There are deserts and Gobis within a hundred miles of Juyanze, but along the ancient road you will occasionally encounter oases and small lakesides, which can provide you with some drinking water.
It is now the end of July, and the weather is still very hot when marching in the desert, but no one dares to take off their clothes in this environment.
For the army with some experience in desert marching, the soldiers know how to conserve their physical strength and not let go.
The body loses water too quickly.
Shortly after the sun rose, the scorching sunlight shone on the sand, the temperature began to rise, and the strong rays of light also burned the skin on the face until it hurt.
Liu Cheng and the soldiers had to put on masks, leaving only their eyes exposed. .
Some small lakes encountered along the way were covered with reeds, and many swans and birds lived in them.
When the army passed by, they were frightened and flew into the sky in groups.
After two days of marching, the general situation finally walked out of the desert and officially entered the desert grassland.
On this day, when the army was marching, a fast horse galloped from the front.
Liu Cheng and others took a look and saw that the person had a feather flag behind him.
He thought he was a messenger sent by the forward Ma Chao to deliver a message.
I saw the messenger reining in his horse, stopping and clasping his fists in front of Liu Cheng to report: "Report to the general, General Ma ordered the villain to come and report.
They encountered a small Xianbei tribe ahead, with about one hundred and twenty tents.
According to what the guide said, When we go to Zhuoxie Mountain, we will encounter many small tribes in total.
There are about twenty-three tribes with different numbers.
General Ma asked the general for instructions.
It is clear whether he should ignore these small tribes."
Nomadic people live in tents.
Men must live in separate tents with their parents after they reach adulthood, and women must marry after they reach adulthood.
Therefore, one tent represents one man and one household, which means that one tent represents at least one warrior.
If women can also fight, then forget it.
One hundred and twenty tents means at least one hundred and twenty warriors.
Luo is a unit of measurement that means village, tent, or gathering place.
Nomads don’t have a village.
A Luo means a gathering place.
Ten thousand villages means ten thousand gathering places.
After hearing this, Liu Cheng ordered: "Send an order to Ma Chao to clear out all the small tribes encountered along the way, confiscate their cattle, sheep and horses, burn their tents, and bury their bodies."
"Follow your orders" After that, when the army marched, they often saw burned-out residential areas, but there were no corpses.
There were only some Han cavalry guarding the captured cattle, sheep and horses.
Not all places in Mobei are covered with weeds and woods.
There are also a lot of deserts and neighboring villages.
Just like Zhuoxie Mountain, the first stop of Liu Cheng’s army this time.
Although it is named after a mountain, it is actually a vast area.
The Gobi is just a higher terrain with a few raised hills.
Four days after leaving Yanze, Liu Cheng's army arrived at Zhuoxie Mountain.
Liu Cheng ordered them to camp on the grassland near Zhuoxie Mountain to rest and recuperate.
He sent scouts to extend thirty miles in all directions to explore the surrounding terrain and enemy conditions, and placed warning posts and A secret whistle was sent to order the horses to be herded.
In the evening, when the setting sun shone, the sunlight shone through several bare mountains on the faces of Liu Cheng and others.
Liu Cheng pointed his riding whip at Zhuoxie Mountain to Guo Jia, Li Ru, Chen Qun, Yan Xing, and Wang Shuang. , Chen Dao and others said: "This is the 105th year of Zhuoxie Mountain.
The cavalry general Dou Xian and his deputy Geng Bing led 10 elite cavalrymen. 00 people came out of Jilu Pass, General Deng Hong of Du Liao came out of Choyang Pass, and the Southern Huns came out of Manyi Valley, with a total of about 50,000 horses.
Finally, they met here, and then sent their troops to the north to encounter the Shanyu army of the Northern Huns at Jiluo Mountain. , defeated the Xiongnu Chanyu, and chased them to the private canal Bei Ninghai, and finally chased them to Yanran Mountain and carved a monument to record their merits before returning."
Chen Dao couldn't help but said: "Zhuoxie Mountain, I thought it was a big mountain, but I didn't expect it to be just a high-lying Gobi desert."
Wang Shuang pointed to a few bare hills and said, "Haha, aren't those mountains?"
"Let's go up to the highest hill and have a look."
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Liu Cheng said and galloped towards the highest hill, and others followed suit.
Everyone jumped off their horses at the foot of the hill, left their horses under the care of the soldiers, and climbed to the top of the mountain one after another.
This hill is really not that high, only fifty or sixty meters at most.
Everyone stood on the top of the mountain, enjoying the setting sun and looking into the distance.
The accompanying guide pointed to the hazy mountain outline in the north and said: "Generals, the mountain range in the north is Junji Mountain.
The weather is clear today and cloudless, so we can vaguely see some figures that we would not be able to see at ordinary times. , the march from here takes about one to two days.”
Countless wars have occurred on this grassland, of which hundreds of Han people participated, but the most famous ones are the Battle of Junji Mountain and the Battle of Jiluoshan.
The Battle of Jiluoshan was a battle in which Dou Xian and others defeated the Northern Huns, and the Battle of Junji Mountain was a battle in which Li Ling fought against the Northern Huns and was annihilated, and he was forced to surrender.
Yang Ru asked: "Lord, when shall we set off?"
Liu Chengdao: "We don't know yet.
The scouts just investigated and there are traces of a large group of cavalry passing by here.
It should be that the main force of the Tuoba Xianbei army passed here to attack the three major Xianbei tribes in the west.
If they succeed in getting rid of the three Xianbei tribes in the west, For large tribes, there are only two ways to return.
One of them is to return from here, and the other is to return from here.
The first step is to return from the foot of Junji Mountain.
We have a lot of internal support among the three major Xianbei tribes in the west.
As long as the war between the Tuoba Xianbei army and the three major Xianbei tribes in the west is over, we will receive news soon, and we will decide our plan then.
Let’s decide whether to stay here or go to Junji Mountain in the north to wait for the Tuoba Xianbei army.”
Guo Jia took out the map and looked at it, and suddenly said: "My lord, if the Tuoba Xianbei tribe wins this battle, they must pass through here no matter which way they go back.
Look at the Private Canal Beininghai and the Xiongnu River, and the Xiongnu River It runs north-south, and finally flows into the Private Canal Bei Ninghai, so they must pass through the Private Canal Bei Ninghai."
Liu Cheng took the map and took a look, and sure enough, he said, "Yes, this is close to the territory of the three major Xianbei tribes in the west, and it is also the place where the Tuoba Xianbei army must pass after their victory.
They must replenish their drinking water here.
If we are nearby Waiting and waiting, they will never expect to pass on the order.
The whole army has a good night's rest tonight and rushes to the private canal Beininghai as quickly as possible tomorrow morning."
"Follow your orders" Back at the camp, Liu Cheng sent someone to call Ma Chao to Ya Zhang.
Ma Chao arrived soon, walked into the tooth tent and clasped his fists, saying: "Lord, you are looking for me."
Liu Cheng nodded and asked, "Have you received the military order regarding my order for the army to break out of camp and set out for the private canal Beininghai tomorrow morning?"
"Back to my lord, the general has received the military order," Ma Chao replied with clasped fists.
Liu Cheng pondered for a moment and said: "When the army sets out, if there is no leader to clear the way, and if the small barbarian tribes are not cleared along the way, the news will easily leak.
I want to send an elite thousand cavalry team to set off overnight today, carrying three horses every day, specifically Responsible for opening the way, annihilating all the small tribes encountered along the way, and not letting anyone go.
People and captured horses can also be taken away to use as foot power for riding.
The vanguard and the main force of the army must keep within a day's journey.
If the time is too long, it will be easy for others to find clues.
If the time is too short, it will not be able to lead the way.
After much thought, I have concluded that you are the most suitable person to serve as a pioneer.
I wonder if you are willing to do so."
Ma Chao smiled and said: "This is a great opportunity to make meritorious deeds.
How can I not be willing to ask my lord to rest assured?
I will definitely live up to my lord's expectations."
Liu Cheng nodded and said: "Very good, you go immediately to select the elite soldiers, prepare horses, dry food, arrows, tents and other things, and set off after the hour.
Remember, you must bring a compass, a compass and a drum cart." , bring a guide with you.
In this vast desert, if you get lost, you will be in big trouble."
"Yes, my lord will finally retire."
Soon after the army had dinner, Ma Chao set off with a thousand fine cavalry, each carrying three horses and enough dry food.
In order to facilitate the main army to follow, Ma Chao also ordered his people to make one every ten miles or so.
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Mark, remember that the drum car rings once every ten miles.
Early the next morning, the main army set off under the leadership of Liu Cheng.
They followed the route taken by Ma Chao's vanguard and marched toward the private canal Beininghai.
Riding horses on the vast green grassland, everyone feels relaxed and happy, with extremely fresh air, endless vision, blue sky, and flower-like scenery.
The beauty of the scenery only lasts for a moment.
If you look at it all the time, every day, or every year, the scenery is no longer a scenery.
After marching on the grassland for several days, everyone turned a blind eye to the scenery along the way.
All that was left was dullness and boredom.
All the soldiers just focused on their way.
After marching for six days, Liu Cheng and the main force of the army finally arrived at Beininghai, a private canal.
Along the way, they had to slaughter the captured cattle and sheep and make the meat into dried meat to provide food for the soldiers.
Fortunately, they also captured many horses.
Used for carrying supplies on camels.
Thirty miles east of Bei Ninghai, the private canal, Ma Chao and his men were already waiting here.
"My lord, the private canal Bei Ninghai is thirty miles ahead.
The general was worried that a large group of cavalry would appear by the river and leave traces, so he did not let the troops continue to move forward.
He only sent a team of reconnaissance cavalry to investigate, but the investigation The results were somewhat different from our expectations.”
Liu Cheng was stunned, "Oh, what's the difference?"
Ma Chao said: "The private canal Bei Ninghai is a saltwater lake, and there are no people living around it."
"Salt water lake" Liu Cheng frowned and asked someone to bring a map to look at it.
He raised his head and said, "So if the army of Tuoba Xianbei tribe returns, it will be impossible to get water from the lake.
Instead, they will have to go upstream to get water from the Xiongnu River."
Ma Chao nodded and said: "Yes, the general has sent people to explore the water depth along the Xiongnu River.
If the Xiongnu River allows the army to cross the river directly, they will definitely not leave the lake, but will directly cross the river.
So, so Once this happens, our army will have to change its tactics.”
Liu Cheng nodded: "Yes, if there is any news from the detective sentry, report it immediately."
"Follow orders":