Hanzhong County, Nanzheng.

It was dark at night, but the county watchman's mansion was still brightly lit. Under the flickering candlelight, the solemn face of the new Hanzhong County Warden Feng Ting was reflected. After Li Mu led the army to capture Hanzhong, the court argued endlessly about the post of Hanzhong County. In the end, it was Han Wangran who made the decision to add a burden to Feng Ting, the county guard of Sanchuan County at that time, and he served as the county guard of Hanzhong County. As for the vacant seat he vacated, it was filled by Xun Guo, who had ranked first in the county assessment for three consecutive years.

At this moment, Feng Tingzheng, Han Teng, and Tang Li were thinking deeply about the map of Hanzhong County in front of them. Tang Li was a lieutenant in Sanchuan County, and this time he was sent to lead an army of 10,000 to support Hanzhong to ensure that Hanzhong was not lost. Recently, Qin's actions are really a bit weird, the spies sent by Feng Ting to Guanzhong couldn't say for a while that Qin's army had been assembled near Chencang, and then sent a message that Qin's army was abnormally mobilized in Lantian, which made Feng Ting and the others confused. It has been more than a month since the Qin State moved its troops back and forth, but until now, there has not even been a decent offensive, and Feng Ting and Han Teng are even more unable to determine the direction of the Qin State's main attack.

Han Teng pointed to the location of Chen Cang on the map, and said in a deep voice: "According to the information sent back by Xizuo, the young Zhuang of Longxi, Beidi, and Neishi County of the Qin State are still gathering in the direction of Chen Cang, and the current number has exceeded 50,000. It seems that the Qin State has decided to launch an offensive from the Diagonal Praise Road! ”

After a pause, Han Teng pointed to Lantian's position again, and said bitterly: "However, Lantian has already gathered an army of more than 30,000 in this direction, and Xianyang is behind it, so the Qin State can easily organize an army of more than 80,000 people to speculate on stocks, and directly enter Hanzhong by the meridian road." Therefore, we still don't know where the Qin State is going to attack. ”

Feng Ting frowned and said worriedly, "That's true, because we don't know what the Qin State wants to achieve. One can only guess here. If the Qin State wants to open up the connection between Bashu and Guanzhong, the main attack must be on our Nanzheng side. If they want to destroy our main force and take Hanzhong all, then the Xunyang line is the focus of their attack. It's been a month now, but the Qin State hasn't completed the assembly of the army. Could it be that they are bluffing at all? ”

Han Teng shook his head, now the whole world knew that the Qin State was gearing up. I want to save face that I have lost. Unless the Qin State did not care about his own face, this attack on Hanzhong would never be stillborn. In order to deal with the Qin State's covetousness of Hanzhong, Hanzhong County now has an army of 100,000 in the whole county, of which 60,000 elites are concentrated in the first line of Nanzheng and Chuyang, and Han Teng does not want his long-waited "guests" to miss the appointment!

"The last general thinks that the main direction of Qin's attack should still be on the side of Nanzheng." Tang Li, the captain of Sanchuan County beside him, suddenly spoke.

Han Tengtou gave him an encouraging look, and Tang Li said with a little excitement: "Whether it is attacking Xunyang through the Meridian Road, or entering Nanyang from Wuguan and blocking Hanzhong, it is the way to survive in death." The so-called death and then life, the last general thought that the Qin State should not risk the main attack on the central or eastern front. The number of soldiers who can fight in the Qin State Pass should be around 300,000, and if they are fired in two or three ways, they will not be able to give full play to their military advantages. Unless the Qin State pours out all the forces of the whole country, it will be unsustainable! Therefore, the final general expected that the Qin State would definitely attack the western front, that is, Nanzheng. ”

After looking at Han Teng's expression slightly, he found that the other party was silent. Feng Ting, the county guard on the side, nodded, and Tang Li continued: "There are three benefits to attacking Nanzheng. First, the area around Nanzheng is the richest area in Hanzhong, with five counties, such as half of Hanzhong; Both, Nanzheng is located in the upper reaches of the Han River, once it was obtained by the Qin State. The army of Qin can go down the river and take Hanzhong all; Of the three, the Qin army only needs Chen Bing Nanzheng, and the passage connecting Bashu to Guanzhong will naturally open, even if the Qin State is defeated and retreated. This period of time was also enough for the Qin State to regain control of Bashu. ”

After hearing this, Feng Ting first seconded: "This official sees it the same way. The Qin State should be a feint in Lantian with the intention of confusing us. If we add troops in the direction of Xunyang, we will really fall into the plan of the Qin State. ”

South Korea currently has 15,000 troops stationed in Xunyangtun, but if Qin's 100,000 troops really move south from the Meridian Road, the Korean army will not be able to resist for too long. Therefore, a few days ago, the debate on whether to increase troops in Xunyang has not been broken.

Feng Ting thought that the primary goal of the Qin State should be Nanzheng and support the stubborn defense of Nanzheng. Han Teng tried to be exhaustive, so he forcibly increased Xunyang's garrison by five thousand, reaching a scale of fifteen thousand, but this is also the limit. Han Teng could only hope that once the main force of the Qin State attacked Xunyang, the defenders of Xunyang would be more competitive and could hold out until the reinforcements from Nanzheng arrived. Later, Han Wangran sent 10,000 troops to Nanzheng, according to Han Teng's original intention, this 10,000 reinforcements stayed in Nanzheng to have little effect, but it was better to send them to Xunyang. Today is the final decision on this matter!

Because of Feng Ting's insistence and Tang Li's vague opposition, for a while, Han Teng was a little shaken in his initial thoughts. Qin did not know that Korea had already joined forces with Wei and Qi, and would not fail to use Zhao, a new ally, so it seems that the main purpose of attacking Hanzhong should be to open up the road to Bashu. Maybe I'm overthinking! But it's been a month, but the Qin State hasn't moved. What exactly is the Qin State waiting for? Do you want to drain the last of your patience? Hoping that South Korea will make mistakes on its own?

For the Qin State, the sooner it is to make an appointment, it is better to raid. But now, Qin Guo obviously looked like he wanted everyone in the world to know that they were going south to crusade against Hanzhong. Although this will undoubtedly stabilize the hearts of the people in the two counties of Bashu, it seems to have no effect on the raid? Wait a minute! Han Teng was suddenly stunned! Pounce! Qin didn't seem to want to hide what South Korea looked like from the beginning! For the attacker, the difference between the defenders and the prepared is too great! The secrecy of the Qin State for the attack on Hanzhong is too poor!

"Unless," a terrible thought faintly popped up in Han Teng's heart, "Unless the goal of the Qin State was not Hanzhong County in the first place!" "If it weren't for Hanzhong County, there would be only a handful of places worthy of the Qin State's great action. One is Wuguan and Nanyang County behind him, and the other is Hangu Pass and Sanchuan and Hedong behind him. Thinking that the situation in the northern frontier of Zhao has just subsided, this answer is about to come out!

Han Teng smiled bitterly and said, "Everyone, maybe we were wrong from the beginning!" The goal of the Qin State is not our Hanzhong at all! ”

Hedong County, Fengling.

If it weren't for Fenglingdu, the largest ferry on the river (now the Yellow River), it would have been difficult for people to know the name of the city. It is an important point on the river water. For hundreds of years, I don't know how many people have traveled between Qin and Jin from here. The so-called "one water in the north and south, the Central Plains is self-contained." The clouds and mountains are connected to the Jin soil, and the smoke trees enter the Qinchuan River. ”

As the choke point connecting Guanzhong, Henan and Hedong, Qin and Wei have fought for hegemony here several times. As Hangu Pass fell into the hands of Wei, Wei became more aware of the significance of Fenglingdu and Fengling to Wei. Especially the defeated army of the Qin State broke through here. After successfully retreating to Guanzhong, Wei strengthened the defenses here. With the cement provided by South Korea, the work of reinforcing the city defense and the ferry port was made extremely simple.

Now it is the cold winter of Layue, and the New Year is approaching, and the Wei army stationed at the ferry is inevitably a little lax. It was not that Wei Shi did not consider whether the Qin army would take advantage of the frozen river to sneak attack, after all, it was not without such a precedent. But the thickness of the ice has just been measured, and now the river only allows a child to pass, and a fully armed soldier cannot get through. What's more, now the Qin State is about to attack Hanzhong. Where will there be a mind to attack the Wei State. Therefore, the Wei army stationed here will inevitably slacken. Originally, the patrol once an hour was reduced to three or four hours, and at night, when the weather was the coldest, the defenders could come out to patrol once and be considered to be loyal.

Hundreds of Wei soldiers were roasting fires in a row of warm houses, cursing that they would not be able to go home for the New Year this year, while burning the fires even brighter. They were all people from the vicinity of Daliang, and it was not happy to come from their hometowns to guard the ferry. It is even more unhappy to be deducted from the salary by the boss. Because there was really no war, the Wei army captain in charge of the ferry had already run into the city. Nominally, it is to apply for supplies, but in fact, I don't know which gentle township to run to. Therefore, the entire ferry was actually managed by a few uncles.

"Dude! I heard that we will be able to return to Daliang in the spring! Is this true or false? A middle-aged soldier said casually while holding hot tea.

The movements of several soldiers next to him froze, although they did not turn their eyes, but their ears were in the direction of the middle-aged soldiers. The lively conversation stopped. Everyone stared at the fire with a strong heart, and did not say a word.

The inquired uncle glanced at his neighbor, and secretly reproached the other party for talking too much, but said affirmatively: "This matter has been decided!" Once the soldiers of Hedong County are summoned, they will come to replace us! So the latest. We'll be back in early March. ”

"Oh! It's back to the beam! It's back to the beam! There was a burst of cheers and cheers in the house. This is the best news that this group of Wei troops has heard since the beginning of winter. Many people began to think that even if the worst estimate is to set off in early March, they will be able to reach Daliang in the middle of the day, and they can also help their families with spring ploughing! If it had been earlier, maybe I could have worked as a casual worker to earn some change to support my family!

People in this era are accustomed to working at sunrise and resting at sunset. What I yearn for is the hot kang head of my wife and children. For Wei Jun, who did not go home for a whole autumn and winter, home is always a warm word. Even those baby soldiers who have not yet started a family can't help but miss the food cooked by their mothers.

The climate of Fengling seems to be colder than that of Daliang, not only because of the proximity to the river, but also because the situation is also a very important factor. For these Wei troops, the west bank of the river was the Zhao army, and the south bank of the river was the Qin army, neither of which was a friendly existence. Although Wei was only close to Korea and did not tear up his face with Zhao, Wei Jun subconsciously began to be wary of Zhao Jun in Hexi County. Zheng zhì is so ruthless, obviously yesterday they were brothers who drank together, and tomorrow they may have to draw their swords on the battlefield and fight to the death. After being on guard for half a winter, Zhao Jun has not moved, and he is not even too lazy to inspect the border; The Qin army was eyeing the south, and it was more than half a month before the Wei army stationed at the ferry ended the days of fear.

The chief looked at the room full of people and was beaming, and he regretted that he hadn't told them the news earlier. Maybe the lieutenant was afraid that the soldiers would be too excited to hear the news! However, in just three years, Wei killed at least 50,000 people in Hedong, and many Wei soldiers have regarded Hedong as the most dangerous place and are extremely reluctant to come here to garrison. Especially the Fengling that was handed over to Zhao and Qin, everyone was afraid of it. Not to mention the worse guarding of the Fengling Ferry! The pressure on these men to guard the crossing with trepidation was already great, and perhaps good news was really needed to boost morale.

"Ahem, don't be too happy! Who, Fan Er, Li Zhong, hurry up and take your two people out to inspect it! Lao Tzu doesn't want Qin Jun to sneak over! The uncle's words interrupted the lively conversation in the room.

Speaking of tasks. Everyone didn't dare to play. On weekdays, it's just a joke or even a joke about the uncle, but when it comes to military orders, these Liang soldiers are still strictly disciplined. Those who did not follow the rules had long since been sent to carry out mortal duties, and those who remained were naturally obedient soldiers. Soon, more than twenty Wei soldiers opened the door and squeezed in while the cold was not yet complete. Gritted his teeth and walked out.

There was a bright moon hanging in the sky, glowing with a cold light, and under the reflection of the snow, the sight was quite good. The Wei army held a bronze sword in his hand, pinned to his waist. It's not that the Wei army is lazy, but the weather is really cold, and the sheathed sword has become the favorite of the soldiers. Although Xinzheng has just invented something called "gloves" that keeps hands warm, in fact. Gloves made of fur are truly warm, but the price is prohibitive for civilians (I won't tell everyone that the Korean soldiers have a pair of fur gloves for free). The gloves purchased by the Wei soldiers were actually made of cloth and leather, which had a warm effect, but they were by no means so exaggerated. Moreover, walking in the snow with one foot deep and one foot shallow makes it difficult to carry long weapons. That's why the Wei army likes to carry only bronze swords when patrolling at night!

"Fan Er, did you say that the Qin State is attacking Hanzhong now?" Li Zhong, who was walking in the front, exhaled white air. While fighting hard with the snow under his feet.

"I'm afraid it's already started! Why do you ask this? Fan Er replied nonchalantly. He knew that Li Zhong was eager for military merit, this kid. is counting on making more military achievements, sharing more fields, marrying a daughter-in-law, giving birth to a baby, and passing on the ancestry!

"Isn't the Qin defense on the other side very empty? Can we? Li Zhong asked in surprise, while frowning at Fan Er.

"Stop! I said Li Zhong, you don't want to sneak to the other side of the river to do a vote! Fan Er said with a frown. He knows Li Zhong's past, Li Zhong is a muddy person, a typical opportunistic element. Otherwise, I wouldn't have eaten the last meal and didn't have the next meal, and ran to the army to try my luck. If the uncle allowed it, he would definitely dare to run to the other side of the river and tie up a big girl with white flowers to come back! If there are no girls, they will grab a few.

Li Zhong smiled thiefly. whispered: "Dude really understands me!" Brother has been unlucky lately, and he has lost a lot! If you can go to the opposite side to make a profit, it is naturally excellent! You're right? ”

"The Qin army on the opposite side has hundreds of people! The chief will definitely not agree to you to bring troops over. If you want to go, you can only sneak over! Are you sure you can get by? First of all, brother, I won't go! I'm a family man, and it's not worth taking risks for the sake of the girl! I advise you, to give up this unrealistic idea sooner! Those gambling debts! Slowly, it is! It's all brothers who eat in a pot! What can you really do? Fan Er said earnestly.

"Hey! If you don't go, you won't go! Li Zhong said dejectedly.

Looking up at the unobstructed ice surface, and making sure that there was no Qin army lurking on the ice, the two of them took their soldiers around and went back. Before leaving, the two of them cursed that they should stay in the house honestly and roast the fire on such a cold day. The ice is not so thick, the two of them have just measured it, and the river with the thickest ice layer is just a person who can stand, and the middle of the river with the thinnest ice layer is afraid that even a child can't stand! How could the Qin army cross the river!

But not long after the two walked back, more than 3,000 Qin troops gradually gathered on the other side of the river. Xianyang Wei Huan Qi was the main general of this surprise attack on Fenglingdu, and this opportunity for "revenge" was won by him with great difficulty. If it weren't for the defeat of Hedong, maybe he wouldn't be able to compete with others. But he was, a simple sentence of "I want to avenge the 27,000 Qin soldiers who died in battle" made others willingly give up the urge to compete.

"General! The ice is thick enough! It's time to go! The adjutant general on the side said cautiously, looking like he was afraid of waking up the Wei army on the other side of the river. In fact, it was fifteen miles away from the Wei barracks on the other side, not to mention the roar in the northwest, which the Wei army could not hear.

Huan Qi nodded, without words, and was the first to jump off the riverbed. Then he made an extremely strange posture, that is, lying on his stomach on the ice, moving forward little by little, the lieutenant behind him did not hesitate at all, and followed silently, learning the appearance of Huan Qi, crawling on the ice.

On closer inspection, their clothes appear extremely bloated, and they are not wearing even the simplest leather armor, and if it were not for the long sword at their waist revealing their identity, passers-by would have thought of them as peasants. It's just that under the cold moonlight, 3,000 people crawl on the ice without saying a word, such a scene makes people shudder. I'm so lucky to see it, I'm afraid I'll be scared half to death!

Huan Qi's army of 3,000 chose the narrowest section of the river, but it was also close to ten miles away. Moreover, they also carried flat wooden boats, which undoubtedly indicates that they had to use wooden boats to cross the river in the middle of the river, where the ice was thinnest. That is, they had to crawl a distance of about three or four miles, then row to the other side of the ice, and crawl another three or four miles before they could get ashore. Even if they do, they are only half of the task. Because, when the time comes, they will be tired and have to start a fight with the Wei army! (To be continued......)