The sound of ringing gold resounded loudly in the Qin army's camp. The Qin army, whose defense line had been torn apart by the Zhao army, immediately turned around and ran towards the camp.
At the same time, after hearing the order, the rear troops guarding the camp also carried shields and spears and came to the edge of the camp wall.
Obviously, this is to make the wall into a stronger spear formation.
The long shield was driven into the ground and supported by a wooden stick as thick as an arm to strengthen the protective ability of the village wall; the end of the spear was stuck into the ground, the front end was leaning on the shield, and the tip was piercing the sky.
Soon the entire camp was like a hedgehog with exploding thorns. Even if the heavy cavalry pounced on it, it would probably be uncomfortable.
Although the Qin army on the front line was still being pursued by Zhao Jun, they still did not collapse. They still retreated towards the camp in an orderly but very fast manner.
Even the Qin army that has been partially surrounded by the Zhao army will form a circular formation on the spot, stick to their positions, and delay the Zhao army's attack.
Losing troops and generals is naturally inevitable.
Almost every minute and every second, hundreds or even thousands of Qin troops were killed by Zhao's heavy cavalry, crossbows and infantry.
However, even under such circumstances, the Qin army still maintained its march without defeat or escape.
This is like a miracle!
Even Zhao Kuo, who was in the Chinese army, could not help but be impressed by the strict military discipline of the Qin army.
Of course, this has something to do with Qin's strict legal system. If one person escapes, the whole army will be killed, and even the whole family still in the country will be affected. Therefore, the soldiers of the Qin army would rather die on the battlefield than run away.
The premise is that the main general will not escape, the main general will run away, only the main general will be killed, and the army will be exempted from guilt or misdemeanor.
Obviously, as the only general in Da Qin today, Wang Lu is naturally unable to escape. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that the Qin army has remained undefeated and unable to escape.
Seeing that the Qin army's camp was just ahead, but his army had never been able to intercept the Qin army, Zhao Kuo knew that this battle could only end here.
However, Zhao Kuo did not directly deliver the order, but quietly waited for instructions from Li Mu on the front line.
Sure enough, Li Mu lived up to Zhao Kuo's trust and quickly came to the same conclusion.
Immediately, Li Mu's order was spread throughout the army: "Stop the heavy cavalry, attack the stronghold with infantry, and pursue with light cavalry."
It should be said that this twelve-word order was very timely and appropriate.
It's timely because the heavy cavalry was almost at the end of its war effort at this point in the battle.
After nearly two-quarters of an hour of fierce fighting, both the cavalry in heavy armor and the horses carrying cavalry and heavy armor had almost reached their limit. If they continued to attack, they would only end up staggering.
To put it appropriately, it is natural that the division of labor between different arms is very appropriate, and there is no need to elaborate on this.
Soon, according to Li Mu's general order, Zhao's army of more than 100,000 troops took action again.
Unfortunately, due to the obstruction of the Qin army's camp, the Zhao army's cavalry could only continue to go further away if they wanted to pursue, and naturally they could not leave any more Qin army behind.
The only ones who had something to hold on to were the more than ten thousand Qin troops in the camp.
There was no suspense at all. Under the encirclement and annihilation of more than 100,000 troops of the Zhao army, the Qin army at the rear was, as expected, completely wiped out by the Zhao army in the camp.
At this point, the largest battle between Zhao and Qin after the Changping Battle finally ended with Zhao's complete victory.
Fortunately, because of Qin General Wang Lu's decisive decision, the Qin army was not completely defeated. The Qin army that returned to the original square city on the border between Han and Chu still numbered one hundred thousand.
In other words, in addition to the more than 60,000 people lost in the early battle with the Zhao army, the Qin army actually lost only more than 30,000 people in this battle.
Precisely because the Qin army still had a hundred thousand troops, the Zhao army did not dare to continue attacking south.
After all, the Zhao army suffered nearly 67,000 casualties in this battle, and now Zhao Kuo only had less than 120,000 troops under his command.
However, Zhao Jun's heavy cavalry was unable to attack the city.
From Zhao Jun's perspective, after this
After the war, Zhao State captured the territory of Han and Yan, and its land and population would surpass Qin State in all aspects;
At the same time, in the frontal battle with the Qin Army, the Zhao Army relied on heavy armored cavalry and defeated the Qin Army head-on for the first time relying solely on its own strength. This obviously had a very positive significance for establishing the Zhao Army's invincibility.
As a result of this battle, except for the slight regret that it failed to completely annihilate or severely damage the main force of the Qin army, the rest of the strategic goals have actually been achieved.
This is naturally what Zhao Kuo and all the ministers of Zhao State are happy to see.
From the Qin army's perspective, the result of this battle was not completely unacceptable.
First of all, although the Qin State was defeated by the Zhao Army, the actual loss of troops was only more than 20,000 more than the Zhao Army. At the expense of the more than 20,000 Qin Army, it forced out the heavy cavalry of the Zhao State. A big killer, Qin can't be considered a big loser.
Secondly, although the State of Zhao obtained the territory of Han and Yan, the State of Qin did not gain nothing. The most fertile territory of the State of Chu has been taken by the State of Qin.
In comparison, although the Qin State gained slightly less than the Zhao State and paid a little more than the Zhao State, this slight gap was obviously not irreparable.
And with the cessation of war between Zhao and Qin, the original pattern of the seven kingdoms competing for hegemony was completely broken.
The Chu State, which is located in a corner, has basically completely withdrawn from the stage of fighting for hegemony; the Qi State, which is obsessed with internal fighting, has no intention of competing for hegemony; the only one who still has illusions about hegemony is the former overlord - Wei State .
What's even more terrible is that Wei State now has one foot inserted between the territory of Shangdang and Han Zhiguo, and another foot between the territory of Han Zhiguo and the territory of Chu State occupied by Qin State.
Zhao State wants to better take over the land of Han Zhiguo and take back the Zhou Dynasty, thus connecting Shangdang and Han Zhiguo. It is almost an inevitable option.
As for the Qin State, the way out to the east is through the Zhou Dynasty under the control of the Wei State. If you want to go north, the first thing to deal with is the Wei State's Yingchuan on the side of the couch.
Obviously, with the change of geographical situation, Wei State has become a common thorn in the side of Qin and Zhao.
It is almost a no-brainer to know what the Wei State will face next - cut off three cities from the State of Zhao today in exchange for a day's sleep; cut five cities from the State of Qin tomorrow in exchange for the Qin Army to stop; day after day, year after year Year after year, until the bones and blood of Wei State were drained and drained.
Of course, even if King Wei could not see clearly this issue, how could Lord Xinling, one of the four princes of the Warring States Period, not see it clearly.
The solution given by Lord Xinling was: unite Qi and Chu, and resist Qin and Zhao.
Yes, as the Zhao army went south to destroy Han and north to destroy Yan, the national power expanded rapidly, and Wei's national policy also changed from uniting Zhao to resist Qin to uniting Qi and Chu to resist Qin and Zhao.
It must be said that Lord Xinling still has some political foresight and sense of smell.
Obviously, from Chu's defeat, Lord Xinling had keenly realized that Zhao was no longer reliable. Lord Xinling can even see the future of Qin and Zhao successively moving to Wei.
Naturally, Lord Xinling has also realized that the only way to keep Wei, a small country between the two countries, alive is to tie other small countries together to form a military alliance of interests that is no weaker than the two powerful countries. .
That's what he thought, and that's what he did.
Taking advantage of the fierce fighting between Zhao and Qin in the homeland of Han, Wei quietly sent envoys to Chu and Qi. Trying to persuade the two countries to form an alliance with Wei.
Needless to say, Chu State, who had just suffered a big loss at the hands of the Qin State army, was now eager for an alliance.
Wei's move was almost a timely help. King Chu agreed without even thinking about it. King Chu, who had already lost half of his country, did not dare to hesitate anymore.
However, although the King of Chu formed an alliance with Wei, he did not give up his alliance with Zhao, and even prepared to give Chu's territory in Zhou to Zhao.
After all, the hatred between Chu State and Qin State has become irreconcilable. Under such circumstances, Chu State cannot afford to offend Zhao State. What's more, in any case, after Chu State asked for help, Zhao Jun also sent troops south.
although
Although Chen Cheng failed to be saved in the end, Zhao Jun was really not to blame for this problem.
But to say that the King of Chu had no resentment towards the State of Zhao was obviously not the case. After all, after Chen Cheng was lost, your Zhao State defeated the Qin Army. Can't you send troops in advance?
Even a few days earlier? He would not take the initiative to evacuate.
Although this idea is a bit shameless, it is the true inner expression of King Chu.
As for the Zhou Dynasty, it was already useless to the Chu State, and now it was even worse. With the loss of Chendu and all the areas to the north, the Chu State is now basically no longer bordered by the Zhou Dynasty. Although there is some income from continuing to occupy the territory of the Zhou Dynasty, occupying it means garrisoning troops. Now the Chu State What is lacking most is the army.
By giving it to the State of Zhao, the State of Chu would no longer be bordering the State of Zhao, so there would be no conflict of interest. Not only would it gain the friendship of the State of Zhao, but more importantly, the King of Chu could also get another one from the State of Zhao. The first batch of weapons and equipment, and even a promise from King Zhao.
It can be said that it achieves multiple things with one stone.
Of course, this move was obviously disgusting to Wei Guo. But there is no way, Wei, who wants to form an alliance, can't say anything at this time.
Chu State quickly reached an agreement, which was within Lord Xinling's expectation, but Qi State also happily agreed, which really surprised Lord Xinling. ..
However, although it is somewhat unexpected, it is also reasonable.
Zhao State's operation to destroy two countries in one year really scared Qi State. Especially the destruction of Yan State sounded the alarm for Qi State.
You must know that with the fall of Yan State, Zhao State has actually completed the siege of Qi State from the north and west.
To the east of Qi State is the sea, and to the south of Qi State is the remote and remote land of Wu and Yue. It can be said that in the Warring States Period when there was no longer the ability to cross the sea, the development of Qi State had actually been blocked by Zhao State. .
Under such circumstances, although the internal fighting continued, the external attitude gradually changed.
Regardless, a new pattern has been born.
And a new king is about to be born.
However, before that, Zhao Kuo had to rush back to Handan to deal with a lot of internal matters...
