In the battle at the mouth of the valley, the Qin army successfully advanced to the Danshui bank, only ten miles away from the Zhao army's Danshui barrier. At the same time, it captured the two cities set up by the Zhao army at the mouth of the valley, wiped out 5,000 Zhao soldiers, and beheaded a general and two generals. There are four captains, and the troops participating in the war are rated as "excessive" without any problems!
That night, Bai Qi secretly rushed to the entrance of the valley. Accompanied by Wang Lu and a group of five doctors and public servants, he inspected the battlefield on the spot. Based on the actual situation on the battlefield, he listened to reports from Wang Lu and others. This group of senior officers also went to the camp to visit the combatants and wounded, listened to their feelings during the battle, and asked them if they were afraid. Most of these soldiers from the Bashu region did not know these senior officials and could not understand their words. They had to be translated by the public officials, official officials, and doctors who led the team. Despite this, everyone still felt the kindness of these big shots, especially the person in charge, who praised them for making people know the Bashu people!
After the inspection, Bai Qi and Wang Lu entered the big tent in the city, sent away all the entourage, and talked alone for a long time. The two of them wrote and scratched on the dirt, and they quarreled from time to time, but immediately lowered their voices. It wasn't until dawn that the drumbeat of the assembled troops' roll call sounded in the city, and the conversation between the two came to an end. Wang Hao went out to handle daily military affairs. Bai Qi lay on the ground undressed, closing his eyes and taking a nap. When Wang Lu came back from handling military affairs, Bai Qi said goodbye to him. Wang Hao left him to have breakfast before leaving. He only asked Wang Hao for a bag of fried millet, shared the food with a hundred knights on the road, and rode back to Gaodu.
Gaodu is about seventy miles south of Changping. It is separated from Changping by a not steep hill. It is connected to the Xushui Valley by a mountain road, which can avoid the observation of Zhao Jun's barrier. After Zhao Jun entered Changping, Bai Qi shifted the focus of his activities from Anyi to Gaodu, and left all political affairs in Anyi to Pi Wan, which continued for two years. Pi Wan asked Bai Qi to pay attention to his safety. Bai Qi said: "How can an honest and self-defeating thief harm me! If he dares to enter Gaodu, I will prevent him from leaving." Even so, Bai Qi has been in An for two years. Yi, Yewang, Wen, Zhe and other places were erratic and constantly sent troops from Hedong to fight, creating the illusion that they did not care about the situation in Changping. At the same time, they demonstrated the combat effectiveness of Hedong and intimidated Lian Po from easily fighting with him.
After Wang Lu was appointed to preside over the formulation of Shangdang's battle plan, Bai Qi discussed with him many times and secretly formulated a battle plan for the food war. Bai Qi said: "Thirty thousand people are enough to defend the small area of Changping. With a hundred thousand people, they know that they have no strategy. But if they expand their power, they will increase their troops. If they increase, they will only waste their food and fail to realize the truth. . I have 50,000 soldiers, enough to defeat them." Wang Hao was convinced.
Back in Xianyang, Wang Lu secretly reported to Zhang Lu the strategy of the food war. Bai Qi and Wang Lu reminded Zhang Lu of their opinions that the Changping area could not accommodate a hundred thousand troops for combat. Zhang Ludao: "The art of war: the first is measurement, the second is measurement, the third is counting, the fourth is weighing, and the fifth is victory. The earth produces degree, measurement produces quantity, measurement produces number, counting produces measurement, and measurement produces victory. A victorious soldier is like using yi. If you call a baht a defeated soldier, you would call a baht a yi. Now I will call a baht a yi and become the victorious soldier. What can I do?"
The King of Qin also summoned Wang Lu, listened to his detailed explanation of the food war plan, and then approved their plan. So the Qin State began to mobilize pre-war with great fanfare, avenging shame and swearing to behead the thieves... Ten counties across the country recruited troops. For a time, the princes were shaken, Handan was shaken, and the king of Zhao was shaken. King Zhao then took the initiative to increase Changping's troops to 100,000, while Lian Po, in order to build an impenetrable line of defense, converted almost all residents of Shangdang into engineering soldiers, and Shangdang's food production completely stopped. All Shangdang's best men and women were requisitioned, Shangdang no longer produced food, and all residents of Shangdang had to rely on military rations to support themselves. One hundred thousand soldiers and two hundred thousand residents consume 30,000 dan of food a day and one million dan a month. If we persist like this for a year, the harvest in Handan will no longer be enough to meet the party's expenses.
Handan transported five million shi to Shangdang last fall. After deducting losses, the actual amount of grain received was more than 3 million shi. All of it was stored in a temporary granary. Rats and insects gnawed, causing considerable losses. Rats in Changping Instead, it grew stronger. So at the beginning of the year, the food was all gone. In February, Handan swept the warehouse and transported another 3 million shi, and the actual amount was more than 2 million shi. In order to support it for a longer period of time, Zhao Jun reduced the food ration, especially the food ration for residents. Since the major food-consuming households were residents, after the ration reduction, food consumption was reduced by one-third, to about 20,000 shi per day and more than 600,000 shi per month. Lian Po was relieved. If he held on for another four months, the Qin army would have to withdraw! Once the Qin army withdrew, the Zhao army would follow and pursue them. Captures and victories along the way, and food would naturally not be a problem!
From February to April, the Qin army only opened up the passage from Duanshi to Danshui, but had not yet touched the edge of Danshui's defense line, which further reassured Lian Po. Attacking at this speed, there is no problem in holding on for another two months.
Yesterday, Lian Po personally observed the battle between Zhao Army and Qin Army. Although the Qin army was powerful, the Zhao army did not fall behind at all. Those who came out to the entrance of the valley should be the front army of the Qin army. Judging from the fighting situation, there were about 40,000 to 50,000 people, so the total Qin army was at least 100,000. But if the Qin army has no obvious reserve of combat power and has such combat power, it should not be a problem to maintain its own defense.
Just when Lian Po was reorganizing his army, boosting morale, and preparing for a war with the Qin army. Handan sent military envoys to convey information: 20,000 soldiers from Nanjun had entered Hanoi, and Lian Po was asked to be careful.
Lian Po estimated that there were 20,000 troops in Nanjun, plus 10,000 to 20,000 troops in Hedong Province. There may be more than 30,000 Qin troops in the direction of Gaodu. Together with the Qin troops in the direction of Huishui, the total strength would reach 1350,000. Isn’t it enough to have 100,000 people? Of course he knew that a small place like Changping could not accommodate 100,000 people to fight. But in a war, people will die. If someone on your side dies and there is no one to take care of him, and the other side can always replenish his troops, then the war will be unwinnable. With Bai Qi's nickname of "Human Massacre", tens of thousands of people died in a battle, and he wouldn't even blink an eyelid.
What's more, there is no such thing as being foolproof in a war. It is normal to be unprepared and weak at all times. If the opponent concentrates their efforts to attack a little, the only response is to fill it with people. Whoever fills more people will win!
Considering this, Lian Po cautiously proposed to Handan: "The soldiers will not do any great harm to the Shangdang. If we can get 50,000 soldiers in January and February, it will be a good thing."
What Lian Po didn't expect was that just when he was preparing to meet the Qin army's invasion, the Qin army also started to build fortifications! Wang Hao first built a barrier at the mouth of the valley. This is understandable. In order to protect logistical supplies such as food and baggage, as well as important people such as the wounded, civilians, and senior officials, it is necessary to establish a stable base. But then Wang Lu's operation became even more strange. He extended the barrier north along the ridge and built it all the way to Danzhu Ridge. This puzzled Lian Po. Could it be that Wang Lu came here not to seize Shangdang, but to trap himself in Shangdang? Behind him is Handan, and all roads leading to Handan are under his strict control, and his retreat will never be cut off! The worst outcome is that if Shangdang cannot be defended, there will be no problem in withdrawing the entire army to Handan! Wang Lu's actions seemed more like defending Hedong. But Lian Po didn't believe that Bai Qi would be so timid. A deep sense of conspiracy struck Lian Po's heart. He carefully estimated where there was an unexpected flaw, and was caught by Bai Qi...
When nothing happens, Lian Po will come to the high mountain behind the tent and have a panoramic view of the entire battlefield in Changping. He patrolled inch by inch, assessing Bai Qi's actions, but he never found a flaw that Bai Qi could exploit.
But Bai Qi obviously wasn't aimless... In which direction will he rush?
More news came, and there were signs of mobilization in Hanzhong and Nanyang. April is the busy season for spring plowing and farming, and it is also a time of drought. It is unprecedented to mobilize soldiers at this time!
King Zhao felt great pressure: he had tried his best, but the other party seemed to have just started! Lian Po also felt tremendous pressure. He felt that he had figured out the reason why Wang Lu was not in a hurry to attack but was busy building barriers: Bai Qi wanted to mobilize an absolutely superior force to overwhelm him in one fell swoop! Wang Lu's task was only to establish a position and pave the way for the arrival of subsequent reinforcements.
If this is the case, it stands to reason that Lian Po should launch an offensive first and strive to annihilate Wang Lu's troops before Bai Qi's main force arrives. At least he must destroy this offensive position and cannot allow Bai Qi to calmly arrange his troops and then focus on his own shortcomings. , come on hard.
Lian Po called the generals to discuss the attack.
The battle at the entrance of the valley greatly stimulated the Zhao army. Many generals believed that it was a shame to fail to rescue the defenders in the valley. After Wang Hao eliminated the Zhao army in the valley, he did not launch an attack immediately, but was busy building fortifications for defense. Everyone thought it was a sign of guilty conscience. It is estimated that the Qin army suffered heavy losses after continuous battles and was temporarily unable to attack and was waiting for backup. When hearing Lian Po's motion to take the initiative, everyone agreed.
The last time we attacked the northern position, we suffered a huge loss due to the terrain. Some generals suggested changing the location and attacking the southern position.
Someone immediately disagreed. The southern position was further away from the main position, and there was a hill in the middle. Although it was not an obstacle, it was still much higher than the northern slope.
But the man insisted: "That mountain is in the center, with a panoramic view of the surrounding fields. It is the key to attack and defend sincerely. Although Wang Hao is timid, he cannot break it in one fell swoop. He should form a powerful formation and be invincible before seeking victory."
This last sentence touched Lian Po. Attacking Wang Lu should focus on continuous attacks, short assaults are ineffective. If the attack is to last for a day or two or even several days, the southern position is indeed more conducive to the attack. In particular, Wang Hao's barrier extends to the north along the direction of Zhao Jun's barrier. There is no barrier protection in the south. If he can rely on the nameless hill to establish an advanced position and continue to attack for several days, he may be able to Change the tide of battle. At present, he believes that his side has the advantage in terms of military strength. As long as the advantage of military strength is used, other conspiracies will be of no use!
