After dark, the Qin army asked the prisoners to carry the bodies of their companions and support each other back to the Zhao camp. Four thousand generals were only injured and were within the scope of being repatriated. They were not wearing armor and were wearing short clothes. The people of Qin did not know that they were ten thousand generals. So did the other officers. If Zhao Kuo had not identified himself loudly, he probably would not have been recognized.
A large number of the 10,000 Zhao troops who came out were killed in battle, a small number fled, and the rest are here. We set out this morning in a fashionable and high-spirited way, and came back looking exactly like this at night!
Zhao Jun saw all this in his camp, and deep despair arose in everyone's hearts.
In the direction of the Qin army, Taniguchi's reinforcements were selected elite troops, well-equipped and equipped with a complete range of arms. During the battle, the Zhao army fought for their lives and gained the most. The reinforcements in Dongling were all capable warriors with average physical strength and weak fighting ability. However, at the last moment, Zhao Jun took advantage of the decline in physical strength and abdominal distension after eating fried millet, but also suffered a lot of losses. The ten battalions on the hill beside the Dan River were the first to bear the brunt. There was no room for trickery. In addition, the majority of the soldiers were sick, so they were barely able to go out to fight. They could hardly expect any results, and the losses were not small. Most of the soldiers who died in battle were Of the people from these ten battalions, most of those who survived were injured, or even seriously injured.
While settling the Zhao army, the Qin army also wounded each other. Each battalion looked for their fallen companions and counted the number of casualties. Due to the fierce fighting, the battlefield spread across the entire mountainous area. Those who did not see people alive or dead were considered "dead". Many battalion captains had hundreds of identification tags in their hands, which were taken from the bodies of the dead. The officers and officials of each battalion registered the gains of each soldier. Since Bai Qi ordered the injured Zhao army to be released, the reported gains were not many. But it doesn't matter how much they capture, because they have already killed Zhao Kuo, the leader of the Zhao army, and the whole army can count on it.
In the evening, a thousand northern troops finally arrived, but they were only able to escort Zhao Jun back to camp. However, due to the outstanding contribution of Meng Ao, a member of the Northland Army, in defensive operations, the Northland Army was exempted from accountability, but Meng Ao had no merit.
Early the next morning, Bai Qi, Wang Lu, and Sima Jin all reported to the King of Qin: Yesterday, Zhao came to attack the Qin base and was about to leave. For four teams, four or five can't get out. His general Zhao Kuo sent out his sharp soldiers to fight on his own, but the Qin army shot them dead.
Yuancheng, five hundred miles away from Changping, is surrounded by mountains. In the mountainous areas at the end of September, the weather is getting colder, the streams are gurgling in the valleys, and the crops in the fields have been harvested and returned to the warehouse.
It has been half a month since King Qin entered Yuancheng. There were not many people in the walled city, and they all knew each other well. Five thousand swordsmen were stationed at various key points, and only five hundred were stationed in the city. With Mang Wei secretly managing it, the officials tried their best to show that this small city with a population of less than 10,000 could almost not pick up lost items on the road and never close the door at night. The King of Qin traveled incognito every day, either in the city or along the country roads, visiting the poor and asking about their sufferings, respecting the old and loving the young, and coming as he pleased. Most of the farmers in Yuancheng have seen this kind old man. He is always surrounded by a large number of followers. The followers are all smart and capable. They can tell at a glance that he is a big shot, but his attitude is easy-going, polite and close to the farmers. They would never expect that Will be the King of Qin.
After completing the task of recruiting the Hanoi army, Prince Yiren returned to Yuancheng. The climate changed drastically during the journey. After returning, the foreigner developed a fever and headache, which gradually progressed to cough, body aches, and fatigue. Many of the people accompanying him also had similar symptoms. When the King of Qin sent a letter to Xianyang, the prince immediately sent two Qin doctors with two large bags of medicine and took a boat overnight to Yuancheng. After the fourth diagnosis, a dose of medicine was prepared. After the stranger took it, his fever subsided and he gained some strength. Doctor Qin sent people to Zicheng to purchase some rice, cooked rice porridge and drank it, and nursed it back to health. Although the disease was mostly cured, Qin doctors said it was an epidemic and they were afraid of being contaminated by uncleanness. They discouraged him from meeting the King of Qin and did not allow strangers to run around and only move around in one courtyard. Doctor Qin also went over to check on the other entourage, and asked some of them to drink ginger-date soup, some to drink coptis soup, and some to drink rhubarb soup, all three bowls a day. Those who asked to drink ginger and jujube soup were naturally happy, those who drank Coptis chinensis soup had a sad face, and those who drank rhubarb soup were diluted three times a day. But everyone is getting better gradually. ——They were only allowed to run around, and were also confined in a courtyard.
Zheng Anping is responsible for the defense everywhere. He is not in the city at ordinary times. Mang Wei is often in the city. Mang Wei once presided over the affairs of Yuancheng, and some elders knew him, which brought great convenience to maintaining public order. Chen Si was still lurking in Zhicheng, collecting intelligence from various places, and reporting the developments of various princes once a day to the King of Qin in Yuancheng and Zhang Lu and the Prince of Xianyang respectively.
Gai Nie was included in the ranks of swordsmen by the King of Qin, and he was authorized to be his personal guard. No matter whether King Qin was in the city or outside the city, he always followed him more than ten steps away. The news that King Qin is stationed in Yuancheng has not yet spread, and no suspicious outsiders have arrived recently, so Ge Nie seems to be doing nothing. The King of Qin told him that he had also learned swordsmanship from the Sima family, and he and Gai Nie were from the same sect. In his free time, he would occasionally discuss swordsmanship with Gai Nie, or ask several swordsmen to fight with Gai Nie with bamboo poles to compete for the championship, and the sword was broken. The soldiers all know that the new swordsman is very skilled in swordsmanship.
Zhang Lu wrote to ask for instructions on how to spend the New Year this year. The King of Qin instructed that he would celebrate the New Year in Yuancheng; Xianyang should mainly reward meritorious service this year, and urge all counties and counties to complete the affairs of conferring titles for meritorious service this year; when official documents arrive, the titles must be implemented before or within the year.
Yuancheng is a small city, but due to the large number of troops stationed there, the market this year is particularly prosperous. There are markets outside the four gates, which are directly managed by swordsmen. The mountain people in the surrounding mountains, the people in the four townships, and the Chinese people in the city all took out their harvest for the year and went to the market to trade. A lot of salt was specially transported from Hedong, which was traded in the market at a relatively low price to raise necessary supplies for King Qin and his party; even fried millet was also traded in the market.
The wealthy people steamed rice and rice for the whole family in advance and prepared wild products, meat, vegetables, salt, plums, soy sauce, vinegar, etc.; the poor people also cooked several meals of thick porridge and added some salt and plums for seasoning. Fried millet has become a gift for children from parents. You can buy one or two for a penny and give each child a handful. They are warned not to eat too much. Some children who did not believe in evil actually got stomachaches after eating it in one day. Soon, all the children in Yuancheng knew that they could only eat a little bit of fried millet with their fingers, and they could eat no more than three times a day. Because fried millet has a lot of salt and tastes good, it has become a favorite among children.
After King Qin had breakfast, he took a few followers out of the south gate and wandered around. I saw several children competing in a competition with fried millet as the championship. The King of Qin watched with great interest. The winner dipped his little finger in the loser's hand to stir-fry the millet, with a proud look on his face, while the loser was very heartbroken and accused him of dipping too much, but he only said it verbally. Doesn't stop.
Entering a water shop, there are several seats there where you can drink water. A can of water costs one penny, which can feed about five people. It's still early in the day and it's cold in winter, so there aren't many people coming to drink water, and all the seats are empty. Pu Bao saw King Qin coming and came up to greet him: "Father, please come in and rest for a while! There are few people around and it's quiet!"
King Qin asked, "Do you have anything new to tell me?"
Pu Bao blinked and said: "Yes! The former was captured by hunters. Looking from a distance, the mountains are densely packed with countless soldiers, but it looks like a big battle. Is it strange?"
The King of Qin asked: "Where will he fight?"
Pu Bao pointed to the east mountain and said: "It's convenient to the outside of the mountain. There is only a mountain separated by two layers of heaven. There is a river of blood on that side. Isn't it a blessing to drink quietly here?"
The King of Qin said: "It is true! Bring five jars of water and tell me the story in detail!" He called everyone into the shop.
The shopkeeper brought the water, served it to the King of Qin, and said, "This water is from a well. It is quite sweet and can be used as wine. I will know as soon as I drink it."
King Qin took it, scooped one out for Pubao, and said, "Brother, please sit down and drink together!" He took a sip himself. Pu Bao took the water with both hands, knelt in front of the King of Qin, and said, "Thank you, old man! It's not just in the past few days. It may be that a large army passed through the border at the beginning of the year. Fortunately, the walled city was blocked by high mountains and could not enter. Or maybe after a few days, I'm afraid that There are not ten thousand people! I don’t know where outside the mountain is worth such a battle."
The King of Qin asked: "The army is passing through the border. Are there any conscripts in the walled city?"
Pu Bao lowered his voice and asked, "Although there are no conquests, are there any?" He pointed to the mountainside mysteriously and said, "In the summer, a woman came into the mountain and hid in the mountain, not communicating with others, or speaking. It is for the army to cook food. The old man thought about it and heard that the woman was very young. She kept cooking every day, and the fragrance of millet lingered for a long time. Maybe when she smelled it..." Pu Bao showed an intoxicated look on his face.
The King of Qin was amused when he heard this, and said to Pu Bao: "If the army passes by, will it be good to you or evil to you?"
Pu Bao said: "Good, great good! We dug a well in the backyard, and the water was sweet and refreshing, so we made Jia Shui our business. Before the soldiers arrived, there were only a few cans a day, and they were all merchants from the north and south. This is not the case now. Hundreds and dozens of jars are still not empty every day. Who is it? There are noble people in the city who will not drink anything but clean water, so hundreds of jars are being poured in every day."
King Qin did not expect that this young man would also provide food and water for himself and his entourage. He became interested and asked: "Who is this noble man in the city?"
Pu Bao said: "It's beyond words. The city's officials are all subordinates, who can't be the king!"
King Qin asked: "Have you met the king?"
Pu Bao said: "I haven't seen it yet. Every day, the well water is brought out of the city by carts and poured in. I don't know where the noble people live."
The King of Qin said: "There was a big battle outside the mountains, and the walled city was close by. Has anyone ever joined the battle?"
Pu Bao said: "That's not true. Maybe I heard that all the Zhe people over the age of fifteen join the army, but there is no such thing!"
The King of Qin said: "Qin awards titles based on military merit. If the people of Yuan do not fight, they have no merit, and if they have no merit, they have no title. Isn't that sad!"
Pu Baodao said: "When I was young, I heard that a man from Yuan was conquered by the king of Wu'an and won two or three titles, and was exempted from rent and tax. He moved to Zhi and was never seen."
The King of Qin said: "I may join the expedition, are you willing?"
Pu Bao said with a smile: "My boy may be able to joke and laugh, which will be a gentleman's pleasure. If you join the army, you will die without a place."
