Under the service of five Zhao girls, Zhao Kuo first showered his head and then bathed his body. It took him two hours to finally finish the bath, put on the clothes given by King Zhao, let his hair down, and felt relaxed! The depression and filth of living alone in a hut in the wild for two years was gone.
Zhao Nu called her servants to clean up the residual water and carried away the toiletries. She accompanied Zhao Kuo into the palace and spread a quilt under the window of the side hall. Zhao Kuo then turned to the screen in the main hall. Because the bathing time was too long, all the lights in the temple were extinguished. Zhao Kuo whispered to Zhao Nu who was accompanying him: "Hold the lamp!"
Ms. Zhao was a little surprised, but she didn't say much. She quickly fetched oil and filled the lamps one by one. The other Ms. Zhao lit them one by one with fire. Zhao Kuo ordered his daughter Zhao to retreat to the side hall. He held a lamp and climbed on the map to observe carefully. The disheveled hair was in the way, so Zhao Kuo turned to the side and asked Zhao Nu to tie up his hair. Some Zhao girls wanted to accompany him to the front of the palace, but Zhao Kuo stopped him sternly: "Don't show the picture to anyone! Anyone who peeks will die!" All the Zhao girls turned pale with fright.
The whole night, Zhao Kuo stayed in front of the map, watching or meditating. When the lamp oil burned out, he asked Zhao Nu to add oil until the sky became brighter and the sound of drums came from Handan City. Zhao Kuo folded the map and placed it on the table in front of the screen. He turned off the lights and went to the side hall. At this time, all the Zhao girls who had stayed up all night were already lying on the ground. Zhao Kuo smiled bitterly and lay down next to him.
After the dispersion of the dynasty, Lord Pingyuan and Lord Pingyang were left by King Zhao to discuss matters. While they were having breakfast, they were discussing Changping. Everyone has no idea about Zhao Kuo and doesn't know what his opinions are. After discussing for a long time, after eating, they went to the palace where Zhao Kuo lived.
Some of the Zhao girls woke up early. When they saw Zhao Kuo lying among them, they felt embarrassed and their hearts beat wildly. Gently pushing the others awake, several girls took turns to go out to dress up, but Zhao Kuo hadn't woken up yet. They also sent people to the kitchen to prepare breakfast to see if it was ready. Finally, a Zhao girl came over and woke Zhao Kuo up: "Sir, please get up!"
When Zhao Kuo woke up, he saluted several Zhao girls, and the five of them quickly gathered their skirts and returned the salute. Under the service of the five people, Zhao Kuo arranged his crown and robes and went out of the palace. The cook brought the tripod to the door, and Zhao Kuo had breakfast on the doorstep. After drinking a bowl of porridge and eating some fruits and vegetables, Zhao Kuo stopped eating and asked the girls to drink the rest of the porridge.
Just at this moment, King Zhao and three others came in. I saw five Zhao girls drinking porridge and eating on the steps, while Zhao Kuo sat alone by the threshold, looking at the orioles and swallows in front of him with peach blossoms in his eyes.
Hearing the knock on the door, the girls stopped eating and seeing three important men coming, they hurriedly went down the steps and knelt down at the foot of the steps. Zhao Kuo also stood up and went down the steps to greet him.
Mr. Pingyuan joked: "This peaceful scenery shows that the weather is good!"
Lord Pingyang said: "It's the clouds that make the rain smooth."
Zhao Kuo did not dare to reply, so he had to bow his head and salute.
A group of servants ran over and packed away the tripods, guios and other items. Lady Zhao went up first and spread out the seats. The four of them looked at the flowers, plants and trees in the courtyard for a while, then climbed up the stairs and entered the hall. Zhao Kuo ordered Lady Zhao to take all the servants out of the palace, and no one was allowed to stay in the palace.
Lord Pingyuan joked again: "I heard that my grandson was able to train female soldiers in the past, but now Zhao Zi will not give in too much!"
Zhao Kuo said: "How dare I?"
When King Zhao saw that the map had been folded and placed on the case, he said, "Master, do you have any plans?"
Zhao Kuo first summarized what he knew and said: "In the former case, Lord Pingyuan took over the party and had no more than 30,000 troops. When Lian Qing came to guard it, he had 50,000 troops. Later, I heard that Qin sent 200,000 troops to Fanfan, and Zhao Yi sent 200,000 troops. . The Shangdang had tens of thousands of strong men, but the Shangdang was empty, and they had more than 100,000 soldiers, all of whom were in the army. So there were 400,000 people, old and weak, women and children. Although the Qin army sent 200,000 soldiers, they did not lead them. As far as I know, there are only 40,000 people in Bashu and Shu, all of whom are known from the local pronunciation. There is another army in Gaodu, and I am afraid that the people from Hedong will also get more than 20,000. The people of Anyi, Fenshang and Puban all farm like this In the old days, all the cities in Nanyang were also blocked. The Qin army in Changping took grain from the east of the river, which was even worse than the Zhao army taking grain in Handan!
"It was discovered that all the food for the Qin army was gathered in Duanshi. Duanshi was located among the mountains. It was not only difficult to attack and defend, but also difficult to enter and exit. In that county, there were thousands of county soldiers and tens of thousands of women, cooking day and night. The grain is for the Qin army, and it is called fried millet. It tastes very delicious, but do not eat too much, as eating too much will make people bloated.
"Therefore, Zhao's army of 400,000 people foraged in Handan; Qin's army of 40,000 people foraged in Hedong. I heard that salt collected in Hedong was sold by the officials, and the grain was exchanged for salt for several years, and I accumulated grain. All the food in the world was returned to it. So, The soldiers are never tired and the people are never exhausted, but they sit back and wait for my disadvantages.
"I have three shortcomings. Their army is 40,000, and our army is 400,000. They fry millet, and only a piece of baht is enough. If I have enough food, I will have to eat a fight a day. This is the food disadvantage. The 400,000 people, eating a million stones a month, will have to eat every day. Transport it. This is a disadvantage for the people. Although there is not enough food to provide, the soldiers often have half food. This is a disadvantage for the army. Food, people, and soldiers are all disadvantages, and it is a harm to the country."
Mr. Pingyuan expressed his approval and said: "The disadvantages are so great, what should be done to save them?"
Zhao Kuo said: "I heard that the Qin people sent troops and met them day and night. Is this true?"
Lord Pingyuan said: "Everyone knows this."
Zhao Kuo said: "He must take advantage of my disadvantages! He is wasting my strength with a small army, and then comes with a large army to attack my exhausted troops. The situation is dangerous! If you want to save those who are in danger, you must rush to Qin with a large army to help it." In the past, we defeated the Qin army; then we used a surprising force to attack and capture the Duan family. We are outnumbered and the enemy is outnumbered, so it is not difficult to win."
Lord Pingyuan was shocked. He looked at Lord Pingyang and King Zhao, and then asked Zhao Kuo: "Is it possible to retreat to the Shangdang and rely on mountains and rivers to fight Qin decisively? What can I do?"
Zhao Kuo said: "Qin's reinforcements are coming. If Zhao uses a righteous flag and a majestic formation to fight Qin in the wild, Qin should also slow down the formation to eliminate its troubles and wait for its victory before fighting. At that time, I left the camp. If you advance through the gate, you will have no way, and if you retreat, you will lose your ground. The situation is difficult to control. You must fight quickly to gain the opportunity."
King Zhao said: "Good! We must do it urgently!" Lord Pingyang then left the table and left, apparently to give orders to Lian Po.
King Zhao Fu said to Zhao Kuo: "I will pay the young master with Changping, what will the young master do?"
Zhao Kuo was not aware that King Zhao had this trick, so he hurriedly said: "I am in mourning and my health is inauspicious, so I cannot join the army."
King Zhao said: "Did the young master come to mourn at night?"
Zhao Kuo said: "But bathe your ears!"
King Zhao said: "Isn't it a big deal that she is a girl? I should choose a good one."
Zhao Kuo said: "No! I looked at the picture at night and couldn't sleep."
King Zhao said: "These are the five. They are born very well and have a dignified nature. They can be used as zodiac signs. Please don't say goodbye to them. It's difficult to deal with them. I want you to look to the young master."
Zhao Kuo said: "Lian Qing is brave, treats soldiers well, and has a deep understanding of the art of war, which is beyond the reach of my ministers."
King Zhao said: "It's more than sure, but not sharp enough. At this time when breathing is between life and death, when the sword is at stake, sharpness comes first."
Zhao Kuo said: "I dare not resign under the king's order. I would like to hear about it at the right time!"
King Zhao said: "You have built a house in the mountains, but you don't dare to hurry. I hope it will take ten days."
Zhao Kuo said: "I'm at your service!"
King Zhao said: "Your Majesty, I will stay here for a day and return the next day. You may have some plans. You should tell me and my fathers!"
Zhao Kuo bows down and pays homage. King Zhao and Lord Pingyuan also left. When they arrived at the palace gate, they ordered the five women to go in immediately and serve Zhao Kuo.
When King Zhao arrived at dinner, Zhao Kuo gave King Zhao a list of young officers who wished to be transferred to Changping to fight. King Zhao didn't think much and agreed one by one.
Three days later, battle reports from the Changping front came one after another. Lian Po was unsuccessful in his attack and had to continue to retreat to the barrier. King Zhao then ordered that Lian Po must fight to the death with the Qin people regardless of losses. Lian Po did not accept this order. Resolutely ask the soldiers to defend.
At this time, word had spread in Handan City that Ma Fujun's son would replace Lian Po as general. Ma Fuzi will completely defeat the Qin army.
No one noticed that King Qin had left Xianyang and stationed in Hedong. Because the plan submitted by Bai Qi required the use of King Qin's five thousand swordsmen and five thousand knights. King Qin not only sent troops, but also followed him. The 20,000 people mobilized from Guanzhong were not prisoners, but all knights. State Lieutenant Sima Jin and all the five officials, public officials, public officials, and official officials in Xianyang who could be mobilized secretly followed King Qin to the east of Hedong. In Xianyang City, only the prince and Zhang Lu were left to supervise the country.
Zhao Kuo stayed in the palace of King Zhao for three days and returned home with the five beauties rewarded by King Zhao. After leaving the beauty to his wife, he hurriedly came to see his mother and reported to King Zhao that he had appointed him as a general to command the Changping garrison. Mother asked: "Why are you fighting?"
Zhao Kuo said: "I have 400,000 people, and the opponent has 300,000 to 50,000 people. How can he be there?"
His mother spat in his face and said, "Young man, if it's so easy, I don't know how honest you are, and you really need to do it?"
Zhao Kuo was not prepared for his mother's anger, so he was so frightened that he knelt down and said, "Mom, calm down. Wang Fei only allowed to lead Changping's army, and he also gave me 50,000 more soldiers and one million dan of grain. We must defeat the Qin army!"
Mother sent all the servants and women away and asked Tsukasa to call the people who had been prepared. After a while, Tsukasa brought about twenty people and said: "These are all the dead who have lived with the Lord for a long time. They can be trusted by their confidants!" Mother ordered them all to sit down. He walked away from the table and said politely: "You follow your late husband, share his life and death, and share the friendship of brothers. I am your son. I hope you can teach him well!"
All the retainers bowed down and said, "I would like to live and die with you!"
Zhao Kuo also avoided the banquet and worshiped: "Kuo has good or bad luck and will go to the army. I hope you, fathers, will teach me!"
All the retainers also said to Zhao Kuo: "Young master, as long as you have an order, I will not refuse the soup and wok!"
Mother said: "You can go to the fathers and tell me your plan!"
Zhao Kuo said: "It is difficult for Lian Qing to defend and not receive foreign aid. When the enemy arrives, he will abandon the defense and attack it. He must stop it urgently. He will mislead him in many ways and take advantage of his weakness to attack. He will definitely win a complete victory."
My mother cried: "If you are not thorough and comprehensive, why should you be a general?"
Zhao Kuo signaled all the retainers to retreat first, then approached his mother and said, "I would like my mother to see you before the king, but I say that my son is young and has no plans. He only succeeds with his words. I wish you not to think that you will be a general!"
The mother immediately stopped crying, looked at Zhao Kuo hesitantly, and suddenly started crying while holding Zhao Kuo's head...
Zhao Kuo saw his mother crying and said, "Why are you crying so hard!"
Mother said: "I knew this the day you entered the palace!"
