The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

In Yangcheng, Huaibei, at the Qin Central Army Camp, Lieutenant General Qiang Wei came to Wang Jian's tent with military information sent from the Northern Army, and his face was filled with joy.

"General, this strategy is really brilliant! Fengpei has been captured by a part of the Northern Army, and they are preparing to attack Pengcheng. The Dongjun garrison has also been ordered to harass Lu. I think Xiang Yan has received emergency calls from all over."

Wang Jian was very satisfied: he smiled and said, "The reason why Chu is difficult to attack is that its territory is vast. If we enter its territory with tens of thousands of people, it will be like a fish entering the sea, and it is easy to be ambushed. But Chu is easy to attack because it is so large. If we hang its main force here, this thousand-mile border will be full of loopholes."

In February, after discovering that "soldiers are available", Wang Jian gave instructions for combat. The nearly 200,000 combat troops of the Southern Army and the Central Army remained motionless. Instead, he let the Northern Army led by Lieutenant General Feng Wuzhe launch an attack on Fengpei and other places where Chu's defense was weak, and it was indeed easy to succeed.

He did this not to capture the city, but to make Xiang Yan hesitate and make the Chu army confused.

This is what the Art of War says: If I don't want to fight, I will mark the ground and defend it. The enemy cannot fight me because they are not in the right place. If I want to fight, the enemy will have to fight me even if they have high walls and deep trenches. I will attack what they must save!

"How do you think the Chu army should respond?"

Qiang Wei was also a veteran general. After pondering for a moment, he pointed to the map and said, "The best strategy for the Chu army is for Xiang Yan to see through the general's intentions and send troops to fight me, gambling on a glimmer of hope!"

Wang Jian nodded: "If it was the beginning of winter last year, when the Chu army had just assembled and morale was high, Xiang Yan might dare to do so, but now the Chu army has been waiting here for several months, the armor has grown lice, and the sparrows are in the tent, and the soldiers have not returned. Food is becoming increasingly scarce. The soldiers of the Chu State are all thinking about spring plowing at home, and they may not have the heart to fight to the death. Xiang Yan dare not do so."

Qiang Wei said again: "The middle strategy is to give up the east, shrink the front line, and retreat slightly eastward to protect; the worst strategy is to divide the troops and defend, in order to cover all aspects."

"Since the Chu army has lost the morale to fight a decisive battle with our army here, I guess Xiang Yan will take the middle and lower strategies. Lu is dispensable to Chu, and the King of Chu may let Xiang Yan abandon it to defend Huaibei. But he dare not abandon Pengcheng and Sishui..."

Pengcheng was originally the ancient Peng clan country. After the Spring and Autumn Period, it became the eastern capital of Song. After the demise of Song, it was seized by Chu. This place is surrounded by mountains and hills, with Bian and Si in communication. It is connected to Qi and Lu in the north, Liang and Song in the west, and Jianghuai in the south. It is also a strategic place. When King Yan of Song was in power, he also took advantage of Pengcheng's terrain to seize 300 miles of land in Huaibei of Chu. Therefore, the gains and losses of Pengcheng are related to the prosperity and decline of the north and the south. If Pengcheng is lost, Huaibei will be lost. At that time, even if Xiang Yan stops Wang Jian here, Huaibei behind will be driven straight in by the Qin army and a piece of rotten.

Wang Jian confidently picked up the red chess piece representing the Chu army on the map and moved it eastward from the front line to the east of the Honggou.

"Xiang Yan is now in a dilemma. Weighing the pros and cons, he can only retreat eastward to shrink the front line and send tens of thousands of soldiers to try to save Pengcheng..."

The enemy can be tired when he is at ease, and hungry when he is full, but how can he move him? Attack where he must save! Wang Jian put the Chu army in a difficult situation and low morale through several months of stalemate, and then forced the Chu army to make strategic adjustments by simply making a noise in the south and attacking in the north.

Thinking of this, the old general picked up the black chess piece representing the Qin army and slapped it heavily on the red owl!

"When the Chu army retreats eastward and the camp is unstable, it is time for our army to attack!"

"If so, the Chu army will be defeated!" Qiang Wei was very excited. After several months of waiting, this battle was finally going to start.

Wang Jian looked at Qiang Wei: "Have you selected the two out of ten vanguard soldiers in the Central Army?"

This was the tactic Wang Jian used in the battle of Yanyu Chengming more than ten years ago, selecting two out of ten people and using these elites as the sharp edge. In the past few months, Qiang Wei has been responsible for selecting soldiers and letting these elites use "soldier balls" to exercise their muscles and practice the skills of assaulting and breaking through the enemy lines.

"Of the 150,000 soldiers in the Central Army, 30,000 elite soldiers have been obtained!"

"What about the Southern Army?" Wang Jian asked again. Although the Central Army from Guanzhong and Sanchuan was the main force in this battle, the strategic tasks that the Southern Army had to undertake were not easy.

"General Meng Wu sent someone to report that he decided to use 10,000 soldiers from Nanjun with the highest morale as the rear guard!"

"Nanjun soldiers..."

Wang Jian couldn't help but think of the fierce competition during those games, and the soldiers who shouted "We want to fight" when he got on the car, as well as Li You, Hei Fu and other military officers...

"I just hope that the soldiers from Nanjun can be more brave on the battlefield than on the court!"

...

In the early morning of February Xinsi, when the east was just beginning to show a little light, in a military camp located in the eastern suburbs of Shangcai, thousands of Anlu soldiers got up early, some wiped their weapons, and some helped each other put on their armor. They were not afraid before the battle, but excited.

Everyone stayed here for nearly five months. Although they had no worries about food and clothing, and there were games to play such as Cuju, and the captain and Heifu even organized everyone to write a letter home, they still felt uncomfortable. Many soldiers even began to think that anywhere was fine, even if they were dragged to the battlefield to lick blood, it would be better than staying here!

Finally, they finally waited for the general's order. On February Xinsi, the Southern Army attacked!

At this time, the leader Heifu finally returned to the camp. He almost did not sleep last night. The Nanjun soldiers got the task of the vanguard and the army. Heifu was happy and worried.

The joy was that the vanguard had greater merits than the general troops, and the worry was that if the war went wrong, the vanguard would also suffer the most casualties. Among the thousand men under his command, how many of them could survive this battle and get the title?

Therefore, Hei Fu simply went up to the corner tower of the rampart, and together with Zhang Han, looked at the Chu army rampart that was almost parallel to the Qin rampart twenty miles away. There were some hidden lights over there, but under the stars and the moon, most of the place was pitch black...

According to the scouts' investigation, the Chu army has not been at peace these days, and the army is a little agitated. There was even a camp whistle caused by misfire in a certain tent, with people neighing and horses neighing, but it was quickly quelled, leaving no opportunity for the Qin army to take advantage. In recent days, although there are many flags and soldiers on the rampart, no one has come to challenge.

"The general guessed that the Jing people were preparing to retreat and shrink their defense line to the east of the Honggou, so he ordered the army to attack."

During the military meeting yesterday, Li You also told them the truth, and asked the leaders to encourage the soldiers and prepare for war after returning!

As a result, the relaxed atmosphere in the entire Nanjun military camp was swept away. When it was about to dawn, everyone had gathered outside the tent, gathered together, and stood in a neat square formation!

"Really, really a lot..."

Xiao Tao, a short-armed general beside Hei Fu, couldn't help but speak, because no matter whether he looked left or right, he could only see densely packed people.

Although the Nanjun soldiers only had a combat force of 10,000 people, being in it already felt too much, and the entire Nanjun led by Meng Wu had 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers, and they filled the endless inner side of the barrier.

"A hundred miles away, the number of people in the central army is twice as many."

Hei Fu said so. This huge number, while giving some psychological comfort to his side, should also cause great pressure to the opponent, right? Launching an attack with more than 200,000 people, what a grand scene!

The third drum is for food, the fourth drum is for strict debate, and the fifth drum is enough. As the drum beats to the fifth round, after the army has finished their meal, they began to walk out of the barrier from the wall gate in order. Zhang Han was still standing on the corner tower, bowing to Hei Fu.

"I wish you a successful return!"

Although Zhang Han kept saying that he liked the post of military commander, he still had some envy in his eyes when he saw the army set off. After all, it was easy to get meritorious service and get a title by beheading people in actual combat.

"Thank you, Young Master!" Hei Fu stood on the chariot and bowed to Zhang Han.

The 10,000 Nanjun soldiers set off as the "Zhongjun" of the entire Nanjun. In front of them, there were 2,000 "Xingjun", almost all of which were flexible chariots and cavalry. Their attire was exactly the same as the "cavalry figurines" in the Terracotta Warriors and Horses: short armor on the upper body, tight pants on the lower body, long boots on the feet, a round hat on the head, with a buckle on the hat tied under the chin, and a bow and arrow on the back, a typical Hu clothing riding and shooting outfit.

Once the Xingjun discovered the enemy and sent information to the rear, the Zhongjun would quickly move forward and cooperate with the Xingjun to defeat it, opening up a smooth road for the army.

When Heifu and others could see the rampart, Xingjun had already completed the investigation of the Chubi area within dozens of miles. The leader of Xingjun personally rode back to tell Li You: "Captain Li, there seems to be something wrong in the Chu camp!"

"What's wrong?"

Li You's heart tightened. This was the first time he got the task of the vanguard and follow-up army. He was ready to fight to the death and break the wall, and didn't want any accidents.

"When we approached, the scouts of the Chu army did not stop us, but quickly withdrew. When we got close, Chubi found us and beat the golden drums and lit fireworks to warn us, but the movement inside was surprisingly small. People with sharp eyes even saw that there were crows on the Chu camp!"

The cavalry general of Xingjun said seriously: "This area seems to be an empty wall!"

Li You was more cautious and asked Xingjun to explore again. By noon, the follow-up army had arrived at Chubi. When they set up the wall-breaking equipment, the counterattacks of the Chu army on the ramparts and corner towers were few, and after a while, they even stopped completely.

Li You hesitated for a while, and sent someone back to ask Meng Wu to send 20,000 people to support him on the flank before he ordered everyone to attack!

The unguarded fortress was no different from an ordinary courtyard wall. Hei Fu and his men quickly broke through the fortress and rushed into the Chu army camp.

There was no Chu army array inside that they had imagined, waiting in a tight battle formation to lure them into the depths, nor did they encounter the scene of thousands of soldiers and horses rushing out at the sound of drums.

There were only empty roads in the camp, and crows croaking on the curtains of the tents...

The entire Chu army camp was almost empty!

Hei Fu asked people to check all the camps within a few miles. Looking at the dense ruts, horse hooves, footprints on the ground heading east, and the ashes left by the burning of torches and fires, he already understood what had happened.

He didn't know whether he should be relieved to avoid a tough battle, or regret that the Chu army withdrew at the critical moment?

"Go back and tell the captain."

Hei Fu said to the messenger Ji Ying: "The Chu army escaped at night!"

The Southern Army will definitely be in vain, but I don't know what will happen to the Central Army? After all, there are hundreds of thousands of people, and they can't just withdraw!

...

At the same time, east of Ruyang, a brutal battle has just ended.

"With 30,000 elite troops in pursuit, only 10,000 Chu troops were left behind, and 30,000 civilians were captured?"

Listening to the military report sent back by Qiang Wei, Wang Jian frowned, but then relaxed again and said with a smile:

"In the Battle of Yanling, the princes beat drums and attacked at night, and the Chu army was defeated at night; later, the princes rescued Zheng, and the Chu army fled at night; in the Battle of Raojiao, the Chu army fled again... The Chu army is really an expert in fleeing at night, even I was fooled."

Although he laughed, Wang Jian couldn't help but admire Xiang Yan in his heart. Xiang Yan made a move that even he didn't expect. Not only did he retreat eastward, but he also retreated extremely quickly, so that the Qin army only had time to catch their tail and avoided the fate of being wiped out.

Indeed, if the Qin army suddenly attacked, the Chu camp, which was mixed with poorly disciplined civilians, would probably fall into chaos and lead to the annihilation of the entire army. At the moment, Xiang Yan would withdraw calmly, and let the civilians and the army go in two ways, luring the Qin army to pursue the civilians. Xiang Yan would repeat the trick he used to defeat Li Xin and attack from behind...

But this trick is useless to Wang Jian!

Because he is not a small army advancing alone, but a powerful force!

"Order the central army to the north of Yingshui River, closely following the Chu army, and then let the southern army advance to the south of Yingshui River, rushing ahead of the Chu army. If the Chu army wants to cross the river, wait until they are halfway across and attack them! I want to see how far Xiang Yan can retreat in order to tie up my army!"