War has always been a continuation of politics.
Although with the overall retreat of Wang Lu's troops of the Qin army and the timely withdrawal of Sun Gu's troops outside Hangu Pass, Zhao State can be said to have achieved an absolute victory militarily.
But the battle between Qin and Zhao is not about a candy in the hands of a child, but the whole of China!
This is destined to be a long and arduous struggle.
Therefore, while a temporary military victory is gratifying, the aftermath of the military aftermath is equally important.
Of course, this is not the responsibility of Lian Po and Li Mu.
On the battlefield, the 250,000 Zhao troops were now divided into three parts, each busy with their own affairs.
First of all, of course, Sun Gu's troops were still in Qin State. The only thing they had to do was to gallop their horses and whips and return to Zhao State as soon as possible. Only when they return can this battle truly come to a perfect end.
Secondly, there is Li Mu's troops stationed in Luo City.
Luocheng is the most valuable city in the Zhou Dynasty, and it is also the strongest city. Now that the Qin State has occupied Yiyang City, it is bound to become an important node to prevent the Qin army from continuing to move eastward.
Therefore, Li Mu's mission was very simple - to strengthen the city.
During the battle between Zhou and Qin, the city suffered a lot of damage due to the fierce attack of the Qin army. Although the Qin army made some repairs in the following days, because the Qin army was always in an offensive posture, the city was not actually repaired enough. Sturdy.
Li Mu's idea was not only to restore Luo City to its original state, but also to build it even taller and more majestic. Luo City must be built into a city pass like Hangu Pass to completely block the development of Qin.
It should be said that Li Mu's ideas were very advanced.
Although the Qin army had just retreated, Li Mu was already thinking about the next battle. If Luo City can really block the Qin army's eastward exit, then Qin can only start from Chu in the south.
With Chu's crisscrossing ditches, even if they were defeated in the end, they would severely slow down the Qin army. This also provides time for Zhao State to continue to develop and grow.
The only problem is that Luo City is located in the center of the world, with a flat terrain and almost endless plains all around. This certainly brings convenience to merchants, but it also makes Luo City unsuitable for garrison and defense.
In other words, no matter how strong Li Mu built Luo City and no matter how much troops Zhao accumulated in Luo City, he would not be able to defend a country with one pass like Hangu Pass.
But these are all things for later.
No matter what, a solid Luo City can still give Zhao what he needs today. Even if it cannot give Zhao Jun more security, it can also bring more economic benefits.
After all, a renovated city will obviously attract more traders than a scorched earth.
As for this third part, it is naturally the tens of thousands of troops under Lian Po. And they are also the busiest among the three armies. There was no way, because the Qin army was defeated quickly. In the land of Zhou Wangji, dozens of cities were waiting for them to take over.
Of course, at the same time, Li Mu also reported the battle and the current situation of Zhou Wangji to Zhao Kuo in Handan.
Zhao Kuo was not surprised to learn that the Qin army occupied Yiyang City without giving up. If the Qin army did not leave any backup, that would really make Zhao Kuo nervous.
Zhao Kuo really has no interest in taking back these few small cities. Although it allows the Qin army to pass through the Weihan Passage faster, in the final analysis, if the Qin army wants to continue to advance, it still has to do something on Zhou Wangji's territory.
In this case, it seems that there is no need to fight against the Qin army now.
After all, in fact, Zhao Jun's current army of 250,000 is now a tired army - Li Mu and Sun Gu's troops who went thousands of miles south and then fought hundreds of miles, and Lian Po's troops who continued to fight and defend. It's a bit like the end of the crossbow.
Going to Qin Jun to fight for his life at this time is simply asking for death.
For Zhao Kuo, the most important thing now is what to do with Wang Ji's land this week.
Yes, literally. It's not easy
Zhao Kuo did not want to stay in the hands of Zhao Guo in the land of Zhou Wangji that he had conquered.
The reason is simple: the gain outweighs the loss.
In terms of benefits, although the land of Zhou Wangji is not too big, the land is fertile and the terrain is flat, and the output of grain is a huge profit.
In addition, as the center of the world, there is almost an endless stream of merchants coming and going, and the amount of taxation is such that only Handan County can barely handle it in the current Zhao Kingdom.
Therefore, the land of Zhou Wangji is definitely a piece of fat.
However, Zhao Kuo is not greedy at all. The simple reason is that because he is fat enough, he is targeted by others, especially the Qin army. From the beginning, he risked huge risks to defend Yiyang. They definitely did not give up their greed for Zhou Wangji. .
In other words, as long as the Qin army rebuilds Hedong and Hexi counties, it is bound to make a comeback.
The national policy of Zhao State has never changed: go north first and then south, first easy and then difficult.
To put it bluntly, Zhao Kuo will use time and his own experience and technology from later generations to continuously widen the gap with Qin. Until the gap between Zhao Kuo and Qin is irreversible, it will be time for a decisive battle with Qin.
And the reason for making such a decision was not just because the old Qin people were really good at fighting.
If you want to be in an invincible position, the best way is not to give up, use geo-games to test the opponent's bottom line, and use proxy wars to consume the opponent's strength. For example, when the Soviet Union collapsed, the Americans used this trick. When the opponent is exhausted, then completely crush the opponent technologically and economically.
And now the eagle wants to continue to use this method to contain the panda!
Monkeys, chickens, pineapples and other forces surrounding pandas all come into conflict with pandas like Shi Lezhi. Why?
Obviously, standing behind them is the big boss Eagle!
This is what Zhao Kuo wanted to use. Let Wei, Chu, and even Han go to war with Qin.
Of course Zhao Kuo knew that these countries would not be Qin's opponents at all, but with Zhao's support, at least these countries would not lose too quickly. Once he gets into an anxious confrontation, that is the result that Zhao Kuo wants to see most.
Not only can the war potential of both sides be consumed in this constant war, but the constant war can also be used to stall the advancement of its technological civilization and the improvement of its national power, thereby buying time for Zhao's transformation and advancement.
If you are lucky, Zhao will be able to advantageously control the lifeblood of these weak countries during the course of the war.
For example, the iron ore of Han State, the grain of Wei State, etc...
After all, when these weak countries face Qin, they don't want to be swallowed up by him. Since you don’t want to be swallowed up, you must accept Zhao’s assistance. Naturally, these assistance will not be free! There has to be some collateral, right?
Just like in World War II, the whole world lost but the rich eagle; and like today's Da Mao and Er Mao, the eagle who sat behind the scenes and watched the show made a fortune.
Who doesn’t want to make that damn eagle sauce? !
In this case, if Zhao continues to occupy the land of Zhou Wangji, I am afraid that it will be forced to fight the Qin army again in less than a year or two. This is obviously not what Zhao Kuo wants.
Therefore, the best way is to hand this land into the hands of Wei and Chu.
However, Zhao Kuo was really not sure that he could convince his ministers with such an advanced idea.
Land is a fatal temptation for any Chinese son or daughter, even if these ministers are already in high positions. After all, people would go crazy if such a large piece of land was given to another country so easily.
What's more, for this territory, Zhao Jun's hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses traveled thousands of miles from north to south, from east to west, and even lost tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.
Even with Zhao Kuo's prestige in the army, it may be difficult to suppress the fierce public opinion.
What's more, Chu and Wei are not fools. They don't dare to eat such a big piece of pie!
After much thought, Zhao Kuo believed that the only way was to let Wei and Chu
proposed, and then pretended to be reluctant and exchanged land with the two countries.
As for the reason, Zhao Kuo had already thought of it for them: the agreement before the war was the best reason.
Before the war, in order to win over the three kingdoms of Wei, Han, and Chu to form a four-nation alliance, Zhao Kuo had promised that after defeating the Qin army and occupying the land of Zhou Wangji, Zhao Kuo would not take a city and use the land of Zhou Wangji as reward for the help of the three countries.
Now, although the coalition forces were defeated by the Qin army, Zhao Guo used a trick to take back the land of Zhou Wangji.
If it were a bit shameless and far-fetched, it could be said to be a continuation of the coalition war. At least the coalition forces had some credit for it.
Of course, Han Zhiguo, who abandoned the coalition, would definitely not get any reward, but it seemed reasonable for Wei and Chu to ask Zhao for some benefits after spending so much troops, food and grass.
The only question is whether Wei and Chu, whose military strength has been greatly reduced, still dare to ask Zhao for land, and whether they dare to continue to stand on the land that Qin must pass through when going east.
These seem to be two problems, but in fact they only require one solution.
As long as the two countries realize that Zhao still needs them and will still be bound to them, it will be enough.
Driven by interests, even if he knew that Qin was difficult to deal with, as long as Zhao was among them, the King of Wei would become more courageous and take action soon.
The actions of the King of Wei will also affect the King of Chu in a short period of time. At that time, Zhao Kuo only needs to follow the current and the big thing will be accomplished.
Of course, the first thing to do is to let them remember Zhao Kuo's promise before the war.
As for this, it is not difficult. The situation of the credential is used to inform the two countries about the current war situation in Zhou Wangji, and reiterate the friendly and cooperative relations between the three countries. In addition, the emissaries placed in the courts of each country give a little reminder, and the King of Wei Because of his greed, he will soon realize that he can try to claim this territory from Zhao Guo.
Thinking of this, Zhao Kuo immediately called Lord Pingyuan and Zhao Ping, who was in charge of the secret guard, into the palace.
