Fenghou

Chapter 732 Wizard
Hucheng County is located about [-] miles west of Hangu Pass. There is an official road leading to Guozhou, which makes its commercial status more important. Therefore, Hucheng County has become the second commercial intersection after Shan County. Service industries such as teahouses and inns and warehousing industries are relatively developed.

In addition, there are many medicine shops and fur shops in Hucheng County, which is also a major feature of it. A large number of medicinal materials and fur shops from Guozhou are collected and distributed here every year.

There is a big pharmacy near the east gate of the county seat, called Baohetang, which can be regarded as the largest pharmacy in Shanzhou. It not only has famous doctors sitting in the pharmacy, but also engages in the wholesale purchase of medicinal materials. In addition, it has a good reputation, so there are a lot of medicinal herbs all year round. Human pharmacy delivering medicine.

Hucheng County has just gone through the siege and is still in the period of martial law. There are no people on the streets, and all the shops are closed.

Hu Yanlei led more than a dozen soldiers to the door of Baohetang store, knocked for a while, and the store door opened. Seeing that there were soldiers outside, a drug boy screamed in fright, turned around and fled. For a moment, the shopkeeper was trembling. He came out to salute and said, "What do you have to say, military lords?"

"You don't have to be afraid, I'm not here to rob your shop, I'm just asking you something."

"So that's it, General please come in quickly!"

Hu Yanlei went into the pharmacy, took a sip of hot tea, and explained his purpose to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper said with a smile: "You can't go up to the top of Guguan Mountain in Shanghan from Xiaohan Road. You have to go up from Guolue County. The road is very difficult."

"I also know that the road is not easy to walk, but we have to go up and have a look. I hope the shopkeeper will introduce a guide."

"Of course there is a guide. I know that several herb collectors are familiar with the mountain roads. There is a herb collector in the county. I will take the general there."

"Then trouble the shopkeeper."

The herb collector introduced by the shopkeeper was surnamed Song, and everyone called him Song Qilang. He was in his thirties and was relatively thin and looked very flexible. He agreed, but when Hu Yanlei put an ingot of twelve taels of silver in front of him, his eyes lit up, and he agreed without hesitation.

Just kidding, ten taels of silver can be exchanged for fifty pennies, which he earned after two years of collecting herbs. With these ten taels of silver, he can support his son to study.

Hu Yanlei brought Song Qilang to Chen Qing's big tent. Song Qilang spread a map on the table and said to Chen Qing: "This is the map of Hangu Pass left by my father. He is also a herb picker. You can see it clearly on the map." Now, there are three ways to go up the mountain."

Chen Qing looked down at this somewhat old hand-painted map carefully. At a glance, he knew that it was the map of Hangu Pass. The drawing was very realistic. There were three thin paths drawn on it, two of which were relatively close and one was far away.

"Is the top of Hangu Pass flat?" Chen Qing asked again.

Song Qilang shook his head and said: "The top is uneven, with jagged rocks, undulating gullies, and many trees growing, but generally speaking, it is flat in some places."

"I mean, can you throw stones into Hangu Pass from the top of the mountain?"

The eyes of all the generals next to him lit up, yes!It is a good way to attack from the top of the mountain. Everyone looked at the herb picker expectantly.

Song Qilang thought for a while and said, "You can throw stones down from the top of the mountain, but you must find someone who is strong enough to throw them far, otherwise you will be blocked by trees halfway up the mountain."

"Can the livestock go up the mountain?" Chen Qing asked again.

"It is impossible for livestock to go up the mountain. If the king of the county wants to transport heavy things up the mountain, he can only use people to carry them, and he can only go this way!"

Song Qilang pointed to the farthest road on the map, "Only this road can transport heavy objects up the mountain. The other two roads are not good. I am familiar with the three roads, and I am willing to lead the way for the army."

"How long does it take to get to the top of the mountain?"

"At least two days!"

Chen Qing nodded, pondered for a moment and smiled at Niu Gao: "This time we need General Niu to go out, pick a thousand strong soldiers, bring more dry food and water, and carry fifty small trebuchets up the mountain, with kerosene, kerosene, etc. , poisonous gas, these three weapons are enough!"

Niu Gao was overjoyed, and immediately bowed and said: "I have been looking forward to this day for a long time!"

Niu Gao failed to participate in several battles, but he was overwhelmed. This time the attack on Hangu Pass was for him to take the route of surprise soldiers, but he was also satisfied.

The large trebuchets could not be transported, so the parts could only be delivered and assembled on the spot. For two days in a row, the Song army was intensively assembling the siege weapons. Even the soldiers on the top of the city realized that all of them looked dignified, and a big battle was coming. tension before.

At the same time, Niu Gao led a thousand soldiers to start up the mountain. Each of the thousand soldiers was tall and strong, and each of them carried a weight of seventy to eighty catties. A small trebuchet weighed four hundred catties, but it could It was disassembled into five parts and carried up the mountain by five soldiers.

Hundreds of soldiers are carrying a big rattan basket, which is filled with all kinds of projectiles, gunpowder barrels, kerosene balls, poisonous smoke balls, ropes, etc.

The remaining hundreds of soldiers carried dry food and water hyacinths. One water hyacinth was enough for each person. There was a mountain spring on the top of the mountain, and there was no shortage of drinking water.

In the afternoon, everyone began to climb Longtouya. Longtouya is a cliff named after its appearance resembling a dragon's head. This is the biggest obstacle on the way up the mountain. It is necessary to climb a two-foot-high cliff, so it is impossible to walk livestock.

Even the heavy loads they carried had to be hoisted up with ropes so that the soldiers could climb up the rope ladders.

Two hours later, all the soldiers went up to the hill, and they walked into a pine forest with their luggage on their backs. It was getting late, so Niu Gao ordered to rest on the spot.

Niu Gao carried a small trebuchet on his back by himself, which made everyone dumbfounded, but Niu Gao was hailed as the number one warrior of the Western Army by the county king, so he must have infinite strength.

Song Qilang gave a thumbs up and praised: "General Niu has great strength!"

Niu Gao asked him to sit down, and handed him the jug, "Take a sip of wine to warm your body."

Song Qilang took two sips of the wine and was full of praise, "This wine is strong and enjoyable!"

"This is specially for scouts to keep out the cold. I'll give you a gourd later!"

"Thank you General!"

Niu Gao asked again: "The buildings in the valley are mainly made of stone, or are they mainly made of wood?"

"All of them! Most of them are made of wood. They have been built for decades and are very old. Soldiers use large tents and distribute them along the rocks. Wooden fences are also built on both sides of the road. The official road is in the middle, and merchants and pedestrian."

"How wide is the canyon?" Niu Gao asked again after pondering.

"The widest part is one mile, and the narrowest part is only a few dozen steps. If you use a trebuchet, I don't think it's a big problem."

After a pause, Song Qilang whispered again: "General Niu, I also want to join the Song Army, do you think it's okay?"

"You?" Niu Gao looked at his thin figure.

Song Qilang was a little embarrassed and said: "Although I am a little thinner, I am very agile. No one can climb mountains and trees better than me. I also know medicine. What herbs in the mountains can heal wounds and stop bleeding? What medicine can cure headaches and fever? I am very clear about stopping diarrhea, and I am very familiar with the Weihan Ancient Road, so I can find the best location for building beacon towers in the future.”

Niu Gao was a little tempted, there are not many people who understand herbal medicine, this is a rare talent, but is the other party bragging?He smiled and asked, "Is there a small path to go to the back of Hangu Pass?"

Song Qilang pointed to the east side and said with a smile: "There is a candle water not far from our place. From there, we can go to the east of Lingbao County, but it is not convenient to use a raft to walk by water."

Niu Gao nodded happily, and continued to ask with a smile, "How did you think of joining the Song Army?"

Song Qilang sighed and said: "My grandfather was a herb collector, who died in the tiger's mouth when he was forty years old. My father was also a herb collector, and fell into the Baizhang mountain stream ten years ago. I followed my father to collect herbs for twenty years. , My son is seven years old this year, I want him to study, I heard that joining the Song Army will give you land in Hanzhong, and you can also be exempted from taxes, this will change my son's fate, I want to join the Song Army even in my dreams!"

Niu Gao patted him on the shoulder, "You will follow me from now on, go to rest early, we will get up and start in the middle of the night!"

(End of this chapter)