During the few days when the Qin army advanced and withdrew, Chen Si was the busiest. Intelligence from all over the country came to him, and he summarized and refined it, reported it to the King of Qin, and also copied it to Xianyang. The most leisurely person was Bai Qi, the Lord of Wu'an. He was filled with melancholy as he watched the troops who were accustomed to fighting withdraw from the battlefield. When the Nanjun Army was crossing the river, Bai Qi went to Mengjin to express condolences to each battalion, especially the wounded. The officers and soldiers assigned to each battalion by him also returned to the team. Of the four thousand pro-camps, only less than three thousand remained! Seeing that Lord Wu An was like this, the King of Qin simply appointed him to take charge of the army's crossing of the river, and did not allow him to return to Zhi City.
After the Beidi Army and the Bashu Army completely left, 20,000 swordsmen began to descend from Gaodu and concentrated in the direction of Mengjin. The Shangjun army has already come down from Shicheng and is marching towards Duanshi one after another. After getting supplies there, they plan to march from Yicheng to Pishi.
After the Northern Army completely crossed the Yellow River, King Qin also began to return to Xianyang. Bai Qi is in charge of general affairs, Wei Wei is in charge of safety, and Zong Zheng is in charge of logistics. Zheng Anping and Mang Wei were appointed to lead five thousand swordsmen to go ahead, clear the roads along the way, and prepare all necessary protections. The five thousand swordsmen who were originally stationed at Zhi Road in Yuan City did not arrange to set up defenses around Zhi City after leaving Zhi Road. Instead, they went out to the vicinity of Ye Wang. Zheng Anping and Mang Lai came to Yewang to verify the festival talismans and led the five thousand swordsmen to set off first. After they set off, the swordsmen who came down from Gaodu also arrived and set up camp at the original camp.
Zheng Anping crossed the Yellow River from Mengjin the next day, and under Bai Qi's personal command, he set up defensive positions on the other side of the Yellow River. The next day, another five thousand swordsmen crossed the Yellow River and took over the position of Zheng Anping and others. Zheng Anping and his party advanced to Luoyang City.
The next day, another five thousand swordsmen crossed the river, and the King of Qin came to Mengjin from Zicheng on the same day. The guards immediately crossed the river and unified the command of the ten thousand swordsmen on the south bank of the Yellow River. After all the remaining 10,000 swordsmen from Gaodu arrived, King Qin crossed the river escorted by these 10,000 swordsmen, while the Weiwei led the 10,000 swordsmen who had crossed the river in advance to leave.
After the King of Qin crossed the river, Bai Qi gathered the ten thousand swordsmen scattered in Wen, Zhe and other places, and crossed the river immediately after the King of Qin left.
In this way, the King of Qin's army was divided into four teams. Zheng Anping and Mang Wei went first, Weiwei was the front team, King Qin and Zongzheng were in the middle, and Bai Qi and Bai Qi were in the rear. Each team advanced one day apart and advanced in sequence. Before them were the Northern Army who returned home from Changping. Li Bing and Meng Ao knew that King Qin was behind them, so they were more careful when marching.
From Luoyang to Hangu Pass, there were Korean cities along the way. They opened the city to welcome them and prepared a large amount of food, wine and meat to reward the army, making the Qin army feel at home.
Reports from Xianyang are still delivered on time every day. After the Qin army completely evacuated, Chen Si resigned from his job at the Zicheng car shop in the name of returning to his hometown, sneaked into Luoyang, changed his identity, and continued to collect intelligence from the princes of the world.
Five days later, King Qin and his party arrived at Hangu Pass. After the swordsmen entered the pass, most of them returned to their respective camps, while a small number stayed in the pass to guard the King of Qin. The King of Qin stayed here for a day to wait for Bai Qi. After arranging for the swordsmen to return to camp, the King of Qin and Bai Qi each took a ride. Under the protection of the cavalry swordsmen, they returned to Xianyang along the Weishui River. The Northern Army, which arrived a day or two earlier, was arranged to camp in Shaanxi County, rest for a few days, and wait for the swordsmen to pass before entering the pass. Meng Ao was picked up by King Qin and followed into Xianyang.
The prince and Zhang Lu led hundreds of officials to meet at Baqiao, forty miles east of Zhangtai. Car covers are gathered, clothes are everywhere, and countless praises, flattery, and boasts have become commonplace here. From Baqiao to Xianyang, the forty-mile journey has almost become a sea of happiness. No one has ever been able to annihilate so many enemy troops in one battle; no one has ever been able to achieve such great achievements! On the day when the military report from Changping arrived in Xianyang, the whole city of Xianyang had already begun to celebrate. When Lord Wu'an Bai Qi returned with King Qin, it was time for everyone to release their joy!
The prince and Zhang Lu held a grand banquet in Zhangtai Palace. King Qin and Bai Qi sat together on the banquet, and even the prince and Zhang Lu had to sit below. One by one, the ministers served him wine and said good things to him.
The Prime Minister's Office also ordered all counties and counties that when Changping soldiers return to their hometowns, they must hold a banquet in the township and invite meritorious people to the table.
During the banquet, King Lu of Changping came to report that Pi Wan had led 20,000 Qin troops to Changping. After a little training, he would go to Handan; the remaining 10,000 prisoners stayed in Yicheng and Quwo. Prepare earthmoving tools and start repairing the road. Sima Jin came to report that he had captured Zhao City, twenty miles north of Pingyang, and was preparing to capture Huo City.
As much joy as there is in Xianyang, there is as much sadness as there is in Handan.
King Zhao finally waited until the autumn harvest was over and sent the 50,000 soldiers Lian Po had prepared and the 100,000 men he had temporarily recruited on the road to Changping. One hundred thousand people had to transport 200,000 shi of grain to the front line. Not all of them had carts, and most of them could only carry the grain on burdens. Due to the urgency of the war, Lord Pingyuan did not dare to march separately from the combat troops and the grain transport troops like Zhao Kuo did. The result of the integration was that the marching speed was extremely slowed down, and it was impossible to cover twenty miles a day. King Zhao felt that the 50,000 soldiers in Handan might be difficult to break through the Qin army's defense, so he sent someone to notify Taiyuan, and also sent 50,000 soldiers. After the two groups met at Shangdang, they jointly attacked the Qin army and rescued Zhao Kuo.
When the two troops were on the road, they saw the thick smoke in the sky over Changping from a distance. They felt bad and did not dare to advance too far. Taiyuan's troops cautiously stopped at Tongshan to watch. Handan's troops found that a large Qin army was already stationed in Licheng, and they hesitated to move forward. They carefully parked the grain on the east bank of Zhangshui River and sent 30,000 troops to Licheng to find out the truth. In order to confuse the opponent, a large number of camps were deliberately built on the west bank of Zhangshui River, creating the illusion that Zhao's army was powerful. The defenders of Le City were mainly troops from Hanoi. They had no combat experience and were in a state of panic. They did not observe carefully and found no flaws.
This Zhao army received a group of uninvited guests: 240 young Zhao people who were released by Li Bing. Most of them were former residents of Shangdang. They followed their parents into the military camp. They didn't know the strength of the Qin army. They only knew that all the Zhao soldiers had been killed. The fire burning the corpses burned for three days, and the smell of barbecue was everywhere in the air. .
After hearing their intermittent cries and smelling the burnt smell in the air that had not completely dissipated, General Zhao immediately sent an envoy to report back to Handan.
When Meng Ao arrived with reinforcements, their movements were also detected by Zhao Jun. General Zhao made up his mind and immediately retreated without waiting for Handan's order. All 400,000 Zhao troops have been killed, and 50,000 of them are not enough for the Qin troops to fill their teeth. The other party only sent 10,000 reinforcements, obviously knowing their own weakness. He immediately notified the rear team and retreated overnight. He forced himself to remain calm and observed for two days. After Meng Ao arrived in Lucheng, he arranged a bonfire to confuse the Qin army and quietly withdrew in the middle of the night. In order to ensure food security, General Zhao built forts on the east bank for several days after retreating from the Zhang River. When he saw that the Qin army did not pursue him and the grain transport team had arrived in Wu'an, he led his troops to withdraw. At this time, the order to withdraw troops from Handan had also arrived.
The military envoy was General Zhao's confidant and a relative of the Zhao family. He quickly found Lord Pingyuan and reported the battle report of Changping. Prince Pingyuan was so angry that he drew his sword and almost killed the envoy. Fortunately, he was persuaded by his left and right sides. Lord Pingyuan threw his sword to the ground and howled loudly! A guest advised: "This is not the time for your Majesty to cry. The ancestral temple and the country depend on you!"
Mr. Pingyuan choked up and said: "Four hundred thousand...four hundred thousand...one day..."
The doorman said: "Maybe the situation is not true..."
Prince Pingyuan said: "Yes, yes. You will quickly send people to investigate, and we will find out the truth!"
The guest said: "We will go to inquire immediately, and we should also repay the king!"
Lord Pingyuan said: "Please invite Lord Pingyang to discuss matters with Qing Lian and Qing Yu!"
The three of them arrived one after another, and upon hearing the news that Zhao's army had been wiped out in Changping, they all fell silent. After a long time, Lord Pingyuan said: "Qin will attack Handan? No?"
Pingyang Jun said angrily: "I said in the past not to accept the Shangdang and do harm to Qin, but you think you are cowardly! Now that we have lost the Shangdang, we have lost 400,000 Zhao soldiers again, and the best of Handan has been wiped out overnight. But what! What!"
Lian Po said: "If Qin joins the party, he will force Handan. How can he do it?"
Lord Pingyuan said: "What can I do?"
Lian Po said: "From Shangdang to Handan, the road is four hundred miles, all walking in the mountains. The road is narrow and dangerous, and it can be defended everywhere. You have no worries."
Pingyuan Jun said: "I think Zhao's 400,000 soldiers cannot be destroyed in one go. His feelings may be false..."
Pingyang Jun said: "When Zhao's neighbor returns, he will definitely be in love with him."
Lord Pingyuan said: "How about asking our neighbor Zhao to return? If his feelings are not true, why don't we get trapped?"
While the ministers were discussing, a retainer came to report: "It was discovered that the prisoners of the Qin State set off for Puban in Wangri in October!"
Lord Pingyuan said: "He has increased his troops at Puban and must go to Changping. Or is it possible that the Zhao army is still protecting itself and Qin is going to help it?"
Lian Po said: "There must be a reason! Where are their military envoys? I should ask them."
Lord Pingyuan said: "I am afraid that his blunders will damage my morale, so I have banned him in the palace."
Lian Po said: "No, I would like to ask." Lord Pingyuan had no choice but to ask the general to bring him up.
Lian Po asked: "Where are your troops?"
The military envoy said: "As for Licheng!"
Lian Po said: "Licheng is more than a hundred miles away from Changping. How can you get enough of it?"
The military envoy said: "Since I entered the mountain, I saw thick smoke in Changping. The general said that with such heavy smoke, it means either a great victory or a great defeat! When they arrived at Zhangshui, the general ordered the rear troops to stay temporarily and lead the army to retreat. Thirty thousand troops crossed to Licheng. There were ten thousand Qin troops guarding Licheng. The general said privately that this would be a big defeat! He drove the army and surrounded it, setting up many campfires to make it false. Day and night, there were more than two hundred Zhao young men. When people arrived, they were all cut off and their flesh was peeled off, like walking corpses. He said that all the Zhao troops in Changping were slaughtered by the Qin army. The corpses were burned for three days without stopping. The thick smoke did not dissipate and the burning smell did not go away. They only died yesterday. Because there were so few , and then returned. The general asked them one by one, and everything was as he said, and there was nothing false. There was still a burnt smell in the air, which was consistent with what he said. Then he ordered the minister to return to Handan urgently and report to the king. What he said was true, and he did not dare to Youxu!"
