Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3546 The Thin Line of Life and Death

Spring rain is as precious as oil.

But the rain in the mountains is not so pleasant.

The rain slid down the rugged rocks of the Taihang Mountains, making the already difficult mountain path even more rugged and difficult to navigate.

Le Jin wiped the rain off his face and tried his best to control his body to avoid slipping on the slippery plank road.

The five hundred soldiers behind him were coiled on the mountain path like a black python, and water was dripping from all of their armor.

Suddenly, several screams rang out in the rain.

Le Jin and others were shocked.

"General, the outposts have reported that the plank road on the Eagle Cliff ahead has collapsed by more than ten feet."

A moment later, the deputy general who came in hurriedly and reported in a low voice was shattered by the rain.

"Order! All troops stop!" Le Jin raised his head and looked into the distance.

Le Jin did not blame the deputy general or the vanguard. After all, choosing this route was a temporary decision.

The Eagle Cliff looks like a half-face split by a giant axe, and the twisted rocks are like a broken crack, as if ready to swallow up all the life passing by. The gray rock wall is embedded with crooked wooden stakes, and the mortises carved by the soldiers of the Western Han Dynasty three hundred years ago are now covered with dark red lichens, which look like scabby wounds from a distance.

The so-called plank road is made of miscellaneous wood from the mountains, built between these mortise and tenon joints. At the narrowest part, you need to walk sideways against the wall. With the tip of your boots, you can hear the gravel falling into the abyss, dragging it with you as if your soul is falling. It takes a long time before the dull sound of collision can be heard.

During the period when Wang Mang usurped power, Liu Xiu rebuilt this plank road in order to advance towards Bingzhou. His purpose was to bypass the military defense line of Taihang Mountains, raid the Hedong area, and disrupt Guanzhong.

But this road is too difficult to walk, especially in the section of Yingchoujian...

Just by listening to the name, you can know the difficulty of this road.

Le Jin grabbed a piece of hanging iron chain, and the wet coldness pricked his palms and made him sweat.

No one knows when this capstan was left behind. The chain links, which were originally as thick as a bowl, have now been eroded beyond recognition by the mountain wind, with rust falling off as it moves.

Two or three feet in front of him, half of a pier was inserted diagonally into a crevice in the rock, and the broken wood was stained with blood.

The outpost soldier, still frightened, could not help but tremble slightly, and spoke intermittently about the situation at that time.

The breaking of the wooden planks of the plank road happened too quickly. As soon as the sound of the planks cracking was heard, the entire section of the plank road collapsed. There was no time to do anything. All they could do was watch those unlucky soldiers fall into the deep ravine along with the collapsed wood and rocks.

Le Jin leaned forward to look down. At the collapsed place in front of him, there was still a piece of the unlucky guy's robe left, swaying strangely with the air current rising from the valley bottom, like a flag to summon souls.

The fog at the bottom of the ravine was swirling, and it seemed like a smoky snake nest. Countless snakes of all sizes were wriggling, and some were spitting out smelly snake tongues at the flesh and blood on the cliff path.

Even though Le Jin was extremely brave, he couldn't help but tremble when he saw such a scene.

Le Jin looked at the broken plank road. He could only pass this distance after it was repaired piece by piece.

"Send the order down, find a place to take shelter from the rain! Repair the plank road first! Also send people to investigate the surrounding area to see if there is a road that can bypass this section of the plank road!"

……

……

The bonfire cast distorted shadows on the rock wall, and Le Jin wrung out the raindrops on his robe.

Although it is spring, the rain in the mountains is still cold.

The soldiers finally found some relatively dry caves, which seemed to be left by the people who built the plank road.

There was actually some rotten and dry wood in the cave, so they quickly found a dry place in the cave and started a bonfire.

When the flames rose, although the firewood was still emitting black smoke, which was choking, the people around cheered. Having a bonfire on a rainy day was already very good, at least it could provide warmth and hot soup.

Not everyone can enter the cave.

Although Le Jin tried his best to make arrangements, there were still many people who had to find shelter outside the cave.

However, Le Jin had instructed that those who went to repair the plank road in the rain during the day could go into the cave to shelter from the rain and warm themselves by the fire at night, and they would also have a bowl of hot soup.

This may be an extremely trivial matter on weekdays, but at the moment it becomes a rare sense of happiness.

The guards were either on guard or resting, but Le Jin sat alone on the stone in the cave, reaching into his arms, groping for the military order Cao Cao had given him. The military order was not afraid of water bubbles, after all, it was carved on wood, but the cinnabar in the carvings was somewhat stained by moisture, and when he stretched out his hand to look at it, Le Jin's fingers were already stained bloody.

Marching in the rain.

Not a good thing.

This is a taboo in military law, so it is also extremely concealed.

Le Jin could understand this, but what he couldn't understand was why it was still him?

Le Jin suddenly remembered that when he was still a small village chief, there was also an attack on a rainy day, huddled under a rock wall that was like a cave in the dark night before dawn. At that time, Xiahou Yuan led the guards to kick over the remaining fire at the entrance of the cave, and kicked him awake with his boots with sparks and ashes, "Le Wenqian, right? Take your men to charge the city gate."

He climbed up first, then received Cao Cao's approval and was promoted on the battlefield!

At that time, he felt...

"call……"

Le Jin let out a long breath and suddenly felt a little pain in his side from the bronze tiger talisman on his waist.

Xiahou Yuan is dead, but Xiahou Dun is still alive.

He used to hate Xiahou Yuan, but he had a good impression of Xiahou Dun. But later he realized that the Xiahous were a family.

Many times, Xiahou Yuan would be more intuitive and simple.

For example, when Xiahou Yuan saw Le Jin, he would sometimes say, as if jokingly, "Le Wenqian, you are so lucky!"

Haha. Before, Le Jin thought it was a good thing, but now he understands it.

After all, what good words can Xiahou Yuan, that chatterbox, say?

Just like when someone praises someone for their inner beauty or temperament, they are actually emphasizing another aspect.

Who has the toughest life?

Naturally, if you are a lowly person, you will have a hard life.

Look at those common people who are like grass, are they tough? Those with slightly less luck either die in childhood or cannot survive under the heavy labor.

The pulp poured out of the leather bag seemed to have a rotten smell.

Le Jin stared at the swaying reflection in the pulp water, watching his face swaying, breaking into pieces and then reuniting.

Le Jin couldn't help but touch his face. Even though his fingers were rough, he could still feel a face that was cracked by wind and rain. Compared with the pale and plump faces of some of the Cao and Xiahou families who lived a life of luxury, it was more like Qingyan in the Taihang Mountains before him.

Everyone wants comfort, and no one wants to face death.

It's like winning or losing in military affairs.

So what about this time?

"General, find a hunting trail!"

The scout's voice interrupted Le Jin's thoughts.

"Bring torches!"

As Le Jin gave the order, he opened the map he carried with him.

The sheepskin map was quite old, with creases and ink, like a messy chessboard.

The guard pulled out a piece of pine wood from the campfire and held it in front of Le Jin.

"The Hunting Path..."

Le Jin was looking at the map to identify the road found by the scouts.

Suddenly, a drop of pine resin as hot as magma fell on the three words "Yingchoujian".

Le Jin was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously tried to wipe it with his hand, but was burned and retracted his hand, only to see that the ink words had been corroded into a burnt black color...

"General..." the guard beside him whispered, "There are some things I don't know..."

"If you don't know, don't tell me!" Le Jin didn't look up, as if he wanted to wipe off the burnt black, but it was obviously not possible. Instead, the more he wiped, the darker it became. In the end, he simply gave up and began to look for the hunting trail reported by the scout near the Eagle Sorrow Stream.

However, it was obvious that this hunting trail was not marked on the map, so Le Jin was not sure whether this hunting trail could bypass the plank road.

Maybe, maybe not.

Normally, a small team should be sent to explore the way first and then come back to report.

But this would inevitably consume a lot of time, and the more serious problem was that the supplies Le Jin and his men carried were not endless. If they were delayed on the road for too long, they would not be able to guarantee their combat effectiveness after crossing the Taihang Mountains, and they might even die in the Taihang Mountains...

He died silently without even a grave!

"..." The guard grunted for a while, but couldn't help but ask, "General, why are we here?"

"Why not us?" Le Jin asked, "Who else could come except us?" "But that's Xiahou..." The guard's voice became lower and lower, and before it finally disappeared, a few words could be vaguely heard, "We are not Xiahou..."

Le Jin paused as he slid his finger across the map.

Le Jin pursed his lips tightly and stood up.

The guard looked at Le Jin with some trepidation.

"Go and see what's going on over there where the plank road is being repaired?"

Le Jin ignored the guard's complaint and changed the subject.

The guard seemed to be relieved, and after answering, he left the cave and went to check. After a while, the guard came back, "General, the situation is not good... Mainly because it is too difficult to collect wood..."

Le Jin nodded slightly.

In this kind of weather, it is already inconvenient to just walk, let alone cut down trees from the mountain?

Moreover, there is not much wood around the plank road. If you want to get wood, you have to go further. And there are no suitable tools. You can only use knives and axes to process wet wood...

"Hey!" Le Jin let out a long sigh, "Let's ask those who are repairing the plank road to come back... Let's squeeze in here tonight... Tomorrow... we'll take the hunting road instead!"

"Hunting?" the guard whispered, "General...how about I take a few people to investigate first?"

Le Jin patted the guard's arm, "No need... Life or death... This is not the last chance... Go find some more dry firewood, make some more bonfires, and let everyone have a good rest..."

The guard responded and retreated.

Le Jin sat down again, lowered his head, and hid his face in the shadows. He didn't want the guards or other soldiers to see his frustrated and disappointed expression.

It's not that he doesn't know some things, it's just...

Pretending not to know.

……

……

A war often determines life and death.

Perhaps there is only a fine line between life and death.

The tactical arrangements may be complicated, but when it comes to strategy, they are often very simple.

Especially for large-scale military operations, there are actually two choices: fight or not fight.

If we don't fight, we will just dig deep trenches and build high fortifications to wear down the enemy's morale.

To fight is to choose the right time, force the enemy to fight under unfavorable conditions, and gain more advantages for your side.

At Tongguan, both Pang Tong and Zhang Liao knew that the battle was coming to an end, and that it was not just a military issue, but would also change the entire Han Dynasty. Therefore, under such circumstances, being cautious and preparing became the top priority before military action.

The mountain breeze brought in the moisture from the river. Zhang Liao gently patted the warhorse's neck to calm its temper.

The warhorse shook its head, snorted, and stopped swinging its hooves.

After all, the war horses' hooves were wrapped in linen, which was not very comfortable. Moreover, after passing through wet roads, they would be stained with more mud and dust, which would of course make the horses a little irritated.

The guards around Zhang Liao were all equipped with stealth equipment like Zhang Liao, and their horses' hooves were covered...

This was a forward reconnaissance.

Zhang Liao didn't have to come, but he found Fei Qian and volunteered to lead the team for this reconnaissance.

As the front-line commanding general who was about to attack Heluo, Zhang Liao felt that he must be familiar with the terrain of Heluo.

This kind of "knowing everything like the back of your hand" is not just about looking at the map, but about having a more intuitive understanding of the terrain in the Heluo area.

Of course, doing so is dangerous, after all, Zhang Liao only brought a few soldiers, but Zhang Liao felt it was necessary to take the risk this time.

Zhang Liao was not very familiar with the Heluo area, but he knew that this was once a prosperous place of the Han Dynasty.

He had been here before...

Zhang Liao looked around, trying to merge the impressions in his memory with the scene of Heluo before him.

Zhang Liao reined in his warhorse, and the dust on the bronze horse's bit fell off.

The thirty cavalrymen who advanced forward were scattered in the night like ink dots, vaguely forming a net-like structure.

Zhang Liao was surrounded by another twenty guards.

More than ten miles ahead is Yique Pass.

The Yishui and Luoshui rivers merge into the Yellow River near Luoyang.

Yique Pass is a pass and a military city on the Yi River.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was a great war here for the control of Heluo. It can be said that in the Heluo area, every pass has been the scene of many life-and-death battles.

Therefore, Zhang Liao did not rush straight to Luoyang City, but went around to Yique Pass along the mountain road and earthen plateau.

One of the eight passes in Luoyang.

On the mountain east of Yique Pass are Dagu Pass and Huanyuan Pass.

To the north of Luoyang City, there are Xiaopingjin, Mengjin and other places, which are equally important.

However, Xiaopingjin and Mengjin are both by the water, and it is obviously difficult to do anything under the surveillance of the Chang'an navy...

But it's different here.

Yique Pass is located about 25 miles southwest of Luoyang City. This distance is very delicate.

It is sandwiched between Longmen Mountain and Xiangshan Mountain, with Yishui River flowing through it, forming a natural canyon entrance. The two mountains are towering and form a barrier. Yique Pass is located on them. The mountains on the east side are high, while the mountains on the west side are slightly lower. The mountains are steep, the rock walls are like cuts, and the Yishui River is turbulent, forming a dangerous terrain of "two mountains facing each other, looking like a gate", which also makes this place an important passage to the south of the Heluo Basin.

Of course, the Yique Pass could actually only be used to defend the route from the south along the Yi River to the north, blocking the military forces in this direction from advancing to Heluo. It could not play any decisive defensive role against the cavalry army that had already controlled the Hangu Pass.

However, we should not be careless because the narrow part of the canyon here can only accommodate one car, and ambushes can be set up on the cliffs on both sides, forming a situation where one man can block the pass and ten thousand men cannot break through.

In addition, because it is surrounded by mountains and rivers, this place is also a Feng Shui treasure land favored by dignitaries. It is the second choice after Beimang Mountain. Even some of the Ten Attendants were buried here.

Under the moonlight and starlight, the Yi River shimmers with iron-gray waves.

The vegetation on the mountain is still very rich, with endless pine and cypress forests, which look like black moss attached to the mountain from a distance.

Zhang Liao looked at the two mountains of Yique and felt a little moved.

If Cao's army relied on the Luoyang Basin to connect Yique Pass with Beimang Mountain and the river crossing...

"Is this Yi Shui?" the guard beside him whispered, "It looks like she is just normal..."

"Normal?" Zhang Liao smiled, "Back then, 240,000 soldiers were defeated here!"

"What?" The guard was stunned for a moment, "Two hundred and forty thousand? So many? Who fought? Was it the Hussars?"

Zhang Liao laughed, "I'll teach you to read more books... Pass the order down, everyone spread out, check the surroundings carefully, and report anything you find immediately!"

The fifty elite cavalrymen brought by Zhang Liao immediately spread out at the command, like a big net, and headed towards Yique Pass.

"There is a stone here!"

A cavalryman found a half-fallen stone evil-repelling object in the mud on a nearby riverbank.

Zhang Liao rushed over to take a look and couldn't help but frown.

The stone ward off evil spirits is a mythical animal that symbolizes good fortune and wards off evil spirits. It looks like a lion with wings and is said to be able to drive away evil spirits and remove bad luck. It is mostly used in tombs. The head of the animal should have been inlaid with some gemstones as eyes, but now they have been removed, leaving only a broken black hole half filled with mud. It seems to be looking at the world in a turbid way, as if it has been tainted by this bloody and dirty world...

"How come this thing is here?" Zhang Liao raised his head and looked towards Yique in the distance. "Could it be that it flowed over there?"

Zhang Liao looked around and some unusual color of the soil on the ground caught his attention.

Zhang Liao took a step forward, knelt down and looked over. His black armor almost blended into the night, with only the ring-handled sword at his waist occasionally reflecting a few cold stars.

Zhang Liao stretched out his hand and rolled the clod of earth in front of him.

He seemed to feel that this kind of soil was very familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it for a moment.

"Come, collect this soil..."

Zhang Liao instructed the guards around him, clapped his hands and stood up.

"What about this stone?"

A guard asked.

Zhang Liao smiled and said, "Just throw it here. This thing is too heavy... Look for it somewhere else and see if there is anything new..."

At this moment, Zhang Liao suddenly felt like a hunter in the mountains, and then he discovered some traces left by his prey.