Chapter 186 Inquiry
To be on the safe side, Zhao Zhen summoned the three secret visit leaders [Flea on the Drum] Shi Qian, [Day Rat] Bai Sheng, and [Smiling Tiger] Zhu Fu, and Wu Yong gave instructions one by one. . The three of them selected capable sergeants separately and sneaked into Luozi Mountain, Xuefeng Mountain and its branches.
Guozi Mountain is connected to Xiaoliang Peak and is relatively independent. Zhu Fu, who came last, went to explore. The snow-capped peaks are vast, and Bai Sheng and Shi Qian go there.
The three of them obeyed the order and went down to prepare without hesitation. After a while, the three of them dressed up and went to the hall to say goodbye. They saw Zhu Fu pretending to be a traveling businessman with two Huo family members, each carrying a lot of jealousy.
Bai Sheng also dressed as a merchant and brought two sergeants to dress as clerks, while Shi Qian only dressed as a banker. The two of them entered the snow-capped mountains separately, one in the dark and the other in the light.
Wu Yong said to the three of them: "Three brothers, we will meet on the ridge between Hutou Peak and Xiaoliang Peak within five days. That boundary connects Hutou Peak, Xuefeng Peak, and Haoshan Peak." With this link, it is convenient to go anywhere in Liangshan." The three of them nodded in agreement, and then Ruan Xiaoer sent a speedboat into the fog.
Zhao Zhen is also ready here. Lu Zhishen selected a long stick soldier from the capital, Jiao Ting and Chao Gai each brought a simple sword soldier. Zhao Zhen led the central army, Han Bolong, Song Wan, and Du Qian. He is a lieutenant general. It consists of the Green Camp Bird and Guns Command, the Artillery Command and the Two Commands of Pu Weapons.
Speaking of the cannons and artillery, there is also a Coca-Cola thing. When Lu Zhishen went to each camp to select soldiers, he saw that bald men accounted for less than half of the camp. He thought that there were many temples in Liangshan County and they were rich in warrior monks. When I looked closer, I saw that these people had no scars on their heads. They had fresh stubble on their heads and were covered in black and blue.
These green soldiers have now completed their formation training. One hundred and twenty of them with dementia are divided into a capital, holding bird guns, waist knives, wearing straw hats and blue cloth armor, called [Bird Gun City] .
The other two hundred and twenty people were also divided into a capital, called the [Artillery Capital]. These people also wore straw hats and white vests with wild patterns, and their weapons were the nearly fifty captured cannons of various colors. Because it was a mountain and forest battle, this time [Artillery City] used twenty mountain-splitting cannons and five primary and secondary cannons as weapons.
Bao Xu's [Chongfengdu] was left to garrison at Baishi Valley, and all the cavalry led by Luan Tingyu were garrisoned at the main camp.
In the blink of an eye, five days passed by in a hurry. On the back ridge of Hutou Peak, heroes such as Zhao Zhen, Wu Yong, Xiao Rang, Lu Zhishen, etc. had been waiting here early in the morning. In the camp, the Liangshan County sergeants who had gone through many battles were either wiping their swords and guns, or closing their eyes to rest, enjoying the quiet time before the war.
Just after noon, the sergeant on the lookout on the top of the ridge came to report. From a distance, he saw three people coming from Xiaoliang Peak, and three people came out of the fog in the east.
After waiting for two quarters of an hour, people from both sides entered the military camp. It was Bai Sheng and Zhu Fu. Shi Qian did not come back to join them.
Seeing the ceremony, Zhu Fu said: "Sir, Sir, this mountain is gentle and looks like a mountain. There are two villages on the mountain, called Shangtaoji and Xiataoji. Listen. Households in the two villages said that they both fled from the previous dynasty and had settled here for more than 200 years. They had little contact with the outside world and lived in poverty. ”
"The people in the village were very friendly when they saw me selling vinegar. In the past few days, I had a lot of communication with the villagers through the convenience of selling vinegar. There were also people in the village who wanted to communicate with the outside world. Unfortunately, they went out twice and entered the fog and never came back. Therefore, the villagers stopped thinking about going out. "
"Peach trees were planted all over the mountains, and the villagers made peach preserves and brewed peach wine in exchange for some salt and other items with the traveling merchants. . I heard from the villagers that the scenery here is different from other places. As the saying goes, "when peach blossoms bloom, apricot blossoms fade, who calls pear blossoms sister?" Peach blossoms bloom later than apricot blossoms, and peach blossoms bloom only after apricot blossoms fade. This is different in Guozi Mountain. The peach blossoms bloom earlier than the apricot blossoms."
"I tried it out, but most of the people in the village are still willing to communicate with the outside world. "The village elder is Li Zheng." "There is not much gold and silver in the village, so we barter. These three loads of vinegar were exchanged for five loads of peach wine, and one load of peach preserves. I picked up two loads with the two Huo family members." For wine, one load of preserved peaches was brought out, and the remaining three loads of wine were placed in front of Li Zhen in the lower peach collection."
After Zhu Fu finished speaking, he looked at Zhao Zhen. Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "I heard what Brother Zhu Fu said, there is no need to fight in this mountain. I wonder what Brother Bai Sheng is doing here? Can he meet Brother Shi Qian?"
Bai Sheng heard this and said: "Master, the villagers on the snow mountain peak are quite friendly. When I first entered this place, I saw a village at the foot of the mountain. From a distance, this village was bigger than Liangcun. After a rough count, at least there were Seven to eight hundred households."
"I went straight to this village with two men. Unexpectedly, there were village strongmen guarding the entrance of the village. They didn't embarrass me when they saw the refined salt we picked up."
"After slowly exploring, I found out that the boundary of this place is not stable. I heard from the villagers that the village here is called Xinghua Village. The mountains and forests next to the village are full of apricot trees. Every spring, apricot flowers compete for ten miles. Open, hence the name. "
"The snow peak is connected with Xiaoping Mountain, Yuhuangding Mountain, and Xiaohuang Mountain. There used to be villages in various branches. Suddenly, a big snake flourished here. Thanks to the protection of the monks of Liantai Temple at the southern foot of Snow Peak, Xinghua Village was spared. "
"The snake disaster broke out in Xiaoping Mountain and Gaoying Village on the top of the mountain was devoured overnight. Following the traces left behind, the monks of Liantai Temple discovered a cave deep into the mountainside on the east side of Xiaoping Mountain. The cave was formed by a crack at the top of the mountain. The upper and lower floors were connected by caves. The top of the upper cave was covered with stalactites of various colors. , the shapes are very different, there are many karst waterfalls on the cave wall, and there are many snake sloughs at the bottom of the cave, all as thick as buckets, the longest one is seven feet long.”
"Now the entrance of the cave is built with big rocks, but I heard from the villagers that snakes have not been eliminated. Although we have never encountered a big snake like a snake, snakes two to three feet long can often be seen on the mountain, and there are always snakes eating people every year When the incident happened, the villagers were frightened and miserable. Although they organized village soldiers to protect the village under the auspices of the clan elders and hired monk soldiers from the Lotus Temple as instructors to practice martial arts and patrols, the snake was still not cured. I was restless for a day.”
“There is also a grotto here with two three-dimensional stone sculptures, one is Laozi and the other is Confucius. Confucius asked Laozi about Zhou rituals to show that Confucius was open-minded and eager to learn. The locals said This is the Confucius Questioning Hall, which was left over from Gaoying Village in Xiaopingshan. "Xinghua Village has a specialty called [Xinghua Wine]. There is a well dug in the center of the village, which is called [Bajiao Glazed Well]. Because the well water is clear and sweet, farmers call it "Shijing Ganquan". In addition to drinking, they also make wine with a mellow taste. I have never gone up to Xiaohuang Mountain and Yuhuangding. I heard from residents in Xinghua Village that there are actually two peaks there. Due to the snake infestation in the village, all the villagers moved to Xinghua Village, and both villages were abandoned.”
“Sir, the boundary of Xueshan Mountain is basically like this. I have not been in Xinghua Village these days. I saw Brother Shi Qian. Seeing that the time was up and the salt was sold out, I left Xinghua Village through Pantuo Road and went directly to Heifengkou via Pantuo Road. Look, there is a temple at the foot of Hutou Cliff, with three main halls in the front and three in the front, and a vague village, but you can’t see it clearly.”
After hearing what Zhu Fu and Bai Sheng said, Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "According to the situation, it will be much easier to occupy these two places."
Wu Yong also said: "Master, Snow Mountain The peak has a large population, there is also a Liantai Temple inside, and there is a snake problem. The Shiqian brothers have not returned yet, so they first occupy the area of Xueshan Peak. There is no rush at this time, as long as the fog is dispersed, the message can be sent. ”
(End of this chapter)