"General, why did you take the initiative to ask for help?"
"We stayed here well, eating, drinking, and playing football. How wonderful it would be to wait until the Chu people couldn't bear it any longer, and still have a victory and meritorious service. How could we go to Dongjun to follow the Qi people? Have a confrontation."
In the military camp, when he heard Zhao Tuo announcing that his group of 20,000 people was about to leave Honggou Camp and head north to the Qin-Qi border, Heihip couldn't bear it at first and complained softly.
Not to mention him, several other military commanders also had grim faces.
Normal people know that Qin has a huge advantage in the current confrontation between Qin and Chu.
Not only did the Qin army have more troops than the Chu people, but they were also led by the general Wang Jian. They had a great chance of winning in this attack on Chu, and their achievements were certain.
Just when he could start a war at any time and gain credit, Zhao Tuo suddenly led his troops northward. Isn't this something only a fool would do?
Seeing the resentment in his men's eyes, Zhao Tuo couldn't help but roll his eyes.
He didn't want to, but seeing Wang Jian's appearance at that time, he knew that the other party had already decided on the candidate, and it was better to step up and take over by himself than to be named.
However, now that he had received the general's order, Zhao Tuo did not want to waste too much time on being depressed.
He issued an order to his generals: "Military orders are like mountains, don't say anything. You will quickly organize the army. Tomorrow, let the soldiers rest for a day, feast and eat, and refresh themselves. Set off immediately the next morning without any delay." .”
"only."
When the generals, including Black Buttocks, heard the word "military order", they immediately looked solemn and raised their hands to receive the order.
Although Zhao Tuo was usually kind to his subordinates like them, when he started to get down to business, he was full of majesty.
There are no two orders in the army. When military orders are issued, no doubts or objections will be allowed.
Seeing Shejian, Zhao Guang and others taking orders, they went down to prepare for departure.
Zhao Tuo sat on the couch, frowning slightly, and began to think about the meaning of Wang Jian asking him to go to the Qin-Qi border.
As the most trusted young general of Qin Wangzheng and an old subordinate brought out by Wang Jian, Wang Jian had no reason to assign Zhao Tuo to this thankless task.
This is to punish him, deliberately not giving Zhao Tuo credit.
Could it be that Zhao Tuo offended Wang Jian on something?
Wang Jian actually let Wang Jian throw Zhao Tuo to the border of Qin and Qi to idle at such a critical moment.
But Zhao Tuo felt that this was unlikely, not to mention that he had not offended Wang Jian. Even if he was really offended accidentally, it was impossible for an old Jianghu like Wang Jian to be stupid enough to throw the young general Qin Wangzheng was optimistic about into that position.
Thinking of this, Zhao Tuo felt that Wang Jian deliberately hinted that he asked for help for another purpose.
Zhao Tuo squinted his eyes and gently rubbed the eucalyptus in front of him with his fingertips.
Qi State stationed 100,000 troops on the Qin-Qi border. Although they did not take action immediately, they threatened Qin State's Dongjun.
East County.
After thinking about it, Zhao Tuo felt something in his heart and called out to Lu Wan who was waiting at the door: "Awan, spread out the map for me."
"only."
As Lu Wan took the map and spread it on the eucalyptus, the geographical situation there immediately appeared clearly in front of Zhao Tuo.
Dongjun, originally belonged to Wei.
In the fifth year of the Qin Dynasty, Meng Ao led his army to attack Wei, captured 20 cities including Suanzao, Yan, Xu, Changping, Yongqiu and Shanyang, and established Dongjun. It has been seventeen years since then.
….
To the east of Dongjun is the State of Qi, so if the Qi people station troops on the border, they can pose a threat to the State of Qin.
And south of Dongjun.
After the Qin State destroyed Wei last year, it placed the newly captured areas such as Wanqu and Dingtao under the jurisdiction of Dongjun.
Zhao Tuo rubbed his fingers on the map and gradually pointed to the southern edge of Dongjun.
Therefore, south of today's Dongjun is Shanfu.
After Shanfu, there is the richness of Chu State.
A ray of light flashed in Zhao Tuo's eyes, and he vaguely guessed what Wang Jian meant.
If General Wang really has such a plan, then he, a Qin general who once fought from Fengfei of Chu State, will indeed
Perfect for this task.
However, the prerequisite is to get rid of Qi’s 100,000-strong army!
"General, do you think I can fight 100,000 with 20,000?"
…
"Twenty thousand?"
"No, you, General Zhao, have more than 20,000 men!"
On the evening of the next day, just before departure, Wang Jian called Zhao Tuo to his tent. The old general with a gray beard laughed at Zhao Tuo.
"I have sent a fast horse to Xianyang to ask for the command of Dongjun's troops for you."
"This time the Qi army is approaching the border. The situation is special. Your Majesty will definitely agree to this matter. So when you, Zhao Tuo, and your men arrive at Dongjun, the envoy from Xianyang will definitely arrive at Dongjun with your Majesty's edict."
As the candlelight flickered, the smile on Wang Jian's face became brighter and brighter.
"In this way, you, Zhao Tuo, can legitimately mobilize all the troops in Dongjun. Apart from the soldiers who defend the city, you can recruit at least 20,000 more soldiers. So why do you only have 20,000 soldiers?"
"You, Zhao Tuo, can have at least 40,000 soldiers!"
Zhao Tuo was shocked and couldn't help but take a deep breath.
I see!
Qin's attack on Chu was a major national event, so it would naturally prepare for various emergencies that would occur throughout the war.
The State of Qi suddenly intervened, or the State of Chu sent troops from Fengfei to raid the eastern border of Qin State...
These possibilities have already been prepared in Qin's temple calculations.
Therefore, this time the Qin State recruited an army of 600,000 to attack Chu. Soldiers were recruited from Bashu, Yanzhao, and only the newly conquered Dang County and the Dong County adjacent to the Qi State were left untouched.
Dangjun's troops were deployed to defend the Chu State, while Dongjun's troops were deployed to defend the Qi State.
Therefore, during this battle against Chu, the Qin army gathered, but there was no one from Dongjun.
Under such circumstances, it is not really a big difficulty for a large county to recruit 20,000 soldiers during war.
Zhao Tuo swallowed. He didn't expect that the general would have this trick.
Recruiting 20,000 soldiers from Dongjun, Zhao Tuo had 40,000 capable soldiers.
As for logistics, in addition to recruiting local civilians from nearly thirty cities in Dongjun to provide supplies, they can also rely on food from Xingyang.
The Qin army's grain garrison, Xingyang Aocang, was not only very close to Dongjun on the land road, but also relied on river water to transport the grain to the north, and to the south, the grain could be transported to the vicinity of Dingtao by relying on the Chasm River to the south. The distance was even longer than that of the Qin army. Wang Jian's camp is still close.
There is military strength.
Food logistics is available.
The gap in military strength between Zhao Tuo and Qi this time was not as big as imagined.
We must know that in this era, the number of tens of thousands of troops sent by a certain country is counted as auxiliary soldiers and civilians.
….
Therefore, the state of Qi claims to have an army of one hundred thousand, and there must be at least 40,000 to 50,000 auxiliary troops in the army.
Based on this calculation, the number of soldiers in the Qi army is at most 60,000, or even probably around 50,000.
Zhao Tuo's 40,000 soldiers fought against Qi's 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers.
In addition to the 20,000 temporarily recruited Dongjun soldiers, Zhao Tuo also had 20,000 Guanzhong elites who had been trained for several months.
The Qi army was an army that had not been in battle for more than 40 years.
This kind of comparison in combat power.
Zhao Tuo clenched his fists with excitement.
"Haha, so you know why I want to suggest that you ask for help."
Wang Jian smiled and said: "If you can get your Majesty to agree to temporarily take charge of the troops of a county in Dongjun, who else would I serve under you than you? So Zhao Tuo, the mission to Dongjun this time must be yours!"
Qin's army mobilization required a complete set of procedures, including tiger talismans, talisman festivals, and edicts... Without an edict, not even Wang Jian had the authority to mobilize the troops of Dongjun, so he had to send an envoy to Xianyang to ask for instructions.
Seeing the young man in front of him suddenly enlightened, Wang Jian's lips curved into a faint smile.
What he said was actually wrong. Faced with the situation where the Qi army was approaching, even if he sent Feng Wuze to lead the army, the Qin royal government would agree to hand over the military power of Dongjun to Feng Wuze.
select.
It's just that Wang Jian feels that Zhao Tuo is more suitable. With Zhao Tuo, a young man, coming forward and shining brighter in this war, and covering up Wang Jian's light, he, the old Wang, can retire more safely.
So he wants to support Zhao Tuo.
"You understand what I mean, right?"
Wang Jian stared at Zhao Tuo. He believed that this young man could understand his intentions.
Zhao Tuo nodded.
With 40,000 soldiers in hand, will he be afraid of the 100,000 Qi troops?
He said loudly: "General Wang wants me to take the initiative and kill that Qi army!"
"Hahaha...Zhao Tuo, you are really a worm in my belly, a child can be taught!"
Wang Jian laughed.
After smiling, his expression returned to solemnity, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.
"That's right!"
"The Qi army's sending troops is not only a threat to our Qin country, but it is also an opportunity for us to destroy Chu!"
"The people of Qi stationed troops at the border of Dongjun in response to Chu's request for help. The people of Chu relied on the cover of the Qi army and must have ignored the defense there, and they will not pay attention to your army that is confronting Qi. "
"So you are my special soldier. As long as you can defeat the Qi army, you can then use the power of victory... In this way, the stalemate between Qin and Chu will definitely be broken, and then it will be the time for me to break the army and destroy Chu!" "
"And you, Zhao Tuo, will also make great achievements!"
Zhao Tuo completely understood.
A famous general is a famous general!
From the threat of Qi's troops stationed on the border, Wang Jian actually saw an opportunity to break the deadlock between Qin and Chu, and saw an opportunity to defeat Chu in one fell swoop.
And the one who played a key role in this was Zhao Tuo.
Entrusting this extremely important task to Zhao Tuo is not only Wang Jian's trust in Zhao Tuo, a seventeen-year-old boy, but also his affection for him.
The merit of becoming famous is given to you!
Zhao Tuo looked at the white-haired old general in front of him, illuminated by the candlelight in the tent, and couldn't help but be deeply moved.
"The General loves me!"
Dongjun taking off
