end song

Qutang Gorge.

The wind passed through the canyon, and there was a whimper, and the rushing water kept beating the side of the ship.

Jia Sidao stood facing the wind, looked up at the cliffs on both sides of the bank, and murmured: "How did you take down this kind of terrain?"

Among the accompanying people, there was only one Jiangling manager named "Yao Di" who joined the army and knew about the battle at Kuimen, and he came out and said, "Ping Zhanggong, can you see the plank road over there?"

On the mountain rock sandwiching the Yangtze River, a plank road was indeed dug.

The mountain rock is completely perpendicular to the river surface, and there is no place to stand on. We can only nail wooden stakes into the stones, and then lay wooden boards on the wooden stakes. At this time, there are trackers like ants pulling boats on the plank road.

Maybe a gust of wind could blow them into the turbulent river, and even Jia Sidao's boat was in danger of running aground.

"In this terrain, only the Jiangxia Ferry at Qutangguan is slightly slower, which can accommodate a large ship. But it is absolutely impossible to break through the Tang army's defense and attack from there." Yao Xi raised his hand and said: "Our army It is to climb up from this cliff and attack Qutang Pass at night from the mountain wall."

Jia Sidao took the lookout from Liao Yingzhong, glanced at it, and said, "It's impossible to climb up."

His tone was very firm, because the bare rocks did not look like they could be climbed.

Yao Di did not take part in the attack on Kuimen, so he couldn't tell the details, but he pointed to the canyon in front of him and said, "This section of Qutang Gorge is called 'Fengxiang Gorge'. Ping Zhanggong, please look there."

Jia Sidao tried his best to stand firm on the deck, squinted his eyes and looked carefully through the binoculars, only to see a few cracks in the broken rock on the rock wall, and there seemed to be a stack of black square objects on the top of the crack, like a wooden box.

"what is that."

"It is rumored that it is the bellows left by Lu Ban."

Jia Sidao listened attentively and heard the whimpering sound in the gorge, as if a giant was really pulling a bellows, and said, "No wonder this place is called Bellows Gorge."

"But that's not a bellows." Yao Ti said, "It's a hanging coffin."

Jia Sidao froze for a moment, not believing it.

How could it be possible to climb up a place where no one could climb up with a coffin.

However, as the boat continued to move forward, he moved his eyes and found two more hanging coffins high on the rock wall.

Yao Di said: "Don't dare to lie to Duke Pingzhang, it's really a hanging coffin."

"Damn." Jia Sidao cursed in a low voice to show his surprise.

"Please explain to the truth, how did such a large coffin move to this kind of rock wall?"

"I don't even know the lower officials. I'm afraid it was left before the Han Dynasty." Yao Xi said, "Maybe it was the gods who helped."

"It's impossible." Jia Sidao said again.

"I don't know how the hanging coffin got up, but our army climbed up from here and broke through Kuimen. It is said that that day, people kept jumping down, or fell into the river and were swept away, or fell on the reef with flesh and blood." Fuzzy. Among the three hundred warriors, none of the ten climbed the rock wall."

"Ten do not save one." Jia Sidao murmured, turned to look at Yao Di, then looked at him squarely, and asked: "Listen to your accent, are you from Shu?"

"Yes, Xiaguan is from Zizhou, Tongchuanfu Road."

"The state where Li Ni rose to power is also on Tongchuanfu Road."

"Xiaguan arrived in Yixing, Liangzhe West Road 15 years ago."

Jia Sidao nodded, quite satisfied with Yao Xi.

Then, he looked at the terrain on both sides of the strait again. He turned his head to Liao Yingzhong and said, "I heard that the soldiers attacked Kuimen by surprise before, and I thought it was normal. I saw this terrain with my own eyes today. I just realized that Su Liuyi is a brave general. How many years has it been since the Song Dynasty?" Have you met such a general?"

When Jia Sidao heard about the battle report before, he really didn't pay much attention to it. It wasn't until today that he looked at Su Liuyi with admiration, and immediately fell in love with talent.

Originally, seeing Zhang Lin in Jiangling and hearing about Lu Wenhuan, he was already very disappointed with the local officials and generals from Jinghu to Sichuan.

Today is indeed a rare encounter with an outstanding performer.

"It can be seen that there is no shortage of people who generously serve the country in Song Dynasty. Let me tell you about this person in detail."

"Yes, Lord Pingzhang will wait for a while." Liao Yingzhong understood Jia Sidao's thoughts, and quickly went to read the Kuimen battle report, and then said: "Su Liuyi, whose name is Ren Zhong, and whose name is Fu Han."

"Ha, just by looking at the name, you can tell that this person is serving the country wholeheartedly."

"He is the eighth generation grandson of Su Dongpo. His ancestor Su Shidan and his father Su Qingwen were both Jinshi. In addition, Su Shidan was an anti-gold general who fought against the Jin army in Anyuan in the third year of Kaixi. The Kingdom of Jin negotiated peace and sent someone to kill Su Shidan."

"So, Su Liuyi came from a famous family and was a loyal descendant. He only held a military post, but he is only a governor so far? Does he not study?"

In fact, Dutong is already a great official, but it is nothing in the eyes of important ministers like Jia Sidao.

"Scholarly family, of course he studied. Su Liuyi was a Jinshi in the Bingchen Division in the fourth year of Xingchang, and he was on the same list as Wen Yunsun." Liao Yingzhong replied.

He couldn't help but also think that there are indeed too many people who have emerged as Jinshi in Bingchen Division, and Wang Yinglin was appointed as the examiner at that time.

Jia Sidao became more and more appreciative of Su Liuyi, nodded and said: "It's good to be a Jinshi, not bad, not bad."

"Mr. Pingzhang, Su Liuyi joined the army to serve the country. He has always been under Lu Wende's command. He once supported Ezhou with Lu Wende. At that time, you may have seen him from afar."

Jia Sidao laughed dumbly.

After a long time, it turned out that Su Liuyi had always been one of his own.

Without fighting, I don't know that there is such an outstanding general in the party.

Liao Yingzhong looked at the newspaper in her hand again, and reminded in a low voice, "That's right, Su Liuyi's daughter is Zhang Shijie's daughter."

Unexpectedly, Jia Sidao waved his hands and said, "It's okay, Zhang Shijie is also a general, it's okay."

"Yes, Pingzhang is generous."

The boat moves slowly, and there is plenty of time.Jia Sidao smiled and said, "Let's talk about the warriors who followed Su Liuyi to conquer Kuimen."

Yao Di, who was standing aside, lowered his head slightly, his eyes fell on his toes, and he pricked up his ears.

Liao Yingzhong flipped through the battle report in her hand, cleared her throat, and read it out.

"Gemen Zhihou, Jingbei Road Brigade and Maqian Jurisdiction, Xie Yiming; Changde Mansion Caos participated in the military, Xie Yijin; Ningjiang Army Deputy Commander, Lu Shiyan; Ningjiang Army Commander, Yang Quan..."

Jia Sidao's eyes were fixed, and a sullen look flashed in his eyes for a moment.

After that, it turned into relief and helplessness.

~~
"Ren Zhong, just add a few more names. Even if they attacked Qutang Pass by water..."

"Look at Jiangjia Pier yourself, how many boats can be parked?!"

On the warship, facing Yang Yingkui's persuasion, Su Liuyi suddenly lost his temper, raised his hand and pointed to the northeast, and shouted: "According to what they said, if there are so many high-ranking officials with me, if you rush into Qutang Pass with me, if you attack from the pier , if bombarded by warships, why can our army still kill so many people?!"

Yang Yingkui had no choice but to say: "Why bother to be serious? If you are Ping Zhanggong, you can't tell? It's just a sedan chair carried by everyone."

"I don't want to be serious either." Su Liuyi stared, and said, "But do you know how many brothers I have died? They are all elites selected by me. 300 people went to the cliff. Not one out of ten, not one out of ten! I The rewards I promised them were stolen, how can I see them?"

"Why did you rob it?" Yang Yingkui said earnestly, "The reward that should be given is a lot of money, and there will only be more. It's just a few name changes. You also know that it is not easy to be promoted in the Song Dynasty."

"Of course it's not easy to die from the disease of redundant officials!"

Su Liu turned around angrily, and cursed again.

"Damn, they are usually greedy for money and food, but they can't shrink back in wartime, and they can share the credit after the war. It's not easy for them!"

Yang Yingkui stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, and said: "Why should you be filled with righteous indignation? This kind of thing is not uncommon. Remember, only by protecting your own future can you benefit the soldiers under your command. Turn a blind eye and close your eyes. gone."

Su Liuyi didn't answer.

Yang Yingkui smiled and didn't persuade him any more.He knew very well that Su Liuyi was not a pedantic person who was able to rise all the way to the capital under Lu Wende's command.

"Let's go, think about it for yourself." Yang Yingkui turned around and went back to the cabin first...

It's getting dark.

Dajiang gradually fell into darkness.

Su Liuyi stood alone on the deck, pursed his lips tightly, and maintained a sullen face for a long time, but finally sighed and lowered his head.

~~
The 28th of the twelfth lunar month.

Jia Sidao's main battleship finally arrived, blocking the entire Yangtze River more and more impenetrable.

In order to welcome Ping Zhanggong, all the warships were full of drums and music, which was as lively as New Year's Eve.

For the soldiers of the Great Song Navy, it was not New Year's Eve at all.

No one likes to be floating on the river during New Year's Eve...

Su Liuyi took a small boat through the gaps between the big ships, arrived at Jiangjia Wharf, jumped off the small boat, and rushed to Qutang Pass.

Qutang Pass is said to be a pass city, but in fact, it is to climb up the mountain wall along a small stone step. There is a small pass building at a slightly slower place, and further up, there is a watchtower and a beacon tower on the top of the mountain.

When I climbed up to the watchtower, I saw Jia Sidao standing there.

"The last general, Su Liuyi, has met Duke Pingzhang."

"Ren Zhong is here, so you don't need to be polite."

Jia Sidao's smile was bright, he didn't look like an important minister of a country, but rather like Su Liuyi's best friend.

He waved his hand and said, "Come, tell me how you captured Kuimen."

"Yes, the danger of Qutangguan lies in the majestic and precipitous terrain; the turbulent water flow and the iron lock on the Hengjiang River; and the artillery bombardment by the Tang army here. If it is a frontal attack, it may be difficult for an army of [-] to conquer it. The Second Fifth Division was able to conquer this place because of its surprise..."

Afterwards, as Su Liuyi talked, his eyes gradually turned red when he mentioned the details of the battle.

"It's not that you can go around smoothly after climbing the cliff. Please look, Mr. Pingzhang, there is a cliff over there. We have to jump over a deep ravine to get here. Bian Fu and Pei Yong died here...

It was night when we entered the pass, and the first thing we had to deal with was the artillery.There are two, both of which are arranged in front of Guancheng, and only there can be placed.But the killing didn't go smoothly, Yu Xin, Bao Aliu, Wu Zhi and others were in a hurry and ignited the Tang army's arsenal..."

Jia Sidao looked at it, and said in his heart that the pass city was too small and the layout was simple, so that Su Liuyi could easily burn down the Tang army's weapons storehouse.

After listening for a while, Jia Sidao murmured: "In this way, 21 people died in battle just after entering Qutang Pass?"

"Yes, fortunately Zhu Fusi led the troops to attack Jiangjia Wharf in time, otherwise the general would have died in Qutang Pass."

"21 people died in the battle, and there are still more than 80 people in the report book. Calculated, there should be [-] to [-] people who successfully climbed the cliff? Is the so-called 'ten out of ten' an exaggeration?"

"This……"

"Also, why did you mention the names of many people just now, but they are not listed in the credit card?"

Su Liuyi trembled, and then raised his eyes to look at Jia Sidao, with anticipation in his eyes...