Looking around, there are dozens of continuous groups in front of Zhao Bing, and Hutou Mountain is one of them. However, this place is not taller than other places, but it also conforms to the saying "small and dangerous". Moreover, the vegetation here is well preserved, with lush trees and deep forests and lush leaves, which is difficult to pass through, which is not conducive to the development of the offensive troops.

After looking over the mountains, Zhao Bing focused his attention on Hutou Mountain City. Strictly speaking, this was not an isolated fortress, but a series of large and small forts and outposts, occupying dangerous areas or having a wide view, and bringing the access to this side to surveillance and attacks, forming a blockade line, cutting off traffic to Xiangyang.

Looking from Zhao Bing, the main fortress of Hutou Mountain was not built on the top of the mountain, but was built on the dangerous side of the mountain. It is located in the saddle between the two peaks, overlooking the large and small passages between the mountains. The city walls are surrounded by earthen walls, reinforced with wooden fences and stones, and soldiers are stationed in it. The various passages between the mountains are also set up to block the passages and sent troops to guard them, forming a complete defense system.

In the entire system, the main city of Hutou Mountain is like a giant palm pressing from the sky, and the surrounding small forts scattered are like separate fingers. The small fort uses the main city as the basis to block the access road, protecting the flanks of the main city, and playing a warning role. Even if the small fort is broken, it will only break the periphery and make it difficult to shake the main city. It can still defend and block the access road from a high point.

After seeing this, Zhao Bing secretly admired the Meng general who designed this city. This arrangement not only took advantage of the geographical situation, but also allowed the entire system to help each other, but also took into account the supply issue of the garrison. Everyone knows the story of Ma Su losing Jieting, because he only considered the use of the dangerous mountain situation, but did not consider the difficulty of obtaining water on the mountain.

As a result, Zhang He led the Wei army to Jieting. Seeing that Ma Su gave up the ready-made city and did not defend it, he stationed his men on the mountain. He immediately ordered his soldiers to build camps at the foot of the mountain and surrounded the mountain where Ma Su camped. The Shu army stationed on the mountain was thirsty, so Ma Su could only order the soldiers to rush down the mountain a few times, but because Zhang He held the camp, the Shu army could not break through, which resulted in a great defeat and Jieting was lost.

Therefore, building a village on the mountain requires not only consideration of the terrain, but also the water source. Building a city on the top of the mountain can indeed maximize the use of the terrain. The enemy's attack is difficult, and the defenders are both conducive to defense and can also take advantage of the momentum to attack. But everyone knows that water flows to a low place, and water cannot be stored on the top of the mountain. Even if there are springs available, the flow is very small, and it is difficult to satisfy when there are too many people.

Therefore, experienced military generals will place the mountain village at the waist of the mountain, that is, they can use the streams on the mountain and the springs are richer to meet the needs of more people. However, everything has its limits, and we must also consider the problem of water shortage caused by the enemy's digging of water veins. When the Mongolian army built a city, they must consider this issue. Scattered troops can not only help each other, but also reduce the consumption of the main city, and are not afraid of enemy siege, which is conducive to long-term persistence.

Zhao Bing thought this and found it a bit funny. History is so mysterious. The Mongolian army built a mountain city to block the access roads and prevent the Song army from obtaining foreign aid; and now the attack and defense are interchanging, the mountain city has become an obstacle to blocking the paths for the Song army to advance. Hutou Mountain City is an important stronghold to block the south of Xiangyang City. If you want to attack the city from the south, you have to break through these forts one by one to open the paths for advancement. This is an extremely time-consuming and laborious process. Once you cannot bear this consumption, you can only withdraw your troops.

"Fifth brother, the observation post is coming forward and sending a signal. An enemy army has come out of the camp to us. Let's avoid it for a while!" Peng Hu came over and reported.

"No need, the enemy is still far from us, so they can't see where they are!" Zhao Bing took out a pen and quickly outlined the shape of the mountain in this area, marking the location of the main city and the small fort on it.

"Fifth brother, I'll do it!" Peng Hu suggested.

"Can you understand?" Zhao Bing asked with a look of distortion.

He knew that the strength of the inner guards lies in their personal guards. They are good at fighting and the use of cold weapons. Four or five well-trained soldiers are not his opponents when they hold cold weapons. This is because when they take action, the assassin has broken through the periphery and the obstruction of the inner guards, and has reached the point of close combat.

Of course, the inner guards have not weak observation ability. They must be able to tell whether everyone close to the emperor is hostile and whether they have a sharp weapon so that they can react in time. Another is that they are proficient in makeup and can imitate various characters to adapt to different environments and hide them. In addition, they have excellent physical strength, otherwise the emperor cannot run or is injured, how can he quickly take the person away? He is actually not familiar with other military affairs. It is okay to read maps, but he is an amateur when drawing pictures.

"This should be similar to the city map and the architectural map. I have hunted for those!" Peng Hu replied vaguely.

"There are mountains and rivers. Although they are all pictures, the drawing method and identification are very different." Zhao Bing knew that it was for his own safety, not for his contribution, so he did not blame him, but just chuckled. Seeing that His Majesty refused, Peng Hu stopped talking, and honestly carried out his job and observed the situation around him vigilantly.

Zhao Bing kept adding numbers to the picture, marking angles, paths, fortresses and important places for troops. Although what he drew was only part of it, it could accurately reflect the whole picture of the entire front after comparing it with the other two observation points. What he regretted was that he could not turn to the back of the mountain and survey the entire mountain to find weaknesses in defense.

Zhao Bing was not worried about his own safety. Several guards had already controlled the key points. Even if the enemy was discovered, they would be suppressed by their guns under the steep slope. Leave time for himself to retreat calmly. As long as he entered the trees, he would even be muddy into the sea. It would be difficult to catch them even if he mobilized thousands of people. However, the reconnaissance behind the enemy should try to avoid fire exchanges, because once it was discovered, the enemy troops around him would strengthen their vigilance and block the roads, causing great suffering to future activities.

After the warning sentry again, Zhao Bing looked northwest for a moment, but still did not recognize one of the targets of the trip, Pipa Mountain, among the peaks. Its remaining veins belonging to Hutou Mountain were hidden among the mountains in front of him, but it was difficult to see its true face. But he did not insist anymore, made a gesture, greeted everyone and then retreated into the woods...

After evacuating into the forest for a moment, the other two groups also retreated. Zhao Bing took their pictures and still could not determine the location of Pipa Mountain. Although Xu Wuhan proposed the suggestion of moving westward, he failed to conduct in-depth reconnaissance and did not know the exact location. He was only set based on visiting local people in the countryside and looking up historical materials in history.

However, Zhao Bing knew that historical records could be used as reference, but he could not be too serious. The world seemed to be too far away. However, with the increase of human activities and the transformation of geographical locations, many place names have changed several times, and are even far away from the current locations. Although the Battle of Xiangyang in Song and Meng in Meng was only more than ten years ago, due to language differences, misunderstandings will arise, and even a separate name will appear in one location.

Whenever Zhao Bing went to a place, he would collect relevant historical materials and notes from predecessors in advance, in order to understand the local historical changes. In ancient times, information was not as close as it is now, and it was difficult to transmit information, so he could only find clues. However, he had consulted information and found that there was only one record of Pipa Mountain in historical records: Tanxi originated from Liuzi Mountain, and also gathered with the water of the river flowing through Pipa Mountain, Zhenwu Mountain, Yanghu Mountain, and Zhengjia Mountain. It flowed southward around Xianshou Mountain into the Han River, which was forty miles long.

To find Pipa Mountain according to this clue, you must first determine the location of Tanxi. Tanxi became famous in history because of the Lu horse riding by Liu Bei. It has been recorded in historical records and notes. "General Records" says: "The water of Tanxi comes from this mountain, so it is close to Xiangshan." Xiangshui, five miles west of the city, and comes from Xiangshan. "Xiangyang Prefecture Records" says: "Tanxi is four miles west of the county, which is the stream that Lu Yuebi ridden by the Han Dynasty.

"Shui Jing Zhu": The water comes from the foot of the Xiliuzi Mountain in the county, and is Yahu in the east, and the northern canal of the lake is guided by the stream. It passes through the west of Hanyintai, next to the north of the city, and flows into Mian." It also says, "Yahu, outside the county, looks to the north of Chu, and the mountains and rivers gather into a lake. The water is divided from the lake, and the northern canal is Tanxi water, and one water comes from the southeast, which is Xiangshui." The "Old Records" also says: "When the Han Dynasty first lord passed through this when he passed through Tanxi."

There are also historical records that Emperor Jianwen of Liang once sailed to the source of Tanxi, Liuzishan. Meng Haoran, a famous poet in Xiangyang in the Tang Dynasty, sailed from Tanxi to Wanshan, fishing from Tanxi to Wanshan, saying that "Fishing and sitting on the rock, the water is clear and the heart is leisurely." However, due to the diverting and changing of the Han River, the two are no longer connected. The current Tanxi has long lost its richness of the past. Many places have dried up, and the water only has a trickle of water. In addition, the artificial lake is filled in, land and houses are built, and Yahu Lake has also been occupied. Fortunately, the rivers can be diverted, and moving mountains and filling seas is a legend after all, and the changes in the mountains are relatively small.

Therefore, if you want to determine the location of Pipa Mountain, you must determine the exact location of Liuzi Mountain, Xiangshan, Xiangshui and Tanxi from it. Zhao Bing read historical materials and geography. The records of Xiangshan’s geographical location are: Xiangshan, five miles northwest of the county, are named after the water flows down the mountain. The water flows south to the Xiangshui River, and the north to the Tanxi River. Liuzi Mountain, fifteen miles northwest of the county, and Liuzi Pass is below.

Liuziguan also records the "Xiangyang Chronicle" and says "Seven miles west of Liuziguan County." Pi Rixiu, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, said in the "Inscription on Liu Zaoqiang": "Sir, I died without any illness... I went to Guowuli of Xiangyang, and was called Liuziguan. From the above records, it is not difficult to see that Xiangshan is five miles northwest of Xiangyang City. Among them, there are two waters originating here. One is the water flowing south called Xiangshui, and the other is the water flowing north called Tanxi.

Judging from the above records, Xiangyang is a typical landscape garden city. It was not accidental that the ancients named the three mountains Sanxian. The sea level of these three mountains is not high, which just conforms to the characteristics of "small and dangerous" Shanshan. In addition to the geographical location of Sanxian, Sanxian, the three mountains are surrounded by Han River or Tan River, which conforms to the aesthetic view of the ancients who leaned against the mountains and rivers.

This can be inferred from this that Tanxi originated from Liuzi Mountain, which is very close to Xiangshan. This provides an accurate basis for determining the location of Xiangshan. Regarding Liuzi Mountain, whether from the geographical location recorded in history or from the origin of Tanxi, it is proved that Liuzi Mountain is the highest peak of Xianshan, Bianshan, which shows that the mountain adjacent to Bianshan is Xiangshan. Compared with the records of Yuyu Pipa Mountain five miles southwest of the county, it means that the two mountains are not too far away.

Zhao Bing is now able to determine his location, and he also asked Liu Tong to compare it with his map. Although the map of the Bureau of Affairs is more detailed, he must be more cautious. As the saying goes, a slight difference is a thousand miles away, and it is just right to use it here. Not to mention a thousand miles at present, even three or five miles will cause major events to be missed. At that time, soldiers and generals gathered around and attacked for a long time before they found out that they had gone to the wrong place. Not only wasted time and strength, but they might also put themselves in a dangerous place.

Zhao Bing didn't want to make such a low-level mistake. Not only did he lose his troops, he would also be a laughing stock, making him lose his prestige, and how could he lead his troops to fight in the future? After comparing the two, the position he predicted was not much different from his map, thus he determined the general scope of the target and planned the marching route at night.

When night fell again, the reconnaissance team fed, they sorted out their equipment, checked their weapons, and filled the kettle. Zhao Bing also carried the backpack that was "weighted" again, and he didn't say anything more. First, he didn't want to let everyone down; second, he was afraid that he would not be able to keep up with his physical strength and drag him down. So he accepted it with shamelessness.

Because we have to cross several posts in the Mongolian Yuan on the route tonight, and in the quiet mountains, every sound will be heard far away, so we must eliminate hidden dangers to the greatest extent. Zhao Bing sorted out his equipment, picked up his gun and jumped a few times, but did not find any items scattered, nor did he hear the sound of equipment colliding. Then everyone checked each other and did not get on the road until there was no mistake.

Although the weather is clear tonight, there is still no moonlight to borrow, and I still have to go in the dark. Although the road is much easier to walk tonight, and what bothers Zhao Bing is that the mosquitoes in the mountains are raging. They are simply omnipresent. Even though they have tightened their cuffs and trousers, they can still find gaps to get in and bite. The head, face and hands that are naked outside are not too busy, so I don’t know how many times they have been bitten.
Chapter completed!