In order to avoid the Qin army's patrol posts, Zhao Kuo walked very hard. The moonlight and starlight were blocked in the valley, making it even darker. Fortunately, the sound of gurgling water guided them in front so that they would not get lost. Climbing up the mountain against the current is exhausting and slow. The river is slippery. The snow that fell a few days ago has not yet melted on the mountain. From time to time, people fall down or even slide down the mountain, taking a piece of it with them. people.
Zhao Kuo stopped from time to time to observe the dynamics of the team and looked back at Wu'an down the mountain. The place has been reduced to a few piles of fire, shining tenaciously in the vast darkness. The pile in the shape of a "T" at the east end is the Zhao army's camp. A little further to the west, the dotted pile is the Qin army's camp fence. The Qin people occupied the most prosperous piece of land in Wu'an, and almost the entire army lived in the town. However, the Zhao army could only occupy a corner of the Wu'an valley. There were not enough villages there to support the entire Zhao army. The Zhao army only had the rear. A small part of the army and senior officers of each army have their own houses. The Zhao army was fighting in their own homeland, but their camping conditions were not as good as those of the Qin army who were fighting on the road: most of them could only sleep in the open and light bonfires to keep warm. The food produced in the local area is not enough to eat. Fortunately, it is close to Handan, so food can be transported nearby. In the past twenty days, there have been howling winds and rain and snow. A few days ago, there was a heavy snowfall, covering the entire Wu'an in white. People fell ill from time to time in the Zhao camp, and the plague was also prevalent on a small scale. But none of this changed Zhao Jun's trend: no fight if the wall is strong.
Zhao She never explained the reason for his decision. After a long time, Zhao Kuo seemed to understand that Zhao She was not "containing" the Qin army in Yan Yu. Zhao She's combat guiding ideology was not based on Yan Yu, but to control the Qin army. Blockade Wu'an and prevent them from harming Handan. After figuring this out, Zhao Kuo became more proactive in doing things. He often appeared among the soldiers and actively organized for the families of the soldiers to send cold clothes. For those soldiers who were from poor families, he actively contacted the villagers and asked the elders to discuss a piece of cold clothes for the soldiers to wear. As for himself, he only put on a silk robe when the soldiers were all wearing cold clothes. ——At this time, children from wealthy families all wore furs!
Since Zhao Kuo took the initiative, Zhao She never scolded him again. Since there is no more marching, he does not need to pinch his feet every day. I could only talk to him about the art of war. Zhao Kuo's position in this Zhao army is very special. Everyone knows that he does not have any position, so he goes down to the camp to talk, eat and even warm himself with the soldiers in the camp. He is "so poor" that he only wears a silk robe, but no one cares; When it comes to presiding over big things, he is almost Zhao She's spokesperson. Officers of all seniorities listen to his orders, as if he is Zhao She's deputy, and everyone thinks it's normal. This kind of "all-in-one" situation allowed Zhao Kuo, who had just entered the military camp at a young age, to be completely transformed within twenty days.
After walking for half the night, it was getting brighter. Zhao Kuo rushed to the front army and helped the generals find a suitable place to rest. Each battalion began to count its soldiers - during the night march, everyone fell down, and the queue was already in chaos. Only by stopping to rest could the team be sorted out. Looking back at Wu'an, it is shrouded in mist and is not as clear as at night. There are thousands of mountains and valleys all around, covered with thick snow. The winding path trodden by his group stood out in the snow, indicating where he came from.
After only resting for an hour, General Pian set off with the four battalions that had already gathered their troops, while the rest were still waiting for their lost troops.
After a while, Zhao Kuo asked a thousand-man general to lead the second batch of two battalions to set off, and the remaining four battalions all stayed behind, waiting to take in the stragglers.
Some people returned one after another, and this time some of them were injured. Zhao Kuo tore off the corners of his clothes and bound their wounds. When others saw Zhao Kuo doing this, they also imitated him and covered up the wounds of their companions. When the time came, Zhao Kuo got up and organized his team. About two hundred people have not come back yet, and probably never will.
Zhao Kuo specially formed a team of dozens of injured people, led by himself, and fell at the end of the army, supporting each other and encouraging them to move forward desperately. Along the way, they were also responsible for picking up soldiers who had fallen behind from the front. Although they were eliminated after a night's march, there were still many people who could not keep up with the pace of the rapid march on the mountain road. Some were even so tired that they lay down and were dying; some fell into the abyss and no bones were left... Zhao Kuo's reception team was expanding rapidly.
At noon, the former army stopped to attack again. When Zhao Kuo arrived with the sheltered team, it was already nearly an hour late, and the former army was already preparing to set off. Zhao Kuo left one 500-man general and five 100-man generals to take care of sick and injured soldiers. In fact, these officers couldn't keep up with the team, so they quickly agreed to get such an errand. The sick and wounded soldiers in each battalion were left behind and entered into the reception camps. Those who remained were asked to speed on.
With the protection of the rear army reception team, Zhao Kuo decided to boldly move forward at full speed. In the past, we marched for two hours and rested for one hour, but now we marched for two and a half hours and then rested for one hour. After resting, we would set off when the time was right before the entire battalion was assembled.
After two days and one night of rapid march, Zhao Kuo's troops finally arrived at the entrance of Yan and Taniguchi. At this time, he had less than 4,000 men left. And the containment team was about to join Zhao She's troops.
Of course the Zhao people knew how many roads there were from Wu'an to Yanyu and where the throats were. They set up camps behind the source of the Ming River in the north and south to wait for the Qin army. After releasing the sentries and patrols, Zhao Kuo ordered everyone to rest on the spot. A bonfire was lit in the camp. Zhao Jun did not sleep for two days and two nights in a row. As soon as his body was warm, he fell into a deep sleep.
Zhao She brought out ten thousand people. The more troops there are, the more things they carry, and the slower they move. Zhao She was very experienced. He had arranged the containment force from the beginning, and he had been following the rear army: There would usually be no big events in the front, but if something happened, it would come from behind! Either the Qin army chases them, or the Qin army runs away, it's all a matter of later events. In this way, Zhao She saw with his own eyes that his military camp at the mouth of the valley was captured by the Qin army in the early morning, and the Zhao army did not even put up a decent resistance! Due to the barrier of high mountains, he did not see Sima Jin's troops heading south...
There is no need to rush to Yan Yu now. The Qin army will not retreat via Yan Yu. They will enter Handan and fight the main force of the Zhao army. Their mission of defending the capital has been successfully completed, and the task returns to rescuing Yan Yu. Zhao She felt very bored. He knew that there would be no decent battle in Yanyu. If he could choose, he would rather return to Wu'an and encircle and annihilate Hu Yang!
However, this is not possible.
Zhao She's military camp is located on the outskirts of Handan, which means that King Zhao is aware of his every move and has complete control. When Lian Po had assembled 50,000 troops, King Zhao had already begun to consider occupying Lanyu as soon as possible. The purpose was not to recapture Lanyu, but to cut off the Qin army's return route. Zhao She worked hard and Hu Yang led the army to the outskirts of Handan, so he would no longer think of retreating from Yanhe. Therefore, it was very safe to annihilate Hu Yang in Wu'an. However, the three ministers all believed that if they did not occupy Yanyu first, Hu Yang would be forced to go down this road even if he did not expect it, so it would be better to cut it off first. Moreover, Yan Yu has been rescued for two or three months, and it is not good to remain indifferent. General Zhao She personally led the rescue force, which naturally showed that King Zhao valued Hua Yu. Of course, tacitly, Zhao She should not participate in the siege of the Qin army, as it would be hard to calculate the credit! Zhao She was very disdainful of these little thoughts, so he didn't want to say more and decided to lead his troops to Lanyu according to King Zhao's order.
In order to satisfy Lian Po and others, he only took away 15,000 elite people, and the remaining nearly 10,000 old and weak people stayed in Wu'an as proof that he did not dispute Wu'an's contribution: If we want to talk about Wu'an's contribution, I have lost 10,000 people, so it is not easy to make up for it. In any case, it is impossible to make a difference!
Thinking of how he had endured the humiliation and bear the burden at the beginning, discovered that the Qin army had entered Wu'an, and had taken care of the overall situation, and now he was swallowing his anger, Zhao She was depressed, with nowhere to vent his grievances. Thinking that I am nearly fifty years old and still have to endure hunger and cold and cross mountains and ridges, I just feel that I am not interested!
Ten thousand people walked on the mountain trails, and the procession dragged them a long distance. He looked up and saw that the front army could not be seen. Suppressing the unhappiness in his heart, Zhao She encouraged the wounded in the recovery team to climb up the mountain with all their strength.
One of the soldiers in the containment team was very active, helping this one, supporting that one, making fun and messing around, which often made the sad-looking soldiers smile happily. Zhao She walked up to the sergeant and asked, "Mr. He?"
The sergeant said: "The Xu family is humble and famous."
Zhao She said: "Where is it?"
Xu Li said: "Xinwuli in Handan City!"
Zhao She said: "How old are you?"
Xu Li said: "There are four in thirty."
Zhao She said: "Do you want to join the army?"
Xu Li said: "Since I was twenty, I have served as a general and conquered the whole army. I have joined the army several times. I am a scholar by merit!"
Zhao She said: "How to learn?"
Xu Li said: "I have no knowledge! I can only look up to Xiang Xuer!"
Zhao She said: "This is the same as me! When will we arrive in Handan?"
Xu Li said: "My ancestor, Wei Shu, moved to Handan for a long time, and I don't know where he lived!"
Zhao She said: "They are the old people of Handan! Where can we camp in the city now?"
Xu Li said: "The ancestral land has hundreds of acres, and I can still make a living. Maybe I will become an official and use it as clothing!"
Zhao She said: "I see that you are close to the soldiers. Every time you do something, you will definitely learn something!"
Xu Li said: "I am a humble concubine with a low-ranking title, but the person I rely on is hard-working. Whenever I have a job, I don't dare to quit!"
Zhao She praised: "How good!" He waved his hand and let him go. Seeing Xu Li walking away, Zhao She was still muttering silently in his heart: "Xu Li, Xu Li..."
There was a golden roar ahead, and the team rested on the spot. Zhao She took a peek to see Xu Li and saw that Xu Li had arranged the wounded in a place sheltered from wind and snow, and dozens of wounded were surrounding him. Zhao She walked over and said, "You can win the hearts of the injured, but I think you will guard the injured with a hundred generals. If there are more than a hundred people, you will guard five hundred generals."
