At this moment, countless torches lit up all around, surrounding the Yan Army.
Qu Jing was stunned, his heart suddenly sank to the bottom, a cold air rushed into his brain from behind, and his whole body shivered uncontrollably.
The fire soared into the sky, illuminating half of the sky. Looking around, all the open spaces were crowded with Zhao troops wearing strong armor. There was no telling how many soldiers were hidden in the darkness behind them.
"The general is visiting me in Wuyang City late at night, why don't you tell me in advance so that the county guard can host a banquet for the general." Jin Yao walked out of the crowd and said with a smile.
"Withdraw, withdraw from the city." Qu Jing shouted hurriedly, his rosy face already drained of blood, and the Yan army rushed out of the city in panic.
Qu Jing was fortunate that when he entered the city, he cut off the chain holding the city gate, so that Zhao Jun could not close the city gate, and Yan Jun still had a chance.
“Ding-deng-deng!”
The rapid sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance, and a young general wearing white armor and holding a spear led the Zhao army to gallop over. After arriving outside the city, the Zhao army quickly spread out along the moat, raising their long bows and aiming at the Yan army.
"You...you..." Qu Jing spat out a mouthful of blood, but there was no trace of blood on his face.
"Old General Qu Jing, I'm sorry." Li Mu said, cupping his fists.
"How did you know about our army's plan? No, the three families of Wang, Fu, and Su belong to you. You have been planning the Yan Kingdom since a few years ago." Qu Jing's face was filled with shock, and he suddenly turned to glare at Su She.
, Fu Bao, Wang Rong.
He could imagine that Zhao Guo would bribe wealthy families in Yan State, or bribe civil and military officials as internal agents, but he never expected that Zhao Guo would set up a trap in Zhao State and wait for Yan State to take the bait.
Su She, Fu Bao, and Wang Rong lowered their heads, their hearts filled with guilt.
The three families sincerely wanted to join the Yan State. In order to resist the Zhao State's reforms, they had united many families, and even branches of the Zhao family.
Any big family is bound to have internal strife, and the Zhao family is particularly prominent.
They set a trap for Zhao Bao's son, trying to involve the clan and use the clan's power to fight against the imperial court.
In order to uphold the reform, Zhao Kuo sent Zhao Bao's sons to the coal mines to dig coal. They all waited to see Zhao's joke, but in the end, none of the clan farted.
They bribed the workers and wanted Zhao Bao's son to die in the mine, which would trigger conflicts between King Zhao and the clan. As a result, three families got involved and were either beheaded or exiled.
They also manipulated grain prices in an attempt to stir up public dissatisfaction. As a result, all grain merchants had their homes confiscated and were exiled.
This is why Jiang Qu did not doubt them at all. Everything they did was hindering the development of Zhao State and causing civil strife in Zhao State.
As for whether it is possible that Zhao Guo was playing a trick, that is impossible.
Because no one can guarantee that the three families of Wang, Fu, and Su will play a role in the future, and the damage they caused to Zhao State is a direct loss.
Moreover, the strength of Zhao State is overwhelming for Yan State. Whether there are three families of Wang, Fu, and Su will not affect the result.
The returns from gambling with real benefits are not high and the possibilities are illusory.
Unless King Zhao was kicked in the head by a donkey, he would not be able to do such a thing.
Therefore, he had unreserved trust in them, and in order to support their career development, he saved some money and gave it to them.
The three families of Wang, Fu, and Su were grateful to the State of Yan and tried their best to hide their traces. However, after repeated attempts, the trick was still leaked and Liu Ping caught them.
When Zhao Kuo asked them whether they wanted to die or live, they chose to live.
From then on, they were forced to become Zhao's lackeys.
Zhao Kuo kept them at first, just to use them to pass some false information to the Yan State when the two countries were at war, so as to reduce the difficulty of annexing the Yan State.
According to their explanations, Yan Guo almost believed in them.
Unexpectedly, Yan State took the initiative to attack.
So Zhao Kuo told Li Mu about it. After thinking about it, Li Mu joined forces with Jin Pao to set a trap for the Yan army.
In order to make the Yan army feel the urgency of time and take the bait as soon as possible, Li Mu and Jin Ao even released news that they were at odds with each other, but under the orders of King Zhao, they gradually began to cooperate.
As expected, Yan Jun took the bait quickly.
In order to ensure that the three families of Wang, Fu and Su would not rebel again, Jin Fu also sent people to watch all the nearly 1,000 people in the three families. As long as Su She dared to rebel, there would be a lot of heads waiting for him.
"You three families, go down. I will report to the king and pardon you three families for all their crimes. As for the future, it depends on you. In addition, for the sake of your good performance, I would like to remind you, don't just stare at the three acres of land in front of you.
The world outside is very big." Li Mu said to Fu Bao, Wang Rong and Su She.
"Thank you, General. Thank you, General." The three of them hurriedly bowed and saluted, and then left with the family members.
"What did Li Mu mean when he said the outside world is huge?" Fu Bao whispered on the way back.
"I don't know, maybe it means that the other six countries are bigger than Zhao." Wang Rong said.
"I think it might mean outside the Central Plains..." Su She said hesitantly.
…
"The general must have made arrangements for our army's camp." Qu Jing looked at Li Mu, his aura weakened to the extreme.
"I have ordered Lieutenant General Sima Shang to lead the Great Wall Army to block the Yan Army's camp. Old General, don't worry, you will not have any reinforcements." Li Mu said confidently.
Although the 90,000 Yan army, which lost its leader, was large in number, it was nothing more than a mob.
"What does the general plan to do with our army?" Qu Jing asked.
"Surrender without killing." Li Mu said calmly.
"The whole army listens to the order, lays down their weapons, and surrenders to the State of Zhao." Qu Jing ordered without hesitation.
At this point, the Yan army has no possibility of escaping.
It is better to surrender than to die in battle.
"General, we can still fight."
"Yes, General, the worst case scenario is that we have to fight with them."
There were a few sporadic sounds in the Yan army, but most of the soldiers remained silent and looked happy.
They didn't want to fight Zhao Jun, they were just forced to serve as soldiers. Rather than die in battle, they wanted to live and go back alive to see their parents, wives and children.
"I say, put down your arms and surrender. All the blame will be borne by this general. Even if the king punishes me, he will punish this general and it has nothing to do with you." Qu Jing ordered again.
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Seeing Qu Jing's resolute attitude, the Yan army began to lay down their weapons and surrender.
Jin Biao waved his hand, and the Zhao army behind him stepped forward to collect the Yan army's weapons, and pulled the Yan army aside to take care of them.
Qu Jing watched all this silently, two lines of tears slowly falling from the corners of his eyes.
"Don't worry, old general, I, the State of Zhao, will not treat you badly. I, the State of Zhao, will give you the same treatment as you received in the State of Yan." Li Mu comforted you.
"The general can use my sword to surrender to the soldiers outside the city. I hope the general will not embarrass them." Qu Jing did not answer Li Mu, but talked to himself, looking at the north longingly. After a while, he suddenly pulled out the sword from his waist.
He held his sword and wiped it from his neck.
"No!" Li Mu quickly took out his bow and arrow and shot at Qu Jing's wrist.
But it was too late, 'poof', a bright red blood splashed into the air, like a flower blooming in the dark night.
Plop!
Qu Jing's body fell from his horse and hit the ground heavily.
The entire Wuyang City was silent, and all eyes were focused on Qu Jing.
"General!"
Qu Jing's personal guard knelt on the ground and cried bitterly. Then other Yan soldiers also knelt down and kowtowed three times silently.
Although there was no affection between them and Qu Jing, Qu Jing was thinking about them at the last moment.
This love is worth remembering.
"Let's give him a grand burial." Li Mu sighed.
No one expected that Qu Jing would be so decisive and arrange his posthumous affairs for the Yan army, but he was unwilling to surrender to Zhao.
"Give the sword to Sima Shang and ask him to surrender the Yan army." Li Mu picked up the sword from the ground and handed it to the guard next to him. The guard took the sword and turned and ran towards the Yan army camp.
"Jin Mao has met General Li. The general is really resourceful and has great potential at a young age." Jin Mao walked up and said with cupped fists.
The two finally officially met.
"Actually, the Yan army will not be able to attack Wuyang without the arrival of the general. The general will be able to take the credit from the county guard." Li Mu said modestly.
"Isn't the general slapping Xiaguan in the face by saying this? Without the general, Xiaguan would not be able to retain a hundred thousand Yan troops." Jin Ao laughed loudly and made a gesture of invitation.
The two of them walked hand in hand towards the city. The Hejian County Magistrate and the County Lieutenant led the Zhao army to escort 10,000 Yan troops away.
The city gates were re-defended and more troops were deployed.
Although the Yan army surrendered, Wuyang City still did not relax its vigilance.
Moreover, Qu Jing also cut off the rope pulling the city gate, and disgusted Zhao Jun before he died.
"What are you going to do with these captured generals?" Jin Yao ordered a banquet and asked.
"Same as before, stay in Zhao for five years and then return to Yan." Li Mu said.
This is Zhao Kuo's approach, and if nothing unexpected happens, it will become a routine in the future.
"The previous batch hasn't been released yet, but now they have objections. If there are another hundred thousand, it may be difficult to manage." Jin Mao frowned and said.
Logically speaking, Zhao should have released the Yan army captured five years ago a month ago.
What you promise should be kept, even to a group of prisoners.
In fact, Zhao Guo did the same thing.
Even if they knew that putting these Yan troops back would greatly increase the difficulty of annexing the Yan Kingdom.
Zhao Kuo still ordered him to be released.
The country's credibility is more important than anything else.
As long as the State of Zhao wants to annex the State of Yan, and wants the people of the State of Yan to recognize the State of Zhao and become the inherent territory of the State of Zhao, the people of Yan must not let the people of Yan lose trust in the State of Zhao.
Otherwise, it will just be like the Qi State. Although it destroyed the Yan State, it was eventually driven out by the Yan people.
It also left behind the seeds of infamy and hatred.
The 200,000 Yan army prisoners represented 200,000 families. This was a huge force.
As long as this group of people recognizes the State of Zhao and does not oppose the rule of the State of Zhao.
Yan State will soon be able to integrate into Zhao State.
vice versa.
Therefore, as soon as the summer harvest was over, Zhao State began to gather captives from all over the country and gathered them in the river, preparing to send them back to Yan State.
But who would have thought that at this moment, Yan State declared war on Zhao State!
The imperial court quickly ordered the release of prisoners to be suspended until the war was over before they could be released.
The captives of the Yan army still understood Zhao Guo. After all, Zhao Guo did intend to let them go back. Now there are just some accidents.
But understanding is understanding, and understanding does not mean that there will be no dissatisfaction.
Everyone has been imprisoned in Zhao State for five years, and no one wants to go home early.
You send us letters every year, and your family says it's good, but who knows whether it's true or not.
You promised well before, and we have worked tirelessly for the past five years to help you reclaim wasteland, manage saline-alkali land, and control floods, just to be able to go home on time.
As a result, it's been a month now and you still don't let us go back.
The 200,000 captives of the Yan army were not only dissatisfied with the Zhao State, but also resented the Yan State.
You just left us in the Zhao Kingdom, but when we were about to go back, you declared war on the Zhao Kingdom. Isn’t this because you are innocent and can’t get along with us?
Jin Mao is even more troubled. All the 200,000 prisoners of the Yan army are now in Hejian County, doing nothing but waiting to go home.
Two hundred thousand mouths provide food every day!
If there are another hundred thousand mouths, there will be food and fodder that Zhao Jun himself needs.
Even if the granaries in Wuyang were piled up into mountains, they would not be able to sustain such consumption.
If you put it back one day earlier, you can save one more day's worth of food.
"The county guard told those captives of the Yan army that Zhao will definitely release them back to Yan before the autumn harvest." Li Mu looked to the north, holding the sword tightly in his right hand, and his body exuded a confident light.
"The general is planning to..." Jin Bao's hand holding the wine glass stopped in mid-air.
"Your Majesty's secret edict! Go north! Destroy Yan!" Li Mu said in a deep voice.
"How come I don't know what happened when?" Jin Yao said in shock.
It didn't take them even an hour to defeat the Yan army. How could there be a secret edict from the king!
"Before sending out the army, the king handed it over to the general. The general did not tell the county guard. Because the king said that if the war goes well, after defeating the Yan army, he will go north to destroy the Yan army. If the war does not go well, he will defend the border.
Can.
In this battle, Yan State recruited almost all the adult men in the country, all the troops were captured, and the country was extremely empty. However, our army had almost no damage, and reinforcements led by Qingshe would arrive today, and Yuan Hua led the navy to control the flood (
The lower reaches of the Yongding River (the Haihe River should not have been fully formed at this period) is the best time to destroy Yan." Li Mu said excitedly.
Li Mu never thought that one day he would be responsible for the destruction of the country.
Even if the weakest state of Yan is destroyed, it will still be the destruction of the country!
It’s unmatched by other feats!
When Jin Mao heard this, he also became excited.
Li Mu is the chief general, and he is the deputy general. If he can destroy the country, he will also receive huge contributions.
This was something that was unthinkable in Korea before.
"Whenever the general goes north, there will definitely be no shortage of food and grass in the rear. Even if the subordinates are hungry, they will definitely feed the frontline soldiers." Jin Mao gritted his teeth and said.
The two of them are also interesting, one calls himself a junior general and the other calls himself a lower official.
"Let's check the news from the Yan army's camp first. After the reinforcements arrive, we will go north to destroy Yan." Li Mu picked up a glass of wine and drank it down in one gulp, his pride rising to the sky.
The reason why we didn't wait for reinforcements today was because we were worried about changes.
But to destroy Yan, you still have to wait for reinforcements, otherwise the 10,000 soldiers who went out hard and did not gain any merit will have problems with Li Mu.
As the commander-in-chief, Li Mu must consider the feelings of all soldiers in the army.