Soon, a group of people arrived at the military tent in the old pass.
In the huge tent, Xu Li was busy. Everything else was normal except for a long table in the center, which was more than a foot long, several feet long and half a person tall.
On it, there is sand and soil as the base, with different water and stones, and red and black flags interspersed among them. It only took a moment to attract everyone's attention.
"This is?!" Tian Dan walked to the long table in a few steps and couldn't help but question.
Before Zhao Kuo could answer, General Lian Po had rushed to Tian Dan's side at some point. He glanced at Tian Dan briefly and blurted out: "Ci loves the party! The battle situation of Shang Dan."
There is no need to listen carefully to the voice of surprise in the words, and those calloused hands have unconsciously stretched out between the mountains and rivers, trying to feel the world where they have been stationed for three years: a ditch, a few woods, It's almost lifelike before your eyes.
Tian Dan, who had just asked the question, unconsciously rubbed the corners of the long table.
Zhao Kuo glanced at Xu Li who was following him. Xu Li immediately understood. He took a step forward and bowed his hands to the two old generals. He briefly explained: "Two generals, this is what my general has done for this Shangdang battle." The specially arranged thing is called: sand table."
As he spoke, Xu Li pulled out a thin wooden pole from nowhere, pointed at the sand table and continued: "The sand table, as the name suggests, is made of fine sand, supplemented by rocks, flags and other things. It has been used by the army to report and scout. It is based on intelligence and aims to present the layout of the battlefield, roads, mountains and rivers, troop strength, etc. one by one, so that the generals can better command."
"What a good thing!" As soon as Xu Li finished speaking, Lian Po on the side couldn't help but admire: "The layout of our and enemy's troops and the shape of the landscape are clear at a glance. With this thing, the war will be half likely to be won out of thin air."
Don't underestimate the half-percent chance of victory. Even if the Qin army does not increase its troops, the 50,000 troops and horses brought by Zhao Kuo will probably increase the chance of victory by less than half.
In other words, this mere sand table is worth tens of thousands of troops! Still the kind of elite soldiers and horses!
Of course, Lian Po's words did not exaggerate the role of the sand table. A well-made sand table can clearly present the battlefield situation in front of everyone, allowing the general to make decisions and deployments more objectively. More importantly, based on the sand table, subordinate generals can better understand the strategic intentions of the general and move their troops to the position the general wants.
This was definitely a pioneering work for the Warring States Period, which only had rough maps.
However, having said that, it is just a sandbox. Even if it is useful, it cannot make up for the huge gap in national power between Zhao and Qin, and it also cannot influence the current "terminal" war.
"If this thing had existed, why would our army be here?" After admiring the sand table, Lian Po said this suddenly and unconsciously.
In the camp, only Zhao Kuo slightly understood Lian Po's regretful words - if there had been such a thing, Lian Po's army would not have been stagnant in Shangdang territory and watched the Qin army arrive at Kongcang territory; if there had been such a thing, The generals of Kongcang Leader will definitely be able to defend this thing together, and their first line of defense, Kongcang Leader's defense line, will not be broken by the Qin army in just a few days.
But, alas, there are no what-ifs in war...
"Old General Lian!" Zhao Kuo suddenly appeared on the side of the sand table and said to Lian Po: "General, please use this object to demonstrate the process of the Shangdang battle for us, so that we can better understand the situation." Understand the entire battlefield.”
With that said, Xu Li on the side handed over the baton with both hands.
"Yes!" Lian Po obviously understood that the current situation was urgent, and he was not polite at the moment. He took the baton and began to explain: "After I received the king's order three years ago, I immediately dispatched 50,000 horse infantry troops as the vanguard, and 100,000 infantry troops. The horse infantry is the central army, and the 50,000 infantry is the rear army, totaling about 200,000 troops. It is falsely claimed that 400,000 troops set out from Handan."
As he spoke, Lian Po took his baton and began to walk slowly on the sand table: "Our army passed through Fukou Xing, reaching the line of Changping Pass and Guguan, and then turned along the Taoqing River and entered the Xiaodongcang River. From the Xuansi area, proceed towards Bieshui."
"At this time, our army's strategic intention is to intercept the Qin soldiers with the natural danger of Bieshui." Lian Podi pointed his baton slightly at the corner of the sand table and concluded.
Seeing that everyone had no doubts, Lian Po immediately continued: "At this time, Qin had Wang Lu as its general, and more than 100,000 soldiers set out from Xianyang, entered the Wei River and merged into the Yellow River, and then went upstream from the river to Fen. He then entered the Fen River at the mouth of the river. After arriving at Xintian along the Fen River, he immediately followed the Hui River and its tributaries up to Wuling Pass. After walking down Wuling Pass, the Qin army turned into the Meihe River Valley to Mayi, almost with While our army was approaching Bishui, the Qin army had already turned into the Qinshui River and arrived at Duanshi."
A dazzling talk, coupled with the fact that a large amount of the Qin army's march was not on the sand table at all. If it were not for professional military talents, General Lian Po would really be stunned.
Fortunately, the three people present are not ordinary people. Needless to say, General Tian Dan is not among the four generals of the Warring States Period, but he is definitely one of the famous generals. Needless to say, Xu Li has followed Ma Fujun Zhao Shenan all his life. During the Northern War, a few place names were not enough to stun him.
As for Zhao Kuo? Well, although his actual combat ability needs to be tested, the work on the picture was personally tested by Master Ma Fujun Zhao She!
And Zhao Kuo lived up to expectations and became the first among the three people present to discover the abnormality of the Qin army.
"The Qin army is so fast!" Zhao Kuo couldn't help but sigh as he stared at the sand table.
Zhao Kuo's sigh also received a different look from Lian Po. Although he had long heard that Zhao Kuo was talented in the military, rumors were always rumors. Now when he saw it, he knew that it was not necessarily groundless.
Zhao Kuo's sigh also reminded the other two people, especially Tian Dan, who silently estimated the distance traveled by the two armies in their hearts, and unexpectedly found that the Qin army covered more than twice the distance of the Zhao army in almost the same time! The terror of its combat power is evident.
At the same time, Tian Dan was deeply shocked by Zhao Kuo's keenness on the battlefield.
Seeing the two people who were thoughtful, Lian Po did not show off, and immediately explained briefly: "The Qin army's troops are very fast, but our army's progress is slow. There are two reasons: first, the accumulation of military power is slow, and there are already many soldiers in our army. The Northern Cavalry and the Handan Infantry were mixed. The two armies were mixed, and it took a lot of time to unify the orders. Of course, the more serious problem was the second one - underestimating the enemy and moving slowly. From the general down, there were twice as many Qin soldiers. The thought that the long distance must not be reached first has kept the marching speed slow; therefore, the Qin army was given enough time to cross the Bishui River."
