"A large number of Chu cavalry appeared east of Huaiyang, driving you and others to death and blocking the road?"
The Qin army's camp on the front line of the Guling Valley is in the commander's tent.
General Wang Jian sat in the upper position and frowned as he looked at the scouts who came back from the front to report the military situation.
Although the Qin army built forts and held on, using the strategy of exhausting Xiang Yan to the end, it did not really send out anyone.
Xiang Yan's Huaiyang camp was heavily guarded. The Chu cavalry patrolled to the north of Honggou, and the Qin army's scouts could not get close to spy on Huaiyang's intelligence.
However, in places east and west of Huaiyang, far away from the Chu army's camp, precautions must be neglected, which often allows the Qin army's cavalry to take advantage of loopholes and sneak into nearby areas for reconnaissance.
For example, when Jingtong came from the east with his remaining soldiers, he was detected by Qin army scouts.
Just this morning, on the road about thirty miles east of Huaiyang, the Qin army scouts who were checking for intelligence found a large number of Chu army cavalry running from the direction of Huaiyang, patrolling and blocking the surrounding area.
These Chu army cavalry are very fierce. Once they find traces of Qin army scouts, they will pursue them relentlessly. Most of the Qin army's scouts were killed or injured, and only a handful of them escaped and sent this important news to the general.
"General, our army has been at odds with the Chu people for so long, and we have never seen them behave like this. I'm afraid something has changed in the Chu camp!"
General Pi spoke immediately.
Another person shouted: "Xiang Yan drove our scouts away, probably because he wanted to send troops eastward. In my opinion, it must be because General Zhao defeated Xiang Qu at Suishui, which made Xiang Yan angry and wanted to lead his troops to Suishui. Seek revenge from General Zhao!"
Just two days ago, Zhao Tuo defeated the Chu army at the Pengcheng Pass and the news that Xiang Qu was defeated finally came from the north via a detour from the direction of Suiyang.
At that time, the news spread throughout the Qin army camp, causing countless exclamations of surprise.
First defeated the 100,000 Qi army, and then defeated the 30,000 Chu army!
General Zhao is really a fierce general of our Qin Dynasty!
When General Wang Jian heard the news, he was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said with a smile: "This guy is really good at winning battles. I have such a good general in Da Qin, I feel at ease."
Nowadays, there are changes in the Chu army, and it is difficult not to think of Zhao Tuo's victory south of Pengcheng.
Even Qiang Yu ignored the conflict with Zhao Tuo at this time and said: "With Xiang Yan's shrewdness, I am afraid that just because his son was defeated by Zhao Tuo, he would not ignore the overall situation of Huaiyang and lead his army to take revenge. Perhaps it was because Zhao Tuo went south to Suishui River after defeating Xiang Canal, intending to attack the capital of Chu. Xiang Yan could not sit idly by and sent troops to intercept Zhao Tuo!"
As soon as Qiang Yu said this, several people immediately spoke in agreement.
Compared with Xiang Yan's statement of revenge, Qiang Su's words are more logical and convincing.
When Qiang Yu saw someone agreeing with him, he felt ashamed when he thought that Zhao Tuo had already made great achievements in succession, but he could only stay in the camp and play football without making any achievements.
He said anxiously: "General, we have been here for more than half a year, and we are almost stupid. That Xiang Yan first sent Xiang Qudong to take away part of the troops, and now he has sent troops away again. Huaiyang is defending It is definitely weaker than before, and this is a good time for us to defeat the enemy! The general will ask for orders to lead his men to attack Huaiyang and explore the way for the army!"
Wang Jian said nothing.
He stretched out his hand to stroke the white beard under his chin, his eyes full of thinking.
Seeing the general like this, all the generals in the tent waited silently.
Wang Jian's eyes narrowed.
He now has two choices. One is to let Qiang Yu lead part of his troops to test Huaiyang's defense. Maybe he can find an opportunity to defeat the enemy from the Chu army's mobilization.
Another option is to continue to sit firmly on the wall. No matter how the Chu army mobilizes, the Qin army will not care. It only needs to be used up until the people of Chu run out of food and fodder, and then the full success can be achieved.
Moreover, the Chu army was about to run out of food and fodder. How could Xiang Yan's actions not be a deliberate attempt to lure him, Wang Jian, to send troops so that the Chu army could defeat the enemy and survive in a desperate situation?
"Since you can get all the merit just by sitting here, why bother with Xiang Yan?"
"When I fight a war, I talk about the word 'stability'"
"Zhao Tuo, I believe the same is true for you."
Wang Jian looked to the east.
Based on his understanding of Zhao Tuo, that boy would not lead his troops to attack Shouchun in the dead of winter.
This kind of thing would be about the same if it were Li Xin.
Therefore, Xiang Yan's transfer must have nothing to do with Zhao Tuo, and there may be fraud in it.
"No matter what your Chu army does, I will remain unmoved."
"When you run out of food, I will kill you with one strike."
…
It was winter, the cold wind was howling, and the ground was covered with a layer of frost and snow that had not yet melted away.
Zhao Tuo was wearing a thick winter coat and standing by the river. The Suishui in front of him no longer looked like the surging waves it used to be in summer. The water flow was slow and there was a thin layer of ice on the river.
"The scout said that the Chu army is coming from the east and has already arrived at Qiyi?"
Zhao Tuo looked across the Suishui River with surprise and uncertainty on his face.
After Xiang Qu's 30,000 Chu troops were defeated by him, the Qin army went south to the vicinity of Zhuyi and re-garrisoned troops by the Suishui River.
Because of Xiang Qu's defeat, Jing Tong took the remaining soldiers of the Chu army west to Huaiyang. As a result, the Chu army south of Suishui River was almost wiped out, and the city's defense fell into a very empty situation.
If Zhao Tuo leads his troops across the river and goes south, they will be able to do so with great momentum.
But Zhao Tuo had no plans to go south, not only because it was cold winter and it was not suitable for military warfare, and going deep into Chu would put his army into a disadvantageous situation, but mainly because Zhao Tuo was waiting.
He has been waiting for changes in the battle situation in the direction of Huaiyang.
As long as the Chu army's food supply is at the bottom, hundreds of thousands of troops will definitely collapse without a fight, and then Wang Jian will seize the opportunity and look for an opportunity to defeat him.
As a result, the hundreds of thousands of Chu troops in the Huaibei battlefield were scattered and no longer a threat. That was the time for Zhao Tuo to lead his troops to attack and pursue the enemy in the north.
Pursuing a group of Chu troops who had suffered a heavy defeat and were short of food was defeated. Although the military merits were not great, there was no risk at all. Why not do it with such a sure merit?
Although Zhao Tuo took the risk to raid Shouchun last year and returned thousands of miles across the Chu land. But in his heart, it is always bad to take life-threatening risks. Like General Wang, the right way is to achieve great success in a safe and steady way.
Although Zhao Tuo did not lead his army across the river, he still cautiously sent many Qin army scouts across the river. The Qin army's scouts even reached Qiyi, dozens of miles away, to explore the Chu army's eastward direction.
Just this morning, the Qin army scouts who came from near Qiyi came back with shocking news.
A Chu army rushed in hastily from the east.
There were about five to six thousand people in this Chu army. All of them had discarded their helmets and armor and looked panicked.
They were holding the flag of the Qu family of Chu State, and they were said to be the defeated troops who escaped from the Huaiyang battlefield.
Hundreds of thousands of Chu troops have been defeated by Wang Jian, and the rest are scattered in all directions. These five or six thousand people are the first group!
"General! Now that our army has won a great victory in Huaiyang, these defeated Chu people have all come to Qiyi. It's time for us to go on the field and kill them without leaving a single piece of armor behind!"
The generals stood behind Zhao Tuo, and Hei Butt was the first to excitedly ask for battle.
It would be a big military achievement to capture the five to six thousand Chu troops, and looking at the flags, the leader was actually the Qu family from the Chu state.
The Qu family noble who can command thousands of Chu troops must be a big fish. If he is caught and the five or six thousand remaining soldiers are captured, his merits will be greatly increased.
Not only Black Buttocks, but also generals such as Shejian and Zhao Guang were quite moved.
They are stationed here with Zhao Tuo, aren't they just waiting for the Chu army in Huaiyang to be defeated, so that they can take the opportunity to pursue death and make contributions to the north?
Now that the time has come, the first batch of Chu troops have come here, and if they don't take action, when will they wait?
Zhao Tuo ignored them.
He knew that the generals under his command were already impatient and wished they could immediately lead their troops to kill the remaining soldiers in Qiyi.
But Zhao Tuo always felt something was wrong.
This feeling of something wrong does not appear out of nowhere, but has its own logic.
time!
Judging from the intelligence sent by Qin's intermediaries lying in Chu, as well as the information obtained from the generals of Chu captured by Zhao Tuo.
The Chu army's food and grass should be able to last for a while longer.
From Huaiyang to Qiyi, it would take more than twenty days according to the normal marching speed. Even if this defeated army ran fast, it would take more than ten days.
This means that the Chu army ran out of food more than ten days ago, and then was defeated by Wang Jian, allowing the defeated army to run all the way to Qiyi.
This is not in line with Zhao Tuo's estimated time. With Xiang Yan's maturity and prudent attitude, he will definitely take various measures to save food and grass. It is appropriate that Chu's army's food should be postponed for a while. How could it be so far in advance?
"Perhaps there was an internal problem in the Chu State, and there was discord among each other. Only then did the general seize the opportunity and defeat it in advance?"
After hearing Zhao Tuo's doubts, Zhong Lizhen opened his mouth to analyze.
He was from the Chu State, and he knew very well that the Chu State had many lords, and even the king of Chu often had conflicts with the nobles and nobles below. In particular, the current king of Chu is not in the right position, and it is easy for problems to arise within the state of Chu.
Zhao Tuo shook his head.
"Even if there is a problem with the Chu State, it is impossible for the Huaiyang and Shangcai armies to withdraw. That would be a real suicide. No one would be so stupid. As long as the Chu State army does not move, the general will never launch Attack, he will wait until the Chu people run out of food."
Just as Wang Jian knew Zhao Tuo, Zhao Tuo also knew Wang Jian very well.
The old general became more and more calm the closer he got to the last moment, especially in this kind of war to destroy the country, no matter what happened to the Chu army.
He would definitely wait until the Chu people ran out of food before launching a final general attack and destroying the country in one battle.
Before this, Wang Jian would never send troops.
If Wang Jian did not send troops, the Chu people would naturally not be defeated in advance.
Therefore, the defeated troops appeared so long in advance, which made Zhao Tuo suspicious.
unusual!
"Don't move on the Chu army in Qiyi yet."
"Send cavalry to monitor their movements. If the soldiers are really defeated from Huaiyang, they will definitely go all the way. Some people will escape in all directions. When the time comes, we will capture a few for questioning."
"Send another group of sentries to explore the area fifty miles west of Qiyi. If the Chu army is really defeated, this group of defeated soldiers will not be the only ones here. There will be more people to deal with it."
"If there is an army of Chu, watch its flag array, watch its actions and food, and then look for opportunities to capture scattered soldiers."
"There are also ranger posts spread throughout our army's camp, please be vigilant."
Zhao Tuo calmly ordered.
The generals looked at each other, feeling that the general was too cautious.
Black Butt pouted even more depressedly.
But fortunately, Zhao Tuo's prestige is here, so the generals can only respectfully accept the order and go down to make arrangements.
Seeing the generals disperse.
Zhao Tuo looked across the Suishui River again.
Was the Chu army really defeated?
…
There is an open area more than 20 miles west of Qiyi, with continuous camps and more than 40,000 troops stationed here.
Looking from a distance, a piece of red armor and red armor is very eye-catching.
"I actually made it impossible to catch Zhao Tuo!"
Yin Xiangyan, the commander of Chu State, stood in the military tent with anger in his eyes.
The 5,000 Chu troops who went to Qiyi disguised as defeated soldiers and used them as bait failed to fish Zhao Tuo out from the other side of the Sui River.
On the contrary, judging from the large number of cavalry sent by the Qin army to all directions, even if Zhao Tuo was not aware of Xiang Yan's layout, he must have felt something was wrong.
Xiang Yan felt unwilling.
Although his son committed suicide after the defeat to apologize, Zhao Tuo could not escape his involvement.
So this time Xiang Yan led his troops to the east, hoping to lure Zhao Tuo out with his defeated troops, annihilate him, and avenge Xiang Qu.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Tuo was like Wang Jian, he just kept his head down and waited, putting safety first, which was very annoying.
"You are so difficult to deal with at such a young age."
Xiang Yan said bitterly: "Wang Jian is an old turtle, and Zhao Tuo is a little turtle. None of them dare to fight with me!"
(End of chapter)
