The double cliffs stand according to the sky, and ten thousand people are split from the ground;

The clouds can't fly to the top, and the birds go to the wall.

It is said that the mountain of Jianmen Pass, on the cliff of the big sword mountain, several suspended plank roads meander and circle, until the foot of the mountain rises to the Jianmen City Pass, in fact, there is no pass here, not even the road, at this time the Jianmen Pass starts from Kong Ming in the Three Kingdoms, it is here that he chiseled the stone according to the mountain as the base, built the platform as the pass, and ordered people to dig out the plank road infrastructure along the cliffs on both sides of the pass, pave the wooden plank, go straight to the gate, and then have this pass.

There is a stone tablet before closing the door, with eight big characters written on it: a husband should be closed, and ten thousand people should not be opened. It is said that Li Bai stayed.

The plank road of that year has long disappeared, replaced by a more solid log, about three steps wide, can pass two people side by side, the local garrison and the mountain people are used to walking, the vertical step is like flying, when the outsiders pass by, all are frightened, only dare to hold on to the mountain wall and walk hard, just look down and feel dizzy.

There is also a road below the plank road, the winding mountain stone path at the foot of the mountain, winding along the mountain, also leading directly to the Jianmen Chengguan, this mountain road is old, I don't know who opened it, (according to legend, during the Warring States Period, King Qin Hui wanted to swallow Shu, suffering from no way into Shu, lying about giving hardware bulls, five beauties to the king of Shu, the king of Shu believed that it was true, sent five Ding Lishi around him, split the mountain to open the road, into Qin to welcome the beauties, transport the golden bull, only to open this Shu road, called the "Golden Bull Road", also known as the Jianmen Shu Road, regardless of whether the legend is true, but also more illustrate the danger of this road, The road that is cut out in the mountains with an axe can be imagined) compared with the plank road, this road is more difficult to walk, some places are directly perforated in the mountain, only one person can be allowed to pass, there are many ravines and mountain streams along the way, and it is really not as labor-saving as the plank road to walk.

The Qing army's vanguard general Wu Sangui's camp is stationed at the foot of Dajian Mountain, he has been staying here for five months, except for watching a corpse and wounded soldiers carried down from the mountain every day, he can't do anything, the mountain road is too dangerous, in the main peaks of Dajian Mountain and Xiaojian Mountain, Sun Kewang has built a total of seven fortresses, although three have fallen into the hands of the Qing army, but the main pass of Jianmen Pass is still not moving.

Standing in the camp tent, Wu Sangui, who had a murderous face, was wearing white leather nail armor and a top helmet on his head, and was looking at the two people on the mountain with his hands crossed and the two people going in and out, gritting his teeth.

What the hell is this place, if you fight like this, people have to die, and heavy weapons such as artillery and crossbow machines can't be transported, and they all rely on human flesh to attack, which is too difficult, and it is simply taking human life instead of killing people.

In the past five months, he has launched hundreds of times to seize the pass, nearly 4,000 people have died here, and the wounded are even more numerous, no matter how hard he tries, even a few of them have been beaten down in Shangchengguan, the reason is that the troops can not be maintained, no matter how many troops can only climb up along the two paths, Sun Kewang himself is in Jianmen Pass, 180,000 troops are distributed in various passes, and there are 40,000 soldiers in Jianmen Pass alone.

In fact, when King Qin Hui destroyed Shu has passed nearly two thousand years, Sichuan after two thousand years of development, the road into Shu is not only one Jianmen Pass, the reason why Hong Chengchou must first seize the pass and then enter Shu is that there are 180,000 people stationed in Sun Kewang's department, even if Hong Chengchou bypasses Jianmen Pass and takes Chengdu directly, the result is more terrible, after Jianmen Pass, you can reach Chengdu in three or five days, there are 200,000 western troops in Chengdu City, the city is high and deep, not a short time can go down, at that time, the defenders of Jianmen Pass are killed from behind, That Hong Chengchou will only be caught in the internal and external attacks, and the consequences are unimaginable, so if you want to take Chengdu, you must take the sword gate.

It's just that Hong Chengchou's approach is a bit excessive, Wu Sangui's Guan Ning army is known for being good at guarding, and attacking fortifications is the bottom, especially in this kind of tough battle that has no way to speak, it is really some possibility to eradicate dissent by the hands of others, and the Guan Ning army is ironclad, except for Wu Sangui, no one can move, and even the Qing court is angry about it.

Jianmen Pass is only two hundred miles away from Hanzhong, Hong Chengchou is in Hanzhong, several times urging Wu Sangui to take Jianmen Pass at any cost, the war is so anxious, he is actually very annoyed, whether it is Manchu and Menghan, Hong Chengchou at this time is undoubtedly high and powerful, in such a high position, it is inevitable to attract people's hatred.

Fortunately, the war in Jianghuai was relatively smooth, Duoduo easily defeated Li Laixiang's two-way army with his layout in Jianghuai, and all the provinces in Hanzhong have been classified as Manchu Qing, in terms of war records, Hong Chengchou has already achieved fame, even if he can't take the Sichuan Qing court, he won't do anything with him, and it is precisely because Hong Chengchou knows this well, so what he has to do now is to take Sichuan as a supplement, excluding dissidents, Wu Sangui is a thorn in his eye.

Wu Sangui couldn't stay in Jianmen Pass anymore, ordered someone to take a fast horse, he wanted to go to Hanzhong to find Hong Chengchou in person, more than one day, Wu Sangui came to Hanzhong City.

Hanzhong City is located on the bank of the Han River, the city wall is more than three zhang high, the upper width is one zhang and five feet, the lower width is two zhang and five feet, the circumference is nearly ten miles, four gates are erected, the east is Chaoyang Gate, the west is Zhenwu Gate, the south is Wangjiang Gate, the north is Gongchen Gate, the moat outside the city is ten zhang wide (33 meters), one zhang and eight feet deep, although the city is not big, it is extremely strong.

Such a strong castle fled south with Li Zicheng, and the defenders were only one or two thousand, and with Hong Chengchou's army pressing the border, Hanzhong City surrendered without a fight, and became a fortress for the Manchus to control the Hanzhong provinces.

Wu Sangui didn't have the heart to appreciate the magnificence of Hanzhong City, and went straight to Hong Chengchou's line when he appeared in the palace marshal's hall, Hong Chengchou was discussing military politics with the generals, and saw Wu Sangui's sudden appearance in anger, knowing what he meant, he asked everyone to retreat.

Wu Sangui looked annoyed, sweating profusely, ripped off his helmet and threw it on the table next to him, and sat down angrily.

Hong Chengchou didn't dare to offend him head-on, he smiled and walked off the handsome case, and casually picked up the kettle and poured him a cup of tea, and said with a smile: "King Pingxi is not in charge of the troops at Jianmen Pass, why did he come to Hanzhong, isn't it that the prince has already captured the pass?" Specially come to report the victory to Ben Shuai? ”

Wu Sangui snorted, didn't take his teacup, but took the big teapot in his hand, poured it with a big bang on his neck, wiped his mouth after drinking, and said angrily: "The Sword Gate Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, I can't afford to fight again, please Hong Jingluo replace my brother to take a breath."

Of course, Hong Chengchou knew that the Guan Ning army had fought fiercely in Jianmen Pass for nearly half a year, and almost half of the casualties had been lost, and the sharpness when he left Shanhaiguan was almost lost.

At the moment, Hong Chengchou said with an appreciative face: "I know that the king of Pingxi is good at fighting, and many of his subordinates dare to serve his life, although the front of the Jianmen Pass is hard work and no success, but in order to raise the prestige of our army, more than 100,000 people trapped in the pass and dare not come out, okay, even if the king of Pingxi does not come, I am also discussing with the generals and asking the prince for merit to the court."

Wu Sangui was unexpected, this old boy was very happy, and he had to ask Lao Tzu for credit, Lao Tzu buried four thousand graves in front of the sword gate, "Then who does Hong Jingluo plan to change?" ”

Hong Chengchou shook his head helplessly, "With the prince's ability to conquer and fight, he can't take it, and it's the same for anyone."

Wu Sangui loves to say this, Lao Tzu can't take it, looking at the generals in this Qing court, who else can fight better than Lao Tzu.

Hong Chengchou continued: "I'm preparing to write to the regent, can I change the strategy of the army?"

Wu Sangui was furious when he heard this, and regardless of whether it was Shangxian or not, he slapped the table on the spot and said, "Hong Chengchou, what do you mean by this, what, do you want to give up the Sword Gate Pass?" Then won't my soldiers die in vain?"

Hong Chengchou hurriedly smiled and said: "Don't get excited, you yourself said that the Sword Gate Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and if it continues like this, how can you explain it to the regent and the queen mother"

Wu Sangui said hatefully: "Hong Jingluo Mo won't have other intentions" to put it bluntly, you just want my Guan Ning army to lose its status in the Qing court, Lao Tzu has killed so many people, you say that if you don't fight, you won't fight, make fun of Lao Tzu's soldiers.

Hong Chengchou said in a deep voice: "Lord Wang, Hong is the commander, and he has full authority to handle military affairs, what can I do, and it is not what I want to do today."

Wu Sangui was indignant, "Hong Chengchou, don't forget, you are a subordinate like me, what good will it do you if I fall?" ”

Hong Chengchou put his hand behind his back, "I don't understand what King Pingxi said, Hong only talks about war, not anything else"

Wu Sangui snorted, "Okay, then let's talk about the war, I have been attacking Jianmen Pass for five months in a row, then Sun Kewang is already at the end of the crossbow, I will not give up at Jianmen Pass, I can't take Sun Kewang, this king vows not to withdraw the army, but I have a request"

"Please speak"

"I want soldiers, I want supplies, please Hong Jingluo will assign the king of Nikan County and the 30,000 eight banner soldiers under him to this king's moderation, and give me two months, I will definitely take the Jianmen Pass" Wu Sangui really doesn't brag, he stopped fighting at the Jianmen Pass for nearly half a year, he almost figured out every trail on this mountain, but he couldn't carry out a large-scale attack due to the lack of troops, the best of which was to bypass the Jianguan Gate from the mountain road, and directly take the Jiange City Pass behind the pass, and cut off Sun Kewang's grain road, There are more than 100,000 horses stationed in the Jianmen Pass and its surrounding passes, and the mountain roads are difficult to find, and it is impossible to store much grain and grass.

From Jianmen Pass along the Sword Pavilion Trail about fifty miles is the Sword Pavilion City Pass, although the city is not big, but it is extremely strong, plus if the army wants to go from the Sword Pavilion Trail, Sun Kewang, who is stationed in the Sword Gate Pass, will definitely find that if he takes advantage of the army to suddenly kill when he is more than halfway through, and cut the army into two sections, then all the people and horses in the past have no chance of surviving, this step is also quite risky, but it is not necessarily impossible, there is never a sure thing in a war.

Of course Hong Chengchou can't agree, Nikana is the uncle and uncle of the emperor today, and it is difficult for me to mobilize him, how can I talk about you, besides, I finally suppressed your strength, and I can give you another chance to turn over?

"The courage of the king of Pingxi is commendable, but the situation in Sichuan has become more and more beyond our expectations recently, more than 40,000 people of the Ming army have entered Kuizhou, although it is under the banner of entering Sichuan to quell the rebellion, but at present Zhang Xianzhong himself is difficult to protect, if we are in a hurry, it is difficult to guarantee that he will not join the Ming to resist our Qing Dynasty, and then there is the commander of the Ming army's western expedition Wang Lanping also killed from the land to Yungui, no matter what he did along the way, but I expect his ultimate goal is to capture Luzhou, the southeast gateway of Sichuan, and then go up along the Lushui River, directly to Chengdu, Zhang Xianzhong is afraid that he will not be able to stop him"

Wu Sangui said: "Then we should take Quanchuan in front of him."

Hong Chengchou said with a smile: "It is a good policy to be able to take it, but I am afraid that it is not so easy, not to mention that most of the people in Sichuan are Han Chinese, Zhang Xianzhong is unpopular in Sichuan, and the people of Sichuan hate him to the core, looking forward to the Ming army as if he is looking forward to Ganlin, even if we take Sichuan, this person's heart is not something that can be conquered overnight, and it can't be fought for, in this case, if I insist on going my own way and forcibly taking Sichuan, the result will only be fruitless and empty of silver and grain."

Wu Sangui said hatefully: "Is what Hong Jingluo said before the expedition false? Your strategy is not to take Sichuan first and then attack the Ming Court in two directions, what? A Wang Lanping scares you like this? If you can't take Sichuan, how can you explain it to the imperial court?"

Hong Chengchou was also very helpless, "Who can predict what happened on the battlefield, the land of Hanzhong was taken by me, and it was in vain for Baochuan not to take Hanzhong, and he didn't want to be in Shu."

In this way, Wu Sangui did not object, "Then Jianmen Pass really wants to give up?" It's a pity."

Hong Chengchou laughed, "Suspend the offensive and sit back and watch what happens, if Wang Lanping really enters Chengdu from Luzhou, what do you say Sun Kewang will do?" ”

Wu Sangui frowned and thought, "Divide troops from Jianmen Pass to help?" ”

Hong Chengchou said: "No, Sun Kewang is this person, full of ambition, and there is no one in his eyes, and he also has a lot of heart for the military formation, he clearly knows that once the troops are divided from Jianmen Pass, what will be the result?" Even if he can rescue Chengdu, but the Jianmen Pass must be taken by me, and at that time, our army can take the opportunity to enter the pass and go straight to Chengdu, and kill two birds with one stone while Zhang Xianzhong and the Ming army are defeated, Sun Kewang will not fail to understand this, so he will not save Chengdu at all"

Wu Sangui suddenly realized, doesn't this kid just want to learn from Lao Tzu's set in Shanhaiguan, and sell it at a price.

"What does Hong Jingluo mean is that Sun Kewang will stand still when Chengdu is in trouble and sit back and watch the success or failure?"

Hong Chengchou nodded, "It must be, he has more than 100,000 elites of the Western Army in his hands, and if he doesn't dare to vote for anyone, he will lose the marquis, he will be stupid enough to go to the Sichuan battlefield to fight hard."

Wu Sangui nodded, and shook his head again, "Then he is so stubborn at the Sword Gate."

Hong Chengchou said with a smile: "The whole city of Sichuan is fighting, and millions of troops are gathered here, and he hasn't seen clearly who killed the deer, but I want to give you a reminder first."

Wu Sangui frowned and said, "You want to send someone to persuade you to surrender?" ”

"Can't you?"

Wu Sangui said angrily: "If you can succeed, it will not be a bad thing, but I can't swallow this breath, this kid has stopped me for five months at the Sword Gate."

Hong Chengchou laughed and said: "The big husband can bend and stretch, not to mention that the prince is still in the army, but he is just a cool pawn, in the past, Deng Ai, the general of Wei, led an army of 100,000 to attack Sichuan, and Jiang Wei, a Shu general, guarded the sword gate with only 30,000 people, until the queen of Shu surrendered Deng Ai did not enter the pass, today's situation is not just the same as that time to visit, I am waiting for the loss of troops here, but I handed over that Wang Lanping calmly into Sichuan, forget it, don't do such an adult beauty thing, and watch Zhang Xianzhong and that Wang Lanping fight"

"Then who do you send to persuade you to surrender?"

"It is none other than the King of Pingxi"

"Me? Forget it, I'll kill him as soon as I see him."

"Then it is even more important for you, knowing heroes and valuing heroes, heroes cherish each other, only if you go in person, can you show the sincerity of our army"

Wu Sanguipi didn't smile, "Hong Jingluo didn't want to borrow that Sun Kewang's hand to kill me?"

Hong Chengchou snorted, "Are you afraid?" ”

Killing Wu Sangui and Hong Chengchou didn't have the courage, and there was no need, the Guan Ning army was gone, and it was not easy for him to explain the trouble to the prince in the Qing court.

"Afraid? Why am I, Wu Sangui, afraid? When to leave? ”

"Wait for my order, your department will withdraw the siege first and repair outside the pass"

Wu Sangui was not provoked, but he had to take the sword gate, whether it was a hard fight or the other party's surrender. (To be continued.) )