The next day, the army marched, and tens of thousands of Jiannan soldiers and horses meandered between the narrow valleys, and the ranks were several miles long. The high mountains and dense forests on both sides are lush and green, and the clouds and mist on the mountain tops are hazy and hazy, which gives people a sense of depression. There always seemed to be strange figures moving in the deep woods, and it was as if there were dark eyes following the movements of the army and monitoring the army's behavior.

Song Jiangong, Li Mi and the others were actually hanging in the air, if they were really ambushed in such a terrain, it would be really tricky. Although the deputy marshal was not afraid, yesterday's words were still a little arrogant in the ears of these battle-hardened generals. If the soldiers and horses of Nanzhao were so vulnerable, they would not dare to capture Yaozhou and make the Tang Dynasty an enemy, let alone ambush the Jiannan army of nearly 80,000 people in Lushui. Ge Luofeng is not scared.

Wang Yuan rode a horse and walked in the middle of the army, surrounded by the big black slaves of Liu Jun's Kunlun camp and some of the personal guards led by Zhao Qing. His face was very calm, because he knew that there were only small groups of brute soldiers in the mountains and forests on both sides, and he didn't have to worry about them attacking at all. Because long before the army set out from Huichuan, Wang Yuan asked Gongsun Lan to come to the mountains on the north bank of Lushui in advance to reconnoiter the movements of Ge Luofeng's army according to the experience in the Jiming Valley.

With Gongsun Lan's skills, it is naturally easy and pleasant to haunt the mountains and forests, and the movements of the small group of barbarians sent by Ge Luofeng to the mountains and forests on the north bank of Lushui to deter are clearly felt. It is precisely because of this that Wang Yuan dared to say those false and empty words, and Wang Yuan wanted to use this kind of information he had grasped in advance to further make the generals of Jiannan feel that his wise decision was exhaustive. It's a bit shameful to say, but Wang Yuan knows that there is a need for a personality cult in these years, so except for Gongsun Lan, no one knows the inside story.

The soldiers of the Jiannan Army, who did not know the inside story, walked the twenty-mile ancient road on the north bank of Lushui with fear, and finally the former army reported that they heard the sound of surging water, Wang Yuan immediately rushed to the front with the generals, standing on the cliff more than ten zhang high and looking down, but saw a reckless river rolling at the bottom of the cliff, like a sharp blade cutting all the valley under his feet in half. On the other side of the river, there are cliffs that stand dozens of feet, and the road leading to Yaozhou is divided into two here. A sloping trail leads down the cliff to the rushing river beach below.

"Deputy marshal, this is Lushui, the width of the mountain beams on both sides is more than 30 zhang, there was originally a cableway trestle connection, after the loss of Yaozhou, the cableway trestle was burned by the Nanzhao barbarians, and now it is impossible to cross the river." Song Jiangong, who was standing beside Wang Yuan, introduced.

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "Is this location the location where the Battle of Lushui was attacked?" ”

Song Jiangong said: "Exactly, the deputy marshal looks at the mountains and forests on both sides, and the barbarians can't see it at all when they hide in the forest, and we know before they touch it." The barbarians were naked and covered with grass and trees, and it was dark when our army was busy crossing the river. When they touched the approach, they threw a poisonous miasma, and immediately the banks of the river were full of poisonous miasma, and thousands of soldiers and horses died here. The poisonous miasma did not dissipate for a long time, and Xian Yu Dashuai immediately ordered a retreat. It is a pity that more than 20,000 brothers who crossed the river first were all killed on the other side of the river. ”

Wang Yuan listened to him describe the situation that day, and his eyes looked at the surrounding terrain, which was indeed dangerous enough. The mountains and forests on both sides spread to the valley more than 100 paces, and the barbarians could use the cover of the mountains and forests to approach within 100 steps, which was extremely dangerous. Thinking about the sudden outbreak of war and the poisonous smoke at that time, you can imagine the panic of Yu Zhongtong and the generals at that time.

"How did you cross the river at that time?"

"The ropeway trestle was destroyed, and when the commander sent out his troops, he ordered the governor's office of Jiannan Province to prepare a thousand ships to arrive here with the army. After that, the road leading to the bottom of the cliff was widened, and the wooden boats were carried to the beach below, and the soldiers crossed the river by boat. It took a day and a night until 28,000 men had passed, and it was then that the barbarians began to attack. ”

Wang Yuan frowned and said: "With such a turbulent current, 80,000 people rely on small boats to cross the river back and forth, how can it be done?" ”

Li Mi said: "Deputy marshal, now we are facing the same problem again, if there is no boat, how can we cross the river?" ”

Wang Yuan said: "You can cross the river without a boat, in fact, what is most needed here is to rebuild a rope bridge, even if you take Yaozhou, how will the supplies be supplied in the future, and how will the soldiers and horses be transported?" I know it's ridiculous, but I'm going to do it. ”

"Build a bridge?" Li Mi and Song Jiangong scratched their heads, this thing is not easy to do, the deputy marshal is unwilling to use a boat to cross the river, and he can only build a bridge, but how to build this bridge, it is difficult.

Wang Yuan said: "Let's not talk about building a bridge, this is the most vulnerable place, although it is noon, but it is obviously impossible to do anything today." You immediately ordered the encampment to be set up here, and ordered the soldiers to cut down all the trees and weeds that spread down from the valley on both sides, and not to have any shelter within a hundred paces of the barracks. In addition, watchtowers need to be built around the camp and on the Lushui cliff wall to keep guard. After camping, let's discuss the crossing of the river. ”

Tens of thousands of troops moved immediately, and the soldiers, turned into wood-cutting laborers, began to gnaw away at the trees on the hillsides along the sides of the valley. Encamped and felled, and after a few hours, a long camp was built. Dozens of arrow towers were built around the camp's wooden fence, and soldiers began to patrol around them.

In the evening, Wang Yuan took a group of guards around him to the river and pointed for a long time, until it was completely dark before returning to the camp. After dinner, Li Mi and Song Jiangong planned to discuss the matter with Wang Yuan, but when they arrived at Wang Yuan's tent, they saw a black light inside. The guard in front of the tent told the two that Vice Marshal Wang was tired and had fallen asleep, and ordered not to be disturbed. The two looked at each other and had to go back to rest.

The night was not peaceful, although the soldiers of the Jiannan Army who were keeping vigil in the middle of the night heard a lot of movements. In the mountains and forests on both sides, there are indeed figures of Nanzhao barbarians ready to move. In the middle of the night, at the former military camp, hundreds of people with branches and thatch disguised as tree men and straw men went to the side of the barracks, but they were discovered by the Jiannan soldiers on the watchtower, and with an order, the archers who were ambushed in the camp railing shot indiscriminately and shot them away. In other places, it was also found that there were brute soldiers sneaking closer, and they were also discovered by the soldiers of the Jiannan Army, and they did not cause any harm.

As soon as the morning dawned, Li Mi and Song Jiangong went to find Wang Yuan, and were told that Deputy Marshal Wang had taken people to the shore of Lushui, saying that if the two generals came to look for them, they would invite them to go to the cliff on the shore. The two hurriedly left the camp and came to the cliff on the shore, and Wang Yuan was really talking to several guards on the cliff.

Seeing Li Mi and Song Jiangong coming, Wang Yuan smiled and beckoned: "Two generals, just in time, let me introduce you to the two, this one is my personal guard Tan Ping, he used to live in the mountains, he is good at using ropes to build bridges, and I am discussing with him how to build rope bridges." ”

Tan Ping stepped forward to salute, Li Mi and Song Jiangong got off the horse and asked, "What is Brother Tan's trick?" ”

Tan Ping said: "I just told the deputy marshal that it is not difficult to build ropes between the two sides of the strait and lay a plank road. He ordered people to carry a thin rope to cross the river in a wooden row, and then pull the thick rope across the opposite side of the river bank and fix it on the cliff wall with a winch. More than 100 thick ropes can build a simple trestle ropeway that can be used for carriages and horses. If you want to be stronger, add more ropes in the future. ”

Tan Ping said that he drew graphics on the ground, but it was simple and clear, and Li Mi and Song Jiangong understood it.

"That's possible, lieutenant, but there's a problem that the lieutenant has thought about. The bridge is easy to build, but if there is an ambush of Ge Luofeng's soldiers and horses on the opposite side, this bridge will not be built in any way. Song Jiangong frowned.

Wang Yuan said with a smile: "General Song, have you seen the big mountain on the cliff?" As long as you hold the mountain bag, you can build a rope bridge under the cliff wall below the mountain bag and you will have protection. ”

Li Mi frowned and said, "It's feasible to be able to hold that big mountain bag, but you need soldiers and horses to cross the river." Isn't that our problem? ”

Wang Yuan said with a smile: "There is actually a simpler way for soldiers to cross the river, I built a rope bridge so that horses and grain and grass can also cross the river, and in the future, it can also be used as a passage to connect the north and south banks." I'll just ask the two generals, how many troops would you need if you were to hold the big mountain? Of course, according to the situation that all the soldiers and horses of Ge Luofeng were ambushed on the other side. ”

Song Jiangong said: "If it is a light guard, 10,000 soldiers and horses are enough." Build fortifications quickly, and carry a large number of bows and arrows to defend easily. ”

Wang Yuan said: "Okay, I will give you 15,000 soldiers, two pots of bows and arrows per person, and you must hold on for more than two days, because it will take at least two days to build this rope bridge." ”

Song Jiangong said: "Fifteen thousand soldiers are slow to talk for two days, and ten days and twenty days are no problem." ”

Wang Yuan said: "Okay, that's it." ”

Li Mi glared and said, "Why did you hand it over to General Song, the old man only needs 8,000 soldiers." ”

Wang Yuan said with a smile: "The old general should not fight with General Song, let General Song be." ”

Song Jiangong smiled proudly, and suddenly frowned: "After talking for a long time, I still know how these fifteen thousand soldiers and horses were transported across the river." The wooden row is definitely not done, is it difficult to fly over? ”

Wang Yuan smiled slightly: "What if I let you fly over." ”