Is this Hangu Pass?

Cheng Tieniu looked up at the pass in front of him. The trees on the loess slopes, which cannot be seen in the south of the Yangtze River, are lush and green, and there is a narrow passage into the deep earth mountains. This is where the Song army ended.

"Tie Niu, you hurry back and report to the captain, just say that we have arrived at Hangu Pass." The cavalry company commander said to Cheng Tieniu.

"Company commander, is this really Hangu Pass? It doesn't look like there's a pass. Cheng Tieniu asked with some concern.

Song Jun's cultural education was all the time. There is a relevant place name literacy when marching, and a corresponding topographical narration when resting. Cheng Tieniu still remembers that when the study committee member told about Luoyang, he said that Luoyang has the danger of three rivers and eight passes. The three rivers refer to the Luohe River, the Yi River, and the Yellow River, and the entire Luoyang Basin is a small plain that these three rivers have impacted. As for the eight passes, the most famous ones are the Tiger Prison Pass that the Song army has passed through, and the pass in front of them, which is said to be the Hangu Pass.

"If you want to go, you will go." The commander of the cavalry company said angrily, but he could hear that there was a lack of confidence in his tone.

Seeing that the company commander still insisted, Cheng Tieniu replied: "Company commander, give me the official document." I'll go now. ”

Soon after, Cheng Tieniu and other cavalry squads went straight to Luoyang. Before leaving, Cheng Tieniu still had a lot of ideas, and when it was time to set off, he and his comrades-in-arms were nervous. According to the latest intelligence, the Mongol army did not withdraw from the Luoyang Basin, but remained here. Even if he saw the Song army's infantry brigade easily defeat the Mongolian cavalry, the Song army's cavalry team did not have the slightest arrogance. Compared with the accuracy of cavalry shooting, the cavalry of the Song army was confident. Compared with the numbers, the cavalry of the Song army had no confidence at all.

"Walk by the Yellow River." Cheng Tieniu gave the order not long after he set off. The cavalry squad turned in the direction of the river. In order to avoid engaging the Mongol army, the military education carried out by the troops had an effect. Cheng Tieniu knew that the Luoyang Basin was a small plain through which the Yellow River passed. The flattest place is the south bank of the Yellow River. If the Mongol cavalry appeared, the Song army would have been able to detect it as soon as possible.

There was no trace of the Mongol cavalry on the way, but when passing through Mengjin, I saw the Song army engineering team building a bridge over the Yellow River. The bridges on the Yellow River are called 'river bridges', and the "Six Classics of the Tang Dynasty" records that there are three river bridges in the world. Mengjin is located on the edge of the Yellow River from the mountains and plains, and there used to be one here. It is said that there were still in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Now the Mengjin River Bridge has long been gone, and the Song army is building a pontoon bridge in Mengjin. Cheng Tieniu and the others also made the horse stop to catch his breath, and they themselves sat on horseback and watched the river bridge.

There was a river bank in the middle of the Yellow River in Mengjin, and the Song army, like the ancients, made full use of this river bank and divided the pontoon bridge into two sections. When blocking the Yellow River, the Song army brought a large number of iron chains. This march into Luoyang also brought a lot. Numerous wooden boats anchored in the river, strung together with several thick chains, and planked on them. Although the project has not yet been fully completed, the general foundation has been completed.

After having the experience of building embankments to cut off the Yellow River, Cheng Tieniu and other cavalry did not sigh about such a large amount of work. The so-called lack of people's hearts, the cavalry even talked about other problems, "How long will it take tens of thousands of people to complete this pontoon bridge?" ”

Those who are proficient in war examples tell the story of the past, "I heard that Kublai Khan also erected three pontoon bridges on the Yangtze River, and after walking for a few days, he was still attacked by the Taiwei halfway, killing and wounding more than 10,000 people and horses. ”

Although they didn't say very supportive words, looking at everyone's expressions, I still wanted to lead the horse over and walk the pontoon bridge. But they are soldiers after all, and they know that there is a mission at this time. Restraining the horse to watch, but also under the pretext of letting the horse rest, there is no possibility of explaining leading the horse across the pontoon. What's more, there is also a clear sign written on the outside of the construction site where the bridge is being repaired, and the patrol force is checking back and forth on the periphery, and they will be stopped and questioned if they come up.

Leaving Mengjin, Cheng Tieniu continued to hurry. In the evening, we arrived at Luoyang City. I sent the official document up, rested in Luoyang City for another night, and returned the next day. Then to Mengjin, I saw that the pontoon bridge deck had been basically paved, and the periphery of the bridge began to set up military stations, build lookouts, and protect the bridgehead. Looking at the entire pontoon bridge, I saw that the Song army also began to base troops on the riverbank.

"The captain is really cautious." Cheng Tieniu praised. There is a military station in the middle of the river, and even if the two ends of the pontoon bridge are taken away, the pontoon bridge will not be lost.

After not looking for too long, Cheng Tieniu and the others rushed back to Hangu Pass, and saw that the side of the road thirty miles from Hangu Pass to Luoyang had already begun to be filled with straw bags to set up camps. Cheng Tieniu was speechless for a while, he came from Haizhou with the troops. The Song army started from the grain-producing area of Guide Mansion to Kaifeng, and there was one such roadside military station every thirty miles. When marching into Luoyang, there was also one such military station every thirty miles on the roadside. Hangu Pass was the westernmost stronghold of the Song army along the Yellow River at this time, and if there was even a military station here, it would be much more comfortable to march in the future.

In the next few days, Cheng Tieniu and these cavalrymen went back and forth between the military stations. Although the accommodation conditions of the newly built military station are basically zero. But I was able to eat a hot meal and drink hot water here. The cavalry of other units also rested here, and everyone was able to exchange the latest military information.

Intelligence is an extremely important thing on the battlefield, and after exchanges, there is no need to even get orders from above, and Cheng Tieniu and other cavalry can see the situation clearly. Captain Zhao did not let the army foolishly chase after the back of the Mongolian army's ass to eat dirt, he first ordered the troops to seize the various passes, to make sure that the Mongolian army did not run away from Luoyang, a place where he was unfamiliar. Then let the troops build a military station along the road to Luoyang and spread a large net.

"These brothers, where do you think the Mongol army is?" Cheng Tieniu has been running around in the military station in the west for all these years, and he has not seen the movement of the Mongolian army for the time being.

"I think they're probably in the east, right? We had seen the Mongol cavalry far away in the east, but there was a military order not for us to chase them, so we saw them from a distance. A cavalryman from the east said.

"We haven't seen the Mongols on our side." Cheng Tieniu said with some envy. He may not really want to fight, but he doesn't have the experience that others have, so he can't help but feel as if he is missing something.

"If that's the case, I think it's possible that the Mongol army is in the southwest." Said a young soldier. I saw him sitting with his legs crossed, it seemed that he should have been injured on the inner thigh when he was riding a horse, and the Great Song cavalry had this experience. Cheng Tieniu looked at the young soldier carefully, and he was a little puzzled why he suddenly sent such a rookie out at this stage. Even if it's training, you can't train on the battlefield.

"This brother, I'm engaged in surveying and mapping. Not cavalry. The young soldier said to Cheng Tieniu.

"You ......" Cheng Tieniu was surprised in his heart, he didn't say anything, and the young soldier opposite actually knew what Cheng Tieniu was thinking. Can this guy hear what others have to say?

But the young soldier did not explain this, he continued the topic, "The Mongolian cavalry is the most unexpected, now we have only just begun to cast the net, all the troops are on the side of the road, if you use the net to compare, our net now only has a few ropes. Compared to us, the Mongol army is the head of the land, and we should be able to avoid it. If they had shown up a few times in the east, they would probably have concentrated their forces in the west. ”

"You're talking about it like being able to pinch it." Cheng Tieniu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Just because they show their faces in the east, can they be sure that the Mongolian cavalry will put the main force in the west?" ”

In the face of such a refutation, the young soldier was not discouraged, but was a little high-spirited. He said: "To the east of Luoyang is Gong County, and now our army has several battalions at that pass. With the weapons in the hands of the Mongol army, none of them could break through the pass guarded by 1,000 of our army. Brothers, if the Mongol army didn't know that the weapons in their hands were too far behind ours, they would have rushed up to fight with us a long time ago, how could they hide in Tibet. ”

Cheng Tieniu thought about it, this is indeed the truth. He asked, "Well, what does that have to do with them in the west?" ”

"Since the Mongols are not fools, hiding in the east is equivalent to jumping into the net, and as soon as the main force is discovered, they will die. The west is different, as long as you escape, it is Shaanxi. I heard that there are now two roads leading to the west, one is Hangu Pass, and the other is along the beach of the Yellow River. The Mongols are also people, and they are also afraid of death. If the Mongol army could not determine the way to retreat, how could they fight in Luoyang with peace of mind? But listening to the words of several brothers, our army has blocked all exits. Then the Mongol army must first find an exit for their lives. I think it was with this in mind that the Lieutenant ordered us to concentrate on building the station first. As long as there were 500 soldiers in the station, the 5,000 Mongol troops could not break it. When the military station is rolled out, the Mongolian army will have only one way to die! ”

The young soldier talked eloquently, some parts of which Cheng Tieniu could understand, and some parts that he couldn't understand for the time being. However, people can say so many things, Cheng Tieniu has been impressed by this young soldier.

At this point, it's almost over. The surveyors, including the young soldiers, all got up to operate the equipment that Cheng Tieniu couldn't understand, and Cheng Tieniu was also ready to leave. He walked a few steps out, then ran back and asked the young soldier, "This brother, may I ask your surname and what is your name?" ”

The young soldier replied, "This brother, my name is Liu Pet. ”

"Liu Pet. Liu Pet. Cheng Tieniu repeated it twice, and suddenly remembered that he hadn't reported his family name yet, and hurriedly said: "This Brother Liu, my name is Cheng Tieniu." ”

"It turned out to be Brother Cheng." Liu Pet took the initiative to stretch out his hand and shake hands with Cheng Tieniu.

Leaving from the military station, Cheng Tieniu thought about what Liu Pet told on the road, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it made sense. At this point, we have already walked to the road sign. The Song army nailed road signs ten miles away from the military station. Let everyone know the distance to come out.

Thinking of Liu Chong's prediction that the main force of the Mongolian army was in the west, Cheng Tieniu also felt unhappy, and he said: "According to the regulations, look at the banners on both sides. ”

As soon as the words fell, the person in charge of the signal observer said in a hurried voice: "Squad leader, the alarm signal has been raised at the military station on our way!" ”

Liu Pet looked up to the west, and sure enough, he saw two wolf smoke rising from the position of the military station in the west. This signal meant only one thing, and the station was attacked by more than 500 enemies.