After learning the news that there was no one in Hengyuan Village, there were two opinions within the Perak Army on the issue of whether to go down the mountain to occupy Hengyuan Village. The first is to advocate occupation, believing that the Mongols should occupy Yokohara before the Mongol army, otherwise the Mongols will gain a firm foothold under the mountain, and the road in and out of the mountain will be firmly choked, and the Perak army will be sealed in the mountain. They believe that although the mountain and the outside world are not only through the mountain road of Yokohara Town, there are other hidden paths that lead to the plains below, and even wild trails that lead to the Tibetan area. However, these trails are extremely steep and can only be navigated by a small number of people. In addition to being economically unviable, it also makes little military sense. The main reason is that these trails are extremely difficult and dangerous, and even if they travel lightly over mountains and mountains, they are extremely depleting to the body, which will cause a sharp decrease in the physical strength of soldiers in a short period of time. This is also the reason why the hidden path of Liuliba is now abandoned by the Thunderbolt Army. Another opinion is that Hengyuan Town is not in danger to defend, and now that the war is raging at the foot of the mountain, the economy is withering, and the supply of grain and grass is also difficult, and the occupation of Hengyuan Village is really worth the loss. This group of people is mainly led by Shi Zhongshu, and represents the opinions of the mountain people. Both opinions have their own advantages and disadvantages, and no one can convince anyone.

Ouyang Xuan suppressed the dispute between the two opinions. In his opinion, it is better not to go down the mountain for the time being. However, out of respect for the former opinion, he still asked Dong Hu to bring a capable team to Hengyuan, in addition to reconnaissance and intelligence, by the way, scrape some nitrate on the earthen walls of the houses in the wall. At the same time, there were also surveying and mapping technicians from the construction company, who went together to survey the terrain and prepare for the next step in the construction of the fort ridge in Yokohara Town.

Ouyang Xuan explained in detail the reason for his decision, which won the recognition and support of everyone. In fact, he and the top management of the Perak Army both understood that the sooner they went down the mountain, the better. At present, although the development momentum in the mountains is fierce, there are hidden worries. In the short term, although there is no shortage of food in the mountains, and efforts to open up land have been intensified, with the increase in population and the development of various undertakings, coupled with the military operations of the Perak Army, food shortage is an inevitable problem. The gentle slopes in the mountains must be limited, and the climate is cold, and blindly burning the land will also cause a decline in land fertility, and grain production will only get lower and lower. If there is no food support, there can be no development at all. In addition, there is a shortage of salt, copper, zinc and other minerals in the mountains, and iron ore will be mined sooner or later. Only by getting out of the mountains as soon as possible can we avoid the dilemma of resource depletion. On the other hand, going down the mountain is also the need for the development and growth of the great cause of resisting Mongolia. If the Thunderbolt army has been trapped in the mountains, in addition to not being able to gain political momentum, it is more likely to be called a bandit like Xiong Ben.

More importantly, only by going outside the mountains can we obtain more strategic materials and have the capital to compete with the Mongolian army. Although the mountains are rich in minerals and abundant forests, it is really the first choice to avoid disasters and save lives in troubled times, but it can accommodate a limited population, and the location is very remote, and the transportation is very inconvenient, so it is really difficult to obtain strategic materials from the outside world. Take nitrate, the most important raw material for gunpowder, as an example, the current production potential of nitrate ore in the mountains has reached its limit, so that the output of gunpowder has not been increased. At present, whether it is mining, road construction or military production, a large amount of gunpowder is urgently needed. Lu Dezhi once mobilized the mountain people to scrape soil from the walls of old houses to boil nitrate, but most of the houses in the mountains are made of bamboo and wood, and there is very little nitrate that can be scraped, and only the rammed earth houses under the mountain can scrape a large amount of nitrate.

In addition to the lack of key raw materials, the biggest problem in the mountains compared to the plains under the mountains is the problem of production efficiency. For example, in grain production, due to the limitations of water, light, and heat resources, only one season of grain can be grown in the mountains, and only dry crops that require less water, such as sorghum, soybeans, and buckwheat, can only be planted, and the yield per mu is only half of the yield under the mountains, and it is not as good as the rice that can only be grown in the plains. The western Sichuan Plain under the mountain has a mild climate and fertile land, and since Li Bing and his son built the Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Project, it is even more water and drought from people, known as the "country of abundance", and has become an important grain tax place to support the hegemony of the Qin Dynasty. Chengdu Fulu, including Chongqing, has 61 counties in three prefectures, eleven prefectures under its jurisdiction, with the western Sichuan Plain as the core, and is the population and tax center of the two Song dynasties second only to the Jiangnan region. It's just that since the Mongol prince Kuoduan slaughtered Shu, the Mongolian army invaded several times, and the wanton slaughter turned the prosperous Shu land into a hell on earth. If the Thunderbolt army can control the western Sichuan Plain under the mountain, it can lay a solid foundation for survival and development, and then continue to grow and develop until the Mongols are completely defeated.

The town of Yokohara will surely be the first foothold of the Thunderbolt Army in the plains. But now is not the time to get out of the mountains. With the current combat strength of the Thunderbolt army and the steep terrain, it is more than enough to hold on, but it is simply unable to confront the Mongolian army in the plains. Now to develop down the mountain, in addition to exposing his strength prematurely, he will inevitably clash with Xiong Ben, who occupies Yongkang City and Hengyuan Town. Although the Xiong Ben bandits do all kinds of evil, they are in the name of the government after all. Xiong Ben is still the prison town of Hengyuan Town, and if the Thunderbolt Army occupies Hengyuan Village, he will inevitably complain to the bureaucrats of Genting City with his urine, and when the time comes, he will not be able to prevent Pan's system from falling into the well.

Not wanting to openly turn his face with the government is not the main reason why Ouyang Xuan does not take Yokohara, but now is not the best time. In his memory, around the beginning of winter, General Atahu, the marshal of the Mongolian army, led his army into Shu to rendezvous with Liu Heima in Chengdu. At that time, the Mongol army will use Chengdu as a base to attack cities and seize land everywhere to prepare for the military operation of the Mongol Great Khan Meng Ge to attack Shu in the spring of the following year. The Mongol army confronted the Song army in the prefectures and counties east and north of Chengdu City, and placed the direction of the attack on Chongqing Prefecture, Qiongzhou and other prefectures and counties west and south of Chengdu City. Under the offensive of Atahu and Liu Heima, the prefectures and counties west of Chengdu were either broken or surrendered, and most of them fell into the hands of the Mongols. Although the Mongol army led by these two men was mainly cavalry, they had a large number of engineering troops composed of Jin, Khitan and Han people in the north, and they had a strong siege ability. Not to mention the fragile rammed earth and wooden walls of Yongkang City and Hengyuan Village, even the brick-covered city walls of Chongqing Mansion City could not withstand the siege weapons of the Mongolian army.

Ouyang Xuan's plan was for the Thunderbolt army to bury its head in development for a while, and after the Mongolian army drove Xiong Ben away from Hengyuan Village, he would choose the opportunity to sneak attack, recapture it from the strong and weak Mongolian army, and quickly build a fortress with cement. During this time, Ouyang Xuan has been urging Li San'er, the manager of the industrial company, to increase the production capacity of the Wanjiaping cement plant, requiring that the cement hoarded at that time can meet the needs of building the fortress. He believed that with the fastened fortress and the heavy artillery that was being trial-produced, he would definitely be able to resist the attack of the Mongolian army, and then gain a firm foothold at the foot of the mountain. Regaining the lost territory from the Mongols, not Xiong Ben, although it is not enough to silence Xiong Ben's complaint, it is believed that at least it can silence the bureaucrats in Genting City and Chongqing Mansion.