Chapter 262: Attack or Defend
For the State of Yan, ceding Zhao land to the State of Qi was by no means an easy task.
In terms of overall strength,
The State of Qi was originally slightly superior to the State of Yan.
If Qi were allowed to occupy the entire Zhao territory, as one side gains strength while the other loses strength, even if Yan, with the help of Qi, managed to block the offensive of Yue, it would still face the threat of Qi in the future.
You know,
Regardless of the outcome of this battle, the State of Yan, as the main battlefield, will inevitably suffer heavy losses.
"What I'm afraid of is that if you drive out the wolf from the front door, a tiger will come in through the back door." King Xi of Yan looked solemn.
"Then let's try to drive the wolf away and swallow the tiger." Prince Dan cupped his hands and suggested, "If you don't want Qi to succeed, then quietly contact the Xiongnu in the north and let them fight with Qi."
Although the Huns were not particularly powerful at this time, they were already a threat to the Central Plains.
Before the State of Zhao was destroyed, Li Mu, a general of Zhao, led his troops to resist the Huns for a long time and defeated them. For decades, they did not dare to invade Zhao.
Towards the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the Huns became increasingly powerful.
During the reign of Qin Shihuang, the Qin general Meng Tian led an army of hundreds of thousands to garrison the north in order to resist the invasion of the Huns, leaving the country with a shortage of military forces.
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, there were several battles with the Huns.
Prince Dan of Yan's move was sinister. In order to weaken the State of Qi, he did not hesitate to cooperate with foreign races.
General Le Yi suddenly looked up, his eyes full of surprise.
King Yan was very excited and said with a smile: "This is a very good plan, let's do it according to this plan."
"promise!"
Prince Dan bowed deeply.
…
Qi acted quickly.
On August 12, after obtaining the promise of Yan State, King Jian of Qi immediately sent the general Tian Dan, who had just been reinstated, to lead an army of 200,000 elite troops to rush to the aid of Yan State.
Speaking of Tian Dan, he is quite legendary.
As one of the most famous generals of Qi State in the late Warring States Period, Tian Dan's most famous military achievement was the Fire Bull Formation.
In 284 BC, King Min of Qi angered the people and the people, so Yue Yi led the armies of five countries to attack Qi.
Seeing that Qi was about to perish, Tian Dan was forced to take action at the critical moment. He led his troops to defend Jimo, defeated the Yan army with a fire bull formation, and recovered more than 70 lost cities.
He became the greatest contributor to the restoration of Qi State and was appointed as Prime Minister and given the title of Lord Anping.
But soon, Tian Dan was suspected by the King of Qi again.
When the State of Zhao learned of this, it thought it could take advantage of the situation, so it gave three large cities and some towns to the State of Qi in exchange for Tian Dan. It then appointed Tian Dan as prime minister and gave him the title of Du Ping Jun.
It was later proved that Zhao had made a losing deal.
In his entire life, Tian Dan only conquered three small cities from Yan State for Zhao State. After that, he made no other achievements until Zhao State was destroyed and he was forced to retire.
The last time Qin Mo went to Zhao to look for generals, he only thought of Lian Po and Li Mu, and did not bother to find out where Tian Dan was. It can be seen that he is an unknown person.
Because the other countries had re-employed old people some time ago, Tian Dan was brought back to Qi by the King of Qi.
It can be said that
Tian Dan is a typical example of "starting late in life and becoming famous in one battle". In terms of the ability to command troops and fight battles, he cannot be compared with veteran generals like Bai Qi and Wang Jian who have been in the military all their lives.
Even in the history of Qi State, I am afraid there is no general like Tian Ji.
…
No matter what,
Qi's move immediately disrupted the situation in the Warring States Period.
The two countries of Wei and Chu, which were originally "in love with each other and willing to serve each other", quickly reached the "Wei-Chu Joint Defense Treaty" under the mediation of two Warring States princes, Chunshen Jun and Xinling Jun.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was aimed at the Yue army in Guanzhong.
August 15th.
The State of Chu suddenly mobilized an army of 400,000 and marched to the northwest border, encircling Nanyang County.
Then,
King Fu Chu of Chu summoned the envoy of Yue State in Shouchun and demanded that Yue State stop its improper invasion of Yan State and return Nanyang County which had been occupied by unjust means.
"Otherwise, Chu will fight together with Yan." The King of Chu spoke strongly.
No one expected that the four "brothers" of Qi, Chu, Yan and Wei would actually stand together to fight against the State of Yue, pushing the State of Yue to the forefront of the storm.
The situation in Yue State took a sharp turn for the worse.
…
The expeditionary force's rear base camp.
In order to get timely information from all over the country, before the war, Qin Mo asked Zhou Shihong to mediate and formed a VX group with players from various countries as the medium.
therefore,
Although Qin Mo was far away in Yan State, he was able to grasp the movements of various countries at the first time.
More efficient than a snare.
After summarizing intelligence from various countries, Qin Mo ended his brief retreat and found Jia Xu to discuss countermeasures.
Once up,
Qin Mo raised a sensitive topic, "Should we take the initiative to give up Nanyang County?"
The State of Yue only stationed one legion in Nanyang County.
If the State of Chu was determined to recapture Nanyang, the Black Water Army's Fifth Corps alone would obviously not be enough to cope with it, and it might even be surrounded and annihilated by the Chu army.
"I think it's best not to withdraw." However, Jia Xu held a different view.
"What do you mean?"
"Wei and Chu formed an alliance after Qi sent troops. This shows that the two countries are actually guilty. Neither country is sure to deal with the Guanzhong army alone. They can only put aside their prejudices and support each other."
As expected, it’s Jia Xu.
Although he was thousands of miles away, he was able to see through the enemy's strengths and weaknesses.
"So what?" Qin Mo asked.
Jia Xu explained: "The more guilty the enemy is, the tougher we must be. If we voluntarily give in, it will only make Chu think that we are weak and can be bullied. Given the greed of the King of Chu, after recovering Nanyang County, he will not only not be satisfied, but will also breed new greed, either wanting to take back Jiangdong County, or simply sending troops to help Yan State."
Either way, it would be disadvantageous to the State of Yue.
" Even the State of Wei, which is unwilling to openly confront us, may be persuaded by the State of Yan to join the camp to attack the State of Yue," Jia Xu added.
"so……"
Qin Mo was also rapidly deducing the battle situation in his mind.
The battlefield is changing rapidly, and every small change may lead to big changes.
As a decision maker,
We must have bold ambition, decisiveness in decision-making, but also sufficient caution.
After a while, Qin Mo finally made a decision and said in a deep voice: "In this case, the battle situation in Guanzhong will be handed over to Bai Qi to handle. We must hold back the two countries of Wei and Chu."
With Bai Qi's ability,
Qin Mo shouldn't be disappointed.
"Your Majesty is wise!" Jia Xu clasped his fists.
"Then, how should the State of Yan respond?" Qin Mo asked.
I have to admit,
With the return of the armies of Yan and Zhao, especially after Qi sent troops, the strategy previously formulated by Yue to "raid from the sea and take the lead in breaking through Jicheng" had been declared a failure.
There are three main reasons for the failure.
First, the expeditionary forces were all barbarians who were used to living in the humid areas of the south. When they suddenly arrived in the dry land of the north, it was inevitable that they would have some acclimatization problems.
In addition, they had been drifting on the sea for a month, which had consumed a lot of physical energy and their combat effectiveness was inevitably compromised.
Second, the State of Yan responded appropriately.
Under the command of Yue Yi, the State of Yan did not passively defend, but instead assembled troops around the royal city, adopted an active defensive evacuation and proactive harassment, which greatly slowed down the advance of the Yue army.
A lightning raid gradually turned into a war of attrition.
Because of this, Yan State was able to recall its reinforcements first, thus thwarting Yue State's plan to capture Ji City.
The third is the attitude of Qi State.
Qin Mo did not expect that the originally Buddhist Qi Guo would suddenly change his personality and become so positive.
I never expected that
King Xi of Yan was so decisive that he gave up the vast land of Zhao.
This also reflects from the side,
During the three years that Qin Mo was in seclusion, Zhang Yi, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, did not really do his job well. I don't know if it was because he hadn't been out for too long and was unfamiliar with the situations in various countries, or what...
All in all, it is certain that we suffered a setback on the battlefield of Yan State.
Fortunately, the State of Yue had been planning this war for three years and had anticipated various unexpected situations and formulated corresponding response measures.
A few setbacks in the early stages are not enough to truly determine the direction of the war.
Jia Xu cupped his hands and said, "I suggest that Plan B be implemented immediately."
"Has it come to this?" Qin Mo was still a little surprised.
The so-called Plan B was to switch from the previous active offense to passive defense after the failure of the attack on Jicheng, give up the attack on Jicheng, and move the strategic focus northward to the Liaodong area.
From blitzkrieg to protracted war and war of attrition.
Jia Xu explained: "Based on the current comparison of the enemy's and our forces' strength, it is not so disparate that we can still fight. However, it is extremely difficult to capture Jicheng.
"I think that under this situation, rather than fighting with the State of Yan and causing both sides to suffer losses, it is better to take a step back and preserve our strength to avoid the fishermen taking advantage."
"The fisherman you are talking about, are you referring to Qi?" Qin Mo's eyes flashed.
Because of the joint efforts of the four countries of Qi, Chu, Yan and Wei, the war of Yue to destroy Yan was no longer a matter between Yue and Yan, but Qi was directly involved.
This does not include the two countries of Chu and Wei that were ready to make moves in the rear.
If not,
The conflicts during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period would not have lasted for more than 500 years .
"It's not just Qi. Once the Nanyue army suffers heavy losses, Chu and even Wei will have new ideas and will no longer be afraid," Jia Xu reminded.
Qin Mo still had doubts. "The enemy and I haven't had a large-scale direct confrontation yet. If we retreat like this, it will not only damage our morale, but will it also boost the enemy's arrogance in disguise?"
This conclusion,
It was exactly the same as what Jia Xu said just now about Nanyang County.
Jia Xu smiled and said, "Qi and Yan have their own thoughts. If we confront them head-on, under the pressure of our army, the two countries may be able to cooperate sincerely.
"Once this pressure disappears, do you think the 200,000 troops sent by Qi will still go all out?"
The two battlefields appear to be the same, but they are very different inside.
Different starting points,
The response strategies will naturally be different.
On the battlefield in Nanyang County, in order to intimidate the Chu and Wei countries so that they would not dare to send troops to directly reinforce the Yan State, a tough attitude was required.
On the battlefield in Yan State, Qi State's sending of troops to reinforce was an established fact. The goal at this time should be to divide the two countries rather than to anger them.
"Also, once the pressure of Jicheng's fall disappears, will Yan State still obediently give up Zhao's land and allow Qi State to get a huge advantage for nothing?" Jia Xu's eyes were deep.
This is called killing someone and destroying their heart.
Qin Mo smiled, no longer having any doubts in his heart, and said with a smile: "Just follow the Prime Minister's words."
