Another sleepless night. When Zhao Kuo and Lian Po returned to the tent, it was almost dawn again. The two opened the map and drew pictures on it. In the end, Zhao Kuo seemed to have convinced Lian Po, and Lian Po reluctantly nodded.
The ten thousand generals brought by Zhao Kuo were actually just a young officer of the Miyagi Guards. He had never commanded an army of more than a thousand people before. This time, Zhao Kuo asked these ten thousand people to command an offensive on the ground. Before the troops were ordered, Zhao Kuo sent a military envoy back to his camp to instruct all the people with a thousand generals and above to come over when the troops were ordered.
Soon, the drums for gathering troops sounded, and all the camps immediately became lively. After a while, military envoys from each battalion rushed back and forth, reporting to the top level on the troop status of the battalion. When the generals of tens of thousands of people arrived, they sent military envoys to report to the big account. These are all routine tasks. Although they are time-consuming, we dare not be careless at all.
Zhao Kuo left five military envoys as agreed before dawn, saying that the general would come to take command in person today. The other armies only issued orders to strengthen their defense.
Five thousand generals from the camp arrived together with a side officer and the military envoy. After the military envoy reported the situation in the military camp, Zhao Kuo ordered the entire army to reorganize their armor and quickly become familiar with the orders of golden drums and flags, so that they could march in an orderly manner. , we must be ready for combat in the next few days.
After the military envoy left, Zhao Kuo said to the seven young generals: "The soldiers can wait until the next day. You will go out into battle today!" In addition to the fact that tens of thousands of people heard about it, the other six people immediately showed their nervousness and joy. look.
Zhao Kuo continued: "My general will personally lead the Zhao army of the fifth army out of camp to attack Qin. You all join the front army and serve as the vanguard of the whole army. Then, yesterday, there was a dispute with the warehouse official, and Mr. Zhao, who was about to be beheaded, was escorted over. Mr. Zhao was tied to a wooden stake all night. He was attacked by mosquitoes and was hungry, thirsty, sleepy and afraid. He was led in front of Zhao Kuo and did not say a word. He just lay limp on the ground and refused to get up.
Zhao Kuo said: "If he has enough strength, can he still fight?"
The young master felt relieved and couldn't believe his ears. He quickly opened his eyes and asked, "What did the general say?"
Zhao Kuo said loudly: "Can we still fight?"
The young master sat up and said loudly: "I will not give up even if I die!"
Zhao Kuo said: "You are in the front, do you dare to climb first?"
The young master said: "If you frown, it's not the Zhao family!"
Zhao Kuo untied the young man, asked Lian Po for a bowl of rice milk, and gave it to him to drink. He led these eight people, together with five military envoys, to the foot of the southernmost mountain. That's where the military tent on the south side of the Danshui defense line is located, with high platforms, flags and drums.
There are 50,000 people on the southern front. The defense zone starts from the fortress area and extends for fifteen miles northwest along Danshui River and fifteen miles northeast along the foot of the mountain. Each of the three groups has 10,000 people, and they take turns to go to the city, with 5,000 in each group; the remaining 20,000 people take turns to rest and serve as reserves in time of war. Zhao Kuo's plan was to mobilize 20,000 men to coordinate with each other and take the initiative to attack the Qin army's camp.
When Zhao Kuo independently commanded an offensive campaign for the first time, he had no idea about the Zhao army. He asked the ten thousand generals who were in charge of the southern defense: "Is it okay for the Israeli army to leave the front mountain?"
The ten thousand people general said: "We went out a few months ago, but ten thousand people have not returned!" It is obvious that they are unwilling to go to war.
Zhao Kuo said: "What if ten thousand people come out to fight?"
The ten thousand people will say: "If you get his order, there will be no obstacles."
Zhao Kuo immediately ordered ten thousand people to line up, indicated the attack directions to each battalion, and then sent eight of his young generals to eight of the battalions to assist in command. At that time, it was common for senior military officers to have such "confidences" who would be assigned to supervise or direct operations in important directions. Everyone was accustomed to it, and the combat effectiveness of these confidants was even counted as an integral part of the general's combat effectiveness. But although these people were Zhao Kuo's confidants, they had not actually commanded operations and could only be regarded as internships.
Zhao Kuo beat the drums in person, and the flags of the ten battalions of five thousand men in the front were sent out first to establish their position, and then each battalion quickly followed up. This uncomplicated action led to unexpected situations: First, the gates set up by the flag bearers of each battalion were not in place, and the distance was either too small or too large; secondly, the hill in front was originally the tactical point of the entire battlefield, but it was It became an obstacle to the formation of troops. Many flag bearers did not know how to deal with this hilltop and treated it as flat ground. This makes the formation more scattered. Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhao Kuo immediately raised money and retreated his troops without waiting for the entire battalion to leave the gate.
Zhao Kuo asked the ten thousand general angrily: "Why are we so unfamiliar in the army?"
The ten thousand general replied: "I haven't practiced for several months, so I am unfamiliar!"
Zhao Kuo said: "If the soldiers are not trained, they will not be used. How can they be neglected for several months?"
The ten thousand general pointed to the valley where the military camp was located and said: "In the past, our troops all went out of the camp fence to practice. When the Qin people came, the barriers were facing each other and they could not get out of the fence. Our camps faced each other in the valley. General, please Look, is there any place for martial arts? "Zhao Kuo looked at the valley and found that it was difficult to secure even one mile of camp space for each camp, let alone martial arts.
Zhao Kuo was about to say why the Qin army could perform martial arts, but he immediately realized that the Qin army had much fewer troops than his own, and the camp did not need to be that big. They also came out to attack the Zhao army almost every day, but retreated after the slightest contact. In fact, he was getting familiar with the army. Orders are equivalent to training. He opened his mouth but didn't say anything. He immediately realized that what Qin Jun could do, he could do too. Factual training can start with arranging troops.
Zhao Kuo used drums to call all the 500 generals and flag bearers of each battalion to the earth platform. He pointed at the terrain outside the camp gate and instructed each flag bearer one by one where to stand and what to pay attention to when running. Then he ordered each of their camps to beat the drums again. The doors of each camp were opened wide, and Zhao Jun's flag bearers rushed out and stood in each position. This time it was better than the last time, but it still did not meet Zhao Kuo's requirements. He once again asked for gold to withdraw his troops and recall the flag bearer...
Zhao Kuo beat the drum for the third time, and this time all the flag bearers were able to stand in the right position. Zhao Kuo continued to beat the drums and ordered the soldiers to go out of the gate in order. This time Zhao Kuo was disappointed again. Zhao Jun didn't even know that he should run in two columns through the gate, and swarmed up and blocked himself at the door. Zhao Kuo had no choice but to withdraw his troops by calling for gold again. He was a little discouraged! With this level of training, not to mention offensive operations, even lining up is a problem!
Zhao Kuo could only go down to a camp first and let the young officers demonstrate standard movements before leaving the camp.
As the sun rose higher and higher, Zhao Kuo felt that there was no hope for today's offensive operation. But he sensitively discovered a situation: Qin Jun did not come out either. He looked at the Qin army's position from the earth platform. The morning fog dissipated, and the situation inside the valley mouth became clear. The camps of the Qin army were all located under the cover of mountain ridges, and their locations could not be seen clearly from outside the valley. But a huge, flat field at the mouth of the valley stood out: this was where the Qin army trained and where the attack was gathered. Zhao Kuo was even a little jealous!
Due to the limited space, Zhao Kuo could not even let 10,000 people practice the movements of the fence at the same time, and could only practice battalion by battalion. When Zhao Kuo was training with Zhao Jun, he felt a pair of eyes staring at him. He wanted to find these eyes, so he searched inch by inch from the hillside south of the Qin army. Finally, he felt a shock in his heart: the two of them met their eyes. Although he didn't see the person's location, description, or appearance, he was very sure that he was a senior figure in the opponent's military camp, and he might even be Bai Qi!
Thinking that Bai Qi was spying on his training, Zhao Kuo immediately became emotional. He ordered two gates to be opened, one for exit and one for entry. Immediately, people were ordered to beat the war drums. Under the urging of the drums, a battalion of soldiers followed the flag bearer and rushed out of the gate and formed a formation. Zhao Kuo glanced at the opposite side and ordered the bell to ring. The soldiers in formation exited the gate in an orderly manner as the bell sounded.
When the soldiers of the first battalion retreated, Zhao Kuo commanded the soldiers of the other battalion to enter the starting point with a command. When the troops were withdrawn, it immediately turned to drum beating. The soldiers of this battalion also rushed out of the gate according to the movement requirements, formed a formation, and then retreated.
There are twenty battalions of ten thousand people. Each battalion drills once and it is noon. Zhao Kuo decided to do something big. He ordered 5,000 people from one side to come out of the camp and form an array. In the sound of drums, the flag bearers quickly ran to their respective positions. Although Zhao Kuo was not completely satisfied, he still ordered each battalion to march in order. All five thousand people rushed out of the camp and formed a formation. Zhao Kuo personally went out of the camp, inspected each camp, gave words of encouragement, and ordered the troops to retreat. The full day training mission is over!
A side result of the day's training was that no Qin troops left camp throughout the day, and there were no troops fighting today. Zhao Kuo ordered that the troops participating in the training serve as combat troops and receive sufficient food! The eight young officers also had dinner among the training troops before leaving and returning to the camp.
Zhao Kuo did not eat with the training troops. He took more than ten disciples back to Lian Po's tent, and each of them still had a bowl of clear gruel.
Lian Po praised him and said: "The young general used offense to defend. I am congratulated for his sincerity. The soldiers have learned the battle formations, recovered and recuperated, and achieved two results with one fell swoop. They are sincere horses and subordinates!" Zhao Kuo humbly asked for advice on the problems that arose in training. , Lian Po answered them one by one.
After dinner, Zhao Kuo felt tired all over, his muscles ached, and his stomach was empty. Two bowls of porridge a day is not even enough for a strong man like him to fill his teeth. However, Zhao Kuo did not dare to add a meal for fear of being seen by others and causing the morale of the army to fluctuate. He only had a short nap in the big tent, and then he followed Lian Po to inspect the camp.
This time we were inspecting the Danshui defense line. When the two of them came down from the foot of the mountain, they were at the starting point of the Danshui Barrier at the foot of Danzhu Ridge. The flank here is well defended by the Danzhuling line. On the north side of the Danshui defense line, the main command post is located on the hillside of Danzhu Ridge. The defense line extends for more than 30 miles from north to south and is also guarded by 50,000 people. This place is closer to the Qin army's fortress than the south. If someone speaks loudly on the other side, they can be heard here. The troops on both sides guarding here were highly nervous and kept watching day and night.
Although the moonlight was half gone, it still clearly reflected the mountains and rivers, which simplified the warning tasks of both sides: every move of both sides could not escape the eyes of the other side, so there was no big move. Zhao Kuo looked at the junction of Danshui Defense Line and Danzhu Ridge, thoughtfully...
