"Your Majesty, General Jia Yan has sent a message that Rangcheng is empty and there is not a single Qin army in the city." A cavalryman galloped over from a distance. After seeing Zhao Kuo, he quickly got off his horse and cupped his fists to report.
"It seems that all the Qin troops have evacuated from Rangcheng." Zhao Kuo looked at the generals below.
"The Qin army marched northwest and either retreated to Xicheng and Yuzhong, or retreated from Wuguan to Guanzhong. I suggested that the entire army attack Xicheng and Yuzhong, and then attack Guanzhong from Wuguan after capturing the two cities. ." Li Si said with his fists clasped.
Xicheng and Yuzhong are not big cities, but the Qin army has troops stationed in both places. If the Zhao army does not capture these two cities and directly attacks Wuguan, it will face the risk of intercepting the food route.
This is also the reason why ancient wars were fought city by city.
Fan Ju proposed a plan to let Wang Ling attack Handan from Hanoi, which was extremely risky. Once Lian Po reacted and cut off the Qin army's food route, tens of thousands of Qin troops would not only be defeated, but they might also be attacked by the Zhao army.
Therefore, it was not until the last moment that Fan Ju had no choice but to resort to this plan.
However, there is one exception, that is, the army does not need food routes, so it does not need to fight from city to city.
Just like when the nomads went south, as long as they crossed the Great Wall, they could drink the Yellow River, burn, kill and loot everywhere. The food they robbed was enough to sustain the consumption of the army, and there was even a surplus. There was no need to transport food from the rear, so there was no The grain road is cut off.
"It is better to divide the troops into two places and attack Xicheng and Yuzhong at the same time." Gongsun Long said.
"Okay. Pass the order. The army will set out tomorrow to attack Xicheng and Yuzhong." Zhao Kuo stood up and said.
It is impossible to move out today, and we still have to pursue the Qin army today.
…
Touman sat in the camp with a golden sword, holding a book in his hand and constantly reading it. When he read something he didn't understand, he asked the scribes next to him.
The scribe yawned and explained to Touman sentence by sentence.
It's not that Touman worked extremely hard and started reading before dawn. It's that he was responsible for the vigilance from midnight to noon, and Mengwu was responsible for the vigilance from noon to midnight.
It was his responsible time now and he couldn't sleep, so Touman sat in the tent and read.
After living in the Kingdom of Zhao for such a long time, Touman knew that having force alone was not enough. If he wanted to become a coach, or even obtain a fief, and manage the fief well, he must have enough wisdom.
So Touman began to study, learn from various schools of thought, learn to command troops, and learn battle formations. When he encountered something he didn't understand, he would ask others for advice.
Almost all the generals and counselors in the Zhao army were consulted by Touman.
Touman, who was born as a barbarian, has a face that most people don't have. Whether he is facing someone who is higher than him or someone who is lower than him, he can shamelessly ask for advice.
Some people didn't want to teach him, but Touman didn't get angry. He would still smile and salute next time he saw them.
If he is willing to teach him, Touman will become more respectful.
Xunzi once commented on Touman. If the Xiongnu were not destroyed, Touman would definitely become the great enemy of Zhao.
"Report...general, Your Majesty has an order for the Qin army to withdraw to the northwest. You and General Meng Wu are ordered to immediately lead the army to stop the Qin army." A messenger ran in from outside the camp and said with clasped fists.
"The Qin army has withdrawn!" Hearing this, Touman suddenly stood up from his seat, took the letter from Zhao Kuo, and after checking that there was no problem, immediately ordered, "beat the drum and assemble."
Not long after, Meng Wu and Tou Man led the Zhao army to rush out of the camp.
…
On the road from Rangcheng to Xicheng, the Qin army formed a long queue and slowly marched towards Xicheng.
Even when marching, the Qin army was still closely connected and interlocked without any confusion.
Zhao Jun's cavalry followed behind them and kept firing arrows to attack, but they never charged.
Until Le Cheng led the Youyun Iron Cavalry and arrived.
"Brothers, follow me and charge!" Le Cheng said nothing, Ma Shan waved forward and led the Youyun Iron Cavalry directly towards the Qin army.
"Brothers, rush!"
The war clouds rolled crazily, and the ground trembled. With Youyun Cavalry as the vanguard, Zhao Jun's cavalry instantly had a backbone and followed Youyun Cavalry closely towards the Qin army.
"Fire the arrow!" Bai Qi ordered.
Dang Dang Dang!
Clear collision sounds continued to sound, and arrows fell on the body. The speed of Youyun Iron Cavalry did not slow down at all, and it directly fought against the Qin army despite the rain of arrows.
"Die!" A ferocious smile appeared on Le Cheng's face, and he swept his horse towards the Qin army in front of him.
puff!
Blood spurted out more than one meter high, and a huge human head rose into the sky and fell into the Qin army.
The Youyun cavalry followed closely behind Le Cheng and rushed into the Qin army unstoppably. Their huge horse hooves instantly trampled the Qin army into pulp. The Qin army was defeated one after another. They no longer had the courage to fight the Zhao army and fled to the rear.
Bai Qi's face was cold, and the Zhao army reacted too quickly. The Qin army was overtaken before they had traveled far. If this continues, by the time they reach Xicheng, the Qin army will be almost killed.
If he had known this, he should have evacuated Rangcheng half a month ago.
"The only solution for now is to throw away the money, hoping to delay Zhao Jun for a while." Wei Ran came over and said.
His expression was not good-looking. Everyone had expected that Zhao Jun would send troops to pursue him, but they did not expect that Zhao Jun would be so quick. This was very different from their previous plan.
"That's all we can do." Bai Dian nodded and ordered, "Send the order and scatter all the money in the army on the roadside. Don't leave any money behind."
Soon, boxes of gold, silver, jewelry, and copper coins were brought up and fell to the side of the road under the distressed eyes of Qin Jun.
Although the Qin army robbed a lot of money in Wei, after being defeated by Wei Wuji, most of the money was not taken away. Fortunately, before leaving Rangcheng, the Qin army evacuated the entire Rangcheng, and everything that could be taken away was
He took them away and collected a lot of treasures.
Zhao Jun looked at the gold and silver treasures on both sides, his eyes suddenly straightened, his legs felt like they were filled with lead, and he could not move forward no matter what.
The treatment given to them by the State of Zhao was very good, unmatched by any country in the world.
But it still can't change the fact that most of them are not rich, and the money everywhere is like nothing they have ever seen before.
As long as you get off your horse and grab a handful from the ground, you can keep up with their salary for several months.
If they waited for the soldiers to catch up, it would be impossible for them to get so much money.
But military orders are like mountains. If you disobey military orders, you will definitely be punished, and you may even be beheaded.
There were military orders on one side and the temptation of money on the other. Most people showed struggle on their faces.
But no one got off the horse to pick up the money on the ground.
They are not new recruits who have just been recruited for a few months. All the cavalry of Zhao State, except for the Hu people, have either followed Zhao Kuo since the Battle of Changping, or they are the Great Wall Army guarding the border. They have been trained for at least six years.
Strict training.
They will hesitate because of money, but they will never disobey military orders immediately after seeing money.
"The elites of Zhao's army are hard to resist." Bai Qi couldn't help but sigh when he saw this.
He couldn't understand how such a legion was trained.
After leading troops for so many years, he has never seen such an elite army.
This is not hundreds or thousands, but tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of troops!
Looking at the world, except for Zhao, the other six countries... no, it is impossible for the five countries combined to gather so many elites.
In the past, he thought that the Qin army was already a strong army in the world, but now he knows what a strong army is.
"What are you doing? You can't walk when you see money? Are you so promising? How do I teach you? If the Qin army comes and kills you while you are picking up money, what will you do? Is money or life more important?
important?"
"Originally, this money will be distributed to you after it is seized, but now everyone has it. In addition, I will report to the king. Today, everyone, including me, will be fined for one month. If you have any objections, go to the king.
.Now, listen to the order and follow me to kill the enemy."
Le Cheng rushed over from not far away, his cheeks were red with anger, he pointed at all the Zhao troops and cursed.
Zhao Jun lowered his head in shame.
If the State of Zhao had shortchanged their salaries and rewards, they would be forgiven for seeing that their money could not be used.
After all, we are all human beings, and being a soldier is mainly for living. If you can't even afford food, or even support your wife and children, it would be a bit illusory to talk about protecting your family and country.
But the State of Zhao has never shortchanged their salaries or lacked their rewards. As long as they don't use their salaries and rewards for gambling or anything like that, it will definitely not be a problem for the family to have enough to eat and buy two new clothes during the Chinese New Year.
.
Everyone knows how Zhao Guo treats them, so they always feel that they owe Zhao Guo, and their contributions are not worthy of what Zhao Guo gives.
This makes them even more ashamed.
However, there was no time for them to reflect on the battlefield. Le Cheng had already fought his way out, and the Zhao army followed behind them, killing the Qin army even more angrily.
Qin Jun looked at Zhao Jun in confusion. What does it matter to me that your salary was deducted? Why are you venting your anger on me?
"I... underestimated Zhao Jun." Wei Ran looked at the scene in front of him silently, with a turmoil in his heart.
Although he doesn't want to admit it, the reality is right in front of him: he helped Zhao Jun complete a growth...
He was sure that after what he had experienced today, Zhao Jun would not even look at the money on the ground when encountering such a situation in the future.
An army that was not moved by money, Wei Ran could not imagine what kind of army could defeat them.
Bai Qi grasped the hilt of the sword with his right hand, his expression turned extremely ugly. He wanted to lead his troops back several times, but his reason told him that this would not solve any problem.
If the Zhao army's cavalry were to hold them back, no one from the Qin army would be able to escape until the Zhao army's infantry caught up.
"I will come to the rear, and I will buy an hour for the army." Wei Ran sighed, turned around and walked in the opposite direction to everyone else.
Qin Wangji is old, and he is older than Qin Wangji.
He watched Qin gradually become stronger and stronger, overwhelming the six kingdoms, and then watched Qin gradually decline.
Let him do one last thing for Qin.
"Ranghou!" Bai Qi said urgently, his cold eyes showing rare true feelings.
"Lead the troops back to Xicheng. Don't worry. After this battle, the king will never want to get rid of you again. You must assist the king well." Wei Ran said slowly.
In the past, Bai Qi was extremely proud, and he was unwilling to bow his head even when facing Qin Wangji.
But now when Bai Qi sees Qin Wangji, he will lower his head unconsciously.
The destruction of Fei Lian's army completely destroyed Bai Qi's pride, and made Bai Qi feel sorry for King Qin Ji.
Although Qin Wangji was afraid of him, he did not give him any constraints. The whole army obeyed him in military affairs. Even his old enemy Fan Ju tried his best to plan for him. Qin Wangji even handed over Feilian Army to him.
.
It can be said that from beginning to end, Qin Wangji never felt sorry for him.
But he betrayed Qin Wangji's trust, which was hard to accept for the proud Bai Qi.
But in Wei Ran's opinion, it was indeed a good thing.
There are two main reasons why Bai Qi is afraid of King Qin, one is his prestige and the other is his character.
The prestige is too high!
The character is so stinky!
If Bai Qi hadn't really been able to fight, Qin Wangji would have killed him long ago. How could he have tolerated him for decades?
Now that both problems have been solved, Bai Qi's life has been saved.
"Ranghou." Bai Qi strode after him.
"Don't worry about me. Go back and tell the king to take care of the families of all the soldiers who died fighting for the Qin army." Wei Ran said loudly.
He and Bai Qi have one thing in common, that is, their prestige in Qin is too high.
However, he is Qin Wangji's uncle. As long as he does not rebel, Qin Wangji will not kill him.
But as long as he is around, his descendants will be suppressed.
Only if he dies will his descendants not be suppressed and prosper under his shadow.
Bai Qi stopped, looked at Wei Ran's back, leaned over and saluted, and resolutely led the army away.
Wei Ran led an army of five thousand across the road, which happened to be in a valley. Although the mountains on both sides were not high, they were enough for defense.
Wei Ran ordered two thousand soldiers to guard the hillsides on both sides, and led an army of three thousand to block the valley.
"General, the front is blocked by mountains, we can't go through." Le Cheng led Youyun Cavalry to fight here, and a soldier pointed to the front and said.
"He is, where did Zhao Feiqi go? He couldn't have gone the wrong way, right?" Le Cheng said in a deep voice. Although this terrain is not dangerous, only Zhao Feiqi among the cavalry can fly over it.
Even if Yun Tieqi broke the horse's legs, he still wouldn't be able to fly over.
What he didn't know was that Zhao Feiqi had flown over long ago and was now blocked at another pass.
In order to block the Zhao army's pursuit, the Qin army built three passes along the way. Although these passes were not easy to defend and difficult to attack, it was not a problem to delay the Zhao army for a few hours.
However, the Qin army's plan was ruined by the Zhao army's gathering speed, which far exceeded that of an ordinary army. Before the Qin army could reach the first pass, the Zhao army caught up from behind.
Wei Ran could only lead the army to the rear.
What Zhao Feiqi was facing now was the first pass set up by the Qin Army. This was a mountain range extending eastward from the Qinling Mountains, called Funiu Mountain. The highest peak was called Lingshan Mountain, and turbulent water flowed from the foot of Lingshan Mountain.
It is said that it used to be called Yunshan. Qu Yuan came here and praised it as a spiritual mountain. After that, people called it Lingshan.
This was once the border between Qin and Chu, and many wars broke out between the two countries here.