What blocked the army led by Lian Po and Tian Dan was naturally Jicheng, the capital of Yan State.
Even when King Nan of Zhou Dynasty faced the danger of national subjugation when the Qin army pressed his territory, he burst out with a strong desire to survive. He not only scattered all the treasures in the palace to hire and motivate soldiers, but also used all the available soldiers. All the horses were mobilized onto the tower.
The already decayed Zhou Kingdom (Dynasty) was still like this. As one of the Seven Heroes, Yan Kingdom would give up so easily. You know, among the seven countries that have survived to this day, none of them grew stronger by destroying several neighboring countries.
It is precisely because of the destruction of other countries that the officials of Yan State are even more afraid of the destruction of the country.
Even though King Yan has been immersed in pleasure and unable to extricate himself, King Yan also knows that once the country is destroyed, he will no longer be able to enjoy luxury and pleasure.
Not only King Yan knew this, but his group of ministers headed by Li Fu also understood this.
Therefore, driven by the "one heart and one mind" of the emperor and his ministers, countless soldiers, including those originally stationed in Jicheng, and those who fled from various cities to Jicheng, and even many common people who had just put down their hoes were killed by King Yan. It was thrown ruthlessly onto the city tower.
Jicheng, after all, was the capital of the Yan Kingdom that had been run for hundreds of years. Its city was high and its ravines were deep. In addition, the Yan army's human sea tactics almost regardless of casualties and regardless of the cost, made it extremely strong.
No matter Lian Po or Tian Dan, they really couldn't break the turtle's shell for a while.
However, if it doesn't break, then just knock it slowly.
First of all, King Yan's unstructured defensive battle will not last long. Once the casualties increase, defeat is almost inevitable;
Secondly, due to the rapid progress in the early stage and Zhao Jun's early attack, time is still sufficient for Zhao Jun today;
Thirdly, keeping Jicheng temporarily is not necessarily a bad thing. It can even attract possible reinforcements from the Yan State, such as the Yan army stationed on the border, or the military horses from various places that are still loyal to the Yan State.
Encirclement and reinforcements can save Zhao's army some trouble.
Of course, there is another important reason: Zhao Jun can take advantage of the time when Yan Jun is huddled in the city to raid all parts of the Yan Kingdom and harvest the food and grass from various parts of the Yan Kingdom!
The only question is, who will continue to besiege Jicheng, and who will besiege the point to provide reinforcements and sweep away the Yan Kingdom.
In response to this issue, Lian Po and Tian Dan met quickly. After a non-intense discussion, the two quickly clarified their division of labor.
Lian Po led an army of 100,000 people and continued to besiege the main force of the Yan army in Jicheng, while Tian Dan led an army of 70,000 people and began to sweep away all parties.
As for the reason for this allocation, it is quite simple.
The first is the number of troops. Although Jicheng is just a city, it contains the vast majority of the Yan State's troops. Its total military strength is roughly estimated to be at least 60,000 to 70,000. If the Zhao army wants to besiege it, it will inevitably have a military advantage. , naturally the priority is to be surrounded by Lian Po's army.
Secondly, although both of them are ready to fully attack the Yan State, there is no doubt that Tian Dan, who has already explored the terrain of the Yan State, is more familiar with the areas north and east of Jicheng, and Tian Dan will be responsible for sweeping the area. It would obviously be a better choice.
Finally, Tian Dan's reputation may not play any role in Jicheng, which must be defended, but in the area of Yan, which is far away from Zhao and still unwilling to surrender, it still has an indelible influence in the hearts of the Yan people.
Therefore, no matter what the considerations are, Lian Po's siege and Tian Dan's raid will be Zhao Jun's best choice.
Of course, although the Zhao State's attack on Yan was progressing smoothly, and there was no need for the King of Yan to send envoys for help, the news of Zhao State's attack on Yan had inevitably spread to all countries at the first opportunity.
As for Zhao's sudden attack on Yan, the princes and countries all showed extreme shock and disbelief, but they all had their own opinions.
Qi is naturally the most indifferent.
Although once the State of Zhao captured the State of Yan, it would be surrounded by the State of Qi from the west, north, and south, and even the only neighboring countries of the State of Qi would be the State of Zhao and the State of Chu.
But obviously,
Qi, which has always been "indifferent to the world", did not fully realize the existence of the crisis.
This is of course also related to the fact that Zhao Guocai spent a lot of effort to establish good diplomacy with Qi State, but more importantly, perhaps it is the internal factors of Qi State that no longer allow them to react too much to external changes.
This is like the party struggle in the late Ming Dynasty. There is no good or evil, no right and wrong, only life and death - as long as you agree with me, I will oppose it, as long as you oppose it, I will agree with it.
Under such circumstances, nothing can be done well.
This was the case at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and the same was true for the Qi State, which had already formed a confrontational situation.
Even if there are people with lofty ideals who clearly see Zhao's intentions and realize the danger of Qi, it will not help at all. There is no room for him to speak in Qi State. Even if he makes his own remarks, he will inevitably be ruthlessly suppressed by the political forces on the other side.
Therefore, although the incident between Zhao and Yan caused a burst of exclamations in the Qi court, it was quickly drowned out.
The same people who were surprised but indifferent to Zhao's attack on Yan were naturally Wei.
Although the State of Wei has agreed to the State of Zhao to jointly attack the State of Han at the suggestion of Lord Xinling, it must be prepared to get a share of the pie.
But after all, in last year's Battle of Luocheng, Wei was also severely injured. This year, Wei State is asked to send out troops again. Even if it is beneficial to Wei State, Wei State is actually still very reluctant. And once something happens to this army again, Wei will be really in trouble.
This led to Lord Xinling's so-called suggestion of "sending troops but not using force".
Now, Zhao Guo has taken the initiative to change the target of the attack. Although Wei Guo can no longer take advantage, at the same time, Wei Guo is no longer in any danger.
Even if Qin couldn't stand it and started fighting with Zhao, Wei would be able to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight.
Naturally, Wei Guo was happy to see Zhao Guo's move.
Among the five countries, there is no doubt that the most fortunate one is the country of Han.
God knows how nervous and frightened the whole country of Han was when they learned that General Li Mu of Zhao had led his troops to Shangdang and were stationed in Zhi City. Even though the Qin army had entered Xinzheng of Han State, Han State was still not sure. Able to withstand Zhao Jun's fierce offensive.
Since the State of Zhao has already attacked the State of Yan, it is clear that it will not attack the State of Han again. Avoiding the danger of national subjugation, this made the whole country of Han unable to hold back the joy in their hearts.
Of course, the one who was equally happy was the State of Chu.
Although Zhao State's attack on Yan was entirely out of considerations of maximizing its own interests, from the perspective of Chu State, it was a different story. ..
Zhao State, knowing that Qin State wanted to attack Chu State, launched an attack on Yan State in advance, which undoubtedly attracted Qin State's attention.
This is simply attracting firepower to Chu State!
It is very likely that the Qin State will adjust its goals, abandon its attack plan against Chu State, and move north to assist Yan State.
To be able to draw such a conclusion, it is obvious that the ministers of Chu State did not know that Qin State had secretly accumulated hundreds of thousands of troops in Shu in order to attack Chu this time. The ministers of Chu State also did not know that Qin State had The state has actually reached a consensus with the state of Zhao to divide the world and decide the outcome.
However, Qin was still very angry about Zhao's attack on Yan.
Quite simply, Zhao's move made Qin's layout in Han useless.
More importantly, because of the previous lack of awareness, the Qin State did not make any preparations in the land of the Yan State. How long the Yan State could persist was completely unpredictable and unable to be controlled by the Qin State.
Coupled with the sudden action of Zhao Jun, there was really not much time left for Qin Jun.
In front of Qin, there are actually two paths. Either immediately send troops to the north to attack Zhao's flank and carry out the story of "surrounding Zhao to save Yan"; or, immediately follow the original plan, send troops eastward and launch an attack immediately. The Battle of Chu.
But obviously, these two paths are not easy to take.
Let’s talk about the first way first. If we want to “encircle Zhao and save Yan”, we must encircle Zhao.
Cities that the state had to rescue, such as Handan. But now it is not as easy as it was back then to attack Handan City.
Shangdang County is a roadblock that the Qin army cannot circumvent.
It is definitely impossible to attack directly from Hedong and repeat what happened in Changping. The terrain of Kongcang Ridge and without the danger of flanks, Zhao Jun only needs tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to withstand him for at least three months. The defense lines of Guanglang City, Danshui and Bailishi Great Wall can easily delay the Qin army.
It is simply a dream to reach the hinterland of Zhao State through this route.
The other one went from east to south of the river, detoured from the surrounding area, passed the former Hanoi Army, and then attacked from south to north.
Obviously, attacking the surrounding area is not an easy task. Even if Qin borrowed roads from Wei and Chu, the kings of Wei and Chu lost their minds and lent the roads to Qin. It would be very difficult for the Qin army to go north from Zicheng.
Before there was any information about Zhao Jun's attack on Yan, Qin Guoke had already received the news that Li Mu was leading his army south to Zhi City. Needless to say, Li Mu's tens of thousands of troops came just to guard against the Qin army.
What's more, the main force of the Qin army is now gathered in Shu. If you want to mobilize your own army to go north, you don't know how long it will take.
In short, it is no longer realistic for the Qin army to "surround Zhao and save Yan" by itself.
So what about inviting other countries to attack Zhao?
Needless to say, Wei and Chu had just teamed up with Zhao to take over Zhou, and they were unlikely to betray Zhao due to emotions or reasons; Han might follow, but their military strength was really limited; as for Qi, if Qi could Taking action would soon give great support to Yan State, but the problem is that Qi State has just done a large amount of business with Zhao State, and the relationship is at its best. If Qi State wants to send troops to attack Zhao State, obviously There is also a lack of sufficient profit motivation.
Within the four kingdoms, King Qin suddenly realized that the only person standing beside him was the useless Han Zhiguo.
At this moment, King Qin really had some doubts about whether last year's snow disaster was harming or helping Zhao.
Since the first road is almost a dead end, the only option is to take the second road.
But is the second way easier?
Now the Qin State's army is still being mobilized, and the giant crabs on the front line have not yet been prepared. Can a hasty attack on Chu State achieve the expected victory?
Even if we can win, can we capture Chendu and achieve the set goal before Zhao State destroys Yan State?
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