The edge of the Lushui Marsh is connected to a grove of decaying dead trees, where a plant with pointed leaves and thick stems grows. It is called snake grass and is a favorite haunt of snakes that coil and gather in the cold.
Zheng Quchi used to frequently work on engineering projects. Out of professional habit, he would always investigate the local geological environment before going to an unfamiliar place. After all, engineering projects are closely related to them. Engineering planning, surveying, design, construction and maintenance all have to take geology into account, and finally select the best site.
She had investigated the Golden Egret Hunting Grounds in the Eight Hundred Palaces, and one of the geographical records mentioned snake grass.
This snake grass is not green. It has a very short growth period. Once mature, it turns into a brown, withered, and brittle form resembling snake skin. It is also flammable and fragile. Furthermore, it emits a peculiar odor that some birds and beasts find extremely unpleasant, while insidious creatures are quite fond of it.
After drinking the tonic to replenish his qi and blood, Zheng Quchi changed into a soldier's uniform and mingled with the troops as he left the Ye camp with Gong Jinniu.
The Beiyuan army was stationed nearby for a short period of time. They were willing to give the Ye army a day to consider whether to fight or surrender, and the fundamental reason for this was their arrogance.
In Hou Feiqing's eyes, the Beiyuan Army's attack on the Ye Camp was essentially an act of the strong bullying the weak. Although he did not believe that war should be fair and just, the Ye Army's attempt to take advantage of the situation during the air raids after several battles was a poor move.
The Northern Abyss Kingdom must win, and win beautifully, without being criticized by anyone.
As soon as Gong Jinniu went out, he took the initiative to approach the Beiyuan Army, claiming that after their Ye Army fought against the Julu Army, some of their soldiers were seriously injured and needed to go to the surrounding area to collect medicine for treatment. This was reasonable, and since they only had a few hundred men with them, they did not seem to be able to do anything big. So the Beiyuan Army let them pass.
Zheng Quchi was still injured, and walking for a long time would easily aggravate her wound. Gong Jinniu did as she suggested, cutting some wood and using the ropes they had brought, and she simply built a small sedan chair.
The sedan chair had no roof; it was carried by just two poles, and a seat board was built on top and tied upright so one could sit on it.
After arriving at the Green Water Swamp, they successfully found the snake grass, but their plan did not go so smoothly, and they encountered a major setback right from the start.
Zheng Quchi had never seen snake grass before. She asked Gong Jinniu and the others to collect a bunch of it, but when they set it on fire, they found that its leaves were small and produced even less smoke, and it didn't last long before burning up, unlike firewood which burns for a long time.
She could only watch helplessly as a few small snakes, attracted by the smoke, emerged, then, as the fire died down and the smoke went out, they grumbled and twisted their bodies, disappearing back into the hay.
"Lieutenant Zheng, this snake grass doesn't burn very well. How can we make the smoke spread throughout the swamp?" Gong Jinniu really knew how to bring up the most sensitive topic.
Zheng Quchi scratched her head in exasperation, having no idea what to do.
Even if she gathered all the snake grass in the swamp and burned it, she wouldn't achieve her goal. What she wanted was to stir up the swamp reptiles, make them wander around, and force the people hiding in the swamp out.
"Since setting it on fire doesn't work, can't we try another method..."
Zheng Quchi did not give up. She crushed the snake grass on her fingertips, brought it close to her nose and smelled it. She found that it was indeed the same smell as when it was burned.
"Gong Jinniu, go to the camp and bring over a few large pots."
"pot?"
"Yes, bring over a few more, I need them."
"Okay, I'll go right away."
After Gong Jinniu left, Zheng Quchi arranged for people to dig mud to build a stove and go into the forest to cut firewood. They all thought that Deputy Officer Zheng was hungry and planned to cook a meal on the spot. So they even took it upon themselves to hunt a few rabbits to have a treat.
Zheng Quchi had someone catch another non-venomous snake, forcibly fed it some snake grass, and then released it. But the snake seemed to have taken a stimulant, and with a whoosh, it sprang up and coiled around the rabbit, intending to use its slender body to forcibly swallow the rabbit, which was more than ten times its size.
Upon seeing this, Zheng Quchi wanted to ask who gave it the courage, but then he realized it must have been the snake grass.
In addition to its scent, snake grass can excite and excite snakes, and feeding it to snakes can also produce the same effect.
In less than half an hour, Gong Jinniu and his men brought back the iron pot. Seeing that the stove was already built, they set up the iron pot.
"Lieutenant Zheng, everything is ready."
"Add water and start a fire."
"But what should we cook in the pot?"
"Boil the snake grass. Put all the snake grass we found into the pot and boil it. The smoke from boiling will linger in the wind and drift far away. Also, pour the thick snake grass juice into the swamp."
Gong Jinniu understood, but then he said, "Lieutenant Zheng, the swamps are all stagnant water, so the area is probably not very wide."
Zheng Quchi observed these swamps and found that they were teeming with mayflies. The stagnant water in these swamps was generally undrinkable; if one wanted fresh water, one would have to venture into deeper waters.
She remembered that the map of the Golden Egret Hunting Grounds seemed to have a freshwater stream formed by groundwater. That watershed was not only a place where animals often stopped to drink, but also a place where people would fetch water if they wanted to survive.
"In the southwest of the Lushui Marshland, there is a stream that is a gushing groundwater that flows in all directions and is the most important source of drinking water for the creatures in the vicinity."
She had an excellent memory; after looking at the map only once, she became intimately familiar with the terrain around the Lushui Marsh.
“Lieutenant Zheng, you’re really sharp-minded to come up with this idea. I think by nightfall at the latest, the reptiles in this swamp will start commotion and make things difficult for the Julu Army.”
After arranging everything, Zheng Quchi and Gong Jinniu found a high spot to observe the situation. She waited patiently and saw the water snakes in the swamp soaked in the snake grass juice for a moment before quickly wriggling their bodies and crawling out of the pool to the shore. One, two, three... gradually a large number of water snakes gathered.
"The water snakes in the swamp have all surfaced. Influenced by the snake grass juice, they are acting violently and aggressively, and they might bite anyone they see."
"These water snakes are not very venomous, and their bites are not fatal."
Of course, the premise is that you don't get swarmed by these water snakes and bitten repeatedly.
Seeing a large number of water snakes emerging due to the snake grass juice, they quickly moved away.
Zheng Quchi also specifically instructed the people handling the matter to sprinkle snake-repellent powder all over their bodies to prevent situations such as trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead, losing both wife and army, or suffering heavy losses on both sides.
Seeing that her first plan had failed, her second plan was fortunately safe and had not gone wrong.
"By the way, if the Julu army is driven out by the water snakes, how do we capture them?" Zheng Quchi asked Gong Jinniu if there were any plans to capture them.
Gong Jinniu was reliable. Although he didn't have many tricks up his sleeve, he had no problem handling things that were already in hand. He patted his chest and said, "Deputy Commander Zheng, don't worry. We've already laid in ambush. As soon as they show their faces at our watch posts, they won't be able to escape from us!"
Zheng Quchi was relieved: "That's good!" She didn't have much time to play hide-and-seek with the Julu army. She was worried that the power of the Ye Kingdom should not fall into other hands. If the Queen of Ye really succeeded, then she and her faction would be in danger.
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