After the military envoys sent by Wang Ling left, Pi Wan asked Bai Qi, "What will you do about it, General?"
Bai Qi didn't seem to understand. He opened his eyes and asked, "Where are you?"
Pi Wan said: "Zhao's army has lost 400,000 soldiers, where will you place them?"
Bai Qi said: "But according to your plan, we will all return to Handan!"
Pi Wan said: "I'm afraid no one can return!"
Bai Qi waved his hand and said, "Send orders to Zhao camp. Anyone who wants to return to Handan should do so!"
Pi Wan said: "Here! What can he do if he fails to return?"
Bai Qi said: "It's beyond my ability to plan. I hope you can do it for me!"
Pi Wan said: "No matter who is dead, there is nowhere to bury them, so they should be burned. The injured and sick..."
Bai Qi said: "One reason is your opinion."
Pi Wan said: "If you don't have food to feed it, you can eat it all!"
Bai Qi said: "One reason is your opinion."
Pi Wan then called the military envoys from each army and said: "Gather the army together one day and meet with the generals!"
Zhao Jun was frightened during the day, and it was extremely cold at night, so more people died. But no one in the Zhao camp even came out to collect the corpses, and the dead and the living lay together. After suffering until dawn, the camp door opened again, and a battalion of Qin troops came in, each holding a spear. One of them issued an order: "According to the king's instructions: If anyone from Zhao wants to return, he can return immediately. If he dies, he should be burned!" He called three times in succession, but no one in the Zhao camp came out to answer. The soldiers of the Qin army then stepped forward, dragging their upper limbs or lower limbs to drag the lying Zhao soldiers together and pile them into a pile. Those who were dragged last were too high to be stacked on top, so the spearmen used their spears to fork them. Live and throw it into the crowd. After all the people in the camp were piled up, everyone took down some camp fences and put them around. Someone took a torch and lit the camp fence and the people pile on fire. Then the group moved to the next camp.
The first ones to appear were Wang Lu's soldiers. Wang Hao still cautiously sent a thousand troops into the Zhao camp to carry out the corpse burning plan. The two battalions covered each other and entered the camp alternately. Not long after, thick black smoke rose everywhere from the Danshui line. Every time they entered a camp, the soldiers shouted loudly to let the living people leave, and then gathered the corpses in one place and burned them; but there were almost no people in each camp who could stand up and leave.
Li Bing sent three battalions, still led by Meng Ao, down the mountain to perform the task of cleaning up the corpses. Thanks to the efforts of the Northland soldiers, many women and children were given life, but many more died. Meng Ao very considerately asked the soldiers stationed in the women's and children's camp to clean up the bodies of women and children, and he took the people to the men's camp.
The soldiers passed by and shouted, but only a few sat up to indicate that they were still alive. Meng Ao asked the soldiers to pile the people still lying on the ground into a pile and set them on fire.
Most of the camps adjacent to the Women's and Children's Camp housed the old and weak of the Shangdang. These people had poor mobility and usually ate very little. They did not eat even the fried millet, so almost none of them died of starvation. Most of them died of starvation. Some of the corpses were black and rotten, and they had obviously been dead for a long time. There were fewer dead bodies than in the battle camp. Seeing the corpses of their companions piled together and set on fire, everyone showed a trace of sadness in their eyes. But as the fire burned, and the aroma of meat filled the air with the black smoke, some people couldn't bear it anymore. They hesitated and hesitated, and finally rushed forward, grabbed an arm from the fire and tried to put it in their mouth. Rise. The people nearby saw it and rushed forward to snatch the body from the fire.
The fire collapsed, and the people who came up were buried underneath. After finally climbing out, they were already burned. They still held their arms or legs in their hands and lowered their heads to eat.
When the surrounding Qin troops saw the commotion here, they immediately rushed over and stabbed those who had robbed human flesh to death one by one. They scattered the corpses and then picked them together with spears. Because the corpses were scattered, the fire burned more intensely. , the Qin army then picked those Zhao people who had just been stabbed to death into the fire and burned them.
The women who had been relatively quiet suddenly heard a sharp cry: "Husband!" One person was contagious, and bursts of crying could be heard. Then there were shouts and curses from Qin Jun, and even slaps. The woman's crying gradually stopped.
The second fire was also lit, then the third and fourth... There were still dying people in each camp. The soldiers simply left them behind and let them sit where they were, watching the blazing fire. The flames engulfed his companions. As more people entered the room, the smoky atmosphere mixed with the aroma of barbecue gave people a double psychological blow.
The most uncomfortable ones were the wounded and sick. The Qin army announced the King of Qin's decree as usual. All those who were still alive could return to Handan. They were only responsible for cleaning up the corpses. Then, the Qin army asked the Zhao army to indicate where someone would die.
Because there were so many people here, people were sitting next to each other. At first, people were burying dead people. Later, everyone ran out of energy and the dead could not be moved out at all. A large number of corpses slept side by side with the living. But when the Qin people asked the Zhao people to point out the dead bodies, no one stood up. When the Qin army discovered the dead bodies and wanted to drag them away, the wounded around them showed hostile looks. The doctor did not dare to act without permission, so he simply avoided the injured camp and entered other camps to burn the corpses of the soldiers who had been forced to death.
Burning corpses was a strenuous job, time-consuming and labor-intensive, and even a few camps could not be burned in one day. When it was getting dark, each battalion decided to withdraw its troops. There were people alive in every Zhao camp. The Qin army wanted to drive them out of the camp, but they couldn't walk anymore and had difficulty even standing up. They asked Qin soldiers to get some water, but Qin soldiers ignored them. Seeing that they really couldn't make any trouble, they left alone.
It was another cold winter night. Although the surrounding mountains blocked a lot of cold wind, the cold still attacked the injured Zhao people mercilessly, taking away one life after another. Some people gritted their teeth and stood up, came to the Danshui River, drank a few sips of water, and walked tremblingly towards the mountain pass. Most of them fell unconscious before reaching the mountain pass, and those who crossed the mountain pass were destined to be unable to reach Handan.
After dawn, the Qin army entered the Zhao army camp again and burned the corpses. More people came this time. They no longer announced King Qin's decree, but directly piled all the people in the camp into a pile and set them on fire. Those Zhao people who were not dead protested, begged, and yelled in low voices, but to no avail; they tried to struggle, but received a heavy blow on the head, and immediately passed out, and were burned alive with their companions.
Not everyone in the women's and children's camp can survive. No one was interested in saving those women and children who were obviously dying. The only ones who could be saved were those who still had some vitality. There were less than a thousand such people in total, and according to Li Bing's order, rewards were given to the corresponding personnel. After the others died, they were dragged down the mountain and burned in a fire.
After two days of burning, about five to six hundred camps were burned down, and it seemed that they would be completely burned out in one more day. But the most difficult thing to deal with was the injured camp. The resistance there was very serious, but if they wanted to kill these defenseless people in large numbers, they couldn't do it. However, this group of people was extremely large, with nearly 100,000 people alive and dead.
On the second day of the transaction, the King of Qin received a report from Bai Qi and others. The surrendered Zhao army had all died of overeating, and the few who survived had been ordered to return to Handan. The King of Qin was very unhappy when he heard the news. He reported to Xianyang that night that the war in Changping was over and new prisoners were ready to be sent out. He also specifically mentioned that after the Zhao army returned and surrendered, they all died of illness due to overeating. The next day, he asked the military envoy to reply and recalled Bai Qi, Wang Lu, Sima Jin, Wang Ling and Pi Wan to Zhi City to discuss the next step of action.
After Bai Qi received the reply, he immediately conveyed it to the relevant generals. Arrange relevant affairs and give temporary command to Beidi Lieutenant Li Bing, Shangjun Lieutenant and Nanjun Lieutenant. The main task is to count the meritorious personnel and achievements. All the swordsmen broke out of camp and returned to Gaodu, waiting for instructions from King Qin. Afterwards, the generals and their entourage returned to Zhi City together.
Originally, during the New Year, the King of Qin wanted to meet with the generals on the Changping front one by one, but he only met with Bai Qi, and soon after he accepted the surrender, no one else came to Zhi City. When we set out this time, the war was over and the Qin army was victorious. Zhao's entire army of 450,000 men was wiped out, including general Zhao Kuo and dozens of 10,000 generals. This is an unprecedented victory.
The last time Bai Qi arrived, it was already night. Since he was eager to meet Bai Qi, King Qin only lit a lamp to welcome Bai Qi. This time, the King of Qin sent Zheng Anping and Mang Wei to arrange a camp ten miles outside the city, allowing Bai Qi and his party to rest outside the city at night, and prepare for a grand entrance ceremony the next day.
The swordsmen and ministers who were scattered elsewhere were all recalled to Zhi City. In particular, the ministers, who were composed of noble relatives, were asked to form a formation to welcome him. Wei Wei and Zong Zheng, who came temporarily from Xianyang, were responsible for all the reception matters.
In the afternoon, Bai Qi and his party arrived at a gathering place on the tenth road east of Zicheng, where Zheng Anping and Mang Wei greeted them with five hundred swordsmen. Although Zheng Anping and Mang Wei's titles were not high, they were Zhang Lu's right-hand men and had great influence in the court. There are five hundred swordsmen behind him, which means that King Qin is here in person. Bai Qi and his entourage did not dare to neglect, dismounted from their horses and walked towards Zheng Anping and others. Zheng Anping warmly welcomed them into the city and moved them into arranged houses respectively. Take out the prepared wine and meat, and prepare a banquet for everyone. All followers also have a portion of wine, meat, vegetables and fruits.
After a lively ceremony, Zheng Anping told Bai Qi that the King of Qin would hold a grand entrance ceremony for the Changping generals outside the city of Zhi, so he had to rest in a small town today and enter the city early tomorrow morning. In order to prepare for the ceremony of entering the city, Qin Zongzheng came in person to preside over tomorrow's ceremony regardless of his age. When Bai Qi heard that Zong Zheng had come in person, he was so moved that his eyes filled with tears. He avoided the table and worshiped: "How can I repay the king for his great kindness?"
Zheng Anping asked about the battle situation, and Bai Qi, Wang Lu, Sima Jin and Wang Ling introduced them one by one. Pi Wan also reported the situation of the surrender: each battalion had a cart of about one hundred kilograms of fried millet, but Zhao Jun ate it all in one meal. , then the disease became full and accumulated, without treatment or medicine, howling all night, and then died without treatment. Zheng Anping knew the power of fried millet. Not to mention being hungry for several days, even a strong person would suffer from abdominal distension and pain if he ate too much fried millet in one meal. So he took it seriously and said, "Although the king has the virtue of a good life, he can't help it." What a sin Peter has committed!"
