(Two in one, the update is late, forgive me.) ）

In the northern part of the Tibetan kingdom, after four days of rapid marching, the army of Wang Zhongsi and Ge Shuhan finally arrived on the west bank of Zhaling Lake.

Wang Zhongsi's attack on Antelope City was blocked, and he had to turn around and attack Shibao City, which was delayed for six days back and forth, which made Wang Zhongsi feel a little frustrated. Wang Zhongsi did not want to delay this battle, because the harsh winter was coming, and in this high-altitude land, the harsh winter was more brutal than anywhere else, and Wang Zhongsi knew this.

Fortunately, Wang Zhongsi made a quick decision and immediately chose to turn around and attack Shibao City. Although the army was a little tired tossing back and forth, after all, it had bought time, as long as it could take Shibao City, no matter whether Li Guangbi in the east could take Antelope City or not, he could join forces and forcibly take Antelope City to end the war.

The western shore of Zhaling Lake is still a vast and barren ground. To the east is the vast white Zhaling Lake, to the west is the endless Gobi Desert, and the majestic posture of the Kunlun Mountains in the distance is becoming more and more clear.

Wang Zhongji ordered the army to advance south along the western shore of Zhaling Lake, knowing that Shibao City was not far from the lake to the south, and if all went well, the army would be able to reach Shibao City in half a day.

At noon, I could already see the outline of the Stone Fort City more than ten miles away, and the shape of the tall reconnaissance arrow towers erected around it. Wang Zhongsi was extremely excited, urging the soldiers and horses to speed up their pace, and to march to the stone fort at noon, and take advantage of the short half-day daylight to set up camp. However, at this moment, Ge Shuhan's vanguard suddenly stopped marching, and Wang Zhongsi was very annoyed, but before he could send someone to inquire about the reason, Ge Shuhan took several former army generals to gallop from the front on horseback and approached Wang Zhonghe's horse.

"The last general has seen the big handsome." Geshuhan, who was born in the Western Turks, has a thick beard, a burly body, and a loud voice.

Wang Zhongsi returned the salute with a serious look on his face, and said coldly: "General Geshu, what's the matter?" Why did the Strikers stop? ”

Ge Shuhan frowned and said: "You are handsome, if you are not the last general, there is really no road ahead." ”

"Joke, a flat land, how can you say that there is no road?" Wang Zhongsi reprimanded.

Ge Shuhan hurriedly said: "There is a road, but it can't be crossed." The scout team sent by the last general reconnoitred and explored the way ahead, and six of the eight scout teams were trapped in the quicksand with their men and horses, and more than 60 horsemen were buried alive in the quicksand. Only then did the last general order to stop advancing, and the Gobi Desert ahead was a bit strange. ”

Wang Zhonghei will be skeptical, how can such a thing happen? The Gobi Desert under your feet is barren and dry, full of rocks and loess, hard as iron, but it is hard to believe that such a thing has happened. But Ge Shuhan was not a casual talker, he was rough and brave in appearance, but he was as careful as a hair, and it was impossible for him to say these words without investigation.

"It's a strange thing, you lead the way, I'll take a look." Wang Zhongsi frowned.

Ge Shuhan said: "I was about to ask the marshal to take a look." ”

Dozens of generals surrounded Wang Zhongsi and Ge Shuhan's soldiers and horses galloped forward, and after passing the vanguard army, they galloped forward until they came to the place where the scouts were surveying five or six miles away from Shibao City, Ge Shuhan loudly reminded them to be careful, and asked everyone to stop in front of the ground rubbing a flag, and was extremely careful to remind everyone to stay away from the ground on the other side of the flagpole.

"Dashuai, this is this land of quicksand, which is very evil." Geshuhan pointed to the ground ahead.

Wang Zhongsi squinted his eyes and looked closely, but he couldn't see anything famous at all, except that the color of the ground was slightly darker, and it seemed to be a little wet, he couldn't see any difference from the surrounding ground. But at the edge of that stretch of ground, several pieces of Tang armor were half-buried in the ground, apparently where the scout horses had fallen into it, as Geshuhan had spoken.

Wang Zhongsi jumped off his horse and slowly approached the ground, and Ge Shuhan cautiously reminded Wang Zhongsi to be careful. Even if he looked closer, Wang Zhongsi didn't see a name, so Wang Zhongsi ordered in a deep voice: "Lead a horse, I'll see what the situation is." ”

A pro-army soldier led a war horse, and Wang Zhongji pointed the horse's head against the ground, stretched out his hand and slammed the horse's buttocks and shouted, "Go." ”

The war horse was in pain, neighed and galloped out, rushed forward more than two feet, and suddenly seemed to be weak under his feet, his whole body leaned forward, and plunged into the ground with his head down. The generals exclaimed, but the horse struggled to get up, but the more he struggled, the faster his body sank. Everyone stood not far away, watching the whole body of the war horse sink rapidly until it sank into the ground.

The quicksand closed, and the ground was calm, as if nothing had happened. Wang Zhongsi and everyone were stunned from beginning to end. Everything in front of him was like a nightmare, and in a few breaths the horse was swallowed into the ground, as if it had been dragged alive by the demons beneath the ground.

"Dashuai, that's the case. This is exactly what happened when the scout soldiers who fled for their lives returned. The last general has already come here, and he doesn't believe it. After only half a step, I almost couldn't get out. You see, my leg was covered in wet sand and mud, and the three guards pulled me up. Ge Shuhan said in a deep voice.

Only then did Wang Zhongsi notice that one of Ge Shuhan's legs was full of soaked mud and sand, and it turned out that Ge Shuhan had personally verified it.

"Is this a trap dug by the Tibetans?" Wang Zhongsi frowned.

"It's not like a trap. The trap was just hollowed out, with a stake attached to the bottom and covered with gravel camouflage. It's all solid mud and sand underneath, how can there be such a pit? Ge Shuhan shook his head.

Wang Zhongsi said: "The evil door is tight. ”

One of the generals chimed in: "This is the land of quicksand. There is indeed such a place on the Gobi Desert, which looks the same on the surface, but it is full of deadly quicksand underneath. This is due to the erosion of the water beneath the ground. The Gobi Desert is the surface, but it is actually very loose, and the bottom is full of sand and loess, which can easily be eroded by water and turned into deadly quicksand. ”

Wang Zhongsi frowned and said, "Could it be that it is the erosion of the water of Zhaling Lake?" But why didn't we find anything like this when we came all the way along the West Bank? ”

Everyone shook their heads, unaware of this.

Wang Zhongsi said: "That's it, just bypass it, it's a big deal to spend some time." Take a detour to the west and go around this land of quicksand. ”

Ge Shuhan nodded: "That's all, but I don't know how big this quicksand land is, we need to explore the west first." In this way, the last general will take the guards and scout team to explore the road himself, and the commander will return to the army to rest for a while. ”

Wang Zhongsi said: "Ben Shuai is going to explore the road with you, and I am not in the mood to rest at this moment." ”

Wang Zhongsi and Ge Shuhan thought that the area of this land of quicksand would not be too large, but they soon realized that things were not so simple. Two hours later, they had traveled nearly forty miles along the edge of the quicksand belt, and to their left was still the land of quicksand. In order to test whether it is a land of quicksand, more than a dozen war horses have died in the quicksand for no reason.

Seeing that the sun was about to set in the west, and it was about to get dark in less than an hour, standing on the desolate Gobi Desert, Wang Zhongsi felt exhausted for the first time. When twilight came, the cold air invaded his body, and Wang Zhonghe's body and mood were extremely low.

Ge Shuhan said: "Marshal, please go back to the barracks and sit in the town, it is impossible to bypass this quicksand land today." The search for a detour was left to the general. The commander must not be away from the army for too long. ”

Wang Zhongji no longer refused, because he was actually no longer confident that he would be able to bypass this vast land of quicksand. So they turned their horses back to the camp, and because there was no time to camp, the army slept in the open field.

In the middle of the night, the tent was as cold as ice, and Wang Zhongji couldn't fall asleep after tossing and turning, he was waiting for news from Ge Shuhan. Finally, the guards reported to General Geshu to ask for a meeting, and Wang Zhongsi hurriedly got up in his clothes and came to the tent. Ge Shuhan walked into the tent from the dark night with a gust of cold wind, his armor seemed to be covered with a layer of frost, and his face was blown red by the cold wind of the Gobi.

"Found your way?" Wang Zhongsi hurriedly asked.

Ge Shuhan stretched out his hand to bake on the brazier, and said in a deep voice, "I found it." But...... I'm afraid I won't be able to get by. ”

Wang Zhongsi was stunned and said, "Why? ”

Goshuhan elaborated on what he had discovered. After Wang Zhongji turned back, Ge Shuhan and his guards continued westward for a full twenty miles, when they were suddenly blocked by the white flowing water on the left. It was obviously a large river of melted snow flowing down from the Kunlun Mountains, which was originally formed by the melting of snow water and flowing into Zhaling Lake. But for some reason, the entire river suddenly disappeared from the surface sixty miles away. A large amount of snow water burrowed directly into the sand and disappeared.

And these currents flow through the loose gravel underground, all the way to the east, all the way to the formation of a land of quicksand that is dozens of miles long and three or four miles wide. The water seeping out of the sand still flows from the ground into the lake, but the sand soaked above the flowing water has become a dead place and is impassable.

This is not man-made, it is clearly a natural creation. Most of the quicksand on the Gobi Desert is caused by various natural factors. It's just that the Tibetans obviously understand what is happening in this land, and they chose to build the stone castle city here to take advantage of this natural barrier.

After Ge Shuhan told everything he saw, Wang Zhongsi was dumbfounded for a long time. After a deathly silence, Wang Zhongji said dumbly: "So, even if my army goes around sixty miles, it still can't be passed, right? The river is very wide as far as you say, and the water is so cold that my army can't cross it without a bridge of ships, can it? ”

"Shuai, I'm afraid that's exactly the case. I don't know what happened to the bottom of the river because it suddenly sank into the ground, and if it was also a place of quicksand, even if the river was not deep, it would not be able to pass. Geshuhan was also frustrated.

Wang Zhongsi finally understood that the biggest enemy fighting here was not actually the soldiers and horses of Tibet, but the weather and terrain. In the past seven or eight days of marching, from taking Doma City in one fell swoop, to being blocked from entering Antelope City, and then being blocked by this strange land of quicksand, it seems that he has fallen from heaven to hell all of a sudden.

"Well, to get through here, you need to think of a way." Wang Zhongsi said: "Although this sand is soft, it may be possible to lay a wooden plank and build a passage on the sand. ”

Ge Shuhan said: "This method has also been thought of by the general, but even if it is feasible, after passing through this land of quicksand, we can only camp in the land of Lixu in the north of Stone Castle City. In that small area, we can't even set up the camp of our 80,000 troops, so how can we fight? And behind it is the land of quicksand, which can be called a place of death. Once there is a gap, we can't even retreat in time. ”

Wang Zhongsi nodded slowly, he is not a reckless person, since joining the army, any victory is not the result of recklessness, but the victory obtained after careful consideration. He would never do something that he was not sure of, and put his army of 80,000 to death, that was not his style.

At the beginning, when Wang Yuan fled from Yanzhou to Hedong Province and asked him to send troops to meet Wang Yuan's personal soldiers and horses outside the Boulder Pass, Wang Zhonghei hesitated for a long time and weighed the gains and losses before sending troops. And it was because he learned that Mrs. Qin's beloved son, Liu Jun, was also trapped. Otherwise, Wang Zhongji would never do anything that would not benefit him and be risky. His character is evident.

"Won't we be able to have a big battle with the Tibetan people and fight to the death? Is this land of quicksand making it difficult for my army to move an inch? Wang Zhongsi said angrily.

Ge Shuhan said: "Don't be annoyed, maybe it's not impossible. ”

Wang Zhongsi said: "What is your plan? ”

Ge Shuhan said: "The last general thinks that the only way is one word: wait. The weather was already cold, and the last general thought that it would not be long before the snow on the Kunlun Mountains would no longer melt, and the river would dry up or freeze. And this land of quicksand will also freeze hard as the weather gets colder. When the time comes, our army will not be in danger of this dead land, but gallop on it and take the stone castle city. ”

Wang Zhongsi looked at Ge Shuhan blankly, and his heart was simply not good. Of course, he knew that the method he said was feasible. But he initially had the goal of settling the war before the harsh winter came. Ben was very worried that the arrival of the cold weather would make it difficult for the army to move an inch, and now, in order to carry on this war, he had to expect the weather to get colder, isn't this a joke on God?

Wang Zhongji was once again caught in a dilemma.

……

In the desert fifty miles west of Yazhou, a large army marched hard in the yellow sand. Most of the soldiers were stunned as soon as they stepped into the desert, they had never fought in the desert in their lives, and when they saw the endless sea of sand, their eyes showed a look of fear.

Many people secretly think that Wang Yuan is crazy, and it is not a madman to drive the army into this land of death. Many people cursed Wang Yuan behind their backs, although not long ago, they worshipped Wang Yuan. But when the manager makes such a mad move, threatening their life and death, they choose to curse and abuse.

Three days after entering the desert, the morale of the army was somewhat unstable. The heat of the day made the soldiers thirsty, and the bitter cold of the night made them suffer from the wind chill. In the army, there was even a snatch of drinking water, which was not drunk according to the prescribed amount of water. At night, disobeying military orders and lighting charcoal fires to keep warm.

Wang Yuan mercilessly punished these soldiers who violated the rules. Water is the most important commodity in the desert, and an army of 30,000 plus more than 10,000 cattle has to drink hundreds of large wooden barrels of water a day. Although the army carried half a month's worth of drinking water, the control of drinking water was a top priority in the desert.

Therefore, the army has formulated a regular and quantitative drinking water system. This is not only to save the drinking water that is hard to carry into the desert, to ensure the supply of drinking water for the army, but also to prevent emergencies. For example, sandstorms in the desert prevent large armies from marching, delay time, and so on. In that case, the amount of water will exceed the estimated amount, and the army will be wiped out in the desert.

The control of lights at night is also an important system proposed by Wang Yuan. Wang Yuan just wanted to quietly drive the army to Bison City, and he never wanted to be discovered by the enemy before he arrived in Bison City. During the day, the desert is not far from the distance because of the reflection of the sand. Miles away was a white expanse of white light. And at night, the fires on the dunes can be seen dozens of miles away. This is the experience of the old guide. When Wang Yuan learned of this secret, he immediately ordered that bonfires should not be lit at night.

Now, some soldiers are not only snatching drinking water, beating and scolding the soldiers who are distributing it, but also violating the campfire control at night. In Wang Yuan's view, this must not be tolerated.

In the evening, under the sand dunes, in the long shadow of the setting sun, a formal military punishment was carried out under the flat ground under the dunes. Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of soldiers, Zhao Qing, the commander of Wang Dashuai's personal guard battalion, and Tan Ping, the deputy commander, led more than 100 generals and 38 soldiers who violated the military order to snatch drinking water and made a fire to keep warm at night.

Wang Yuan, surrounded by Song Jiangong, Li Yong, Liu Dehai and other senior generals of the army, came to the 38 soldiers kneeling on the sand. These soldiers were the color of earth, knowing that the end of the day was approaching, and that they knew what punishment they would face.

"When you entered my Jiannan Army, did any of the officials admonish me about the Tang Dynasty military regulations?" Wang Yuan shouted in a deep voice.

Thirty-eight soldiers were silent, and no one answered.

Wang Yuan didn't need them to return, and shouted to himself: "Article 6 of the Tang Dynasty Military Regulations: complain more, anger its commanders, do not listen to constraints, and teach it to be difficult to control, this is called building an army, and the offender will be beheaded." Don't say you haven't been admonished. Since entering the desert, I have heard rumors in the army, and there are many people who scold Ben Shuai and General Song behind their backs. I will not punish you for your complaints, but for scolding and scolding, but still disobeying and disobeying my orders. That is the unpardonable sin. ”

Wang Yuan's voice was loud and resounding throughout the audience, and everyone was awe-inspired.

Wang Yuan looked at the thirty or so young faces in front of him, sighed, and said in a slow voice: "Personally, I want to spare your lives. There are also veterans among you who went with me to fight in Nanzhao, and emotionally, I don't want to do this to you. But military law is an iron military law, it is a cold knife, and whoever dares to challenge military law must be prepared to accept the sanction of this knife. You may think I'm making a big fuss. I tell you that my Jiannan Army will always be an iron-clad army, and every military discipline must be observed to the letter from top to bottom. Quartermaster General Liu Dehai, you tell them how much water the marshal drinks every day. ”

Liu Dehai opened the march book and said loudly: "After entering the desert for three days, the marshal used one bag of water every day, three bags for three days, and four catties and eight taels of water. It is less than the amount of drinking water for ordinary soldiers two catties a day. ”

The soldiers buzzed. The marshal is more frugal with water than the soldiers, which is really unexpected.

Wang Yuan pointed to his chapped lips and said, "I'm also thirsty, and I'm cold at night, but I will never violate military discipline in order to drink water and keep warm." That's a coward's trip. I don't need cowards in my Jiannan army. Therefore, don't say that these are trivial matters, there are no trivial matters in the army, and violations of discipline must be punished. Zhao Qing, let's be executed. ”

Zhao Qing promised loudly, and with a wave of his hand, dozens of soldiers stepped forward with big swords. Thirty-eight criminal soldiers were laid down in the sand and their faces were pressed into the sand, exposing the back of their necks.

A soldier who violated discipline struggled and shouted: "Da Shuai, Da Shuai, the villain knows that he is wrong, Da Shuai wants to kill me, and I have nothing to say." I have one last request. ”

Wang Yuan said in a deep voice: "What request?" ”

The soldier said, "I hope the marshal will not tell my family that I was beheaded for violating military discipline." ”

Wang Yuan was stunned, and the more than thirty soldiers who were pressed in the sand raised their heads and shouted: "We are the same, please be merciful." ”

Wang Yuan's eyes showed a look of unbearability, but then he threw this thought away.

"You can go with confidence, you thirty-eight people, I will give your families a commemoration according to the battlefield of the war death. All the brothers testify, I will not tell your family that you died because of a violation of discipline. Wang Yuan said.

"Execution." Zhao Qing shouted, and in front of tens of thousands of soldiers of the Southern Sword Army, thirty-eight steel knives were raised high and quickly fell. Thirty-eight heads tumbled down in the sand.

"Bury them in the sand and set up a monument, and put a bowl of water and a bundle of charcoal on the grave of each of them. After death, they will not suffer from thirst and the cold of the night. Wang Yuan whispered to Tan Ping, turned his head and walked away.