Since the Qin people appeared in Wu'an, the giants of Zhao State have fallen into wartime mode. They finally drove the Qin army out of the north bank of Zhangshui River, but they encountered the cities of Wei State again. The changes in the situation made the giants of Zhao State fall into wartime mode. I feel happy for a while, annoyed for a while, nervous for a while, and relaxed for a while. Everyone knew that the Qin army had not suffered a heavy blow and its combat effectiveness was basically intact; on the contrary, the Zhao army had repeatedly suffered small losses during the pursuit. Logically speaking, the battle started within the territory of Zhao State, and there was no obstacle for Zhao State to replenish its combat power. But Zhao State is located in a cold land in the north, and people will freeze to death in winter. Therefore, the tradition of Zhao State is that there is no conscription in winter! We have to fight either after the autumn harvest or when the flowers are blooming in spring. When Zhao She and the Qin army confronted each other, the Qin people stayed in their houses in various towns in Wu'an and escaped the attacks of wind and snow. However, Zhao She's army camped in the wild and suffered a lot of frostbite, so when the elite were After being transferred away, the remaining Zhao army collapsed instantly.
Zhao She had already recruited 30,000 soldiers around Handan. Lian Po had recruited another 50,000 soldiers, and almost all the victorious soldiers in the suburbs of Handan had been mobilized. Lian Po brought 30,000 men to fight, which was already the upper limit; Handan was already good enough if he could replenish the battle losses. It was actually very difficult to increase the number of troops on a large scale.
Only Zhao Guo himself knows about Zhao Guo's plight. Lian Po's 30,000 men had to fight against Hu Yang's 20,000 men. They did not have an absolute advantage in terms of military strength. What's more, the Qin people had convenient terrain: there were few low mountains and dense forests on the banks of the Yellow River. , surrounded by swamps, with only a few roads accessible; it is close to a river on one side, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. In addition, Wei Yining and Xinzhong were still on the side, creating a containment. Everyone in the temple was despairing of this situation. But if we just abandon it and withdraw our troops back to Handan, it seems unreasonable.
King Zhao ordered Lian Po not to take the risk of flanking the Wei army, and at the same time asked the defenders of Fangling and Anyang to strengthen the city defense. At the same time, he sent envoys to Daliang to persuade King Wei to form an alliance with him. At this time, Zhao She sent a battle report, reporting that the enemy troops besieging Yanyu had been defeated and the remaining soldiers were scattered. Zhao Jun is searching everywhere. and reported the battle. King Zhao was overjoyed and announced everywhere in Handan that Zhao She's army had defeated the Qin army. At the same time, he ordered envoys to report to Daliang that the Qin army had been defeated and the remaining soldiers had entered Jiyi. He asked the king of Wei and the Zhao army to join the hunt in Jiyi.
The Zhao envoy set out from Handan and rushed to Daliang via land. The distance was five hundred miles, and it would normally take more than ten days to walk. Since it was an urgent report, the envoy traveled all the way and arrived in Daliang in only five days. The King of Wei did not receive the Zhao envoy, and only asked Wei Qi and Duan Ziqian to be responsible for the reception. The main content was to accuse the Zhao state of being unjust. When the Wei state was in trouble, he took advantage of the situation and robbed Anyang Sanyi, and asked the Zhao envoy to question the King of Zhao. Where are the three cities in Anyang? It was obvious that he was using this as a threat to return to Anyang Sanyi. Naturally, Ambassador Zhao could not agree.
The latter Zhao envoy arrived two days later and conveyed Zhao She's victory. After Wei Qi and Duan Ziqian heard that the Zhao army had defeated the Qin army, they both changed their colors and asked about the whereabouts of the Wei army. The Zhao envoy was dumbfounded and did not know how to answer.
After receiving the report from Wei Qi and others, Lord Xinling became even more troubled - after all, those 10,000 people were all residents of his own fiefdom! If they all fall into the trap, the loss will be huge for him! Fortunately, in the middle of the night, Lord Xinling received a message from his retainer, reporting that although the coalition forces were defeated, the Wei army suffered little losses; but because the avenue was full of broken-up Korean troops, the Wei army could not return home via Shangdang, and was now led by Si Mang. , preparing to return via Anyi. Although Lord Xinling was dissatisfied with this, he would be away from home and his military orders would be somewhat compromised. Si Mang had already made his decision, so he couldn't say much. When Lord Xinling asked about the situation of the Qin army, the retainer could not explain clearly. He only knew that the Qin army withdrew from Yanyu after opening up the road to enter Yanyu, and transferred the task of besieging Yanyu to the Han army. The movements of the Qin army are unknown, but they are said to have returned home. Lord Xinling asked what was going on with the Qin army outside Handan City. None of the diners could answer and looked surprised. It seemed that they had never associated the desolate Yan with the prosperous Handan before.
When the Qin army appeared outside Handan City, Zhang Ye and Mr. Zhong Yue also came to Lord Xinling to report the matter nervously. They were not familiar with the geography of that area. Among the retainers, Mr. Jin, who was said to be familiar with geography, and Mr. Cao, who was brave and good at fighting, had both been sent to Simang's army and were not in the mansion. Although they didn't know the details of the matter, the mere appearance of the Qin army in the suburbs of Handan was enough for them to judge that something big had happened! If Handan could be attacked by surprise like this, it would be difficult for the Zhao State to say peace, and the general trend of the world would also change drastically as a result.
A group of disciples discussed with Lord Xinling all night, but could not come up with a solution. They could only spread their intelligence network to inquire about the situation. The news returned was disturbing: Handan sent Zhao She to lead an army of 30,000 people to rescue Yan Yu, but the Qin army blocked him thirty miles outside Handan City and could not advance even an inch.
This situation reminded Lord Xinling of the confrontation with the Qifeng Qin army in Huayang. The Qin army penetrated deeply into Wei's inner circle, but they were not in a hurry to fight. They even relied on South Korea's support to engage in a war of attrition with themselves. Although they were fighting at home, they were almost overwhelmed, and in the end they had to humiliatingly cede territory and sue for peace. Maintaining the supplies, morale and health of a large army in the ice and snow almost exhausted Lord Xinling's energy, and he still trembles when he thinks about it. After the war, a lot of effort was spent just cleaning up the urine and feces left by the Qin army. Will this scene happen again under Handan City? Lord Xinling was full of sympathy for King Zhao.
The sister of Lord Xinling and the sister of King Wei is the wife of Lord Pingyuan. Lord Xinling once wanted to get some information from Lord Pingyuan through this method. But according to my sister, Lord Pingyuan has not returned home since the Qin army came down the mountain, and has been living in the palace. As for the road to Handan? There must be one, otherwise how could Handan send troops to rescue Yan Yu? My sister's words seemed to say something, but also seemed to say nothing. If Yanyu only has a road leading to Handan, just like other Zhao Yi has roads leading to Handan, then it is naturally not worth making a fuss about. But the problem is that the Qin army easily appeared under Handan City from Yanyu! Need we say more about the seriousness of the situation? Lord Xinling was helpless.
The subsequent development of the situation exceeded Lord Xinling's expectations. They believed that the Zhao army should use all its strength to drive the Qin army from Wu'an back to Yanyu, but the news they received was that the Qin army broke through Wu'an and entered the suburbs of Handan; but retreated step by step under the pressure of Lian Po. Mr. Guo updated his intelligence almost every day and reported the progress of the battle to Lord Xinling every day. But there is only the battle report from Handan. What about the focus of the previous war? It seems to have been forgotten by everyone!
As a result, today, first an envoy from Zhao came to report that the Zhao army had defeated the Qin army in Yan Yu. The remnants of the Qin army were trapped in several cities, allowing Wei and Zhao to attack the Qin army together. That night, Lord Xinling finally received the news that Si Mang and others were leaving Anyi and returning to the country via Nanyang via Taihangxing - it was said to be Mr. Jin's idea. Lord Xinling immediately summoned his disciples for discussion. Everyone agreed that since Mr. Jin made this suggestion, there must be a compelling reason. The only thing that can be done now is to immediately send a response to Anyi. Three days later, Lord Xinling received a report from the second group of merchants, saying that the Wei army had arrived at Duanshi. But on the same day, Mr. Guo had already learned from the merchants that the Wei army had gone down the mountain and occupied Tangcheng!
Immediately, the Qin envoy also arrived. They rowed a large boat from Jishui directly to the foot of Daliang City, rented a car, transported tributes, and rested in a post outside the city. Wei Qi sent people to greet him, and by the way, he listened to the news and learned that the Qin envoy was here to ask questions: Wei Jun suddenly appeared outside Anyi City, was he going to break the alliance? When Wei Qi learned of the Qin envoy's mission, his face turned pale with fright. He first reported it to the King of Wei, and then went to Wei Gongzi's Mansion with Duan Ziqian to report to Lord Xinling.
Lord Xinling asked Zhang He to report the news he had received to the two of them: the Zhao army defeated the Han army that besieged Yanyu, the Wei army escaped because of its position at the back, and the Qin army had long since disappeared. As the defeated Han army blocked the road, the Wei army had to avoid the main road and go west instead, returning to the country via Anyi.
Hearing Zhang Yu's introduction, Wei Qi became even more anxious and said: "If Zhao Yan defeated the Qin army, would he rather defeat the Han and Wei armies? Is it true that the Wei army went to Anyi? Qin and Zhao are forcing each other, what can Wei generals do? !”
Lord Xinling said: "The more than 10,000 Wei troops all trust the people of Lingyi, and their life and death are entrusted to the two ministers. I hope the second minister will make good plans and save the people from suffering!"
Wei Qi looked mournful and said: "Zhao wants to join forces with Wei to attack Qin, but the generals of Wei and Qin's beggars are dying. What can I do? What can I do?"
Zhang Ye turned to Duan Ziqian and said, "What do you think, general?"
Duan Ziqian said: "Wei lost troops and ground in the battle of Huayang and lost its vitality. However, Qin and Zhao are both powerful enemies and cannot be resisted. However, if you go to Qin now, you will blame Zhao, and if you go to Zhao, you will blame Qin. Neither of them is a blessing to Wei. .”
Mr. Zhongyue said: "Zhao and Qin are fighting each other. Both are exhausted, but they can't solve it! If Wei can solve it, the two countries will have good relations."
Wei Qi said: "Why do you say that?"
Mr. Zhongyue said: "Qin is here, and it is like a trapped beast. Zhao wants to attack it but cannot, and abandons it for fear of being injured. The situation is in a dilemma, and everyone wants to retreat. If Wei is in the middle to relieve it, the Zhao army can return. And if the Qin army escapes from trouble, both countries will be as virtuous as Wei. This is the way to turn disaster into blessing."
After Wei Qi and Duan Ziqian heard this, they blinked and said together: "Sir, you are a great talent, you really have a wonderful idea. I should be the king!"
Lord Xinling said: "I hope you, the two ministers, will do your best! The orders of the people of Wei should not be abandoned lightly!"
Wei Qi and Duan Ziqian both complimented him and said: "The prince loves the people, and all the ministers can't do as well." They quickly left and went to the palace again to report to King Wei. Lord Longyang came out to convey King Wei's opinion: "Qin and Zhao are fighting, and they should regain their lost territory because of it. It is natural to be in the middle and harmonize with the two countries, and of course it is necessary to gain benefits!"
After receiving the King of Wei's order, the two hurriedly came out to discuss with Lord Xinling. With the help of a large group of diners, the two finally decided on a negotiation strategy.
