Wolf Mountain, Qin Army Shogunate.
The Calm Martial Ruler, Bai Qi, once again gathered his troops and prepared for the next phase of the battle.
According to Bai Qi's Sixteen Words Strategy: Surround the enemy and attack the reinforcements. Fortify the walls and clear the field. Strike the snake's weak spot. Conceal the encirclement! After besieging the enemy and attacking the reinforcements, it was time to fortify the walls and clear the fields, which was to capture the royal mausoleum.
"Once the camp is set up, the Zhao army will be trapped at the old pass and once again the Zhao army will be surrounded. Therefore, tomorrow's battle must be decided no matter what, "Bai Qi said in a powerful voice.
"Yes, General!" The generals answered loudly.
"Tomorrow, when we attack the city, Meng Ao's army will be the main force. Huan Qi's army and Ying Bao's army will be the main support. They will be responsible for blocking the Zhao Manor's army at the foot of the old pass. Wang Ci's army will continue to guard the camp and will not enter the battle unless ordered!"
"Yes, sir!"
Ouyang Shuo sat at the side, and a trace of doubt flashed across his face. Since it was a real siege, why was the valiant Wang Ling army still holding their ground? When he observed Wang Ci's expression just now, she actually didn't have the slightest bit of dissatisfaction, which inevitably made him feel strange. It was possible that Bai Qi had other arrangements that no one knew about.
After annihilating the Wei army, not only did they destroy the alliance of the various countries in Shandong, but they also seized a large amount of rations and resources.
The Qin Kingdom had been supporting the Wild King Fort for three years, and the rations in the national treasury were almost depleted. The fire at Zhao Village burned the rations that the Qin Kingdom had accumulated over the years. Therefore, although the supply route had been restored, the amount of rations that Marquis Fan Ju could gather in the country was very limited.
Because of the frequent confiscation of grain, the people of Old Qin in the Pass were full of complaints. In order to support the frontline army, even the food rations of the commoners were required to be contributed. How could the commoners not complain?
Because of this, Zhao Kuo concluded that if the two armies were to continue in this stalemate, the Zhao army would be stronger than the Qin army.
It was a pity that the Wei State had suffered a crushing defeat, and the countless rations and supplies they had brought from the country were casually discarded in the campsite or on the sides of the road. This had truly benefited the Qin State.
Qin Zhao Wang was already organizing the commoners to transport this batch of rations to Light Wolf City at top speed.
The plain where the armies of Qin and Wei fought was located in Hanoi County, which was very close to Changping. It saved them the trouble of transporting food in the middle, which was killing two birds with one stone. Within a few days, the rations would arrive at Light Wolf City. Due to this, the lack of grain for the Qin army had been greatly reduced. It wasn't as bad as what the Zhao army predicted.
The next morning, the sun rose. It was another fine day.
Early in the morning, the Zhao Army began to get busy. They moved all the old chariots and usable items out of the Old Pass Fort in preparation for setting up the circular formation of the chariots.
Just as the Zhao army was busy, the Qin army had already moved out in full force.
The Black Tide, which covered the sky and the sun, followed the beat of the war drums, lined up in a neat formation and walked out of the barracks one by one. Their banners fluttered, covering the sky and the sun.
As usual, Bai Qi ascended the watchtower and commanded the army from above.
Meng Ao was the first to set off with his 120,000 infantry and cavalry troops. The army on this path had been besieging the royal mausoleum's camp for days, so they were already familiar with the route. The only thing that was different was the order issued by the general last night to fight to the death.
In the Qin army, once a battle was fought to the death, anyone who retreated out of fear would be executed without mercy. If the case was serious, it might even implicate his family. Therefore, in every battle to the death, the soldiers were all brave and resolute, fighting with their backs to the wall.
In the roiling dust, Huan Qi's army and Ying Bao's army used the dust to follow behind Meng Ao's army. In the battle of the Qin and Wei plains, Huan Qi and Ying Bao's army had suffered very few losses. Of the one hundred thousand army, there were still ninety thousand that could fight.
Meng Ao's army once again advanced to the royal mausoleum's camp. The defenders of the camp looked at the army coming from afar and were not very nervous. After several days of fighting, the Zhao army was sure that the enemy was just putting on an act.
The news of the Wei army's defeat was only known by the Zhao army of ten thousand soldiers and above. In order not to affect the morale of the army, Commander in Chief Zhao Kuo ordered that it was strictly forbidden to spread the news. Anyone who disobeyed would be executed.
Therefore, in the defenders, other than a few generals, most of the soldiers were kept in the dark.
They did not know that the Qin army today was completely different from yesterday. The generals knew and ordered the soldiers to be alert, but the effect was minimal.
Because he had already given the order to the Lord of Calm Martial, Meng Ao immediately sent his main force to attack. The several days of fighting were not without results. At least, the trenches in front of the camp had been filled up.
The vast army stepped over the trenches, set up ladders, and launched an endless and fierce attack on the camp that belonged to them in the first place. The soldiers did not fear death as they charged forward.
Such a fierce attack caught the Zhao army off guard. Only now did they realize that this time, the Qin army was going to get serious. By the time they realised, they had already suffered heavy losses.
Luckily the Zhao army was not as mediocre as the Wei army. Even though they had suffered heavy losses at the start, they quickly adjusted and used the advantage of the city walls to fight fiercely against the attacking Qin army.
The Fierce Fire Oil Tanks and all kinds of defensive equipment were operated to the extreme by the Zhao soldiers, causing heavy casualties to the Qin army in an instant.
Meng Ao sat in the middle of the army, his eyes unwavering, not caring about the heavy casualties at the front. He coldly waved his flag, sending groups of soldiers to the front lines, swearing not to rest until he reached his goal.
The continuous fierce attacks put a lot of pressure on the defenders of the camp. They did not even have time to take a breath. Under the continuous attacks, there were already holes in the camp. Even though they were blocked in time, the situation was still dangerous. If the attacks continued, it was only a matter of time before the city was broken.
With Meng Ao's keen senses, he saw a hole in the enemy's defensive rhythm and immediately sent the reserve troops forward. At this moment, the royal tomb camp was in danger. The defenders of the camp had to send a distress signal to the Zhao army.
Even though Zhao Zhuang was in charge of setting up the city's formation, in reality he had been secretly paying attention to the siege battle not far away. Seeing that the Qin army was changing from a feint to a real attack as he had expected, he immediately organized the army and prepared to rush over to reinforce them.
Just as the Zhao army was rushing over, Huan Qi and Ying Bao, who had been hiding behind the Zhao army, suddenly charged out and blocked the retreat of the Zhao army with an unstoppable momentum.
The ninety thousand armoured cavalry were like an impassable iron wall, blocking the way between the Zhao army and the royal tomb camp.
The two generals, Huan Qi and Ying Bao, followed Bai Qi's orders to stop the enemy and kill the enemy. Relying on their mobility, the army weaved in front of the Zhao army, making it impossible for them to move forward.
Zhao Kuo stood at the top of the old pass and saw that the Zhao army was blocked. He knew that the Qin army was determined to take down the royal tomb camp and remove this nail.
Even though he had prepared the city's formation, Zhao Kuo did not want the royal tomb camp to fall too early. At the very least, he had to get the fifty thousand soldiers out of the camp safely.
Just as Zhao Kuo was about to mobilize the army inside the old pass to reinforce the Zhao army, a scout suddenly came to report, "Great General, a large number of Qin soldiers have appeared to the north of the old pass with a large number of siege weapons. It seems like they are going to attack the old pass."
"What?" Zhao Kuo could not believe it. When did the Qin army detour to the back of the stone wall and he did not know about it? The scout team was useless, damn it. "How many of them are there?"
"No less than a hundred thousand!"
Zhao Kuo's heart trembled. A hundred thousand soldiers. If he sent the defenders of the old pass to reinforce the Zhao army, then the old pass would be in danger.
"No!" Zhao Kuo frowned and muttered to himself, "How can there be such a coincidence?"
As he thought about it, Zhao Kuo could not help but feel a chill in his heart. The Qin army in the north must have set off a few days ago. That was why they could appear at the right time when the main force of the Qin army besieged the royal tomb camp. With this, they could pin down the army of the old pass and prevent them from leaving the pass to rescue the defenders of the camp. If Zhao Kuo did not care, then the enemy's pin down would immediately turn into a real attack. In this way, either the old pass or the royal mausoleum camp would fall.
It was clear which of the two was more important.
This was a blatant plot. Zhao Kuo could only bitterly choose one of the two. Or rather, he could only choose to defend the old pass and give up on the royal tomb camp. As for cooperating with the defenders of Hu Pass to attack the Qin army in the north, it was also not feasible.
Hu Pass was too far from the old pass. By the time they came and went, the enemy would have long disappeared.
This was the weakness of the Zhao army's defensive line. The vertical defensive line was too long, and the troops could not coordinate with each other smoothly. This gave the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of.
At this moment, Zhao Kuo had a deeper understanding of Bai Qi's ingenuity in using troops. It was obvious that in this battle, Bai Qi had completely seen through the weakness of the Zhao army's defensive line and had made arrangements to target it.
In comparison, Zhao Kuo was indeed a little immature.
Zhao Kuo's dilemma was not only that he had to sacrifice the fifty thousand soldiers of the royal tomb camp, but that if he really did not care and watched the garrison be taken down by the Qin army, it would be a huge blow to the morale of the army.
If he saved them, he would have the heart but not the strength; if he did not, he would lose the morale of the army.
Zhao Kuo shook his head in pain and said bitterly, "Order the garrison to move to the north to defend against the Qin army. At the same time, order the defenders of the camp to hold their ground. Once the Qin army attacking the city is dealt with, the main force will immediately come out to reinforce them."
"Yes, sir!" The messenger's heart trembled. He did not dare to show any change in his expression and respectfully retreated.
Everyone knew that Zhao Kuo's so-called coming out to reinforce them was just a piece of paper. When the main force really repelled the Qin army in the north, the royal tomb camp would have fallen long ago. How could there be reinforcements?
Although everyone knew this, logically speaking, Zhao Kuo did not give up on the royal tomb camp. It was because of the Qin army that he had no other choice.
In this way, the morale of the army would not be affected too much.
It had to be said that although Zhao Kuo's move was not honorable, it was still an effective method. As a general, one must have a heart of stone. When it was time to be ruthless, one had to be ruthless.
Bai Qi had once again taught Zhao Kuo a good lesson.
After the battle of Changping, Zhao Kuo was growing at a speed visible to the naked eye. He was becoming more mature day by day. If he could really walk out of Changping battlefront alive, he would definitely become a rising star. (To be continued.)
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