As he said this, General Lian Po looked remorseful.
If he can arrive at Bishui as soon as possible and block the Qin army from Bishui, then Zhao will have the absolute initiative in strategy-not only the geographical advantage of Bishui, but more importantly, Shangdang will become Zhao's enemy. In this way, the land in Shangdang will not be barren. The grain and fodder provided by Shangdang alone is enough for the Zhao army to deal with the Qin army.
Unfortunately, if the tiger returns to the forest, the consequences will be endless.
Once Bieshui is lost, Shangdang will no longer be able to become a county within Zhao. With the continuous confrontation between Qin and Zhao, the people of Shangdang are dying and fleeing, even if they want to support Zhao.
It can be said that Zhao's slow action in the early stage was an important reason for the long-term stalemate in the Changping Battle.
Of course, in addition to the two points summarized by General Lian Po, the deepest reason for the slow action was the indecision of Zhao's decision-makers.
When King Zhao faced Shangdang's surrender, although he was greedy to eat Shangdang, he did not have the determination to face the Qin army's sword. He did not realize the importance of Shangdang's land in defending Handan, nor did he clearly understand Qin's annexation. Shangdang is a strategic attempt to prepare for the destruction of Zhao. They even tried to resolve the life-and-death struggle through negotiation.
The behavior of "sacrificing righteousness for small profits and cherishing one's life for big things" also fully exposed the lack of strategic vision of Zhao's top leaders.
On the other hand, Qin, although it knew that Zhao had intervened, could almost say it was done "in one go" from the gathering of troops to the departure of the army, to the subsequent series of battles, without any hesitation.
Obviously, the vision of the senior officials of Qin State and that of Zhao State are not at the same level at all. One is an upstart who drools at the fat man in front of him, and the other is a far-sighted strategist. When the two collide, they make a judgment.
Fortunately, although the senior officials of the Zhao Kingdom's court were not very good, the generals were more powerful than the others.
Even though he was defeated strategically, Lian Po relied on his personal military talents to withstand the Qin army's powerful offensive. Zhao Kuo still retains due respect for such a "great" general.
"The victory or defeat is a family matter, General Lian doesn't have to be like this." Zhao Kuo comforted him: "How about the follow-up war, please continue, general."
"Yes!" Lian Po calmed down a little, picked up the baton, continued to point at the corner of the sand table, and said: "As soon as the bleeding water is lost, the strategic intention of intercepting the bleeding water will fail. However, our army's vanguard has already arrived At Karakura Ridge, the Chinese army has passed Light Wolf City. The army is completely passive."
Tian Dan on the side couldn't help but analyze: "This is a critical situation and a dilemma! If we continue to advance, our vanguard will inevitably fight the Qin soldiers first, and the main force of the Chinese army will not be able to form a joint force with the vanguard in time due to the obstacles of the mountains. , there is a risk of being defeated by each one."
"Of course." Lian Po nodded and said: "At this dilemma, I will quickly take Qie as the general and a vanguard army of 50,000 to build a defense line on the spot. The Chinese army will slowly retreat to Guanglang City and lead the mountains with empty warehouses. In order to support this, we built the first line of defense with Guanglang City as the fulcrum - the empty warehouse defense line; at the same time, the rear army of 50,000 quickly returned to the Danshui line to build our army's second line of defense - the Danshui defense line."
"The front line of Kongcang Ridge is not enough to stop the Qin army." Tian Dan shook his head and said slowly.
"This is a helpless move. It is intended to buy the necessary time for our army to retreat and build the Danshui defense line." Lian Po also nodded and admitted, and then tapped the baton on the sand table a few times out of thin air and said: " Now that Bieshui is lost, the Qin army can increase its troops from Hanoi at any time, cross Bieshui, pass through Tianjing Pass, exit Jiepaiguan, and attack our army from the back and right side of Guanglang City. At that time, our army will be attacked from both sides, head and tail. If we cannot take care of each other, there is a risk of the whole army being annihilated.”
"At this time, our army has completely fallen into strategic passivity. There is Danshui blocking the road in front, and the Qin army is pursuing them behind. The barrier defense line above Danshui has not yet been formed. If the entire army retreats rashly, it may be followed and pursued. The risk of collapse again and again." Zhao Kuo continued his careful analysis following Lian Po's words.
Tian Dan on the side also followed Zhao Kuo's analysis and said: "At this time, our army has few choices. It can either compete with the Qin army for strength and time. It seems that the Qin army's Tianjingguan branch will move to the side of our army first. Instead of the main force encircling our army, our army should run through Danshui first; or..."
Obviously, Tian Dan had already guessed what General Lian Po's final choice would be, and his voice became choked up.
"A strong man has his arm broken!" Zhao Kuo helped Lian Po and Tian Dan say the four words that neither of them wanted to say.
"Sacrifice part of the force of Kongcang's defense line to hold back the main force of the Qin army and buy time for the main force to retreat. In this way, even if the partial division of the Qin army moves to the flank of our army first, without the cooperation of the main force, the partial division will not be able to Those who dare not fight a decisive battle with my main army in the plain area." Zhao Kuo guessed at Lian Po's deployment.
Lian Po looked deeply at the young man in front of him and couldn't help but look at him with admiration again.
He knew that his battle report did not have such a detailed story. It seemed that it only said: "The army gathered in the empty warehouse, built a fortification and defended it. Qin attacked the fortification and did not rest for ten days. Our army was defeated. The second lieutenant was killed and retreated to Danshui." ." It was just a few words, but the young man in front of him could clearly see his thoughts and actions with just his own not-so-detailed description and a map.
If the appearance of the sand table had already heralded Zhao Kuo's extraordinary power, and the subsequent speculation about the Qin army's speed slowly revealed his keenness on the battlefield, then the supplement to his own tactics at this time was completely clear to Lian Po. : This son is truly a genius.
In a daze, Lian Po felt for a moment that he was already old!
And Tian Dan, who also had the same idea, was standing aside - if he wanted to be ahead of himself once, it was luck, and it might be a coincidence that he thought ahead of him twice, so it would be his fault every time. The front can only be explained by strength.
Obviously, Zhao Kuo's image has been infinitely well established in the hearts of the two veterans.
Xu Li, on the other hand, looked calm. After all, he watched the children grow up, how could he do that? !
"After seeing the marching speed of the Qin soldiers, I dare not and cannot bet." Lian Po breathed a sigh of relief and continued: "Therefore, I ordered all the cavalry leading the defense line in Kongcang to withdraw, and ordered General Pi to defend the line. At the same time, The army retreated eastward to the Danshui defense line."
"On the way, the partial division of the Qin Army indeed set up an ambush on the west bank of Danshui. Fortunately, the main force was held back by Kongcang leader. The vanguard of this partial division was strangled by our cavalry and then camped in place to defend it. Our army then established Danshui. Water defense line." Lian Po pointed to a place in the center of the sand table and continued.
