Chapter Five Hundred and Thirteen The Three Armies Advance To Po Le Chuan
The Tang army marched along the Teleman River for another two days. Luo Zhentan, the leader of Humi Kingdom, personally led 5,000 troops to join them. By now, the Tang army's strength under Gao Xianzhi had expanded to 20,000.
It's just that the road is getting harder and harder now. The peaks and ridges of the Hindu Kush Mountains are intertwined, the terrain is getting higher and higher, and the valleys are getting narrower.
It is midsummer now, but the cold wind is howling in the bulging mountainside, the frozen soil has not melted for thousands of years, and the vegetation in the valley has become increasingly scarce. The Hidden Division and the Secret Protectorate need to bring their own supplies to participate in the expedition, and their supplies are the plateau
The yaks and argali grazing on the mountain are starving to death because of the scarcity of vegetation.
Another problem is that the valley is so narrow that we can only move forward in a long snake formation. The troops gathered together and walked slowly like centipedes. After discussing with Li Siye, Wang Zhengjian, Cheng Qianli and others, Gao Xianzhi decided to advance in three groups.
Finally we meet in front of Bolechuan in front of Lianyun Fort.
Gao Xianzhi immediately gave an order to Zhao Chongxun, Shule's deputy army envoy: "You lead the Shule Army's five thousand men and advance along the Beigu Mountain Road. When you reach Bolechuan, rest and wait."
Zhao Chongxun crossed his hands and accepted the order. He raised his head and glanced at General Li next to Gao Xianzhi. Li Siye waved to him and said, "Go ahead and pay attention to safety."
Gao Xianzhi also ordered Jia Chonghuan, the transfer envoy to the city: "You lead the transfer camp headquarters and a part of the Kucha army to go from Chifotang Road."
"Here!"
He stood on a big rock and ordered loudly to the generals around him: "The rest of the people, as well as the generals, the friendly troops of the Shini Kingdom and the Protectorate Kingdom, all follow me from the Post Road of the Protectorate Kingdom along the south bank of the river. In July
All armies must arrive at Bolechuan before the fifteenth day, and those who violate the deadline shall be punished as disobedience!"
The three armies stood in front of the river beach and folded their hands in unison to answer the order: "Here!"
The battalions and regiments began to reorganize and assemble. In order to facilitate the march, all the flags, including the six flags, were wrapped and put away. The watershed formed at the foot of the mountain was divided into three lanes, and the army marched along the high mountains.
During the march, Gao Xianzhi, Bian Lingcheng, and Li Siye climbed up a gentle mountain to have a panoramic view. They could see the winding ridges of the mountains, but looking further into the distance, they were all covered in clouds and mist, making it impossible to recognize their true appearance. At their feet, they
The army was walking through the ravines between the mountains and rivers, like a colony of ants who divided their labors and foraged for food.
"Compared with the towering mountains, human beings are really small."
"An ant may be small, but it can destroy a thousand-year-old embankment."
Gao Xianzhi smiled: "Yes."
The marching routes of the three armies are all curved to the extreme. When humans cannot conquer the sky above their heads, the obstacles on the terrain are a big unsolvable problem for them. For example, in front of them, in order to encourage the soldiers, Gao Xianzhi pointed
The ridge, which is less than six miles apart, said: "When we get to the back of that mountain, everyone will make short repairs."
Unexpectedly, the road, which is less than six miles long, is infinitely long with twists and turns, and there are often problems along the way. There are some narrow paths that can hardly be called roads, and only one person can pass. The horses carrying dry food are blocked.
The deep stream under their feet frightened them so much that they did not dare to move forward. The soldiers had no choice but to pull and fight. The team paused for a moment, and the anxious Gao Xianzhi yelled at the back: "What's going on! If you can't get through, you won't think of a way!"
At this time, something happened behind him. A skinny horse, exhausted from running for a long time, fell down with its neck crooked and rolled down the hillside, like a tumbling stone falling into the fast waters of the Teleman River.
"My horse!" A soldier was about to chase him, but was caught by the robe next to him. He sat on the edge of the rock with tears in his eyes and cried loudly: "My horse, I only bought it three years ago! I just bought it.
Three years!"
This was a soldier from Li Siye's personal army. Li Siye pulled Hei Pang past him, raised his riding crop and gave him a slap: "You're crying, your head is still on your shoulders, you shouldn't be happy!"
"But my horse died and there is no food left!"
"When I get back, I'll give you extra money to buy horses, and let your fellow travelers share the food with you!" He immediately turned to Yan Xiaosi and said, "Don't let him go hungry."
Yan Xiaosi chuckled and crossed his arms in response. He stretched out his hand to pull the soldier up from the ground and scolded him: "I'll give you the dry food I brought. Don't embarrass me again."
The soldier felt coy for a while and had no choice but to follow behind Yan Xiaosi with his sword in hand. The soldiers around him made fun of him.
At this time, many soldiers were lying on the rock wall retching. Their faces looked very bad, like critically ill patients. Gao Xianzhi frowned and looked into the distance. The journey was still far away, but most of them were already exhausted. He had no choice but to
He shouted an order: "Recuperate where you are! Medical officer, medical officer! Go and see why so many people are dizzy and nauseated."
The medical officer squeezed through the mountain road with a medicine box and shouted to the soldiers blocking the road: "Give way and ask me to come over and save people!"
The soldiers' bodies were clinging to the cliff. The snow line on the mountain was only a few feet away from them. Ice pillars hung upside down on the protruding rock cracks above. They stood on tiptoes and broke off the ice pillars. They ate dry food with their left hands and drank ice with their right hands. Their fingers were frozen.
His heart was flushed, and the blood in his heart was still hot and difficult to cool down.
Gao Xianzhi and Li Siye also checked the situation along the narrow mountain road to see how many soldiers were dizzy and had difficulty moving. As they walked along the way, many people did show these symptoms. The situation ranged from mild to severe, and it may depend on each person's physical fitness.
.
The medical officer put down the medical box and crossed his hands towards them: "General, deputy envoy."
"What disease have they contracted? Why are they feeling dizzy and nauseous?"
"It may be caused by acclimatization and fatigue from climbing."
Li Siye added next to him: "It should be altitude sickness."
"What's the reaction?"
"It's altitude sickness."
The medical officer finally came to his senses and said quickly: "Yes, it's altitude sickness. People like us have never been to such a high place, so we may get sick."
Gao Xianzhi didn't care what the disease was and asked directly: "How to cure it?"
The medical officer turned to look at Li Siye, but General Li replied: "Carry it hard."
Gao Xianzhi also nodded and said: "Any illness that can be overcome is not considered an illness."
After the soldiers rested for a while, Gao Xianzhi immediately urged them to go on their way: "Let's set off immediately. Those who have a headache and dizziness should take off their armor. The whole army should slow down and don't run or walk vigorously!"
The soldiers who were lying on the cliff forced themselves to stand up, holding the reins of the pack horses and moving slowly, crossing two mountain passes along the way. The mountain passes had overlapping glaciers, and the thick hard snow crust submerged their knees, and the red sun shone brightly.
The glare reflected on the snow surface was so piercing that people could not open their eyes. Duan Xiu covered his eyes with his hands, bent down and grabbed a handful of snowflakes and stuffed them into his mouth. It felt sweet and unique.
They stood on the mountainside with a pergola and looked into the distance. The curved Bolechuan River like a jade belt appeared in their sight. On the undulating hills on the other side of the river, there was a vague city head made of brown soil and rammed rocks. This scene was only available in
It can only be distinguished when the clouds and fog are light.
This was Lianyun Fort, the first target of the Tang army's trip. Although the mountain view was estimated to be more than forty miles away from them, it was within sight after all, and everyone had something to look forward to.
The Shule Army led by Zhao Chongxun had already arrived on the foreshore of Bolechuan. Needless to say, everyone was happy. It has been twenty days since the three armies marched separately. This ultra-long-distance rally has reached the end.
It is a joy that others cannot experience.
In the early morning of the next day, another Tang army led by Jia Chonghuan rushed to the river. After the three armies converged, they began to repair. Each battalion and each regiment counted the number of people. A total of thirteen people, including the Hidden Division and the Secret Protector, died in the accident, and another
More than a hundred people were seriously ill and injured, which shows that the other two armies also experienced hardships.
Due to the melting of glaciers in summer, the water in the Bolechuan River surged, the water surface became five or six feet wider, and the water flow became more and more turbulent. Even the sky was gloomy at the moment, making the violent waves of the river water turn blue-black.
The people led the horses and stood shoulder to shoulder by the river, looking at the rolling river with a worried look. Li Siye tugged at the beard of his chin and thought hard about countermeasures. They traveled thousands of miles without carrying any luggage, and there were no woods nearby. Even the erection of
No materials found for the pontoon.
The supervisor, Bian Lingcheng, put his fly whisk on his back, put his hands on his sleeves and trembled, saying: "Soldiers are very fast, but now they are blocked in front of the river, and the dry food they carry cannot wait. What should we do?"
However, Gao Xianzhi put his hands behind his back and said calmly: "Since we set out on the expedition, we haven't offered sacrifices to the sky or flags to the river god. Later we will kill three animals to sacrifice to the river god. The water level will naturally drop."