Sun Jian asked loudly, "There is another way?" ”

Xu Rong nodded, stretched out a thick finger, and drew a large arc starting from Yuzhong City on the map, extending all the way to the territory of Hanyang County.

"We drove from Yuzhong City to Camel Mountain, and then crossed Mt. Kwai from Camel Ridge into Hanyang County, and then walked directly to Muyuan. From Muyuan back to Pingxiang City, there are still more than 300 miles of road. Xu Rong said unhurriedly, "It will take an extra seventy or eighty miles of mountain road to walk this road, and it will take about one more day, which means that we will need at least four days to return to Pingxiang City." ”

Zhou Shen and Sun Jian were overjoyed. A rare smile appeared on Zhou Shen's face.

"Is this road safe?" Sun Jian asked, "Do the rebels know?" ”

"Of course Lao Bian knows." Xu Rong said with a smile, "This road is the way for the bandits to smuggle smuggled salt or escape into Jincheng County after looting in Kwaiyuan Gorge, and it is also the reason why the rebels were able to evade our surveillance and suddenly occupy Kwaiyuan Gorge." ”

"Lao Bian hid his troops on this road, which is really unexpected. If they hadn't suddenly occupied Kwai Yuan Gorge, I would have really ignored this road on Kwai Mountain. The road is rugged and hidden, and it is easy for unfamiliar people to get lost. ”

Sun Jian was taken aback. He glanced at Xu Rong vigilantly and asked, "Do the people of Xiliang know about this road?" ”

Xu Rong thought for a moment and said, "Except for the bandits, there are not many people who know this road. Some people know but never walk. It's because I need to suppress bandits, so I have to take people and horses on this road several times a year, so I'm more familiar with it. ”

"Can the horses pass this road?" Sun Jian then asked.

"Yes. The range of Mount Kwai is not large, with a radius of 100 miles, and the mountain is relatively gentle. I used to go into the mountains with cavalry to save my leg. Xu Rong replied, "If you walk on two legs, you will be very tired." ”

Sun Jian nodded slightly, looked at the map, looked at Xu Rong, and suddenly asked, "Since Bian Zhang knows about this road, why do you think this road is safe?" ”

Xu Rong looked at Sun Jian and knew that he still didn't trust himself.

Xu Rong smiled helplessly and explained: "Since Lord Taiwei arrived at the Xiliang battlefield, we Xiliang people have no chance to speak, especially some important actions, we are often the last to know, so Lao Bian has reason to believe that you will not know this road." ”

Zhou Shen and Sun Jian glanced at each other and did not make a sound.

"Now the rebels' troops are partly in Yuzhong City and partly in Kwaiyuan Gorge, and they are concentrating their forces to prepare to give us a fatal blow, and it is simply impossible to leave a part of the army and continue to ambush on this road." He pointed to the pastoral garden on the map and continued, "This road leads to the pastoral garden. Lao Bian knew that after we took this road to bypass Kwai Yuan Gorge, he would definitely rush here with a large army to ambush us. They arrived a day before us, and even if we could get out, we would have suffered heavy casualties. So ......"

Xu Rong looked up at the two of them and said slowly: "This road is definitely safe, but if we want to walk back to Pingxiang City safely, it will be very difficult. ”

Zhou Shen stroked his long beard, his brows tightened, and he was speechless.

The bitter fruit of the lonely army must be eaten. As long as he doesn't die in Kwaiyuan Gorge, with his 45,000 men and horses, it will definitely not be a problem to kill Pingxiang City. If Li Hong's reinforcements could arrive in time, perhaps his losses would not be too great.

"Walk in the middle of the night." Zhou Shen said resolutely.

＝＝＝

Early in the morning, Han Sui received news that the Han army had quietly retreated from the camp outside Yuzhong City in the middle of the night.

Han Sui was taken aback, hurriedly put on his clothes, and Pegasus rushed to the East City Gate.

Rushing to the city tower one step earlier, Cheng Yin, Li Kan, Zhang Heng and several other generals hurriedly greeted him.

"Is there any movement in the direction of Kwai Yuan Gorge?" Han Sui asked loudly as he hurried upstairs.

"General, not yet." Li Kan replied, "Things are very strange, there is only a dozen miles from here to Kwaiyuan Gorge, and the enemy has climbed to it, but we have not found any movement in the direction of Kwaiyuan Gorge until now." ”

Han then walked up to the city wall and raised his eyes to look east. There was nothing in the air, not even a bird. On the green field is the blue sky, a few white clouds, a quiet and quiet morning.

"General, if the enemy had retreated in the middle of the night, he would have arrived at Kwai Yuan Gorge long ago. As soon as they rush into Kwai Yuen Gorge, the fire will burn, and we should see the plume of smoke rising into the sky at night. Zhang Heng said loudly, "Is it that the enemy has just retreated and has not yet arrived?" ”

Cheng Yin patted him lightly and said with a smile: "Don't talk nonsense here." Zhou Shenren is old and refined, doesn't he know when to retreat? ”

"Will the enemy take the camel ridge, climb over Mt. Kwai and flee from the west of Kwai Gyung-gyo into Hanyang County?" Hou Xuan looked to the west and said suspiciously, "So that they can avoid Kwai Yuan Gorge, that is, they can avoid our ambush and escape back without danger." ”

There was silence on the castle tower, and everyone turned their heads to look at Mt. Kwai to the west.

"Did you send out scouts?" Han Sui was secretly surprised in his heart and hurriedly asked.

"Not yet." Cheng Yin replied, "I'll immediately send someone to Huoling." ”

Zhang Heng clapped his hands violently and shouted, "Zhou Shen, that old boy is really likely to go west." Many Xiliang generals knew about that road, especially Xu Rong, who used to run several times a year in order to catch bandits. He is from Youzhou, and in this time of life and death, he may help Zhou Shen. ”

"He must help, otherwise he will die in Kwaiyuan Gorge, do you think he is a fool?" Li Kan said loudly.

"If the enemy had fled in the middle of the night, they would have been gone for two or three hours. Now there is no movement in the direction of Kwai Yuan Gorge, which means that the enemy is not going east at all. If the enemy does not flee eastward, the only possibility is to go in the direction of Mt. Kwai. What do you see, Mr. Wenyo? The candidate asked.

Han Sui's face was gloomy, his eyes were cold and he looked at the Han army camp under the city, and he was extremely angry in his heart. He was almost certain that Zhou Shen had escaped with his troops from Camel Ridge over Kuishan, otherwise, Kuiyuan Gorge would have been on fire long ago.

After more than a month of hard planning and more than a thousand miles, it fell short.

Han Sui was disappointed, frustrated, bitter, and angry.

"Mr. Wenyue......" the candidate shouted in a low voice, "Mr. Wenyue, I heard that the road is one hundred and seventy or eighty miles, and it is very difficult to walk, and it is estimated that it will take at least two days for the officers and soldiers to reach the Muyuan. ”

Han Sui turned his head to look at him, waiting for him to continue. The candidate is Xiaoqu Shuai of the Qiang tribe, who studied under Han Sui when he was young and was the first batch of Qiang disciples of Han Sui. He is not tall but very athletic, agile, witty and flexible, and Han Sui likes him very much.

"Mr. Wenyue, we can rush to the pasture first, occupy the favorable terrain, wait for work, and hit the officers and soldiers hard. The officers and soldiers must have been exhausted after walking the mountain road for two days in a row, and their combat effectiveness has been drastically reduced, and we can completely annihilate them. The candidate shook his fist and said in convincing.

"Are you familiar with the path from Mt. Kwai to Muyuan?" Han Sui asked.

Cheng Yin shook his head at the same time.

"That road is only familiar to bandits, Yang Qiu, Cheng Yi, they used to run a lot. A few of us had just heard about it and hadn't walked through it ourselves, so ......"

Han Sui pointed at Zhang Heng and asked, "Where's the stick?" Why aren't you familiar? ”

The stick is Zhang Heng's nickname. Zhang Heng was dark-skinned, tall and thin, like a stick. His face is long, but his facial features are small, squeezed around his nose, and it is ugly to look at. He used to be a horse bandit who ran rampant in the Longxi area. Zhang Heng hurriedly replied: "General, I am active in the area of Baishi Mountain in Longxi, and I usually don't come here. This is all Yang Qiu's territory. ”

"General, you mean let's catch up?" Cheng Yin asked cautiously.

Han Sui shook his head and said with some annoyance, "I just want to know why I neglected that path?" None of you are familiar with it, and neither am I, and it is likely that this is the reason for my negligence, and I take it for granted that the enemy is not familiar with it either. A small negligence actually led to more than a month of hard work in vain, alas......"

"General, what now?" Li Kan asked.

"Take the people out of the city and bring all the baggage discarded by the enemy back to Jincheng." Han Sui thought for a moment and immediately said, "As soon as the scout has news, tell me immediately." ”

Bian Zhang's room was filled with a strong smell of herbs.

Han Sui lowered his head and paced back and forth in the room.

Bian Zhang sighed quietly and said, "This is indeed an oversight, we were too careless." ”

Han Sui slowly walked to Bian Zhang and stopped, and said with a resolute expression: "Old Bian, I plan to rush to Muyuan with the troops. ”

Bian Zhang groaned a few times, closed his eyes in pain, and said slowly: "If we want to negotiate the conditions of surrender with Zhang Wen, we must defeat Zhou Shen's 45,000 men and horses, and make the imperial court helpless." Then he opened his eyes, looked at Han Sui, and continued, "The terrain of the Pastoral Garden is not conducive to ambushes. If we engage them face to face, the losses will be too great. I think it's better to move the battlefield forward, ambush them as much as possible, and strive for total annihilation. ”

Han Sui's expression moved, and he suddenly smiled.

＝＝＝

It took two days for Zhou Shen's army to finally arrive at Muyuan. What was surprising was that there was not even a single figure in the ten miles or so near the pastoral garden, let alone any rebels.

After Zhou Shen received the scout's report, he was very puzzled. Did the rebels give up the pursuit? He didn't feel like the rebels had no reason to give up on pursuing him. So why did the rebels give up the opportunity to kill themselves at the pasture? He led the army on the mountain road for two days in a row, and he was exhausted, and if he gave the rebels a head-on blow, he would definitely suffer heavy losses.

Sun Jian and a group of generals were also puzzled. Why did the rebels give up a great opportunity to attack at the Ranch? What exactly does Bian Zhang want to do? Give up, or do you have another trick? Although everyone was worried, because they were temporarily out of danger, the fear and tension of the past few days were thrown out of the clouds, and they were all relaxed and relieved. Now even if the rebels chase after them, they are not afraid, and the 45,000 army is still more than enough to block the 70,000 rebels. With nothing to worry about, maybe you can inflict heavy losses on the rebels. Now, the army's grain and grass can still support two days, and the journey is still 300 miles, and it is not surprising that the army can safely return to Pingxiang City after three days.

The army rested for a while in the pasture, then threw off its stride and quickly advanced in the direction of Pingxiang City. In the evening, the army rushed to the orangery. On this day, the army marched almost a hundred miles, and the soldiers were extremely tired. Quite a few soldiers have been left behind. Zhou Shen still wanted to leave, but was persuaded by Sun Jian, Xu Rong, and Ko Yi. If they go any further, the soldiers will have no physical strength, and if they are caught up by the rebels, they will not even have the strength to hold weapons.

The army was then stationed at the Orangery. The Orangery Garden is a small mountainous area with gentle hills and dense woods, and there is no dangerous terrain.

Although it was said to be camped, because all the baggage was discarded under the city of Yuzhong, the soldiers did not bring anything except weapons and food, so everyone camped in the open air and lay down in clothes. As a result of the continuous long march, the soldiers were physically and mentally exhausted and soon fell asleep.

＝＝＝

Koji's army was camped on the west side of the Orangery.

In the middle of the night, Koji Yi hadn't slept yet, chatting with a few soldiers on duty at night.

"My lord, what sound do you see?" A soldier sitting on the ground suddenly stood up, pointed to the mountain in the distance, and said, "There are bursts of voices, like wolves. ”

"Everyone marches during the day and has to work in shifts at night, it's too hard." Koji Yi pointed at the soldier and smiled, "You're probably too nervous, something is wrong with your ears, and you take the sound of the wind as the footsteps of wolves." ”

The soldier smiled embarrassedly and said, "My lord, I used to hunt, and the sound of the wind blowing leaves is very different from the sound of animals moving, I can hear it. There are definitely wolves there. ”

Koji Yoshiki was amused and laughed softly with a few soldiers.

"Fork, it's the middle of the night, don't scare people."

"If you're afraid, throw some branches into the fire and make it bigger."

"Fork, don't be suspicious, if you can't support it, just run back and forth here a few times."

Everyone talked nonsense. The soldier named Fork ignored everyone's ridicule and listened intently to the movement in the distance.

"My lord, the voices are getting louder and louder, it seems like a big group." Fork looked at Koji Yi and said solemnly, "How can there be such a big wolf pack around here, it won't be the enemy who will come to raid." ”

The smile on his face froze suddenly.

"Our mobile posts have been deployed ten miles away, and if it were the enemy, it would have been discovered by these mobile posts a long time ago." One soldier laughed, "You're too nervous. ”

The fork said unconvinced: "How many people are there at the mobile post?" If the enemy is determined to attack, in order to hide their tracks, of course, they will send someone to kill them first. ”

Koji looked up at the dark mountains around him, and a chill suddenly swept through his body like lightning. Koji shook his whole body, and felt the hairs on the back of his head stand on end.

"Fork, you heard me right?" Koji asked loudly.

The fork shook his head and whispered, "Absolutely, it's the sound of animals moving, and it's a lot of animals." Such a large flock, if it is either wolves, sheep, or ......"

"It's the enemy." Koji yelled, "It's the enemy." ”

"Drumming...... Drum ......" Koji Yi didn't even want to think about it, and screamed wildly, "Drum ......"

The sound of war drums was monotonous and rapid at first, then more and more and louder, and in the blink of an eye, the war drums of war were beating violently throughout the camp.

The sound of the drums was like thunder, and in an instant it resounded through the night and shook the entire mountain forest.

The warriors suddenly woke up, nervously jumped up from the ground, dizzy, and picked up their weapons while shouting. The camp suddenly boiled like a frying pan. All the fires that were still burning in the camp were extinguished.

Koji Yi looked at the mountains and forests in the distance, smiled and said to the fork and the soldiers around him: "Lao Bian is so powerful that he actually pulled the army to the orange garden to ambush him. ”

A soldier timidly glanced timidly at the noisy camp and asked in a low voice, "My lord, what if we make a mistake?" Maybe the fork didn't hear it right, or maybe it was a pack of wolves. ”

Koji Yi smiled proudly and said loudly, "What should I do? Everyone just continue to sleep, who else dares to settle accounts with me? ”

The fork said unhappily, "Why don't you believe me? I am a famous hunter in the West Sea, my ......"

Before he could finish his words, a thunderous war drum suddenly erupted from the east side of the orange garden, followed by a loud bang, and the shouts of killing suddenly set off.

"Okay, there's a fight in the east." Koji yelled, "Drum ......"

"Array...... Dense array ......"

"Arrows...... Archers ...... arrows"

On the camp of the Chinese army, Zhou Shen was putting on armor with the help of his attendants. He looked calm, unhurried, and gave orders in an orderly manner.

"Order Xu Rong to immediately organize men and horses, tear apart the enemy's formation, and open a passage for the troops to break through."

"Order Huaxiong and Koji Yi on the left and right flanks to quickly move closer to the Chinese army, and not to be divided and surrounded by the enemy."

"Order Sun Jian, who is in the rear army, to hold his position and not to take a step back."

Lao Bian's choice of ambush position here greatly surprised everyone. Zhou Shen admired Lao Bian very much, and thought about it carefully, ambushing himself in this place was indeed much more ideal than Mu Yuan. First of all, the troops marched rapidly for three days in a row, and the soldiers were exhausted, their physical strength was exhausted to the limit, and the difference in combat effectiveness was obvious. Secondly, there is ideological paralysis. Everyone thought that the enemy would appear near the pastoral garden, and they were all on guard, always on guard against the enemy's attack, but as a result, there was a false alarm, and the rebels did not appear. Later, although everyone was nervous, everyone was lucky, thinking that the enemy might have given up the pursuit, and the tense nerves unconsciously relaxed. Once you relax, it's hard to keep your vigilance that high. The timing of the sneak attack chosen by Lao Bian is indeed very good.

＝＝＝