The Qin camp was well protected by the high mountains across the river, and the Qin army's movements could not be seen at all. Zhao Kuo calculated in his mind that if 10,000 people were trained every day at the current rate, it would take twenty days to train the entire army. This was more than his food could bear. The food was still on the way and had not arrived. Zhao Kuo did not say how much was delivered this time, which might shake the morale of the army. But he knew in his heart: even if the food arrived, according to the current quota, it would only be enough to last forty days, and there was still a huge gap between the one hundred days. He couldn't say this to anyone, including Lian Po.
The core message of Bai Qi's report to Xianyang is one sentence: The land is flat and narrow, and the troops should not be numerous but refined! Therefore, the 20,000 prisoners in Guanzhong are all strong and brave men carefully selected by Zheng Anping, who are flexible and good at fighting; and the officers at all levels are also current officials at all levels. The King of Qin granted permission to allocate five thousand swordsmen from his own ranks to accompany the prisoners on the expedition.
Qin swordsmen are an elite force together with Qi martial arts and Wei martial soldiers, and are the only standing army of Qin. Although he is called a "swordsman", he is not just a master of swordsmanship, but is synonymous with the sword as a weapon. As the elite force of the Qin State, they were personally led by the King of Qin, with the state captain responsible for training and daily management, and the prime minister responsible for logistics. The current state captain is Sima Jin, the fifth official. He is the grandson of Sima Cuo, an old minister of Qin. In addition to being proficient in the art of war, the Sima family also studied swordsmanship. Sima Jin inherited his family's education from a young age. Although he was young, he had already risen to the rank of fifth official based on his military merits, and was only one step away from becoming a concubine.
King Qin sent five thousand swordsmen and made great determination. Before leaving, he summoned Sima Jin into the palace, solemnly awarded the military talisman, and said solemnly: "I have the whole country to support you, please take this seriously!" Since the swordsman's itinerary needs to be kept strictly confidential, only a few members of the Qin clan were present in this scene. be able to participate.
According to Zhang Lu's plan, in order to increase the momentum and shock the world, especially Handan, and at the same time save food for Hedong, the prisoners in Guanzhong were not in a hurry, but gathered from all directions to the counties in Hexi to the west of the Yellow River. A county may have one or two hundred, or three or four hundred, all led by county captains. The officers of each hill, li, and pavilion will serve as officers at all levels. Those who are not enough must be filled by the best knights in the hill. ——This is a clear instruction from the Guowei Mansion.
Hexifan refers to the west bank of the Yellow River. Like Hedong, it is an important ferry crossing for transportation between Qin and Jin. Hexi changed hands several times between the Qin and Jin Dynasties. It was here that Wu Qi served as the governor of Hexi in the Wei State. He killed the Qin army in fear and set a record of defeating the Qin army of 500,000 soldiers with 50,000 soldiers. The Great Wall that still stands today is proof of Wu Qi's military exploits. But since Wei moved its capital to Daliang, Hexi was eroded by Qin day by day. In the end, the King of Wei, who couldn't bear the disturbance, simply dedicated it to Qin in exchange for temporary peace. The State of Qin established Linjin, Ningqin and other counties here, with more than ten cities.
It is about 800 miles from Qinyi and Xiyi (where Qin State started) in the west of Guanzhong to Hexi. The so-called "Eight Hundred Miles of Qinchuan" refers to this area. It takes about twenty or thirty days to walk according to the schedule. In addition, there were prisoners from Longxi, Beidi and other places further away. Due to the long distance, carrying a month's worth of food was obviously not enough to meet the needs, and Guanzhong had been requisitioned and was unable to provide supplies. Therefore, a large number of livestock accompanied the army to carry food and baggage.
The Qin army's operation to cross the river began on the first day of July. At that time, the conscripted prisoners were not fully present. Guanzhong provided all the officers and soldiers arriving in Hexi with a month's supply of dry food for each person: ten pounds of fried millet. Counties in Hexi mobilized a large number of boats to ferry to and from the ferry. It took ten days to cross all the reinforcements of the Qin army.
The Qin troops who had crossed the river were dispersed on both sides of the road from Puban to Anyi, and drilled every day, while officials at all levels secretly gathered in Anyi to follow Bai Qi's command. The five thousand swordsmen commanded by Sima Jin were also dressed as prisoners. After gathering across the river, they were arranged to garrison Anyi. There, they changed their clothes and called themselves Lord Wu'an's personal camp. Only the top brass knew that this army was personally led by Lieutenant Sima Jin. How could it be as simple as a personal camp?
After the swordsmen entered Anyi, Sima Jin immediately sent out a group of overt and covert sentinels to investigate the movements of the Zhao army. Chen Si also arrived at Anyi with the army, but his advantage of using business travel was almost useless here because there were almost no business travel in Anyi. Therefore, he asked for instructions to take people to Zhi City to hide. Bai Qi said: "Zhi City is the land of Qin. If you want to do something, there is no need to hide!"
Chen Sidao: "It's surprising!"
Bai Qi laughed and patted Chen Si on the back and said, "It's also combined with the art of war."
Chen Sidao: "However, we should also ask for your talisman to be prepared for emergencies."
Bai Qi didn't hesitate at all. He asked for a "Jun" talisman from below, and Chen Si hid it closely. That night, he took a few people with him, changed his clothes, and sneaked out of the military camp without knowing where he went.
In the next few days, news came one after another from various channels: Zhao Guo appointed Zhao Kuo, the son of Ma Fujun Zhao She, as a general and went to Changping to replace Lian Po. King Zhao gave Zhao Kuo enough troops and food, and mobilized his trusted generals. Zhao Kuo wanted food, soldiers, generals, and generals, and he was determined to have a showdown with the Qin army!
Bai Qi sneered when he heard the news that the sentry had found out. Sima Jin compiled the intelligence on the Zhao army and the Qin army's movements into a brief slip every day, and sent military envoys to report to Xianyang overnight.
On the first day Zhao Kuo arrived, Sima Jin received reports from various channels that about five thousand people had arrived at Shangdang. ——Such a large-scale troop mobilization, and no confidentiality measures were taken, naturally cannot be concealed from anyone.
Sima Jin reported to Bai Qi: "The horse has arrived!"
Bai Qi said: "It's his father, let alone his son! I will capture him!"
Sima Jin said: "When Ma Fuzi arrives, will he fight? Will he defend?"
Bai Qi said: "If we can defend, how can we replace the general on the battlefield? We must also attack."
Sima Jin said: "How should we attack it again?"
Bai Qi said: "The Zhao people have no plan, but they have to take the straight path."
Sima Jin said: "In this way, great things will come of it!"
The next night, just as Sima Jin sent the report to Xianyang, Wang Lu's report arrived. Sima Jin Qifeng started reading and couldn't help but laugh out loud. Bai Qi said: "What's the plan for Zuo Shu to be happy?"
Sima Jin said: "Zuosu Changjin was performing martial arts, so he threw dung and dirt to tease Zhao's army. All the accumulation in the camp for several months was thrown away."
Bai Qi said: "Why throw it with dung?"
Sima Jin said: "He wanted to fill in the trench, but he knew that the city could not be pulled out, so he used dung as a base."
Bai Qi said: "Stupid, stupid! Although it is just a martial arts performance, it should not be played for children. How can the army be a show? Write a book to denounce it! From now on, martial arts performances must be consistent with actual combat!" Sima Jin didn't expect Wang Lu's clever plan to be rebuked by Bai Qi. , although he felt that Bai Qi was making a fuss out of a molehill, he didn't dare to refute, so he could only murmur. Bai Qi said: "If you write to him, I will visit him the next day."
Sima Jin said: "Where are you going?"
Bai Qi said: "But watch the children fight."
Sima Jin wrote another book under the lamp, sent military envoys to the front line, and told Wang He that the emperor would be in the camp the next day, so he must not play tricks during martial arts performances.
When Zhao Kuo was training the Zhao army on the south wall, Bai Qi led a group of cavalry from Anyi into Wang Lu's camp. It was already afternoon when we arrived. Wang Hao had been watching Zhao Kuo's martial arts performance for a long time at the lookout post on Nanshan Mountain. Bai Qi came from the mountain road and met Wang Lu. The two of them went to the mountain to watch Zhao Jun's martial arts performance. After looking at it for a while, Bai Qi said: "Ma Fuzi can master the art of war, it is not something to be taken lightly."
Wang Lu said: "I see that Zhao's army is scattered and has nothing to do. How can it be possible?"
Bai Qi said: "Every time it comes out, it is beneficial and can make up for its shortcomings, so it is connected."
Wang Lu said: "I will go out on the next day to show you how to use troops."
Bai Qi said: "Since we came out yesterday, why not come out today?"
Wang Lu said: "Those who came out yesterday wanted to welcome Zhao Kuo's arrival. Those who did not come out today wanted to see Zhao Kuo's changes."
Bai Qi asked: "Who is Zhao Kuo?"
Wang Lu was surprised and said: "Ma Fuzi."
Bai Qi said: "Ma Fu's son's name is Zhao Kuo? How do you know he's here?"
Wang Lu said: "I reported two days ago that five thousand troops from Zhao had arrived. The leader of them was to cover Zhao Kuo."
Bai Qi said: "When five thousand Zhao troops arrive, we can detect this. When Zhao Kuo arrives, how can we detect it?"
Wang He said: "But you can get it by thinking about the situation."
Bai Qi said: "Be practical and don't think in vain!"
Wang Hao immediately ordered sentinels to either enter the enemy camp or capture the Zhao army to find out who the Zhao general was.
This task is actually not difficult to accomplish. Although the front line of Danshui is heavily guarded, in the valley behind Shicheng, there is a mixture of soldiers and civilians, and there are even various places for recreation. It is not difficult to sneak in, lure people out, and get some news.
Zhao Kuo naturally didn't know that he worked day and night, and his every move was watched by others with different eyes and from different angles. After being sorted out by thoughtful people, he was sent to the Qin army's camp.
When Wang Lu sent people to investigate, Chen Si, who was hiding in Zhi City, also learned the news from business travelers. Business travelers from various cities were full of praise for the singing and dancing girls there, and the demand for goods there was extremely high. All the wine, meat, vegetables and fruits are precious. A jar of wine, a pound of meat, a load of vegetables and fruits, and even a load of firewood can be used to linger in those places and appreciate the beautiful figures and singing voices of the Zhao girls.
Chen Si, who exploits every opportunity, would never let it go when faced with such a huge omission. After some personal exploration, he immediately formulated a reconnaissance plan, and sent people in batches to bury spies here, set up stakes, distribute manpower, and find paths. After a while, the merchants and elders who were operating were all developed by Chen Si. Eyeliner. Only then did Chen Si discover that not all the people doing business here were locals from Shangdang, but quite a few were from Handan, and some were even people with hands and eyes like the sky in Handan. They learned about the way to make money here, and gathered together to start a business and make a small fortune. This made Chen Sida overjoyed and increased his investment in this intelligence rich mine.
After a night's visit, when he ordered the army the next day, Wang Hao confidently reported to Bai Qi: "It has been confirmed that the leader of the Zhao army is Zhao Kuo, and Lian Po is still in the camp and has not yet left."
