"Deng, Deng, Deng..."
A burst of urgent footsteps came from outside the Political Hall of Longtai Palace in Handan City. In the palace, Zhao Kuo was discussing with Pingyuan Jun and others on the issue of transporting grain and grass to Shangdang County.
But he saw the eunuch Ling hurried to Zhao Kuo's side, bowed slightly and said: "My king, General Sun Gu and General Zhao Ping are asking for an audience outside the palace."
Hearing this, Zhao Kuo raised his head and said immediately: "Pass."
"Yes." The eunuch agreed immediately.
Lord Pingyuan, who was thinking about the food stored in various places, also stopped talking and waited quietly for the arrival of the two of them. Tian Dan on the side also immediately looked outside the palace door.
Obviously, several people knew the intention of the visitor - the Qin army should take action.
Seeing outside the Yizheng Hall, Sun Gu and Zhao Ping took two steps at a time and ran quickly to Zhao Kuo.
"I have met my king." The two of them bowed to Zhao Kuo in unison.
"But have you detected the movements of the Qin army?" Zhao Kuo asked immediately without talking nonsense.
"Of course." Sun Gu and Zhao Ping nodded immediately and replied together.
Immediately, Zhao Ping took a half step back and signaled Sun Gu to report.
Of course, Sun Gu did his part and bowed immediately, and then said: "The Hedong sentinel reported that the Qin army came eastward and approached Shangdang County with 50,000 troops. It is now stationed in Shaoquyang City, far away from me, Shangdang County." The army is looking across the Bishui River. There is another 200,000 main force of the Qin army moving south from the east of the river. Its vanguard force has approached the outskirts of the Zhou Dynasty. At this time, it may have been in combat with the Zhou Emperor's garrison!"
"Oh?" Zhao Kuo frowned slightly, looked at Sun Gu and Zhao Ping, then turned to the side and ordered the eunuch who was following him: "Get the map."
"Yes." The eunuch agreed immediately.
Immediately, two eunuchs carried a huge map to the main hall.
Zhao Kuo, Ping Pingjun and Tian Dan also got up one after another and came to the map.
"Shao Quyang, here." Sun Gu had obviously done some homework and quickly found the key nodes of the Qin army on the map.
"This is not a place to attack, but it is a place to block our army from rushing south for reinforcements." Zhao Kuo judged the Qin army's intentions almost immediately.
Zhao Kuo carefully examined the location pointed by Sun Gu and couldn't help but nodded slightly and said: "The Qin army chose a good place."
Hearing this, Tian Dan on the side also stroked his beard and nodded in agreement: "Indeed. Although the progress here is not enough, the defense is more than enough. The land is surrounded by rivers, and the city gates expand from the inside out. The closer to the city, the more The more narrow and long it is, the harder it will be to attack it. However, due to the convenience of the river and the favorable terrain, even though there are only 50,000 troops, a hundred thousand troops will not be enough to trap it. It can also guard the gate to the south. If If our army wants to enter the country for reinforcements, it must either take a detour or bite off this bone."
Tian Dan, after all, was a veteran on the battlefield. In just a moment, he described Shaoquyang's advantageous geographical situation clearly. Even someone like Pingyuanjun who didn't know much about the war clearly understood the importance of Shaoquyang. in vain.
"What should we do?" Mr. Pingyuan frowned and asked worriedly when he heard this.
But as soon as he said these words, Zhao Kuo laughed out loud and said: "Isn't this a good thing? Why is Mr. Pingyuan so worried?"
"Huh?" Mr. Pingyuan said in confusion, "Is this a good thing?"
"Of course it's a good thing!" Tian Dan on the side also said with a smile: "The Qin army stationed 50,000 troops in Shaoquyang to block my way south, and used 200,000 main troops to attack Zhou Wangji. Its intention is obvious. Exposed!"
"Destroy Zhou?" Mr. Pingyuan was a little surprised, but his frown did not relax: "In this way, our Zhao country is safe. It's just..."
"It's just that if Qin is allowed to take the land of King Zhou Ji, its national power will be greatly increased." Lord Pingyuan still said with some worry: "Although our army has also taken the Daibei grassland, in the short term, the benefits of Daibei will be greatly reduced." It cannot be compared with the land of Zhou Wangji. The increase in Qin's national power may be very detrimental to our Zhao country in the future."
"Don't worry." After hearing this, Zhao Kuo shook his head and said calmly: "It is not that easy for the Qin army to capture Zhou Wangji."
Tian Dan on the side obviously agreed with Zhao Kuo's statement and couldn't help but nodded.
"Who are the main generals of the Qin army and the main generals of the partial divisions? Where has the main force of the Qin army gone south, and has it engaged with the garrison of the Emperor of Zhou? What is the situation and scale of the battle? What is the victory or defeat? How long is there to reach Luodu? What is the distance between the main force and the partial divisions, how is the distribution of cavalry and infantry?" Zhao Kuo did not explain much, then looked at Sun Gu aside and continued to ask.
Sun Gu, who had been prepared for a long time, was not frightened when faced with Zhao Kuo's series of questions. He immediately replied: "The main force of the Qin army in the southern Zhou Dynasty is Wang Ji, with Wang Lu as the main general, and half of them are cavalry and infantry. The battle of the Qin army It is almost overwhelming, conquering a city in a day. According to the reported war situation, several cities outside Zhou Wangji should have been broken through by it, and it will take no more than ten days to reach Luodu."
"As for the partial army." Sun Gu paused for a moment and then said: "Because he lives in Shaoquyang City and stays behind closed doors, I only made some inquiries and found out that his leader will be named Meng, or a new general of the Qin Army - —Meng Aoye."
"Meng Ao?" Zhao Kuo repeated the name.
Obviously, this name is not unfamiliar to Zhao Kuo. Of course, if it sounds strange to you, just change the name and you will understand. Meng Wu, how do you know?
It’s not clear yet, but what about Meng Tian and Meng Yi?
Yes, Meng Ao is the father of Meng Wu and the grandfather of Meng Tian and Meng Yi. He was also the founder of the Meng family that flourished in Qin. Historically, Meng Ao was also a ruthless man, and served in four dynasties: King Zhaoxiang of Qin, King Xiaowen of Qin, King Zhuangxiang of Qin, and the First Emperor of Qin. He led the army or joined the army on several expeditions and achieved many military exploits.
He successively captured more than ten cities in Korea, more than thirty cities in Zhao, and more than fifty cities in Wei, allowing Qin to establish Sanchuan County and Dongjun, and connect Qin's territory with Qi, thus forming a strong influence on South Korea and Wei. The situation of being surrounded on three sides laid a solid foundation for Qin Shihuang to unify the six countries in the future.
It can be said that Meng Ao's achievements are by no means inferior to any general in the history of the Qin State. Unfortunately, in history, he was defeated by Lord Xinling. In addition, his victories were almost all in a crushing manner, lacking some cunning and cunning. Therefore, the evaluation of him naturally seems to be mixed.
But I have to say that this is also a very capable general!
"This man fights bravely and makes great achievements with his troops. Although he is a newbie, he has the calmness of a veteran, so he should not be underestimated." Zhao Kuo briefly commented on Meng Ao, which could be regarded as a wake-up call for his generals. Alarm bell.
After hearing this, Tian Dan and others immediately paid Meng Ao a higher level of attention - without him, Zhao Kuo's ability to recognize people had already been confirmed by Li Mu and Lu Buwei, and now the king praised the enemy so much. As a general, of course everyone had to pay attention to him.
"Then how should our army deal with it?" Lord Pingyuan listened for a long time, but did not hear Zhao Kuo's opinion on how to deal with this matter, even though he was a little anxious.
Zhao Kuo heard this, but still did not answer. Instead, he asked: "How did Emperor Zhou react?"
"This." Sun Gu obviously didn't pay much attention to Emperor Zhou's movements, so it was natural that he was speechless.
Zhao Ping, who was on the side, immediately stepped forward and replied: "To my king, the Emperor of Zhou has sent envoys to ask for help from various countries, but our messenger pigeons are faster, and the envoys of the Emperor of Zhou have not arrived yet."
Zhao Kuo nodded slightly, but did not pursue Sun Gu's fault. After all, being able to detect the movements of the Qin army in two days was already very good for a start-up intelligence department.
Naturally, Zhao Ping was able to answer, and Zhao Kuo was also very satisfied.
In fact, in Zhou Tian's womb over there, there was a chaos when they heard that the Qin army had invaded. The few old and young people from the Zhou Dynasty were even noisy about the next decision.
This one requires the Emperor of Zhou to go to Qin Xianyang in person to plead guilty, and the other requires him to contact the princes of the world to attack the unjust Qin;
One said that those who did not teach Qin would be punished by heaven; the other said that Qin's horse herders had no faith and righteousness since ancient times;
This one said that troops must be recruited to fight the Qin army, and the other said that now how can the soldiers be defeated by the tigers and wolves of Qin?
You said something to me, and the good court discussion almost became like a market.
Emperor Zhou didn't know who to listen to for a while. Perhaps from the beginning, Emperor Zhou didn't know who to listen to!
Simply, Emperor Zhou immediately slapped his head - then let's have a big mess!
Immediately, the Zhou Dynasty sent an envoy to Xianyang to inquire about the King of Qin's invasion of Zhou Yi, expressing his willingness to turn the war into friendship;
On the one hand, he also issued a notice from King Qin to the remaining six countries, especially the neighboring countries such as Zhao and Wei, which were hostile to Qin, inviting them to ally with Zhou Wangji to defeat the Qin army together;
At the same time, the Emperor of Zhou also recruited troops extensively within the few remaining spheres of influence of the Zhou Dynasty, striving to withstand the Qin army's offensive before reinforcements from various countries arrived.
Obviously, King Zhou's two-sided choice seemed shrewd, but in fact he chose the stupidest path.
He flattered Qin but colluded with the princes, so he could not please Qin and make Qin give up the attack; he sent an order from King Qin to ask for help, but thought of making peace with Qin, thus offending the princes and countries.
Perhaps, only self-protection through conscription can barely be regarded as a qualified decision.
What a pity, conscription? The Zhou dynasty had more brocades than swords in its treasury, so what if it recruited troops?
Under the already decadent dynastic structure, conscription is just a joke!
But fortunately, Emperor Zhou is still the so-called co-owner of the world! Especially Luodu is still among the best in the world. The Qin army occupied this place and almost reopened the door to the east.
This is something Zhao Kuo and other countries cannot tolerate.
"It seems that our army is still going to make a move!" Zhao Kuo then looked at Tian Dandao.
"Mr. Pingyuan." Zhao Kuo immediately nodded.
"Wei Chen is here." Lord Pingyuan hurriedly agreed.
"Notify the envoys who have already set out with a letter sent by flying pigeons, and order them to inform the other countries of the Qin army's plan to destroy Zhou, and to ally with other countries to rescue the Zhou family." Zhao Kuo immediately ordered.
"Yes." Lord Pingyuan immediately agreed: "But, will each country be willing to send troops?"
"Don't worry, at least the three countries of Han, Wei, and Chu will definitely send troops to fight against Qin." Zhao Kuo immediately said: "Once Luodu is lost, and Qin's east door is opened again, Han and Wei will bear the brunt. They will not fail to understand the lesson of lip death and teeth cold. . As for Chu, if it is allied with Zhao and jealous of Qin, it will inevitably send troops."
"My king, it may still be possible for the Chu State to send troops." Lord Pingyuan said with some worry: "However, with the short-sightedness of the monarchs of South Korea and Wei, they may not understand the meaning of death!"
Zhao Kuo was not surprised when he heard this. In fact, if the kings of several countries had a little strategic vision, they would not be so powerful by Qin.
Of course, the Wei State finally produced Lord Xinling, who was somewhat knowledgeable, but due to the battle of Changping, his status in the Wei State plummeted.
But it seems that because of this, King Wei became less suspicious of Lord Xinling and instead used him more and more.
It's just that the current Zhao State cannot put its treasure on a person who has no say but Lord Xinling.
"Since his king is short-sighted, he will lure him with benefits." Zhao Kuo then said: "Tell all countries that as long as they send troops to aid Zhou, after this battle, all the land of Zhou Dynasty and the land of Qin Kingdom will be taken by each country. Zhao Guo has a city Don’t ask for it.”
"This?" Mr. Pingyuan was a little surprised. As the main force resisting Qin, how could Zhao achieve nothing?
But immediately, Mr. Pingyuan understood: What advantage is there in the land of Wangji this week? It is clearly a fish bait with a barb! Once all countries swallow this bait, it will inevitably become a stumbling block for Qin Guo's eastward expansion.
Then the next time the Qin army thinks about the strategy of going eastward, how can the countries that have swallowed the benefits spit out the bait?
If you don’t vomit, then you can only continue to do it again!
"My king has a good plan." Lord Pingyuan immediately praised him.
After arranging the diplomatic strategy, Zhao Kuo immediately looked at Tian Dan and asked, "When will the Hu army from Daijun arrive at Shangdang?"
Tian Dan calculated slightly and then replied: "The Hu army from Daidi should have set off now. The first cavalry team can reach Shangdang County within three days, and the second batch of infantry can reach Shangdang County within five days."
Zhao Kuo nodded and then continued to order: "Give General Lian Po the order to prepare for the attack. After the Hu army from Daijun arrives, General Lian Po will be the main general and Zhou Qi will be the vanguard, commanding 80,000 troops. Detour to the Wei State, ally with the Wei army, and aid the Zhou Dynasty from the west."
"Yes." Several people responded in unison.
"Tell General Lian Po that the Zhou family can be destroyed, but the land cannot be returned to Qin; the army can fight, but the main force cannot be Zhao; the general can give way, but the 80,000 Zhao army will not divide or give way." Zhao Kuo continued.
"Yes." Tian Dan, as the minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, immediately agreed with clasped fists.
"General Tian Dan." Zhao Kuo then continued to point to the general.
"The general is here." Tian Dan, who knew Zhao Kuo's intentions, immediately answered with his fists clasped.
"General, you have worked hard and taken over the defense of Shangdang County. With an army of 70,000, can we protect Shangdang?" Zhao Kuo immediately ordered.
"That's enough." Tian Dan agreed immediately.
"Okay, the military situation is urgent. General Tian Dan will set off later today." Zhao Kuo said immediately.
"Yes." Tian Dan immediately clasped his fists and accepted the order.
Some people died, but not completely...
