Chapter 38

Huh? How could he have seen it? Wasn't the first contour map drawn by the Frenchman Dupain-Triel in 1791? After that, Jouvin-Trielle used contour lines to represent the topography of France; at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, contour lines gradually began to be used in topographic mapping; in the second half of the 19th century, the contour method overcame the obstacle of being difficult to recognize and gained recognition. Chen Qingzhi lived in the 5th to 6th centuries AD, so where could he have seen it?

"Chen Qingzhi once saw several wooden maps in the imperial library, two of which were quite similar to the map you drew, my lord!" Perhaps seeing Li You's confusion, Chen Qingzhi explained.

Li You did not know that in the late Warring States period, wooden maps excavated from Tianshui had already used closed curves to depict mountains, and similar artifacts had also been unearthed from the Mawangdui tombs! He could only secretly speculate whether there might have been other time travelers who had visited Chen Qingzhi's world.

While drawing the map and verifying the terrain along the way with Chen Qingzhi, he occasionally explained the use of scale and contour lines, and Chen Qingzhi nodded frequently, feeling that he had gained a lot.

The next morning, the mission set off again. After the battle, the young ruffians of Chang'an had a renewed spirit. The initial nervousness and restraint at the start of the journey turned into confidence after a great victory, and their usual disorder gradually disappeared. The long column looked much more orderly than when they first left Chang'an.

Chen Qingzhi also gained their recognition through this glorious victory. Whenever he rode past the soldiers, they would stop and salute him respectfully.

"General Chen!" "General Chen!" The greetings were endless, and Li You was also very pleased. A general who was deeply trusted by the soldiers undoubtedly had more room to maneuver!

Chen Qingzhi, of course, would not miss this opportunity. While leading the team forward, he explained the essentials of marching and battle to the squad leaders and platoon leaders in the mission!

The Han military system inherited and developed from the Qin system, with military ranks from lowest to highest being: squad leader (伍长), platoon leader (什长), company commander (都伯), centurion (百人将), battalion commander (牙门将, 骑督, 部曲督, etc.), deputy battalion commander (别部司马 or 军司马), major (都尉 or 骑都尉), colonel (校尉), brigade commander (中郎将, including 五官中郎将, 左中郎将, 右中郎将, 虎贲中郎将, etc.), deputy general (裨将军), divisional general (偏将军), irregular general (杂号将军), and the four expeditionary generals (四征将军), four garrison generals (四镇将军), and the front and rear generals (前后将军).

Five men formed a squad, with a squad leader; ten men formed a platoon, with a platoon leader. Squad leaders and platoon leaders were the most basic officers, and Li You controlled the army of less than a hundred men by issuing orders to them! Now he had handed this authority over to Chen Qingzhi.

Chen Qingzhi's command was clearly much better than Li You's, and the speed and order of the team's advance improved significantly! So they reached the designated rest site before sunset.

Tang Yifu stopped the team and reported to Li You, "My lord, the road ahead is difficult, and there is no place to rest and camp. It would be better to stay here for the night and set out westward tomorrow!"

"The deputy envoy is familiar with the geography, so let's do as you suggest!" Li You nodded in agreement, watching the mission members dismount and begin to set up camp in an orderly manner, cutting grass and wood, and boiling water for cooking.

Unless absolutely necessary, drinking boiled water while on the march was a rule Li You had established. He remembered that the future champion Hou, Huo Qubing, died of illness during the pursuit of the Xiongnu in the Battle of the Northern Desert because he drank unclean water! And it seemed that Huo Qubing fell ill because the Xiongnu had buried dead cattle and sheep in the water source!

This primitive form of biological warfare was devised by the first traitor in Chinese history, Zhong Xingshuo, who had just faced off against Li You. Although he did not know if Zhong Xingshuo had developed this strategy, Li You did not want to take the risk! Drinking boiled water could also prevent various diseases and waterborne illnesses, which would benefit the soldiers.

After the meal, Li You discussed the matters to be attended to during the next day's march with Tang Yifu, Chen Qingzhi, Pan Feng, and others, and then resumed his map-drawing work! Yesterday, he had completed most of the route they had already traveled, and today he only needed to make some additions!

So today's work was completed quickly. While drawing the map, he listened to Chen Qingzhi explain the tactics that should be used for the terrain he had just drawn. Before he knew it, half an hour had passed, and the map was complete.

Li You carefully put away the map, which was the greatest gain from this journey! Even if they reached the Yuezhi and formed an alliance, it might not be as important as this map! This would be the best intelligence for the Han army to enter the Western Regions! With these things, he believed that the Han army would have fewer regrets like Li Guang, who lost his way and missed the deadline.

After doing all this, Li You knelt behind the table, refilled Chen Qingzhi's tea, and respectfully said, "General Ziyun, please instruct me!" Now he finally had the time to listen to Chen Qingzhi explain the secrets of his invincible military strategy, and his calm exterior hid an extremely excited heart!

"My lord, there is no need for such formalities! Qingzhi has learned such a wonderful mapping method from my lord, and it is only right to repay you a little!" Chen Qingzhi still had that refined demeanor, and there was no sign that he was a famous general who had never lost a battle. He sat up straight and prepared to explain his military strategy to Li You.

"Qingzhi believes that there is no invincible formation in the world! No matter who the famous general is on the opposite side of the battlefield, no matter what kind of fierce and powerful army they lead, no matter what kind of dangerous passes they occupy! These can at most give the enemy a greater advantage, but they can never cut off all our chances of victory! No matter what enemy, they will have weaknesses, it's just that famous generals have fewer and better-hidden weaknesses, while mediocre generals have more and more obvious weaknesses!" This was the great general who, in four and a half months, captured thirty-two cities, won forty-seven battles, swept away a million troops, and had almost no casualties among his seven thousand troops, speaking confidently.

Then he dipped his finger in the tea and drew on the table, carefully depicting the distribution of the Xiongnu cavalry led by Zhong Xingshuo, and explained to Li You in detail the reasons for his strategy, "The enemy is numerous, but the valley is narrow... disrupting the enemy's formation, we can find an opportunity..."

Li You nodded continuously as he listened. At the time, he only thought that Chen Qingzhi had won easily, but he did not understand why. Now, listening to Chen Qingzhi's explanation, he felt as if a light had been turned on in his mind.

Suddenly, his chest felt warm, and the voice of the tiger talisman sounded again, "The host has received the legacy of the famous general Chen Qingzhi, gaining the skill: Eagle Eye!"

Huh? Skill? Eagle Eye? What is this?

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