With Wang Yun's support, Dong Bai's order was finally implemented.
When the rain gradually subsided, the army that had been stationed for many days began to move out.
Li Su's delay had no effect, so he had no choice but to lead the army angrily toward the depths of the Qinling Mountains.
Baoxie Road starts from the mouth of Baoxie Valley in the south and ends at the mouth of Xieguchi Valley in the north. It runs along Baoxie Er River and runs through Baoxie Er Valley.
The mountains along the way are dangerous and difficult to pass.
Li Taibai once lamented in "The Road to Shu is Difficult" that the road to Shu is as difficult as climbing to the sky!
——"The sky is not full of mountains, and the withered pines hang upside down on the cliffs. The rushing waterfalls compete with each other, and the cliffs turn into rocks and thousands of valleys are filled with thunder."
This road goes through valleys in the mountains and along rivers.
There is no smooth road in the first place, and now the road is slippery due to the rain, making it even more difficult to walk.
Although the autumn rains these days are not heavy, they are continuous. The rainwater from the mountains flows into the river valleys, raising the water level and making it extremely difficult to walk in some places that were originally passable.
When encountering danger, the soldiers could only climb the rock wall and wade through the water.
Dong Bai, who had always been pampered and well-off, was like an ordinary soldier, wearing a bamboo hat and a raincoat, climbing rocks and treading water, and trudging together.
Perhaps seeing that a noble lady like Dong Bai could share the joys and sorrows, the originally sluggish morale slowly began to pick up.
Dong Bai had a strange feeling.
Whenever her body is exhausted and unable to support herself.
It was as if there was a force generated from her organs, running throughout her body, and eliminating her fatigue.
Keep her spirits high and boost the morale of those around her.
Even a noble lady like Cai Yan, a weakling, gritted her teeth and followed her footsteps.
Wang Yun thought that his foster daughter Diao Chan had a background as a dancer, and she practiced hard at dancing and had a flexible figure, so he took the initiative to let her accompany Dong Bai.
This time Dong Bai did not refuse.
And that Diao Chan was indeed a good dancer. Even if she had to walk hard every day, she still had the energy to take good care of the two of them.
This made Dong Bai very fond of her, and even promised to recruit her to be a female official in Weiyang Lord's palace.
After walking for a few more days, the rain gradually stopped.
Although the autumn water has not receded and the road is still difficult to walk, everyone feels a lot better psychologically.
Only those like Li Su who have traveled to central Sichuan understand that the real test is yet to come.
The soul of Baoxie Road lies in the continuous plank road. In order to penetrate this natural danger in the middle of Shu, all dynasties have spent a lot of effort. As early as the Qin Dynasty, plank roads began to be built in the mountains. After that, they were destroyed several times and were destroyed again and again.
reconstruction.
Some of these plank roads need to rely on the mountain terrain and hammer down the rocks blocking the road; some need to drill holes in the cliffs, then plug crossbars in the holes and cover the crossbars with wooden boards; in places with deep ditches and dangerous streams,
Long thick wooden boards need to be erected; when encountering winding paths on cliffs, piles and fences need to be built next to them to prevent people from falling off the cliff.
It can be said that in order to contend with the dangerous natural conditions, human beings have used incomparable wisdom and courage.
However, such efforts are extremely fragile in the face of the power of nature.
Not to mention the collapse of rocks and sweeping rivers that may occur at any time. Sometimes even a few mushrooms growing on beams and pillars may cause a section of road to collapse.
There are hundreds of miles of plank roads like this in the Qinling Mountains.
After this autumn rain, I don’t know how much trouble there will be in the next trip.
As a general who was scouting, Li Su consciously led a small number of soldiers to explore the route in advance.
Perhaps it was because Zhao Qian's soldiers and horses had not been there for a long time, so some difficult-to-reach places had been simply leveled, and some loose wooden piles also had signs of temporary reinforcement.
Li Su led his people to walk the road he would take tomorrow himself every day, leaving soldiers to take turns guarding him, and then he returned to the camp to rest with confidence.
The so-called camp is nothing more than a temporary stove to rest among the rocks that are not easy to catch fire.
The soldiers in charge of the baggage went to the nearby mountains to cut down dead trees, then used knives and axes to remove the wet surface, lit a fire in the rubble, and set up a pot to cook some wheat beans.
If you are lucky, the wandering scouts can hunt some antelopes, hares and the like.
Originally these were the enjoyment of the generals, but Dong Bai used them to reward them based on their merits.
Originally, the heavy troops and scouts worked hard and were rewarded for their merits. This march did not require a life-and-death fight, but they were rewarded by Dong Bai.
Before I knew it, I had been traveling in the Qinling Mountains for many days.
On this day, Li Su came back earlier.
When passing by the river, he stabbed a few fat fresh fish with a few branches.
Li Su took one himself and found a pot that had just been set up near the camp to stew it slowly.
The fire soldier was about to cook, but he didn't dare to say anything when he saw Li Su occupying the stove.
Li Su finished eating the dry food slowly, and then drank the stewed fish soup in one go, including the meat and thorns.
The soldiers sitting around were dumbfounded.
I don’t know how this general eats so much.
Li Su burped comfortably, then pointed at the other fish with his hand, "Present them yourself, maybe Weiyang Lord will reward you with some."
After hearing this, the soldiers thanked Li Su happily.
Li Su walked slowly towards his camp. After walking only a few steps, he suddenly looked back suspiciously.
Then, he slowly walked back.
The soldiers were preparing to start the stove again, and when they saw Li Su coming back, they hurriedly paid their respects.
Li Su waved his hand and glanced at the soldiers who had just gathered here, "How many people in your team are eating together?"
One of the leading soldiers quickly said, "Back to General Zhonglang, it is inconvenient to climb mountains and wade through rivers to carry luggage. The food is distributed to each soldier to carry, and dry firewood also needs to be found temporarily. We only have ten stoves in one camp.
, thirty people had a meal together.”
"So many people."
Li Su understood somewhat. No wonder there were so many people waiting nearby.
Li Su thought about what he saw while exploring the road during the day, and felt a little hazy in his heart.
He left slowly, first walked around the camp carefully, and then went directly to find the mighty general Wang Yun.
Wang Yun had suffered a lot these days. He was already an old man, and he could only follow the march because of the support of a few strong soldiers.
But the climb was inevitable along the way, and Wang Yun felt so tired every time he set up camp that he felt like he was about to fall apart.
But now the journey is nearly halfway, and even if you want to back out, it's impossible.
Especially when he thought about finding out what happened to Yu Xian and having to come back from Hanzhong, Wang Yun collapsed a little.
It would be better to just report his illness and become an official, and then die of old age in Hanzhong.
In this Han Dynasty, love whoever you want.
When Wang Yun heard that Li Su asked for an audience, he feebly asked someone to invite Li Su.
Li Su entered the hastily built tent and waved his hand to signal the soldiers to retreat.
Then he asked Wang Yun, who looked puzzled, "General Mighty, how many people did the court give Zhao Qian when he went to Hanzhong this time?"
"Zhao Qian?" Wang Yun's face drooped.
Dong Zhuo appointed Zhao Qian as Situ, replacing Wang Yun's position, which caused a thorn in Wang Yun's heart.
When heading to Hanzhong this time, Zhao Qian arrived first with his troops and horses. While Dong Bai's troops and horses were taking shelter from the rain, he set off early and rushed to the front.
Although no one could compare him, Wang Yun, as the nominal commander of this army, felt a little bit stepped on.
"It's probably more than three thousand people."
Wang Yun's face looked unnatural.
Li Su frowned after hearing this, "Judging from my humble position, there are more than three thousand. The place where we camp roughly coincides with the location of Zhao Qian's former army. I checked it carefully today. When we camped and cooked,
There are still a lot of empty stoves left. Even if we count a little less, I'm afraid the number of people must be more than 5,000."
"This..., it's not a big deal."
Wang Yun had a long face and said with a bit of sourness, "The grand master thinks more highly of Zhao Qian, but he still has to deal with the Hanzhong Army and the Yizhou Army, so it doesn't matter if he has more troops."
Li Su shook his head and said seriously, "Why is it nothing? Military orders are like mountains, there is no ambiguity."
Wang Yun was confused.
Seeing how unreliable Wang Yun was, Li Su felt even more uneasy.
He said seriously, "I will go back to investigate right now. General Mighty will go down to see Weiyang Jun and ask her to stay where she is and wait for my return."
"This?" Wang Yun was dumbfounded, "What's going on?"