The Handan Camp is the elite of the hinterland of the Zhao Kingdom that is directly under the jurisdiction of the royal family. It has always maintained a strength of more than 150,000 troops. Due to the current war between Qin and Zhao, only a hundred thousand troops were left stationed there.
In this way, they protected the safety of the royal city and at the same time made Zhao Cong, a member of the royal family, think he was in charge. Before the time came, a panic of more than a hundred soldiers and horses rushed past the west side of Handan. First, dozens of people entered the Handan camp.
The remaining people went straight to the city of Handan.
When the emergency army arrived in the royal city, it was not clear yet. On the day they entered, Guo Kai, the Shangqing who was temporarily in charge of the civil and military affairs of Zhao State, received the message from Zhao Mu who had returned from Jingxingkou. Without any hesitation, he immediately rushed to the deep palace of the royal city.
Wherever he passed, he did not encounter any obstacles, and the world was silent. The deacon and the chamberlain reported that King Zhao did not see anyone at this time. However, Guo Kai insisted on guarding outside the inner door of the palace and ordered the chamberlain to report to King Zhao immediately.
As for Zhao Wangqian at this moment, he had been fighting all night, and when he heard the words of the chamberlain, he was still sweating profusely in various ways on the couch deep in the palace to reward a lovely Hu girl.
Unfortunately, he was called by Guo Kai one after another in the voice of a chamberlain. He had no choice but to get off the couch naked and casually wrapped in a long robe. The big thing was still wet and sticking out in the air, and there was a smell all over his body.
He walked to the main hall with a strange smell and a gloomy expression.
"Your Majesty is the leading minister. We originally agreed that we didn't want to do anything, so why did you come to see me before it was clear? You are simply crazy."
"Could it be that the Qin army is attacking again? It's none of my business!"
Before Guo Kai could say anything, Zhao Wangqian waved his lean hands and shouted at Guo Kai. After he finished speaking, he looked at the servants on the left and right, snorted coldly, and then said no more.
As soon as his body turned, he rushed into the palace, and the door of the thick inner palace immediately closed with a bang. Guo Kai looked at the rumbling closed stone door, raised his sleeves to drive away the smell lingering in his nose, and was stunned.
After a while, he hurried out of the palace without saying anything.
"Sir, General Zhao Cong is waiting outside!"
Guo Kai came out of the inner hall with a solemn expression, feeling unhappy all the way, and walked back to his mansion. The sky above his head was completely bright, and he was about to summon the important ministers in Handan to discuss the news brought by Zhao Mu.
Suddenly, outside the mansion, another confidant waiter hurriedly rushed to him. He looked a little frightened. He spoke quickly and pointed to the outside of the mansion with one hand.
"Zhao Cong?"
"pass!"
Guo Kai's face, which had obviously aged in recent years, was frowned upon. According to Zhao Mu, who had returned from Jingxingkou, Qin Daowu Zhenjun Xuan Qingzi was very likely to raid the hinterland of Zhao State. Could it be that he wanted to discuss the matter with him.
But all the time, the power of military generals in the hinterland of the Zhao Kingdom has been mostly in the hands of Li Mu, Chunping Lord, Prince Jia, and Zhao Wangqian. Thanks to the king's respect, they can use the power of the tiger talisman to bless the king's book and mobilize the army.
However, in fact, in recent years, even with the tiger talisman and the king's book, it has not been easy to use. Zhao Cong is Chunpingjun's direct subordinate. For many years, he has been stationed in the Handan camp and commanded the royal guard army.
"The last general, Zhao Cong, has met Lord Jianxin!"
Wearing red heavy armor and an eagle helmet, he was tall and strong, with two generals at his back. He entered the main hall, with a sword at his waist and raised his hand in salute, and his deep voice echoed.
"Haha, General Zhao Cong, please get up quickly."
"sit!"
"You have come to see me so early. I think you have something important to do. The general can speak freely. If I can help, I will definitely help you."
The title Jianxin Lord is rarely mentioned in Handan City today. It was the name given to him by the late king. Now that Zhao Cong spoke, Guo Kaiwei looked happy.
He took a step forward, gave a gesture of support with his empty hand, pointed to the distinguished position on one side, and stood down with sincerity.
"The situation is urgent. I'm afraid I won't be able to discuss it in detail with Mr. Jianxin here."
"Half an hour ago, General Zhao Mu returned from Jingxingkou. The news he brought was also found in the Handan camp. It is said that Qin Daowu Zhenjun is likely to raid Baixingkou and crush the cities of Wu'an and Handan."
"For this reason, Zhao Cong also sent an elite force out of Wu'an City. Unfortunately, just now, they were about to come back and said that Qin Dao Wu Zhenjun had led tens of thousands of heavy armored cavalry to besiege Wu'an City.
forward."
As soon as he said this, the entire exquisite and elegant hall fell into silence. Guo Kai's expression suddenly changed. He couldn't believe that the Taoist Master of Qin State could move so fast.
But he didn't believe that Zhao Conggan used this news to deceive him. Tens of thousands of Qin cavalry appeared in the hinterland of Zhao. Guo couldn't help but tremble in his heart as he imagined that scene in his mind.
"What do you mean, Chunpei-kun?"
Guo Kai didn't believe that the other party didn't go to find Chunping Jun to find out his strategy and stabilize his mind before coming to his house. Chunping Jun was the legitimate son of King Xiaocheng, and he was originally the prince.
But it was after the Battle of Handan that the Qin Dynasty took the throne, so that the throne fell on King Mouxiang, and the throne fell on the current Zhao Wangqian. Even so, his status was noble, and his prestige within the royal family was even greater than that of Prince Jia.
.
"The Qin army appears in Wu'an, and there is no telling that the next step will be to Handan, where the cruelty of the Battle of Handan will be repeated. Lord Jianxin personally experienced this battle back then, so Chunping Lord wanted to let Lord Jianxin plan this matter.
.”
"But Zhao Cong will not fail to obey his orders!"
Zhao Cong looked calm and stood in front of the hall, looking at Guo Kai with his hands raised. He also looked down upon this person and did not know why Chunping Jun would leave this matter to him.
"Haha, Chunping-kun thinks highly of me."
"I'm just a weak civil servant, how can I know about military affairs? I also ask the general to report back to Lord Chunping. Now the Qin State Daowu Zhenjun is leading an army to conquer the land of Zhao. If Guo Kai can help in any way, he will definitely live up to Lord Chunping's expectations."
"I have entered the palace just now. Your Majesty said that if the Qin army comes, you should lead your troops to fight against the enemy. I will dispatch troops as soon as the king sends you a letter. I will be there shortly. Please rest assured, general."
Wearing a noble red brocade robe and a gray silk crown, Guo Kai smiled again after listening to Zhao Cong's words. There was nothing strange on his face. In any case, it was inevitable to mobilize troops for confrontation.
Is it possible that Qin's army is still allowed to march on Zhao's land at will?
"Don't you know, Mr. Jianxin, that if you want to mobilize the soldiers from the Handan camp, you need the king's tiger talisman? With only the king's letter, how can you resist Qin's tens of thousands of cavalry if you only mobilize one corner?"
Zhao Cong shook his head, whispered, and looked at Guo Kai with a pair of bright eyes.
"Haha, I am a civil servant, so I am not familiar with military matters."
"When I entered the palace just now, the king was in a state of joy. The only copy of the king's book was also obtained by me with great difficulty. I wonder how many troops can be obtained with a copy of the king's book?"
Guo Kai looked slightly surprised, laughed at himself, took out a roll of red cloth from his arms, and waved it in front of Zhao Cong's eyes. He was not entangled in the tiger talisman. He stroked the roll of red cloth with his old hand.
Ask casually.
"If there is only one king's book and eleven troops are mobilized, the current strength of the Handan camp will only be 10,000 troops."
"Jianxin-kun, do you think you can resist Qin's cavalry?"
Zhao Cong shook his head again. According to the Zhao Kingdom's military system before King Wu Ling, if you want to mobilize troops, you must have the tiger talisman and the king's letter to mobilize soldiers from the military tent camp.
Later, after King Wu Ling's reforms, in order to make military orders smoother, troops could be mobilized with just one king's letter, but it was only one tenth. Zhao Cong did not believe that Guo Kai did not know the combat power of Qin's cavalry.
"This... I am helpless."
"It would be better if Chunping-kun goes to the palace in person to meet the king and ask for the tiger talisman. If you can, a hundred thousand troops will move together."
Guo Kai hesitated to speak, with a look of embarrassment on his face. He glanced at the book of kings in his hand, took a small step closer, whispered to Zhao Cong, and seemed to be quite interested in making suggestions for Zhao Cong.
"Since Mr. Jianxin said this, Zhao Cong is clear."
After all was said and done, no one knew who was who. Zhao Cong once again clasped his fists, bowed his hands in a salute, and turned to leave.
This man is worthy of being called a thief of the Kingdom of Zhao. He controls the king's decrees and important civil and military objects. He would rather not resist the Qin army's attack than let the tiger talisman escape from his hands.
However, Lord Chunping cares about his country, and he is afraid that he cannot bear to send out only 10,000 troops from the Handan camp. If he sends more troops, he is afraid that he will violate the laws of Zhao and send fewer troops, and the people of Zhao will suffer great harm.
With a hint of disdain on his face, he walked outside Guo Kai's mansion, snorted coldly, got on his horse, and ran outside the city gate.
After two sticks of incense!
A force of 50,000 soldiers and horses came out from the Handan camp and faced the city of Wu'an a hundred miles away.
******
To the north of Taihang, Zhao State was divided into Yunzhong County, Yanmen County, and Dai County from west to east. In the years of King Wuling, Zhao State attacked Zhongshan State in one fell swoop and completely connected the entire northern region. After that, hundreds of thousands of soldiers
Before the border.
For decades, both the Xiongnu in the west and the Donghu in the east were attacked by Zhao's border troops and retreated thousands of miles, making Zhao's advance in the north even wider than that of Qin and Yan.
Especially when Li Mu was the commander-in-chief of the border army, he fully unleashed the combat power of the frontier cavalry. He killed hundreds of thousands of Xiongnu in several battles and became famous among the Xiongnu, Donghu, and Handan for decades.
, Zhao Guo’s border was therefore stable.
The city of Pingyi!
It is a small border city two hundred miles northeast after leaving the Taihang Mountains, with a radius of only three miles. Even so, every five or seven days, many merchants gather in the city, bringing specialties from various places in Xia and other places.
Instead, seek profit.
Surrounding the city, there are small villages that rely on Pingyi for their existence. Along the rivers flowing down from the Taihang Mountains, they continue to survive and multiply, surviving near the border with difficult conditions.
As night fell, a man in black clothes and brocade robes holding a sharp blade walked in this area. His face was covered by a dark cloak, leaving only a pair of bright eyes looking around. As he stepped, he was unnoticeable.
Like the wind blowing on the face, it cannot be seen.
With every breath, a ten-foot area is left behind. After passing a mountain top, not far away, there is another small survival. Most of them are hunters, relying on the hills and mountains, scattered in the forest.
grassland.
The strange thing is that every house along the way is empty, but one or two animals are left tied in front of the door. This makes the man in black strange. Along the way, he naturally knows clearly that for those poor hunters,
, livestock is their only property.
Even if a disaster is imminent, we must try our best to take them away. Leaving the animals like this and letting them fend for themselves is absolutely not suitable for cleaning up.