Spring is about to pass, and summer is going to be hot.
However, in the land of changing water, it is unknowingly added to the severe cold.
General Wang Jian of the State of Qin deployed a large number of troops here, as he had for several months. Yang Duanhe led an army of 100,000 to garrison at Julu, followed by Li Xin, Xin Sheng, Ma Xing and others, and Meng Tian from the Jiuyuan camp.
He led his army across the clouds, the land of Yanmen.
He responded to the heavy troops of Yishui from afar, hoping to enter the Yan Kingdom on a certain day.
"General, according to the reports from the scouts in Jicheng, in the past few days, the King of Yan and Prince Dan of the Yan Kingdom have been mobilizing domestic troops and secretly marching towards Wuyang City, with as many as 100,000 troops."
"In addition to the 50,000 troops originally stationed in the city of Wuyang, within six days, Yan's 150,000 troops can be gathered in Wuyang. His ambition is clear."
Wearing silver heavy armor, an iron-blooded sword at the waist, and an eagle helmet binding his hair, he bowed his hands and looked at the willow forest in the river valley in front of him. Li Xin said slowly, "For several months, Chen Bing of Qin State has been like this and has not slackened off."
What he did... was the news from Xianyang.
"The State of Yan is a vassal state directly related to the Great Zhou Dynasty that has been established for 800 years. It is famous for its arrogance and reserve among the Xia Dynasty. In the opinion of the last general, it is absolutely impossible to truly surrender to the State of Qin. The envoys who went to Xianyang before could not do anything to mediate diplomatic relations."
"This should not be taken seriously. The general feels that it will not be long before the army is dispatched."
Next to him, there was also a military general, wearing heavy red armor and holding a heavy spear. He bowed slightly and said what he was planning. Anyway, in his opinion, Yan State had absolutely no intention of truly surrendering to Qin State.
"Oh, Xin Sheng, do you think the army will be dispatched soon?"
When Wang Jian heard this, he smiled slightly on his face that was slightly aged due to living in the military for a long time. He glanced at the red-armored general. He listened to their words in his heart. Over the past few months, he had also been listening to them.
Waiting for news from Xianyang.
The words of the two generals beside him also had that meaning.
"With Zhao's strength to resist Qin, and Zhao's barrier to Shandong, Yan still doesn't remember Zhao En, and repeatedly attacks behind his back. With such a weak government, how can he surrender to the barbarian Qin in the eyes of the princes of the Zhou Dynasty who are proud of themselves and are directly related to him?"
"Being poor and weak but arrogant, ignorant and crazy, this is the style of Yan people's politics!"
Xin Sheng responded with disdain. In recent months, he has become more and more aware of the news about the Yan State, and the more he despises the Yan State. It has been a vassal state for eight hundred years. The national politics is chaotic and the national power is weak.
It is not even comparable to the previous Three Jin Kingdoms.
In this way, how can one have the courage to fight against Qin?
It's really ridiculous.
If you want to use diplomatic relations to mediate the country's survival, the central government of Qin will not fall into that trap.
"Whether to attack the Yan Kingdom or not, Xianyang has its own documents. It is not our turn to decide in advance for the time being."
"A few days ago, all the generals in the army already understood the document that was on standby during the King's attack on Yan. Do you two understand it?"
Whether it was Li Xin, Xin Sheng, or the other young generals in the army, Wang Jian admired them very much. At the time when the Qin Dynasty was under one rule, the presence of so many useful people in the Qin State was really Haotian's favor.
Haotian treats Qin well, how can Qin let Haotian down?
Naturally, the Yan State would not be taken seriously by Wang Jian. With the current national strength of the Yan State, it was impossible to stop the Qin State. Even if it was through diplomatic mediation, it would only be able to survive.
However... I was struggling with this, and fell into another place. I felt something in my heart, and looked at the two men beside me. Among the young generals of all countries today, they are considered to be generals with very high understanding.
In the future, it is possible for anyone to become a general who can lead an army alone.
"In the battle to attack Yan, we are ready at any time."
"Li Xin believes that if the king in Xianyang is determined to use a soft policy to make Yan surrender, there will be no reason to issue such a document."
"Your Majesty, you should also understand that the Yan State wants to use diplomatic mediation to delay in order to survive. After all, the current battle is different from that in the years of King Zhaoxiang. During the years of King Zhaoxiang, in the era of great strife, all attacks were based on wars of annihilation.
The main battle is the city battle."
"Today, there are many things to consider. After all, the Yan State today will be the counties of the Qin State tomorrow."
Li Xin and Xin Sheng looked at each other, each thinking about whether to attack Yan State. They both had something in mind. Based on the news coming from Jicheng of Yan State in recent months, Yan State was already seeking death.
Although I don’t know much about the situation in Xianyang, it’s just like that.
After a few breaths, Li Xin took a step closer and explained what he was thinking.
"Xin Sheng agrees with what General Li Xin said. The Qin State now dominates the world. Unlike General Sima Cuo and Lord Wu'an during the years of King Zhaoxiang, it is a time of great strife and a battle to siege cities and plunder territory."
"Now the battle to unify the Xia is a more long-term strategy. If the Yan State really surrenders, it will definitely be the best thing, but the Yan State will never voluntarily surrender to the Qin State."
"Among the three Jin lands, Korea and Zhao went through battles one after another before being included in the Qin State. Xin Sheng thought that the same was true for the Yan State, and the same was true for the other vassal states."
Li Xin said this, when he was young, he first entered Xianyang Palace as a guard. He had an understanding of various policies in Xianyang Palace, and even understood the different situations in the Xia Dynasty. Otherwise, with the power of the Qin State, how could the central government have made decisions for several years?
.
The reason for this is the difference between fighting for hegemony and unifying the world. When fighting for hegemony, Qin does not need to worry too much, as long as it has many soldiers and generals, and sufficient subsequent supplies.
Unifying the world not only requires the former, but also needs to consider the control of the other vassal states. Regarding the control of the Xia in the future, going back thousands of years in ancient times, there is no usable strategy left in the classics.
Therefore...the Qin State had to be cautious.
"Wait...it's very good. What you said is very good."
"This is what your Majesty has planned. We just need to wait. In the past, General Sima Cuo and Lord Wu'an went eastward, attacking the city and the ground, and destroying the power of other countries as much as possible."
"For example, General Sima Cuo broke the alliance of the six kingdoms and burned Aocang, the first granary of the Xia Dynasty. Lord Wu An attacked Chu and burned Yiling. Le Yi destroyed Qi and plundered all the wealth of Qi... All of these and so on are all great disputes.
He is also a typical example of the military strategists of this generation."
After hearing what the two men said, Wang Jian felt happy on his face. He was indeed a general that the king valued highly, and his vision was already unique.
Following what the two of them had said before, Wang Jian also talked about his plans for the current situation.
In the age of great strife, military strategists fought with less scruples and obvious gains. It was much easier to fight under the same conditions. With the current national strength of Qin State, if it were to encounter Zhao State decades ago, there would be absolutely no need for that.
This method of warfare can directly defeat the State of Zhao.
And what Li Xin said just now is very good: the Yan State today will be the prefectures and counties of the Qin State tomorrow.
Yi Shui sent hundreds of thousands of troops to attack the State of Yan. In the future, the State of Yan will be the prefectures and counties of the State of Qin, and their wealth, land, soldiers, and people... will all belong to the State of Qin.
Naturally, we cannot destroy them all without scruples.
Therefore, since the Spring and Autumn Period, there was no reference to the wars of the Warring States Period, and the central government had to be extremely cautious.
"What the general said is true!"
Li Xin and Li Xin saluted again.
The general in front of him is now regarded as the top general in all Xia, even surpassing Wu Anjun. Although the general has suffered defeats since his campaign, he has never been defeated in a war.
Especially in the battle of commanding hundreds of thousands of troops, the previous destruction of Zhao was all planned by General Wang Jian. After the destruction of Zhao was over, the Qin army suffered very little damage, all of which were the fault of General Wang.
The king and the central government decided to make the general the commander-in-chief of the army heading east, and they trusted the general even more.
"There is nothing wrong with the king and Xianyang's important ministers wanting to destroy the country out of tenderness."
"...Yan's various schemes are self-destructive."
It is precisely because the struggle for hegemony is different from that of the whole world, Wang Jian has been here for months to prepare his troops and has been waiting.
The central plan was to be gentle to the Xia, and the Yan State surrendered without fighting.
An example warning to the Xia - as long as all countries can surrender like the Yan State, they can retain some of their fiefdoms and preserve the country in the form of a state!
There was nothing wrong with the strategy. Wang Jian thought that the central ministers were planning something wrong, and the king did not transfer them. As expected, the Yan State was deceitful, so he simply attacked directly. For months, he relied on the secret documents of the Yan State's scouts.
This made Wang Jian feel that Huairou might not be able to succeed and would eventually fight against Yan.
"Sure enough, the next battle against the Yan Kingdom will be another difficult problem for the general."
Li Xin heard this and laughed, saying that fighting for hegemony among the Xia and unifying the world is certainly different. It is definitely more difficult than too many and too many. If they are like Leyi and conquer the Qi, they don't need much strategy at all, they can just push horizontally.
In the future, the State of Yan will also become the prefectures and counties of the State of Qin. If you attack and destroy all the soldiers of the State of Yan and kill its people, you will be harming the strength of the State of Qin. The general will have a heavy responsibility in coordinating the war of the State of Yan.
At least Li Xin felt that he didn't have a good strategy now to avoid too many casualties.