After Hu Yang explained his intention to send troops to Handan, Bing Cao did not blame him, but instead made suggestions for Hu Yang. Hu Yang said: "What the soldiers saw, they coincided with me. What's the plan?"
Bing Cao asked back: "How long can Zhonggeng stay in Handan?"
Hu Yang didn't know what he meant, so he said: "If you plan on supplying Wu'an with food, it's not a big deal for Meng Yue. If only Zhao She and others come to attack, I will defeat them. If not, I will attack with all Zhao's troops, and I will defend Meng Yue." "
Bing Cao said: "Sincerely tell me, at this time, I have three plans. Settle in the city and defend it, gather the people and practice it, use the iron from Wu'an, repair the armor and complete the army. After one month, the one who is better than this plan . Rolling out the flag, crossing Handan, breaking through its suburbs and seizing the pass, this is part of the plan. Following the original path, climbing mountains and ridges and returning to Qin, this is part of the plan. "
Hu Yang said: "The upper and middle strategies are what I sincerely wish for. However, I have something unplanned and seize the pass. Where is it? What road should I take to get back?"
Bing Cao said: "Going out of the Fu River and going down, you will reach the Zhang River, which is Ye. Passing through Ye and going south, you will reach the river. Going down along the river, you can connect to Ji, and then enter Tao. If you go up the river, you will pass Wei, The territory of Han leads directly to Luoyang. In my opinion, if it is slow, we will return to Luo and return to Xianyang; if it is urgent, we will go to Tao, and there will be soldiers in the kitchen of the guest."
Hu Yang said: "I would like to obey you!"
Bing Cao said: "Young Master Zan has been lurking in Zhao for a long time and has gained Zhao's affection. Today is the time to update, and I would like to take him back with him."
Hu Yang said to the young master, "I'm so lucky to have the young master's help!"
Young Master Zhen said: "We are not weak, for fear of being exhausted by the army, we are lucky to be with you. There are five children. If you have some knowledge of Zhao's affairs and may be useful, please obey your orders! Yiren is the youngest, only thirteen years old. The body is small, and you look like a child. When traveling around, you often carry it to hide others, so it goes to many places. But those who have local guides can take it!"
Hu Yang said: "I may station my troops in Wu'an, or move my troops to the outskirts of Handan, or drive my troops between Fu and Zhangzhou, wandering uncertainly. I will not offend you if I disturb you!"
Young Master Zhen said: "In the middle of the watch, military affairs are the most important thing. Don't worry about not being a sycophant."
After discussing with Gongzi Zhen and Bingcao, Hu Yang summoned all the officials above the military level to decide on the next move. Since the news of Gongzi Zhen, Bing Cao and others' arrival in the army was not suitable to be made public, they did not attend the meeting. At the meeting, Wang Hao and Sima Jin divided their labor: Wang Hao was mainly responsible for guarding Wu'an County and collecting grain, personnel, livestock and other necessary people, property and materials from all possible settlements in Wu'an; Sima Jin was mainly responsible for Responsible for guarding the Taniguchi to the east, collecting iron tools from the south, and making weapons such as spears, spears, and swords. While completing the alert, reorganize the troops, strengthen training, treat the wounded and sick, so that everyone can restore their military strength and prepare for the next battle. Bing Cao returned to the outskirts of Handan and continued to observe the movements in Handan City and provide dynamic news at any time. Prince Zhen left his two eldest sons behind and sent his three younger sons back to wait for orders from Bing Cao. Hu Yang also sent Zheng Anping, Chen Si and other soldiers and people familiar to Cao and the princes to travel between Handan and Wu'an to convey information. Be prepared for the long haul.
Wang Hao and Sima Jin had a clear division of labor. They were both people with strong execution abilities and quickly arranged actions and training plans. Wang Hao sent people to each city and assigned the lords of each city to collect grain and fodder, and deliver it to the camp on time every fifth and tenth day. When manpower or other temporary supplies were needed, they were also allocated to each city. Sima Jin then sent people to various smelting furnaces and iron shops to explain the weapons and other items he needed and that they must be paid on time. If there is a delay at first, send people over immediately, find a town to gather, behead the town owner, appoint a new town owner, and double the collection. The news spread and the cities were shaken!
Wang Lu organized an siege drill under Wu'an County. Flags were waved and shouts of death shocked the sky. Wu'an County was shocked three times a day. They had no choice but to stand still and deploy their defenses, not daring to send troops out of the city. Sima Jin was even more interesting. He recruited boats up and down the river to practice water warfare. Although in the current dry season, the water level is not high and navigation is not possible, it still makes Zhao Jun, who is camping by the river, worried and restless. The land training only involves training on flags, golden drums, and formation changes. The location is sometimes three to five miles outside Zhao Jun's camp, so that Zhao Jun can see clearly.
Ten days later, there was no news from the Zhao camp. Due to the high barriers of the Zhao camp, only the sound of golden drums could be heard in the camp. They were probably training, but no movement of the Zhao army was seen. After more than ten days of construction day and night, Zhao Jun's camp has extended to the intersection of the two Ming Rivers. Sima Jin did not take any special measures, but extended the cordon further north. Wang Lu then asked each town that if Zhao Jun was found crossing the river and entering Juyi, the main town and the surrounding Juyi must sound drums as trumpets. But whoever sounds the drum will not be judged otherwise; if Zhao Jun is discovered but does not sound the drum, he will be regarded as collaborating with the enemy and the whole city will be killed. But this ban was never enforced because no Zhao troops crossed the river.
However, the news from Bingcao was that Handan was recruiting soldiers on a large scale. This aroused Hu Yang's vigilance, and he asked the soldiers to pay attention to whether these troops had been sent to the valley to reinforce Zhao She. The result is no. These Zhao troops are training just outside Handan City, and the subjects of each training are not exactly the same. It should be recruit training, and it doesn't look like a fake. They sent people to sneak into the valley entrance, but found no sign of Zhao She increasing his troops on a large scale. The intelligence obtained from the outside was consistent with the information obtained by Sima Jin Mingshao's spy reconnaissance, indicating that Zhao She had no intention of concentrating larger forces to fight the Qin army.
This made Hu Yang a little suspicious: What was Zhao She's intention in doing this? He went deep into important areas, but in Wu'an, he could collect food, recruit husbands, and even forge weapons at will. The relatively closed environment of Wu'an is much less than the defensive pressure required for unsealing; Wu'an's numerous settlements can provide sufficient food and fodder, and it only has 20,000 Qin soldiers now, which is less logistical pressure than the 100,000 Qin soldiers when unsealing; although It was the middle of winter, but the soldiers could stay in residents' houses, which were in good condition and had braziers; the women in the town were responsible for washing and mending their clothes and armor, and even sleeping at night, if required, they could find women to warm their seats. It’s almost the same as at home! But these losses were all borne by the State of Zhao, and the State of Qin suffered no losses. According to Hu Yang's idea, the Zhao army should concentrate its forces as soon as possible to force the Qin army to leave Wu'an and withdraw from the outer suburbs of Handan, which is in Zhao's interest. However, Zhao Jun's current strategy is to let Qin Jun recuperate and take his time. Do they want Qin Jun to give birth to a baby in Wu'an and become a Zhao citizen?
Zhao She discovered that the Qin army had already entered Wu'an! When the news reached King Zhao, it was like a bolt from the blue, shocking the entire Zhao court. King Zhao quickly summoned Lin Xiangru, Lian Po and Yu Qing. Without any hesitation, the three of them unanimously suggested that even though the New Year was coming soon, a force must be assembled quickly to guard Handan and annihilate the Qin army. The two ruling royal families, Lord Pingyuan and Lord Pingyang, were asked to prepare for battle immediately.
The military symbols reached all counties, first of all Handan. Handan has already recruited 20,000 to 30,000 people before, and now they are all confronting the Qin army in Wu'an; now they have to recruit again, and the number of people is even larger, and there is embarrassment everywhere. But King Zhao didn't care about that. He drew one out of ten men in each county. Ten thousand were drawn out of the 100,000 households in Handan City first; and another 30,000 were drawn out of the 300,000 households in the surrounding area. The strong men recruited from other counties were still arriving one after another. On the road. Lord Pingyuan and Lord Pingyang each recruited 10,000 people from their fiefdoms and gathered around Handan. All soldiers were led by General Shangqing Lianpo, and King Zhao did not interfere.
When Bing Cao entered Wu'an, it was fashionable and calm, but when he came out of Wu'an, there were strong winds and huge waves: there were crying women and sad-looking men everywhere, old people holding hands and children holding the skirts of their clothes. Bingcao was shocked.
After returning to his residence in the city, Guo's retainers pulled Bing Cao to a remote place and said, "Sir, you shouldn't have come back. Zhao is fighting Qin, and you are in danger!"
Bing Cao smiled and said: "I am a distant relative of the Cao family, and I came here specifically to seek refuge. Now that I see the chaos, I will leave first so as not to disturb you sir! Don't worry, sir. But if you talk about the distant relatives of the Cao family, don't talk to others. There will be no disaster."
Seeing Bing Cao's confident expression, the retainer didn't know what to do. The soldier Cao asked the retainer: "Why did it change like this in just a few days?"
The retainer said: "Since my husband left, the Prime Minister has issued an order to send one of the ten men to Handan. They have to arrive in ten days. It is the New Year, and it is the middle of winter. The soldiers are worried, and the residents are worried. New Year's Day is a wonderful day. For joy and sorrow!"
Bing Cao asked cautiously: "Is there anyone going to your home, sir?"
The retainer said: "My family members have no escape from the previous battle, and they are worthy of a battle. How can we escape!" He said with regret.
Bing Cao comforted his retainers and said, "Would you rather be spared money than a strong young man in this city?"
The retainer said: "The incident happened unexpectedly, and the decree clearly stated that Ding must be released, so don't use money to avoid it."
The soldier was thoughtful, said a few words of comfort, and then left.
It can be said that by now, Hu Yang's biggest purpose of sending troops to Handan has been achieved: to disrupt the lives of the people in Handan and make them fearful! Anyone who dares to go against the Qin people will suffer this fate. He called the three young masters to him and asked them to secretly spread the word that the Qin people came out of Handan to avenge Zhao for breaking their promise. These young masters have been in Zhao for half a year. Each of them has his own group of friends. They find people to chat with and then spread the word, and they don't communicate with each other.
The next day, Bing Cao said he was going to Handan to see the goods and took the foreigner to Handan. Yu Tuguo saw that business was sluggish, everyone closed their homes, and there were only levies hurriedly walking on the road.
Handan twin city structure. Unlike other countries where palaces are located within the royal city, Handan's royal city and Handan City are diagonally opposite each other. The reason for this layout is that when the Zhao State established its capital in Handan, Handan City was already very prosperous and prosperous, with a dense population, and there was no room for the construction of a royal palace. Zhao State could only build its own royal city outside Handan City.
Handan City is an old city, and naturally the people living in it are common people, merchants, craftsmen, and even traffickers and pawns. Zhao Wangcheng is outside the residence of the Zhao nobles. The city of King Zhao is divided into three districts, each separated by city walls: the north district is the aristocratic district, where most dignitaries probably live; the west district is the royal palace, which is naturally the area where King Zhao lives; the east district has two palaces facing each other, which is where the king of Zhao lives. A place for offices and ceremonies. There is a large square in front of the palace where thousands of people can gather.
