Finally, the army was scheduled to leave Shengjing Pass on the 13th day of the twelfth lunar month.
At the second watch of the same day, His Highness the King of Chu ordered people to kill pigs and sheep, and divide them among his subordinates to roast them as a farewell ceremony for the army.
"You just have to fight the enemy at the front with peace of mind. I will leave everything in the rear to my king. I will never let the army starve." His Highness the King of Chu toasted to several princes and generals: "Back then, Zhuge Liang was in Yunnan.
The seven captures of Meng Huo left a lasting legacy. I also wish you all the best to capture the King of Liang alive and not let Marquis Wu alone be the most beautiful!"
"Please rest assured, your highness, we don't need to capture and hold off for so long. Our three armies attack Yunnan together, and we will definitely destroy this imperial palace and sing a triumphant song!" After Yingchuan Hou finished speaking, he smiled and said: "Today, your highness will help us.
Let’s have a farewell party with wine, and in half a month, I will invite His Highness to Kunming to celebrate the New Year!”
"So confident?" King Chu couldn't help but said with great joy: "Then this is how I report it to the court?"
"Ah..." Fu Youde's expression tightened upon hearing this, and he hurriedly waved his hand and said: "This is what we said in private. We still need to be lenient with the court. If you talk too much, you will be passive."
"Hahaha." Everyone burst into laughter, and the King of Chu poured a bowl of wine for Fu Youde himself and said: "Then as the general said, we will pinch this windlass without retribution. But on the first day of the first lunar month, the king will invite a beautiful woman to go boating on the Dian Lake.
, I hope the general will make it happen."
"Don't worry, Your Highness, the New Year's Eve dinner and the first day of the new year's boat trip have all been arranged." Fu Youde wiped his sweat and did not dare to talk nonsense again.
"Hahaha, don't be stressed, fight as you should." Zhu Zhen smiled again and helped him relieve the pressure. Being a leader has this advantage, and he can tell all the pros and cons.
~~
At dawn, the Xiguan City Gate slowly opened, and the army marched out of the gate and entered the border of Yunnan.
While waiting for the arrival of the army, the former army officers and soldiers had cleared the Yuan army from the right side of the Baishi River to Shengjing Pass. They also built beacon towers along the way and sent rangers to patrol the area to prevent the Yuan army from approaching Shengjing Pass again.
Therefore, the army did not encounter any enemy troops along the way. Two days later, it finally left the endless mountainous area and entered the Qujing Basin.
Seeing that the scenery in front of them suddenly became clearer and there were no longer mountains blocking their sight, the soldiers couldn't help but cheer.
Although they had known for a long time that they would not be far from Wumeng Mountain after passing Shengjing Pass, it was not until this moment that the soldiers of the Ming Army had the real feeling of returning to the world!
Naturally, morale was greatly boosted, and the march speed accelerated a lot without the need for any urging from officers.
We arrived at the northern end of Qujing Bazi that night, less than twenty miles away from Qujing City.
The Marquis of Yingchuan ordered to set up camp in the village, bury pots for cooking, and let the soldiers have a good meal and rest.
At the same time, Xiping Hou Muying led four thousand cavalry to quietly leave the main force under the cover of night and rush to the lower reaches of the Baishi River first.
At night, there was heavy fog on the riverside. When the Ming cavalry approached the Baishi River, they could only hear the sound of the river but could not see the water surface.
"What's going on?" Qi Xiang followed closely behind Mu Ying, looking up at the sky and looking around. There was thick fog. He couldn't tell where he was or what time it was.
"Don't panic, follow each other closely and don't fall behind." Mu Ying whispered: "The heavy fog is good for us to cross the river. We went south along the river and heard the sound of the water slowing down, which meant we were reaching the lower reaches, so we
Try to cross the river."
This was the reason why he insisted on leading the team in person. Otherwise, the soldiers would be filled with complaints and their combat effectiveness would be greatly reduced if they encountered this situation. They might even be unable to complete the mission directly.
He personally leads the team, so the soldiers have a backbone. No matter what happens, as long as he doesn't panic, they won't panic.
~~
Marquis Xiping's words really made the soldiers feel at ease. They nodded silently, followed their comrades in front, and walked downstream along the river.
After walking for almost two hours, the sound of rushing water finally became soothing.
"If you don't want to go down, just cross the river here." Mu Ying raised her hand to signal the troops to stop advancing and prepare to be the first to go into the water to explore the way.
"Master Hou, let me do it." Qi Xiang held him back and said with a smile: "I am already this age, and I am still a member of a thousand households. If I don't show my face, I will have no chance."
"..." Mu Ying knew that Qi Xiang wanted to take risks for her, but he taught her riding skills, so there shouldn't be any problems, so she nodded and said: "Be careful."
"Don't worry. The only reason we can survive today is to be careful." Qi Xiang smiled, then slowly urged his horse to enter the river and try to wade across.
The reason why Mu Ying dared to cross the river directly with the cavalry was because horses were born to be able to swim.
When they enter deep water, they will float automatically due to their huge size, but they will not float very high. Only the horse's head can be exposed to the water, and the rest of the body will remain underwater.
But when they fill their lungs with enough air, their buoyancy will increase, and they can even swim with people on their backs.
However, because the pressure on the heart and lungs under water is too great, the swimming time of horses is relatively short, and the distance cannot be long. Crossing the Baishi River is okay, but if it is replaced by a large river such as the Yangtze and Xiangjiang Rivers, it will be no good.
Moreover, in fast-flowing rivers, horses may lose their balance and be rolled over by the current and die. Therefore, you must choose to cross a section of the river with slow currents, and the rider must always control the horse's head to avoid choking on the water.
Because horses cannot hold their breath, they are likely to panic, lose control, or even drown if they choke on water.
Mu Ying and others watched nervously as Qi Xiang tied a rope around his waist and rode his horse into the cold river. However, one man and one horse quickly disappeared into the thick fog. Only the roll of safety rope was slowly pulled out, which told everything.
normal.
After an unknown amount of time, the rope stopped being pulled out, and then shook three times, which was a sign that everything was normal.
Mu Ying breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the remaining rope, and whispered: "The river is one hundred and thirty feet wide, no wonder the water flow slows down."
So four thousand cavalry lined up in a line and carefully crossed the river along the safety rope.
By the time the last group of cavalry came ashore, an unknown amount of time had passed.
Mu Yingyue touched it and found that it was almost half past midnight. In other words, the night of the twelfth lunar month was long, otherwise it would have been dawn.
"But daybreak is coming soon," he whispered to his subordinates: "We have to hurry up, otherwise the fog will dissipate at any time after dawn, and our true identity will be discovered, and this method will not work."
The soldiers wrapped the horses' hooves in thick felt and headed up the river again at twice the speed.
Finally, an hour later, a mountain range appeared in front of them. The soldiers were not surprised but overjoyed.
Because this shows that they are on the right track - the mountains by the river are their destination, Liokuo Mountain.
When Mu Ying led the crowd to the top of the mountain, they saw a red sun dispersing the thick fog, and they had a panoramic view of Qujing City, Baishi River, and the two armies confronting each other across the river.
However, Mu Ying did not take action immediately. Instead, she ordered her subordinates to prepare the flags, gongs, and drums they had brought, and then rested on the spot, ate some dry food, and waited for the right opportunity.
