Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 199 Megatron Southwest
"Sorry..."

In front of the Cuan Song Pass in Yunnan, when the sound of the war horse's whistle sounded, time also entered the 31st year of Hongwu little by little.

While the whole world was celebrating the New Year, Muchun stood on the school platform in the military camp, overlooking thousands of soldiers.

Of course, here he can also look up to Cuansong Pass three or four miles away.

It stands between Gaoligong Mountain and Daying River, blocking the Ming army from entering the Longchuan River Valley.

"These five thousand soldiers will be trained quickly. When the time comes, they will be enough to drink a pot of Dao Ganmeng, a bandit."

Standing next to Muchun, He Fu smiled and stroked his beard. Qu Neng, Qu Yu and Qu Tao beside him also had smiles on their faces.

Of course, behind these generals were many commander-level officials, but the one standing at the front was clearly Wang Zhao, who had proposed it in the first place.

Muchun glanced sideways at Wang Zhao and praised him: "If you hadn't found that mountain road, our army might not have been able to master it."

"How about it? Is there any news from Wang Xuan?"

Muchun mentioned a familiar name, but to everyone present, the owner of this name was just one of the dozens of military commanders.

"Quanzi has been hiding in Gaoligong Mountain with his troops, and has never found any trace of the rebels. I guess they don't know this mountain road."

Wang Zhao bowed in reply, and Mu Chun, who heard the words, was also generous: "Okay! After this battle, your father and son will take the lead."

"Thank you, Marquis Xiping!" Wang Zhao bowed in return, but Qu Neng on the side suddenly asked him: "I heard that your son Wang Xuan was acquainted with King Bohai in his early years?"

Faced with his question, Wang Zhao did not deny it, but he clarified the relationship: "We are acquaintances, but the relationship is not close. We just lived in a house in the church."

His words shocked the eldest son Wang Kui who was following him, but he did not dare to remind his father because of the different circumstances.

Compared to Wang Xuan, Wang Kui looks more like Wang Zhao and has a more straightforward temperament. He is not as dull on the surface as Wang Xuan, but in fact he has a clear mind.

Seemingly knowing that Wang Kui couldn't hide things, Wang Zhao stood up when Wang Kui was stunned and blocked Wang Kui's expression with his own figure.

"I'm not familiar with it..." Qu Neng nodded slightly and wanted to ask something else, but He Fu on the side interrupted:

"I know Wang Xuan well. I remember that he is very good at training soldiers."

"Really?" Muchun became interested when he heard this, and He Fu also talked about Wang Xuan's military training in detail.

Although the soldiers and horses trained by Wang Xuan were not as good as those of the Bohai Navy trained by Zhu Gaoxu himself, among the thousands of households in the Ming army, he could still be praised alone.

Later, when he was promoted to command the military affairs, He Fu also inspected the guard station he managed. When he found that he could organize the money, food and farmland of the guard station in an orderly manner, he made a note of him.

Now that Muchun and Qu Neng are talking about him, He Fu naturally praises him. After all, if Wang Xuan, a military attache who grew up in Yunnan, can be promoted, it will be good for the Yunnan Dusi.

Because of this, Mu Chun also smiled heartily after hearing this: "In this case, I want to meet him after the war to see if the person who can be praised by General He has real abilities."

"Haha..." He Fu also laughed after hearing this: "Why go out of your way to receive him? If he can stand out in this battle, Xipinghou will naturally see him."

"That's true!" Muchun smiled and turned to look at the five thousand sharp soldiers. After looking at them with satisfaction for a while, he announced that the generals would disperse on their own.

As he dismissed the military attachés, Wang Zhao and Wang Kui also began to return to the Golden Tooth Guard's camp.

On the way, Wang Kui didn't say a word, while Wang Zhao was in a hurry.

After the two of them entered the Golden Teeth Guards' camp, Wang Kui said in an angry voice: "Dad, you often say that you should repay your kindness, but why do you say today that our family is not familiar with King Bohai?"

"This is not what I want to say, it was Erlang Rang who said it." Wang Zhao sat back in the main seat and poured a glass of water while answering Wang Kui's questions.

"What Erlang said?" Wang Kui didn't react, and Wang Zhao also scratched his short beard:
"I don't know what he is thinking. Maybe he is worried that others will think that our family is taking advantage of the situation and is afraid of trouble King Bohai."

"But after this battle, if we can help the army conquer Nandian, then there will be no need to cover up."

When Wang Zhao thought of the scene when his father and son led troops to conquer Nandian, a simple and honest smile appeared on his face.

But when he was thinking about the future, Wang Xuan, who was on the ancient road of Gaoligong Mountain, didn't feel so good.

It is cold and humid in the Gaoligong Mountains at the beginning of the first lunar month, and only the places where the sun shines can make people feel a little warm.

With his [-] soldiers, Wang Xuan dug hundreds of cat-ear holes on the slope of a valley in Gaoligong Mountain to hide soldiers.

This kind of cat-ear hole is simple to construct and allows soldiers to hide quickly. The only disadvantage is that the space inside the hole is small, less than three feet high.

And because Gaoligong Mountain is cold and humid, water often accumulates in the cave, causing many soldiers' feet to become white and ulcerated.

In order to prevent the soldiers from suffering, Wang Xuan only allowed them to enter the cat's ear hole at specific times. At other times, they covered their bodies with leaves and fluffy grass to cover their bodies.

Sitting on the trunk of a tree, Wang Xuan, wearing only a breastplate, had a dry mouth and drank two sips of water quickly.

The helmet on his head was studded with many twigs and leaves, and the armor on his body was also hung with twigs and leaves, much like the auspicious suit hundreds of years later.

In addition to him, there are many soldiers in this primitive forest who are also dressed in this way, integrating with the surrounding nature.

Naturally, he could not have invented this kind of dress himself, but was taught to him by Zhu Gaoxu when he was in Yingtian.

"Qianshi, how long do we have to stay here?"

Human voices came from the tree trunks nearby. Wang Xuan moistened his throat before calming down and calming down: "It should be around the Qingming Festival, which happens to be the Spring Festival for these bandits in Luchuan."

"Isn't that still a month away?!"

The people next to him were stunned, but Wang Xuan calmly looked at the river beach road in the valley to prevent civilians from Youluchuan from coming to the mountains to collect herbs and then discover them.

Regarding the complaints of his subordinates, he also consoled him with a clear face: "If you want to make meritorious service and be promoted, you have to endure loneliness."

As he said this, Wang Xuan suddenly thought of something and asked the man on the tree: "Have you sent the things I asked you to send before the expedition?"

"It has been sent, but I guess it will have to wait until winter before it can be sent to Jilin City." The man replied, and his figure slipped down from the tree.

He grabbed the tree trunk and came to sit next to Wang Xuan as if walking on a single-plank bridge. His green appearance looked like a green peacock.

After sitting down, he asked restlessly: "Qian Shi, I heard that snow in the north can drown people. Is this true?"

"I haven't seen it, but when I was in Yingtian, the snow was a foot thick, and it should be thicker in the north." Wang Xuan slowly put the dagger on his waist and suddenly threw it with force.

With the sound of "stack", the dagger penetrated deep into the tree trunk, and a colorful snake was twisting continuously.

"It's a pity. This thing is poisonous and cannot be eaten."

Looking at the poisonous snake, Wang Xuan sighed and told the man beside him: "Remember to tell the brothers, don't be greedy and pick wild vegetables to eat. There are no doctors here to heal them."

"Don't worry, I warned you." The man bared his yellow teeth and smiled cheerfully. At the same time, he couldn't help but curiously asked: "Qianshi, do you think that after this battle, all the brothers will be promoted?"

"At least level one." Wang Xuan said confidently, and the man next to him also showed yearning in his eyes.

It seems that because of Bentou, the three hundred Ming troops stationed in the valley did not complain at all. Even though they were bitten by snakes, insects, rats and ants, no one shouted to quit.

Such suffering lasted until the sixth day of February...

During the "rustling" period, five thousand pikemen carrying a bucket of rations and armor and weapons marched on the slippery mountain of Gaoligong Mountain.

With a total weight of [-] kilograms, they climbed over mountains and ridges and passed through the virgin forests of Gaoligong Mountain.

When they were on their way, most of them walked on an animal path that was less than three feet long. When climbing up and down the mountain, they almost always used all four limbs on the uphill slopes, and rolled and climbed downhill.

The steep terrain and heavy mist in Gaoligong Mountain make the animal trails slippery.

Regardless of whether they were generals or soldiers, they didn't care that their bodies were covered with mud. Even if their skin was scratched and their clothes were torn to pieces, they gritted their teeth and hurried on.

Late at night, even though they could not see their fingers and there was still drizzle in the sky, Qu Neng and He Fu still led their troops on foot on the rugged cliff animal path toward the designated target.

Thousands of people marched on mountain roads and jungles at night, unable to see the road clearly, but unable to light torches.

In order to prevent falling behind, He Fu asked the soldiers to hold the rope and pull hard to guide the people behind them and prevent them from falling under the cliff of the valley of Gaoligong Mountain.

In such a harsh environment, almost everyone was thinking silently in their hearts: "You must keep up with the team and never fall behind."

However, the difficulties in Gaoligong Mountain are beyond the imagination of most of them.

Facing the tropical jungle with an average altitude of more than 500 meters, it was very difficult for the troops to move.

The road that the leading troops opened out of the way was originally dry, but too many people stepped on it, and the water vapor was too heavy. After a while, people stepped on the road and it became very muddy and slippery.

Even veterans like He Fu and Qu Neng almost never stopped sighing when crossing the trails of Gaoligong Mountain.

They traveled for seven days before covering a hundred miles, either crossing mountains or wading through river valleys every day.

By the early morning of the fifth day, they finally arrived at the mountain pass where Wang Xuan was.

After receiving the news, Wang Xuan immediately took three hundred brothers down the mountain with their shoes hanging around their necks barefoot.

When they came to the river valley, they saw thousands of their comrades in a miserable state.

Even He Fu, Qu Neng and others were covered in wet, foul-smelling mud.

"The last general in command is Wang Xuan, who has met the two governors!"

Wang Xuan led 300 people to bow and salute. Qu Neng and He Fu, who were sitting on a stone the size of a house in the river valley, also jumped off the stone. When they came to them, their tone was a little weak: "How far is it from Nandian? ?" "Go back to the Governor..." Wang Xuan heard this and quickly took out the map he had drawn long ago from the package on his back.

The map he drew was different from the Ming army's map. It was very accurate. He obviously learned it from Zhu Gaoxu. However, He Fu and Qu Neng didn't know. They just praised in their hearts: "The march map is like this, and people must not be much different." go."

Not knowing what they were thinking, Wang Xuan pointed to the two routes on the map and said: "There are two routes now. One is to go northwest. In this way, you can go around the valley more than ten miles behind Cuansong Pass, which can cooperate with Xiping. The marquis attacked Cuan Song Pass."

"There is another way, which is to drive another 23 miles, climb over [-] dense forest mountains, and go directly to the pass about three miles outside Nandian City."

"The general sent people to investigate the situation in Nandian City. In the past month, many rebels have arrived there, numbering about 12. There are also [-] civilians living outside the city."

"Nandian City is made of stone. It is about one foot seven feet high and about one foot five wide. The rest of the situation is unknown. Half of the rebels are outside the city and half are inside."

Wang Xuan spoke so eloquently that a proud and arrogant person like Qu Neng couldn't help but look at him.

His words don't sound complicated, but on the real battlefield, there are very few people who can understand so much in a month or two.

Therefore, after he finished speaking, Qu Neng said to him without concealing it: "You have failed in your ability as a commander. After this battle, I will transfer you to the Sichuan Xingdu Division. How about you start as a commander? "

Qu Neng can't say that he doesn't value Wang Xuan. You must know that Wang Xuan is only a fourth-rank commander at the moment, while the general commander is a third-rank commander.

It's incredible to jump from the fourth level to the third level and directly to the third level.

Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, there are only a few 120 military attachés of the third rank.

Not to mention, most of these 120 people are military attachés from the mainland.

In terms of the number of guard posts, the number of soldiers and the level of authority, they are simply not enough to compare with the border commanders.

Qu Neng's invitation was difficult for anyone to refuse, so Wang Xuan also began to waver.

But before he could do anything, He Fu suddenly interrupted: "Qu Neng, you are poaching people in front of me. You don't even care about our friendship."

"Hahaha..." Qu Neng smiled heartily: "There are many capable people among you, so it doesn't matter if one of you is missing him."

"Nonsense!" He Fu blew his beard and glared: "You can't poach people from Yunnan Dusi."

After the words fell, He Fu pointed directly to the second road that was rugged and difficult to walk: "Let's... just take this one!"

"Exactly what I wanted!" Qu Neng chuckled, and then merged Wang Xuan into the team.

In the team, Wang Xuan also met his father Wang Zhao and brother Wang Kui, as well as Qu Yu, who had been friends with him for a few days before.

After half a day's rest, when noon arrived, more than [-] soldiers continued on their way carrying more than [-] kilograms of stuff.

They fell, rolled and climbed all the way, moving hard with one foot deep and one shallow, making it difficult for the team to maintain their formation.

In a place like Gaoligong Mountain, what everyone fears most is falling behind. After all, without a guide, it is easy to get lost in the dense forest.

Taking this route, the soldiers of Yunnan Dusi were better off, but the soldiers of Sichuan and Guizhou were a little difficult to adapt to, and they couldn't keep up as they walked.

Along the way, various teams of people and horses helped, but they still had to encounter stumbling and countless scratches from thorns and bushes.

Many soldiers fell into the ditch and broke their legs and waists. Non-combat attrition was very serious.

Even one of Wang Xuan's soldiers accidentally slipped and fell into a ditch more than a hundred meters deep. After searching, only one body was found, which could only be hastily buried.

The next day, they went deep into the Gaoligong Mountains.

The environment here is dangerous and people face countless dangers.

The sunlight was completely blocked by tall and dense trees, making the entire mountain look eerie.

When Qu Neng and He Fu led their troops into this dense forest for the first time, even though they were alert and prepared, they soon realized that the depths of Gaoligong Mountain were not just high mountains and dense forests, but hidden All kinds of unimaginable horrors.

Leeches, falciparum malaria, venomous snakes and miasma are all unforeseen dangers that frighten people.

Endless trees stand tall, almost completely covering the sky, making the mountains extremely cold.

At night, the night here is more terrifying than the night outside. Everyone can't see and can only rely on weak firelight for illumination.

Along the way down the march, Qu Neng and others made a fire while setting up a pot to make rice at night, but dozens of leeches soon fell from their legs.

Such a thing would make veteran generals like Qu Neng feel numb, not to mention many soldiers.

However, it is not only these that make people anxious, but also the various snakes, insects, rats, and ants all over the forest.

They may attack people from branches or grass at any time. Even before entering Gaoligong Mountain, Muchun had prepared enough snake medicine for the more than [-] of them, but the number of non-combat casualties was still mind-numbing.

Only one day after entering the depths of Gaoligong Mountain, as many as 27 people were bitten to death by snakes, insects, rats and ants, and panic began to spread among the army.

On the second day, the miasma inside Gaoligong Mountain began to show its power.

Due to the long-term lack of sunlight, the environment in Gaoligong Mountain is dark and humid. Countless animals and plants died and then rotted, creating a large amount of miasma.

Once this deadly miasma is inhaled, people will develop dizziness, high fever and other symptoms within a short period of time, and even lose their lives.

Wang Xuan was well prepared for the miasma. He asked everyone to take protective measures when entering the depths of Gaoligong Mountain. Simple masks made of coarse cloth were one of the few ways to deal with the miasma in the mountains.

Wang Xuan learned this method from His Highness, but even so, many people in the army still inhaled the miasma, had high fevers, and finally chose to jump off the cliff to die.

The existence of miasma filled the entire mountainous area with the smell of death, making the weak Ming soldiers more vulnerable to injuries and illnesses.

Fortunately, they finally survived the most difficult days and walked out of the depths of Gaoligong Mountain late at night on the third day.

When he walked out of Gaoligong Mountain, Qu Neng took off his coarse cloth mask and looked back at Gaoligong Mountain, which was hidden in the night and seemed to be constantly devouring other people's lives.

"Counting 1000 years forward, no Han army could cross this man-eating Gaoligong Mountain!"

Qu Neng couldn't tell whether he was proud or uncomfortable. He Fu, who was standing beside him, took off his mask and took a breath of relief before agreeing:
"Don't count 1000 years ago, no one has done this in 2000 or 3000 years!"

The conversation between Qu Neng and He Fu made many soldiers who had survived the disaster look at each other.

Based on their culture and knowledge, they really don’t know if anyone has climbed over Gaoligong Mountain before them.

"Not really."

Wang Xuan came from the back of the team, bowed to Qu Neng and He Fu and said at the same time: "Since ancient times, only the Han Dynasty has tried to open up the Southwest Yi Road, but even then it only opened up to Yongchang. Later, although it opened up the Shendu Road , but after all, it was the southwest barbarians who opened it up on their own, and it has nothing to do with our Han family."

"Even if it is opened up, it will still be a river valley road. No one has ever climbed over Gaoligong Mountain."

"From this point of view, the two governors leading their troops to cross the Gaoligong Mountains are truly a feat of our Han family!"

"Okay!!" Everyone loves to hear flattery, and Qu Neng and He Fu are no exception.

Hearing that the two of them had done something unprecedented and unprecedented, both of them puffed up their chests.

After puffing up their chests, the two of them began to ask Wang Xuan: "How far is this place from Nandian City?"

"It's less than seven miles away. It's very likely that we will be discovered after dawn." Wang Xuan frowned and got down to business.

After he said these words, He Fu looked at Qu Neng: "Although the brothers are tired, if you want to rest now, you must not send troops to Nandian before dawn."

"No rest!" Qu Neng made a decision and summoned dozens of officials from hundreds of households in the army.

In front of them, Qu Neng and He Fu began to announce their thoughts: "The army is tired and should rest. But if we want to rest, we will not be able to attack Nandian City directly, and we will have to pay greater casualties tomorrow." Siege the city.”

"During this period, if the Dao Gan Meng Na bandits come back for reinforcements, our army will be surrounded day and night."

"Therefore, the two of us decided to immediately go northeast and attack Nandian City!"

"Yes!!" After all, they were the five thousand elites carefully selected by Mu Chun. Although the experience of climbing Gaoligong Mountain made them frightened, when they learned that their opponents were just as human as themselves, they took out their own The best spirit.

Led by Qu Neng and He Fu, more than [-] people abandoned more than [-] corpses in Gaoligong Mountain and began to rush towards Nandian City.

Even though they were covered in mud, even though they were so exhausted that they were about to fall down, they felt that the river bottoms under their feet were different from the slippery land in the Gaoligong Mountains. They felt a force coming from their feet, supporting them as they walked out of the high mountains. The scope of Mount Ligong.

The strange thing is that they did not encounter any sentries from the Luchuan army along the way. It was not until they saw the sea of ​​fire on the valley plain that they realized the time they had arrived.

"Counting the time, today should be their New Year."

Looking at the "Sea of ​​Fire" in the distance, He Fu and Qu Neng beside him talked about the situation.

Obviously, in order to welcome the New Year, the defenders of Nandian City relaxed their defense, and this move created an opportunity for the Ming army.

This situation seems to be arranged by God. God is helping the Ming army destroy Nandian City.

After just a moment's thought, Qu Neng pulled out the long knife from his waist: "Celebrate the New Year? I'll let them celebrate the New Year."

"Brothers, give me a cold meal and go into battle wearing armor..."

"Follow me... and go straight to Nandian City!"

　The second update should be resumed the day after tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)