp tent to look at the terrain under the mountain beam opposite. When they came to the tent, several guards bowed and saluted, wanting to follow behind Wang Yuan, but Wang Yuan waved his hand and refused. Wang Yuan didn't want to stir up the people, just to take a look from a distance.

There was silence in the camp, and the crackling of the campfire added to the silence. The fragrance of fresh flowers and plants came from the air, and in this lush place in the valley, the breath seemed to have the sweet smell of flowers and plants, which made people feel extremely relaxed.

"Why didn't Erlang sleep?" A soft voice came not far away.

When Wang Yuan looked fixedly, he saw Gongsun Lan, who was neatly dressed in the armor of the guard, standing in the shadow not far ahead. He looks like he's all armed.

Wang Yuan hurriedly stepped forward and smiled: "Can't you sleep too?" I wanted to ask you out for a walk, but I was afraid to disturb you. The lights in your tent were blind, and I thought you were asleep. ”

Gongsun Lan smiled and said, "It's not that I can't sleep, I just want to take advantage of the night to find out about the situation near the city of Motuo." Tomorrow I will tell you to know, so that you have a bottom in your heart. It's a small city, but it's hard to take. “

Wang Yuan said gratefully: "It turns out that my cousin is worried about this matter. My cousin is really sweet and went with me. ”

Gongsun Lan smiled: "Are you also going to investigate?" ”

Wang Yuan smiled: "I just plan to take a look from a distance, but since there is a cousin going forward, then I am much bolder." How about we take a closer look? ”

Gongsun Lan nodded and said, "That's very good, but do you plan to go empty-handed?" Why not grab some rope gear and maybe we can climb up the mountain and have a look. ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "Wait a minute, I'll go get ropes, shooting hooks and other things." ”

Wang Yuan turned around and returned to the account, took the equipment and materials and rushed back, and Gongsun Lan and the two walked out of the gate of the military camp and headed for the northwest of Motuo City. At the end of the month, it was dark all around, and the sound of insects echoed all around, and the two of them were engrossed in their eyes wide open, stepping on the potholed grass with one foot high and one foot low, avoiding the trees and vines stumbling in the direction of the city of Metuo. Half an hour later, I could already see the lights in the dozen or so beacon fortresses around the city of Motuo above the mountain beam in front of me.