Returning to the official office, I found Teng Yi and asked him to send someone to urgently summon Huan Qi back to Xianyang for discussion.
Unexpectedly, Jing Jun heard the news and came, knowing that he had no place to accompany him, so he refused to rest. Ren Xiang and Teng used both soft and hard tactics. For example, they said that he was newly married and was not suitable for the expedition, or that he needed to command all the cavalry in Beijing.
If so, even if you hit him, he won't be able to move.
In the end, Xiang and Teng had no choice but to give in. Xiang Shaolong went back to the palace to meet Xiaopan, and appointed Jing Jun as another deputy general. The generals of the cavalry were put in charge of Lord Changping, and Zhao Dajuan was appointed as the deputy commander, so the matter was settled.
.
The plan was to go to the military camp outside the city to select elite soldiers, return all the old and weak to their places, and hand over the new soldiers to Mengwu and Mengtian for training.
That night Huan Qi arrived. The three brothers, Huan Qi and Wu Guo, spread out the map and studied the details of the march all night.
In the morning, everyone took a nap and then went their separate ways.
Xiang Shaolong entered the palace and held a meeting with Xiaopan. In addition to Lord Changping and Lu Buwei, there were also Wang Ling, Miao Du and the Queen Mother Zhu Ji.
Although Lu Buwei wanted to kill Xiang Shaolong, for the sake of his own interests, he never wanted Xiang Shaolong to lose this crucial battle that was related to the rise and fall of the Qin Dynasty, so he acted very cooperatively.
Only then did Xiang Shaolong realize how prosperous and powerful the Qin State was. There was no problem at all in terms of the supply of food, weapons, chariots and horses. He could get whatever Xiang Shaolong wanted.
After the meeting was over, Lu Buwei, Zhu Ji and Miao Du left one after another. Xiang Shaolong said to Xiaopan, Lord Changping and Wang Ling: "Now the enemy has won consecutive battles, the five countries are united, and the momentum is like a rainbow. If I rashly fight the enemy,
Defeat is inevitable. The only way is to first make the enemy feel arrogant, then lure them deeper, and use the scorched earth method to completely evacuate the people in the villages and counties along the way. Wait until the enemy's supply line is stretched infinitely, far away from the logistics
Base, use the steep mountains and dense forests to raid with surprise troops. If you win, pursue and attack fiercely. If you can't defeat, retreat in a roundabout way, thereby destroying the enemy's spirit. When the time is right, start a decisive battle with the enemy's main force. Then this battle will be at least
We are 90% sure of victory."
The three people's eyes lit up at the same time.
Xiang Shaolong said: "Most of the enemy generals are acquaintances of the ministers. They know that I have always been brave and not afraid of death. When they heard that I was leading the army, they would guess that I would fight immediately. I will do as they wish.
We retreated after a slight defeat, pretending to build fortifications. At this time, summer was coming to an end and autumn and winter were coming. The enemy did not want to miss the opportunity and would launch a fierce attack before winter, hoping to at least capture the peripheral strategic cities approaching Xianyang. I was in Qicheng
Arrange everything and wait for them to attack in winter. As long as they can win one battle, they will be afraid of the snow on the road and run out of supplies, so they must retreat immediately. That is our opportunity to pursue them.
.”
Wang Ling struck the knot and sighed: "No wonder Lu Gong always praised Xu Shaolong as a fierce general after Bai Qi. Just listen to Shaolong's tactics, and you will know that you use your troops like a sword, know the enemy, and you will not be in danger in a hundred battles."
"
Xiang Shaolong smiled bitterly and said: "It's easy to say, but in practice you have to be careful and make no mistakes. Fortunately, the leader of the coalition is not Li Mu, otherwise he would not have fallen into the trap."
Xiaopan said happily: "Even if Taifu faces Li Mu, I think he still has to give in. Alas, I should have a good night's sleep tonight."
Lord Changping said: "When Shaolong Kaijing comes back, I will hold a banquet for ten or so at Zuifeng Tower to celebrate Shaolong's victory."
After talking and laughing for a while, Xiang Shaolong returned to the official office. He was surprised to see Xiang Baoer playing with everyone on horseback in the square. His beloved wife and maidservants all came from the ranch, and Zhou Liang, who had not been seen for a long time, immediately came to see him.
He knelt on the ground and said loudly: "Zhou Liangxing has fulfilled his mission and brought the Eagle King back."
Xiang Shaolong said happily: "Where is the Eagle King?"
Zhou Liang stood up proudly, licking his lips and letting out a musical whistle.
The sound of breaking wind came from the sky.
Xiang Shaolong was startled. He looked up and saw a gray-black falcon with wings spread up to five feet. It swooped down and landed on Zhou Liang's shoulder with dexterity like a god. Its eagle eyes were terrifying and cold.
Observe the people and things around you coldly.
Xiang Shaolong took a deep breath and said: "Doesn't this Eagle King need to be restrained with iron rings and his head and eyes covered?"
Zhou Liang said proudly: "Of course not, otherwise it would not be considered the king of eagles. It took me a year to find it, and another two years of training day and night before I dared to bring it back to see Master Xiang. Just now
Hearing that Lord Xiang will lead an army to fight in Hangu the day after tomorrow, Zhou Liang is willing to follow Lord Xiang and use the Eagle King to help Lord Xiang to detect the true nature of the enemy and guarantee that he can accomplish extraordinary feats."
Wu Tingfang pulled Zhou Wei to Xiang Shaolong and said with a smile: "This Eagle King is spiritual, as if he admires Zhou Liang's words. No matter where we hid just now, this divine eagle could easily find us."
, even when it is hiding in the house, it can be seen through the windows and doors, which is really fun."
Xiang Shaolong secretly thought that if there were an extra spy satellite, he could detect the enemy at high altitude. Tai smiled and said, "Now that the Eagle King is on the battlefield, this battle will be invincible."
Zhou Liang shouted again, and the Eagle King fluttered its wings and rushed towards the sky, turning into a small black dot hovering in the blink of an eye.
The Eagle King is circling and flying in the clear sky, and in the woods and fields below is the endless Qin army.
The arms of the Qin State are mainly divided into the army and the navy. The latter is far less developed and important than the former due to practical needs.
The army is further divided into three branches: chariot, cavalry and infantry.
When chariot troops arrived in the Warring States Period, their role was greatly reduced compared to the Spring and Autumn Period. However, in some cases, especially plain battles, they still played a role, such as breaking down enemy lines, disrupting enemy formations, or using them to create mobile formations.
Barriers, to resist the impact of enemy troops, etc.
However, Xiang Shaolong was facing the mainly mountainous situation in the area from Hangu to Xianyang, and he was not good at using chariots, so he completely abandoned them in this expedition. He only used cavalry and infantry as the main force.
After Xiang Shaolong's Hundred Battles Sword came out, Xiaopan ordered people to mass-produce it according to its shape. Uncle Qing personally instructed the craftsmen to refine a batch of thick-backed long knives, although they were far inferior to the chrome-added Bai Zhan swords.
The sword has greatly enhanced the cutting ability of the Qin cavalry when charging into battle, and it comes in handy this time.
Of the 100,000 people who went on the expedition, more than 30,000 were cavalry, coming from the Duqi and Yuan divisions, as well as the elite soldiers from the Qianwu family, who were Xiang Shaolong's main combat force.
There are two types of infantry: light infantry and heavy infantry. They are all regular troops who have undergone certain rigorous training in their respective counties.
Light infantry do not wear armor and carry bows, crossbows and other weapons. They sit in the front row during war and specialize in killing enemies from long distances.
Hoplites wore bronze armor and used long weapons such as daggers, spears, and halberds to fight the enemy at close quarters.
In Xiang Shaolong's expeditionary force, the light infantry accounted for 30,000 people, while the heavy infantry accounted for 40,000 people.
In this era, the success or failure of a war depends not only on the use of overall strategy, but also on how the general brings out the strengths of each unit and how they coordinate with each other.
As for the organization of the army, the unit system is adopted: five people form a group, fifty people form a group, and from there, five thousand people form a band, and five groups form a unit. Therefore, a unit has 25,000 people,
Xiang Shaolong's army strength is four.
According to the Qin system, military generals at all levels can have their own direct guards, which are usually one-tenth of the troops under their command. For example, Xiang Shaolong can now increase his number from 3,000 to 10,000 personal guards.
Due to frequent wars, the generals who led the army, such as Meng Ao and Wang Chi, would not disband even if their troops returned to the court. Their role was to protect the safety of generals, so only Meng Ao could mobilize his troops to attack the ranch.
Therefore, once you become a leading general, not only will your status be improved, but your strength will also be greatly enhanced.
Xiang Shaolong's military knowledge mainly comes from the 21st century. Although he studied Mozi's Art of War, he did not follow the rules and separated the mixed arms. Jing Jun and Teng Yidun led the cavalry first, while Huan Qi led the infantry.
Behind them came the baggage mules and horses team led by Wu Guo.
Because he was determined to lure the enemy deeper, the main forces of Huan Qi and Wu Guo stayed in Fucheng. On one side, they strengthened their defenses and built forts and traps. On the other side, Huan Qi trained his troops to familiarize themselves with the terrain, thus eliminating the need for long distances.
The pain of marching can also evacuate the residents of the nearby countryside, allowing them to safely evacuate to Gaoling, Zhiyang and other large cities in the rear.
Marching was originally the top priority of the war, but fortunately, we took the safe official roads in Qin's territory until we reached the front line. In addition, there was the Eagle King exploring the road, so we marched for a long time and galloped very quickly.
Five days later, Xiang Shaolong's cavalry passed through Qicheng. On the right were Lishan Mountain, Zhushan Mountain and other large mountains, and in the distance ahead was Huashan Mountain. The terrain began to be uneven.
In order to maintain the morale of the army, Xiang Shaolong went out every morning and set up camp to rest in the afternoon, so the soldiers did not have to work hard.
After walking eastward from Wucheng for another ten days, we finally arrived at Mount Huashan.
If you have the heart to have fun, there will be endless scenic spots along the way.
On this scorching summer day, green trees are blooming, wild flowers are blooming, and the scenery is beautiful.
It's a pity that no one has the intention to watch. On this dangerous road surrounded by mountains and crisscrossed ravines, sometimes there are cliffs towering into the sky on one side, and on the other side there are deep ravines that can crush people and horses to pieces. The Deshui River rumbles under the feet in the distance on the left.
As it flows by, I have to be careful to avoid making mistakes.
Zhou Liang became Xiang Shaolong's personal attendant.
The Eagle King would fly back and land on his shoulders from time to time. Xiang Shaolong also admired the intimacy between humans and animals.
Now he understands more and more why it is easy for the Qin people to attack the six eastern countries, but it is harder for the six countries to attack Qin than to reach the sky. Qin relies on the natural dangers at its feet, and the reason why he can use this clever plan this time is precisely because of this
A dangerous situation.
The five countries were actually at war and were suspicious of each other. Only because the Qin people threatened too much, they temporarily stopped fighting and joined forces to attack Qin. Such a combination would never last.
Therefore, it was Pang Yuan who replaced him. If there were no climate problems, he would have attacked Xianyang directly as soon as he had the opportunity to avoid long nights and many dreams and collapse without a fight.
Therefore, he does not have to worry about whether his love will be satisfactory or not.
After walking on the mountain road for five days, we came to a relatively flat place. In the field of blooming mountain flowers, we met Meng Aofeng's team recalled to Beijing.
Xiang Shaolong, Teng Yishang Xingjun and Meng Ao held a simple ceremony to hand over the soldier runes in the commander's tent.
Meng Ao is obviously older than before, his face is weathered and his face has turned from black to white. His demeanor is polite but he keeps a distance.
He went to great lengths to describe the situation between the enemy and ourselves on the front line in detail, and his tone was not optimistic.
In the end, he concluded: "Pang Yuan deserves to be a famous military strategist in the East. Now Chen Binghangu is waiting for our army to come for reinforcements before defeating him in one fell swoop. Then he takes advantage of the momentum and goes straight to Xianyang. Now he sees that Shaolong is just riding lightly.
Come, it can be seen that I have seen through Pang Yuan's intentions and will not have a full-scale confrontation with him, I am very happy."
Xiang Shaolong secretly praised him for being worthy of being a famous general. He could see through his intentions with just one glance. He smiled slightly and did not answer.
Meng Ao sighed suddenly and whispered: "Can I have a few private words with Shaolong?"
Teng Yi and others were all well-informed people and hurriedly retreated outside the tent.
Meng Ao looked up at the top of the tent, as if he didn't know where to start. After a while, he sighed again and said: "I, Meng Ao, have never been willing to beg for help in a low voice, so I have never been liked by the people of Qin, until I got Mr. Zhong."
Only by being promoted can you have the opportunity to display your ambitions, travel across the battlefield, conquer south and north, and make achievements."
Xiang Shaolong nodded and said: "Everyone has his own experiences and positions, I understand this."
Meng Ao withdrew his gaze, looked at him deeply and said, "I, Meng Ao, only have two sons. Shaolong saved them once. I hope Shaolong will not abandon them in the future. I will learn something from him."
Give back.”
Xiang Shaolong was shocked, knowing that Meng Ao had seen through Meng Wu and Meng Tian and turned to him.
Meng Ao smiled bitterly and said: "Lu Buwei won't be able to defeat you in the end, and Pang Yuan can't please you this time, but Shaolong must be careful about Li Mu. This man is a rare talent in the military. He has won hundreds of battles and has never been defeated. Even after Changping,
We still dare not attack Zhao lightly, just because this person is here. If Shaolong wins this battle, the prince will definitely entrust him with the important task of attacking Zhao. When you meet this person, you must be extremely careful."
Xiang Shaolong felt his scalp numb when he heard what Wang Chi said, and now Meng Ao said this again. He must immediately teach Xiao Pan to transfer Wang Jian back to Xianyang, so that he would not have to fight on the battlefield with this peerless general who deserves everyone's respect.
.
Meng Ao sighed again, then stood up to say goodbye and went out of the tent.
Breaking out of camp the next day, and arriving at the rolling hills fifty miles away from the Qin army's retreat, Xiang Shaolong ordered the camp to be formed into a formation and to build fortifications, cutting off the only route to the west.
At this time, Cheng Jun, the general on the front line, heard the news and came to meet his new immediate boss.
When everyone was inspecting the situation on the top of a slope, Cheng Jun made a report.
Xiang Shaolong said: "If my estimate is correct, the He Congjun will launch a fierce attack as soon as we arrive, trying their best to destroy the defense and undermine the morale of our army, so you must retreat in batches these nights."
Cheng Jun said in shock: "It is absolutely impossible. If our army retreats, no one will be willing to stay and wait for death due to low morale. As long as the enemy attacks harder, they will be defeated without a fight. Moreover, the enemy's light cavalry is fast, and if they chase after them, they will be defeated."
Come, we may be in danger of annihilation."
Xiang Shaolong said with a smile: "What General Cheng said is true, but our army wanted them to think that I was inexperienced, which is why we made this fatal mistake. And the biggest problem is to retreat without chaos and retreat without losses.
.”
When Cheng Jun was stunned, Teng Yi said: "The first batch of our retreat were only the sick, old and weak soldiers. At the same time, we announced to our army that reinforcements had arrived, and we also exaggerated it to 300,000 troops, commanded by Wang Jian and our General Xiang.
This will surely stabilize the morale of the military and prevent chaos."
Cheng Jun was stunned when he heard this.
Even if soldiers are not tired of deception, they always deceive the enemy. It is indeed rare to deceive one's own people, but it has to be admitted that it is a wonderful way to stabilize the morale of the army.
Xiang Shaolong is a legendary figure who is well-known in the Qin family. Although he has no illustrious military exploits, he is the object of worship of the Qin army and has a great reputation. Wang Jian has outstanding military exploits and is famous in the northwest territory. If these two famous names
The generals will join forces to lead the army to help, but morale will not be boosted.
Xiang Shaolong smiled and said: "General Teng and I will accompany General Cheng to sneak back to Suga after entering the dark and arrange everything. General Cheng and your subordinates please rest for a while and recuperate before you can take action later."
Cheng Jun understood and went happily.
Xiang Shaolong and Teng Jing, together with Zhou Liang, the Eighteen Iron Guards and the Wu family disciples, rushed out of the camp to study the nearby terrain and see how to set up an ambush to resist the pursuit of the enemy's light cavalry when they withdrew their troops.
It was not until dusk that we returned to the camp. After eating the banquet, we and Cheng Jun sneaked towards the front line.
The Eagle King flew into the starry sky and searched for the enemy's scouts first. He discovered eight enemies one after another, but they avoided them all.
When Cheng Jun saw that there was such a powerful flying sentinel in the world, he immediately admired him and his confidence in Xiang Shaolong greatly increased.
The Qin army's camp was set up on a high hill, blocking the road to Qin in the west. With the mountain behind it and the plains facing it, only lights ten miles away could be seen like starlight, and the mountains and fields were full of enemy camps, which made people tremble at the sight.
When Xiang Shaolong arrived, Cheng Junru ordered Xiang Shaolong to lead the vanguard. As expected, the news that General Wang Jian was coming soon boosted morale and everyone geared up to prepare for a counterattack.
At this time, Teng Yi and Zhou Liang led a thousand Wu family elite troops who were skilled in climbing mountains and ridges and fighting in the dark, hiding in the mountain pass. With the sharp eyes of the Eagle King, they eliminated the enemy's spies who had climbed mountains and forests.
, so as not to reveal the secret of withdrawing troops.
Xiang Shaolong summoned more than a hundred generals to him. After some encouragement, he ordered the sick, sick and weak to be evacuated immediately. Everyone thought he was being considerate and accepted the order happily.
By daybreak, Xiang Shaolong sent away nearly 30,000 people, leaving only 120,000 stronger troops to guard the front line of the high base and deep ditch.
Cheng Jun accompanied him on his inspection tours, and when he climbed to a high place to take a closer look, the situation between the enemy and ourselves became clear.
We saw that both the enemy and ourselves were setting up camps high in the hills. They took advantage of the woods, mountains, rocks, hills and other natural conditions to cut down trees and erect fences, which became effective defensive fortifications against arrows and stones. They also dug trenches that were several miles long, forming a
A situation of confrontation with each other.
The place Meng Ao chose to set up his stronghold was very advantageous. On one side was the Yellow River, with water as a barrier, and on the other side were cliffs, making it difficult for birds to cross. The nearly five miles of mountainous land between the river cliffs were covered with layers of fences and ditches.
Strong wooden forts were set up on every high mountain. Nearly a hundred wooden forts echoed each other. The defense was impeccable. No wonder they were able to stand up to the He Congjun for three months.
Cheng Jun pointed to more than a dozen large boats parked in the river near the enemy camp and said: "These are all Wei people's boats. They carry food, equipment, and soldiers one after another. Among them are a large number of equipment for attacking camps and breaking down strongholds.
We have a very bad situation here.”
Teng Yi said: "How many large-scale attacks have they launched?"
Cheng Jundao: "There were only two large-scale attacks at the beginning, but we were able to repulse them both with great difficulty. Both sides suffered heavy casualties."
Xiang Shaolong looked across the vast expanse of Qianyuan that separated the two sides, thinking about the brutal offensive and defensive battle that day, and also remembered that Han Chuang, Xu Yize and other old friends might be peeping at him there, and he couldn't help but have mixed feelings.
Teng Yi looked at the enemy's endless camps and sea of flags, took a deep breath and said: "No wonder General Meng Shang is going to lose the battle. Just looking at the layout of the enemy's camp, you can tell that the enemy's leader is well versed in the art of war. Now the enemy
The strength of our troops is more than five times that of ours. As long as we use fire attack and night attack, we can break through our stronghold in less than ten days. It can be seen that they are holding back their troops and are just waiting for the arrival of our reinforcements so that they can take advantage of the exhausted men and horses to attack them in one fell swoop.
Just beat us."
When Xiang Shaolong looked at the Eagle King hovering in the sky, Cheng Jun pointed out the distribution of troops and the styles of the flags of the five countries.
Zan Shaolong took a deep breath, put aside all the thoughts that were bothering him, and ordered: "It's not too late. In the evening, we will pretend that the army has just arrived, lure the enemy to attack, and pile up firewood in the stronghold, so
Burn the stronghold to intercept the enemy, and then retreat in batches."
Teng and Cheng both accepted the order with a bang.