In order to move faster, Li Mu even drove his troops directly onto the road without any scruples.
This is of course risky. If the Qi army is more vigilant, it is very likely that Zhao Jun will be found before Li Mu's army arrives.
Even if it’s just for an hour!
The Qi army was able to retreat to a safe area, not to mention retreating into the city, even retreating into the mountains and forests, which was enough for Li Mu's cavalry to return without success.
As the war started, the time left for Li Mu was decreasing by the minute. Facing the Qi army hiding in the mountains and forests, it was almost difficult for Li Mu's cavalry to exert its combat effectiveness.
Being held back by the Qi army will plunge Xinzheng into an unprecedented crisis.
Therefore, once the Qi army retreated to the mountains and forests, Li Mu almost had to retreat.
This retreat also means that the 70,000 Qi army can be preserved, and as long as this Qi army can be preserved, the situation between the enemy and ourselves in the entire Huaisi County will not fundamentally change.
In other words, Li Mu's attack will be a failure both tactically and strategically.
Unfortunately, facing Tian Dan's army who was "retreating steadily", the Qi army was so careless that their scouts were only placed in positions within a three-mile radius.
The distance of three miles, which is serious for the Zhao army's cavalry, is only a short distance.
What's more, Qi Jun's scouts almost only appear during the day, and their density is very loose.
Obviously, although this Qi Jun has a different master, its combat power and vigilance are almost the same as the Qi Jun in Yushan.
This is normal. If they were not equally matched opponents, how could they have maintained a balance in Qi for so many years?
After a day of running around, the cavalry army led by Li Mu finally arrived in the mountains less than ten miles away from Yinping in the early morning of the next day.
This is several hours earlier than the time Tian Dan agreed.
But Li Mu believed that Tian Dan must have assembled his team in Yinping City at this time, waiting for his signal at any time.
The facts were indeed what Li Mu thought.
Not now, but starting from dusk today, Tian Dan began to mobilize his troops, ready to leave the city at any time to support his attack.
Without him, Tian Dan knew that for the sake of Zhao and Xinzheng, Li Mu would definitely try every means to speed up the annihilation of the Qi army and speed up the march;
And Li Mu also knew that Tian Dan would understand the importance of time and prepare everything in advance.
However, although the two of them had a good understanding, Li Mu still ordered the army to stop advancing and take a final rest in the mountains and forests.
It's not that Li Mu doesn't want to attack the Qi army immediately. Every quarter of an hour he launches his attack means that he can return to Xinzheng a quarter of an hour earlier.
However, firstly, it took time for the heavy cavalry to change equipment, so the army had to stop and wait; secondly, the Qi army's stronghold was still very quiet, and there was no intention of retreating at all for a while, so the Zhao army was still there for the time being. Can afford to wait.
After nearly an hour of rest, the tired army was fully recovered, and Zhao Wei's heavy cavalry had also been dressed neatly with the help of auxiliary troops.
Following Li Mu's order, the army slowly moved into action.
The heavy cavalry was still in front, and the light cavalry followed. However, after the army left the mountain forest, the soldiers at the rear lit not the smoke, but the entire forest. (Author’s reminder: Set fire to the mountain and sit in jail, please do not imitate)
There was no way, under this moonlit night, the visibility of the smoke was not high. Only the raging fire could ensure that Tian Dan, who was far away in Yinping, could see it.
As the cavalry slowly accelerated, with the clatter of horse hooves, little bits of flames also burned in the woods.
In a short time, it was already a prairie fire!
Tian Dan, who was sitting firmly at the top of Yinping City, noticed the flames filling the sky almost immediately, and instantly understood that this was a signal sent to him by Li Mu.
"Open the door!" Tian Dan immediately ordered as he hurried down the tower.
With the sound of "squeaking", the gate of Yinping City was slowly opened.
Pulling out the sword from his waist, his hair and beard are white
The veteran exhausted all the energy in his Dantian and roared: "Attack!"
Immediately, tens of thousands of troops behind him filed out of the gate of Yinping City, following the veterans.
At the same time, the sentries of the Qi army naturally saw the flames of the prairie fire.
At the beginning, the sentry didn't take it seriously. After all, if the mountain was burned so far away, it wouldn't affect him. Until he saw a looming figure in the firelight that filled the sky.
At this moment, a thunderous sound finally reached the ears of the Qi army sentries.
"Enemy attack!" A sharp shout echoed through the village gate.
Immediately afterwards, the sound of drums and whimpering horns resounded throughout the entire military camp like the Qi army in the daytime.
It should be said that the sentry's reaction was fast enough. Compared with the battle outside Yushan City during the day, the distance Zhao Jun sprinted was obviously longer due to the terrain constraints.
This also gave Qi Jun more time to react. XiuShu.com
Unfortunately, Qi Jun failed to seize this precious reaction time.
Without him, compared to Qi Jun who had not yet woken up at Mao Shi, Qi Jun was obviously sleepier at this time.
At the same time, because of the underestimated combat power of the Zhao army in Yinping City, the Qi army here was obviously more relaxed than the Qi army outside Yushan City.
It's a pity that the precious reaction time brought by the terrain and sentries that should have been a glimmer of hope was wasted by the sleeping Qi army.
And Li Mu's Zhao Army would not give Qi Army any chance.
As a result, the scene almost exactly the same as during the day was played out again.
The heavy cavalry broke through the rear village without encountering any resistance, and then marched straight into the central army.
Still encountering almost no resistance, the Chinese army was already in chaos. Zhao Wei still chopped down the Qi army's banner with one sword, and then attacked the Qi army's front camp in a mighty manner.
The only difference may be that Tian Dan's infantry arrived slightly later than Le Jian's infantry this time.
But apart from not being able to see the heavy cavalry massacre the Qi army, there seemed to be no losses, and it did not prevent them from taking over the next battle.
The heavy cavalry who had charged and killed did not retreat to the west of the battlefield and wait as they did during the day. Instead, they passed directly through Tian Dan's infantry and returned to Yinping to rest.
Two consecutive battles in one day, with dozens of miles of hasty marching in between (without armor in between), the heavy cavalry troops were stretched to their limits in both men and horses, and even the actual combined time of the two battles was only more than half. hour.
There is no way, hundreds of kilograms of armor are too taxing on both humans and horses.
Li Mu must ensure the combat effectiveness of this fist force. The reason is very simple. When he returns to Xinzheng, if the Qin army besieges the city (stronghold), he may have to use this iron fist to open a way out.
Of course, this is also based on the fact that the Qi army has almost no ability to resist.
Soon, after Zhao Wei's 3,000 cavalry passed, Tian Dan also led his 45,000 troops (and 5,000 troops guarding the city) to launch an encirclement and annihilation attack on the remnants of the Qi army.
The result is still self-evident.
The banners had all fallen, and the Qi army had already been in chaos. Li Mu's cavalry rushed to kill them. At this time, the Qi army had already lost all combat effectiveness.
However, this time the advancement of encirclement and annihilation was much slower than the advancement of Yushan Castle during the day.
The reason is simple. Firstly, although the troops in Tian Dan's hands are more elite, they are not as many as those in Le Jian's hands. Secondly, because of the darkness, in order to avoid being accidentally injured by friendly forces, Tian Dan also deliberately controlled the rhythm of the advance.
Even so, in less than two hours, Tian Dan's troops still turned around with Li Mu's army, and all took over the encirclement and annihilation of the Qi army.
After a brief exchange, all Tian Dan's troops also withdrew from the battle and returned to Yinping to rest.
There is still more than an hour before dawn. Taking advantage of this time, Tian Dan's 100,000 troops can rest and recuperate.
On this day, it was not only Zhao Wei's heavy cavalry that was working hard, but Tian Dan's 100,000-strong army was also in a state of nervous tension.
Keep on going, right?
Okay, but it's obviously not easy to walk at night. It's even more dangerous to go on the road with a tired and relaxed mood after a big victory, and you won't be able to go very far.
Rather than taking the risk of walking at night, it would be better to take a rest, which would be more beneficial for the rest of the journey.
Based on this consideration, Li Mu also decided to rest the entire army until dawn.
And the facts proved that Li Mu's decision was not wrong.
Because up to this time, neither the Chu army that had just entered Huaisi County nor the Qi army far away in Linzi, and of course the Qin army that was in the process of retreating, had not received any news of Zhao’s attack on Huaisi. . .Ь.
Because Zhao Jun's surprise attack was too sudden, especially Zhao Wei's heavy cavalry broke through the Qi Army's center almost immediately and killed the two Qi Army generals.
The two generals failed to even send messengers to convey the news of the defeated army back.
In the encirclement and annihilation battle that followed, although some fish among the Qi army inevitably slipped through the net, there was no intention to report the news.
Even Qi State, which was the first to receive the news, only happened after the scattered troops were defeated and returned to Qi State. And that was already five days later.
As for the Chu army and the Qin army, it was already the seventh and eighth days when they learned the news.
At this time, Li Mu had already returned to Xinzheng City safely.
Not to mention that Li Mu and his army rested until dawn, even if Li Mu slept for another day, there would be no problem.
Of course, at this time, Li Mu obviously didn't know that Qi Jun would be so miserable. In his heart, he still planned to return to Xinzheng as soon as possible.
So, just after a glimmer of light leaked out of the sky, Li Mu had already led the army on the return journey.
At this time, Tian Dan was even on the front line directing the final encirclement and annihilation of the Qi army.
The two generals of the Zhao army who fought side by side parted without even saying hello.
Of course, for soldiers, there is not so much sadness about parting.
At this point, the second stage of Li Mu's trip to Huaisi has been successfully completed. Next is the final stage of the trip, which is also the most difficult stage.
On the one hand, Li Mu must rush back to Xinzheng as soon as possible to prevent Xinzheng from being forced by the Qin army;
On the other hand, Li Mu could not rush on his way desperately. He had to ensure the combat effectiveness of his troops as much as possible to prevent the Qin army from suddenly blocking and dealing with the Qin army's siege (stronghold).
This requires Li Mu to find a suitable balance between the two contradictory poles of rushing and preserving combat effectiveness. This is of course also a severe test for Li Mu’s conducting art.
But fortunately, who is Li Mu?
That is a ruthless man who can carry the broken Zhao State on his body for decades.
Rushing thousands of miles to aid was a common occurrence for Li Mu in history. He went all the way south from Daibei to come back to Handan to aid, not just once or twice. Now how could he be defeated by a mere battle to come back for aid?
What's more, before the march, Li Mu made careful arrangements for the return reinforcements.
Finally, without any danger along the way, the 100,000-strong army led by Li Mu returned to Xinzheng City almost under the noses of the Qin and Chu armies.
It was a pity to Zhao Kuo, who was already prepared to defend Xinzheng.
Of course, I say it's a pity, but actually I'm more than happy.
If the Qin army, which has an absolute superiority in strength, launches an offensive, Zhao Kuo said calmly, but he may not be able to defend it.
Even if Xinzheng City can be defended, it may be difficult to save Zhou Qi's outer village.
Once the outer stronghold is pulled out, the Qin army will most likely divide its troops and go north to attack Luocheng, Quyang and even Zicheng. In this way, the battle situation may become more complicated.
Fortunately, with Li Mu's return, all this is no longer possible.
Zhao Kuo even continued to conceal the news of the return of Li Mu's army. If the Qin army sent troops to attack the city because of this, Zhao Kuo would not mind letting Li Mu and Zhao Wei give the Qin army another big surprise.
Unfortunately, Qin Jun got the news much later than expected - eight days was enough for Li Mu to make a round trip.
Even if Zhao Kuo deliberately concealed it, Wang Lu of the Qin Army knew with his toes that the army that had left Huaisi County must have returned, and naturally he would not be fooled and continue to attack. xь.
Although there has been no fighting in the direction of Xinzheng, Huaisi County did not fall into peace because of the departure of Li Mu's army.
On the fifth day after Li Mu left Yinping with his army, Li Mu safely returned to Xinzheng at night. Almost immediately, Tian Dan assembled an army of 140,000 in Huaisi County to severely defeat the vanguard of the Chu army who underestimated the enemy. It took a while.
This sap killed almost all the Chu army's more than 30,000 vanguard troops, killing them and taking prisoners.
You know, these more than 30,000 people are the most elite 30,000 troops of the Chu army.
In this battle, almost one-third of the Chu army's combat strength was reduced. The comparison of combat power between the enemy and ourselves in Huaisi County also instantly reversed.
When they learned that the vanguard army was surrounded and annihilated, the Chu army was not afraid of death. They immediately ordered their troops and horses to go to the rescue. They even sent scouts to invite the Qi army to join them in annihilating the Zhao army.
It's a pity that the general of the Chu army obviously underestimated the Zhao army's combat power, and also somewhat overestimated his own combat power.
In just one night, all the elite members of our family were wiped out.
The Zhao army never thought of having a decisive battle with the Chu army, and immediately evacuated the battlefield after receiving the news that the main force of the Chu army was attacking.
It should be said that there is no problem with Tian Dan's decision. After all, the army has been fighting fiercely all night. Facing the Chu army, although there are only 120,000 troops, they may not be their opponents. It is appropriate to evacuate first to gain your own advantage before fighting.
It's a pity that Tian Dan underestimated the courage and combat power of the Chu army.
And this decision to retreat became the decision Tian Dan regretted the most in this battle.
It was not until the afternoon of the sixth day that the main force of the Chu army slowly arrived at the battlefield.
Wherever there are traces of Zhao Jun on the battlefield, if they are eaten and wiped away, Zhao Jun has already run away.
But how could the always good-natured general of the Chu army admit that he was a favorite, and even then he was eager to cause trouble for the Qi army - an army of 140,000 people failed to guard against 70,000 people, what was he doing? !
Fortunately, on the next day, Qi State gave an explanation to the general of the Chu army: the 140,000 people in his family had been taken advantage of by the Zhao army.
Suddenly, the general of the Chu army panicked: If he could eat the 140,000 Qi army, how could he not eat the remaining 120,000 of his own?
Immediately, the general of the Chu army withdrew thirty miles back with his troops and defended the city. While waiting for instructions from the king of Chu, he was already exploring the way back.
Yes, even without the king's order, the Chu army had stalled and was even thinking about retreat.
In fact, the Zhao army in front of him seemed powerful, but in fact most of it was composed of surrender troops and garrison troops. The real combat power may not be as powerful as the Chu army.
But it is a pity that the Chu army has completely lost the confidence to fight from the shadow of Qi army's defeat.
As nearly 100,000 prisoners were escorted back to Zhao, Lu Buwei immediately began a new round of reorganization.
At this point, it can be said that Zhao Jun has an absolute advantage no matter which battlefield it is on.
It seems that there is no force in the world that can stop Zhao Guo from unifying... (Liu Xiu:???)
