'Whew, whew...' Zhao Ta gasped and climbed to the top of the mountain, there was not much snow on the mountain, but the mountain wind moved the snow to the valley. He didn't care about resting, and looked around, only to see that the top of the mountain was flat for more than ten miles, and the cliff hundreds of meters high cut the mountain plain extremely dangerously, and there was no human population in sight. The cliff on the opposite side is bottomless, and the depth of the valley is impossible to guess. Looking back at the road here, a group of soldiers of the Zhongxing Army marched between the mountain roads with difficulty in the snow, and the team was hidden between the mountains intermittently, with no end in sight!

"How far is it from Blackstone Ridge Fort?" Zhao Ta asked Jiang Feidao, who was following him.

"Lord Wang, the scout return is less than ten miles!" Jiang Fei pointed to a place in the mountains, "The place where the Flying Fox Road crosses the mountain is where the Black Stone Ridge Fort is located, and it is also the place where the Flying Fox Road must be crossed, the valley looks gentle and not deep, and it is precisely the thinnest place in the north and south of the mountains in the entire area. ”

"Well, order all departments to find a leeward place to camp, send a guard post three miles ahead, control the commanding heights of the intersection, and anyone who enters the warning area will be arrested, and no news shall be leaked!" Zhao Ta nodded and said, "Jiang Fei, you sent scouts to approach Black Stone Ridge Fort to find out if there was a path to bypass!" ”

"Yes, Lord Wang!" Jiang Fei said.

"Lord Wang, the wind is blowing, let's go down the mountain!" As soon as the sky was dark, the mountain wind rose suddenly, Wangfu stood with the wind on his back to shield the prince from the whistling north wind, and people were blown and swayed like fallen leaves on the branches.

"Okay..."As soon as Zhao Ta said a word, his mouth was filled with wind, and at this moment, the mountain wind was blowing, and the snow in the valley was flying. In front of the road, a fierce flying cloud of snow and mist was formed, as if countless demons were playing tricks in it. Everyone hurriedly pulled each other down the mountain, and it was easy to get lost in the wind and snow. It's even worse if one accidentally falls into the valley...

When Zhao learned that the Jin army had broken through Bianjing, he quickly launched a large-scale attack on the Tatars, crushing his army that had invaded Fengshengzhou, and the Tatars scattered and fled into the desert. Although this battle did not wipe them out, it also inflicted heavy losses on the Tatars, but now that the situation is urgent, Zhao Ta still decided to stop the pursuit, canceled the battle plan to attack Mobei by victory, and ordered the hunting cavalry brigade to continue to clear the remnants. Leaving Yelu Yu to temporarily preside over the aftermath of Fengshengzhou, he led the army back to Beijing and planned to aid the Song Dynasty!

After a series of events over the years, Zhao Ta has realized that the Great Song Dynasty is now terminally ill, it is difficult to return, the emperor has no way, the scholars are insensitive, and the people are living in dire straits, even if there is no foreign invasion. It will also be destroyed by civil strife. However, in order to change the decay of the superstructure and the poor foundation, it is difficult to solve the problem of the Great Song Dynasty by only repairing and repairing, but it is necessary to undergo 'major surgery', otherwise it will only collapse.

Xijing has been revitalized by Zhao Ta after several years of hard work. Not only did it achieve a military victory, but it also stabilized its internal affairs, although there was also the exodus of King Yeluding of Liang. But it didn't have any impact on Xijing, just like the wind-blown water in a pond. As soon as the wind passed, it was calm again, as if nothing had happened.

Zhao Ta figured it out. If the problems within the system cannot be solved, then they must be solved by relying on the outside system. Although the invasion of foreign races broke the hundred-year peace of the Great Song Dynasty and brought suffering to a nation, it will also reactivate a pool of stagnant water, awaken people's conscience, and bring about a change.

Now that the Xijing army has inflicted heavy losses on the Black Tatar tribes, the threat from the north has temporarily disappeared; Although Xixia accepted the conditions of the Jin State, he was surprisingly calm this time, not only notifying the Xijing side in advance and saying that he would never fall for the Jurchens again; The Jurchens in the east were their greatest enemy, but now the Jurchens invaded the Song Dynasty in a big way, taking a defensive position against Xijing, and were unable to use troops against them; And the Great Song Dynasty in the south is already in turmoil, and he has no time to take care of himself.

After some discussion, the people in Xijing thought that it was the right time to lend the Great Song Dynasty to enter the Central Plains, which was exactly what Zhao Ta meant, so he decided to still use the princess Yu Liyan to temporarily replace the state affairs. Then with Zhao Li, the prime minister of Xijing Military, he was in charge of military power. The lion general was stationed south of Xijing, the tiger general was stationed north of Xijing to prevent incidents, and the rest of the Zhongxing army sent troops to aid the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Ta knows very well that the Central Plains has been a battleground in the history of Chinese warfare since ancient times, and from the map, the Central Plains is like the waist of the whole country, and whoever controls the Central Plains is equivalent to grasping the initiative in the war, which includes the entire territory of Hebei, some prefectures and counties in Henan, the southern part of Shanxi, the northwest region and the Taihang Mountain region. Now the Jurchens actually control this area, and the Great Song Dynasty has promised to cede the area north of the Yellow River, but many state cities do not obey the edict and still hold on, it is the blank area of the entire battlefield, but it is also a power vacuum.

Now there are two ways to aid the Song Dynasty, one is to borrow the road from Hedong to Luoyang, this road is mostly a big road, but also a plain, suitable for cavalry galloping, but the Jin army in order to prevent the Song Dynasty from the east of the Hedong and Shaanxi to aid Bianjing, has been heavily fortified along the way, and then I don't know what the attitude of the east of the Dao River towards Xijing is; The other way is to take the Flying Fox to Zhongshan through Ulzhou, this road is mostly mountainous, not conducive to cavalry action, and Ulzhou is still in the hands of the Jurchens, there must be battles along the way, but you can appear unexpectedly in the rear of the Jurchens, control Zhending, Zhongshan two important towns in Hebei, and cut off the return road of the Jurchens.

After careful consideration, Zhao Ta decided to divide the troops into two ways to aid the Song Dynasty, with Zhao Yong as the head of the march on the south road, Zhao Yi as the deputy commander, Xu Hong as the supervisor of the army, commanding the military departments of the Zhongxing Army, the fourth, fifth, and sixth brigades of the dragon general and the tiger general, and strengthening the first brigade of baggage and the first artillery brigade from Shuozhou, and going southeast of the river to Luoyang, giving full play to the advantages of cavalry, and quickly moving south; On the other hand, Zhao Yan was the general manager of the North Road, Zhao Lian was the deputy commander, Wang Jin was the commander of the supervising army, the first, second, and third brigades of the tiger generals and the five brigades of the wolf generals except the second desert brigade, and the second brigade of the baggage and the second artillery brigade were strengthened to send troops from Yingzhou to capture Lingqiu and take the Flying Fox; Wang Ye Zhao Ta moved with the North Road, the first guard division accompanied the guards, and the rest guarded Wang Cheng...

After the order was issued, the Wolf General Mountain Brigade, which had been stationed in Yingzhou for training, swaggered out in the name of exercises, while the Jurchens in Ulzhou had long been accustomed to it and did not raise their vigilance. As a result, they made a surprise attack with the cooperation of the tiger generals, and the first brigade quickly broke through Lingqiu. Occupied the starting position. Then the brigade occupied the north entrance of the Flying Fox without stopping, and blocked all the intersections. In order to prevent the leakage of information, the Northern Route Army quickly advanced through the open passage.

Between the Taihang Mountain Range and the Yanshan Mountain and Hengshan Mountain Ranges, there is a road that naturally derives from it, which is the Flying Fox, which is known as the "world's risk". The north end of Feihuyu is Beikou Village, the origin of the village name is self-evident, out of Beikou Village, it is the Huliu River Basin, where the mountains are flattened. There is no danger to be kept. Therefore, all dynasties and dynasties only set up checkpoints at the north entrance, and there were no heavy guards.

Further to the north is what the ancients called "Flying Fox Valley Water", that is, Flying Fox Valley, Forty Miles Valley. In the past forty miles, the valley has sunk rapidly, while the peaks on both sides are steep and straight, narrow and uninterrupted, and it is by no means an exaggeration to describe it as "a line of sky". The steep peaks are basically more than 30 zhang. The width of the valley is between six and twenty zhang. The lower the mountain, the wider the valley becomes, while the two mountains still tower. In the middle of it, I was shocked.

Heishiling is in Feihuyu, and it is called "Changshan Pass" in the Han Dynasty. Also known as "Flying Fox". This ridge is high and steep, and the Black Rock Ridge was defended in ancient wars. It is equivalent to guarding the big passage of the Flying Fox Pass and wanting to enter the Flying Fox. But Blackstone Ridge can't do it. The original two gates of Datong Pass, Juyong Pass is behind, and Bauhinia Pass is in front of it; Those who walk in the Yongguan must pass through Jiming Mountain, and those who walk Bauhinia must pass through the Black Stone Ridge - holding the Black Stone Ridge is equivalent to guarding the Flying Fox, both of which are prosperous and lossy...

"Now it is the middle of winter, the Flying Fox Valley is cold and abnormal, often people and livestock freeze to death in the mountains, we must pay attention to keeping warm at night, the sentries must change the guard frequently, people must be more active, and must not be immobile for a long time." Zhao Ta said this sentence all the way down I don't know how many times, but he still impatiently told every officer he met, and he went into a cantonment cave built with a snow wall and said.

"Lord Wang, don't worry, we have all been trained in this area, and the clothes on our bodies are warm and good, and there will be no problems!" Chang Chao, the commander of the first brigade of the wolf general, said with a smile, they were the vanguard all the way, and they were ahead of the village, and it was up to them to capture the Black Stone Ridge.

"Take your towel out and I'll see where you put it?" Zhao Tan casually pointed to a soldier and said that these soldiers had been given a new set of winter clothes before leaving, not only thermal underwear, duck down cold clothing, but also gadgets such as hoods, gloves, snow leggings and snowshoes.

"Lord Wang, this..." The soldier's face flushed, but seeing the prince's serious expression, he embarrassedly took out his towel from his crotch.

"Hehe, yes, there's nothing to be ashamed of, if you are so cold that you urinate incontinence and wet your pants, you will be cut off from your children and grandchildren, and you will be killed at worst!" Zhao Ta patted the soldier's shoulder and said with satisfaction.

"Chang Chao, tell the fire army to cook more meat, hot rice, boil some boiling water, don't eat cold, and save your strength!" Zhao Ta walked out of the snow room and said.

"Lord Wang, we have only brought grain and grass for ten days, and now I don't know what the situation is in front of the road, so let's save some!" Chang Chao said.

"Well, it would be better if you didn't have to get to the front!" Zhao Ta thought for a while and said.

This time, they sent troops to take a mountain road, and they caught up with the heavy snow this year, and the road was difficult. This time, Zhao Ta ordered all the pack horses prepared by the baggage brigade to transport, but most of the ammunition and medicine were carried, and the grain and grass were only five days of emergency food, and the transportation capacity of the baggage brigades of each brigade could only ensure the food supply for ten days.

However, after entering the Flying Fox Mountain, the mountain road is narrow and difficult to walk, not to mention, and the whole mountain valley is like a huge ventilation pipe, the howling cold wind blows through it, Zhao Ta estimates that according to modern standards, it must be about minus 30 degrees, some of the mountain ponies introduced from Yunnan and Guizhou could not withstand the severe cold and were frozen to death, and some horses fell into the valley on the ice and snow. Therefore, the transportation of materials is also very difficult, and there is still more than half of the road ahead, to solve the problem of food, we can only get out of this mountain road as soon as possible, and in front of us, we must capture the Black Stone Ridge Fort as soon as possible and open up the way forward...

The next day, due to the unclear situation, Zhao Ta did not launch a rash attack, he was worried that if the battle could not be won, the enemy army would increase the number of troops and then fight it would be time-consuming and laborious, so he decided to personally arrive close to reconnoitre, now fortunately, it is winter, the heavy snow covers the mountains and people are inaccessible, and this is only one road to pass, and he blocked the post shops along the way in advance, successfully preventing the news of their troops from leaking.

As soon as the day dawned, the mountain was shrouded in a layer of mist, and Zhao Ta quietly led Zhao Yan and a team of guards forward. In order to prevent detection by enemy troops, they all wore white cloaks. The rucksacks and helmets were also covered with white cloths, except for these. Zhao also asked for guns, bullet boxes, and water bottles. Even the pistol holster and the staff officer's picture bag were made white, and the rest of the body blended into the environment except for the black eyeballs that leaked out in the snow.

In order to make it easier to see the whole picture of this ancient road, they climbed the highest mountain nearby, and the higher they went, the stronger the wind became, and the people were blown like a straw to shake unsteadily, while the clouds above them seemed to be very low, revealing a strange blue light. Looking at the mountains, Heng Mountain is towering, the distant mountains are bright, the snow on the mountain reflects the sun, the weather is very heroic, suddenly feel magnificent, the beautiful and majestic scenery in the Taihang Mountain, often coexist.

When they reach the top of the mountain, the view is good. The snow is not shallow, and a white line winds from west to east overlooking the mountain, and the mountain road spirals back and forth without a starting point. There is no end in sight. In the lens of the telescope, the Black Stone Ridge seems to be close in front of you, but it is really a border pass, and the mountain is steep. And the road is rugged, and the fort is built on it. First, it is good for defense, and second, it is easy to look. After Liu Xiu of the Eastern Han Dynasty became emperor. As soon as possible, he asked his generals Du Mao and Wang Ba to guard the Flying Fox Pass and build pavilion barriers and beacon towers in Heishi Ridge. Since then, Blackstone Ridge has become a heavily guarded place for all dynasties.

The fortress seems to be to defend against the enemy in the north, only the east, west, and south three gates are opened, there is no north gate, the city wall is three zhang five or six so high, the circumference is about two hundred and forty steps, the bottom of the fortress is the road, the twists and turns, the width is only two or three zhang, and the narrow place only allows two cars to staggle. The fortress is full of rolling wood and stones, and when the enemy comes to attack, all they have to do is smash the stones down one by one.

There are several rows of blue-tiled stone houses in the fort, and there is a vacant lot in the south, which should be the school field. Now the news of the loss of Lingqiu should not have reached here, only a few sentries on the wall of the wall looked blankly at the road in the distance, maybe because of the cold, there are not a few people in the village, but Zhao Ta according to the number of barracks analysis, the defenders will not be less than a thousand. With more than 1,000 people guarding such a dangerous pass, it can be said that the army is strong.

Zhao Ta looked at it and sighed lightly, the terrain here is narrow, and it is difficult to deploy troops, even if there are firearms in hand, it is impossible to capture this fort without paying a price, and it may be difficult to break through in a short time. He looked east along the fort wall, and a huge gully appeared in front of him, the place where the gully was cut down was steep and steep, and there were stone walls on the east and west ridges, which were obviously part of the defense project of the Black Stone Ridge Fort. Of course, it may also be to block the south entrance and make business travelers exclusively at Blackstone Ridge Fort.

What aroused Zhao Ta's interest was that the gully was close to a small hill on the other side of them, the long grass exposed on the snow surface was withered and yellow, almost the same height as the Black Stone Ridge, it was a very good commanding height, if the artillery was erected on it, the whole fortress was under the cover of artillery fire, and from the south entrance to break in, you could attack the fortress from the rear, the mountain was gentle, the four fields were open, it was convenient to carry forward the firepower, although the wall was made of stone, but it was mostly a piece of stone, and it was difficult to resist the bombardment of the artillery solid shells.

"Tian Bin, can you get the artillery to that high ground?" Zhao Ta pointed to the hill on the edge of the ditch and asked.

"Lord Wang, the mountain there is steep, and the horse may not be able to pull it up, but the artillery can be dismantled, and it should be able to carry it with manpower!" Tian Bin carefully observed for a while and said.

"If I ask you to do it at night and not be spotted by the defenders of the fort?" Zhao asked again.

"Lord Wang, now the mountains are covered with snow, and it is very difficult to transport it during the day, and I am afraid that it will not work at night without raising fire, and if you don't get it, it will be destroyed and people will die!" Tian Bin shook his head and said in embarrassment.

"Hmph, if you can shoot the cannonball into the castle from the north, you can not do it, but if you can't do it, no matter what you think, you must pull the cannonball to the hill tonight, otherwise military law will be involved!" Zhao Ta straightened his face and said expressionlessly, in fact, he wanted to pretend to be more hideous, but his face was frozen now, and he really couldn't get it!

"Lord Wang, this..."Tian Bin saw that the Lord Wang no longer looked at him, and turned to Zhao Yan again, "Boss, do you think this can work?" ”

"The prince's order, who dares to disobey, I don't count what I said, you better think of a way yourself, tomorrow I also hope to hear the cannon on the mountain!" Zhao Yan spread out his hand and said helplessly, Tian Bin only complained about his life after hearing it, how could this cannon be used, he stared at the mountain in a daze.

"Let's withdraw, we won't be able to hide when the sun shines!" Zhao Ta saw that the staff officer had marked the terrain everywhere on the map, and said softly, if you lie down, everyone will have to freeze out...

The next day, when the Jurchens in the Black Stone Ridge Fort found that a large number of Xijing troops appeared on the mountain road, they were also startled, and hurriedly went to the village to defend, but they were not panicked, although there were many enemies, but they occupied a favorable position, and it was not so easy to pass from here!

When the Jin army at the south entrance just rushed to the wall, they saw three loud noises on the opposite hill, the fire flashed, and the big iron ball at the mouth of the cup roared, and a huge hole was knocked out in the wall that was just piled up, and the flying stone chips turned into sharp bullets, breaking the heads of several Jin soldiers who could not dodge... (To be continued......)