The moonlit night of the 15th Mid-Autumn Festival.

In Chang'an New Town, lanterns were lit at the entrances of some wealthy households. Looking from a high place, they looked like clusters of flames of hope, blown by the strong wind, burning with indomitable tenacity.

Inside the Shenhou Mansion.

Several locust trees are growing lushly, and pieces of locust flowers fall from the branches, bringing a burst of fragrance.

Li Yuan asked his servants to set up a square table in the courtyard and made four wooden stools. He and his three confidants Ying Yushu, Gu Yunniang and Xin Zhui paid each other for the moon.

This was Li Yuan's first full-moon night in four years.

Compared with the military campaigns in the previous three years, this time around Li Yuan, there was a group of like-minded comrades and confidante who knew each other well.

"How is it? How is it? Is there a sense of overlooking the whole city and having it under control?" Xin Zhui leaned beside Li Yuan, holding Li Yuan's rough big hand tightly, with pride on his delicate face.

This is a new city, a city designed and built under her diligent supervision.

Pride is written on my face.

With satisfaction and longing, being able to show what you are good at to your loved ones is an irreplaceable happiness in itself.

Under the moonlight, compared to the lively Xin Zhui, Ying Yushu had a tolerant smile on his face. He just looked at the man in front of him carefully with his dignified eyes, as if he wanted to melt him into his heart at this moment.

. Gu Yunniang lowered her head and focused on the plate in front of Li Yuan, which contained the dishes she cooked herself.

Women are like water.

Men are like fire.

When water and fire merge, it is a night with a thin moon and stars.

It's quiet at night.

That night, Li Yuan felt particularly relaxed. He didn't think about the war in the north, the future of Qin, or the stability of the counties under his rule.

——.

Li Yuan's Mid-Autumn Festival night was very comfortable and romantic. In contrast, Sima Mao, who was determined to do something earth-shattering, felt miserable on this night.

Thousands of miles of Luliang Mountain.

The undulating mountains and mountain roads that are constantly collapsing and changing sometimes cover and sometimes wash away the road leading to Hexi.

The Hedong Army braved the risk of being hit by rocks at any time and marched forward with difficulty. Sima Mao, who was talking about military affairs on paper, looked embarrassed. The horse kept bumping up and down on the rugged mountain road, which made him almost vomit.

"What have the pioneers done? This road is completely impassable. If we continue like this, when will we reach Hexi?" Finally, we found a mountain col to stop. Sima Mao shouted loudly at Captain Lou Fan who was leading the way.

"Your Majesty, the road around Gushe Peak is the only way to Hukou, the nearest ferry in Hexi. If we want to bypass this section, we must go around the big bend of the river in Yunzhong County. In that case, it will be very difficult.

We may encounter Qin's border troops." Lieutenant Lou Fan, who was scolded for no reason, argued aggrievedly.

"So, how long is the mountain road ahead, and how many days will it take to reach the ferry?" After hearing what his subordinate said, Sima Mao asked with a slightly bright expression.

"It will take at least five days. This mountain stretches for hundreds of miles. It is really difficult to get out with only two legs." Faced with Sima Mao's question, the Hedong Military Academy Lieutenant was helpless.

From Hedong to Hexi.

There are two main traditional routes. One is to take Puban Ferry in the south. The other is to take Yunzhong County in the north. Now, Sima Mao has to unexpectedly find a place to cross in the middle. How easy is it?

"King Yin, please calm down. As long as we persist, the final victory will definitely belong to us. Think about it, how panicked the people of Qin will be when they find a large army in front of them?" Zhang Er's expression tightened and he consoled him.

.Zhang Er looked down upon Sima Mao's violent temper from the bottom of his heart. From the great success at the beginning to the hesitation now, Sima Mao's ability was just like this.

"Sir, what you said is very true. Come, prepare some fine wine in the tent. I want to have a drink with you," Sima Mao said in a good mood after being complimented by Zhang Er.

The Hedong Army camped at Gushe Peak. The exhausted soldiers simply set up tents, gathered dry firewood, lit their stoves, boiled cold water, and started eating dry food.

Straight plumes of smoke rise among the mountains and forests.

From few to many, from near to far, the scouts of the Hedong Army were composed of Lou Fan soldiers who were familiar with the terrain. After being scolded by Sima Mao, the resentment in the hearts of these hired Lou Fan soldiers began to accumulate, and what followed was

, and the sense of responsibility for his own job as a scout has also been greatly reduced.

Lou's annoying relaxation gave the Qin army's scouts who went out to inquire about the enemy's situation an opportunity. From the analysis of the amount of smoke, the Qin army's scouts basically figured out the strength of the Hedong Army.

South of Hukou.

The thousand-mile river rushes all the way from the north to here, forming a river waterfall with a huge difference between the upper and lower levels. A huge amount of water is pushed down by the turbulence in an instant, splashing countless water mist.

In the area south of Hukou, the river narrowed from wide to narrow, and the water gradually became calmer because the drop disappeared. Lou Fanren built a simple ferry here, and Meng Hu, who learned about the marching movements of the Hedong Army from the intelligence of the scouts,

, decided to start a cross-river battle with the Hedong Army here.

Yes.

The Qin army was waiting for work. Meng Hu gathered 4,000 cavalry and lurked in the plain valley area on the west side of the river. In the direction of the ferry, 200 county soldiers stood watch, pretending to be guarding the west bank of the ferry to paralyze Sima Mao.

The Hedong Army began to cross the river, and the Qin Cavalry Army quickly came out from behind the mountains to kill the generals, using the huge advantage of the cavalry to drive the half-sized Hedong Army into the river in one fell swoop.

Whether Meng Hu's strategy can be realized depends on whether Sima Mao will be fooled. There are many soldiers in Hedong. If he attacks the Hexi ferry repeatedly with small groups, Meng Hu's cavalry will lose strength again and again.

If it is consumed, the Hedong Army's advantage will become more and more obvious.

August 21st, noon.

The scorching sun scorched the mountains on both sides of the river valley, and the exposed rocks were so hot that people could not even sit down. After five days of hard march, the Hedong Army finally walked out of Luliang Mountain and arrived at the long-awaited place.

On the bank of the river, the spectacular and steep natural landscape at Hukou made the soldiers from Hedong, who had only seen trickling streams, look nervous and uneasy.

"Is this the ferry?" Sima Mao approached the river bank with a pale face. A big wave hit him and soaked his armor.

"Your Majesty, this ferry is the most suitable place within a radius of 200 miles. Our Loufan people come and go here." Lieutenant Loufan reported back with a look of disdain.

The nomadic people admire courageous warriors rather than timid men who shrink away from danger. Sima Mao's cowardly performance made Colonel Lou Fan feel humiliated.

In desperation, the Hedong Army began to cut down trees and bundle them into wooden valves to prepare to cross the river. Seeing this, the guards of the Qin Army on the opposite side lit beacon smoke as a warning and began to fire rockets towards Hedong. However, their arrows were sparse.

, posing almost no threat to the Hedong Army.

"Quick, hurry up. In an hour, the whole army will rush to cross the river." In the tense atmosphere, the generals of the Hedong Army at all levels shouted loudly and scolded the soldiers under their command without any scruples.

There is no fast and direct road from Gaonu to Hukou. If the Qin cavalry moved quickly, it would take about two hours. Sima Mao was very confident that he could successfully cross the river.

soon.

The simple wooden valves were completed one by one under the prodding force of the Hedong Army soldiers. This kind of disposable wooden valves are not strong and are likely to be knocked over when facing strong currents. However, at this time, the Hedong Army General

I no longer thought about further strengthening the wooden valve.

Cross the river.

Go to the rich land of Qin, rob the Qin people's grain, burn the Qin people's houses, sleep with the Qin people's women - inspired by such slogans, the soldiers of the Hedong Army changed from innocent young men to full-blooded warriors.

Bloodthirsty war machine.

High slopes of the river bank.

Meng Hu immediately raised his horse, and the war horse and figure blended into the mountains. Under the strong sunlight, if the backlit Hedong soldiers did not look up carefully, it would be difficult to find that there was a man and a horse in the corner of the mountains.

Watching Hedong Army's every move coldly.

The wooden valves were launched into the water one after another, then swirled in the rapids and slowly floated to the other side.

On each wooden valve, there is a man familiar with the water conditions who controls the direction of the wooden valve to avoid the tragedy of overturning. Even so, there are still one or two unlucky wooden valves that were destroyed in the collision.

The vortex rolled up to the reef at the bottom of the river.

The valve overturned, and several soldiers who fell into the water screamed and fluttered a few times before making no sound.

"Get ashore quickly!" The soldiers who had finally escaped the disaster looked blankly at their unfortunate companions. Under the urgent call of the leading captain and the general, they began to move closer to the west bank.

At this time, what they heard was the sound of the water of the river lapping at the river bank. What they could see was the river bank in front of them, but they ignored the sound of horse hooves coming from behind the mountains.

The Hedong Army had more than 7,000 men, accounting for a quarter of the total, and Meng Hu decided to take action. If he continued to hesitate, the simple position established by the Hedong Army on the beach would be difficult to break through.

The seven thousand infantrymen did not have much difficulty for the four thousand Qin Army cavalry. The cavalry's repeated charge back and forth could offset the Hedong Army's numerical advantage to the greatest extent. At the same time, those wooden logs still spinning in the river

When the soldiers on the valve are panic-stricken, the chance of making operational errors will greatly increase.

"kill!"

"Da Qin, Da Qin!"

The screams of the Qin cavalry who came out of the mountain to kill the generals approached almost instantly. The soldiers of the Qin border army who witnessed the rampant actions of the Hedong Army urged their horses to stand up, waved their swords, and began to harvest heads one by one on the dense river bank.

.

"Qin people! Qin people's cavalry." The unprepared Hedong soldiers wailed and fled in all directions. Occasionally, a few fierce Loufan warriors jumped up and overturned the Qin army cavalry on their horses. But

Immediately, with a look of pride on their faces, they were pierced through the chest with a spear from the cavalry who followed. (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!