The sky is cloudy and there is no sun. When you climb halfway up the mountain, you will feel foggy. The low bushes on the mountain are moistened in such weather, and the thick green seems to drip down at any time.

Xu Ping took a hard step on the ground covered with vines and weeds, and walked towards the top of the mountain step by step.

Sang Yi walked aside, much more relaxed than Xu Ping, and had the pleasure of watching the scenery. He said, "It's a pity that this weather is full of fog, and you can't see clearly when you are far away. I heard from the natives here that when you reach the top of the mountain, you can see the Menzhou not far away. I don't know if you can see this kind of weather."

"When can I wait until sunny this season?"

Xu Ping stopped, looked up at the top of the mountain, and gasped heavily.

The mountain is not high, one or two hundred feet tall, but the mountain is steep and there is no road. The mountain is full of shrubs and vines, and there is no place to get off. It is particularly tiring to get up.

After a break, Xu Ping gritted his teeth and finally reached the top of the mountain with Sang Yi, Tan Hu and a group of personal soldiers.

As soon as I reached the top of the mountain, my vision suddenly became wider. Although there was fog blocking, the green mountains in the distance could still be seen in the general outline, and the villages and towns not far away were shady.

Sang Yi pointed to the south and said to Xu Ping: "There are people there, Menzhou, which is less than ten miles away from here. This kind of weather can still be seen vaguely."

Xu Ping nodded: "Yes, there is Menzhou there. Look, from there, there is a valley that extends to the west, and it is the way to Guangyuanzhou. Walking along the river valley is similar to going from Simingzhou to Shangsizhou, which is not very difficult to walk. If you occupy Menzhou, Guangyuanzhou is like in your hands."

Sang Yi built a pergola with his hands and watched the river valley winding among the mountains.

Xu Ping had another idea. Standing here, he remembered the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam in his previous life for no reason. Xu Ping didn't know much about the war. He only had some vague impressions.

The current location between him and Sang Yi was also the important Sino-Vietnamese border town in his previous life, Zhennan Pass, or Youyi Pass. Of course, it is not called this name now. According to legend, the pass was set up here during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, named Yongji Pass, which was the first important place to control Jiaozhi.

This pass is right between two mountains, with Zuobi Mountain on the left and Youfu Mountain on the right. Both are as steep as cliffs, like two gates. Zhennan Pass just takes the road. Only valleys are connected between the mountains and there are many passes, which are all strategic military places.

Passes were set up in narrow places in flat valleys, and the ridges opposite to the two valleys were passes. Although passes have always been called together, their status in wars in ancient and modern times was different. In the era of cold weapons, passes were the most important. As the saying goes, one man should be a pass, and tens of thousands of men cannot be opened. In the years of guns and cannons, the status of passes rose, and passes became irrelevant. Because passes could be arranged based on the front valley, with pocket positions, step by step defense, and resistance, and passes were also commanding heights, which were easy to observe and facilitate long-range firepower to exert its power.

But in this period, the pass is the most important border defense area, so the first thing Xu Ping did when he arrived in Pingxiangdong was to collect manpower to rebuild this majestic pass and rename it Zhennan Pass according to his previous memory.

Today, Xu Ping and Sang Yi came to the mountains on both sides to observe the terrain, and compared it with the war in their memory. The status of Zhennan Pass was not important in that war, because neither the firepower of the army nor the movement ability of the soldiers were comparable to Xu Ping's era. Both the enemy and us did not care about Zhennan Pass.

What really makes sense to Xu Ping now is that the main battlefield of that war did not happen between Pingxiang and Liangzhou, but was in the western Yunnan area, which was called Guangyuanzhou in this era.

A thousand years later, the combat direction of the China National Team was Guangyuanzhou, and they surrounded Liangzhou along the way. Now Xu Ping's idea is just the opposite. He first went to Menzhou and set out from Menzhou to attack Guangyuanzhou.

Looking at the villages and towns that were looming not far away, Xu Ping frowned and said, "Menzhou is much smaller than Liangzhou. No wonder Jiaozhi and Jiaodong don't care much."

"Yes, after all, it can only be used as a road and cannot station a large army." Sang Yi was also a little regretful.

On the border between the Song Dynasty and Jiaozhi, there were continuous mountains, rivers and vast land and sparsely populated areas. All residents' settlements were basically located in river valleys and mountain basins, which were the passage of the army and the source of supply for the army. Among them, the basin was the most important because it connected to the valleys, was a hub for transportation, and gathered the largest population, which could provide manpower and material resources for war.

When troops operate in the mountains, the key is to seize these mountain basins. Once the basins are controlled, they will have the freedom to move. They can also gather troops, store materials, and raise food and grass. Once important basins are lost, the troops deployed in various places will be divided and can only be passively beaten and lose the initiative in war.

The most important passage from Yongzhou to Jiaozhi, the two most important valleys at the junction of the two countries are Pingxiangdong, and the other is Liangzhou. There are two small basins between the two, one is Zhennan Pass and the other is Menzhou.

The Song Dynasty was in a high position to face Jiaozhi, but if you want to gain freedom of movement in this area, at least you have to rely on Pingxiangdong to occupy the Menzhou Basin. You can attack Guangyuanzhou to the west and Liangzhou to the south.

Kagukou, Sichuan Valley, and Basin are the basic principles of mountain combat. Xu Ping did not know these military theories, but he carefully studied the terrain and carefully performed war deductions, and also understood a general idea through self-study.

June is just now, and it is the rainy season. Everything is not suitable for Yongzhou. Xu Ping must build Zhennan Pass and control Menzhou in the remaining time of the rainy season, so that he can take action when the dry season comes.

Menzhou and Liangzhou are located between Jiaozhi and the Song Dynasty, and their attitudes are also swaying. When grass grows on the wall, it cannot help but not fall with the wind, otherwise it will not survive. Xu Ping understands their difficulties and does not force each other too much. It has been a few days since Xiangping, and he has not contacted Menzhou at all. Xu Ping is just making his own preparations.

No matter how many sweet words or promises, the effect is not as effective as the deterrent as the army at the city. Xu Ping was a human being in his two lives, so he naturally understood this truth. When the time comes, they will turn around themselves.

Liangzhou is just under Jiadong's nose. Relatively speaking, Menzhou is closer to the Song Dynasty, so it will send people to Qianlongdong to secretly communicate with Qianlongdong. But no matter what, these two places are nominally the vassal states of the Song Dynasty. Jiadong and Jiaozhi dare not swallow it in one bite, and at this time they dare not tear apart.

The fog became thicker and thicker, slowly turning into fine raindrops. Tan Hu whispered to Xu Ping: "Officials, it's raining, and it's hard to walk on the mountain road. Let's go back."

Raindrops hang on the weed vines, making it more slippery. It is easy to go up the mountain and difficult to go down the mountain. Everyone walks carefully.

Tan Hu cut off a bamboo branch from the nearby bamboo forest, made a bamboo stick for Xu Ping, followed carefully and walked down the mountain slowly with him.

The wing army that built the pass also stopped working in the rain and fog, lit a bunch of bonfires, and sat around.

Xu Ping looked at it, said nothing, took Tan Hu and Sang Yi on the horse and went back to Pingxiangdong directly.

Pingxiangdong Official Hall has been requisitioned by Xu Ping as his resident here. Li Xiang'an's family has moved out long ago. This ghost place is poor and bad. After seeing the prosperity outside, Li Xiang'an is considering asking Xu Ping for some compensation and simply settled in Taiping County.

When they arrived at the official hall, a group of busy officials greeted Xu Ping. Xu Ping asked if there was nothing, so he returned to the Houya with Sang Yi and changed his clothes, and then he turned out again.

Here in Zuojiang Road, Xu Ping is the biggest official, and there is no one to restrict him. He even built the sugar business with one hand, so he could do his own things by his own nature. Therefore, this official hall is different from other official halls in this era, and it combines many of Xu Ping's habits in his previous life.

As soon as you come in, you don’t have auspicious paintings, but a huge map nearby. On the left are two huge tables, on the left are the humanistic situations of various forces, including politics, economy, household registration, military, transportation, history and social overview. Jiaozhi is ranked first, and Jiaodong is the second. On the right are the nearby geographical overview, mountains, river valleys, basins, climate, hydrology, even soil and unique beasts. Notes are made in each category.

In essence, war is not a war between swords and guns on the battlefield, but a competition between two groups of forces fully mobilize their own human and material resources. The stronger the power, the more effective it is, it will undoubtedly have an advantage.

Xu Ping's professional background and habits prevent him from sitting in the tent and thinking about any tricks, but instead putting it out like this, list it clearly, and calculating clearly what to do and what not to do. He uses his own strength to the greatest extent and fully limit the use of the enemy's power. This is his habit.

Most of the staff in the official department came from sugar sugar services, and very few came from the Xiang army. In other words, with sugar sugar services, Xu Ping could accomplish this in the name of the village soldiers, otherwise it would be really not easy.

Those who can sit in the official hall must read and read. Although they are not serious, there are actually a few people who are preparing to participate in the next Yongzhou Examination, and they are full of confidence. They all come from Fujian, where there are too many scholars. Some states have difficulty in getting a test for the provincial examination, while Yongzhou is much simpler.

Due to the huge gap in education levels, the court did not allow candidates to change their courses for exams. Although there are always people who can do it, there is no way for most people. After several years of work, Xu Ping submitted memorials every year, requiring immigrants from sugar services to be issued in Yongzhou. This year, the number of places to be issued in Yongzhou was doubled, and the personnel of sugar services were allowed to refer to it. Many people were ready to go.

Scholars always take themselves very seriously. When they come to Xu Ping to work, they are unwilling to be the official and the identity of the Xiang army is even more impossible. They avoid this embarrassing problem in the name of serving among the rural soldiers.

In this era, it was also an insult to the insult to the military. So unless there was no way, few people would take the initiative to join the army. There were always many scholars in the Song Dynasty who were willing to join the army to compete for fame, but almost no one could accept tattoos. This title was specially used effectively in the imperial guards, neither officers nor tattoos. There were many scholars there, and even if there were many Jinshi who failed, it was impossible for them to have them in the wing army.
Chapter completed!