Fenghou

Chapter 663 Dark Stream
Zhang Xiao suggested from the side: "Why don't you send scouts to scout around to see if you can find a trail to go up the mountain."

Chen Qing shook his head, "As Sima said before, Xixia people know the Xixia way best, and all shortcuts are blocked. Unless we give up this way, we can only attack honestly!"

Zhang Xiao sighed, "The key is to go up the mountain and there is kerosene, which was seized by the other party."

Chen Qing's heart sank, "How many?"

"I specifically asked General Tang. There are [-] barrels of kerosene and [-] barrels of gunpowder. General Tang led an army to attack, and some of them may have been consumed."

Chen Qing stared at the top of the mountain for a while, and then ordered: "Set up a big camp!"

The [-] Western Army began to set up a large camp in the valley below the mountain, and marching tents appeared at the foot of the mountain.

Standing on the top of the mountain, Shang Dongyan looked coldly at the camp at the foot of the mountain. He had already sent someone to Mingsha County to inform Li Ke, ordering him to abandon Mingsha County immediately and lead the whole army to Cuta Village. Meaning, taking back the Ghota village is his real goal.

It's a pity that they were still a step too late. If he could have done it one day earlier, he would have taken the reward port to the south as well, and this road would have been completely blocked.

General Tuoba Gai looked at the dense tents at the foot of the mountain, and couldn't help but said: "General Shang, if we set fire to the Song Army tents, will they all be burned down?"

Shang Dongyan gave him a cold look and said, "Chen Qing also hopes that you will do this. He thinks he can succeed in sneak attack, but when he goes down the mountain, he falls into someone else's trap."

"Humble job knows it's wrong!"

Shang Dongyan snorted and said: "Pass my order, anyone who dares to go down the mountain without authorization, beheaded!"

Chen Qing started out playing with fire, so of course he would guard against the other party's fire attack, so the camp tents were all leather tents, not cloth tents that were easy to catch fire, or even wool tents.

Chen Qing also deployed [-] sentry guards on the outskirts, setting up traps one after another, fearing that the Xixia army would not come down the mountain.

The largest tent is Chen Qing's commander's tent. At this time, he is standing in front of the map, thinking silently. Every commander is unwilling to attack regardless of the cost. Every soldier's life is precious. Until the last moment, Chen Qing would not consider using a strong attack.

Contrasting the map, he picked up Xixia Notes written by Zhong Shidao. When he wrote about Guta Village, there was such a description, "There is a village named Guta, and its ridge is very dangerous. You can cross the stream and hit it." '

The key is how to understand the word 'xi'?Is it gourd water?It doesn't feel like it. The Hulu River can't be called a stream. The Hulu River is ten miles west of Ghota Village.

Chen Qing pondered for a long time, then turned his head and said to the soldiers: "Go and find Tang Qian!"

Not long after, Tang Qian rushed over and bowed to salute, "See Dutong for humble posts!"

Chen Qing said with a smile: "I hope you will take this lesson as wealth and not lose confidence because of it."

"The humble job is unforgettable!"

Chen Qing nodded, and asked again: "How does attacking Gouta village from the north compare with the south?"

"Reporting to Dutong, it is a little easier to attack from the north. Although it is also a winding mountain road, the slope is relatively gentle, and the impact of rolling logs and stones will be much smaller, which is basically bearable."

Chen Qing said again: "I was looking at the notes left by Mr. Zhong just now, and there are a few sentences in it that say, 'There is a village named Cuta, and its mountains are very dangerous. You can cross the stream and hit it.' Wondering what it means to cross the stream and strike it?"

Tang Qian hesitated and asked, "Could it be that there is a small stream nearby that can cross the mountain to the north?"

"The literal meaning is this, but where is this stream?"

Tang Qian immediately understood, clasped his fists and said, "Beizhi is willing to lead his scouts to find this creek."

"Go! Take Zhong Huan with you, he may understand his grandfather's meaning better."

Chong Huan was very excited along the way. Not only was he following the footsteps of his ancestors to Xixia for the first time, but he also participated in the Battle of Exterminating Xia as a soldier for the first time.

"General Tang, would you like to hear my thoughts?"

Tang Qian's mood was relatively low, and he said lightly: "You tell me, I will listen with all my ears!"

"Since it is said to be a stream, it is the source of the river. There are three rivers in this valley. One is gourd water, which cannot be a stream. The other two small rivers, one flowing from the opposite mountain, can also be ruled out. , and the source of the other river is unknown, can we go along this river to check?"

"Not bad!" Tang Qian praised from the bottom of his heart: "As expected, he came from the inner guard, and his thinking is really careful."

He turned his head and waved his hand and said: "He led more than a hundred cavalry and rushed to the southeast."

There are two small rivers in the valley, one east and one west flowing into the gourd water. The small river they want to explore is the river in the east. More than a hundred cavalry rushed along the small river for about twenty miles. The river is subdivided into Four creeks, Tang Qian immediately divided the soldiers into four teams, and each went to find a source.

Zhong Huan followed Tang Qian and a dozen cavalrymen to find the source of the largest creek. Soon, they found the source, which immediately disappointed them.

A waterfall-like stream of water flows down from the mountain, forming a pool on the ground. This pool of half an acre of land is the source of the creek.

Not long after, several groups of cavalry came to report, the answer was the same, the source was found, but there was no deep ravine or tunnel canyon, not even a crevice in the rock.

A capital said: "General Tang, could it be the river to the west, maybe there are other streams flowing into it along the way?"

Tang Qian shook his head, "I went to see the small river in the west. There is no small stream flowing in, it's just a single river."

At this time, Zhong Huan pondered for a long time, and said slowly: "My grandfather was very careful in his choice of words. To cross the stream means to cross the creek. Since it is to cross the creek, then the creek should run from east to west. I doubt it." This creek is in the mountain, it is a dark river, and this dark river will eventually flow into the gourd water, does General Tang understand what I mean?"

"You mean, or should you follow the gourd water?"

Zhong Huan nodded. The gourd water passes through the mountain for more than ten miles, and the drop is big in the second half of the journey. Should we go in on a raft and have a look. "

Tang Qian slammed fists and palms together, "Just go and see!"

In the middle of the night, the group arrived ten miles to the west of Ghota Village. The gourd water flowed quietly to the north, but the terrain in the north dropped sharply, the drop of the gourd water became larger, and the water flow became very fast. Finally, it approached the form of a waterfall. It made it impossible for the army to pass through the Hulushui River Valley, so they could only climb over the mountains and cut and tazhai.

The mountain stream was very narrow, and the river narrowed and became swift. A soldier was lying on the raft, and the raft was pulled by two long ropes, causing the raft to slide forward slowly.

"slower!"

Tang Qian shouted: "Hold on to the rock wall and pay attention to see if there are dark rivers flowing in on both sides."

The raft flowed forward for more than twenty feet, and the soldier suddenly shouted, "There is a very high cave here!"

The rafts of the soldiers were pulled back. This time Tang Qian went into battle in person. He also lay on the raft and flowed forward for more than [-] feet. A crack as high as [-] feet suddenly appeared in front of him. Flowing out, there is a large space in the crack, and it is pitch black.

Tang Qianyi was a bold man. Holding a short spear in one hand and a torch in the other, he waded into the water. The water was as deep as his belly, and the soles of his feet were covered with pebbles. When he walked in seven or eight feet, a palace-like space appeared in front of him, and the wind was blowing it to the north. Flame, he climbed ashore, held the torch high, and found that there was an upward slanting passage, but at the same time, he also accidentally discovered that there were shallow stone steps on the passage.

(End of this chapter)