The King of Zhao sent Tian Dan, who was retiring in the State of Zhao, to ask for food from the princes. However, Tian Dan himself did not go back, so he stayed in the State of Chu and became close friends with the newly appointed Chu Ling Yin Chunshenjun Huang Xie. On this day, the two of them cooked crabs and wine and discussed the situation of the world. Gradually we talked about Changping. Tian Dan greatly praised Zhao Kuo for his ability to maintain the morale of the army despite the crisis. Huang Xie said: "You are trapped alone in Jimo!"
Tian Dan said: "In the defense of Jimo, although the troops are outnumbered and the battle is invincible, there is no shortage of food and fodder. After several years of stalemate, we can get a turning point."
Huang Xie said: "How many years will the battle for Changping last?"
Tian Dan said: "With no food and grass inside and no reinforcements outside, it is difficult to hold on for a month. How can we hold on any longer? It will only last a few days. Only what you want is that Qin and Zhao will fight, and both sides will be injured. It seems there is not enough.”
Huang Xie said: "Everything in the world is unpredictable and unpredictable, that's how it is. How can we get everything done as we wish?"
Tian Dan said: "Will we also fight in the suburbs of Handan?"
Huang Xie said: "What can be done?"
Tian Dan said: "The King of Zhao is young but strong, but if he is motivated by righteousness, he will not be subordinate to Qin. And the battle of Handan begins!"
Huang Xie said: "If the Changping army is defeated and encircled, they may fight in Handan. Now they are all surrounded in Changping, how can they reach Handan?"
Tian Dan said: "The loss of Changping means the loss of 400,000 soldiers in Zhao; the stalemate in Qin has lasted for many years, which is not enough for the party. If there is no other reason, we must fight again. If we fight again, we will reach Handan !”
Huang Xie said: "I wish you could say so!"
Tian Dan said: "Since I went out on the order of King Zhao, I have no choice but to return. I am willing to say goodbye."
Huang Xie said: "You have returned to Zhao without any merit. I hope you will stay here for a while. If Qin and Zhao fight in Handan, it will be a day for you to make great achievements."
Tian Dan thought for a while and said, "If you look like crab wine, why not live there!"
Huang Xie said: "The products of Chu include cicadas in spring, frogs in summer, crabs in autumn, and fish in winter. They are all of great beauty. As long as the king has lived there for many years, his ministers will serve them one by one, and there will be no shortage of them."
Tian Dan said: "I heard that Chu Ci is very beautiful and can amuse the ears and eyes. I would like to give you a listen!"
Huang Xie laughed and said: "How unreasonable!"
The next day, Huang Xie arranged an independent house for Tian Dan, equipped with a full set of bands, singing and dancing.
The Battle of Changping is undoubtedly the focus of Huang Xie's current attention. He was especially concerned about who would come out to help. In the past month, only the Qi people and the Wei people had provided some food, and they even seemed to be taking advantage of the situation; the Koreans just pretended that this had not happened, as if the Shangdang was not their territory and had nothing to do with them. The Yan people seemed to be preparing for war and preparing to regain their lost territory from the Zhao people. Huang Xie had to admit that the Qin people's threat was effective, and it was also based on the battlefield: Qin's army of 100,000 surrounded Zhao's army of 400,000, but Zhao's army could not break out! Huang Xie couldn't understand that there were more than 400,000 people, even if they were old and weak, they were still working together and were not afraid of casualties. They could stand out if they wanted to. How could they not stand out?
Naturally, since the spies of the Chu people all appeared in the name of businessmen, after the mountains behind Shicheng were occupied by the Qin army and commercial activities completely stopped, there was very little news returned from Changping, and Huang Xie completely understood the details on the battlefield. Unable to detect, he could not imagine that Zhao Kuo had no intention of breaking out. He wanted to impale the Qin army in Changping until October - if he could not kill them.
Most of the messengers were captured by the Qin army, and only one or two took a detour into the mountains and escaped back to Handan after going through hardships and dangers.
The news sent back by the courier was kept strictly confidential. The outside world did not even know that the courier had arrived, but it caused a huge shock to the top brass. For many days, the ministers discussed countermeasures in the palace of King Zhao. King Zhao sat in the middle and listened to their discussions.
The autumn harvest is already halfway through. If the autumn harvest is interrupted, Zhao Guo may be in a state of food shortage for the whole year next year, which is unacceptable. If we must wait until the autumn harvest is over, Zhao Kuo may not be able to persist by that time. If Qin The army suddenly appeared on the outskirts of Handan, and General Zhao was caught off guard. Everyone listens to Lian Po's opinion.
After Lian Po came back from Changping, he learned about Zhao Kuo's mission from King Zhao, and also understood why Zhao Kuo wanted to drive him back rudely: if it was clearly stated that Lian Po would be transferred back to Handan to be responsible for the defense, it was obvious that he was giving up. Changping, the morale of Changping's army may collapse instantly; using Lian Po's incompetence as an excuse to kick him out, at least in the eyes of the soldiers, Zhao Kuo still has his own ideas, and Changping is not an abandoned son. Therefore, despite being wronged, Lian Po still concentrated on planning the defense of Handan.
Lian Po said: "The autumn harvest is half over. If the stalemate in Changping lasts for more than ten days, the preparations for Wu'an will be completed; if the stalemate lasts for more than 20 days, Handan will be solidified."
Lord Pingyuan was still a little worried and said: "What Lian Qing said must be true. There are more than 100,000 Qin people in Changping now. If they take advantage of the victory and reach the suburbs of Handan, they will not be able to cope with it unless they are 200,000." . Is his army safe now?"
Lian Po said: "The Qin Changping army has more than 100,000 soldiers, all of whom are far away from the county. The old soldiers of the division are tired, and they must have no fighting spirit. At Wu'an Pass, we can win 10,000 people, which is enough to take it."
Prince Pingyuan said: "There are only ten thousand people, why should we let them go?"
Lian Po said: "Thirty thousand households in Wu'an are not enough to worry about."
Prince Pingyuan said: "But in just ten days, we managed to gain thirty thousand people. It would be impossible for you to do anything other than Lian Qing."
Lian Po said: "Ma Fujun lives in Wu'an and is quite capable. You can practice according to his experience."
King Zhao asked with interest: "Now that Zhao Kuo is in Changping, who can tell me how to obey the king?"
Lian Po said: "Mrs. Ma Fujun, the mother of Zhao Kuo, is in Wu'an now. I should visit her to do my best."
King Zhao wanted to say something, but he hesitated. Lian Po said: "In the Changping situation, there will be defeat but no victory. Zhao Kuo can die with his own life. When we are in the north, I hope not to offend his family!"
Lord Pingyuan said: "When Ma Fuzi comes out, his mother insists that his son's words are exaggerated and not of great use. King Zhao Nuo, if Kuo fails, his family will be blameless."
King Zhao said: "If you can gain Wu'an without losing it, why bother to give a reward!"
After many discussions, they finally reached an agreement to speed up the progress of the autumn harvest in several cities in Wu'an; if they found that the momentum in Changping was not right, they would sacrifice the autumn harvest in Wu'an if necessary and resist the Qin army for several days to buy time for the defense of Handan.
On the outskirts of Handan, there were more soldiers patrolling with weapons. All villages and towns were notified that they should prepare weapons, bows and arrows after farming. Once the autumn harvest was over, they would send troops to Changping to completely defeat the Qin army.
Chen Si and Mang Wei walked on Zhi Road for two days before entering Yuancheng. At this time, Yuan Ling had already taken the public vehicle to visit the inside and outside of Yuan City. Although Gongcheng was a little dissatisfied with Yuancheng City's Bo Chi Qian, he was still very satisfied with the terrain here: it is very convenient for defense, and even as few as two or three thousand people can resist tens of thousands of troops. Moreover, Yuancheng also has a waterway that leads directly to the river. If something happens, you can easily get in and out from here; but it will be difficult for the enemy to use this waterway.
Chen Si entered Yuancheng in a low-key manner, with Mang Wei taking care of everything. Chen Si still remained a coachman in public. Finally, Mang Wei came out and said, "The Lord has ordered me to come to see you." Chen Si then entered the city lord's mansion. The other coachman was still waiting very loyally outside the door.
Both Chen Si and Mang Wei were in charge of government affairs in Yuancheng. Chen Si wandered around all day long and had already made a clear investigation of the topography, local customs and customs around Yuancheng. Mang Wei was in charge of government affairs and was very familiar with the small and big things in Yuancheng. With the help of these two people, Zheng Anping became even more powerful, and he immediately discussed with the public a plan for King Qin's inspection. Gongcheng and Zheng Anping immediately returned to Anyi overnight and reported to the King of Qin.
Last night, Genie, who was sent to track the donkey drivers, returned. Gai Nie said that this group of people rested in a town outside Zuoyi City, and went north the next day to enter Fenshui River. Zheng Anping took Gai Nie back to Anyi and left behind a hundred soldiers, led by Mang Wei. Chen Si only contributed some strategies and stayed in Yuancheng for one night, and drove back with the coachman the next day.
Although Mang Wei is only a senior official, he holds the prime minister's talisman and has a high status. He should obey all orders below the Yuan Order. In the name of the approaching army, Mang Wei drove a large number of residents in the city to the suburbs, especially those families with houses outside the city and those with tall houses, to vacate their houses for the swordsmen to live. At the same time, Gongcheng and Zheng Anping also returned to Anyi and reported the results of the field investigation to Wang Ji and Pi Wan.
In fact, King Qin still had concerns about moving to Yuancheng. Although the walled city is easy to defend and difficult to attack, the transportation is inconvenient and the news is blocked. It seems difficult to convey any news in Changping and Xianyang. Wang Ji and Gongzhi returned to the military camp and conveyed the opinions of Zheng Anping and others. They also mentioned in particular that there was a waterway in Yuancheng that could lead directly to the river. If you took the waterway from Xianyang, it would not take much time to reach Yuancheng.
King Qin decided to summon Zheng Anping and Gai Nie immediately. When he heard that Yuancheng could be close to Chen Si, King Qin finally agreed.
That night, the special envoy carried the edict of King Qin and flew to Xianyang on Pegasus.
In the early morning of the next day, the military envoy also sailed to Changping with King Qin's instructions.
After breakfast, a thousand swordsmen, led by Zheng Anping, went to Yuancheng to attack the front station. The remaining troops followed the next day. At noon that day, an order from the King of Qin came from Xianyang: "Wu'an Jun has cut off Zhao's grain road, so I personally went to Hanoi to help him. I will keep the ceremony simple." Xianyang's 20,000 swordsmen transferred another 10,000 to accompany the king on the expedition; Clan nobles, relatives, and descendants without titles are all ministers. The prime minister supports the prince and supervises the country.
Due to time constraints, everyone in Xianyang was busy. Especially the Weiwei who was responsible for the personal security of King Qin, accepted so many new members at once and stayed up all night.
The next day, before dawn, all the ceremonial guards were raised, and King Qin set out on his journey. The guard of honor arrived at the Weishui ferry and boarded the big ship. The Wei River stopped sailing, and only King Qin's large ship moved forward slowly under the guidance of several small boats. The guarding swordsmen and ministers followed on foot on the shore. It was vast and powerful. Spies from all over the country immediately reported the news of King Qin's departure from the capital...
When the King of Qin's ceremonial guard was marching on both sides of the Wei River, the swordsmen of Anyi also set off. The King of Qin sat in the carriage and followed the army slowly; Wang Ji and Pi Wan continued to stay in Anyi, presiding over the political affairs in Hedong.
