The Tang army traveled along the Telman River for another two days, and Luo Zhentan, the lord of the Honey Protection Country, led 5,000 troops to join, so far the Tang army under the command of Gao Xianzhi has expanded to 20,000 people.

It's just that the road is getting harder and harder, and the peaks and ridges of the Hindu Kush are crisscrossed, the terrain is getting higher and higher, and the valleys are getting narrower.

It's the height of summer, but the wind is howling in the uplifted mountainside, the frozen ground is not melting for thousands of years, and the vegetation in the valley is becoming scarcer. The Hidden Tribes and the Protectors of the Secret Nation need to bring their own supplies to participate in the expedition, and their supplies are yaks and argali, grazing on the plateau, and the grass and trees are scarce, and these foods are not all starved to death?

There was also the problem that the valley was narrow and could only advance in a long serpentine formation, and the army gathered together and walked slowly like centipedes. After discussing with Li Siye, Wang Zhengjian, Cheng Qianli and others, Gao Xianzhi decided to advance in three ways, and finally met in front of Bole River in front of Lianyunbao.

Gao Xianzhi immediately gave an order to Zhao Chongyu, the deputy military envoy of Shule: "You take 5,000 people from the Shule army to advance along the Beigu Mountain Road, and rest and wait in place after arriving at Bole River." ”

Zhao Chongxuan crossed his hand to receive the order, raised his head and glanced at General Li beside Gao Xianzhi, Li Siye waved at him and said, "Go ahead, pay attention to safety." ”

Gao Xianzhi also ordered Jia Chonghuan, the envoy of the transfer city: "You lead the transfer battalion headquarters and a part of the Qiuzi army to go from the Red Buddha Hall Road. ”

"Whoa!"

He stood on a large rock and shouted to the generals around him: "The rest of the people, as well as the generals, the friends of the Hidden Kingdom and the Protector Country, follow me along the south bank of the river from the Protector Country Post Road, and by the 15th of July, the armies must reach the Bole River, and those who violate the deadline shall be punished for disobedience!" ”

The three armies responded in unison in front of the river beach: "Whoa! ”

The battalions and regiments began to reorganize and assemble, and in order to facilitate the march, all the flags including the six flags were wrapped and put away. The watershed formed by the army at the foot of the mountain turned into three paths, and it marched forward along the lofty mountains.

During the march, Gao Xianzhi, Bian Lingcheng and Li Siye deliberately climbed a gentle mountain to climb high and look, and the ridges of the mountains were winding under their eyes, but they were all cloudy and misty in the distance, and they could not recognize their true faces. At their feet, their armies walked through the ravines between the mountains and rivers, like ant colonies foraging for food.

"Compared to the towering mountains, people are really small."

"Although the ants are small, they can collapse the embankment for thousands of years."

Gao Xianzhi smiled: "Yes." ”

The route of the three armies was a bow back bent to the extreme, and when the humans could not conquer the sky overhead, the terrain was a big problem for them that could not be solved. For example, in front of him, in order to cheer up the soldiers, Gao Xianzhi pointed to the ridge less than six miles away and said, "When we get to the back of that mountain, we will make a short repair." ”

Who knew that the road, which was less than six miles, was infinitely long in twists and turns, and there were often problems along the way, some of which were so narrow that they could hardly be called paths, and only one person could pass through them. The horses carrying dry food were frightened by the deep stream under their feet, and they didn't dare to move forward, and the soldiers had to pull and beat, and the team stopped for a while, and Gao Xianzhi, who was anxious, scolded in the rear: "What's the matter!" If you can't get by, you won't find a way! ”

At this time, too, a lean horse, exhausted of his strength during the long journey, fell with his neck crooked, and tumbled down the hillside, like a tumbling stone into the turbulent waters of the Telman.

"My horse!" A soldier wanted to chase down, but was stopped by the robe next to him, and he sat on the edge of the mountain rock with tears in his eyes and cried: "My horse, I have only bought it for three years!" I've only been buying it for three years! ”

This is a small soldier of Li Siye's personal army, Li Siye pulled the black fat past him, raised his horsewhip and slapped him: "Cry a fart, your head is still on your shoulder, you shouldn't be happy!" ”

"But my horse is dead, and the food is gone!"

"After you go back, you will be given money to buy horses, and the food will be shared by the people who travel with you!" He immediately turned to Yan Xiaosi and said, "Don't let him go hungry." ”

Yan Xiaosi laughed and replied, stretched out his hand and dragged the soldier from the ground and reprimanded: "The dry food I brought is for you, don't embarrass me again." ”

The soldier was stunned for a while, so he had to follow behind Yan Xiaosi with a knife, and the soldiers around him made fun of him.

At this time, many soldiers were lying on the rock wall retching, and their faces looked extremely bad, as if they were patients in danger. Gao Xianzhi frowned and looked into the distance, the road was still far away, but most of them were already exhausted. He had no choice but to order in a loud voice: "Rest in place!" Medical officer, medical officer! Go and see why so many people are dizzy and nauseous. ”

The medical officer squeezed over the mountain road with a medicine box and shouted to the soldiers who were blocking the way: "Let me go and save people!" ”

The soldiers were clinging to the cliff wall, the snow line on the mountain was only a few feet high from them, and there were ice cubes hanging upside down from the rock crevices protruding above, and they broke the ice pillars on tiptoe, eating dry food with their left hand and drinking ice with their right hand, their fingers were red from the cold, and the blood in their hearts was still burning and cold.

Gao Xianzhi and Li Siye also checked the situation along the narrow mountain road, how many soldiers were dizzy and had difficulty moving, so along the way, there were indeed many people with these symptoms, the situation was mild or severe, and it may depend on everyone's physical fitness.

The medical officer put down the medical box and crossed his hand at them: "General, deputy envoy." ”

"What disease did they all have, and why were they dizzy and nauseous?"

"It may be caused by the lack of adaptation to the water and soil, coupled with the fatigue of climbing."

Li Siye added next to him: "It should be altitude sickness. ”

"What's the reaction?"

"It's mountain sickness."

The medical officer finally reacted and hurriedly said: "That's right, it's mountain sickness, and those of us who have never been to such a high place may get sick." ”

Gao Xianzhi didn't care what was going on with this disease, and asked directly, "How to treat it?" ”

The medical officer turned his head to look at Li Siye, but General Li replied, "Carry it hard." ”

Gao Xianzhi also nodded and said, "The illness that can be carried over is not considered a disease." ”

After the soldiers rested for a while, Gao Xianzhi immediately urged them to hurry: "Set off immediately, the people with headaches and dizziness have taken off their armor, and the whole army slows down, don't run and walk violently!" ”

The soldiers who were lying on the cliff stood up and moved slowly with the reins of their pack horses, crossing two mountain passes along the way. The mountain passes and glaciers overlapped, the thick hard snow shell submerged the knees, and the eyes reflected by the red sun on the snow pierced people's eyes, Duan Xiu blocked his eyes with his practical hands, bent down and grabbed a handful of snowflakes and stuffed them into his mouth, feeling sweet and tasteful.

They stood on the mountainside and put their hands on the pergola and looked into the distance, the jade ribbon-like curved water of the Bole River appeared in sight, and on the undulating hill on the other side of the river, there was a faint city made of brown earth and rocks. And this scene can only be discerned when the clouds are light.

This is the first target of the Tang army's trip, Lianyunbao, although the high mountain is estimated to be more than 40 miles away from them, but after all, it is already in sight, and everyone has hope.

The Shule army led by Zhao Chongyu had already arrived first on the tidal flat in front of the Bole River, and the joy of everyone was needless to say. It has been 20 days since the three armies marched separately, and this ultra-long-distance rally has reached the end, which is a joy that others cannot experience.

In the early morning of the second day, another Tang army led by Jia Chonghuan rushed to the river, and after the three armies converged, they began to repair, and each battalion and regiment counted the number of people. A total of 13 people, including the Hidden Guards and the Protector of Secrets, were killed in an accident, and more than 100 were seriously ill and injured, which shows that the other two route armies also experienced hardships and dangers.

Due to the melting of the glaciers in the summer, the water of the Bole River has swelled, the water surface has become five or six feet wider, and the current has become more and more turbulent. At this moment, even the sky was overcast, and the rushing waves of the river turned blue-black.

Everyone stood side by side with horses holding horses, looking at the tumbling river with a sad face, Li Siye tugged at his chin and beard and thought hard about countermeasures, they traveled thousands of miles, did not carry baggage, there were no woods nearby, and they could not find materials even to build a pontoon bridge.

Bian Lingcheng, the supervising army, put the dust on his back, put his hands on his sleeves and trembled: "The soldiers are fast, and now they are blocked in front of the river, and they can't afford to wait for the dry food they carry, how should this be good?" ”

Gao Xianzhi put his hands behind his back and said calmly: "Since we set out on the expedition, we have not sacrificed the sky and the flag to the river god, and later we will kill three animals to sacrifice the river god, and the water level will naturally fall." ”