The Qin army carried out exploratory attacks at the foot of three mountains over and over again. By noon, Bai Qi thought that the situation that needed to be touched was almost done. Only then did he cast his gaze towards the battlefield to the south. And this look made Bai Qi's face darken! Before Bai Qi finished watching the day's battle, he took his guards and rode towards Gaodu at sunset.
Gaodu, known as Chui in ancient times, is rich in jade and is part of Shangdang in a broad sense. It is said that after Shang Tang defeated Jie, Jie moved from Anyi to Chui, so it was also called Chuidu. Later it was settled by Zhai people. When Jin Wengong returned to Jin, the Shaoshui River Valley next to Gaodu can lead directly to the center of Jin. Duanshi is a node on this road. The Shaoshui passage from Gaodu-Duanshi-Yicheng is second only to Zhe Road is another convenient passage to Jin. Gaodu is an important strategic stronghold on the border of Jin. Changping is located in the northern border of Gaodu and is connected to Gaodu by Danshui.
Since Duke Wen of Jin occupied Gaodu, the connection between Gaodu and Nanyang, Hanoi has become increasingly close. After the three families were divided into Jin, the Duke of Jin was first moved to the Duan family by the three families, and then to Gaodu. After the fall of Jin, the three Jin Dynasties all occupied Gaodu, but their ownership is unclear. After Bai Qi occupied and cleaned up the Korean forces in Hanoi, he also occupied Gaodu. After discovering that Zhao Jun was stationed in Changping, Gaodu has been in a state of combat readiness. It maintains a combat readiness force of 1,000 people every day. The surrounding farmers prepare weapons. Whenever the enemy invades, they must enter the city to defend. It has been two years now.
Lian Po was also wary of Gaodu, and the defense in the south was always the top priority of Changping's defense system. In order to prevent Bai Qi's strange plan, a complex group of fortresses was built south of Danshui, which is almost unbreakable! It is nearly a hundred miles from Changping along Danshui to Gaodu, and the way is through high mountains and river valleys. It is the place to use troops to win with fewer troops. Even though Lian Po had more troops, he did not dare to rush to Gaodu.
When the Qin army marched into Changping, the main force, led by Wang Lu, crossed the river from Guanzhong into Hedong, exited Duanshi along the Shaoshui River Valley, and took a small road directly into Changping. This road is very narrow, and the Zhao army also established a pass defense here, but it was captured by the Qin army. The three small cities that formed the horns of each other are now the main tents of Wang Lu and other major generals; the craftsmen and doctors accompanying the camp are also separated in the cities. Another force composed of Nanjun soldiers entered Hanoi. Most of this army was from Chu, and they were extremely restless. No amount of reorganization could stop the soldiers from becoming disloyal. Bai Qi spent a lot of effort to tame this army, and now he can only rely on his own camp to suppress it.
After the second batch of Qin troops entered the country, 20,000 elite Guanzhong soldiers marched directly from Shaoshui to Changping; 40,000 soldiers from Shangjun and Beidi passed through Zhi Road, bypassed Nanyang in Hanoi, and entered Gaodu to stand by. The maximum number of troops on the Hanoi-Kaodu line reached 60,000! Gaodu is a small city and naturally cannot afford the supplies for such a large army. Therefore, before entering the battlefield, the troops dispersed to eat in various cities in Nanyang, Hanoi. It wasn't until after the war that they gathered in Gaodu to collect fried millet and then entered the battlefield! Troops from Shangjun, Beidi, and Guanzhong are all on the Shicheng line, and the Taniguchi line has been the defense of Bashu troops since the beginning of the year. They fought many battles, and although they made huge gains, they also suffered a large number of combat attrition.
Bai Qi asked for 20,000 swordsmen from the King of Qin. Now 10,000 swordsmen are at the mouth of the valley and 10,000 swordsmen are at Shicheng. They are both sharp spearheads in both places.
Bai Qi saw Zhao Jun's intention from today's battle: he would try his best to open a gap in the direction of the valley mouth; if it was impossible, he would also try his best to consume the Qin army's troops in this direction. The Qin army in this direction is from Bashu and is not as elite as the Guanzhong soldiers; and there have been many rebellions in history, and there are also problems with loyalty; now they are inspired by the mood of victory, and they can still fight bravely; if the casualties are too large, there will be another If the situation is deadlocked, there may not be any dissent!
Bai Qi must solve Zhao Kuo's problem of pursuing the Qin army to death, and the solution is the Chu army in Nanjun.
It was almost dusk when Bai Qi arrived in Gaodu. He had already sent people to call the officers at all levels in the camp and the officers above the rank of public servant in the army to the city in advance. As soon as Bai Qi arrived, he immediately held a meeting.
Bai Qi said: "I have captured the stone city and will attack it. However, Zhao's three and five formations are fighting against me very urgently. I think the people of Chu are good at fighting. I want to use them. Is it okay?"
The commander of the camp said: "Maybe we can fight in one or two formations, but if we fight for a long time, it may be difficult to support."
Another officer from the camp said: "The Chu people have lived in Hanoi for half a year and have consumed countless amounts of food. It is not impossible to kill them in one or two formations!"
Bai Qi said: "I want to use Chu people to make meritorious deeds, not by killing them!"
Nanjun Wei said: "Chu people are brave in fighting. The more frustrated they become, the braver they become. If they win, everyone will take their wealth and scatter!"
Bai Qi said: "This is what I am using! Let the Zhao army fight Qin in three or five formations, and fight to the death without retreating. Isn't it also okay to attack it with Chu?"
Nanjun Wei said: "This is what it is used for."
Bai Qi said: "On the first day of the morning, the cock crows and the drums are played. On the evening of the day, we eat and the sun rises. Is that okay?"
Nanjun Wei said: "Aren't you in a hurry?"
Bai Qi said: "The matter is urgent and must be done quickly. Set up a pole outside the city the next day and kill all those who have not arrived before sunrise!"
Nanjun Lieutenant and the officers of the pro-camp immediately returned to their respective camps and announced the order to break camp and go to war tomorrow.
After a disturbance, each camp rested. But soon I heard the crow of roosters, the sound of drums in various cities, and the various battalions began to rush in. The personal battalions of the generals of each battalion (called "private soldiers" by the Chu people) were extremely serious today, and the soldiers of each battalion immediately lined up for roll call. After the roll call was completed, each battalion was issued with spearheads and spearheads, and the soldiers were ordered to install them by themselves. Different from the wooden poles in the north, Chu people mostly use bamboo poles. They are not used to using spearheads, and prefer to sharpen one end of the bamboo and install a spear head, which can easily maintain the stability of the center of gravity. Therefore, the spearheads are usually installed by doctors who have passed through Guanzhong. Bows and arrows are equipped by the chiefs of the Shiwu, including a long bow, fifty arrows, and a short sword.
Weapons were loaded, and everyone knew that a war was about to begin. A sense of solemnity and solemnity lingered in the camp. "On auspicious days, the weather is good, and General Mu is happy to be the emperor; the long sword is caressing the jade ear, and the jade ring is ringing..." Songs praising Taiyi, the Eastern Emperor, echoed in the Chu camp, praying for good luck in the future.
The millet porridge was cooked. In order to cater to the taste of the Chu people, sugar was added instead of plums. After finishing the porridge, each camp set off and gathered at the gate of Gaodu City.
There is a large empty field outside the west city of Gaodu, with a mountain ridge behind it. Bai Qi ordered a thousand Gaodu soldiers to stand on the city with halberds. One hundred guards immediately stood in front of the city gate. On the top of the city gate, Bai Qi leaned on the railing and looked around. He saw dust rising from all sides and soldiers were approaching.
Each battalion reported separately. Every time they arrived at a camp, five people came to the back of the camp carrying ten baskets of fried millet. There are coir raincoat leaves inside the basket and a coir raincoat hat covering the basket, so ordinary rainwater cannot enter the basket.
All the Chu camps were organized in a disorderly manner, in the order of first come, first served. The first ones to arrive were the vanguard front camp, the vanguard rear camp, then the center front camp, the center rear camp... The public officials and public vehicles in charge were re-appointed. Before dawn, the entire army of 20,000 people arrived. Bai Qi appointed himself the fifth official of the left army, and the Nanjun captain was the fifth official of the right army. Beat the drums and head north together. Bai Qi's left army came out of the Xiushui River from the west, while the right army led by Nan Junwei went up the Dan River.
There is a small mountain twenty miles north of Gaodu. It is said that the lost king of Ju State once fled here and climbed the mountain to view it, so it was named Ju Mountain. Although Jushan is not tall, it is Zhaoshan in Gaodu. Climbing up Jushan Mountain, looking north, you can have a panoramic view of Changping's activities; looking south, you can have a panoramic view of the Gaodu Valley. Bai Qi set up a standing pavilion barrier here. When he found any abnormal movement in Changping, he immediately lit up the smoke to warn. Gaodu immediately entered a fighting state: the soldiers entered the city and the city gates were closed. Under the cover of Jushan, it was difficult for Changping to detect what happened in Gaodu. Bai Qi took advantage of this, and two troops entered Changping from the east and west sides of Jushan.
During the second hour of the march, there was a sharp attack in the middle, and the two troops circled out of Jushan at noon.
After the Qin army at Taniguchi repelled Zhao Jun's almost crazy attack, all the soldiers felt like they were surviving a disaster. The thrilling battle of the day left them unable to get over it for a long time.
The fifth doctor gathered the noble men from each battalion and ordered them to go out of the city to capture the heads. This was originally a very attractive job, but it seems that it doesn't attract everyone's interest today. The knights reluctantly lined up, went out of the city, killed those Qin soldiers who were still breathing, and then beheaded them! Those who could still escape could have been chased and killed, but these knights seemed to have no energy to pursue them and allowed them to escape. It’s really tiring to kill one less person!
The nearly two thousand people who had stormed the camp fence had been slaughtered, their heads had been chopped off, and they were hung on the camp fence. Their bodies were thrown into the ditch, where they would be eaten by wild beasts in a short time. What these knights want to clean up are the Zhao soldiers who died outside the camp.
The corpses of Zhao soldiers were piled up on both sides of the gentle slope. Seeing these corpses lying in various directions, the Qin soldiers recalled the frightening scene during the day, as if these Zhao soldiers would rise up at any time and rush towards them!
Everyone used halberds to pick up the body of the lying man, and the executioner chopped off his head with an axe, while a person next to him recorded it in the book. Sometimes the pain of the stabbing awakened the unconscious soldiers, and they would let out heart-stopping screams. At this time, the soldiers of the Qin army would nail him to the ground with several halberds as they would against a strong enemy, and the executioner would behead him. The scariest thing was that someone suddenly jumped up, even raised their weapons and threw them down... Everyone was cautious, lest this most depressing thing happen.
Wang Hao sent someone to notify the change of defense. The troops fighting today retreated to the second line and were replaced by the original second line troops. Of course, the heads all belong to the combat troops, so the beheadings continue. The two fifth doctors each gathered their troops and moved forward and backward.
The Qin army, which took over the defense line, began to dig trenches again and strengthen the barriers. Seeing that the knights seemed to have no strength to behead, they took the initiative to help. As a result, they withstood several fatal blows from Zhao soldiers and injured several people. The newly arrived Qin soldiers stripped the corpses of the headless Zhao soldiers, dragged them naked a mile away, set them up like haystacks, piled some withered grass around them, and lit a fire. Hundreds of corpses piled up into a huge fire. In the light of the fire, you could still see the headless corpses still curled up and convulsing in various postures, as if they were still experiencing infinite pain!
