After eating the dry food, Gongzi sent two retainers, and Si Mang first sent ten Shiwu commanders who could ride horses and were still in good health from the whole army, and went to Yicheng with twenty horses to contact the government and ask for money and food. Because they have to walk more than 100 miles of mountain roads, they don't know the bad luck along the way, everyone has a full set of crossbow arrows and halberds, and those who have armor also take off their armor and put them on. As the sun rose and the sun shone into the valley, the twelve men rode away on twenty horses and galloped away towards the city below the mountain.

In the southern section of the Taihang Mountains, there are Taiyue Mountains in the north and Zhongtiao Mountain in the south, all of which are on the edge of the mountain, blocking the road down the mountain. There is a dustpan-shaped slope between Taiyue and Zhongtiao, which can reach the foot of Taihang Mountain and enter the Fenshui Basin relatively smoothly. There is an ancient kingdom in this land, the Tang Kingdom, which is said to be the fief of Emperor Yao, and the so-called Yao Tang is also. In the eighth year of King Cheng of Zhou, the Duke of Zhou destroyed the Tang State and moved the Tang people to Du Di near Haojing, and the Zhou people were migrated to the Tang Dynasty. The Jin Kingdom moved several times on this slope, and the first capital to enter the historical record was Yi, but that was three hundred years after the founding of the country.

As the capital of Jin, Yi did not have a good reputation, because at that time there was another larger city in the Jin Kingdom, Quwo, which was managed by Uncle Huan, the uncle of the Marquis of Jin. Wing and Quwo are dozens of miles apart, and they are all on this slope. After 67 years of open and secret struggle for several generations, Qu Wo finally extinguished his wings and was recognized by Zhou Tianzi and legally became the new Duke of Jin. This year, Duke Qi Huan became the overlord of the world. And the newly promoted Jin Gong is the grandfather of the next overlord Jin Wengong.

Chong'er's father, Jin Xiangong, killed all the original Jin Marquis' family, and he moved from Quwo to Jiang, not far from Yicheng. Jiang became the new capital of the Jin Kingdom for 85 years, and later moved to Xintian (known as Xinjiang in history) at the intersection of Hun and Fen. When the three families were divided into Jin, only two cities were left in Jin, Jiang and Quwo. Later, even these two cities were confiscated, and the Jin people were first moved to Duanshi, and then to Tunliu. The sloping land where the Jin Kingdom started was owned by Korea, including Tang, Yi, Jiang (new and old), Quwo and other cities.

The group rode for half a day and reached the edge of the plateau. Since it was not safe to ride a horse down the mountain, ten sergeants led twenty horses down the mountain on foot. After descending the mountain, they saw a city, and they rode on horseback, and found a post station outside the city, and the retainers showed the Korean festival symbols, and the party was given free food and lodging here. When I inquired with the post officer, it turned out that this was not Yicheng, but Tang City. Yicheng is twenty miles to the south, while Jiangcheng is twenty-five miles to the west.

The retainers returned to the courtyard and conveyed the news delivered by the post officials to the soldiers, and they thought that since the distance between Yicheng and Jiangcheng was about the same, it was better to go directly to Jiangcheng, which was larger, had more goods, and was more likely to profit from Jiangcheng. Naturally, those soldiers would not have any opinions, so they could only act according to the plan.

The Wei army had been camping on the outskirts of Duanshi for three days. After taking the white grass root and resting for several consecutive days, the edema of most soldiers has completely subsided, and the symptoms of chest tightness and shortness of breath have also been greatly improved.

Si Mang took three doses of medicinal decoction in a row, and the edema had all subsided. It seems that the problem of disease has been solved for the time being, but the problem of food is difficult to solve. He could only let the whole army eat one meal a day, eat two liters, and maintain a half-full state. Except for the daily early morning point army, the drill has completely stopped. One soldier lacks physical strength and has no food in his belly; The second is also unwilling to irritate the surrounding cities and cause unnecessary trouble. After a long day of nothing, Si Mang inspected the battalions, said some words to encourage morale, and took a look at the condition of the wounded and sick soldiers. Although the condition of most soldiers has improved, the condition of more than 200 soldiers has not improved, and even worsened.

Only those merchants seemed to have nothing to do, and every day they rode out of the mountains and sold them in a city, which was quite expensive, and two or three hundred dollars came into their accounts every day. Si Mang wanted to ask the doctor to come back and have a look, but unfortunately there was nothing in the camp, and the money of those merchants was not easy to come by, and it often took a whole day to get rid of it; Second, it's really a drop in the bucket, and he's embarrassed to ask them for help. He looked forward to the news from the mountain every day.

At noon that day, I heard a horse galloping towards me. When Si Mang saw it, his heart sank: there must have been an accident. The man was one of the chiefs who had been sent down the mountain to help with the provisions, and it was evident that nothing was going well for him when he returned alone. The man took the envoy's amulet, and went all the way past the camps, and dismounted before the middle camp. He threw himself into the camp and said, "I ordered us to be traitors and detain them as much as possible." Wei Shu leaned back slightly and escaped on horseback. ”

Si Mang hurriedly asked for details, but the man couldn't say clearly, only knew that after the two retainers entered the city, a team of soldiers came out soon after, came to surround them, held their horses, and arrested them into the city. Ten soldiers resisted with all their might, and finally snatched out a few horses, but although some of them grabbed the horses, they were not good at riding, and they fell off their horses after running a short distance, and finally he was the only one who escaped.

When Si Mang heard this, he was anxious and said, "What city is it?" ”

The man replied, "Or maybe it's Jiangcheng." ”

Si Mang asked, "Why didn't you go to Yicheng?" ”

The man replied, "After we descend the mountain, we will stay in Tang City." There is a gentleman to consult the post officer, answer Yicheng and Jiangcheng are more than 20 miles away from Tangcheng, Mr. said, if it is, go to Jiangcheng, and get a lot of profits! ”

Si Mang had no other way but to ask Gongzi to take the blame and the generals to discuss. Gongzi was also very surprised, and said, "Why is Jiang Ling rude?" ”

Si Mang said: "If the matter is urgent, it must be obeyed." The ministers were willing to lead their soldiers down the mountain overnight and break through the city to repay their grievances. If it is delayed, it is afraid that people's lives will not be saved. ”

One of Gongzi's retainers said: "There are many soldiers in Jiangcheng, and I am afraid that it will be difficult for the enemy." ”

Si Mang said: "The only battle today, now it doesn't know the truth and reality, and it is afraid to enter me." It is not my Wei back alliance, and it is not my aid. Childe knows it! ”

Childe blamed: "Why is it here, why is it here!" He shook his head and sighed. The other retainers were also noncommittal and took their leave.

Si Mang ordered that the collective able-bodied fighters be transferred from the whole army to the camp as soon as possible, and the crossbow arrows of the whole battalion were concentrated and handed over to them. The rest of the soldiers waited for the dawn to all set off down the mountain and walked according to the journey. Then he asked the people who sent the letter to Lingjun, and asked the chief to report the encounter of going down the mountain again. Then he said: "The minister has no other plan, only a battle, may Mr. help me!" ”

Mr. Jin said: "Wei Shu is ordered by the king to follow the captain, and the captain has an order, and he does not dare to resign." Listen to the plan! ”

Si Mang said: "I have many sick soldiers, and there are few people who can fight. And when it is a battlefield, the soldiers are strong and thick. But when the false is real, the real is false, and the many parties are afraid of it, and then send an envoy to say it, you have to get out! ”

Mr. Cao said: "Wei's words are true. I would like to follow his plan. The other gentlemen saw that Mr. Jin and Mr. Cao Er said this, and they had no other opinions.

When Si Mang was discussing the specific plan with Zhumenke, a team of about 2,000 people from different Shiwu had gradually gathered outside the camp.

Si Mang ordered that those who would ride horses would come out of the ranks. About 300 people came out of the ranks. Si Mang ordered each to lead a horse. Appointed the officers of the Shiwu battalion and other officers, killed two cows in the middle camp, and more than 2,000 people ate dry food in broth, and set off overnight.

Three hundred cavalry patrolled ahead, and although the mountain road was rugged, it was still quite clear. About 2,000 men followed closely for a while. When he reached the side of the mountain, Si Mang ordered the whole army to rest, let the horses graze, make an appointment with everyone, and then go down the mountain after dark to meet him. He and his disciples laid down their arms and walked down the mountain first.

They were dressed in rags, like a group of mountain people descending the mountain in groups. Although I passed by some towns on the way, I didn't pay attention. After descending the mountain, Tangcheng is impressively ahead, and there are many surrounding towns, about thousands of households. Si Mang made an appointment with all the guests to gather and disperse, and dispersed to find out the news. After gathering and dispersing several times, I have an understanding of the terrain and situation of all parts of the city, and I know that although it is a border town, because it has not suffered from military disasters for a long time, there are not many soldiers, and the training is insufficient. Knowing this, Si Mang decided to sneak attack and take Tang City!

After the city gate was closed, Si Mang and others returned to the bottom of the mountain and waited for the troops to descend the mountain at the mountain pass.

After eating a few bites of frozen dry food, they hid in the darkness of the night, observing the surrounding situation and trying to avoid the news of the troops' descent from being revealed.

The early spring mornings are exceptionally cold. With the sound of drums in the city, the soldiers of Kaesong waved their hands, stomped their feet, and opened the city gates. He also asked: "When you are young, you must get some ginger soup to keep out the cold!" The city gate guard scolded: "Dog slave, if you make a promise!" Allow your woman to get her hands on it! The crowd laughed.

Outside the city gate, many mountain people were already waiting to enter the city, some carrying burdens, some carrying baskets, and some with bare hands. The soldiers asked everyone to line up and pay taxes to enter the city: those who have goods will take one hundred and one, and those who have no goods will take one penny. After collecting the customs duties of several people, one person suddenly said: "Do you hear the sound of horses' hooves? ”

Another sneered, "When will you hear the sound of horses' hooves?" ”

The man said: "I have been giving birth, and I have heard of it!" …… There is the sound of horses' hooves! ”

Someone next to him said: "I also heard it!" ”

So some men went up to the city and reported it to the doorman. Others still collect taxes as usual. In the morning mist, the sound of horses' hooves became clearer and clearer, and soon a group of horse troops appeared in the morning mist. The doorman was a little surprised, it was the first time he had seen such a large horse army, and he didn't know where it came from. He ordered: "Let it stop!" ”

So a soldier ran to the front and shouted, "Stop! Ma Jun stopped! Before he could scream twice, a crossbow rang out, and the soldier rolled over and fell to the ground. This frightened the doorman and screamed, "Guancheng, Guancheng!" "When he ran up to the tower, he was about to beat the drum, but he found that the drum was gone. In the middle of the search, he received a heavy blow to the back of the head and passed out next to the drum. - but a doorman first hidden.

The soldiers under the city heard the doorman call "Guancheng", and saw the horse army rushing forward, and the soldier was shot down, panicked for a while, only a few people were still calm, and hurriedly pushed the mountain people who were about to enter the city out, and said: "Guancheng, Guancheng!" When the mountain people saw the horse army coming, they shouted and ran away, but eighty percent of them ran into the city, crowded at the door, and could not close the door. The soldiers pushed them outward, where they could move. Seeing that the horse army was approaching the city, the soldiers shouted and scattered and ran away. The mountain people who entered the city were actually the disciples of Xinling Jun, and they quickly occupied the whole city with the horse army.