With the capture of the King of Chu and most of the Chu State's military strength, it was no longer possible for the Chu State to continue fighting with the Zhao army, both in terms of military morale and military strength.
In the following days, Li Mu took the Chu King's seal and gathered around the Chu city.
Of course, due to the particularity of the Chu State's enfeoffment system, various resistance to incorporation inevitably occurred during the acceptance process.
However, these small resistance forces seemed so insignificant in front of Zhao's 200,000 troops.
In one autumn, except for some nooks and crannies, the entire fertile land of Chu State had actually fallen into the control of Zhao State. ..
Historical records say:
"In the winter of 252 BC, Zhao and Chu each sent more than 200,000 elite troops to fight outside Shouchun City.
After fighting for ten months, it is difficult to determine the outcome.
At that time, winter was coming and the ground was freezing. The Zhao army sent five thousand heavy cavalry, marched in, and rushed straight into the Chu army's formation.
The Chu army was unable to defeat them, so Zhao's heavy cavalry went straight into the Chu army.
Zhao General Wei Zhe cut off the Chu army's banner with one sword, and the Chu army was in chaos.
They also captured the king of Chu and others, and forced the Chu army to surrender, nearly 200,000 of them.
Since Chu lost its army and even more so its king, all the regions surrendered.
Before the end of the year, all the land of Chu was occupied by Zhao.
At this point, the only obstacles to Zhao's unification of the world were Qi and Qin. "
By the time Li Mu returned to Handan with his army, Qin had not even been able to deal with Yiqu's rebellion. With the support of Zhao State, although the Yiqu people failed to regain their country, the entire Yiqu grassland was returned to the hands of the Yiqu people.
I have to admit that Wang Lu, as the last general of the Qin State, made a huge mistake in this battle to peacefully define the canal.
Without him, Wang Hao wanted to take a gentle approach to appease Yiqu, so as to peacefully resolve the Yiqu incident.
The reason is very simple. The already weak Qin State could no longer withstand the hardships. If Yiqu is suppressed by force, even if he wins, his army will inevitably suffer losses.
Even in the best case scenario, if he could completely defeat Yiqu's army, the loss of Yiqu's army alone would be enough to make Wang Lu feel distressed.
Therefore, out of the idea of preserving Qin's strength as much as possible, Wang Lu also rarely adopted a gentle policy in the land of Yiqu.
If it were in the past, after some comfort, Yiqu would have surrendered obediently.
But Zhao Guo, who was fanning the flames, was behind, especially the addition of Hu people from Jiuyuan County, which directly made Yiqu's surrender impossible.
Faintly, as the war progressed, Yiquren's thoughts were no longer even on Fuguo.
Yes, after seeing the life of Jiuyuan County, who were also from the grassland, the Yiqu people were already eager to join the Zhao Kingdom.
Therefore, with the continuous support of Zhao State and Wang Lu's tolerant policy, the Yiqu Rebellion could not calm down for a long time.
Seeing that winter was coming, Wang Lu finally realized the failure of his gentle policy.
If the Yiqu Rebellion cannot be ended before winter, the consumption of the army alone will be an astronomical figure this winter.
Immediately, Wang Hao also issued an ultimatum to Yiqu and began to mobilize troops to prepare to strangle Yiqu's troops by force.
If Wang Lu had used such a method earlier, Zhao Guo might not have been able to intervene immediately because of the war against Chu.
But now, Chu State has been included in the territory, and Li Mu's army has returned to Handan. It can be said that Zhao State has withdrawn all its fists.
In short, Zhao Guo can send reinforcements to Yiqu at any time.
It was obvious that Wang Lu had actually lost the best time to deal with the Yiqu incident.
But the opportunity to unify Qin quietly came to Zhao Kuo's desk.
Obviously, Yiqu is a very good breakthrough point.
Especially when Wang Lu's change of strategy was conveyed to Zhao Kuo's desk in Handan.
Zhao Kuo knew that it was time to completely solve the problem
Qin was defeated.
Although it is almost winter, time waits for no one, and Zhao must seize the opportunity of civil strife in Qin.
Soon, the imperial meeting was held again.
As the information was circulated, there was no need to say anything more.
There was unconcealable excitement in everyone's eyes.
Zhao Kuo didn't need any more persuasion at all. Several generals had already jumped out to ask Qin to fight. Even several civil servants had come forward one after another and told Zhao Kuo that food and weapons had been prepared, enough for the army to conquer.
The sense of unity is beyond words.
Without him, facing the temptation to dominate the world, no one is willing to let go of such an opportunity.
Looking at the excited faces, although Zhao Kuo had originally planned to launch a war of annihilation against Qin for at least two or three years at night, the current situation at home and abroad obviously did not allow Zhao Kuo to continue procrastinating.
Moreover, if we continue to wait, although Zhao will become stronger, after Qin regains Yiqu, Zhao will only have two breakthrough points, and the situation may not be better than the current situation.
What's more, the army had just returned from victory and its morale was high. After more than ten days of repairs, its combat power had reached its peak again.
It can be said that no matter from which perspective, fighting Qin at this time is the best time.
Then, let’s fight!
Without any pause or hesitation, Zhao Kuo stood up excitedly.
"Li Mu." Zhao Kuo began to point to the general.
"The general is here." General Li Mu, who had just returned to Handan, immediately agreed.
"Lead 120,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry to Yiqu to assist in the battle. We must drag the main force of Wang Lu's Qin army to the Yiqu grassland." Zhao Kuo immediately ordered: "Zhao Wei's five thousand heavy cavalry will follow. You act."
"Yes." Li Mu immediately accepted the order.
"Zhou Qi." Zhao Kuo nodded again.
"The end will be here." Zhou Qi immediately agreed with a blush on his face.
"Lead an army of 150,000." Zhao Kuo immediately ordered: "Attack Hangu Pass!"
"Yes." Even though he knew that Hangu Pass was not easy to attack, Zhou Qi still accepted the order without hesitation.
It was an honor to be able to participate in this final battle to destroy the country, not to mention that the king asked him to fight alone. How could Zhou Qi not be excited?
"General Tian Dan." Zhao Kuo nodded and then continued to point out the general.
"The general will be here." Tian Dan, whose hair and beard was all white, immediately agreed.
"Lead 150,000 troops." Zhao Kuo continued to order: "Leave Dashan Pass, enter the Pass, and attack Xianyang directly."
"Yes." Tian Dan agreed immediately.
"If the Qin army mobilizes its forces to attack, they will defeat it head-on." Zhao Kuo continued to order: "If the Qin army sticks to Xianyang and waits for reinforcements, it will be trapped. Then it will divide its forces to seize Hangu, and join forces with the Hangu army to sweep Yiqu. The king's troops will eventually attack Xianyang."
Hearing this, Li Mu, Zhou Qi and Tian Dan all agreed: "Yes."
It is obvious from Zhao Kuo's arrangement that although the three generals all have an army of 150,000, their emphasis is different.
Li Mu's 150,000 troops were mostly cavalry, and together with Zhao Wei's heavy cavalry, they could be said to be the strongest of the three armies.
And the enemy they had to face was also the strongest Wang Lu, with a total strength of 150,000.
However, even without the help of the Yiqu people, Li Mu's 150,000-strong army was no match against Wang Lu. ..
Zhao Kuo fought Wang Lu against Hu, using his strongest Li Mu and cavalry to deal with Qin's strongest Wang Lu. Even Li Mu didn't need to achieve much victory. As long as he could hold off Wang Lu, it would be victory.
Of course Li Mu can be the winner, but even if the winner cannot be determined for a while, it doesn't matter, because Zhao Kuo has a second winner-Tian Dan.
Yes, Zhou Qi's 150,000-strong army is still a containment.
Tian Dan's 150,000 troops, which marched straight into Guanzhong from Dashan Pass, were Zhao Kuo's double insurance.
Zhao Kuo obviously thought carefully about the reason why he handed over such an important task to Tian Dan.
Rich experience is one thing, but if it were just that, Zhao Kuo could completely swap the tasks of Tian Dan and Li Mu. Let Tian Dan contain Wang Lu, and leave the task of attacking Xianyang to Li Mu.
However, Li Mu has made enough contributions over the years, and more importantly, Zhao Kuo needs this credit for destroying Qin to fall into the hands of a general from another country.
Without him, Zhao Kuo must prepare for a rainy day on the eve of Zhao's unification of the world.
There cannot be only the figure of "Zhao Ren" in the court of Zhao State, but it cannot be without the figure of "Zhao Ren".
Too much is not enough, and even less is not enough.
If all Zhao people are from Zhao land, it will definitely hinder the development of Zhao country, and if they are missing, it will chill the hearts of the old Zhao people, and civil strife is almost inevitable.
And if you want to achieve such a request that you have thought about but couldn't live up to, old people like Tian Dan who got up early and took refuge in Zhao are particularly precious.
Because they took refuge early, they have already integrated with the people of Zhao, but in the eyes of people from other countries, they are people of Qi and Yan...
Their presence is a benchmark, telling the world that Zhao Kuo will use his talents according to his talents.
As for the selection of Hangu Pass, Zhao Kuo of course also wanted to balance the future. Zhao Guo should not have only one general who can fight.
These are of course Zhao Kuo's little thoughts, but then again, isn't this for the purpose of better winning this war?
If Li Mu, Tian Dan, and Zhou Qi are compared to horses of the upper, middle, and lower classes, then the corresponding configuration of Qin is Wang Lu, Hangu, and Xianyang.
Therefore, instead of letting Li Mu's high-grade horses deal with the low-grade horses of Xianyang, it is better to let Li Mu deal with the middle-grade horses of Wang Lu, and then let the middle-grade horses of Tian Dan fight against the low-grade horses of Xianyang.
Tian Dan may be able to hold off Wang Lu, but at best it is just a matter of encountering an opponent and a good talent. It is very likely that Tian Dan will not be able to bring out the true combat power of the cavalry.
But if Li Mu went there, he would most likely be able to suppress Wang Lu, or even defeat Wang Lu directly.
Soon, after arranging the military deployment, Zhao Kuo also looked at Pingyuan Jun and Lu Buwei.
"Pingyuan Jun, Lu Qing." Zhao Kuo continued to name him without hesitation.
"Here." Mr. Pingyuan and Lu Buwei also stood up immediately.
"There must be sufficient supply of food and fodder for military needs." Zhao Kuo made the request unceremoniously.
"Yes." The two immediately agreed again in unison.
Finally, a not too long imperial meeting finally ended, and Zhao finally kicked off its final battle with Qin.
