Walking through the early morning mist, even in summer, one can still feel the chill of the air. Somehow, the birds in the woods were startled, fluttering out of the treetops, and flew into the air with a clack. Guo Shao couldn't help but glance sideways, only to see a black dot gradually disappearing in the dust. Then the surroundings became quiet, with only the tiny sounds of metal colliding and the rustling of footsteps.
Looking back, a long line of people and horses were moving forward slowly in a single line, with no one in front or behind. It was just dawn, and the people nearby were silent and walked in silence; even though they started preparing in the early morning, it was almost dawn when they set out. Although the road ahead was also a small path, it was still possible to ride slowly on horseback. Guo Shao was riding on a horse, and there was a personal soldier leading the horse in front.
Guo Shao knocked on the trees on the hillside by the road from time to time, and occasionally found fork-shaped marks on the tree trunks. These were marks made by the scouts before, so that the army could find out in time if the vanguards took the wrong road. It was fine during the day, because the guides had walked this road several times and should not have taken the wrong road. The precaution was that the light was not good at night and the surrounding terrain and scenery could not be used as references, so they might take the wrong road. This road was not opened up and repaired by the official post road, but was composed of some naturally formed paths. It was winding and often had forks, which was not like the Shu Road.
It was indeed an adventure, but Guo Shao could not feel fear directly, probably because there were so many people together, and the more people there were, the more likely they were to be paralyzed. He felt that people were easily influenced by the people around them.
The road was narrow and the pace was slow. The troops set out before dawn and walked until sunset before reaching Baishui Road. Baishui Road was 60 miles away from Guzhen, which means that they had to walk all day without stopping to walk 60 miles. The troops in front stopped one after another and began to drink cold water and eat wheat cakes. After eating, they continued on the road without camping or resting. According to the original battle plan, they had to run more than 90 miles in one breath and could only stop after reaching Shu Road.
The Baishui Road was difficult to walk on. A long section of the road wound up the hillside, and no one had funded the construction of guardrails. If you were not careful and fell down the mountain, you would probably die. Guo Shao did not dare to ride a horse, so he asked someone to lead the horse and walked carefully.
Everyone started lighting torches. Some put tung oil in bamboo tubes and stuffed grass in them, while others lit pine branches directly. The road was really difficult to walk on, so in order to march overnight, they had to ignore concealment. Guo Shao had a thought in his mind: the only way to defeat martial arts in the world is to be fast. Even if the Shu army knew that I was going to cut off their retreat, they could only worry if they couldn't catch up.
Walking a hundred miles day and night on a rugged path was beyond Guo Shao's knowledge of ancient armies. But at the moment, it seemed that there was no problem with his troops. Everyone walked slowly and didn't say much. Some people might have blisters on their feet, but they seemed to be able to endure it.
The strength of professional elite soldiers who have been fighting for a long time, although it is difficult to control and often puts pressure on the superiors, is very easy to use and does not require any theoretical guidance or belief. As long as the soldiers are not born as rogues, they are well aware that most people in this era can only eat coarse food. To eat and survive, they must be strong. After walking for a whole day, Guo Shao gradually understood that everyone fought thousands of miles with their heads on the line just to seek military merit and wealth.
His private affairs cannot be private affairs, at least for a few generals, their interests are at stake; if Guo Shao loses his future, Yang Biao and other generals will be frustrated. This is why everyone was happy when they heard that Guo Shao was promoted. It should not be for flattery. In this world, human life is worthless. Think about the soldiers who climbed the wall crazily in Fengzhou City, they are risking their lives for an opportunity to be appreciated by the superiors.
At midnight that night, the army finally reached the Shu Road.
Guo Shao himself was already yawning and falling asleep while standing. Torches were lit all around, with patches of fire. There were also many bonfires burning on both sides of the hillside. There was a busy scene everywhere. Li Chuyun's troops, who had arrived as vanguards, were building fortifications overnight.
Guo Shao got on his horse and went to the front to find Li Chuyun and asked him a few questions. Li Chuyun said: Scouts have been sent out from the north and south, but they haven't come back yet.
Just build a fence, the soldiers need to be refreshed for the battle. Order all soldiers to stay in their armor and rest on the spot. Guo Shao said.
The generals led the soldiers to pass the order everywhere, and everyone lay down on the muddy ground. For a while, people were lying all over the mountains and plains, as if they had just experienced a war. They didn't sleep well last night, and they continued to walk until midnight today. Everyone was exhausted. After walking a hundred miles with a load, Guo Shao could only walk ten miles in modern society, which would make his legs sore.
Guo Shao sat next to a fire and dozed off for a while. He was in a daze for an unknown amount of time before someone woke him up.
He opened his eyes and saw that the sky was still dark, dotted with countless stars. Luo Yanhuan said: Several people from both the north and south have returned, and no Shu army is seen within ten miles; the remaining scouts continue to search in the distance.
The next morning, there was still no movement, so the Zhou army built some thatched huts in the open area of the Shu Road and deployed their troops.
There was no need to light a fire to cook. They only ate dry food and salt and drank river water. There was not even hot water because they did not bring a pot. A large group of people sat in their respective camps to bask in the sun, and people from each command successively carried wooden buckets to the Jialing River to fetch water. Although the Shu Road was not easy to walk, it was a natural route for the march. There were rivers along the way, so there was no need to worry about water sources.
At this time, several horsemen came running from the north road, looked directly at the central army flag, and dismounted when they ran to Guo Shao. A soldier clasped his fists and said: We found a small group of Shu troops about 20 miles to the north, with no more than 300 people; we sneaked through the forest on the flank and found a large number of Shu troops 30 miles away. It was dark at that time and we couldn't see clearly, but judging from the torches, there might be thousands of people.
After hearing this, Guo Shao and his generals looked at each other in bewilderment. After a brief calculation, the Shu army may have known about the Baishui trail the afternoon before yesterday. From the afternoon before yesterday to now, the main force of the reinforcements heading south has traveled a total of 50 miles.
Guo Shao stood up and looked around again. The Shu Road and the Jialing River extended northeastward together. The Jialing River was fast-flowing; the terrain on the other side of the river was relatively flat. This side to the northwest was all mountains.
He immediately said: Divide the troops into two groups to hold this place and block the possible reinforcements from Xingzhou; send scouts along the river to find a possible place to cross the river. The main force will approach the Shu army from the northeast. After saying this, he looked at Li Chuyun.
Li Chuyun said: This is very appropriate.
The troops received orders one after another and began to march forward in formation. The road was much wider now, and the troops were still arranged in four rows, with scattered cavalry in front and a large number of infantry behind.
At noon, the scouts reported that both Shu armies turned around and retreated north. Guo Shao did not make any changes, and everyone continued to advance along the road. Luo Yanhuan said: This time I want to see where they can run to, crossing Qingni Ridge to Chengfeng's territory. The soldiers laughed.
Along the way, they found the camp where the Shu army had been stationed. Some iron pots and sundries were thrown on the roadside in a mess. The Zhou army soldiers picked them up and prepared to boil water to drink. According to people's life experience, drinking too much raw water can easily upset the stomach, so people are generally willing to light a fire to boil water if they can drink it.
As evening approached, there was still no sign of the Shu army. There might be some cavalry ahead, but they had long been dispersed by the scouts in front of the Zhou army, and Guo Shao in the main army did not see a single Shu soldier.
Guo Shao and Li Chuyun rode forward, chose a wide place, and ordered the troops to build fences and camps after arriving. They would walk for another half a day tomorrow, and there was no rush. They should definitely fight with the Shu army. Because the Shu army had no way to go, they could only fight behind Qingni Ridge.
The soldiers all knew that the time to go into battle was approaching. That evening, many people were seen cleaning their swords and guns, checking their bows and arrows, creating a pre-battle atmosphere. They had walked 200 miles over several days just for this one battle.