The following afternoon.
The Qin army's vanguard arrived dozens of miles outside Rao City. Wang Tian, having not received orders from the evil man, dared not act on his own and immediately ordered the army to remain stationed in place.
Meanwhile, the spies also relayed the news of the Qin army's arrival back to Raocheng. In an instant, Raocheng became a place of great tension, with the soldiers inside the city fully armed and on high alert, wary of any possible attack by the Qin army.
The wicked man marched at a leisurely pace, his speed like that of a tortoise. Even though Wang Jian's main force had already joined up with Wang Tian, he was still more than a hundred miles away from Rao City.
Wang Jian and Wang Tian, unsure of their husband's true intentions and having received no further military orders, had no choice but to send scouts to inquire.
When the scouts found the wicked man, he was actually setting up camp with the Black Dragon Armored Army, personally roasting a fat lamb leg, showing no sign of an impending battle.
"Reporting to the Grand Commandant, the General and General Wang Tian have met up ten miles outside Rao City and sent their subordinates to request military orders. Should we fight or wait?" The scout suppressed his surprise and asked in a deep voice.
"Attack without killing, focus on harassment. Remember, good food is worth waiting for!" the wicked man commanded in a low but powerful voice.
The scout, unsuspecting, turned and quickly left.
The wicked man looked up at the sky and sneered, "Chu, your main course has not yet appeared. This Grand Commandant can wait."
......
The scout returned and relayed the evil husband's military orders to Wang Jian and Wang Tian. Although the two were somewhat puzzled, they still obeyed.
"Issue the order to launch an attack on the city without actually fighting, focusing on harassment and intimidation!"
With a command, the army began to march towards Rao City. The war drums shook the heavens, and the entire sky seemed to be oppressed and gloomy.
The Qin army's hooves thundered, their footsteps shaking the heavens. They marched in formation like Mount Tai crushing an egg to the outside of Rao City. Catapults and siege hammers were pushed to the front lines by the soldiers. Large stones and oil were prepared, ready to destroy the last line of defense of the Yan state at any time.
The soldiers of Raocheng stood on the city wall, their expressions solemn and stern, looking at the Qin army formation that stretched like a giant dragon, their hearts trembling uncontrollably.
However, they did not back down, nor did they dare to back down.
Li Fu and Sima Shang went up to the city wall and observed for a while. They couldn't help but marvel at the strength of the Qin army, which truly lived up to its reputation.
"The Qin army is strong, but my Yan army is no weaker. After defeating the Qin army, I, the Prime Minister, will personally recommend you all for credit, and you will be rewarded with wealth, honor, and titles of nobility and generalship. This day will come!" Li Fu's voice was loud and firm, as if he was giving everyone their last bit of strength.
As Li Fu finished speaking, the soldiers of Rao City were roused, and their morale rebounded slightly. Although the enemy was powerful and the atmosphere on the city walls remained tense, everyone understood that this battle was also a good opportunity for them to turn the tide.
"Prime Minister, the Qin army is arrayed in a formidable formation but is not attacking. It seems they are preparing for a prolonged siege." Sima Shang frowned, looking down at the Qin army's positions in the distance, his voice revealing a hint of doubt.
Li Fu let out a soft snort, a thoughtful glint in his eyes. "That wicked man is meticulous and extremely cunning. He's probably trying to put more psychological pressure on us and deliberately disrupt our morale."
Sima Shang nodded, a sense of unease creeping into his heart. "If the Qin army is merely using harassment to buy time, can the provisions be supplied in time? Can the Yan state sustain its people and horses?"
Li Fu revealed a confident smile, "If he wants to delay, then let him delay. I don't believe that Qin, having just suffered a great disaster and then conquered three other states, has as much food as Yan."
"But I wonder... what about the Chu Kingdom...?"
He knew very well that after Qin destroyed the three states, it would definitely want to win over the hearts of the people. In addition, it was also implementing that damned land tax reform, so the national treasury was basically full of holes and could not store any money or grain.
"The State of Chu..." Sima Shang frowned, a surge of resentment rising in his heart. They had agreed to an alliance of the three states, so why were only Yan and Zhao present, while Chu remained conspicuously absent?
A shadow of malice flashed in Li Fu's eyes. "The State of Chu agreed to form an alliance and even sent 100,000 elite troops to support them, but there has been no news of them since. It's driving me crazy."
Upon hearing this, Sima Shang's face turned ashen. Before he came to Yan, General Li Mu had said that if Chu did not join the war, Yan and Zhao would surely be destroyed by Qin.
If they were to truly turn against us, it would be tantamount to plunging both countries into an abyss. The Zhao state at present is absolutely unable to withstand such a blow.
The atmosphere in Rao City grew increasingly tense. Although the flags on the city walls still fluttered, a lingering gloom hung over everyone's hearts.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the mountains and forests.
"Damn it, the Qi Kingdom is really useless, forcing us to hide like bandits in the mountains and forests!"
"They've arrived just in time. The Yan and Zhao armies are probably doomed to be wiped out!"
General Jingyang of Chu spat out a mouthful of dust, cursing incessantly. They had set off long ago, but if they wanted to provide support to Yan, they couldn't bypass Qi.
To prevent leaks, they hid along the way, only daring to travel on desolate mountain trails. This not only made their march extremely slow, but they also frequently got lost, leaving the soldiers exhausted and miserable.
Today, we are still more than 300 li away from the State of Yan!
......
In the Qin army's camp, the evil man remained leisurely, enjoying roasted meat and fine wine, as if everything was under his control.
"Grand Commandant, wouldn't not attacking give the Yan Kingdom an opportunity?" Zhang Erhe couldn't help but ask.
The lamb leg in the wicked man's hand was roasted to a golden brown and crispy. He slowly put the lamb leg down, a cold smile appearing on his lips: "Killing the enemy is nothing more than a matter of a knife, but there are many methods that are more terrifying than drawing a knife."
Zhang Erhe hesitated slightly, "However, the three kingdoms are currently missing Chu. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to destroy them? If we wait for Chu to arrive, wouldn't that just increase the difficulty for nothing?"
The wicked man's eyes flickered, then he sneered coldly, "Reinforcements... that's exactly what we've been waiting for. I'll make them experience the torment I suffered when I was assassinated earlier."
“This…” Zhang Erhe felt a little uneasy, but he also knew how ruthless the evil husband was.
"Go and order Wang Jian to have his soldiers take turns attacking day and night for the next two weeks," the wicked man said calmly, his tone chilling.
"Your subordinate obeys!" Seeing this, Zhang Erhe asked no more questions and quickly turned to arrange military affairs.
Over the next few days, the harassment tactics did indeed fill Raocheng with gloom. Although the Yan and Zhao soldiers were resolute, as time went on, an atmosphere of exhaustion began to spread, and morale plummeted.
Anxiety was written on the faces of every soldier, especially at night, when the constant reports of Qin army raids made it almost impossible for them to sleep, and they were terrified.
After all... no one knew when the Qin army would really strike with deadly force, so even though they knew it was a harassment, they still had to brace themselves and be on high alert.
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