Chapter 133: Under the City of Handan! Dun Ruo was shocked: Where does this force come from?
Handan!
Longtai Palace! "The Qin army is already at the gates of the city."
"Old General, can we defend the Great Zhao?"
Although his subordinates had repeatedly told him that the army and civilians were determined to keep Handan from being conquered, Zhao Yan was still a little panicked when he saw the Qin army approaching the city.
"I, this old minister, swear to defend Handan until death and coexist with Handan." Pang Nuan stood up and replied loudly.
Looking at his serious face and the look of being ready to die, it was obvious that Pang Nuan had already made up his mind to die this time.
Pang Nuan has been unwilling to give up since the retreat from Wu'an City.
Pang Nuan felt it was a great shame and humiliation that a city guarded by 300,000 soldiers was broken by the Qin army in one day.
This time.
He has made up his mind to die.
I will protect Handan even if I die.
"With these words from the old general, I feel much more at ease."
"but."
"The Qin army is fierce and brave, so we must guard against it."
"I don't mean to blame you, general, for the defeat in Wuan. I hope you can turn the defeat into experience and come up with better ways to defend against the enemy." Zhao Yan said with some concern.
Until now.
Lian Po is dead.
The only person Zhao Yan can rely on is Pang Nuan.
Although the defeat in Wu'an City worried Zhao Yan, victory and defeat are common in the military. Zhao Yan was naturally not too harsh on this old general who was loyal to him.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty."
"The defeat of Wu'an was due to the loss of one gate, which caused the defeated army to scatter and thus caused chaos in the guards of the other two city gates."
"This battle."
"I have prepared a foolproof plan."
"For the defeated troops, I have decided to set up a 100-man supervisory team for each army camp, and a 1,000-man supervisory team for each army camp."
"If there is chaos, the supervisory team will directly kill the defeated troops."
"Besides that."
"Make a list of all members of the supervisory team and record their family and hometown. If any member of the supervisory team dares to desert the battlefield, their entire clan will be exterminated." Pang Nuan said loudly.
Hearing this.
A hint of joy flashed in Zhao Yan's eyes: "The old general is really good at commanding troops. With this as a garrison, the soldiers of the supervisory army will not dare to desert in battle. It can be said that the supervisory army is spread throughout the army, and there will definitely be no more routs and soldiers charging into battle."
"This is also the method that this old minister has been thinking hard about."
"Only in this way can the soldiers of our Great Zhao unite as one to resist the powerful enemy." Pang Nuan said in a deep voice.
"Go ahead, old general."
"There are nearly 300,000 troops in Handan City."
"In addition to the more than 200,000 soldiers the old general brought back from Wu'an City, there are also my 50,000 imperial guards."
"Now that the country is in crisis, all military power in the city will be handed over to the old general."
Zhao Yan said this in a very serious tone.
Then.
He slowly stood up, picked up a box on the table, and walked towards Pang Nuan in the hall.
Pang Nuan bowed in worship.
"The tiger talisman was given to the old general by me."
"You hold the tiger talisman and command the military power. You, old general, take orders directly from me."
"If there is anyone in the city who dares to disobey the old general's orders, surrender to the enemy and sell out the country, and disrupt the morale of the army, the old general can directly deal with him by military law." Zhao Yan placed the box containing the tiger talisman in Pang Nuan's hand.
Hearing this.
Pang Nuan bowed: "I, your old subject, swear to be loyal to the king till death."
"Except for the nearly 300,000 troops in Handan City."
"I have already issued an edict to transfer 100,000 border cavalry from Dai."
"They are all the elite troops of our Great Zhao."
"I think the next two days are approaching, and I will leave all the arrangements to the old general." Zhao Yan said again.
When he heard that there were 100,000 border cavalry, a sharp light flashed in Pang Nuan's eyes.
"Your Majesty is wise."
"Our great Zhao is the best in the world in terms of Hu clothing, horse riding and archery."
"With these 100,000 border cavalry, I am more confident that I can defend Handan."
"Even defeated the Qin army." Pang Nuan said confidently.
"With the old general's words, I feel more at ease." Zhao Yan laughed.
Then.
Zhao Yan turned around and looked at the civil and military officials in the court, and his gaze especially lingered on Zhao Yi for a moment.
"My Lords."
"The country is in crisis, and the tyrannical Qin army is at the gates."
"I won't say any more nonsense."
"Whoever dares to collude with Qin in private, whoever dares to betray Zhao, I will exterminate his entire clan." Zhao Yan shouted coldly.
Perhaps Zhao Yan was not a wise ruler, but at this moment when the country was in crisis, Zhao Yan naturally had the domineering attitude of a king. After all, this was also to save his life.
If Handan is broken.
The life is gone.
So he was extremely rational at this moment.
"We, your subjects, swear to be loyal to the king until death, and to the Great Zhao until death."
The Zhao ministers in the main hall of Longtai Palace shouted loudly.
"Your Majesty."
"There is another thing that is of utmost importance, which is to defend Handan." Pang Nuan said again.
"Please speak, old general." Zhao Yan said immediately.
"Plus a hundred thousand border troops, and the war horses we need."
"Handan must have sufficient food and supplies."
"An army of more than 300,000 people consumes a huge amount of food and grass every day. If the Qin army blocks it, Handan will be trapped."
"So we must be careful about the matter of food and fodder."
"I beg you to allow the food and grass in the city to be directly managed by me instead of going through the Prime Minister's Office," Pang Nuan asked respectfully.
Hearing this.
Guo Kai was a little anxious.
He has always been in control of the food and fodder matters, and only he knows how much profit there is in it. How could he give it up?
And this may also continue to benefit Qin! "Could it be that the general doesn't trust my orders?" Guo Kai said reluctantly.
"Your Excellency, your words are too serious. It's not that I don't trust you, but I am doing it for the sake of the overall situation."
"The food and grass in the city are only enough for my army to use for no more than three or four months, and there must be Qin spies in the city. I don't want Qin to take advantage of the opportunity. If the food and grass are lost, my great Zhao will be in danger." Pang Nuan looked like he was doing it for the Zhao State.
"Old General..." Guo Kai wanted to argue.
But at this moment, Zhao Yan, who was rational, raised his hand and said, "The old general is right. This is related to the survival of our Zhao State. We must be cautious."
"I have already said that all the military power in Handan will be handed over to the old general. At the same time, the survival of the Great Zhao is also at stake."
"Food and grass can only be guaranteed if a large army is stationed there."
"Prime Minister, you will be responsible for dispatching food and grass from other cities. After the food and grass enter the city, they must all be handed over to the old general for care." Zhao Yan said.
"I obey the imperial edict." Guo Kai had no choice but to obey the imperial edict.
Pang Nuan felt Zhao Yan's trust in him and knelt down immediately: "I swear to be loyal to the king until death and will never let the king down."
"Prime Minister."
"Thanks to the old general's reminder, the food and fodder in Handan is only enough for the army to last until four months."
"You must hurry up and collect food and fodder." Zhao Yan said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty."
"It's not that I don't want to raise money, but there is no more food and grass to raise now."
"Now our Great Zhao is at war. We have been fighting against the State of Yan for several months, and have consumed countless food and grass. Now that Qin is attacking, a lot of our Great Zhao's food and grass has also been seized by the Qin army."
"And the autumn harvest has not yet come."
"So..." Guo Kai said helplessly.
"As for the survival of the country, every citizen of Zhao has the responsibility to protect it."
"Pass on my edict to increase taxes, and use the money obtained to purchase food and fodder." Zhao Yan said immediately, without any doubt.
"Your Majesty."
"Now the tax rate in our Great Zhao is already 70%. If we increase it by another 10%, it will be at least 80%. This will make it impossible for the common people to survive." Zhao Yi could not help but speak out.
Unlike Zhao Yan, Zhao Yi still has some conscience towards the people of Zhao.
"I believe there is no need for me to explain how tyrannical the Qin State is, right?"
"In the Battle of Changping, Qin wielded the butcher's knife against the 400,000 Zhao soldiers who had laid down their weapons, causing a bloodbath that shocked the world. If Qin were to destroy our capital, nearly 20 million people in our great Zhao would be enslaved by Qin. How many people would die?"
"For the survival of the Great Zhao, this is the duty of every citizen."
"The taxes are indeed high nowadays, but after we defeat Qin one day, I will naturally compensate them." Zhao Yan said calmly.
For Zhao Yan.
He didn't care at all about the people's livelihood. All he cared about was his throne and his power.
As long as he could drive out Qin and preserve his throne, as long as his Zhao kingdom could still exist, it would be worth it no matter what the cost.
Again.
If his Zhao Kingdom no longer existed, it would really be destroyed by the Qin State.
Then this mess must be handed over to the Qin State.
If handled improperly, the people of Zhao will hate Qin in the future.
"Your Majesty, if the people's anger is aroused, it will be detrimental to our great Zhao's resistance against Qin." Zhao Yi still wanted to persuade him.
"Haruhira-kun."
"Now that the country is in crisis, the people should blame Qin. What does it have to do with the king?"
"It's all because of Qin." Guo Kai said loudly.
"The Prime Minister is still thinking about me." Zhao Yan smiled with relief.
"Okay, this matter is settled, and the Prime Minister will govern."
"The court is dismissed."
Zhao Yan was too lazy to say anything more and just walked away.
"Under such a situation, even if we can really defend Handan and repel Qin, it will be difficult for our Great Zhao to recover within ten years." Zhao Yi sighed in his heart.
In the bedroom of King Zhao! "Why hasn't Li Mu returned yet?" Zhao Yan looked at Guo Kai and asked.
"Your Majesty."
"Li Mu is unwilling to hand over his military power."
Guo Kai said with a serious face.
Zhao Yan was stunned at first, then snorted coldly: "It's just as I expected."
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty."
"I have already dealt with them, and General Yan Ju has also successfully taken control of the military power. The generals loyal to the king brought from Handan have also replaced Li Mu's confidants."
"The border troops are under control." Guo Kai replied immediately.
“You did a great job.”
"Li Mu is dead, so be it." Zhao Yan said in a deep voice.
There was no disturbance at all about Li Mu's death. To him, Li Mu was an alien to his control of the royal power.
"Your Majesty."
"Li Mu is dead, but his reputation in our Great Zhao is no less than Lian Po. I suggest that we can shift the blame for his death to Qin and arouse the soldiers' hatred of the enemy against Qin." Guo Kai suggested again.
"The Prime Minister is right."
"Only the Prime Minister can handle this matter." Zhao Yan nodded with satisfaction.
Left the Zhao Palace.
Inside the Prime Minister’s Mansion.
"Master Dunruo."
"I have already taken away the military power of Li Mu and Sima Shang, and I have also sent people to kill them, but the situation has changed a little."
"Li Mu and Sima Shang were rescued halfway."
"But I still lied that Li Mu and the other two were dead, and the King of Zhao didn't ask any more questions."
“But I really don’t know who rescued Li Mu and the other two.” Guo Kai said respectfully to Dun Ruo.
"Rescued Li Mu and the other two?"
Dun Ruo frowned slightly, then asked, "Is he from Zhao?"
"Won't."
"The killing of Li Mu was a top secret, and it was planned by the villain."
"It will never be known to others."
"Moreover, the people who rescued Li Mu must have extraordinary origins. Each of them is very skilled. They killed more than 500 county soldiers under my command and evacuated without any casualties." Guo Kai replied respectfully.
Facing Zhao Yan, he lied one after another.
But facing Dun Ruo, who held his life and property in his hands, Guo Kai spoke his mind without reservation and did not dare to lie at all.
after all.
He still wants to survive and wants wealth and glory in the future.
Listening to what Guo Kai said, Dun Ruo's expression turned serious: "How many of them are there?"
"According to the people at the scene, there are no more than 500 people." Guo Kai replied.
"Five hundred men faced three thousand Zhao Jun soldiers head-on and killed more than five hundred of them, and they escaped unscathed?"
"What kind of force is this?"
"How can it be so powerful?"
Dun Ruo couldn't help but be shocked.
Even if his Black Ice Terrace secret warriors went head-on to fight against the county soldiers who were several times their number, they would not be able to do so. There would definitely be many casualties. However, these people actually all escaped unscathed without any casualties.
"Investigate their characteristics and weapons, and tell me after you've investigated them."
After thinking about it, Dun Ruo explained to Guo Kai.
"Yes." Guo Kai nodded immediately.
"This force definitely cannot appear out of thin air. It must be a well-trained force."
"But I don't know which country trained him." Dun Ruo thought to himself.
As the leader of the Black Ice Platform, he was naturally very sensitive to this sudden force.
Only five miles outside Handan city!
The Qin army was setting up camp in an orderly manner.
In the general's tent!
"General Zhao is here."
When Zhao Feng walked into the tent, Wang Ben and Yang Duanhe immediately looked over.
"Two generals."
"Admiral."
Zhao Feng immediately greeted him with a smile.
"Please sit down." Wang Jian smiled slightly and looked at Zhao Feng with an especially gentle gaze.
And there was even more admiration in the eyes of Wang Ben, the brother-in-law.
Yang Duanhe smiled and said directly: "The first achievement in conquering Wu'an City must go to General Zhao. I wanted to congratulate General Zhao, but I didn't expect that General Zhao would lead his troops to pursue us directly."
"You're welcome, General Yang."
"It is naturally our duty to capture the enemy city." Zhao Feng replied with a smile.
“Hey.” Yang Duanhe waved his hand. “There are 300,000 soldiers stationed in Wu’an City. According to my original estimate, it would take at least a month to capture the city, and the casualties would definitely not be less than 100,000. However, because of General Zhao’s attack on the city, the Zhao army’s defense line in Wu’an City collapsed, which allowed our army to capture the city in one day.”
"There is no need to explain this achievement."
"I have already reported this to His Majesty."
"After we defeat Zhao, I will reward Zhao Feng according to his merits." Wang Jian raised his hand and smiled slightly.
"Thank you, General." Zhao Feng thanked him.
Although this is what I deserve, I still have to show proper etiquette.
Although he was not promoted to general after conquering Wu'an City this time, his qualifications were increased by 10%, and his title should be able to be promoted again.
"alright."
"Now my three main camps are gathered in Handan."
"Just like we did in Wuan that day, let's discuss how to break the city." Wang Jian said in a deep voice.
"Handan City is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and even more difficult to capture than Wu'an."
"And unlike Wu'an, which is alone in the battle, Handan is a mighty city. It is almost impossible to attack three gates at the same time."
"It's impossible for Pang Nuan to station all his troops in Handan City."
"If nothing unexpected happens, the Zhao border troops have already moved." Zhao Feng said in a deep voice.
"You are right."
"Zhao's border troops have indeed moved."
"And I have already received intelligence that Li Mu is dead." Wang Jian said in a deep voice.
Hearing this!
Wang Ben and Yang Duanhe's expressions changed. They were shocked at first, and then showed a hint of joy: "Li Mu is Zhao's top general. Without Zhao's Li Mu, it would be like losing an arm. This is a great thing for our Great Qin."
"Before Lian Po died, and now Li Mu is dead too. The only one left in Zhao is Pang Nuan."
"Very good."
"Without Li Mu, I wonder how much combat power the border troops can exert."
As a general of the enemy country of Zhao, the death of Li Mu was naturally a cause for joy for Wang Ben and others.
After all, if Li Mu were alive, he would definitely be a very tough opponent.
Li Mu died.
The Qin warriors could have avoided further casualties.
But for Zhao Feng.
But at this moment he had other thoughts in his mind.
"It seems that Guo Kai reported that Li Mu was dead, but he did not say that he was rescued."
"Guo Kai, ah Guo Kai, you are indeed cunning."
"only."
"Now that we have information on many things happening in Zhao State, could it be that Guo Kai has been controlled by the King of Qin?"
“That’s right.”
"At first, I handed Guo Kai over to Tu Sui, and then he was handed over to the King of Qin. I think he was under the control of the King of Qin at that time."
"The Great Qin God of War in history really does belong to the Great Qin."
"otherwise."
"The first one was aimed at Lian Po, and this time they ambushed and killed Li Mu."
"It's impossible that there is no shadow of Qin in this." Zhao Feng thought secretly.
Before, Lian Po was forced to stay outside the city. Zhao Feng would never believe that there was no one secretly manipulating it.
All of this must be caused by Guo Kai.
"This is the intelligence that the general just received."
"Zhao General Yan Ju led 100,000 border troops from Dai to Handan, and has now arranged to garrison east of Handan."
"Besides that."
"Pang Nuan also formulated a strategy for supervising the battle army. Taking the Junhou Camp as an example, there are 100 supervising soldiers in one Junhou Camp, who are specifically responsible for killing the soldiers who desert in the face of the enemy. And if these supervising soldiers desert in the face of the enemy, their entire clan will be exterminated directly." Wang Jian said in a deep voice.
Hear this.
The three generals of Zhao Feng were all silent.
After a while.
"The Zhao border troops are the most powerful cavalry in Zhao. They are unrivaled in the world in wearing Hu clothing and riding and shooting."
"Although our Great Qin warriors are powerful, if we fight with cavalry, we have almost no chance of winning against the Zhao Kingdom's Hufu cavalry and archery."
"certainly."
"Even if we attack the city in battle, if the Zhao cavalry launches a surprise attack, our infantry will not be able to compete with the cavalry." Wang Ben said seriously.
He was unrivaled in the world for his ability to wear Hu clothes and ride and shoot.
"It is impossible that all 100,000 border troops are cavalry."
"Thirty thousand cavalrymen are all the border troops." Zhao Feng said.
When I read novels in my previous life, those war novels often featured hundreds of thousands of cavalry. But now that Zhao Feng has truly taken charge of the army, he realized how rare cavalry are.
Let’s not talk about Zhao State.
All the cavalry in the Qin State probably add up to no more than 80,000, and that includes the northern border.
Zhao should have more, but it’s about the same.
The border troops, as the main force of Zhao State against the Huns, also fought on cavalry.
Only 70,000 cavalry were stationed in Dai.
It is impossible that all of these cavalrymen came this time.
It is not easy to maintain a cavalry, and the resources required are much more than those for infantry, especially war horses.
In this era, without the three treasures of cavalry and warfare, war horses would basically have to retire in a few years, and would not be as durable as those with the three treasures of cavalry and warfare.
"Thirty thousand cavalrymen, this number is also very terrifying." Wang Ben sighed.
"Pang Nuan has learned from the defeat of Wu'an City and knows the harm of a rogue army rushing into another city, so he set up this supervisory army and threatened them with their families. Although it is cruel, it is also a way to manage the army."
"After using this method, the Zhao army will obviously not suffer a collapse of that magnitude again."
"The Zhao army stationed in Handan and the Zhao imperial guards are definitely no less than 200,000. There are also 100,000 border troops. In addition, Handan is the capital of Zhao, so the city defense is extremely high."
"It's really too difficult to break into the city." Yang Duanhe said helplessly.
In front of Wu'an City in the past, the two generals were still vying for merit, but now that they are truly at the gates of Handan City, they reveal a kind of silent heaviness.
Obviously.
They were not confident that they could capture the city of Handan.
"how?"
"The two generals do not want the credit for conquering Handan."
"This is a greater achievement than conquering Wu'an City." Zhao Feng smiled.
"This battle will surely be a real bloody battle."
"It is easier said than done to conquer Handan."
"In the past, General Wang He led 300,000 troops to attack Handan, but lost nearly 100,000 soldiers and failed to capture the city. He eventually committed suicide in front of Handan city."
“It’s still fresh in my mind.”
Wang Ben sighed.
Wang Ben naturally knew about what happened back then, because he once served as a general under Wang He, but he was just one of ten thousand generals.
The brutality of that battle was even more than that of Changping.
It’s just that Changping is a blood debt that Zhao State does not want to mention, and the battle of Handan City in the past is something Qin State does not want to mention.
It was even regarded as a disgrace to Qin King Ying Zheng.
because.
This matter is also related to Lu Buwei at that time.
In anger, Ying Zheng attacked the State of Zhao. Although he managed to break through the cities and reach Handan in the early stages, he was eventually defeated.
This also caused a considerable loss of national strength for the Qin Dynasty.
It is precisely because of this matter.
Wang Ben and Yang Duanhe probably also have a shadow in their hearts.
“Then was then, and now is now.”
"A general of the Qin dynasty will never admit defeat."
Zhao Feng laughed, then stood up and bowed to Wang Jian: "I request to be the vanguard and attack Handan!"
Hear what Zhao Feng said.
Wang Ben and Yang Duanhe looked at him in surprise.
At this moment, both of them had a strange feeling in their hearts: "A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger."
Although Zhao Feng did have many military achievements.
But judging from the current layout of Handan, it is not that easy to break into the city.
Pang Nuan summed up the lessons of the defeat in Wu'an City, and now things are different.
Handan is ten times more difficult than Wu'an City.
"General Zhao."
"You are still young and don't know how dangerous this battle is."
"Although you have the most surviving warriors among my three main camps, if you are not careful in this battle, you may even be wiped out."
"We need to think carefully before attacking Handan," Yang Duanhe advised.
…
(End of this chapter)
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