Outside Guanglang City, the shouts of killing were deafening, and the Qin army all over the mountains and plains rushed toward Guanglang City with large shields and ladders like moths rushing to the flames.
There is a saying in the art of war: if you are ten, you are to surround it, if you are five, you are attacking, and if you are doubled, you are fighting. Now, let alone ten or five, the Qin army cannot even double it.
If we attack forcefully, we will not only lose the lives of the soldiers in vain, but we may also be overturned by the Zhao army.
Bai Qi originally planned to trap the Zhao army to death in Shangdang, but the King of Qin strictly ordered him to defeat the Zhao army within a month. Bai Qi had no choice but to personally lead the army to attack.
In order to defend against the Qin army, Lian Po built fortresses one after another outside Guanglang City and Changping City, and dug trenches one after another, connecting them in series with each other and the city, so that they could attack or retreat at any time.
Every morning, after the Qin army had eaten and drank enough, they began to launch a strong attack, and then they were overwhelming, pulling up several fortresses and attacking all the way to Guanglang City.
Then night fell and the Zhao army began to counterattack. The Qin army could not hold these barriers and had to retreat.
During the attack the next day, in order to capture these fortresses, only one or two thousand more corpses could be left behind.
Repeatedly, the Qin army had killed more than 10,000 soldiers, and there was still no sign of breaking through Guanglang City.
Moreover, Lian Po built trenches and fortresses everywhere, and the Qin army's catapults could not push them through, but the Zhao army's catapults could hit them from a long distance away, causing the Qin army to suffer a lot.
In addition, the Zhao army occupied the two cities of Guanglang and Changping, which were guarded by Le Yi and Lian Po respectively. The Qin army attacked Guanglang City, and Lian Po sent troops to rescue him. The Qin army attacked Changping City, and Le Yi sent troops to support.
As a result, the Qin army was often attacked from both sides.
"Did all the letters go in?" Bai Qi asked gloomily. He was really disgusted by the fortress built by Lian Po these days.
But the king had an order, and he had no choice but to fight, so he had to shoot a message into the city, telling the soldiers in the city that the Zhao army was out of food, and defeat would be a matter of time. Surrender now, and the general would not have killed you. If he had waited for the Qin army to break the city,
It will be too late to surrender. By then, not one of the more than 300,000 Zhao troops will be left alive!
"They all shot in, but the Zhao army did not believe the commander. They also said that Zhao Kuo would definitely come to rescue them. The commander of the Zhao army, Le Yi, was also a famous general and very prestigious among the Zhao army. He also ordered the Zhao army to shoot letters at our army.
He said that the four kingdoms of Zhao, Wei, Han and Chu have united, and reinforcements will arrive soon, so let us surrender." Wang Hao said bitterly.
It is already the eleventh day. If this continues, let alone a month, as long as the Zhao army continues to have food and grass, they will not be able to defeat it for a year.
Military orders are like mountains, if the time comes...
Wang Lu was worried.
"Is there any news from the king?" Bai Qi asked.
"No." Wang Hao shook his head.
"Commander, there is news from the king." At this time, a messenger came galloping from the rear.
Bai Qi quickly took the letter, opened it, and his face suddenly darkened, "The king was defeated, and the entire army of 150,000 was almost wiped out."
"What!" Wang Hao said in disbelief.
"Your Majesty ordered us to withdraw to the east of Hedong. Send the order to withdraw the entire army." Bai Qi gave the order immediately without any hesitation.
…
"The Qin army retreated?"
Le Yi stood on the top of the city, looking at the Qin army retreating like a tide, feeling a little confused.
In the past, when the Qin army attacked a city, it would have to wait until the sun went down before retreating. This time it was just after noon.
"Is this a ploy? It shouldn't be. Or is Ma Fuzi coming with reinforcements?" Le Yi suddenly thought.
Excluding ruse, this is the only possibility that can make the Qin army retreat.
"Send scouts immediately to investigate in the direction of Hanoi." Le Yi said with excitement.
…
The next day, the allied forces of Han and Wei crossed the river and entered Yewang City. Li Mu personally went out of the city to greet them.
"Who is this?" Zhao Kuo looked at the sturdy figure next to Li Mu and felt a little strange.
"Meng Ao pays homage to the commander-in-chief." Meng Ao immediately said with clasped fists.
"Commander, he is Meng Ao, the general of the Qin army who previously guarded the Wild King. He is willing to abandon the dark side and join the bright side and join our Zhao Kingdom." Li Mu said immediately.
"Meng Ao?" Zhao Kuo was a little surprised. He was a famous general from the Qin State, and he came from a family of famous generals. Three generations of his ancestors had been famous generals. It was a buy-one-get-some-free kind, and the gift was more powerful than the one bought.
In particular, Meng Ao's grandson Meng Tian defeated the Huns and became famous in later generations.
"Is your son's name Meng Wu?" Zhao Kuo's eyes lit up.
"The commander-in-chief knows Quan Zi?" Meng Wu said in surprise.
"I will report to the king and appoint you as a general." Zhao Kuo said seriously, such a general should not be buried.
"Thank you, Marshal." Meng Wu said excitedly.
Why did he join the Qin State? Isn't it just to win the chance to be a general and a marquis? Now that Zhao Kuo is willing to recommend him, it is not unacceptable to live in the Zhao State!
Entering the Yamen, Zhao Kuo sat at the top, glanced around as usual, made a preliminary analysis of the thoughts in the minds of the generals, and then said.
"Our army has now captured Sanchuan and Hanoi, the Qin army has withdrawn to Hangu Pass and Zhi Pass, the road to Shangdang has been opened, and the grain and grass to support the Zhao army are ready and can be sent to Shangdang at any time."
Zhao Kuo said.
If South Korea and Wei had some crazy reasons for agreeing to join forces, now that they have seen the benefits, they have already sent grain and grass without Zhao Kuo's urging, and even started to urge Zhao Kuo to continue attacking Qin.
"According to my speculation, the State of Qin will definitely ask Bai Qi to withdraw his troops, but to be cautious, it is better to wait for the news to come before starting to transport food and grass. Do you have any other questions about other matters?" Zhao Kuo said.
"Commander, what should we do with these prisoners?" Bao Yuan stood up and asked.
After the King of Qin was defeated and fled, the Qin army also lost its fighting spirit. Except for a few die-hard loyalists, most of the soldiers chose to surrender.
After the first battle, the coalition forces captured nearly 100,000 Qin soldiers.
If these prisoners were put into the hands of a massacre, they would definitely die, but Bao Yuan and others did not have the habit of killing prisoners.
The reason why he proposed it was to divide these prisoners.
Population, especially young men, is a resource for any country. No country will dislike having too many young men. Both South Korea and Wei want more young men.
Zhao Kuo immediately understood the thoughts of the two countries. He thought for a moment and said: "We must not let go. If we let go, and the Qin army recruits us back, this battle will not be fought. Let's see, this battle will be fought by the Wei army."
As the main force, the Wei State will be responsible for 40,000 prisoners, and our Zhao State and South Korea will each share 30,000 prisoners. However, our 30,000 Zhao State will still need food and grass from the two countries to feed us for the time being. What do you think?"
The Wei army sent 200,000 troops, and the Korean army sent 100,000 troops. Moreover, most of Sanchuan and Hanoi were captured by the Wei army. It would definitely not be possible to divide evenly, but the Korean army would not want to be divided less.
Wei has the most, Zhao and South Korea have slightly less. At the same time, both countries have the same number, so it is the easiest for people to accept.
"Okay." The generals looked at each other and found no objection.
"Are there any other questions?" Zhao Kuo asked.
The generals shook their heads.
"In this case, we will raise troops tomorrow to attack Zhiguan."