It's a pity that since Li Mu's army left the party, they have lost all contact.
Now, even Zhao Kuo doesn't know where they are!
If Li Mu's army cannot appear behind the Qin army in time, cannot knock the gate of Hangu on time, and cannot capture the key point of Luocheng, I am afraid that the outcome of this battle of Luocheng will really be in doubt.
However, now that the army has set off, no matter how worried Zhao Kuo is, it will be of no avail.
Apart from giving enough trust to the soldiers on the front line, Zhao Kuo could only do very little.
What food?
Li Mu's troops who have already set out cannot deliver food and grass at all, and the more than 100,000 troops already mobilized in Zhi City will hold on to food and grass for two months. As for two months later, Zhi City's defense may not be able to last that long. .
Of course, maybe in a month, or even half a month, Zhao Kuo should find a way to rescue Zicheng.
However, if you think about it from another direction, if the Qin army has not been able to capture Zhi City for more than half a month, will Wang Lu continue to attack? Wouldn't he wonder why Zhao Guo hasn't arranged reinforcements yet? !
Therefore, it all depends on Li Mu.
But soon, Zhao Kuo finally found two things he needed to do immediately.
One is to cover Qin's eyes and ears.
In such an important battle as the Battle of Luo City, it was impossible for the front line not to report the battle situation. Now that the battle situation had been reported, the court had to react and take action. Otherwise, King Qin will definitely become suspicious.
The whereabouts of Li Mu's army were top secret, and few people in the court knew about it.
Whether it was for the purpose of hiding Li Mu's army or to stabilize the Qin army that was about to attack Zhi City, Zhao Kuo and his Zhao court had to take action, even if these actions were not actually carried out.
However, this is quite simple.
Zhao Kuo immediately decided to announce the news of the Battle of Luo City directly to all courtiers in the court hall on the next day.
I believe that with the panic expressions of the courtiers, they can definitely hide it from the guests of the Qin army. Even if you are lucky, you can tell whether a loyal daughter of a court official is doing good or evil. Wouldn't it be wonderful?
As for the second thing, that is to find out what kind of benefits the Qin State promised to the Han State, which made the King of Han not hesitate to betray him on the battlefield.
However, Sun Gu, who was responsible for foreign intelligence, was transferred to Li Mu's account to "open the way" for the army, and Zhao Ping, who was mainly responsible for domestic intelligence, took over temporarily.
That night, Zhao Kuo constipated and ordered Zhao Ping, the leader of the secret guards, to enter the palace. After a conversation between the two of them, Zhao Kuo immediately handed over these two tasks to Zhao Ping.
Yes, monitoring the ministers is one of the most important responsibilities of the secret guards. Now that the battle report of the Battle of Luo City has come out, it is naturally the best time to identify the composition of the ministers in the court, and it is also the time for Zhao Ping's secret guards to take action. the best of times.
Zhao Ping, who quickly accepted the order, assigned the task overnight, and the quiet city of Handan suddenly became turbulent.
The night passed quickly, and when the court was approaching, Zhao Kuo ordered the palace servants to put on a tired look for him, and then he came to the throne with two panda-like dark circles under his eyes.
After the ceremony, Zhao Kuo took out the battle report of the Battle of Luo City without waiting for anyone to start.
After briefly recounting the battle that happened the day before and the current situation in Zhi City, Zhao Kuo asked everyone about the next strategy.
After a brief moment of surprise and disbelief, the court instantly fell into a heated discussion.
"My king, please send troops to Shangdang immediately to help defend Zhi City."
"My king, if Zhou Wangji is lost, it will be lost. Shangdang County must not lose it!"
"My king, it's time to recall the northern army. No matter how important Daibei is, it is not as important as Shangdang County!"
...
Immediately, several more ministers made suggestions.
Not bad, in the face of the crisis, all the ministers were thinking about how to resolve the situation, instead of looking for excuses and saying that the coalition forces were unreliable.
Of course, Zhao Kuo knew very well that these topics would still break out when the crisis was over.
However, Zhao Kuo was very satisfied with the performance of his courtiers as he was able to distinguish priorities and not cause trouble at this time.
As members of the cabinet, Pingyuan Jun and Tian Dan were a little confused at this time. The reason is very simple. The king said that the battle report arrived last night. For such an important matter, it stands to reason that the king should summon the two of them overnight to discuss countermeasures. Even if it is late at night, they should be informed before the morning court. It's right to be angry.
However, looking at the blank look on the other party's face, the king obviously didn't say hello to anyone.
This is very wrong! The king has never been a headstrong person, so how could he make the matter public without bypassing the cabinet?
You know, in the Battle of Luocheng, although the loss of troops under the command of General Lian Po was not large, the losses of the coalition forces were great. The sacred land of Zhou Wangji was taken away by the Qin army.
It can be said that this is an absolute defeat.
And what kind of impact a defeat would have on Zhao's court and people is unknown and huge.
To announce it so easily without taking corresponding measures is definitely not the king's usual style of doing things!
Could it be that because the incident was so sudden, the king lost his sense of proportion?
How can it be? !
Back then, the king was not afraid of the Qin army of 500,000 to 600,000, but now there are only 200,000 Qin troops pressing down on the border. Not to mention that there are still 150,000 troops in Daibei at any time, but they have already moved south, and now General Lian Po still has more than 100,000 troops in his hands. Even if the king is willing, Handan County, which has now recovered, can recruit tens of thousands of troops at any time.
The Qin army wants to take the opportunity to go north to recapture Shangdang, but it is not that easy at all!
Under such circumstances, the worst outcome is that Qin and Zhao will confront each other again. What is there to be afraid of?
Despite his doubts, as the chief minister of the cabinet, Mr. Pingyuan never retreated when it was time to stand up.
Immediately, Lord Pingyuan slightly cupped his hands and bowed: "My king, this battle has already been decided, so there is no use in thinking about it. The top priority is two things."
"Oh?" Zhao Kuo immediately replied: "Pingyuan Lord, tell me quickly."
"Yes." Mr. Pingyuan immediately agreed: "First, we need to appease the people of Shangdang County as soon as possible. We can recruit 20,000 troops from Handan County and quickly carry a large amount of grain and grass south to Shangdang. While supporting Zhi City, we can also appease the people of Shangdang County. heart of."
"Yes." Zhao Kuo nodded and agreed.
"Second." Lord Pingyuan then continued: "Order Li Mu's troops in the north and lead an army of at least one hundred thousand, immediately go south, return to Lian Po's troops in Zicheng, and retreat together from the Qin army."
Hearing this, Zhao Kuo smiled lightly and said, "Yes."
Seeing that his opinions were all agreed with by the king, Pingyuan Jun felt a strange feeling in his heart, but he couldn't explain it. He could only bow slightly and retreat to his position temporarily.
Zhao Kuo then looked at the ministers and said: "The battle on the front line is in decline, but the main force of our army is still there. Everyone needs to stick to their posts strictly to wait for emergencies. If there are any unscrupulous people, I will severely punish them."
"Yes." After hearing this, all the ministers trembled suddenly and immediately fell down and praised him.
"Pingyuan Jun and Tian Dan will stay, and the rest can go back to work." Zhao Kuo then waved his sleeves and said.
"Yes." The ministers bowed again.
Soon, as the significance of the ministers receded, only Zhao Kuo, Ping Yangjun, and Tian Dan were left in the huge palace.
Zhao Kuo then stood up from the throne and walked to Pingyuan Jun and Tian Dan.
Before they could greet each other, Zhao Kuo took their hands and said, "There are only three of us, so there is no need to be polite."
"There is only one thing for you two to stay here." Zhao Kuo looked at the two of them with a smile and continued: "The two things that Mr. Pingyuan just reported can be done slowly, or even not done at all."
"Don't worry, my king, I will definitely..." Mr. Pingyuan was about to express his stance, but suddenly realized that something was wrong!
He raised his head and looked at Zhao Kuo with a pair of big, muddy eyes.
Staring at Zhao Kuo closely, he seemed to be saying: "Your Majesty, did you say something wrong?"
Not only was Pingyuan Jun extremely surprised, but Tian Dan on the side was also surprised.
The most lacking thing on the front line now is morale, but military strength. Lord Pingyuan's two tasks are also targeted at these two aspects. The king actually said to slow down and wait?
Slow down for what? What are you waiting for?
Zhao Kuo had obviously expected the doubts between the two of them, but he could not elaborate too much. He could only reveal a little bit and said: "The country of Han betrayed the alliance. In fact, I have already heard the news. Although I don't know the specific reason and the price offered by the Qin State, the withdrawal of the Korean army has been expected by me, and it has already been conveyed to Lian Po In his hand. Not only that, Li Mu is already on the way."
"Oh?" The two of them looked at each other immediately, their eyes full of disbelief.
What was incredible to the two of them was not other things, but that such top-secret news as Han Zhiguo's betrayal of the alliance could be detected by the king in advance. This was like an artifact for the subsequent battles.
No wonder General Lian Po was able to bring his troops back with almost no injuries?
I thought it was General Lian Po's ability, but I didn't expect that the king's contribution was behind it.
Then it all makes sense. Including why the king did not inform him in advance, it turned out that the king had already seen the opportunity.
As for the king having mobilized Li Mu's army without informing him, the two of them did not dare to have any objections.
First of all, the purpose of mobilizing the army is to keep it hidden and as few people know about it as possible. The purpose of hiding it is to hide it from everyone;
Secondly, who is King Zhao? He is recognized by the other six countries as the number one general. His judgment and decisions on the battlefield do not need to be commented on by me.
"Your Majesty, I understand." Mr. Pingyuan and Tian Dan both nodded in agreement.
"However." Zhao Kuo paused briefly before continuing: "Just in case, we still have to make a plan to mobilize large armies from Hejian County and Handan County to reinforce the Shangdang. If within ten days, I will There is no further news about Li Mu, so maybe we should reconsider it."
Hearing this, Pingyuan Jun and Tian Dan were obviously confused.
Why didn't it say that Li Mu had already led his troops south and was on the way? Why is there still no news? They all ran to the sky.
Faced with this question from the two of them, Zhao Kuo was not prepared to answer.
Because there is no use in answering. It is useless except adding to the worries of the two of them.
Seeing that the king remained silent, the two of them immediately did not dare to ask any more questions, and then they both clasped their fists and agreed, "I accept my order."
