Seeing that the day's march was still not completed, the soldiers in the rear group were already complaining incessantly. Qing Qin saw this and was anxious in his heart.
With such a delay, how long will it take to reach Yanyu City? If Zhao Kuo is allowed to pass Yanyu City in advance and return to Handan, this expedition will probably fall short.
Not only that, if they continue to march without military discipline like this, even if they arrive at Yanyucheng, it may be difficult to stop Zhao Kuo with just this combat power.
"Send the order to the whole army to hold on for another five miles! Anyone who dares to say anything again will be killed." Qing Qin finally made up his mind to turn around the morale of the army.
Just seeing that there is only one and a half days to go to the final destination of Yanyucheng, now I am determined to improve it. Is it a bit like trying to sharpen my guns before the battle?
Of course, it is better to sharpen your guns before the battle than to do nothing but wishful thinking. Well, this is the main force of King Yan.
On the one hand, the Zhao army went all out, and on the other hand, the Yan army was relaxed and casual. This war seemed to have an outcome before it even started.
However, even in Zhao State, the so-called all-out efforts are only the efforts of a small group of people such as Zhao Kuo and Pingyuan Jun, and there are still many internal constraints.
Even known as
Isn't it possible that the Great Qin that was "harassing the old Qin" was constrained by the old gentry and other classes and personnel?
The Warring States Period was indeed a bad era. Or maybe that wasn't the case at that time? Between countries, the competition may never be who has more divine hands, but who has made fewer mistakes.
Of course, even now, the attitudes towards this war between Zhao and Yan are very different, but the weakness of Zhao's military strength is also visible to the naked eye.
If you want to win, I'm afraid it's not that simple. No matter what, they were either full of confidence, or full of doubts, or possessed of wisdom, or anxious, the five groups of people from both sides were all moving towards their respective destinations, and the night was getting deeper and deeper.
Time flies, and the people of Zhao State enjoy a rare day of peace. It seems that everything is so harmonious and everything is so beautiful.
Only the tinkling sound of iron in Handan City and the clattering of horse hooves on the Daijun Post Road quietly played the prelude to the approach of the storm.
"General." At the gate of Yanyu City, Sun Gu, whose face was dark and stained with sweat, respectfully greeted the travel-worn Zhao Kuo and his party.
However, what surprised Sun Gu was that Zhao Kuo and his party only had less than a hundred people. Could it be that the general was worried about the loss of Yan and the city, so he broke away from the large army and came in advance?
Perhaps this is the only explanation. Zhao Kuo looked at the city tower that was still brightly lit late at night and was very satisfied. It was obvious that Sun Gu did not waste the time he had arrived in advance.
"Tell me about the situation." Zhao Kuo asked as he walked up the tower.
"General." Sun Gu also hurriedly followed and said: "Currently there are about 5,000 troops in the city, of which about 3,400 are capable of fighting. They are divided into soldiers from the Hundred Miles of Stone Great Wall and you, general. There are also 1,500 soldiers gathered from the nearby city, but their combat power is quite insufficient."
"Oh?" Zhao Kuo was slightly stunned. Apparently the number of five thousand people was beyond Zhao Kuo's expectation.
"There are actually five thousand people?" Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
"Are those people recruited from the army? There seems to be a lot of them?" Zhao Kuo asked, pointing to the Geyi people walking up and down the tower.
"Of course." Sun Gu on the side nodded and said: "Due to the city's accommodation of refugees, there are a lot of people who have signed up for Minzhuang. As of this evening, a total of more than 5,700 people have been recruited for Minzhuang." Zhao Kuo was satisfied when he heard this. He nodded and then asked: "Are the weapons, food and grass enough? How many deep and shallow wells are there in the city? Can they meet the needs of the people and soldiers?" Upon hearing this, Sun Gu immediately replied: "Three thousand soldiers are here." They came from the Hundred Miles of Stone Wall and brought a large amount of ordnance with them. In addition, Yanyu City itself is a place of transshipment, so the grain, grass and ordnance in the warehouse are quite sufficient."
"In terms of water wells." Sun Gu thought for a while and continued to answer: "Due to the drought and water shortage in Dai, most of the wells in the city are deep wells, with a total of more than 200 wells, enough for tens of thousands of troops."
"An army of tens of thousands?" Zhao Kuo was stunned for a moment, and he immediately understood that Sun Gu might have misunderstood. How could there be an army of tens of thousands? The five thousand soldiers in the city were all that was needed for this battle.
But Zhao Kuo did not say anything, but continued to ask: "In your opinion, what is the biggest difficulty in guarding this city?"
"Yes." Sun Gu pondered for a moment, then replied again: "Reinforcements!"
"According to reports, the Yan army will be able to arrive at Yan and outside the city early tomorrow evening, or late the next morning. Our reinforcements need to enter the city before then and familiarize themselves with the city's defenses. Only in this way can the plan be complete." Sun Gu added road.
"Haha..." Zhao Kuo looked at Sun Gu with a smile, but Zhao Kuo's next words made Sun Gu take a breath of air.
"Reinforcements. Did this general ever say there were any reinforcements?" Zhao Kuo's eyes immediately looked towards the vast mountains.
"General? This? The soldiers of Daijun..." Sun Gu asked incredulously.
"The soldiers of Daijun." Zhao Kuo pointed to the mountains where the sky was changing and said: "The army has moved south in the mountains!"
"Going south?" Sun Gu became more and more surprised. The Yan army's 60,000 troops were about to arrive. Daidi's 30,000-strong army might not be able to hold the city if they entered it, so why did they all go south?
Where to go south? Handan? still. . . . . .
"Handan is in danger, Pingyang Lord holds the king's order, and the army has to go south to help Handan." Zhao Kuo said slowly: "But this is good, first attack from inside and outside to defeat the main force of the enemy in Handan, and then go north to relieve the danger. "
"But?" Sun Gu wanted to say something more, but was stopped by himself. Then he clasped his fists and bowed and said, "Don't worry, General. I will defend the city of Yanyu to the death to buy time for the army to turn around."
"I don't have to worry, general." Zhao Kuo shook his head, then raised Sun Gu, who was holding a fist with one hand, and said, "Now that I'm here, I will naturally guard this city myself."
"General?!" Sun Gu said quickly.
"No need to say more." Zhao Kuo naturally knew what Sun Gu wanted to say, but it was obvious that this decision no longer required any further hesitation.
"Only when I am here can I firmly attract Yan's partial division." Zhao Kuo briefly explained the situation: "And if I lead the army south, this partial division will inevitably follow, and this battle will not be good. beated."
"But?" Sun Gu quickly continued: "There are only five thousand troops in the city now."
"Since I dare to come, I am confident. There is no need to panic. But let all the soldiers see it. It's time to shake the morale of the army!" Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
Just listening to Zhao Kuo's calm words, Sun Gu was not relieved at all. He followed the general on the Changping battlefield, and he understood the general very well. Even in a dangerous battle like the Battle of Changping, the general took the situation calmly. Even if he was seriously injured, he still commanded calmly.
It can be said that whether the situation is dangerous or not has nothing to do with whether the general is calm or not. The only thing Sun Gu could determine was that the ratio of enemy troops to our own was 12 to 1, a gap that was almost irreparable.
However, what Sun Gu knew better was that there was no room for change in what the general had already decided.
Of course, this does not mean that Sun Gu lacks confidence in the victory of this battle. On the contrary, Sun Gu has absolute confidence in the final victory.
After all, he witnessed with his own eyes the general pulling up the Zhao army step by step from the desperate battle of Changping.
Under such circumstances, the general was able to bring Zhao Jun back to life, but Yan Jun was not a problem at all.
However, Zhao Jun's victory does not mean the general's safety. If the price of this victory is the general's life, this is something Sun Gu cannot hold on to.
However, the only thing he can do now is to tighten the defense of the city for the chance of survival. . . . .
.
"Report!" Just as Sun Gu led Zhao Kuo to inspect the defense of one side of the city wall and were about to return to the city to rest, an urgent report came to the ears of the two of them.
"General, urgent report from Handan." A messenger kneeled on one knee in front of Zhao Kuo and replied.
"Huh?" Zhao Kuo frowned slightly. Could it be that the Yan army's attack was advanced? still. . . . . . Zhao Kuo didn't say much, and immediately ordered someone to bring the messenger forward.
At this meeting, they turned out to be old acquaintances? !
"General!" The man shouted and knelt down in front of Zhao Kuo. Through the dust on his face, Zhao Kuo vaguely recognized that this person seemed to be his spokesperson in Handan City, but how could he appear here when he was supposed to be in charge of Handan?
Did something big happen in Handan? Full of questions, Zhao Kuo asked tentatively: "Zhao Ping? How did you come here?"
"General!" Zhao Ping wiped the dust from his face and said hurriedly: "I have received the order from Lord Pingyuan and came here to inform the general that the Yan army is divided into two groups and marching south to Handan. The army is moving extremely slowly. Pingyuan You are afraid that it is just an army to lure the enemy, and that it may be the main force of Daijun's army heading north. Please be careful, General."
"In addition, in order to support the general, Lord Pingyuan has quietly transferred 10,000 troops out of Handan City and hid them in the mountains northwest of the city, just waiting for the general to use them." Zhao Ping continued.
"Ten thousand people?" Zhao Kuo frowned slightly. Obviously, Zhao Kuo was not thinking about his disadvantageous situation, but was more worried about the safety of Handan. After all, there were 30,000 people in Handan City, which was really not many. If there were 10,000 less, could it withstand 100,000 swallows? It’s really hard to say what the army’s attack will be like.
As for the specific use of these more than 10,000 people, it has to be ranked further back.
"Oh." Zhao Ping obviously understood what Zhao Kuo meant and hurriedly explained: "My subordinates forgot to tell you that Pingyuan Lord borrowed about 20,000 servants from various families to guard Handan. Currently, there are still troops in Handan City. Forty thousand can ensure that Handan City is safe." After hearing this, Zhao Kuo nodded slowly and began to think about his Pingyuan Lord's reminder.
