Chapter 266: Bai Qi does not play by the rules
"This matter is of great importance. Let me think about it carefully." Faced with Sun Bin's pressure to abdicate, King Jian of Qi finally played Tai Chi and did not give an answer on the spot.
A hint of disappointment flashed across Sun Bin's eyes.
He knew that the fact that the King of Qi did not express his opinion on the spot had already proved that the King of Qi did not agree with his plan. He said this just to give him a way out.
This is also true.
The next day, the King of Qi bypassed Sun Bin and gave orders directly to Tian Dan, who was far away in the State of Yan, ordering Tian Dan to lead his troops and immediately advance to Yanmen County with the food and grass supported by the State of Yan to fight against the invasion of the Huns.
When Sun Bin received the news, he did not argue and just resigned.
This time,
I really have to live in seclusion and can't leave.
When Prime Minister Hou Sheng heard the news, a smile appeared on his face unconsciously, a little proud and a little sinister, "After driving away Sun Bin, the next one should be Tian Dan."
"Old guys, since you are living in seclusion, you shouldn't come out to join in the fun."
Take good care of your old age,
Isn’t it fragrant???
…
Although the King of Qi did not adopt Sun Bin's suggestion, Qi's response was still decisive.
Tian Dan led his troops out of Yan State, bypassed Dai State, and headed straight for Yanmen County.
The 150,000 Qi troops originally stationed in Handan County took a detour through Taiyuan County and headed towards Yunzhong County further north, making it clear that they were determined to fight the Huns to the death.
The two armies advanced side by side.
However, the two places were too far apart and there were many mountains and rivers, so the army spent nearly half a month just on the road.
By the time the Qi army arrived, the Huns had already ravaged the two counties.
Faced with the aggressive Qi army, the Huns were not afraid at all. They used the mobility of their cavalry to fight the enemy closely.
The situation in the North soon attracted the attention of various countries.
Naturally, Wei and Chu just wanted to watch the fun, not getting involved and keeping aloof. The royal families of the two countries were even a little secretly happy about the troubles Qi was encountering .
After taking over Zhao, Qi's strength had already surpassed that of Chu and Wei, making people fearful.
The Yan State was the first to create clay figures for burials.
I didn't get the joy I expected.
On the contrary, King Xi of Yan was very depressed. He did not expect that Qi would be so shameless and directly transferred 200,000 reinforcements without blinking an eye.
What a bunch of ungrateful people.
What made the King of Yan even more depressed was that with the rebellion in Yunzhong and Yanmen counties, the more than 300,000 Yan people who had previously migrated to Zhao could no longer sit still and fled back to Yan.
The people of Yan were already dissatisfied with Yan's cession of Zhao land to Qi.
Now that the Huns were causing trouble, how could they dare to stay in Zhao? They packed their bags and returned to their hometowns despite the obstruction of the State of Yan.
But my hometown is no longer my hometown, and all the fields have been taken over by local tyrants.
These poor Yan people suddenly became landless refugees and became a burden to the Yan State. A large number of refugees poured into the city and became homeless victims of disasters and hunger.
For the State of Yan,
This is called shooting oneself in the foot.
…
Just when the outside world's attention was focused on the northern part of Zhao State, the Guanzhong region, which had always seemed very calm, as if it was outside the battlefield, was quietly brewing a storm.
On this day, a small group of cavalry quietly entered the Wuguan Fortress under the cover of night.
Leader,
It was Bai Qi, the great general of the State of Yue.
In the fortress's meeting room, as soon as Bai Qi arrived, he went up to the tent to discuss matters, with five generals sitting below him.
In addition to Li Xin, commander of the Blackwater Army's Fourth Corps stationed in Wuguan, there was also Xiong Kuo, commander of the South Vietnamese Army's Eighth Corps who was originally supposed to be stationed in the western part of Guanzhong.
Even the three commanders of the first, second and fifth legions of the Black Water Army who were ordered to garrison in Nanyang County, Huang Zhong, Yan Chixia and Chu Jian, were on the list.
Except for Meng Tian who was ordered to guard Hangu Pass, all the generals in Guanzhong gathered together.
This is very unusual.
Bai Qi was a courageous general with concise words. He deployed the combat missions of various units in a few moves. Then, he glanced at them with his unique triangular eyes and said in a deep voice, "Do you have any doubts?"
"No!"
All the soldiers shook their heads.
"Then let's take action. I'm waiting for your good news in Wuguan." Bai Qi's eyes were bright.
"promise!"
The five generals dispersed suddenly, left the pass that night and disappeared.
…
There is often calm before shocking historical events break out.
It happened very suddenly.
For example, the counterattack against the State of Yue led by Bai Qi was like a flash of lightning, so fast that people could not react at all.
Many people don't even know what is happening, but the course of history has quietly changed.
October 5, 222 BC.
Just as the Qi army was fighting fiercely with the Xiongnu cavalry, attracting the attention of everyone in the Warring States Period, the First, Second and Fifth Corps of the Black Water Army stationed in Nanyang County suddenly moved south and attacked Nan County of Chu.
Prior to this,
In order to recapture Nanyang County, the State of Chu mobilized 400,000 troops and prepared to fight a decisive battle with the State of Yue.
What can I do?
Because Bai Qi suddenly sent more troops to Nanyang and Wei State had an ambiguous attitude, the Chu army stopped advancing and was stationed in Nanjun and Wanjun on the two wings of Nanyang County respectively.
The two counties, one in the south and one in the north, formed a pincer attack, sandwiching Nanyang County in the middle.
Although the plan to recapture Nanyang County was thwarted, the Chu State did not withdraw its troops. Instead, all 400,000 troops were stationed there, both to guard against the Yue State and to look for opportunities.
King Fu Chu of Chu still missed Nanyang County.
No one expected that the Kingdom of Yue would take the initiative to attack at this time, and even put on an attitude of fighting with all their might, which made the entire Kingdom of Chu dizzy.
Fortunately, the State of Chu was no ordinary country.
Upon learning that the Yue army was heading south, the King of Chu immediately ordered the 200,000 Chu troops stationed in Wan County, under the command of veteran general Xiang Yan, to also move south.
This may not be bad news for the State of Chu.
When Chu State divided its army into two counties, it had carefully planned and anticipated this situation. Once Yue State's army moved, Chu State could attack from both the north and the south.
It is still unknown who will win or lose.
…
Wancheng.
This place is the seat of Wan County and also the temporary base camp of Xiang Yan’s army.
The vanguard troops have already set out, but Xiang Yan is still staying in Wancheng. The main force is still just packing their luggage. It seems that they are not in a hurry to march south.
It wasn't that Xiang Yan disobeyed the king's order, but that he had doubts in his heart.
After a while, a spy came to report.
Xiang Yan turned around suddenly and asked, "Have you checked it out?"
"Reporting to the general, there are still troops stationed in the Wuguan Fortress, and the flag of Bai Qi, the Marquis of Wu'an, is flying." The spy reported.
"How many troops are there?" Xiang Yan asked again.
"We can only see shadowy figures on the top of the city wall. We cannot get close to the fortress and find out how many soldiers are there because of Bai Qi, the Marquis of Wu'an."
"Are you sure Bai Qi is here?"
"It's absolutely true. I saw Bai Qi appear on the top of the city wall with my own eyes."
"strangeness……"
Xiang Yan waved his hand and asked the spy to retreat first.
"Father, is there something wrong?" The person asking the question was Xiang Qu, the eldest son of Xiang Yan.
There are not many records about Xiang Qu in history books, and even his name is controversial. Some say his name is Xiang Rong or Xiang Chao, and that he is the father of Xiang Yu, the King of Western Chu.
The Xiang family was one of the four major families in the State of Chu, and each generation had its own generals.
The contemporary head of the family, Xiang Yan, is the most famous general of the Chu State and the last pillar of the Chu State in its late period. Historically, he shone brightly in the Qin's war to conquer Chu.
However, due to the weak national strength of the Chu State, he was eventually beheaded by Wang Jian.
According to historical records, as the eldest son of Xiang Yan and the successor to the next generation of generals of the Xiang family, Xiang Qu has always followed his father Xiang Yan.
He died on the battlefield along with his father Xiang Yan.
"Of course it's wrong." Xiang Yan frowned. "With Bai Qi's ability, he should have known that if he went south to attack Nanjun at this time, he would be attacked from both north and south by the State of Chu. How could this be?"
It is even more strange that Bai Qi appeared in Wuguan so blatantly.
It always feels deliberate...
Xiang Yan instinctively felt a little uneasy.
Xiang Qu smiled and said, "Yue State has stationed a legion in Wuguan. Are they planning to use the strength of this legion to stop us from coming south to reinforce?"
"But they didn't come out." Xiang Yan shook his head.
"Maybe it's a strategy to confuse the enemy?" Xiang Qu was young and had an active mind.
"What do you mean?"
"Bai Qi may have calculated that his father would become suspicious, so he deliberately did not leave the country to create a deterrent and in disguise delay our army's southward reinforcement." Xiang Qu said.
"This is too risky. It's not like Bai Qi 's style at all." Xiang Yan shook his head.
According to his research on all the battles commanded by Bai Qi, every time he did so, he pushed the battle situation to the extreme and calculated every detail.
How is it possible to drive a campaign of such magnitude based on imagination?
If we really have to fight,
Both sides have deployed 400,000 troops each, and this is no joke.
"If I had not been fooled and led my troops south directly, what would Bai Qi do? Would he just sit there and watch the 300,000-strong army be surrounded?" Xiang Yan could never let it go.
"If my father doesn't fall for it, Bai Qi can go out of the country to provide reinforcements." Xiang Qu was still not convinced.
"That's child's play~~~" Xiang Yan shook his head with amusement, "Both sides fought and fought, but in the end they got nothing, just to end up with both sides suffering losses?"
This is not a child's play.
Moreover, Xiang Yan looked at the overall situation and realized that the renewed dispute between Qi and Yan was beneficial to the 600,000 Yue troops still stranded in Yan.
At this time, it seemed unnecessary for Bai Qi to do anything unnecessary.
"this……"
Xiang Qu was also a little confused, and he was puzzled, so he simply said: "Father, the arrow is on the string now, and we have to shoot. The fighting has already started in Nanjun, and we must go to reinforce it."
"Yeah~~~"
Xiang Yan was entangled in this point, and said: "How about this, you lead the 50,000 troops to guard the rear to prevent any changes. I will lead the central army and bypass Nanyang County to the south."
It is better to be cautious after all.
"No, father, let me stay in the center of the army." Xiang Qu was somewhat reluctant.
At this time, he was young and energetic, and his blood was boiling. It was not easy to encounter such a big battle, so how could he be willing to stay behind? He was eager to fight in the front line.
It would also prove to others that his title as the eldest son of the Xiang family was not in vain.
"That's it!"
In the army, Xiang Yan's words were his bond and he would not tolerate anyone to refute him, even if that person was his most valued son.
