Chapter 268: Yan State, destroyed!
Yan State, Wuzhong County.
"Bai Qi is good." Qin Mo put down the battle report with a happy look on his face.
Qin Mo really didn't expect that Bai Qi would bring such a surprise. Not only did it dampen the morale of the State of Chu, but it also indirectly disintegrated the alliance of the four countries of Qi, Chu, Yan and Wei.
After this battle, the Chu State was severely damaged and was no longer able to defend itself.
The two countries of Qi and Yan had completely turned against each other because of the Xiongnu issue. King Xi of Yan tried to borrow grain from Qi, but was flatly rejected by the King of Qi.
Relations between the two countries reached a freezing point.
Under such circumstances, the Wei State, which was already cautious, would be even less likely to show up.
Qin Mo looked at Li Mu and said with a smile: "In the battle to destroy Yan, we have already taken advantage of the weather and terrain."
Li Mu looked a little uncomfortable.
Bai Qi, the general who also led troops to fight and was responsible for defending the country, took advantage of limited conditions, seized the opportunity, and launched a beautiful counterattack, shocking all the countries.
In contrast, he led an army of 600,000 but has not achieved any results so far.
The name of the general of cavalry,
It's a bit of a misnomer.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. We will surely win the battle in the spring of next year." Li Mu issued a military order.
"Then I will wait for good news from the general."
…
October,
The Xiongnu cavalry, which had wreaked havoc in Yunzhong and Yanmen counties for nearly a month, returned with a full load, leaving behind a devastated scene, which was a slap in the face to the State of Qi.
The conflict in 222 BC came to an end.
As winter arrives, everything becomes quiet.
Some are quietly licking their wounds, some are enjoying the spoils, and some are secretly sharpening their knives. All signs indicate that the chaos is far from over.
This winter, Yan State had the hardest time.
First, the eastern coast was ravaged by the Yue army, then the two northern counties fell, and then Zhao humiliated itself by ceding three counties to Qi.
Not only that,
Because the Yue army occupied Youbeiping County, it cut off the connection between the Yan royal capital and the Liaodong region, resulting in the fact that the only area that Yan could truly control was a few hundred miles around the royal capital.
But it's such a small place,
However, it gathered an army of more than 400,000 people from the State of Yan, and together with the refugees, starving people and displaced people caused by the war and famine, caused the State of Yan to fall into an unprecedented famine.
With the arrival of cold winter, large numbers of people starve to death on the streets every day.
Food shortages began to appear not only among the people but also in the army. At first, they had two meals a day, then one meal a day, and later, they could only drink watery porridge.
The soldiers were hungry and looked listless.
…
Winter goes and spring comes.
As all things revived, the disaster in Yan State did not end, but on the contrary, it became more and more serious.
March 5, 221 BC.
Under the command of General Li Mu, the 600,000-strong Yue army, which the Yan people thought should be hungrier than them, was actually full of energy . They divided into three groups and marched south again.
The troops headed straight for Jicheng.
This time, there was no will to fight in Yan State and no strong support from outside, so they were no longer able to resist.
In just twenty days, the Yue army once again arrived at the foot of Jicheng.
Another half month,
Jicheng was captured , and King Xi of Yan, Prince Dan of Yan and others were killed.
The State of Yan was destroyed!
…
Qi State, Linzi.
Upon learning that the State of Yan was destroyed, King Jian of Qi felt complicated. At this moment, he did not feel a trace of gloating, but only felt chilled and fearful.
Comes from the fear of Yue State.
One month,
The Yue army, which was originally thought to be in trouble, destroyed the arrogant Yan State in just one month, setting a record for the fastest destruction of a country in the Warring States Period.
When the State of Yan was still around, the King of Qi found it annoying no matter how he looked at it.
After the destruction of Yan State, Qi State's northern neighbor was replaced by the more powerful Yue State. The King of Qi suddenly found that he began to miss the days of being neighbors with Yan State.
Really despicable...
…
Chu State, Shouchun.
King Fu Chu of Chu has been a little depressed recently. The battle last autumn destroyed the vitality that Chu had finally recovered over the past three years.
He also lost two counties in disgrace.
Afterwards, the King of Chu only symbolically punished the two generals Xiang Yan and Jing Yang, and pulled out two scapegoats, killing them on the grounds of "ineffective combat".
Finally, I have an explanation to the outside world.
Upon learning that the State of Yan was destroyed, if the King of Chu had previously hated and feared the State of Yue, then from this moment on, he was left with only fear.
Can't afford to offend, can't afford to offend...
…
Jicheng, the royal palace.
Inside the hall, Qin Mo sat at the top, with three people standing below him.
Jia Xu, Li Mu, and Yue Yi.
Compared with later dynasties, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period had a distinct feature, that is, all talented people did not have a strong sense of family and country, and would not say "a loyal minister does not serve two masters."
Talent flows freely.
We will go to whichever country can use it.
If I am not welcome here, there are other places that will welcome me.
This is also because during this period, Confucianism was not yet the mainstream, let alone the prominent school of government, and civil officials and military generals had not yet been tainted by Confucianism.
What's with the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, ruler-ruler, subject-subject, father-father, son-son, and even that whole thing of destroying humanity.
It is still human nature to respect others.
Of course.
A big difference between the Confucianism at this time and that of later generations is that Confucius himself was a person who respected nature, and he was not as decadent and old-fashioned as the so-called great Confucian scholars of later generations.
It was precisely because of this atmosphere in the Warring States Period that surrender became relatively easy.
After Le Yi was defeated , he was prepared to be killed. Unexpectedly, Qin Mo went to invite him personally and treated him with courtesy, hoping that Le Yi would continue to serve the State of Yue.
I agreed reluctantly.
"Your Majesty, the famine around Jicheng is still going on and may even break out. How should we deal with it?"
The person asking the questions was Jia Xu.
After conquering the State of Yan, Jia Xu resigned from his post as military advisor and handed over all military affairs to Generals Li Mu and Yue Yi. He then devoted all his energy to taking over and pacifying the Yan area.
All the foreigners who went with the army have arrived at their posts.
Qin Mo said: "First, allocate a batch of food from the military rations for emergency use, and set up porridge sheds in various places to distribute porridge. Later, I will transport enough food and grass to relieve the people's difficulties."
Isn't this a good opportunity to win people's hearts?
"Your Majesty, be merciful!"
Jia Xu bowed deeply and became even more curious about the world the king lived in. What kind of world was that? Why did it seem like there was endless food?
A steady stream.
As much as you want, you can have as much as you want.
"Could it be the legendary fairyland where people have no worries about food and clothing?" Jia Xu began to have wild thoughts.
Le Yi's eyes flashed.
When the Yue army attacked, Le Yi knew that the "strategy of tireing out the soldiers" he had proposed earlier had completely failed, and it seemed that he had fallen into a trap deliberately set by the Yue State.
No one knew what magical power the King of Yue used to transport such a large amount of food through the air.
The conversation between the king and Jia Xu,
This undoubtedly confirms this point.
The loss is not unfair!
"Disaster relief is one thing, but recovering lost territory must also be stepped up." Qin Mo said suddenly.
Jia Xu didn't understand for a moment, "What does the king mean?"
"The three counties of Yunzhong, Yanmen and Taiyuan in Zhao were previously the territory of Yan State, but were seized by Qi State. Now that Yan has returned to Yue, shouldn't Qi also return these three counties?" Qin Mo said.
“…”
Jia Xu was stunned for a moment. The king's words were indeed shameless.
It's just like making far-fetched arguments.
"Your Majesty wants to take this opportunity to make enemies with the State of Qi?" Jia Xu vaguely guessed something.
Qin Mo smiled and said, "After destroying Yan, Qi will be the next one. Let's use this matter to test Qi's attitude first."
"Then, what if Qi agrees?" Jia Xu was puzzled.
In that case,
The State of Yue was once again without a legitimate reason to attack.
"If Qi agrees, then we can ask for Handan County, Julu County and other places in Zhao. If I remember correctly, these places originally belonged to Qin, right? They should also be returned to Yue." Qin Mo said.
Jia Xu: “…”
Li Mu: “…”
Le Yi: “…”
The look the three of them gave the king was one of foresight.
According to this logic, should the Han territory occupied by the Wei State also be returned to the Yue State?
Shameless!
Shameless~~~~
Although he was shocked, Jia Xu understood the king's intention. Asking for land was secondary. The main purpose was to constantly test Qi's attitude and provoke disputes between the two countries.
The frog in boiling water was forced into a dead end step by step.
Although this plan is shameless, it will not work if the Kingdom of Yue does not have absolute strength.
So,
Ultimately, strength is what matters.
Thinking of this, Qin Mo looked at Le Yi and said, "The more than 300,000 prisoners of war of the Yan army should be mixed with the Nanyue army and then reorganized into the 6th, 7th and 8th Corps of the Black Water Army."
To make up for their respective casualties, the State of Yue will add three more legions.
in this way,
The State of Yue deployed an army of 900,000 in Yan alone.
This is also the reason why Qin Mo dared to challenge the State of Qi. Otherwise, he would be asking for trouble.
"I will definitely live up to the king's trust!"
Because he was a newly surrendered general, Le Yi was still a little hesitant.
But Le Yi was still somewhat grateful to be trusted by the king and to lead the reorganization of the army. This at least showed that the king really wanted to use him.
"Oh right," Qin Mo suddenly remembered something, "General Le Yi, do you know what method King Xi of Yan used to ask Senior Guiguzi to take action?"
He was also thinking about the royal treasures of the Yan Kingdom.
Le Yi happened to be present at the time, and had nothing to hide, so he clasped his fists and said, "It is the Yan State's national treasure - the dragon and phoenix shield. As for what effect it has, I don't know."
"so……"
Qin Mo did not make things difficult for Le Yi and ended the meeting.
It seems that
This matter is destined to remain a mystery.
