I have to say that communication in ancient times was very troublesome.
In modern times, this is just a matter of sending a telegram, but in this era, it took many days.
First, the spy who delivered the secret message infiltrated the Chu army.
This step is not a problem, after all, the inspection of Wei State itself is not strict.
The "lax" mentioned here does not mean that the inspection is not strict.
In fact, the inspection methods in various countries are similar at this time. You should carry a tester describing your name, height, and appearance with you, and compare it during the inspection.
This is a relatively primitive test, and people's appearance, height, etc. will change. Especially in this era, people who join the army at the age of seventeen will grow taller and their appearance will change after joining the army.
In addition, injuries and disabilities caused by combat will also change.
Therefore, this certificate needs to be renewed once a year. This is called "self-occupation", which means that when it expires, you can take the initiative to apply for it at the corps leader's office.
This is very strict in the Qin State. If you do not "occupy yourself" by the time limit, you will be punished, and even the corps commander will be punished.
But the other six countries are not so strict.
The reason is that the purpose of establishing household registration in the Six Kingdoms is mainly to collect taxes rather than to identify people. If someone is injured and does not occupy the property, the tax that should be exempted will not be exempted, and the aristocracy will still enjoy themselves secretly.
The result is that the tests in the hands of a considerable number of people are not updated in time and do not match their own. Over time, they become accustomed to it and it doesn't matter whether they check or not... If they check, nothing will be found, so there is no need to check.
Therefore, the messenger sneaked into the Chu army without much effort.
It was not difficult to sneak out from the Chu army. At this time, the Chu army was joined by Wei troops, civilians, and even Zhao troops. It was a lively mixture.
The difficulty lies in not being able to get the horses, but it is more than 600 miles to Handan.
Moreover, it was freezing cold and lacked food and clothing. He was inevitably interrogated along the way. If he hadn't been frozen to death and starved to death, it would have taken more than ten days to arrive.
There were two clever ones among them. They robbed two Chu army messengers on the road and dressed up as Chu soldiers. They rode boldly along the way. As a result, they arrived at Handan on the fourth day.
Rewards are indispensable to them.
After Wang Jian received the secret message and compared it with the map, he immediately praised the plan as "a good plan."
Then without saying anything, he took the secret letter and went to see Ying Zheng.
Ying Zheng read the secret letter and also looked at the map, and then the frown on his forehead relaxed.
"Great plan, Shen Bing really has an idea!"
The secret document contained only a small piece of cowhide, so it did not mention that Shen Bing came up with this method. It only contained the words "An appointment date for cutting ice and releasing water from the Hetao".
The meaning is obvious, it is to agree on a date to cut ice and release water to flood the Chu army.
But Ying Zheng immediately guessed that this strategy was the work of Shen Bing.
No wonder.
Who else could have such an unconstrained and creative strategy if it hadn't come from Shen Bing?
In fact, Wang Jian also thought so, but when Ying Zheng said this, he couldn't help but feel sad:
Alas, the waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead!
Is this old bone about to be eliminated?
Are you going to be forgotten by the king?
I wanted to say a few words.
But then I thought about it, wasn’t I just about to push the power in a low-key manner?
So he remained silent.
Ying Zheng looked at the Chu army's troop layout on the map again, and burst into laughter:
"If this plan can be successful, it will not only rescue Daliang, but also defeat the hundreds of thousands of Chu troops."
"The Chu army is in trouble this time!"
After saying that, he no longer hesitated and immediately gave Wang Jian the order:
"Your ministry will temporarily postpone going south and stay where you are."
"Lead another 30,000 troops to Hetao to dig ice and open the river!"
Wang Jian agreed and went to make arrangements.
There is nothing wrong with Ying Zheng's order.
First of all, Wang Jian's troops going south must of course "stand by".
If it is withdrawn, it will inevitably make the Chu army suspicious. In addition, if there is no threat from the Qin army, the Chu army will mobilize its troops, and then the effect of flooding Chu will not be so good.
Secondly, it is not easy to cut ice and release water in the Hetao area.
That area was the northern land where Li Mu originally resisted the Huns. After the Zhao Kingdom was destroyed, Zhao Jia and his followers fled to that area.
To be precise, it is not nearby. The reason is that Zhao Jia fled to the east end of Beidi while Hetao was at the west end. The two places are nearly a thousand miles apart.
The reason is that Zhao Jia must stay close to Yan and hug him for warmth, otherwise he will be destroyed by Qin in minutes.
Although this grouping for warmth is actually ineffective, at least the two countries can become an alliance in a sense.
What Ying Zheng is more worried about is the remnants of Zhao soldiers or bandits in that area, plus the threat from the Huns in the north...
Li Mu, whom the Xiongnu were worried about, was dead, and there would be nothing in the north to stop the Xiongnu.
Therefore, these 30,000 soldiers not only went north to break the ice, but also took over the northern territory and incorporated it into the territory.
No matter how many soldiers there are, there are only 30,000 left in the three counties.
This even made Ying Zheng feel a little panicked:
One hundred thousand soldiers went to attack the Wei State and were surrounded by Daliang. One hundred thousand soldiers went to rescue them.
Thirty thousand soldiers went to the north, and there were only 30,000 soldiers defending such a large area as the Three Commanderies... If Qi or Yan knew about this and sent troops to attack, it would be fatal.
Among them, the Yan State is relatively good. After all, it was defeated just now and King Yan Xi was scared to death. In addition, most of the food has been looted. It is not easy for them to winter, and it is unlikely to send troops.
However, Qi State has been recuperating for a long time and has a large amount of food, grass, soldiers and horses that have not been touched. If they take advantage of the situation and send troops to the three counties...then the whole plan will be disrupted.
What should we do?
After thinking about it, Ying Zheng came up with a plan: send an envoy to Qi.
The purpose of this mission to the State of Qi is very strange. It is said that he hopes to use the State of Qi to attack Caozhou of the State of Chu...
This strategy is indeed feasible.
The Qin army could not move south from Handan due to the dense water network, so of course it could not threaten Caozhou, the main base of the Chu army.
But it would be different if we could take advantage of the Qi State to cross the Yellow River and then go south. After leaving the Qi State border, we could reach Caozhou and surround it within a few dozen miles.
Of course, Yingzheng's move was not really to take Caozhou via Qi State.
He had long known that Qi Guoguo would find excuses.
Ying Zheng uses this to release two pieces of information:
1: The Qin army hopes to cross the Yellow River and move the battlefield to Chu State and go south to reinforce Daliang.
2: The Qin army still has enough troops in Handan to open up a new battlefield.
It goes without saying why these two pieces of information are conveyed.
The former was to confuse the Chu army and make the Chu army think that the Qin army was making this plan, so they concentrated more troops in the Caozhou area... This area will also be flooded.
The latter is another way to tell everyone: Handan has sufficient troops, so don't try to take advantage of others' danger.
Objectively speaking, Ying Zheng's move seemed a bit unnecessary. Qi Wangjian had long been deceived into treating Qin as an ally, let alone attacking.
It's just that it is necessary for Ying Zheng to do this, because this is a situation where "one mistake leads to a loss," and every possibility must be considered.
If you take luck and take safety for granted, it will be too late the moment danger strikes.