Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3295 The inevitable coincidence

There are not many roads in Zhongtiao Mountain, and there is only one proper road in the Han Dynasty.

Of course, Cao's army's main camp was built right in front of the road, blocking it tightly.

Cao's army was not short of manpower, so setting up camp on the road was a necessity. At the same time, there were some additional benefits to setting up camp on the road, which was that it would be more convenient to get water and transport.

This official road in Zhongtiao Mountain was not built in the Han Dynasty, but was the Qin Chi Road of that time.

After Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, he ordered the construction of a highway with Xianyang as the center, connecting various places.

Since it is called "Chidao", it must be able to accommodate not only horses but also vehicles, and the size of the vehicle depends to some extent on the size of the horse's butt. If the vehicle is too big, it will be loose, and if it is too small, the horse will feel uncomfortable and it will easily tip over. Therefore, the road standard of Qin Chidao is actually determined by the horse's butt, which may be another way of saying that the butt determines the head.

Of course, after so many years of exchanges, especially after Fei Qian opened up Yinshan Mountain, the trade between the north and south of Hedong made this almost abandoned road not only repaired, but also expanded. However, Fei Qian only expanded such a main road and did not intend to build a second passage in Zhongtiao Mountain. On the one hand, one passage was enough, and on the other hand, with the current level of technology, it would consume a lot of manpower and material resources to open such an official road...

Of course, Sima Yi and Hao Zhao would not take this path.

  So is this the only road on Zhongtiao Mountain?

Not really, there are some "unorthodox" trails and herb-collecting paths in Zhongtiao Mountain.

Zhongtiao Mountain is a flat mountain range that extends from the southwest river to the northeast, and its altitude is not too high.

Sima Yi, Hao Zhao, and the hussars they led did not have any fear of such a high mountain at first. But after they actually walked in, they found that it was not as easy as they had imagined.

Beneath the lush vegetation, woods filled with singing birds and fragrant flowers, and beautiful natural scenery, crises are lurking.

There were no positioning instruments, no so-called detailed maps, and all we could rely on was the approximate sense of direction provided by the sun and stars...

Fortunately, Sima Yi brought the Qiang people with him.

The indigenous Qiang people performed better than ordinary hussars in this environment, and they were the first to discover a path for collecting herbs.

The herb-collecting trail is just a general term, and it does not mean that only herb-collectors go there.

The difference between a small path and a herb-collecting trail is that you can still roughly see the outline of a road on a small path, while the so-called herb-collecting trail will basically be covered with weeds and vegetation, and only people who are familiar with the terrain will know it.

The herb-collecting path is basically a straight line, so some climbing is inevitable.

People are fine, but it is a bit difficult to walk on horses.

Many places were like crawling on a cliff. People could pass through, but horses could not walk. In order to ensure a certain degree of mobility, they could not abandon the horses completely. So Sima Yi and Hao Zhao had to divide their troops again, leaving some horses and soldiers in the mountains, and only carrying common items and dry food, as well as those horses that were relatively strong and obeyed orders, continued to move forward.

That's right, Hao Zhao and Sima Yi, who were slowly groping forward, were planning to bypass Zhongtiao Mountain's northern defense system through the herb-collecting route, invade Cao's Zhongtiao Mountain camp from the south, and give Cao's army a surprise.

Sometimes they had to take a detour to avoid being seen by Cao's sentries who were looking out on high ground. Whenever Sima Yi and Hao Zhao had to pass through the sunny side of the mountain, they would always be extremely cautious and careful. They would send out scouts to detect and only move forward quietly after making sure there was no danger.

They walked slowly, but they also avoided Cao's surveillance posts. After they entered Zhongtiao Mountain, the lookouts set up by Cao's army near the Zhongtiao Mountain camp were unable to detect them due to limited vision.

Even so, Sima Yi and Hao Zhao still chose to move in a safe way rather than in a fast way. In some areas with sharp rocks and more gravel, they led their horses carefully, fearing that the sharp stones would cut the horses' feet.

This is the fundamental reason why it was difficult to leave the main passage during the ancient march. It was too difficult to walk. Especially for a large army, if there were baggage carts, it would be a nightmare...

Deng Ai was forced into a desperate situation and had to grit his teeth to give it a try. If there was a second choice, he would not have gone to Yinping.

From a certain perspective, Sima Yi and Hao Zhao were also forced.

Forced by Guo Jia.

Obviously, it is impossible to infiltrate from the north of Zhongtiao Mountain and fire a shot near the Zhongtiao Mountain camp.

Cao's army built several tight defense lines, with mobile patrolling troops and guard towers on high ground that kept watch for twelve hours a day. They also had a friend-or-foe identification capability that Hao Zhao and Sima Yi could not understand at first, so much so that they tried to disguise themselves as Cao's army but failed.

Later, Sima Yi designed a small trap and caught two or three tongues, and finally he figured out the enemy identification mechanism of the Zhongtiaoshan camp...

But the problem is that even if Sima Yi finally understood Guo Jia's recognition pattern, he still couldn't crack it.

It is indeed quite simple to say, one is the Yin Fu, and the other is a password.

Because the two core elements are random, Sima Yi has no way of knowing them in advance, unless Sima Yi and others can find a way to figure out what the two elements are at the same time within one day, and be able to seize the "Yin Fu" from a certain team, and then sneak in without alerting the other party.

This is simply an impossible task.

The word "Yin Fu" sounds awesome, but in reality it is just a marked and broken arrow, or a piece of wood, or a branch. Because each "Yin Fu" is broken randomly, the textures are also broken randomly. In the current era of the Han Dynasty, it will definitely not match if it is not the original one.

When the Cao army squad was leaving the camp, the guard at the gate of the camp would take out something from his bag, make a few scratches on it with a pen and ink, then fold it in half with a click, keep half for himself and give the other half to the squad as a voucher.

Plus the passwords that change every day...

If there is anything wrong, the archers on both sides of the camp gate will immediately shoot thousands of arrows!

Guo Jia's arrangement was such that even if Sima Yi figured it out, he still wouldn't be able to get in.

Therefore, Sima Yi and Hao Zhao could only try to launch a surprise attack from the south.

After all, the defense on the north side is so tight, so the defense on the south side of Zhongtiao Mountain will be somewhat lax.

Originally, Hao Zhao wanted Sima Yi to act on the northern front, and then Hao Zhao himself would lead his men to invade the camp south of Zhongtiao Mountain for a surprise attack, but Sima Yi disagreed, as he felt it would be safer for him to follow.

As it turned out, Sima Yi was right to follow, because as soon as Hao Zhao and his troops crossed the mountain, Sima Yi found that the side of Zhongtiao Mountain and Juhua were also difficult to attack.

Guo Jia set up many warning towers on the high peaks around his camp in Zhongtiao Mountain.

Although there are not many of them, they cover the entire flanks and chrysanthemums of Zhongtiao Mountain, and they are very well seen...

It's just as difficult to blend in.

Hao Zhao couldn't help feeling a little depressed, and even wanted to storm those lookout posts, but was stopped by Sima Yi. He believed that with such tight defense, traps would definitely be set, and big problems could arise if one was not careful, so it would be better to continue moving south and head straight for Cao's Tongguan camp to see if he could find some new opportunities there.

According to Sima Yi, since we are already here...

So they continued to head south.

On this day, Hao Zhao sat on a big rock. Although the shade of the trees blocked the increasingly hot summer sun, there was no wind and he was wearing heavy armor and robes, so he could not avoid sweating.

In this kind of weather, the most critical issue is to replenish water.

Hao Zhao and his companions finally found a mountain spring, where they stayed to rest and replenish their water.

Forget about cleaning and taking a shower. Not only that, the dust and dirt collected along the way mixed with sweat and fermented, and the smell...

The temperature at noon gradually rose, and the mountains were still filled with heat waves. Fine beads of sweat flowed down Hao Zhao's forehead and crawled along his eyebrows to his cheeks. He felt a little itchy, but Hao Zhao did not distract himself by scratching. Instead, he focused on looking at the map of Cao's camp that the scouts were gradually refining.

Hao Zhao, Sima Yi and others had been hiding in Zhongtiao Mountain for three or four days. Except for the scouts who had to be sent out, no one was allowed to leave the hidden sheds and caves without permission.

Thanks to the efforts of the scouts, the deployment of Cao's army along the way gradually appeared on the map.

The map shows not only part of the Cao army camp in Zhongtiao Mountain, but also the Cao army camp in Tongguan on the other side of the river...

The convenience of the telescope was fully demonstrated at this time. If there was no telescope, Sima Yi might not have come up with the idea of ​​making a double yolk.

Hao Zhao was pondering on the map when he suddenly heard the guard beside him whisper, "Sima Congshi is back."

Hao Zhao looked up and saw Sima Yi, dressed like a soldier, popping out from behind a rock.

After Sima Yi failed once, he became more cautious, especially before making the final decision, he would go to the front line to take a look in person.

The most important thing for Hao Zhao now is to rest, recover his strength, and fight in the best condition.

They have a clear division of labor, one is responsible for coming up with ideas and the other is responsible for turning them into reality.

They are waiting for an opportunity.

An opportunity for Cao's army to relax.

An opportunity to inflict heavy damage on Cao's army.

After all, the Cao army camp in Tongguan on the opposite bank was also heavily defended, and it had cost a lot of manpower and material resources to set up the camp in the early days. If you just use the big yellow crossbow to fire two shots from the periphery, it would be like scratching an itch.

Sima Yi has great patience.

Although most of the food and grass had been used up along the way, if we didn't attack and continued to wait, we might not have enough food to eat when we returned.

Fortunately, I brought enough salt.

People need to eat, and horses also need to eat.

In hot weather like this, without salt supplementation, even drinking water will cause your hands and feet to become weak.

"Cao's army is preparing to transport food..." Sima Yi sat down under the shade of a tree, took out his water bag and took a sip. Even in the shadows, his eyes seemed to be shining with excitement, "The opportunity has finally come!"

Military rations are not just food and fodder, various sundries are also an indispensable part of an army.

Especially salt.

  Sima Yi discovered that Cao’s army was preparing to transport grain and salt!

In the past two days, Cao's army in the Tongguan camp has been constantly accumulating supplies and transferring them to the ferry pontoon bridge. Those laborers who are unknown where they come from are also reinforcing the pontoon bridge on the river beach. All these signs indicate that a relatively large-scale transfer is about to begin.

Today, Sima Yi went to the front line to check carefully, and found that the supplies that Cao's army was going to transport contained a large amount of salt and salt products, such as bacon and salted fish...

These things may have been transported from Yanzhou or from farther places, and are now concentrated here. If Sima Yi and others do not take any action, these things will be transported across the river within a few days and then transported to the front line of Cao's army.

Obviously, the cavalry troops in Linfen have put Cao's army under tremendous pressure. They are mobilizing all their forces, intending to fight against the cavalry troops in the best possible manner.

Under the planning of Fei Qian and his advisers, using the strategy of Cao Cao's ancestors, Cao's army was unable to capture Guanzhong in one go, and once again destroyed and delayed Cao's attempt to invade Tongguan's rear line through the frozen Pubanjin and Longmendu, and finally forced Cao's army to fight with the cavalry in the Yuncheng Basin at the third drum...

But for a centipede, even if two legs are cut off, it still will not be fatal.

Cao's army still has a lot of manpower...

But at the same time, the more people there are, the more consumption there is.

Sima Yi had been insisting on waiting during these few days because he believed that even if there was a stockpile of food and sundries in the Zhongtiao Mountain camp, the consumption would be very large and it would still be necessary to transport food and supplies from the rear.

This is the best opportunity right now.

Of course, this is also closely related to Sima Yi's previous defeat of Cao Hong's advance. If Sima Yi had been foolish enough to fight Cao Hong to a losing battle, then Pubanjin would have been occupied by Cao's army long ago, and it would not be Cao's army that would be passive, but Fei Qian.

Cao's army was not afraid of the loss of manpower, but was afraid of the shortage of supplies.

When Sima Yi launched a surprise attack on Cao Hong's base, it was equivalent to destroying all of Cao Hong's subsequent abilities, just like a magician who has run out of mana. Even if he still has the red bottle, it is useless.

Now Sima Yi has set his sights on Lao Cao's "Big Blue Bottle".

Sima Yi and others created this opportunity.

Sima Yi also found this opportunity, but whether he could seize it or not depended on whether they could successfully launch a sneak attack...

Once the battle objective is determined, all battle deployments will begin.

Although the cavalry led by Sima Yi and Hao Zhao were not specially trained mountain soldiers or special forces, the training of the cavalry soldiers has always been known for its hard work. In addition, they consume more fats and high proteins such as beef and mutton than the Shandong area, so these soldiers are stronger than ordinary soldiers and have higher endurance and combat effectiveness.

Especially its combat effectiveness at night.

Sima Yi stayed on the north bank with the Qiang people and a small number of Hussars, while Hao Zhao led most of the Hussars and, under the cover of night, quietly descended the Zhongtiao Mountains and rushed towards the Cao army's pontoon bridge.

Cao's army in the Tongguan camp originally had lookout towers above and below the river, with one every few miles.

Unfortunately, such long-term facilities often have a drawback, which is that they are indeed operated according to the regulations at the beginning. For example, a certain priority service window may be for better service at first, but later it will quickly become a service for inspection by superiors, or for service for some foreign masters. As for the original priority...

Because Wei Yan had already gone to Jizhou, Cao's army had basically occupied the ferry crossings from Tongguan to Shanjin, so there was almost no threat on the water. This meant that the superiors would not come to check these checkpoints at all. Coupled with the strict defense of Zhongtiao Mountain, the checkpoints here became increasingly slack.

It’s like some vulnerable groups, although there are still so many windows, there is no one.

Don't ask. If you ask, they will tell you that it's time to get off work and there's a shortage of staff.

  You have to wait for the superior leader or the foreigner to come, and then the window that was originally empty will instantly be occupied again!

The river rushes day and night.

Cao's army was actually very careful, but no matter how careful they were, they could not maintain a high level of caution for more than half a year.

The key is that Zhongtiao Mountain is blocked by Cao’s army camp.

In a sense, the route from Tongguan Camp to Zhongtiaoshan Camp should be safe, as it is "inside" the Cao army's sphere of influence.

For the Tongguan camp, what they needed to worry about more were the pontoon bridges.

The floating ice some time ago destroyed many floating bridges, which had to be repaired.

At the same time, the defense focus of the Tongguan camp was still in the direction of Tongguan. They were afraid that the defenders inside Tongguan would rush out for a sneak attack, especially to destroy the few remaining pontoon bridges. Therefore, the Cao army soldiers focused their defense in the direction of Tongguan and arranged heavy troops for defense.

There was basically no major problem with Cao's army's deployment; the problem lay with Sima Yi and Hao Zhao, who did not follow the beaten path.

Normally speaking, both ends are guarded by our own people and are well defended, so it is impossible for any enemy troops to appear in the middle.

But Sima Yi happened to bring some Qiang people with him...

These Qiang people were more familiar with the mountains and rivers of Hedong than the Cavalry Army because they had been traveling around with cattle and sheep in the past.

Moreover, if Sima Yi and Hao Zhao chose to attack Tongguan or Zhongtiaoshan directly, even if Sima Yi and Hao Zhao doubled their number of soldiers, they would not be able to succeed. After Zhu Ling bombarded Cao Jun's camp with a large yellow crossbow, Cao Jun's camp had already prepared for this kind of sneak attack, and all flammable and explosive objects were transported to the rear. If it was not for the purpose of concentrating a batch of materials to be transported to the other side, it would not have appeared in front of Sima Yi, Hao Zhao and others!

It is the inevitable accidents that make everyone unable to guard against them.

Cao's army focused its attention on the north and south ends, and its defensive forces also focused on defending these two ends, so at this point in the middle, Sima Yi and Hao Zhao were left with an excellent opportunity...