Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3210 Birds are calling in the sky

As the sky became brighter, Wei Yan lifted up the linoleum covering the top, quickly got out of the resting place, and then began to stretch his arms and legs.

Even though the ground was baked last night, it is still easy to get damp after a night. Especially after the sun rises, there is a bit of mist in the mountains, making the body wet and cold.

 Several soldiers on duty came back with dew on their heads.

　　　　Is there anything going on? "Wei Yan asked, then when he saw the soldiers on duty shaking their heads, he patted the dew and weeds on their armor, and pointed to the shack he had just emerged from, "Change into dry clothes and go take a nap first. , I’ll call you again during dinner. 』

Wei Yan and the others had almost eaten all the food and grass they had brought with them.

 The average soldier carries dry food for three to five days.

If it is known that a long-distance march is required, the amount of dry food carried by ordinary soldiers will be doubled to ten days' worth.

And for mountain soldiers like Wei Yan, the number is doubled again.

 But even so, the dry food I carried along the way was almost exhausted.

 Wei Yan noticed that the soldiers on duty last night did not gain anything extra. Maybe it was bad luck, maybe the trap was spotted by animals...

Hunting is not as easy as ordinary people think, otherwise hunting should be the richest profession in the world. In the cold weapon age, hunters relied entirely on their faces when hunting. If God gives you face, you will gain a lot. If God doesn't give you face, you won't even get shit.

In the Taihang Mountains, some carnivorous beasts, even if they do not recognize humans, will instinctively feel that these iron-skinned two-legged beasts are not easy to deal with. Unless they are found alone, they will generally not easily come to trouble Wei Yan and others. The vegetarian animals are more alert and will immediately run away at the slightest sign of trouble. Therefore, hunting can only be used as an occasional supplement and cannot really be used as dry food.

Taihang Mountain is steep. Even though Wei Yan and others are used to climbing in the mountains and forests, and they have been training for a long time in the Sichuan, Sichuan and Qinling Mountains, it is still a bit difficult to actually walk.

Wei Yan looked up and saw the towering Taihang Mountains.

To be honest, if Wei Yan knew that Taihang Mountain was so difficult to travel, I wonder if he would think twice about it next time.

However, since we have already come this far, there is no reason to do nothing and just turn back.

Furthermore, Wei Yan firmly believed that Cao Jun would be even more unlikely to walk on a road that he himself found difficult. This meant that Cao Jun never expected that he would rush out of the mountains...

 Military merit is like prey. If you can’t wait for it, or if you don’t get it, you have to take risks and hunt it!

If he hadn't made such a trip, when would he, Wei Yan, be like Taishi Ci, able to scare the people of Jizhou to the point of peeing just by his name?

 Since Hussar has given him his status and military power, whether he can fulfill his lifelong ambitions or not depends only on himself!

 When they marched into Shandong, it was a pity that he was not able to participate.

Now that the opportunity is in front of you, is there any reason to miss it?

 He has been preparing for this moment for a long time.

The guard walked to Wei Yan's side and asked in a low voice: "General, do you want to... reduce it by half..."

Dry food is not enough, so we have to get wild vegetables, but not all the green plants growing in the mountains can be eaten. In order to protect themselves from being eaten clean, various plant fungi have their own special abilities. Some fungi even only have a shelf life of half a day. They emerge from the soil in the early morning. If not discovered, they will directly rot and become a breeding ground for spores by noon...

 So it is also not easy to collect wild vegetables.

Wei Yan pondered for a moment, shook his head, and said: "Don't cut it, distribute it according to the normal proportion." 』

In the mountains and forests, whether you are walking, guarding, collecting, capturing, or there may be battles later, you need to maintain a certain amount of physical strength, and if you want to maintain physical strength, there cannot be a shortage of food.

"But...if we follow the normal distribution, we will only have three days...four days at most of rations left..." the guard whispered, with a worried look, "What if this happens..."

Wei Yan waved his hand, "It doesn't matter...three days, that's enough...distributing it normally will also give the sons peace of mind..."

　　Seeing that Wei Yan had made up his mind, the guard said nothing more.

Wei Yan took out the map and spread it on the rocks nearby.

 The sun rises and shines down.

Wei Yan’s eyes roamed around the map.

　　　　老马头! come over! ” Wei Yan raised his head and greeted.

After a while, Lao Ma came over and said, "What's the matter, general?" 』

"Take a few people with you and go to this place to have a look..." Wei Yan pointed to a certain spot on the map and said, "I think Cao Jun will set up a camp here... Be careful on the road, don't be discovered by Cao Jun..."

This is of course not the so-called "I am thinking" power, but based on the route of the previous escape and the needs of the battle, a more suitable transfer station and rest camp will inevitably be set up halfway.

 In terms of distance, it should be neither too far nor too close, not too difficult to walk, and there also needs to be a water source.

So under the combination of many conditions, Wei Yan found a place...

 …

 …

As the person in charge of the Cao Army's military camp on the other side of the Taihang Mountains, Captain Chen Han has been a little uneasy recently.

He will never admit that he himself suffered from mental anxiety after seeing the tragic situation of advancing and failing.

Who would have thought that Le Jin would lose so miserably?

That’s Lejin!

Le Jin, who is said to be the first to be the general in every battle!

As a result, he was beaten until he was like a lost dog, and he was carried over with one leg lame...

Moreover, both Le Jin and his soldiers looked panicked and dejected, as if although they survived, all their courage and fighting spirit had been lost to the Shangdang.

this…

Chen Han also fought with Le Jin for a period of time back then, and he admired Le Jin's bravery and strength very much.

 But this time…

Of course, Chen Han now has the benefit of hindsight and began to feel that Le Jin's attack on Shangdang was a very inappropriate thing.

When the army goes deep into the Taihang Mountains, it not only has to travel long distances, but also has to overcome dangerous passes. It can only supply supplies through the Yangchang Slope Road, or by taking a detour from Hanoi to Taihangxing. Not to mention that those mountain roads are difficult to navigate. If someone attacks in the mountains and cuts off the food route, it will definitely be an unbearable pain for the army that consumes a lot of money every day.

 This is something Chen Han, who once fought against the Montenegrin Army, has a deep understanding of.

The military stronghold he is currently stationed in is the dilapidated military stronghold left by the Montenegrin Army. It has now been renovated and renovated.

The Black Mountain Army rarely went out to fight Yuan Shao's army head-on. Most of the time, they used the terrain to constantly harass and make sneak attacks, and then dragged Yuan's army to collapse. Except for the time when they met Lu Bu, this set of tactics was not easy to use. At other times, the Montenegrin Army had the upper hand, beating Yuan Shao until Yuan Shao howled and screamed, and there was nothing he could do.

 You must know that many Montenegrin troops eventually defected to the Hussars, but General Le Jin actually...

However, Chen Han couldn't guess what the upper management was thinking.

 Many things that should be done according to theory were not done by the court, but some things that should not be done were done by the court.

 So, maybe the devil knows what the higher-ups are thinking?

 I just don’t know if he is a clever guy or a greedy guy. Anyway, he is not a human being.

 But some people have to carry out this ghost order.

For example, garrisoning this shabby military stronghold...

 A soldier came in and reported: "Captain, there are people coming down from the army camp." 』

Chen Han was stunned, "Where did he come from?" 』

“He said he came from Zhongmou...” the soldier replied, “he said he came to check the accounts of military supplies and supplies...”

"examine? ” Chen Han hesitated for a moment.

 Has anyone really come here to check?

Some time ago, he heard that someone was ordered to search around, checking military rations and civilian warehouses. He didn't know who they were targeting...

 This is another order from above that Chen Han cannot understand.

If it is really found out, dealt with, announced, and implemented, then that's fine. But more often than not, the investigation leads to a lot of chaos, and when it is dealt with, it is thunderous and rainy, and when it is announced, it is... Is it because there is no comment and it will not be made public, so the devil knows whether it is really a search for someone or a fake one?

　　　『Spicy egg. ” Chen Han cursed, then stood up, “Check Ji Ba Cha…” He cursed like this, but he didn’t dare to neglect his actions.

 Chen Han quickly walked to the wall of the military village and saw a small group of Cao Jun soldiers outside the wall, carrying Han banners and wearing sleeved armor, and his heart skipped a beat.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　! ” Chen Han cursed in his heart, this looks like the equipment of the leader of the Cao family, not the double armor of ordinary county soldiers, or the simple leather armor that even dogs can’t wear.

 It seems that the dogs who came this time were actually the dogs under the direct supervision.

“Whose order are you here on?” Chen Han asked, more or less looking for a place.

 But he was quickly slapped in the face.

 The leader below the military camp glanced at Chen Han, "Stop talking nonsense, open the door and check the accounts!" If there is an order from above, there is an order from above! Could it be that you want to resist the order? 』

　　　…” Chen Han stared.

 It’s no use staring.

 Shandong’s fine tradition is that “there are orders from above.”

 Including but not limited to "general's explanation", "envoy's intention", "understanding the spirit", "acting according to orders", etc. Of course, there are some written things such as writing, but the people working below basically don’t have them. And even if there are indeed any written orders, most of them are written casually to "act as a convenience".

 If something is done well, it is because the leaders above are commanding well; if it is done wrong, it is because the subordinates are impatient and negligent.

  Anyway, no matter whether they are big or bad people, they are indeed very cheap.

 So when Chen Han saw Cao Jun who was so angry, he could only wave his hand helplessly and ordered the gate of the village to be opened.

 Can't afford to offend.

They can't afford to offend anyone with a Chinese prefix, Cao Jun.

Chen Han politely welcomed Cao Jun into the military camp, and then asked people to get the military rations and materials account books. At the same time, he also more or less said that the rations and materials allocated were not enough to eat at all, and he complained that it was difficult. Dragon, anyway, the implication is that I am so poor that I don’t have much money for you to harvest.

Chao Jun, the team leader who was checking the accounts, ignored Chen Han’s complaints and just took the delivered accounts and looked through them. The rest of Cao's soldiers were standing in the corridor at the door.

Cao Jun led the team to flip through the account books.

Hmm, it’s indeed a clattering sound.

 Because most of the ordinary military villages, as well as the general county and township institutions, have not yet used paper, but only wooden slips worn together. When you look through it, isn't there a lot of movement?

Chen Han watched from the side, sipping his teeth.

 After a while, the leader of Cao's army flicked the account book and shouted, "This account is wrong!" Someone come! Get this corrupt person down for me! 』

Soon, Cao Jun rushed up and held Chen Han down.

Chen Han was shocked, "I was wronged!" Unjustly accused...wait...』

After being held down and the knife held on his neck, Chen Han felt something was wrong.

He swallowed, hesitated, and asked cautiously, "No...you...who are you?" 』

 The leader of Cao Jun laughed loudly.

　　　A certain surname is Wei. "Wei Yan, who was wearing Cao Jun's uniform, smiled and said, "Wei Yan, Wei Wenchang. 』

 …

 …

 In the mountain road, when the horse's hooves step on it, little bits of slurry will fly.

This is a pure cavalry team, with one person and two horses. In addition to the war horse, there is also a backup horse for carrying weight. They can be ridden in turns to reduce the physical damage of the war horse, extend the distance of march, and increase the speed of march.

 Generally speaking, if it is not running fast, outflanking and making a surprise attack, the cavalry will not be much faster than the infantry.

 And the consumption of war horses will be greater than that of people.

If you just eat grass, the war horse will lose weight in a short period of time, and its physical strength will also drop greatly. Therefore, most war horses need to eat specially supplied bean feed, or even sugary and high-calorie concentrates. . But other animals cannot be as agile, fast, docile, obedient, and capable of reproduction as a war horse...

Everyone knows that in the mountains and forests, tigers and leopards are naturally the most powerful, but the problem is that no one can tame a large number of tigers and leopards as riding or attack partners.

 Even the barbarians in Nanzhong can only maintain a small amount and it is difficult to use them.

This attack on Shexian County was Zhang Ji's idea, but the person who carried it out was Yan Rou.

 In other words, it cannot be called an idea, it should be called an "obsession".

Zhang Ji has always believed that he was responsible for the losses in Shexian County, and this time both Huguan and Lejin suffered losses, which made Zhang Ji even more angry.

Yan Rou originally thought that after getting Bian Bing's head, she could return to the desert, but she didn't expect that after moving to Shangdang, she found that the war was not over, and the key was that Jinyang was still occupied...

This is a bit embarrassing.

 Because Yan Rou was originally a subordinate of Jinyang.

Although Yan Rou left Jinyang and got Cui Jun's approval at that time, the problem is Cui Jun's current reputation...

Even Yan Rou lost a bit of face and felt a bit more ashamed.

Zhang Ji and Yan Rou also had a certain friendship, and their current situations were somewhat similar, so they couldn't help but be suspicious of each other, and then they talked about Shexian County.

Originally Xiahou Dun sent Bian Bing and Shi Jian to attack Huguan Dang from the north and south with He Le, but he did not expect that Bian Bing died on the way. After Shi Jian got the news, he continued to attack Huangniuti Mountain for a long time without descending. He was helpless. withdraw.

 At the moment in She County, the defeated army Shi Jian and Liang Qi, who surrendered to Cao's army, were stationed there.

There will not be too many troops, and because Xiahou Dun currently occupies Jinyang, the originally concentrated troops are now scattered into a line...

 This means there is an opportunity.

Xiahou Dun was bound to be unable to distribute his troops evenly along this line. He could only defend a few important points. Zhang Ji and Yan Rou were very familiar with all these "key points" and could easily understand them with their eyes closed. It's easy to walk over there, but it's not easy to walk over there.

 From this perspective, Cao Jun does not have many geographical advantages.

At the same time, because of the failure of Cao Jun's attack on Shangdang, Xiahou Dun in Taiyuan naturally became a lonely army, so Xiahou Dun will definitely make some early preparations. In any case, Xiahou Dun should not be allowed to arrange it so smoothly...

 Zhang Ji felt that if he had not been injured, he would have led a raid on Shexian County and cut off Xiahou's return home. Only in this way could he wash away the shame of losing Shexian County and gain full military exploits.

Yan Rou listened on the sidelines and thought it made sense. After the Cui Jun incident, he also felt that Bian Bing's head alone did not seem to be a great achievement. If others said that he had served under Cui Jun, they would be embarrassed.

 Having more military exploits is naturally better.

Moreover, both of them believed that if they were to catch someone by surprise and attack them unprepared, the success rate of a surprise attack should be high.

So the two men approached Jia Qu again and expressed their intention to go to war together to capture Shexian County. Jia Qu naturally refused, saying bluntly that Zhang Ji was seriously injured and needed to rest. If the injury worsened on the way, would he go to fight against Shexian County or deliver food to Shexian County?

Zhang Ji was helpless, and in the end he could only settle for the next best thing, saying that he would let Yan Rou go, and Zhang Ji would provide his own bodyguards to coordinate...

So there was such a "joint" army.

Yan Rou looked back, then faced the bodyguards beside her, and said with a hint of longing, "It still feels complete with the war horses... Hey, at this time, the grass should be sprouting in the desert." ? The tender kind, like... that..."

　　　『Blanket, like a blanket! ” The guard beside him couldn’t help but say, “It’s a soft green blanket, the kind that won’t hurt you if you fall... There are cows and sheep all over the mountains and fields, lowering their heads and gnawing hard, swish, swish, eating grass. The sound was like rain, but no matter how much I ate, it was still a big mess the next day..."

"that is! "The guard on the other side also said, "It's not like here, except for rocks, there are still rocks, and it's hard for even a root of grass to grow! 』

 Speaking of the excitement, almost everyone was chirping, occasionally with some laughter.

 mountains pass by, curling up the long mane on the war horse's neck.

 They carry longing and hope.

　　Although many people were killed in the previous war, they were not immersed in sorrow. They still held a heart for a better life in the future, yearning for the light in the midst of iron and blood.