The strong wind whipped up the blizzard, beating the city walls hard, and the biting coldness penetrated deep into the bones. Under the cover of night, the Qin army could not see their fingers. They never thought that the Zhao army would attack the city at this time when it could freeze people to death. There was no one on the entire city wall.
Even if there were people, they would have been frozen to death.
Under the leadership of Lejian, Zhao Jun quickly approached Yuzhong City, successfully climbed the city wall, and rushed towards the city.
Only then did the Qin army discover the Zhao army.
It was too late for them to get up to resist. The cold had already taken over their bodies, and their sleepiness had eroded their brains. Before their stiff and sluggish bodies had time to react, Zhao Jun's swords and spears had already pierced into their bodies fiercely. middle.
The Qin army at the front bought time for others with their lives, but the outcome of the war did not change.
Puff puff!
Ruthless crossbow arrows burst out from the crossbow machine, piercing the Qin army and nailing it to the ground.
Lejian strode out and killed the Qin army rushing towards him to the ground with one knife.
"Why can you fight in such cold weather?" the Qin army general asked in disbelief. He saw that although Zhao Jun wore winter clothes, they were not thick. Although they were much stronger than the Qin army's winter clothes, they were still not enough. To support fighting in such cold weather.
"I forgot to tell you, my talent is: the colder the weather, the stronger the combat effectiveness. For you, this weather is no longer able to maintain combat effectiveness, but for me, it is just right." Le Jian said coldly.
After the failure in attacking Yuzhong, Lejian gave up the idea of conquering Yuzhong in a short time.
Zhao's army only had 10,000 troops, and the city's defenders totaled 3,000. Even if they could capture Yuzhong, Zhao's army would still lose most of it, which Le Jian could not accept.
When the Qin State sent reinforcements again and the defenders increased to 7,000, it was even more impossible for the Zhao army to break through Yuzhong City.
The Qin army wanted to delay the war until late winter, forcing the Zhao army to withdraw. Little did they know that Lejian was also waiting for the deep winter season, when the temperature dropped sharply.
Half a month ago, there had been a cold wave in Yuzhong, and the river outside the city was frozen. However, it was not unbearably cold at that time. The Qin army still had a certain fighting capacity, so Le Jian chose to continue waiting.
Finally, let him wait until today.
Under the terrifying low temperature, even with the blessing of Lejian's talent, Zhao Jun felt the biting cold, let alone Qin Jun.
Therefore, Lejian launched an attack without hesitation and successfully entered Yuzhong City.
"Surrender or die!" Lejian put a knife on the Qin army general's neck and said in a deep voice.
"I surrender...surrender." General Qin was so frightened that he lost his mind and quickly ordered his subordinates to surrender.
"Take me to see your general and the remaining Qin troops." Le Jian said. There were only five or six hundred Qin troops in front of him. Excluding the Qin troops defending the four walls, most of the Qin troops should stay in the city.
Only when this part of the Qin army is eliminated can the Zhao army truly occupy Yuzhong City.
Under the leadership of General Qin, Lejian successfully found the Qin army general.
At this time, the commander-in-chief of the Qin army was lying in a warm bed with his concubine who had only been with him for a few days. He never expected that the Zhao army had already invaded the city. Before he could react, Le Jian took him out and beheaded him.
"Either surrender or die." Lejian pointed at the head of the Qin army's general and said to the remaining Qin army.
In the middle of the night, the Zhao army raided the city and the general was killed. At this time, the Qin army had no fighting spirit and put down their weapons and surrendered.
Then, Lejian sent people to take over other city walls. The Qin army stood up to resist, but they were all put down by the Zhao army. After several short battles, the Zhao army successfully captured Yuzhong City.
After taking Yuzhong City, Lejian did not stop.
Early the next morning, Lejian left three thousand Zhao troops to guard Yuzhong and also guard the Qin prisoners. He took the remaining 7,000 Zhao troops alone and rushed two hundred miles to the outside of Didao City.
Didao City is the seat of Longxi County. The city walls are taller than Yuzhong City, and the population in the city is larger, but there are only a thousand defenders. Qin put all the garrison on the front line, leaving the city behind empty.
If it weren't for Didao
The city is the county seat of Longxi County and may not even have a thousand defenders.
The weather was cold, and the defenders of Didao City huddled in the city like the defenders of Yuzhong City. They did not expect that Zhao Jun had already arrived at the city.
Zhao Jun did not waste much time and successfully captured Didao City.
Lejian no longer continued the attack, but wrote to Lifu, asking him to find a way to send some people over to escort the prisoners back, and preferably to transport some food and grass.
Prisoners cannot be killed, but staying in the city is always a hidden danger. The best way is to send them back to Hetao to work for Zhao.
Although the Zhao army seized a lot of grain and grass from Yuzhong and Didao City, they also had eight thousand more prisoners, and these prisoners had to eat grain.
In winter, the weather is cold and the roads are blocked by heavy snow. It is impossible to transport grain and grass by water, and the difficulty of transporting grain and grass increases several times.
If Zhao Jun continues to fight, the food and fodder in the rear will not be able to keep up.
Moreover, the Qin State could not sit back and watch the Zhao army capture Longxi. It would definitely send troops over. The Zhao army would still need to deal with the Qin army's counterattack in the next period of time.
The stretched battle line is not conducive to Zhao Jun's battle.
"All that's left is to appease the people in Didao City." Le Jian thought in his mind and walked toward the city with his lieutenants and staff. He needed to understand enough of the situation.
The streets and alleys in the city have long been covered with notices by Zhao Jun, telling everyone that Didao City has now been taken over by Zhao State, and Zhao Jun will not rob everyone of their property. Whatever you did before, you will do in the future. Don't be afraid of them.
Considering that most people are illiterate and may not understand the languages of other regions, Le Jianhe specially hired several locals to read in the local dialect.
In order to win people's trust, Lejian also specially summoned some wealthy people and businessmen in the city and bought some grain, grass and commoners from them.
In order to please Zhao Jun, these rich people said that these things could be given to Zhao Jun. Even when they came, they were already prepared to lose money and avoid disasters. In so many years, I have never heard of any army occupying a place and having to spend money to buy things. .
To be honest, if it weren't for the counterattack of the Qin army, Lejian would have accepted it long ago. He wouldn't have trouble with money. Besides, Zhao Jun and so many people have to earn some hard money.
If he can make money, the morale of the soldiers will be stronger and they will be more willing to fight with him.
However, in order to win people's hearts and win the people's trust, Lejian still chose to trade with wealthy businessmen according to the market price and established initial trust in response to the Qin army's counterattack.
At this time, every notice was crowded with people. The people looked at Zhao Jun in fear, fearing that the other party would suddenly come up and give them a knife.
Perhaps seeing that Zhao Jun did not do this, the people gradually felt relieved. Some of the bolder ones even took the initiative to ask Zhao Jun whether Qin had been defeated by you.
"Although the people in the city are a little afraid of us, there is no hatred in their eyes. General Mo thinks this is a good thing. As long as we restrain the soldiers and strictly prohibit robbery, harassment and other things, it will not be difficult for everyone to let down their vigilance against us." Lieutenant General Yangchen said.
"The people in the city are versatile. It can be seen from this that the Qin State's heavy taxation. We want to bribe... With everyone's support, maybe we can start from this aspect. For example, opening warehouses to release grain, providing work for relief, etc. With help When we work and get food, we can also increase the local people's sense of identity with us," the staff officer said.
"Part of the people in Didao City are former Yiqu people. They hate Qin for killing King Yiqu. Over the years, people have constantly stood up to resist Qin. Some of them are criminals and merchants who have moved here from Qin. These people There are quite a lot of complaints against the Qin State. The general thought that he might be able to find the descendants of King Yiqu and ask the court for canonization. In this way, these Yiqu people will definitely return to their hearts and even be able to shake Qin's rule in Longxi and the North." said a staff officer.
"The canonization requires the king's consent. When we find the descendants of King Yiqu, we will then write a letter and send it to the king. After the king agrees, we will send an envoy to the canonization. It will take two or three months at the fastest." Le Jian shook his head.
After two or three months, the daylilies are cold.
If after three months, Qin still does not send reinforcements, or if the reinforcements cannot capture Didao City, then the descendants of Queen Yiqu will have no right to do so.
significance.
If Didao City returns to the hands of Qin again three months later, it will be even more meaningless to canonize the descendants of King Yiqu.
The canonization of the descendants of King Yiqu may be able to shake the rule of Qin, but it will also affect the rule of Zhao.
When Zhao Guo entered Longxi, he wanted an upright and legitimate occupation, not to support the so-called Queen Yiqu's descendants.
Yiqu has been destroyed by the Qin State for decades, and it should have been swept into the dust of history long ago.
"You can write an article condemning Qin's bad behavior towards Yiqu, for example, Queen Mother Xuan seduced King Yiqu and killed him, and then write an article to commemorate King Yiqu's spirit in heaven." Lejian said.
It doesn't matter how much the dead people praise him, even if he canonize him as King Yiqu, the dead people can't stand up against Zhao.
But living people, such as the descendants of King Yiqu, absolutely cannot be canonized.
"No," the staff officer said, clasping his fists.
"Work-for-relief... Let's wait until the governor replies. If we can transport food from the Hetao, we will start work-for-relief," Le Jian said.
Didao City had some food and grass, but it was not too abundant. He had to ensure the needs of Zhao Jun.
"It is better to directly reduce the taxes for the next three years. If our army can keep occupying Didao City, this tax will be exempted. If Didao City is taken back by the Qin army again and the Qin State imposes taxes again, it will inevitably cause trouble in the local area. dissatisfaction. It will be much easier for our army to attack Didao City next time." The deputy general said in a deep voice. ap.
This year's taxes have been collected, and now they are all in Zhao Jun's pocket. As for the future, you may not be able to get it anyway, so it is better to use it to exchange for the support of the local people.
"Okay, let's do it!" Le Jian's eyes lit up and he said immediately.
At the end of December, Lejian received a reply from Lifu, saying that 20,000 farmers had been recruited from Hetao to transport grain.
Li Fu said in the letter that the Mohists had invented a boat that could walk on the ice. It only needed to be pulled by people on the shore and it could walk quickly. It saved a lot of manpower compared with the previous transportation of grain and grass.
The disadvantage is that it can only be used when the ice is hard enough. If the ice is not hard enough, the boat will fall.
Lejian began to open warehouses to store grain, and gradually won the support of local people.
In Rangcheng, Qin Wangji lay quietly on the bed recovering from his injuries.
The injury has been repeated many times, and if he does not rest assured to recover from his injuries, even if the miracle doctor comes, he will not be able to cure him.
Although Qin Wangji was lying on the bed, he was not at peace inside. His heart was pounding, and he always felt that something big was about to happen.
"Your Majesty, urgent report from Xianyang." At this moment, a guard broke in from outside.
"Bring it over quickly." Qin Wangji sat up suddenly. The last urgent report said that his son was preparing to ascend the throne. What news did the urgent report come this time?
The guard quickly handed over the letter.
Qin Wangji took the letter and opened it. He suddenly felt dizzy and tilted his body to the side.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty." Fan Ju grabbed Qin Wangji and said urgently.
Fan Ju was originally injured much more seriously than Qin Wangji, but Fan Ju listened to the doctor and lay down on the hospital bed to recuperate. Now he has recovered more than half of his body, and it is only a matter of time before he recovers.
On the other hand, Qin Wangji's injuries not only did not improve, but became more and more serious, almost to the point of serious illness.
"Longxi has been lost." Qin Wangji said in a deep voice.
"What? Didn't Zhao's army only have 10,000 troops? How could it be possible to capture the entire Longxi." Fan Ju couldn't believe it.
Although Longxi has a small population, it is large and mountainous, with mountains and ridges everywhere. It is not easy to capture it.
"The Zhao army captured the two cities of Yuzhong and Didao." Qin Wangji said.
"It's just two cities... No, didn't our Qin State deploy an army of 10,000 in Longxi?" Fan Ju frowned.
"Defeated! All the defenders in the city were captured by the Zhao army." Qin Wangji sighed. The battle on the front line was in danger, and bad news appeared in the rear, which made him decide what to do.
"Your Majesty... If we lose the Hexi Corridor, our Qin State will still be a Qin State. If we lose Guanzhong, our Qin State will be
Gone. The Zhao army in Longxi only has 10,000 troops. As long as we repel the Zhao, Wei, Han and Qi coalition forces in front of us, we can easily wipe out the Qin army in Longxi and regain the Hexi Corridor. But the allied forces of Zhao, Wei, Han and Qi in front of them must be kept out of the pass. Fan Ju said solemnly.
At this point, his thoughts were the same as Zi Chu's.
"Zi Chu has led troops to Longxi to resist the Zhao army." Qin Wangji said.
"That's good." Fan Ju breathed a sigh of relief. Although the situation was very unfavorable to Qin, it was not hopelessly bad.
"The State of Zhao is pressing harder and harder, and other countries have rejected the alliance. Sir, can you think of a way to save our country, Qin?" Qin Wangji looked at Fan Ju and asked solemnly.
The envoys sent by the State of Qin to various countries have returned. Without exception, the four kingdoms of Han, Wei, Qi, and Chu rejected Qin's request for alliance. Although he had expected it, King Qin still felt a little desperate.
In order to win over the Chu State, King Ji of Qin even proposed a marriage with the Chu State, marrying his granddaughter to the King of Chu, and sending a hostage to the Chu State, but he was still rejected by the King of Chu.
"Your Majesty, Rong Chen, think about it again." Fan Ju frowned. In the face of absolute strength, even if he had monstrous plans, how could he change his fate against the will of heaven.
