Turning around, Zhao Kuo was already on his way to the Changping battlefield with more than 50,000 reinforcements.
Zhao Kuo, who was riding on a white horse, looked at the long queue under his command and felt at a loss. The various plans in his house became a bit ridiculous and sad from the moment he saw the army under his command.
Where is the 50,000-strong army? It was clearly a group of farmers who had just put down their hoes. They put on old armor and replaced them with swords that were not very sharp. After only a few days of training, they were sent to the battlefield. With this twisted formation, contemporary College students' military training is more rigorous than theirs.
Obviously, these tens of thousands of troops are simply better than nothing.
Of course, this is not entirely the case among the 50,000-strong army. Generally speaking, the combat-effective troops are divided into three groups: one is the 5,000 imperial guards that Lord Pingyuan finally persuaded King Zhao to supply to Zhao Kuo, and the other is They were three thousand soldiers led by family general Xu Li, and the third group were three thousand soldiers under the command of Dupingjun Tiandan.
The three forces totaled more than 10,000 capable soldiers. The first two together formed the current Chinese army under Zhao Kuo, while Dupingjun Tiandan was sent by Zhao Kuo as the vanguard to go to the old pass first.
This is all that Zhao Kuo can ask for, and even all that King Zhao can give.
The reinforcements are already like this, so how many soldiers are there in the so-called 400,000 troops on the front line who can actually fight?
fifty thousand? One hundred thousand? Or 150,000?
This is different from what is written in the history books, dear?
Sure enough, it is better to believe in books than to have no books at all. What you read on paper will eventually make you feel shallow, and you must know that you must do this!
Zhao Kuo fell into deep worry. Zhao Kuo was really not sure whether the original plan could continue to be implemented! Only by fully understanding the situation on the front line can we truly figure out a solution.
"Where is the marching Sima!" Zhao Kuo, thinking of this, immediately nodded.
"The last general is here." A general riding a maroon horse and wearing red armor appeared in Zhao Kuo's field of vision almost instantly. It was the flesh-faced general who persuaded Zhao Kuo to come out of the mountain in Zhao's house that day—— Xu Li is now Zhao Kuo's marching commander and is in charge of all military and military security matters.
"How many days are there from this place to the old pass?" Zhao Kuo asked immediately.
"General: This place is still two days away from the old pass. If we hurry up, we can arrive at noon the day after tomorrow." Xu Li replied without hesitation.
"In this case, the troops of Pingjun, the leader of the advance, should have reached the old pass." Zhao Kuo thought silently.
"Order: First, the whole army should speed up and march all night. They must arrive at the old pass before noon the day after tomorrow. Second, order General Lian Po on the front line to hand over military affairs and meet at the old pass at noon the day after tomorrow." Zhao Kuo ordered decisively.
"Yes!" Xu Li agreed immediately without the slightest doubt.
Following Zhao Kuo's order, several Chinese cavalry flew out and loudly announced: "The Chinese army is sending an order: The target is the old pass, speed up!"
There were more than ten cavalrymen, in groups of three and two, either as vanguards to explore the road or as messengers to send messages, galloping towards the front. They were the elite scouting horses of the Chinese army. They were all one man and two horses, with bows and crossbows on their waists. , holding a spear in his hand, he looked mighty and majestic.
"If all the 50,000 troops have such elites, why should we be afraid of the Qin army!" Zhao Kuo sighed.
Xu Li, the family general who returned to Zhao Kuo just after delivering the order, also sensed his general's deep worries and comforted him: "General Lian Po has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, who have been fighting against the Qin army for a long time, and are called elites. It’s not far.”
After listening to the general's words, Zhao Kuo did not feel relieved, but became even more worried.
"The journey is difficult, the journey is difficult, and the road is divergent, but now I am safe." Zhao Kuo murmured to himself, his eyes already drifting to the unknown distance.
The hundreds of thousands of troops were helpless against the Qin army. The small number of troops he brought was nothing more than adding fuel to the fire. What's more, once he arrives on the battlefield, I am afraid that Bai Qi on the opposite side will also arrive at Danshui with reinforcements from Hanoi, which is like adding another firewood.
Specifically, regardless of the number of generals or soldiers, Zhao Jun does not have an advantage. The only advantage in individual combat power was that the battlefield was along the Danshui River, which severely restricted the performance of the Zhao army's cavalry. Obviously under such conditions, the Qin army, which is good at infantry, has an advantage over the Zhao army's cavalry in crossing Danshui and attacking barriers.
This is also the reason why Zhao Jun’s cavalry was hardly mentioned in this battle in history.
Abandoning the horse and taking steps may seem absurd, but it was Zhao Kuo's only choice at the time.
In this way, one's own advantages cannot be used, and the enemy will have the upper hand. Let alone taking the initiative to attack the Qin army, it may be difficult to even defend the defense line.
"Let's take it one step at a time!" Zhao Kuo encouraged himself secretly in his heart. After all, "there will be times when the wind and waves break, and you can hang your sails and sail across the sea."
After thinking about it for a while, Zhao Kuo then turned his attention to the way forward. He traveled through half a month and kept immersed in old papers, trying to find a way to solve it, but he didn't have time to take a look at China a thousand years ago - the Warring States Period. appearance.
It is summer, and the clatter of horse hooves breaks the silence of the forest. Among the lush vegetation, flowers are in full bloom, there are a few cicadas chirping, a few frogs croaking, and even the air is filled with the fragrance of grass and flowers. It is a time when the world is prosperous.
However, in the harmonious picture, several old storks can be seen from time to time, slowly passing overhead with their "quacking" noise.
Every time the old stork flew over, and not long after, where the army passed, there would be white bones exposed on the roadside.
White bones were exposed in the wilderness, and the flesh and blood had been eaten away by unknown creatures. Only one head was left, facing the direction of Handan, silently accusing the darkness of this era.
Obviously these bones are the people of Zhao who want to escape the famine in Handan City.
The three-year war destroyed not only the savings of the Zhao State, but also the foundation for the survival of countless Zhao people.
"White bones are exposed in the wild, and there are no roosters crowing for thousands of miles." Zhao Kuo only thought that these two lines of poetry were just adjectives, but now he truly felt the sadness in them.
The closer to the border, the more desolate the road became, and Zhao Kuo's mood became heavier.
There are still villages near Handan, and you can still see the smoke from cooking in the villages. However, as you go further west, not only the number of villages decreases sharply, but even if you finally find a village, you will find that it is already deserted when you get closer. Only a few crumbling fences and a few thatched houses with draft leaks are left, as well as piles of bones in the corners, indicating that there were once human traces here.
Even the pond in the village was in deathly silence. The dense air of death floated on the water, with no ripples at all. Only the high temperature in summer steamed up a cloud of clouds, which was somewhat vivid. . It's a pity that the people there can no longer wait for the cicadas to chirp and the frogs to chirp.
This is a truly hopeless backwater.
