Fan Sui knew that although King Qin sighed, he did not believe him very much, and this question was not only a question, but also a second test of himself.
Fan Sui paused for a moment, thinking about it. After sorting out his words, he cupped his fists and said, "To my king: I think that for the current plan, we need to take three steps in parallel!"
"First, we need to quickly find out who the fourth country is that has entered the situation! Second, we must mobilize troops to prepare to suppress that country."
Fan Sui had just finished speaking on the second point when he was interrupted by King Qin.
"Xiangguo, are you confused? Didn't you just mobilize the troops? If you can mobilize the troops, wouldn't it be better to raise the troops to the party alone?" King Qin had a question mark on his face.
"My King Rongzhen: This deployment of troops is different from the previous deployment." Fan Sui explained calmly: "In other words, this deployment of troops is just preparation for the third step."
"What's the third step?" King Qin asked immediately.
"Send an envoy to the country quickly, threaten it with a sword attack, put pressure on its court, and force it to retreat." Fan Sui further explained: "At the same time, on the grounds that the two countries are about to engage in war, we expel the country's envoy in Xianyang. He will report the massive gathering of our troops to his king."
"The Prime Minister's intention: Is it false to mobilize troops for conquest, but is it true to threaten to withdraw troops?" King Qin quickly understood the essence of Fan Sui's plan.
"Of course!" Fan Sui nodded and said: "To make it realistic, the gathering of the army still needs to be done a lot. It may be possible to assemble an army of 20,000 to 30,000 people. They just go out late and return early, and recycle them to make endless creations. The effect of constant troop concentration.”
When King Qin heard this, he started pacing where he was.
Fan Sui's method is indeed a method, and it is also a method to minimize Qin's losses, but is it feasible? Since the opponent dares to send troops to join the party, how can he retreat because of his own intimidation?
But, if not...
After a long time, King Qin finally made up his mind, and then said to Fan Sui: "The thoughts of the Prime Minister are reasonable. However, military and national affairs cannot be completely left to the cowardice of the opponent."
"Hei Bingtai has already gone to find out who his opponent is, and Bai Qi on the front line should also try his best to check. I believe there will be an answer soon." King Qin paused for a moment, and then continued: "My wish: first follow the instructions To implement the Prime Minister's will, the troops still need to be assembled. However, in order to avoid being caught off guard due to intimidation, an army of 30,000 to 50,000 can be assembled in Guanzhong and be on standby at Hangu Pass. At the same time, troops from Chu must be assembled first, and Bashu must also be mobilized. , once things are not harmonious, we will not hesitate to fight."
After hearing this, Fan Sui thought for a moment, and then offered a skillful flattery: "In this way, although it may slightly affect the autumn harvest, it will firmly hold the initiative in his hands. This is how to do it." It’s a perfect strategy. My king is thoughtful and considerate, and I can’t think of many ministers.”
However, did Fan Sui really not think of this?
Obviously not. To be precise, it should be that Fan Sui split the plan temporarily and deliberately gave up the initiative. In the plan, he gave the initiative to an unknown enemy country, and outside of the plan, he gave the initiative to the King of Qin.
In this way, his suggestions became the will of the King of Qin. Not only did he flatter him, but he also minimized the responsibility he had to bear. At the same time, he said, "I don't want to turn defeat into victory, I just want to get out with dignity." The strategic concept was finally recognized by King Qin.
Whether it is to flatter others or to protect himself, I have to admit that Fan Sui is very good at it, not only in military affairs, but also in serving as an official and a minister.
And just when King Qin finally reached a unified will on the subsequent plan under a series of operations by Prime Minister Fan Sui, Bai Qi also received two heavyweight reports at the same time.
One was brought by Sima Cuo, an overall report on the collection of grain and fodder for the Wei army;
The other was the latest news brought back by the scout captain who had returned from exploring Guanglang City, Barrier and Jiepailing.
After the grain was counted, although the heavy rain extinguished the flames in time, the fire still burned a large amount of grain with the help of kerosene during the Wei army's breakthrough. Now, plus the food stored by the Qin army itself, if one meal a day, one tael per meal, is enough for the remaining 130,000 troops to last for twenty-five or six days.
I have to say, this is a
The exciting news is that on the 25th and 6th, Qin's army was enough to rush to Shangdang on Pegasus from anywhere in Qin, including the southernmost Chu land.
But at the same time, this is depressing news. The so-called persistence for twenty-five or six days means that each person only consumes the minimum amount of life-preserving food every day to enable the army to persist for so long.
But if they want to preserve their combat power, they will even have to expend a lot of energy to launch an attack on the pass. I am afraid that this amount of food will only last for seven or eight days.
Seven or eight days, even if you come from Hangu Pass, is just enough.
But Bai Qi knew that because all the rivers east and west were in the hands of the Qin army, there were only a few thousand symbolic guards at Hangu Pass today. The closer Hedong, Hexi and Hanoi counties were unable to send large armies.
If we want to recruit troops from Guanzhong or move troops from further south, seven or eight days will definitely not be enough.
This means that it is not a big problem if the army is supported, but it is almost impossible to turn defeat into victory again.
In this regard, Bai Qi could only sigh lightly, but no matter what, at least the army was no longer in danger of being wiped out, which was considered a blessing in misfortune.
Compared to the problem of food and fodder, Bai Qi was obviously more interested in the opponent he was about to face - if it was the Han Army, perhaps the food problem would not be a big deal.
Unfortunately, the news brought by the scouts was a little hard for Bai Qi to accept.
"Report to Mr. Wu An: The last three groups of scouts were sent to Guanglang City, Danshui, and Jiepai District to investigate. They found that all the passes were tightly closed, and above the passes, there were..." The scout captain glanced at Bai Qi. , obviously knowing how much impact his next words would have on Mr. Wu An, he was speechless for a moment.
"What's all over the place?" Sima Cuo asked from the side.
Listening to General Sima's question, even though he was reluctant in his heart, he could only answer bravely. Then the scout captain clasped his fists and said: "On the three passes, there are flags with the word Zhao on a red background and black characters. The soldiers guarding and patrolling them also look like the Zhao army riding and shooting in Hu clothes."
"What?" Bai Qi stood up with a cry: "Zhao Jun?"
"Yes, yes!" the scout captain replied stutteringly.
Bai Qi thought about the Qi State, the Chu State, the Han State, and even the Yan State's backstab, but it happened that it was the Zhao State - the one who was eliminated first, and who had never even appeared in the country. Zhao Guo is on Bai Qi’s list! ?
