novelSusiti Chapter 72 Jiang Wei stepped into the valley floor—on the cliffs on both sides, someone had already
Chapter 72 Jiang Wei stepped into the valley floor—on the cliffs on both sides, someone had already
Longyou West Road. The next day.
Jiang Wei's 500 riders traveled for a day and a half.
It wasn't a road. It was a crevice in the mountain. Two horses could barely squeeze through side by side, and three would have to turn sideways.
The guide walked at the front. Three surrendered soldiers from Chencang, dressed in Shu army uniforms, with short swords at their waists and torches in their hands.
They have to lift it even during the day. The valley floor is completely shaded from the sun.
The guide leading the group was surnamed Wu. He was in his early thirties. He used to drive carts for Cao Wei's grain convoys and had traveled this route seven or eight times.
"There's a fork in the road ahead. The left one leads to Qishan, and the right one leads to Puban Ferry."
Jiang Wei pulled the horse.
The left side is wide enough for a cart to pass. The right side is narrow enough for a horse to walk on.
"Go to the right. How far is it to the middle section?"
"Sixty li."
"Water source".
Wu Xiangdao thought for a moment. "Twenty li ahead from the fork in the road. There's a spring seeping out from under the cliff. It's not big. Five hundred horses would have to line up to drink."
Jiang Wei spurred his horse and entered the right lane.
Five hundred riders formed a long, winding line, stretching for over a mile. The sound of their hooves pounding the gravel echoed back and forth against the valley walls.
-
Forty li.
The road grew narrower. The cliff face rose higher. The light filtering through the crack overhead was as thin as a line.
"General, the middle section is just twenty li ahead."
Jiang Wei dismounted. He squatted down and looked at the ground.
Gravel. Loose soil. Dry.
Horse hoof prints – none.
Wheel tracks—none.
Human footprints – two types.
An old one, with blurred edges, more than half a month old.
A new one, with clearly defined edges. Within three days.
Jiang Wei brushed aside the loose soil with his fingers. Beneath the new footprints lay fragments of gravel. These fragments had fallen from the cliff face.
He looked up.
A clump of shrubs on the cliff face. The rocks at its base are loose. Someone has stepped on it.
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"stop."
The five hundred riders stopped. Silence fell.
Jiang Wei stood up. He gripped the cliff face with one hand and drew his sword with the other. He took three steps forward.
Bend.
You can't see the other side of the bend.
A guard handed over a bronze mirror, which was then extended at an angle to the outside of the bend in the road.
The mirror reflects what's behind the bend—
empty.
But halfway down the cliff face, a thick hemp rope was tied to a protruding rock corner, hanging down halfway with the end curled up and hidden behind bushes.
The wind blew the leaves aside. A sprout appeared.
Jiang Wei retrieved the bronze mirror.
"There are people on the cliff."
Director Wu's expression changed.
Jiang Wei ignored him. He glanced back at the ranks. The valley floor was narrow, limiting the cavalry's movement. But there weren't many people on the cliff either—just a rope, not a well-organized ambush.
Outpost. Or skirmishers.
"Have you ever seen Cao Wei's men setting up sentry posts on the cliffs when you traveled this route before?"
"No. It's a deserted road. Only those transporting smuggled salt use it."
Jiang Wei gripped the hilt of his sword twice.
Guo Huai's 20,000 men were entangled by the Prime Minister in the east. Chencang fell, and Cao Wei's troops on the western front of Guanzhong either died or surrendered.
Who can release people in this valley?
"Are there any Cao Wei strongholds within sixty li to the north of this road?"
"There was one. Shimen Garrison. There used to be thirty men stationed there to guard the salt route. They were later withdrawn."
Jiang Wei sheathed his sword.
"Ten people. Go around to the side of the cliff."
The guards selected ten nimble men. They removed their armor, lightened their stance, and, in pairs, began climbing up the cliff face from the outside of the bend.
A stick of incense.
A message came down from the top of the cliff. The guards lay prone on the edge of the cliff, making hand signals.
Three people. Asleep.
The guards crept up. Three men, wrapped in old cotton-padded coats, had short swords in the style of Cao Wei at their waists. Several bundles of dry firewood were piled up beside them, and on top of the firewood was a ceramic pot, half-filled with cold porridge.
Defeated soldiers. The garrison troops of Mei County who fled. They ran into a cave in the mountains and hid there.
The ropes were used for them to climb up and down.
Jiang Wei loosened his grip on the hilt of the sword.
But—we can't keep them.
"Tie him up. Gag him. Leave him in the cave. We'll deal with him on the way back."
The three fleeing soldiers only woke up when they were pinned down. Their mouths were stuffed with cloth strips, and they stared blankly, not knowing what had happened.
Jiang Wei remounted his horse and continued forward.
-
Middle section.
The valley narrowed further. The cliffs on both sides sloped inwards, and looking up from below, it seemed as if they were about to close in.
The smoke from the torches didn't dissipate. It stung people's eyes.
Director Wu pointed to the tops of the cliffs on both sides.
"This is the section. It's two miles long. At its narrowest point, a horse can only pass sideways. People can stand on the top of the cliff, and twenty or thirty people can stand on each side, firing crossbows down—not a single one can escape to the bottom of the valley."
Jiang Wei pulled back his horse. He stood at the entrance to the middle section.
Looking in from the entrance, it's pitch black. The torches illuminate the area within ten paces; beyond that, it's all shadows.
Is there a path leading up to the top of the cliff?
"It's five miles south of the entrance. A narrow, winding path. You can climb it."
Jiang Wei turned around.
"Divide into two teams of one hundred men. Take the path from the south to the top of the cliff. Walk along both sides of the cliff edge. Place small flags every ten steps to mark the positions for setting up crossbows."
He paused for a moment.
"Focus your search on whether there are any raft trenches carved into the cliff edge, or any piled-up rocks."
This is what he really wants to investigate.
Three thousand cavalrymen were crammed into the valley floor, blocking both the front and back. Pushing stones down from above was like catching a turtle in a jar.
One hundred people were divided into two groups and climbed to the top of the cliff.
Half an hour.
The message came back.
"North cliff edge. Clean. No raft channel. No signs of new chiseling. No piles of fallen rocks."
"On the south side of the cliff. Three old raft troughs. Moss grows on the rocks, more than ten years old. No new traces."
Clean.
"Leave twenty men on each side of the cliff top. Do not retreat until General Wei Yan arrives. The rest of you—continue forward and wade through the second half."
Jiang Wei spurred his horse forward. They covered the middle two li. He counted each step.
As I reached the exit, the light suddenly came on.
The valley opened up. Ahead was a gentle slope. In the distance, the flat land in the direction of Puban Ferry could be seen.
Director Wu pointed to the river in the distance.
"The Wei River branches off. Grain carts come from the east bank of the river, cross the Puban Ferry, travel west along the riverbank, pass through this valley mouth, and then travel another hundred li to Chang'an."
Jiang Wei dismounted and squatted at the valley entrance. He drew his short sword and drew lines on the ground.
From the valley mouth to the riverbank. Three li.
From the riverbank to the ferry crossing. Fifteen li.
The grain carts came out of the ferry and walked along the river to the mouth of the valley—it was all flat land with no obstructions.
But on both sides of the valley entrance—there are slopes and forests. Enough to hide three thousand cavalry.
Jiang Wei marked three locations on the ground: the ferry crossing, the middle section, and the valley entrance.
How to allocate the three thousand cavalry was up to Wei Yan. But given the terrain—blocking the head, cutting in the middle, or finishing off the tail—the options were limited.
He stood up and brushed the dirt off his hands.
"Write a letter. The road is open. The middle section is safe. There are guards at the top of the cliff. General Wei Yan can pass."
The silk strip was sealed with sealing wax. It was handed to the scout, who then rode back at full speed.
-
Wuzhangyuan.
tenth day.
Liu Shan received a reply from Jiang Wei.
The silk strip contained two lines of text.
"The central section of Longyou has been explored. The cliff top is clean. There are no ambushes or rockfall traps. Road markers have been placed. Someone is on guard at the cliff top."
Second line —
"General Wei Yan will be able to cross the middle section tomorrow. He will arrive at Puban Ferry in six days."
Liu Shan placed the silk strip on the table. He tapped his fingers twice on the edge of the table.
pass.
The first line. It's pulled out.
"Chen Dao".
"Your subject is here."
"Over there, by the bamboo tube. Zhou Fu—"
Chen Dao took out a section of bamboo tube from his sleeve and handed it over.
"The White Feather Soldiers checked this morning. The strip of silk in the bamboo tube—had been taken away. A new one was replaced."
Liu Shan took the bamboo tube and pulled it open.
Inside was a strip of silk. It was folded twice. The handwriting was crooked and messy.
Five words.
"The Shu Emperor was at Wuzhang."
Liu Shan stared at those five words for three breaths.
The information Zhou Fu wanted to send out: His location. Precisely pinpointed to his base.
Zhou Fu dared to write it—which shows he was in a hurry.
He was getting anxious because the chain had been broken for so many days and he hadn't received a reply.
If you're in a hurry, you'll reveal more.
Liu Shan looked away from the silk strip.
But this illustrates one thing.
Zhou Fu's contact was not Liu An. Liu An was merely a middleman, responsible for relaying information. Zhou Fu had another contact.
This person is still in the military.
Liu Shan put the silk strip back into the bamboo tube.
"Put it back. Let him continue writing."
Chen Dao didn't move his feet. He waited.
"The more you write, the more you reveal."
Chen Dao took the bamboo tube, turned around, and left the tent.
The curtains fell.
Liu Shan sat back down at his desk. He placed Jiang Wei's and Zhou Fu's silk strips together.
One is open. The other is still fishing.
Six days. Wei Yan arrived at Puban Ferry.
Six days. Zhou Fu will write a few more.
The tent flap was lifted. Chen Dao turned back. His steps were a beat faster than before.
"Your Majesty. The White Feather Army has just re-inspected that empty wagon in the supply depot—"
"What's wrong with the bamboo tube?"
"The bamboo tubes weren't touched. But there's something extra in the interlayer of the car's floor."
Chen Dao pulled a thin rope from his sleeve. It was about an inch long. The end of the rope was tied in a knot. A tight knot.
Liu Shan took it and squeezed it a couple of times.
There was a small, hard object inside the knot.
He took it apart.
A single black bean.
Liu Shan stopped.
Black beans.
It wasn't Zhou Fufang—Zhou Fufang gave a strip of silk.
This is someone else.
Zhou Fu's contact person.
He checked the mailbox too. He saw the fake silk slip with the "Urgent Military Report" message. He replied with a black bean.
signal.
Liu Shan placed the black beans in his palm and stared at them for five breaths.
"When was this bean put in?"
"The White Feather Soldiers were last inspected at noon. This time they are being inspected at 5 PM. There are five hours in between."
Five hours. The number of people entering and leaving the supply depot—
Liu Shan held the black beans in his palm.
"Check. Between noon and 5 pm, everyone who passed through the west side of the supply camp. Not a single one was missed."
Chen accepted the order and left the tent.
The curtains fell.
The wind was blowing in from the east, towards Chang'an.
Liu Shan didn't lie down. He sat at the table. The black bean in his palm was digging into his skin.
Two lines. Six days.
enough.
[End of Chapter]