If the Jin soldiers wanted to attack Taiyuan, there was only one way to go, and that was to take the Baijing Trail, one of the eight trails in Taihang.
Baijing Mountain is high and the valley is deep. The road is winding and some places are even on cliffs, making it very difficult to walk.
Zhang Shixun was not prepared to fight a big battle with the Jin soldiers, mainly because he did not have the strength.
It is unrealistic for a mere 20,000 scattered soldiers to fight against the Jin soldiers.
After careful selection, Zhang Shixun picked the best from the National Protection Army and selected 200 people to form a reinforced company. According to later customs, it was named the Sharp Knife Company.
For this operation, he made sufficient preparations and specially asked Wang Dong for two "Goshawks" to conduct reconnaissance in the direction of Shanxi along the white trail in the air.
On the ground, Hei Wuchang and Slow Monkey disguised themselves as mountain people and went forward to scout the military situation along the way.
For Zhang Shixun's safety, Wang Dong even sent Bai Wuchang over. Anyway, the Jurchens had already withdrawn their troops, so there was no point in keeping Bai Wuchang around. He would just be sitting there doing nothing.
Even so, Wang Dong was still worried.
"Shixun, you should take it easy when you go to Shanxi this time. Just have some fun and try to fool the Jurchens. Don't rush into it and put all your efforts into it. Now is not the time for us to take action."
"Don't worry, I'm not going to confront the Jin soldiers head-on this time. I'm only bringing 200 people with me to test their courage. The People's National Defense Army has just been established, and its members are of varying quality. Their combat effectiveness is not yet high, and they don't have the ability to confront the Jin soldiers head-on."
"Yeah! That puts my mind at ease."
Wang Dong added, "In my opinion, it would be best for you to remain in Taihang Mountain and wait patiently for the Jin army to attack Song a second time and wipe out Zhao Ji and his son. That would be the best time for you to show your skills."
Zhang Shixun said, "I agree with you on this point, but we still need to make the necessary preparations. The 20,000 troops in the Taihang Mountains are mostly bandits. Their daily routine is just robbing people and hitting people with clubs. When they encounter government troops, they hide in the mountains. They have no real combat experience at all. So, I want to use this time to lead them to fight the Jin soldiers, gain some combat experience, and by the way, discover and cultivate some talents."
"Well! Since you've thought it through, go ahead and do it. Just make sure you have a good scale."
Zhang Shixun agreed and said, "Send me some more grenades and mines, and if you're not kind enough, get me two cannons."
"Okay! I'll have someone deliver it today."
Kaifeng is actually not far from Gongcheng. It is only about one or two hundred miles away after crossing the Yellow River. If you ride a horse, it will take less than two days.
Two days later, the arms arrived as scheduled, and Zhang Shixun set off with his troops.
The entire Baijing path was almost within the sphere of influence of the People's National Protection Army, except that the exit was blocked by the Jin soldiers.
In order to prevent the Song army from rescuing Taiyuan, the Jurchens closely monitored all the entrances to Taiyuan. There were Jin soldiers stationed at almost every entrance of the eight paths of Taihang. The number of troops was not large, and their main purpose was to provide early warning.
The Baijing is located at Mengmen on the Gongcheng side, and the exit is at Magedang in Zezhou.
According to the aerial reconnaissance of the "Goshawk" and the ground reconnaissance of the Black Impermanence and the Sloth Monkey, the Jin soldiers had less than 500 troops stationed in Magedang.
In order to enter Shanxi, we must capture this group of Jin soldiers.
After receiving accurate intelligence, Zhang Shixun set off with his team.
Before setting off, Li Moulue said, "General, the Jin soldiers are defending the dangerous terrain and are numerous. You are bringing more than 200 people with you, which is far from enough. You should bring more people."
"No need." Zhang Shixun waved his hand. "Although my number is small, we are all elite and strong, and our fighting capacity is no problem. Besides, I don't intend to fight them head-on."
"They are guarding the exit. If you want to get out, you have to fight head-on."
"I'm just using them as a training ground. If the open approach doesn't work, I'll try covertly. Anyway, there's no rush to get out... Lao Li, trust me, let alone there are only 500 of them, even if there were more, I can still handle them."
Li Moulue couldn't help laughing when he thought of his identity.
He is a heavenly master who can summon thunder from heaven and has many magical methods. No matter how powerful the Jin soldiers are, they are no match for him.
The entire length of the White Path is several hundred miles. In the widest part, two carriages can pass each other, but in the narrowest part, only one carriage can pass.
The most difficult part of the journey is the Shilihe Canyon section of Huangwei Mountain, which is also called Heimaogou by the locals. This section of the road is almost entirely on cliffs and is known as the Xuantian Ancient Road.
It is a winding path with seventy-two turns, and the drop is also very large.
When Zhang Shixun arrived here, he didn't dare to ride the horse anymore, and led the horse forward carefully.
When the team was about to reach the exit, the slow loris who was acting as a scout came back.
"Master Zhang, we can't go any further. If we turn around the mountain road ahead, we'll be easily spotted by the Jin soldiers. They have garrisons on the mountain."
Zhang Shixun nodded and ordered loudly: "Everyone, rest where you are."
He looked up at the sky, and the afterglow of the setting sun painted half of the sky red.
"Slow Monkey, you should take a rest too. Come with me to Jingkou for reconnaissance tonight."
Zhang Shixun sat on a stone and asked Hei Wuchang in the wisdom system.
"How many Jin soldiers are there in total?"
"According to the two-day statistics from the sky surveillance cameras, there are approximately 482 Jin soldiers and 715 mules and horses. Most of them are staying in Ma'erdang. Every morning, ten people are sent to the mountain to observe and return to the village before dark."
"Have you seen the people?"
"No."
Zhang Shixun then asked the lazy monkey, "Are there any people in Magedang Village?"
The slow loris was eating compressed dry food. When he heard the question, he quickly swallowed the food in his mouth and replied, "It seems that the villagers have all fled. The Jin soldiers captured some people and made them carry water, chop firewood, and feed the horses."
Zhang Shixun nodded, feeling a little relieved.
As night fell, he set off with Black Impermanence and Slow Monkey.
There is no moon today, and Magedang is in darkness.
For the three of them, darkness was no problem at all.
Zhang Shixun turned on the infrared function in the smart system, and Hei Wuchang itself has an infrared function.
The slow loris is a thief by birth and is accustomed to the darkness.
Like most villages in the Song Dynasty, Magedang also had rammed earth walls. The Jin soldiers were quite cautious and set up sentries at the entrance of the village as well as mobile sentries.
Two Jin soldiers squatted under a tree at the entrance of the village with their necks hunched, holding long spears in their arms.
Zhang Shixun and his two companions circled the village from a distance, then found a secluded place, climbed over the wall and entered the village.
Five hundred people were not too many, but not too few either. Almost all the houses in the village were occupied by the Jin soldiers.
The night in the mountain village was very cold, and the Jin soldiers huddled in their houses. Some were chatting and gossiping, while others went to bed early.
Zhang Shixun and his two companions walked around the village and finally found the courtyard where the leader of the Jin army was.
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