Chapter 272 Battle of Changping
It’s not that Qin Huaishu wanted to laugh, it’s just that Chu Yian’s tone was so funny that he couldn’t help laughing.
His hand holding the pen was shaking a little, and he laughed for a long time before stopping.
Qin Huaishu put down his pen and pleaded, "Don't use that tone."
Chu Yian took a bite of the fruit and said, "Isn't this because I see you're too tired and want to cheer you up a little?"
Qin Huaishu's eyes curved: "Well, thank you, sister-in-law."
Chu Yian raised his eyebrows: "You're welcome."
Put down the fruit and start to get busy again.
At the court meeting, Fan Ju pointed out that the Qin State was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and if it did not make progress, it would be in danger in ten years.
If he doesn't want to face the same crisis again ten years later, he needs to reorganize the government.
Then he proposed the second policy: make friends with distant countries and attack nearby ones.
If you can't attack someone far away and can't cure them, why not appease them?
But it is different when attacking a neighboring country. Every inch we take is mine, every foot we take is also mine. This way, we can extend our territory step by step.
As long as we follow this approach, within a few decades, the whole world will become the territory of the Qin Dynasty.
Chu Yian paused at this point, and waited until Qin Huaishu finished writing before asking him, "What do you think?"
Qin Huaishu thought about it seriously and nodded: "He is indeed a great talent. If he can succeed, it will definitely be a sign of Qin unifying the six kingdoms."
Shang Yang's reform was the first step, which was only aimed at enriching the country and strengthening the military.
However, if Fan Ju's plan is actually implemented, it may really help them achieve their goal.
Three months after Yingji took over the government, he received a secret report that the six states in Shandong had sent special envoys to Handan to reunite and fight against the Qin State.
Qin Huaishu: ...Here it comes again.
How many times has this happened?
It seemed as if the Qin State had really violated the laws of heaven and was targeted by others at any time.
However, this time the Qin State did not send troops. This was also the first time that the Qin State was attacked by others and did not choose to send troops to fight them.
But use money to pave the way.
Money is nothing to the Qin State today. Back in the time of King Xiaogong of Qin, all the ministers in the court had to donate money together when they went on diplomatic missions.
Fan Ju asked Wang Ji to go on a diplomatic mission to the State of Zhao and give him money.
Less than a month later, news came from Wang Ji: the special envoys of the three countries of Wei, Qi and Han turned against the State of Zhao and demanded that Zhao return the land of the three countries before discussing the alliance.
The special envoys from Han and Chu both asked Zhao to fight a war with Qin first to test its strength.
No matter how Lin Xiangru tried to maneuver, it was useless; the six kingdoms had basically no hope of uniting.
After witnessing the power of making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones, Yingji was excited. He immediately summoned Fan Ju and Bai Qi to discuss the next steps and began to prepare.
A month later, Yingji received a message from Wang Ji, asking him to send troops to attack the State of Han.
Qin sent troops to force Han to cede territory, otherwise Qin would form an alliance with Han ministers to support a new king of Han.
The King of Han was frightened, and the next day he sent people to sign an agreement to cede land.
By autumn, Qin had quietly occupied all the key crossings in the central plains section of the river.
This was a great success in the strategy of making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones, and Fan Ju's prestige in the Qin State increased greatly.
But before everyone had time to be happy, they received news from scouts that the governor of Shangdang County in Han was plotting to return Shangdang to Zhao.
The Qin State occupied so many important river passes and ferry crossings just to force the Han State to hand over Shangdang.
Han gave it to Zhao, but the governor of Shangdang County was unwilling to surrender and actually presented all the cities to Zhao.
The State of Zhao is now facing a very serious problem: to accept or not?
The king and his ministers argued fiercely, and finally decided: accept it.
He also sent Lin Xiangru to the State of Wei to negotiate an alliance.
Fighting for Shangdang was Qin's long-term plan. After finally almost succeeding, Han State turned around and pulled everyone down.
The alliance of the Three Jins is likely to prompt the six countries to unite again to resist Qin.
Moreover, Zhao's occupation of Shangdang would be extremely disadvantageous to Qin, and it would likely make Qin's decades of military achievements come to nothing.
Yingji was in a very bad mood. After some discussion, he finally decided that he must not retreat this time and must fight!
Therefore, with Shangdang's surrender to Zhao State as the fuse, Bai Qi's battle to become a god - the Battle of Changping was launched.
In 260 BC, the Qin State sent General Wang He to attack Changping of the Zhao State, and the Zhao State lost the first battle.
Lian Po immediately realized that the Zhao army was no match for the Qin army and quickly retreated back to the city.
Relying on the dangerous terrain of Changping, they built defense lines and barriers and engaged in a long confrontation with the Qin army.
During this period, both sides continued to increase their troops, and the number of troops accumulated in Changping increased.
This is a huge cost for both countries.
At this time, Zhao State suffered a natural disaster, and the King of Zhao had the idea of seeking peace and a ceasefire.
The Qin State, which controlled the Guanzhong Plain and Bashu, two major granaries, did not want to cease fire, but was also afraid that other countries would help the Zhao State.
So he pretended to ask for peace, making other countries mistakenly believe that Zhao did not need support, and Zhao was thus isolated and helpless.
Seeing that the national strength was exhausted but the war situation had not turned around, King Zhao began to think about changing the commander.
Although the war situation did not improve, the Qin State was actually unable to do anything to Lian Po, and could not capture Changping even if it attacked by force.
So when the Qin State learned that King Zhao wanted to change his commander, they used a strategy of sowing discord and made King Zhao replace Lian Po with Zhao Kuo.
At the same time, the King of Qin secretly removed Wang He and appointed Bai Qi as the commander-in-chief, who rushed to Changping overnight.
After Bai Qi arrived at Changping, he pretended to retreat. Zhao Kuo, who was new to the battlefield, fell into the trap and chased the Qin army all the way.
At the same time, Bai Qi also sent an army of 20,000 to raid the rear of the Zhao army and cut off their retreat.
He also sent troops to divide the Zhao army into two isolated armies and cut off their food supply.
Later, Bai Qi launched several more charges, but the Zhao army's attempts to break through ended in failure.
After this battle, the Zhao army, which had been without food for 46 days, began to starve and eat each other, and Zhao Kuo had to surrender.
But Bai Qi was worried that releasing Zhao Kuo would be like letting a tiger return to the mountains, and there would not be enough food and land to support him if he stayed in Qin.
In the end, he buried 400,000 Zhao troops alive at Changping.
Qin Huaishu's hand stopped writing, and he suddenly raised his head to look at Chu Yian.
The normally calm eldest son's expression was almost out of control at this moment. He had never lost his composure like this before when he heard the story of Huo Qubing.
But when he heard the news that Bai Qi had killed 400,000 people, he was struck by lightning.
He believes that he is not a good person and will hurt innocent people for his own benefit.
But I never thought of such a cruel thing.
What's this?
Qin Huaishu's mind went blank.
Chu Yian looked at the unfortunate child with pity and poured him a glass of water.
Qin Huaishu grew up under the influence of Confucian culture, and it was the first time he heard of such a thing, so it was normal that he could not accept it.
Touching his head, Chu Yian looked at him lovingly: "Be good, don't think too much."
"From a humanitarian perspective, this is indeed an atrocity and violates moral ethics."
"But this battle did indeed cause the State of Zhao to rapidly weaken, and it never recovered."
"The Qin State not only consolidated its position among the vassal states, but also gained a lot of spoils of war, including population, land, and resources. This also provided the material foundation for the subsequent unification."
"And you see, a new pattern has also been formed. The six kingdoms are all weak, and only Qin is strong."
"So don't think too much, kid."
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