The injured soldiers of Bai Qi's army were sent back to Gaodu for treatment, while the injured soldiers of Wang Lu's army were sent to Duanshi. The Qin army on the front line of Shicheng had no logistics base and was in a state of no rear operations. It could only set up field hospitals around the camp to treat the wounded. Although the Qin Army also had a lot of wounded people, relatively speaking, the Qin Army's wounded soldiers were in a much better situation, and the impact on morale was smaller than that of the Zhao Army.
Bai Qi spent the whole day in each camp, supervising the soldiers to build the forts. He admired the Chu people's innate grasp of terrain and topography. Although they have different tactical habits, once the formation is set up, it is still clear whether they can win the battle. Therefore, in yesterday's battle, Bai Qi did not interfere much with the Chu people's tactics. He almost admired the Chu people's tactics as a bystander. Today, he also looked at the different camp treatments of each camp with a master's perspective.
The people of Chu and Qin had an indescribable love and hatred. Mutual killings and mutual rescues occurred frequently in history; the royal families of both sides frequently got married and used weapons frequently. Putting aside these grievances, the Chu people admired the strength of the Qin people, and their unyielding was actually a tribute to their strength. Although he complained about eating only fried millet for every meal, Haolai added more sugar than the Qin people. Moreover, from top to bottom, no one in Qin made fire to cook. From Bai Qi onwards, everyone ate fried millet. So everyone had no choice but to accept fried millet. ——Actually, when I first started eating it, it still tasted quite good, but I was not used to it after eating too much. I had hard stools several times and suffered from abdominal pain, so I learned not to eat more every time.
Bai Qi's reputation as a "man-slaughter" has already spread throughout the princes, and everyone in Chu is naturally aware of it. Returning to fight under Bai Qi's name, the Chu people were somewhat resistant, but also a little moved. After half a year of adapting to life, the Qin people's style of acting in accordance with the law and trusting rewards and punishments was recognized by them, and they no longer had any strong resistance to the Qin people. Yesterday's battle was conducted under this mentality. Somewhat surprisingly, Bai Qi did not interfere with their combat operations, nor did he reward or punish them afterwards. Instead, he directly brought the troops who did not participate in the battle to the front line and set up camp on the face of Zhao Jun. This complete contempt for the enemy was in line with the Chu people's temperament and won their praise. They quickly got into character and set up camp.
When the Chu people set up camps, they usually don't use "deep ditches and high fortresses". Such camps are not convenient for them to attack; they usually just slightly modify the terrain to make them suitable for defense. This kind of combat thinking also greatly appreciated Bai Qi.
When night fell, Bai Qi left the camp near Shanbao and returned to the camp near Jushan Mountain. He first visited the camp of the Eastern Route Army. In yesterday's battle, although the East Route Army entered the battlefield late, it fought very bravely; and the target of the battle was the Zhao Army's former army, which had been defeated once. It was a fresh force fighting the remaining soldiers, so it took advantage of it on the battlefield and suffered relatively small losses. Five thousand men attacked, but only more than a thousand were wounded, and less than 200 were seriously wounded. No one was killed on the spot, but some of the seriously wounded were likely to die. Bai Qi personally patrolled the camps, visited the wounded soldiers, spoke words of encouragement in Qin Yin, and asked the officers around him to translate them into Chu language. When the soldiers heard that the old man in front of them was the famous Bai Qi, they were all excited, with tears flashing in their eyes. The people around him didn't say anything, and they all cast envious glances at the injured soldier.
The statistics of combat merits were also released. Some soldiers were awarded merit for beheading, but almost none of the officers were rated as "excess". There were too few beheadings to offset the casualties, especially among officers.
Bai Qi collected the merit report documents, made arrangements for the evacuation of the seriously injured to Gaodu, and then came to the camp of the West Route Army.
The West Route Army was Zhao Kuo's key target. From the beginning, his tactical spearhead was directed at the West Route Army. The West Route Army fought bravely. Under the attack of the two Zhao armies, it fought tenaciously and created a better opportunity for the other two Qin armies, but it suffered heavy losses. Almost all of the 5,000 men who attacked were wounded, with over a thousand seriously wounded and more than a hundred killed, most of them trampled to death.
The West Route Army is the army where Bai Qi personally serves as the fifth official. If the record of the Western Route Army is counted alone, their losses outweigh their gains. When Bai Qi arrived, the atmosphere in the camp was relatively dull. Everyone was still covering up each other's wounds and talking about yesterday's battle. Since they all spoke Chu language, Bai Qi couldn't quite understand what they were saying. But Bai Qi walked straight into the camp. The guards guarding the camp gate naturally knew Bai Qi and sang loudly: "The five officials are here!" The whole camp knelt down.
Bai Qi walked to the center of the camp, took off the crown on his head, held it in his hand, bowed to everyone around him, and asked: "Is there anyone who understands Qin's music, Zuo Qi?"
Immediately, many people opened their left lapels and raised their arms.
Bai Qi said: "You are just telling me what I said to my comrades: in yesterday's battle, thanks to the combined efforts of all the soldiers, both the left and right armies were greatly defeated! Our army also got close to the lower gate of the Zhao camp, and the Zhao army wanted to fight but could not. Go out, but restrain your hands and ears! Wait for what he says!"
The official next to him knew the level of his soldiers, so he could not understand such a complicated language. He could only translate it in Chu language: "Five officials said, yesterday our army fought hard, defeated the enemy's army, and made many gains! That night, I The army is approaching and the Zhao army is encamped, but the Zhao army cannot get out. This is all due to your efforts!"
Bai Qi said again: "You brave warriors have suffered such severe injuries. Return to Gaodu and treat them carefully. If you get a younger brother or a son who comes to help you, the army will give you half a meal! If you don't have a son, you will be given twice as much food!"
The official said: "If you are seriously injured, you should return to Gaodu for recuperation. If you have any children, you will be given half food by the army; if you have no children, you will be given double food!" Then everyone was jubilant.
Immediately someone asked: "If his son is in the army, can he get it?"
The official asked Bai Qi in a low voice and said loudly: "If he wants to have half a meal, that's fine!"
After chatting with the soldiers for a while, Bai Qi went to the next camp. Soon there was joy over there again.
Bai Qi's arrival changed the dull atmosphere in the camp; those who were seriously injured became the envy of everyone: they could temporarily leave the battlefield with their children and go to Gaodu to raise them. ——Even if it’s only half a meal!
Although the West Route Army suffered heavy losses, there were also soldiers who captured the enemy's heads, and all of them were credited with credit. Bai Qi Xingye sent people to report the battle reports and merit records of the two armies to Xianyang Prime Minister's Mansion and distribute them to the counties where the soldiers were located. When the army was ordered the next day, Bai Qi gathered the soldiers who had made meritorious service and stood in front of the tent. Bai Qi himself retreated under the tent and bowed deeply to them three times!
The cattle and horses from Gaodu arrived, and they dragged the wounded soldiers back to Gaodu. Every wounded soldier is accompanied by a disciple. They may be real disciples, or just friends, or they may pretend to be disciples and accompany him away. Those who left were actually more or less injured. The West Route Army went out to fight with 5,000 people, but more than 2,000 left. The remaining half also had varying degrees of minor injuries and had almost no combat effectiveness. They could only stand guard and watch. Bai Qi placed them on Mount Ju to guard the entire army. This is a later story.
Bai Qi returned to the Gaodu military camp, and his real purpose was to give full play to the role of this army.
He had discussed with the five doctors on the east road before, and tomorrow he would gradually move forward to the mountain opposite the foot of the south mountain. He posed a threat to Zhao Jun's granary and assisted Li Bing in capturing the granary.
Gaodu's army has 20,000 people, and 5,000 people are camping in the front; after deducting the wounded, there are about 10,000 people in the back of the 15,000 people, 70% of whom are in the East Route Army and 30% in the West Route Army. The strength of the East Route Army remained intact and could independently undertake combat missions, but the West Route Army was almost crippled and had only two to three thousand men left, making it difficult for it to function independently. Bai Qi ordered two public officials to take turns arranging troops to attack Zhao Jun.
The hillock where Bai Qi is located and the valley entrance where Wang Lu is located echo each other from afar, and they can both be considered safe after they are connected. Only crossing this line is dangerous. The official replied, promising to disturb Zhao Jun's peace! After making arrangements for the West Route Army, Bai Qi entered the valley mouth again to discuss with Wang Lu. He has already approached the gate of Zhao Jun's camp, and it is difficult for Zhao Jun to deploy his troops again. Even if Zhao Kuo is a trapped beast, his hands and feet are tied and unable to use it. If Wang Hao wants to take the initiative to attack Zhao Jun's barrier, as long as he can break through one or two places, it will inevitably cause psychological panic and Zhao Jun will inevitably collapse.
After leaving the valley exit and returning to the hillock, the waning moon had already set in the west and the east was about to become white.
On this night, both sides are arranging their troops, and battles will begin in Danzhu Ridge, Nanshan, and Danshui Barrier at the same time in various places.
The eastern sky is whitening, and drums are beating everywhere, announcing the arrival of a new day. Each battalion began the tedious routine of calling in troops, and countless military envoys rushed between the battalions.
Although Bai Qi was appointed as the general and commanded all the troops in the Changping area, his position and location were kept secret, and the battalions did not come to report to him. The Qin army was divided into four parts: the Qin army at the mouth of the valley reported to Wang Lu, the Qin army in Shicheng reported to Wang Ling, and the Gaodu army reported to the five officials on the east road. Only the Qin army of 5,000 who approached the Zhao wall went up the mountain to report to Zhao. Bai Qi reports. After Zhao Kuo received this report, he believed that the troops approaching the camp were only led by a highly qualified public servant, at most five doctors, and he could no longer report the situation of his army to his superiors. This gave him a little more confidence in today's raid.
When the Zhao army's camps were full of smoke, the lookout reported that the Qin army at the eastern foot of Jushan sent sentinels to the north, and the Qin army at the western foot of Jushan also sent about three to five hundred people to the north, who seemed to be sentinels as well.
Zhao Kuo took advantage of the fact that the porridge was not yet cooked and climbed up to the lookout to have a look. As expected, two small units of the Qin army came out of camp and came north. There were slightly fewer people in the east and more people in the west. Zhao Kuo couldn't guess where the Qin army was going, so he could only let the watchers continue to observe. On the other hand, he remained unchanged in response to all changes and still attacked according to the original plan.
After breakfast, the lookout reported that the Qin Army's patrol posts appeared in Nanshandong, seeming to spy on our army. Zhao Kuo thought for a while and asked the ten thousand generals guarding the granary to send a force to drive away the Qin army's sentinels. There are about a hundred sentinels of the Qin army. Ten thousand people will then send a battalion of 500 people to go. The flags of the Zhao army were waving and the drums and trumpets were blaring. When the wall gate opened, a battalion of Zhao soldiers rushed out and went straight to the mountain to patrol the Qin army. Seeing that Zhao's soldiers were outnumbered, the Qin army turned around and retreated.
