After the words fell, there was a burst of rustling discussion. This also completely confirmed Zhao Kuo's previous guess - these guys were really worried that they would lose!
No one can be defeated by a barbarian, my dear!
Hu people! Barbarians from the Warring States Period! I'm afraid there aren't even many iron tools these days, and this is in an era before stirrups! Tell me how to lose this wave? Take the lead and lose!
Although Zhao Kuo, who was familiar with history and came from the 21st century, was full of confidence in this battle, he couldn't tell them directly, otherwise wouldn't it be belittling the efforts of Dai Jun's people?
Oh, as soon as you came, you added tens of thousands of people and defeated the barbarians. So what have we been doing all these years?
With such thoughts, those who originally wanted to cooperate will hesitate. Therefore, there are some things that can only be done but not said. Some words are misfortunes and mistakes, but you can do them. Even if you do them, you will find that the smoother things go, the more and more people will follow you.
Nothing but humanity!
Zhao Kuo is not upset about this. As long as their plan is implemented, they will soon find that it is not that difficult to defeat or even annihilate the Hu people. Even now, the disagreement between Qianglong and the local snake is more conducive to the development of Zhao Kuo's plan.
Zhao Kuo was calm here, but General Chen was sweating again. Although he had not experienced it personally, he had heard about people's names, the shadows of trees, and Zhao Kuo's performance on the Changping battlefield. Whether it was the official channels of the imperial court, letters from his friends in the military, or private channels, all without exception told of how powerful he and Zhao Kuo were.
There is no need to describe it. The fact that he can force Bai Qi to commit suicide is enough to illustrate his ability.
Although the Zhao army was mainly based in Dai, General Chen also took turns fighting the Qin army in his early years. The strength of the Qin army, especially under the command of Bai Qi, was even greater than that of the young General Chen. It left a deep impression. The general in front of him, with a group of "rabble" whose combat power was not as good as the frontier army on their behalf, picked the Qin army out of hand.
Can it not be strong? !
But then again, it’s hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice! No matter what happened in the Battle of Changping, Zhao Jun still had more than 400,000 troops. No matter it was outflanking or whatever, he finally had someone in his hands, so he didn't panic!
But what is the situation now? There are only 70,000 troops! If tens of thousands more troops come, I will definitely not have the slightest doubt or hesitation. But the problem is that there are only 70,000 people, and the main force is still my own 60,000 troops. It will be difficult to retreat, let alone take the initiative to attack. ? Isn’t this an egg hitting a stone?
By the way, Shitou, Shitou hasn't made it clear to the general yet!
"Your Majesty, General." General Chen stood up immediately, clasped his fists and said, "In the past three years, although the Hu people have been repulsed by our army and civilians, the strength of their invading troops has increased year by year. It reached its peak last year. Nearly 120,000 people, the barbarians have begun to gather this year, and the scouting horses will report back. The number of enemies that will invade this year may increase to 150,000!"
"If so, if so." General Chen hesitated for a moment, but did not say the last half of the sentence.
In fact, needless to say, Zhao Kuo also knew what he meant. Seventy thousand troops were not enough!
But is it really enough?
After General Chen finished speaking, several generals from Dai County all looked at Zhao Kuo, their eyes full of expectation. They knew very well: As long as the general is willing, it would be no problem to mobilize another 20, 30,000, or even 40,000 to 50,000 troops.
Even Sun Gu and Zhou Qi, who had been in a state of excitement, looked at each other and then looked at Zhao Kuo. Obviously, the two of them were a little stressed about the enemy's number of 150,000. Of course, this does not mean that the two of them have no confidence in Zhao Kuo, but if they can fight the battle of wealth, who is willing to fight it with every step? Not to mention being more confident, at least it is also more calm.
Zhao Kuo looked at everyone's eyes and felt a little moved in his heart. For this 70,000-strong army, he had gone through repeated deductions and calculations. It should not be a problem to defeat the Hu people, but this is also a quite extreme force.
Limits also mean risks and excitement, but also possible failures.
But this is obviously not Zhao Kuo's intention. The reason why he is stuck at the limit is
Military strength is also a last resort.
At present, apart from Daibei's 60,000 troops, Zhao's main force only has the remaining 140,000 main troops from the Battle of Changping.
The autumn harvest is coming to an end, and even though most of the main army has returned to their positions, Zhao Jun only has this 140,000 army left. One hundred and forty thousand, oh no, it should be one hundred and thirty thousand. It sounds and looks like a lot, but Zhao needs more troops!
Not to mention other things, Shangdang County and Hanoi County directly divided more than 100,000 people. Not only to defend the Qin army, Zhao Kuo's farming plan in Hanoi County required the army to suppress and guide it. The creation of weapons in Shangdang County involved many things. How dare Zhao Kuo entrust the secret to others?
Of the 100,000 troops that can really be used to defend places, I am afraid that less than 80,000 troops are available. Of course, this does not mean that Zhao Kuo has relaxed the defense of Shangdang County and Hanoi County. The 50,000 troops with other tasks are still among the military. During the war, the army still maintains military training. If there is a war, it can be re-entered as soon as possible.
But even if there are 20,000 troops behind the back, the 80,000 troops on the front line are just enough. But just to station a few key points, the defense of the fortress will consume more than 60,000 troops. , The general in the rear cannot have a reserve force of ten or twenty thousand fresh troops, right?
Why are there still 30,000 troops left? !
Zhao Kuo was also thinking about this 30,000-strong army, the 30,000-strong army that he had plucked from the hands of King Zhao! That's right, these 30,000 troops have already marched back to Handan, and are preparing to station in Handan for a long time to defend the capital.
Logically speaking, a country's capital city needs 30,000 troops to garrison, which is not much at all. Even if Zhao Kuo were the king, he would strengthen the weak branches and concentrate most of the army's elite near Handan City. For war, they will be dispatched from Handan City.
Of course, the current King Zhao is not Zhao Kuo, and Zhao Kuo will not give King Zhao any way to strengthen the weak branches. And the current Zhao State is unable to achieve strong trunks and weak branches. The reason is very simple - there are too many foreign invaders!
When facing Qin in Shangdang and Hanoi, you have to strengthen your defenses, right?
There are frequent barbarian invasions in Daibei. You need to gather a wave of troops, right?
There is even the Beiyan Kingdom who is temporarily invisible...
Although today's Zhao State is not as surrounded by enemies as Wei State, it is similar. Under such circumstances, it is simply impossible to implement a policy of strong trunks and weak branches. Otherwise, the trunk may not be strong and the branches will weaken first, which will create opportunities for the enemy.
