The conflict between Chu and Han could not be settled, and the chasm painting circles devoured each other.
"Historical Records of Xiang Yu": "King Xiang made an agreement with the Han Dynasty to divide the world. Those to the west of the divide will be Han, and those to the east of the divide will be Chu."
Chasm, the land of Xingyang, was the temporary dividing line between the two armies when the Chu and Han Dynasties were fighting, hence the term "insurmountable chasm" was derived.
Honggou is located in the east of Xingyang, connecting the Huaihe River and Sishui. It is adjacent to Mang Mountain in the north and the Yellow River, Suohe River and Songshan Mountain in the south, and Hulao Pass in the west and connects Luoyang and Chang'an. The terrain is dangerous and has always been a battleground for military strategists.
"Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, whom Li Jingye admired, fought against the Qin army here. In the end, the Qin army won a great victory, and Wu Guang died in Xingyang." Li Hong stood on the bow of the ship, and the weeds on both sides of the bank had withered and turned yellow, revealing what he saw. The vast tracts of yellow land are rustled by the breeze, with a hint of the desolation of late autumn and early winter.
Bai Chun brushed her hair that was disturbed by the wind in front of her forehead, and on her beautiful cheeks, a pair of bright eyes looked at the scenery along both sides of the river, and murmured as if reminiscing about the past: "The late emperor often talked about the 'Hulao' Didn't the battle also take place here, with more than 3,000 people defeating Dou Jiande's 100,000 troops, and thus taking over dangerous places such as Hulao Pass and Niukou Valley, forcing Wang Shichong who was entrenched in Luoyang to surrender. "
"Yes, during the late emperor's military career, the Battle of Hulao can be said to be the proud battle of his life. From this stop, the late emperor was canonized as 'General Tiance'. In this way, it also set the stage for the subsequent Xuanwu Sect. It’s a foreshadowing,” Li Hong said with emotion.
The Wuya warship slowly docked, and the river ahead was silted up, making it impossible to move forward. The grain ships on the river transporting food from the south to Luoyang and Chang'an had to disembark here, and then took the land route, or directly transported the grain to Chang'an, or It is temporarily stored in Hulao Cang and Heyin Cang in Xingyang.
The team of two hundred people did not stand out very much on the river where merchant ships were passing by. Therefore, Li Hong and his party abandoned the ship and took the land route, which naturally did not attract the attention of others.
Mang Zhong, Cheetah and Yu Tuqi stood on the river bank, looking at the bustling wharf. Carloads of grain were being carried from the ship. They complained a little: "If you don't repair it sooner, you won't repair it later. It's only now that you know how to clean it up." Siltation, really inaction.”
Mang Zhong kicked Wei Tuqi, looked warily at His Highness the Prince and Bai Chun who were not far away, and said in a low voice: "Are you saying that His Highness the Prince has not done anything? As a minister, the Ministry of Industry is naturally in charge of Within the jurisdiction, if your words are heard by His Highness, be careful of being punished. "
Wei Tuqi hurriedly turned his head and glanced at the calm Prince and Miss Bai Chun, with an awkward smile on his face, scratched his head and said: "I didn't mean that, I mean it's too strange, right? I went to ask just now. , this siltation was only started to be cleaned three days ago, just at the right time for His Highness to return to Chang'an. Isn't this because the Ministry of Works is short-sighted and deliberately makes things difficult for His Highness? "
"Who would have thought about this? The river siltation is being cleared section by section. It's impossible to tell if it happens to be here. Besides, I'm afraid the Ministry of Works doesn't know that His Highness has returned to Kyoto. If he knew, he wouldn't know it. It will be like this." Cheetah glanced at Mang Zhong, who was looking at the grain transport fleet in a daze, and said in a low voice.
After listening to Cheetah's words, Yu Tuqi nodded in agreement, and then the three of them stood at the dock. After a while, a skinny horse was brought over.
The soldier saluted and said, "We have searched all over the dock, but there is only one horse like this."
"Forget it, as long as you can ride it. Fortunately, the journey is not too far, so it should be no problem." Manzhong came back to his senses, looked at the skinny horse, and said with satisfaction.
Now they had to go ashore in a hurry and took the overland route, so they didn't even have horses to walk on. They could only go to Xingyang County and ask the county magistrate or Zhechong Mansion to borrow 200 horses and a carriage.
Cheetah and Wei Tuqi naturally looked at each other in silence. The dock was not a big deal. Compared with the docks in Yangzhou and Hangzhou, it was just like a warehouse.
Although there are several carriages transporting grain, it seems that the horses are much weaker than the one in front of me, so it is an ox-cart. I am afraid that it is not as fast as the two legs of Mang Zhong when driving.
Besides, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has an order not to disturb too many powerful people in Xingyang. It is best to get war horses and carriages unconsciously, so having such a thin horse is already quite good.
"Does Mrs. Zheng of Xingyang know the magistrate of Xingyang? If I know that you are coming to Xingyang, I'm afraid they will come to greet you with great fanfare, right?" Bai Chun and Li Hong stood in a corner of the pier, looking at the clear water. He Shui said.
"Xingyang Zheng family? Are you afraid it's too late to hide from me? I suddenly fell from the sky to Xingyang. I guess Xingyang Zheng family will have to think about it for a long time, but who knows, just leave it to them." Li Hong clasped his hands behind his back and thought about it. Don't you want to take advantage of this waiting time to take a look at Hulao Pass
Hulao Pass, also known as Bishui Pass, is naturally not too far from the place where Li Hong and the others landed, so Li Hong looked at the stretching mountains at the end of Songshan Mountain in the distance to the south, which was not very high, and he thought of going to Hulao Pass and paying homage. Next is the place where the late emperor fought most proudly.
After the unification of the Tang Dynasty, although there was still a Zhechong Mansion here, the number of troops stationed here was no longer as large as when the country was first founded.
What's more, Hulao Pass is only one of the eight passes guarding Luoyang, so in terms of troop distribution, Hulao Pass, which is a dangerous pass, is submerged among the other passes and becomes unremarkable.
But even so, it does not mean that the guards at Hulao Pass are lax.
The setting sun reflects on the pier, and the tired figures, busy oxen and carriages, and lonely grain ships form a picture of a prosperous age like the golden years.
Two hundred cavalry and a carriage raised a cloud of golden smoke and slowly stopped under the watchful eyes of the people at the pier.
Li Hong pulled Bai Chun and ran far away, avoiding the flying dust that had not dispersed. After a while, Li Hong led Bai Chun to the carriage.
It was getting late, and it was too late to rush back to Xingyang, so instead of rushing to Xingyang, it was better to go south into the mountains. It would be more convenient to go to Hulao Pass, and then go to Xingyang early tomorrow morning.
This place is now only more than three hundred miles away from Luoyang. For Li Hong and others, there is nothing to worry about, and everyone gradually relaxes their vigilance.
Yu Tuqi led a team of ten cavalry and quickly rushed to the most suitable place. Along the bumpy loess road, under the dim golden setting sun, they took the lead to break into the stretching remaining mountains of Songshan, looking for a perfect place for them to set up camp. Great place.
The carriage bumped on the road, even at the slowest speed, which made Li Hong and Bai Chun who were sitting in the carriage a little unbearable, as if their internal organs had been displaced.
So in desperation, they had to abandon the carriage and ride on horseback. The drivers, Manzhong and Cheetah, saw that the prince and Bai Chun were already on horseback, so they had no choice but to climb on the back of the horse, and then drove the empty carriage slowly up the mountain.
Where the carriage could not pass, after obtaining Li Hong's consent, he unloaded the carriage and placed it in the jungle, then led two horses and headed into the mountains.
What surprised Bai Chun, who was riding on horseback, was that in the dim light in the mountains and forests, when he arrived at the campsite that Yutu Qi had found in advance, he discovered that it was backed by mountains and the terrain was steep, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. , and it is also an excellent lookout place.
Except for the high mountains and dense forests behind them, in the other three directions, standing at the campsite, one can clearly see the situation in the distance.
Li Hong was very satisfied with Yu Tuqi's vigilance. Even though he was not far from Luoyang, when choosing a camping site, he still followed the standards of wartime military camps.
Mang Zhong and Cheetah led a group of soldiers to set up a tent for Li Hong, and then formed a tight encirclement in the distance. Mang Zhong and Cheetah camped not far from the tent, like a mountain gate, making Li Hong's tent instantly transformed into a Chinese military tent that was easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Night has fallen, and several fires have been lit. In the cold night, they exude warmth and popularity.
Li Hong and Bai Chun sat in front of a fire and couldn't help but sigh: "It would be great if Bai Qi was here at this time. At least we wouldn't have to worry about having fresh meat to eat."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Yu Tuqi grinning, carrying two hares that were not completely dead, and happily handed them over to other soldiers, asking them to take care of them before taking them back.
Li Hong waved to him and motioned for him to come over and sit down. When Wei Tuqi came over, a group of five people formed a circle in front of the bright fire.
Mangzhong's expression was much more solemn than before. He looked from left to cheetah and from right to Wei Tuqi, and then his eyes began to stare at the small wooden stick in Li Hong's hand, drawing on the ground.
In a short time, a simplified map of Luoyang, Xingyang, and Dengfeng (it seems to be called Songyang County at this time) that goes south along Songshan Mountain was formed under the branch in Li Hong's hand.
The three places are like a triangle, with Xingyang and Luoyang being the farthest, while Dengfeng, which is located to the south of the two places, is roughly the same distance from the two places.
"So, if we want to return to Luoyang, it is probably impossible to go directly to Luoyang via Xingyang. The only way we can go is to hope that Hulao Pass and Zhechongfu are not controlled, take the Hulao Pass, and then go around to Dengfeng , and then head to Luoyang from Dengfeng." After Li Hong finished speaking, he threw the branch into the fire and looked at the people at leisure.
Bai Chun's cheeks, heated by the fire, were a little red, and she looked at Li Hong with a puzzled look. She didn't understand why the camp that was originally a fun trip had become so cautious.
Li Hong ignored her doubts for the time being, but looked at Mang Zhong who was going to Xingyang to borrow a war horse. It was originally a two-hour journey back and forth, but it took Mang Zhong three hours to come back.
Is there any secret hidden in this, so Li Hong decided to go into the mountain, and then chose to take a detour to Dengfeng and return to Luoyang.
(End of chapter)