The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 305 Good luck
To cultivate the Tao from both ends simultaneously toward the middle?

Jiang Wei stared wide-eyed at Deng Ai.

If I understand correctly, the latter means to send a team to repair the road on the other side of the blocked road.
Faster is definitely faster.

Efficiency has doubled.

The question is:
"How do we get across? Climb the mountain? We can't just fire from here and throw people across!"

Upon hearing this last sentence, Deng Ai couldn't help but smile.

But he quickly became serious and said:

“I see this mountain; it is steep at the top and flat at the bottom, steep at one end and flat at the other.”

"If you climb the mountain directly from this end, even an old woodcutter in the mountains will inevitably fall halfway."

"It would be safer to go down to the bottom of the valley first, then walk to the other side, and then climb up the mountain!"

Is it really safe...?

Jiang Wei subconsciously looked down into the valley.

True.

Compared to the steep, straight mountainside above, the area below is indeed much "flatter".

But there was still no way out.

Moreover, judging by sight, the distance from here to the bottom of the valley is at least twenty zhang (approximately 33 meters).

One wrong move and you're shattered to pieces.

Jiang Wei: "Who's going over?"

Deng Ai replied without hesitation:
"Since I proposed this plan, I should take the lead."

"Boyue is overseeing the road construction at this end. Let's try to reach Duanshi within ten days!"

After saying this, he turned back to the rear to muster his troops.

Jiang Wei was immediately filled with awe and respect.

A moment later, Deng Ai and more than a hundred young and strong soldiers arrived at the cliff near the break.

The group first used ropes to pack up the necessary supplies and tools and lower them to a gentle stone platform in the middle, which would also serve as a rope ladder for later climbing.

Afterwards, Deng Ai took the lead, tied a rope around his waist, wrapped himself in thick felt, and jumped down without hesitation.

The reason for wrapping oneself in felt is that the mountain winds are too cold in late autumn, and there are many sharp rocks and thorns on the cliffs, so it is necessary to wrap oneself in thicker felt to prevent scratches.

With him taking the lead, the soldiers who followed had nothing to say and descended in turn.

A moment later, Deng Ai successfully arrived at the central stone platform.

At this point, it was still more than ten feet above the bottom of the valley.

During a break, Deng Ai peeked out from the audience and suddenly frowned.

"Shizai, what's wrong?"

A sturdy young man, but with exceptional agility, also peered forward.

It was the newly appointed scout commander, Ju Fu, a native of Hanchang, Brazil.

When Deng Ai was mustering troops, he was the first to step forward and express his willingness to follow.

At this moment, Deng Ai pointed to the cliff below and said:

“I, I originally planned to rappel down to the bottom of the valley from here using a rope.”

"But just now I heard what sounded like water flowing down below."

Upon hearing this, Ju Fu focused his gaze.

Because of the numerous dead branches and protruding rocks blocking the light, the area below was dimly lit and difficult to see clearly.

The howling wind through the mountains masked the sound of flowing water.

This makes the situation at the bottom of the valley even more obscure and difficult to understand.

However, Ju Fu grew up in the Bashan Mountains.

Their skill in riding horses on flat ground might not be as good as Jiang Wei's or Deng Ai's.

Traversing mountains and valleys is precisely what they excel at.

So after a little thought, he decided:
"There is a mountain stream below."

“We traveled upstream from Jiang County, and the source of the Hui River is in this area. The valley floor should be one of its sources.”

Deng Ai suddenly realized, and then said:
"This little stream shouldn't be very deep, right?"

"Hard to say," Ju Fu shook his head slightly.

"These mountain streams are mostly formed by the short-term convergence of rainwater and snowmelt from upstream, like a flood. Either there is none, or it comes rushing in."

"If Shi Zai is worried about having nowhere to stay below, he might as well wait a few days or take another route."

Deng Ai took a deep breath.

The crisp mountain air, carrying the scent of decaying earth and fallen leaves, filled my nostrils.

It doesn't smell bad at all; in fact, it's inexplicably refreshing.

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war, we can't wait any longer."

"Let's change routes."

They then moved to the other side of the stone platform.

The slope there is steeper, but that also makes the view of the valley floor clearer.

It is certain that there is only humus formed by piles of dead branches and leaves, and no streams.

"Shizai plans to go down from here?"

Ju Fu followed, and frowned as soon as he saw the slope.

"It's too steep."

"Moreover, this section of the rock face is too smooth and difficult to climb."

Upon hearing this, Deng Ai tightened the thick felt covering his body and said:

"Wouldn't that be perfect for sliding down?" Slide down?
Ju Fu was dumbfounded.

But as soon as Deng Ai finished speaking, his gaze became even more determined.

He was then ordered to re-secure the ropes and, following the same method used to lower equipment, hoist him down the mountain along with the felt blanket.

Although it's called a hanging stilt, there's still a slight slope here, so it's more like Deng Ai sliding down on his own.

Everything went smoothly at first.

It's unclear whether the ropes were worn out or if there were unseen sharp rocks along the steep slope.

In short, when they were still two or three zhang (approximately 6.6-7.6 meters) from the ground, the ropes in their hands suddenly loosened, and before they could even cry out, a loud thud was heard from below as they fell to the ground.

Everyone on the stone platform paused for a moment.

It wasn't until Jiang Wei's shouts came from above that they panicked.

But they didn't know how to respond, so they all looked at Ju Fu, who held the highest official rank.

But the latter was a first-time soldier and had no experience in dealing with such emergencies.
He scratched his disheveled hair, wondering if he should go down the mountain first to check on Deng Ai's fate.

Fortunately, a moment later, Deng Ai's voice returned from below the cliff:

"Water, the water is shallow..."

"Let's go, let's go back the way we came..."

Upon hearing this, Ju Fu felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders.

At the same time, he secretly admired her.

With Deng Shizai's audacious spirit, let alone crossing the Taihang and Wangwu Mountains.

Even the treacherous Bashan Mountains, stretching for thousands of miles, probably couldn't stop him.

……

Shangdang Prefecture, Huguan County.

Prefect Yang Dao looked at his wife Cai Zhenji, who was crying her eyes out, and for a moment he didn't know how to comfort her.

In front of his wife was a small coffin.

Last winter was extremely cold; it is said that even the waterways in Huainan were frozen over.

Bingzhou is located further north, where the cold is even more severe, and many people suffer from frostbite and other ailments.

This included Yang Dao's two sons, Yang Fa and Yang Cheng.

At that time, Cai Zhenji knew that she could not take care of both sons at the same time, so she could only focus her main energy on her eldest son, Yangfa.

But it wasn't because she loved her eldest son more.

In fact, Yang Fa was not his biological son, but was born to Yang Dao's ex-wife, Kong.

But children are hard to raise these days.

Once infected with typhoid fever, the chances of survival are slim.

Older animals are significantly more likely to survive than younger ones.

We'll save as many as we can.

The final result was the same.

The sheep survived.

Yang Cheng's illness lingered for more than half a year before he finally died.

But they were her own flesh and blood; how could Lady Cai not be heartbroken?

Helpless, Yang Dao could only gently pat his wife's back and say:
"Think of your elder sister, whose life was full of hardships. You married me, and at least you can enjoy peace in the mountains and not be disturbed by the chaos of the world. You are already very fortunate."

It turns out that Cai Zhenji's father was the famous scholar Cai Yong.

Jeong-hee had an older sister, Cai Zhao-ji (also known as Cai Wen-ji), who was a renowned talented woman in her early years.

When Guanzhong was in chaos, the Xiongnu took the opportunity to raid southwards. Zhaoji was unfortunately captured and lived in the borderlands for twelve years before she was able to return to the Central Plains.

Upon hearing this, Cai Zhenji cried even louder.

Yang Dao hurriedly added:
As the saying goes, "Obstacles eventually give way to prosperity."

“My husband consulted a fortune teller last month and received the ‘Tai’ hexagram. The interpretation is that the small goes and the great comes, which means that our family has gone through many hardships, but we will surely have good fortune in the future!”

Cai Zhenji's father and sister were both highly learned men, so she naturally had a good understanding of the I Ching as well.

The crying subsided slightly: "How can we expect good fortune in the future?"

Yang Dao's gaze shifted, pointing to his two children who were secretly watching from the corner, and he said confidently:
"Our family is destined to produce two great figures in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Cai Zhenji looked over and saw her other young son, Yang Hu, who was six years old, and her older daughter.

Strangely enough, Yang Hu, who was clearly younger than Yang Cheng, miraculously survived the cold disaster.

As for the eldest daughter, she was perfectly healthy.

Could it be that my children are truly blessed with good fortune?

Upon thinking this, Cai Zhenji immediately stopped crying.

Yang Dao also secretly exhaled a breath of stale air.

In reality, he couldn't possibly foresee what blessings his children would have in the future; it was just a way of comforting his wife.

However, what he said earlier about enjoying peace and tranquility was the truth.

The area of ​​Shangdang is surrounded by mountains and is quite poor compared to the prosperous Central Plains.

But this also made it a rare haven of peace in a chaotic world.

This is probably the principle that misfortune and fortune are interdependent.

Just as I was pondering this, a prefectural inspector rushed over, his face full of panic, and said:

"My lord, something terrible has happened!"

"The county magistrate of Xuanshi sent someone to report that Shu bandits are attacking Gaoping Pass!"

(End of this chapter)