The most famous thing in Tangquan Town is the hot springs, but the team made rice on the fourth watch, and the fifth watch began to rush to Chuzhou. In addition, Tang Ning was injured, so unfortunately, he left without being able to soak in the hot springs.

By noon, the procession came to a halt. Tang Ning's treatment is better, and he can lie in the carriage, like Sun He can lie on a board car.

Poking his head out, it was Zhou Huai's retainer who was blind and old Wu who was driving.

Tang Ning asked, "What's going on, why did you stop?" ”

Lao Wu shook his head and said: "The villain doesn't know, the superintendent will wait, and the villain will go to the front to take a look." ”

After saying that, he stopped the carriage, jumped down by himself, and ran to the front with a puff of smoke.

After coming back after a while, he explained to Tang Ning: "A few days ago, there was a heavy rain, which rained for three days in a row, causing a flash flood, and now the road in front is blocked, I'm afraid we have to take a detour." ”

Tang Ning frowned and said, "Detour? Where to go around? ”

"Go west, go to Jiudou Mountain, then take Quanjiao, and finally go straight to Chuzhou."

Nine Doushan? Tang Ning's brow furrowed.

As far as he knew, there was now a gang of robbers on Nine Dou Mountain. I was a little uneasy, so I got out of the carriage and asked Lao Wu to help me and said, "Go to the front and take a look, I always feel that this matter is not simple." ”

Old Wu shrugged his shoulders and didn't bother with Tang Ning. The two have known each other for a long time, and he still knows a lot about Tang Ning's personality.

took Tang Ning to the front of the team, and saw Liu Ling with his hands on his waist, talking to an unkempt man.

Zhou Huai was riding on a horse, squinting his eyes and looking around.

"You said that the rain rained for three days in a row, causing a flash flood and blocking the road. But according to the official, if there is really rain for these three days, why is the road dry when the official comes? ”

"The official is angry, this rain is very strange. After the next one, it stopped immediately. For the next few days, the sun was shining, drying all the moisture on the road.

Even if the villain doesn't have a head, he won't dare to deceive you. ”

Liu Ling's brows were furrowed tightly, his instinct told him that something was wrong, but he felt that the general of the Xiang army in front of him had no need to deceive himself at all.

Looking at his appearance, I think he also worked himself.

So Liu Ling bypassed the generals of this army, stepped forward by himself, and looked into the distance of the road.

The middle of the road was uprooted by flash torrents and washed into the trees on the road, making the peaks on both sides bare.

Liu Ling's toes kept lifting on the ground, then fell, and finally came back and said to Zhou Huai: "Lord Transfer, it seems that no matter what, we have to take a detour."

This road is not clear for three to five days. Even if we let our men go up, it will take a day or two, so it is better to take the whole pepper as quickly. ”

Zhou Huai glanced at the general of the Xiang army with a smile, and the general of the Xiang army humbly shrunk his neck and hung his head.

"Then take Quanjiao, just to see what the style of Jiudou Mountain is like when the Han army and Xiang Yu fight nine times a day."

With that, he turned his horse's head, and soon the commander gave orders to go westward.

So the rear team became the front team, and the vanguard cavalry, composed of a hundred elites, ran to the west to explore the road first.

On the way back, Tang Ning still felt that it was wrong, it stands to reason that there was a flash flood, and some traces should be seen on the mountain.

But now there is not even a trace, and this man-made trace is too obvious.

It is impossible for Liu Ling and Zhou Huai not to see that the behavior of the general of the Xiang army is also very problematic.

In the face of Liu Lingshi, he is not a humble person but calls himself a villain, which can be said to be full of loopholes. But I don't know why these two people chose to ignore it, did they really not see it, or did they just plan it?

Downing doesn't know.

Half a day's journey was wasted like this, and in the evening, when he saw Zhou Huai in the tent, Tang Ning couldn't help but ask: "Master, the road in front of Tangquan Town is not caused by a flash flood at all.

Most of it was deliberately done by those van troops.

With your wisdom, Master, it is impossible not to see it, but why are you silent? ”

This is said at a very high level, even if Zhou Huai didn't see it, it can be regarded as finding a step for his old man.

But Zhou Huai stroked his beard and smiled: "Do you still remember, not long after we set off from Runzhou, we passed through the junction of Liangzhejiang Road and Huainan East Road, and there was a group of unidentified people watching us from the top of the mountain on both sides of the road?" ”

"Yes, yes, but didn't they die down? Their level and scale are not difficult to deal with an army of a few hundred people, but if they are against a thousand people, it will be difficult if they do not have the level of the Nanshan Bandits. ”

Zhou Huai nodded and said, "That's right, so they chose to forbear for the time being." The old man also made a bet with Liu Gongshi whether this group of people would do it before we arrived in Chuzhou, and now it seems that Liu Gongshi is slightly better. ”

Tang Ning was surprised: "Could it be that today's events, Master and Liu Gongshi had already predicted?" ”

Zhou Huai smiled: "Exactly." If they are not strong enough on their own, they will go to bandits elsewhere to join forces. When they were ready to make a move, we joined the Hangzhou army, so they had to endure it again until now.

Since Jiudou Mountain can allow the Han army to fight with Xiang Yu, who fled nine times a day, it is also a good place to fight. If Rang Weishi said that this fake general of the Xiang army was one of their robbers.

The purpose is to lure us to the Nine Dou Mountain, where they have set up an ambush, to fight with us, and to take away all the food, grass and armaments. ”

"Then why do you follow their will? The more the enemy wants us to do something, the less we will do it, and that's the way to win. ”

Zhou Huai sneered and said, "It's just a group of thieves, what can you do if you follow their wishes?" It's just solved together, once and for all! ”

These words are domineering, but Tang Ning's eyes are full of doubt.

The heart said that a Nanshan thief has not been solved for ten years, and it still has to be disintegrated from within them, and you will have a chance to break it from the outside.

Now that these bandits from all over the world are united, I'm afraid it's not as simple as you always opening your mouth.

As if seeing Tang Ning's concerns, Zhou Huai smiled mysteriously and said, "You don't have to worry, the army has its own weapons." ”

Tang Ning suddenly realized.

There were five cars in the convoy that had been covered with tarpaulins, and Downing was curious to see them, but was rejected by the general who guarded them. It is said that without the orders of the transfer envoy, no one can show this thing.

Tang Ning's nostrils turned to the sky and said that I am the superintendent and the official of the nine products!

The man took out a waist card with a cheap smile and shook it in front of Tang Ning's eyes.

Tang Ning could see it clearly, and the four big characters on it were Captain Xuanjie.

So he had to keep his mouth shut.

The superintendent is only from the ninth grade, although he is a military civilian official, he can be promoted to half a grade. But the captain of Xuanjie is a military attache of the eighth grade, and he really has to salute when he sees others.

So Tang Ning had no choice but to arch his hand perfunctorily, and then fled.

Now that Zhou Huai said this, Tang Ning understood.

The five cars that were tightly covered with oilcloth must be the sharp weapons in Zhou Huai's mouth.

What weapon can Da Song have? The most frightening thing, in addition to the mouth of the literati, is the eight-bull crossbow.

So Tang Ning still had some expectations.

In this era, in addition to the gun carriage, that is, the trebuchet, the most powerful weapon was the eight-bull crossbow.

This thing got its name because it took eight cows to pull it apart.

The firing range is 1,000 steps, and one step in the Song Dynasty is 1.5 meters, and 1,000 steps is more than 1,500 meters.

In the middle, it runs through the belly of the horse, wears heavy armor, and can often string the charging enemy into a string of sugar gourds.

There was no ladder during the siege, so the crossbow arrows were shot directly at the enemy's walls, and the soldiers stepped on the crossbow arrows deeply embedded in the walls to attack the city.

What does this amount to? You carry an anti-materiel sniper rifle and beat a group of primitive people on horseback.

Really destroy the enemy in the path of attack.

In the battle of Shanzhou during the time of Song Zhenzong, the Song people took this thing on the head of the city and sniped the commander of the Liao State, Xiao Tzulan, to death with an arrow, and the Liao State sued for peace.

And a crossbow arrow is as long as a javelin, and it is known as 'one gun and three sword arrows'. Unfortunately, this thing is too cumbersome to operate and very expensive.

An eight-ox crossbow requires six or more soldiers to be at its most effective.

Otherwise, when the Song people were fighting, they would swing this thing to the head of the city and in front of the battle, shouting that the eight ox crossbows were the first in the world, and the Liao State and the Western Xia would have to obediently pay tribute and be vassals.

Thinking of this, Tang Ning was a little inexplicably excited, could he be able to see the power of the Eight Bull Crossbow with his own eyes? That's a feast for the eyes.

The guard poked his head into the tent and told him that it was too late, and Tang Ning and Zhou Huai hurriedly fell asleep.

You have to get up early tomorrow and hurry, and you can't go to bed early.

Early the next morning, Tang Ning continued to lie on the carriage and follow the team.

I didn't go far, so I asked once, have you been to Jiudou Mountain?

Lao Wu replied early.

It didn't take long for the result to ask again, did you go to Jiudou Mountain?

Lao Wu said that it hadn't even arrived at noon, so it would have to be evening, or tomorrow.

Tang Ning sighed a little frustratedly. But soon he poked his head out again, saying why he hadn't reached Jiudou Mountain yet.

Lao Wu rolled his eyes and said: "We don't have the ability of you, a disciple of the Immortal Family, to shrink the ground into inches, you always sleep, and when it gets dark, we will almost arrive." ”

Tang Ning had to nod helplessly, since he figured it out last night, he hadn't been calm in his heart.

Reading the history of the Song Dynasty in later generations, I only felt that the most powerful thing in the Song Dynasty besides Zhao Kuangyin was the Eight Bull Crossbow. As for gunpowder, the Song people still used this thing as a biological weapon, all relying on the smoke that burned it......

What kind of assault musket or something, few soldiers of the Song Army like to use it. It does more damage to its own people than it does to its enemies.

After lunch, Downing went back to the carriage. My butt doesn't hurt too much anymore, but my heart still hurts. The feeling of being deceived and betrayed by a friend is really uncomfortable.

Sure enough, as Lao Wu said, it was dark before I arrived at Jiudou Mountain. Looking at Jiudou Mountain from afar, Zhou Huai ordered the whole army to set up camp and rest on the spot.

Liu Ling completely looked like a wartime, and ordered his subordinates to scatter and be responsible for vigilance.

Tang Ning carried a small bench and sat on the side of the five cars, he must have a good look at the true power of the Eight Bull Crossbow.

.。 m.