The current battlefield situation is:
As for the Zhao army: Zhao Kuo and Li Mu led more than 60,000 people to gather in Xinzheng City and were ready to defend Xinzheng; Zhao Wei led 3,000 secretly built heavy cavalry to hide in the mountains and forests east of Xinzheng City; while Lian Po He led an army of 120,000 people and rushed to the battlefield in Korea under starry night.
As for the Qin army: Wang Hao's 180,000 troops and Meng Ao's more than 10,000 troops successfully joined forces at the Chu-Han border, and then marched north to the homeland of Han, aiming directly at Xinzheng City.
Overall, the Zhao army, including the reinforcements from Lian Po who were about to arrive on the battlefield, totaled about 183,000 troops, while the Qin army had about 190,000 troops.
It can be said that from the overall military strength, Qin and Zhao are almost equal.
The only question is whether the Zhao army in Xinzheng City can withstand the first round of Qin army's fierce attack.
After all, during the first phase of the battle, the ratio of troops between Zhao and Qin will reach a terrifying one to three, which is obviously extremely detrimental to the Zhao army.
However, Zhao Jun has the defense of the city. Although it will lose if it defends for a long time, with an army of 60,000, there is no problem in defending for ten days and a half.
Once the Zhao army defends until the reinforcements arrive, the entire battlefield situation will be fundamentally reversed.
Because of the attack on the city, the Qin army will inevitably pay more casualties. As a result, when Lian Po's army arrives, the Qin army will most likely be inferior to the Zhao army.
Moreover, because of the attack on the city, the Qin army would definitely be exhausted there. In such a state, it is very likely that the Zhao army would be defeated step by step by the Zhao army's internal and external cooperation.
This still does not include Zhao Wei's heavy cavalry. .
As a result, a multiple-choice question was once again placed in front of Wang Lu.
Because Jicheng was forced, the news that King Yan surrendered and the main force of Zhao army went south inevitably reached the ears of Wang Lu who was on the border between Chu and Han.
Qin's Black Ice Platform was not a decoration after all. Urgent information had been sent out almost at the same time that Lian Po led his army south.
Now, Wang Lu not only knew that Lian Po had gone south, he even knew the situation of the 120,000 troops he led.
Therefore, the choices before Wang Lu were:
First, let it go, make arrangements for the defense of the Chu-Han border, and then return to the DPRK in order to have an opportunity to fight again;
Second, continue heading north, betting that you can break through Xinzheng defended by the Zhao army in a short period of time, and get back the disciples of the Han Kingdom before the main force of the Zhao army reaches the Kingdom of Han;
Third, continue to wait, or even gather more troops (there are still 20,000 troops in Xinzheng City), wait for the main force of the Zhao army to go south, and then start a decisive battle with Zhao.
Needless to say, the first option is the safest and most secure option.
Although this plan eliminates current risks, it is also irresponsible for the future.
Everyone knows that once the Kingdom of Han falls into the hands of Zhao, the balance of national power between Qin and Zhao will be fundamentally reversed within a few years. By then, it will be even more difficult to fight Zhao in a decisive battle.
And such a reversal of national power will also become a complete and irreversible reversal.
The second option is undoubtedly risky.
Although if the risk succeeds, the rewards will be huge, is it really possible for this risk to succeed?
The Zhao army is not the Chu army, and the King of Zhao is not the King of Chu. It is simply impossible for the Zhao army to retreat and abandon the defense.
The Zhao army is already strong enough, and with Zhao Kuo's blessing, once it holds on, it must be extremely determined. It is almost impossible for the Qin army to break through Xinzheng City, which is guarded by Zhao Wangkuo personally, in a short period of time. possible.
And once such an adventure fails, it will most likely result in a series of chain reactions.
The Qin army was defeated by Zhao Jun's internal and external attacks, and then retreated to the Chu land. If the Zhao army came in pursuit, the Chu land that was finally obtained might be lost.
The consequences of these two plans are obviously unacceptable to Wang Lu.
On the contrary, the third plan seems to be a waste of time, but it is the most suitable middle method for Wang Lu now.
Although the Qin Army has hardly gained any benefit from the Zhao Army since the Battle of Changping, it seems that the Qin Army is no longer as good as the Zhao Army, but if we look at it in detail, the Qin Army really has not been able to win a one-on-one battle. He lost to Zhao Jun in the battle.
In the Battle of Changping, if not for the sudden arrival of more than 100,000 Wei troops, history would have already given the outcome;
In the subsequent battle of Luocheng, the Qin army faced off against the Zhao army, and they fought fiercely in the offensive and defensive battle of Zhe City. Even though the Qin army was in a disadvantageous position in attacking, its battle loss ratio was still very close to that of the Zhao army. .
From this point alone, we know that the Qin Army's combat power is by no means weaker than that of the Zhao Army, whether it is individual combat or group combat.
As long as no other country intervenes, Wang Hao is still very confident that he can fight against Zhao Jun.
It should be said that with the demise of various countries, a battle between Qin and Zhao is also inevitable, sooner or later.
Facing the impending reversal of national power, from Wang Lu's point of view, it is better to fight early than to fight late. In particular, when Zhao State has just swallowed up the land of Han and Yan, and when Chu State has just retreated, it may be the best time.
Because the rapid expansion of Zhao State will inevitably arouse the vigilance and uneasiness of the remaining Wei and Qi States, at least at this juncture, the two countries will obviously be more willing to sit on the sidelines;
And the Chu State had just suffered a major defeat, and it was bound to not dare to go north easily.
In this way, the three off-field factors are almost eliminated. Qin can have a good fight with Zhao without any worries (Chen City still has to put more than 10,000 troops in the city to frighten the Chu army)
A battle with almost no interference. This may be the best time Wang Lu could find for a decisive battle with Zhao.
The only problem is that Wang Lu's troops are only a little over 10,000 more than Zhao Jun. Even if he mobilizes another 10,000 troops from Chencheng, it will not be enough to provide more than 20,000 more troops than Zhao Jun.
He wanted to write a letter and asked the King of Qin for more troops and horses, but it was too late! Even if troops were sent directly from Shu, it would be impossible to reach the battlefield before Lian Po's troops.
Of course, just because Han Zhiguo's battlefield can't catch up, doesn't mean that other battlefields can't catch up either!
For example, go out of Hedong and attack the party!
Now that almost all of Zhao's troops are involved, either in Xinzheng of Han, in Jicheng of Yan, or on the road, Shangdang County is bound to be empty.
If a partial division of tens of thousands can advance eastward at this time, even if it cannot break through Zhao Jun's defense line in Shangdang, it will be enough to shake Zhao Wangkuo's nerves.
Which one is more important, Shangdang or Han Di, I believe King Zhao must have a strong balance.
In this way, in the Battle of Xinzheng, as long as the Qin army can contain the Zhao army, it can force the Zhao army to return to the Shangdang.
If the main force of the Zhao army is unwilling to return reinforcements, Shangdang's feint attack will become a real attack, and Zhao will lose the watermelon instead of sesame seeds. Even if you don't do it well, you can't even pick up the sesame seeds.
Thinking of this, Wang Lu no longer hesitated, and immediately wrote a letter, explaining in detail to the King of Qin why he was preparing to fight Zhao Jun outside Xinzheng City, and asked the King of Qin to send troops to pretend to attack the Shangdang.
It should be said that Wang Lu's move is a combination of good and strange, and indeed there is something sublime about it.
But the problem is, Wang Hao is smart, and Zhao Kuo and Li Mu on the opposite side are not bad either.
Zhao Kuo had already thought of this when he decided to fight a decisive battle with the Qin army in the Xinzheng area. When Zhao Wei led the heavy cavalry south from Handan, Zhao Kuo had already ordered the Shangdang army to Go out east and lead the war to the east of the Qin State's Hedong.
It can be said that heroes think alike.
But under such circumstances, Zhao State obviously still has to be at a certain disadvantage. After all, the number of troops Qin State can send will be much higher than Zhao's 20,000 army.
Of course, the premise is that the Qin army can hold back Zhao Kuo in Xinzheng.
However, can the Qin army hold back the Zhao army?
You know, Zhao Wei's secret weapon has already arrived east of Xinzheng!
Unfortunately, Wang Lu didn't know that Zhao Kuo still had a trump card.
Therefore, after the army led by Wang Lu joined Meng Ao, they did not rush northward. Instead, they stayed on the border between Chu and Han, waiting for Zhao Jun's reinforcements and the 10,000 troops he transferred from Chencheng. The army, while repairing the original
The already somewhat damaged defense facilities arrived.
Since we have to wait for Zhao's army anyway, it is better to do more things while there is still enough time.
Obviously, this was a preparation just in case: once the war went unfavorable, relying on this line of defense on the Chu-Han border could stop the Zhao army and preserve at least Chu's gains.
Thinking about defeat before thinking about victory is a doctrine that is deeply ingrained in the mind of every famous general.
However, Wang Lu's approach really made Zhao Kuo a little confused.
Just looking at Wang Hao's move to build a stronghold in the border town, it is obvious that he was willing to give up when he was ready, and there is no doubt about it.
But the question is, does building a border stronghold require the deployment of nearly 200,000 elite troops?
This is obviously very abnormal.
To say that you lead an elite army of 200,000 people and march on the border, you dare not do anything, not even a ghost can believe it?
But if you want to fight, why not start the battle before the main force of Zhao Jun arrives? What are you waiting for?
Want to be Song Xianggong?
With your thick eyebrows and big eyes, Wang Hao, you don’t look like such a polite person! Moreover, the people of Qin are tigers and wolves! That is a fact recognized by the Six Nations.
Did you say that Qin Jun changed his temper? The dogs didn't believe it.
In the end, Li Mu on the side guessed what the Qin army was thinking: The Qin army was not sure of taking Xinzheng before General Lian Po's reinforcements arrived. Instead of consuming too many troops in the siege, it would be better to just fight the Zhao army. A frontal battle.
Listening to Li Mu's analysis, Zhao Kuo also secretly calculated the strength of his troops. If Zhao Wei's three thousand heavy cavalry were excluded, his total strength of 180,000 troops might really not be a match for the Qin army.
However, Zhao Kuo, who had heavy cavalry in hand, was not afraid of the Qin army at all.
Zhao Kuo knew very well that as long as the Qin army could be defeated in this battle, even if it was only a small victory, the gap between Zhao and Qin would no longer be possible to reverse.
And even if they are defeated, as long as it is not a huge defeat, at most it will just spit out the land of Han they just won.
Using a mere piece of Korean land to fight for a bright future, this business can be done!
What's more, will Zhao Jun lose with heavy cavalry on his side?
"Then let's have a good fight with the Qin army!" Zhao Kuo waved his hand with great pride in his heart.
Immediately, Zhao Kuo handed over the right to command the frontal battlefield to Li Mu. At the same time, Pegasus sent an order to Lian Po, telling him to move slowly and conserve the warrior's physical strength.
Of course, the most important thing is the heavy cavalry. Zhao Kuo's request to Zhao Wei was very simple: not a single soldier should be exposed to the Qin army before he went to battle.
In this way, with the tacit understanding between the armies of the two countries, a war that determined the direction of the Warring States Period began...
