"Meng Xiaowei was ambushed by the Chu people and defeated Shandao Xuyi?"
When Zhao Tuo, who subsequently served as the Hei Army, arrived thirty miles west of Shandao, he received news from the front that the army was rising.
Meng Tian's 10,000 men were defeated by Shan Dao.
Suddenly the whole army was in an uproar, and the generals of the Qin army all looked at each other with shock on their faces.
"Why is this Meng Tian so incompetent? Our army is in a good situation now. All the cities and towns of the Chu State are surrendering, and the Chu army is defeated in a single fight. How could he be defeated in such a situation?"
"I heard that this is the first time that Colonel Meng has been on the battlefield. In the previous battle at Huaiyang, he also fought with a favorable wind. This is his first time as a general and leading an army. Maybe this time we can see that he is not good at it.
"
"Perhaps it's possible to meet Xiang Yan's main force?"
…
All kinds of doubts spread throughout the army. Although the soldiers did not dare to discuss it in person, they still said some contemptuous words in private.
Since the battle of Huaiyang, the Qin army has been advancing all the way south and east with unstoppable momentum. Whether it is in Huaibei or Huainan, every battle must be won and conquered. The Qin army has never been defeated along the way.
Meng Tian's defeat was a very bad start.
Even Zhao Tuo was very surprised.
Meng Tian.
This man came from a family of famous generals, and his father and ancestors were all generals of the Qin State, with great achievements. He was also familiar with military books and had a lot of strategies. In history, he helped Qin Shihuang to attack the Xiongnu from the north and expand the territory. His reputation was so powerful that he was able to conquer the world.
He was a first-class famous general in the Qin Dynasty.
This person is definitely very capable, and Zhao Tuo has been a subordinate of Meng Tian and has quite a lot of contact with him. He knows that he has a serious personality and is not a careless person.
How could such a general fall into an ambush by the Chu people? What was the "ambush on the Wei Road" mentioned by the messenger who delivered the news? What was the situation that could make Meng Tian overturn there?
Soon, as the Qin army continued to advance eastward, the surrounding scene began to change, and Zhao Tuo immediately understood the meaning of "Reed Road".
Baiyangdian, reed marsh...
Such words appeared in Zhao Tuo's mind for the first time, but the area formed by the reeds and swamps in front of him was far more extreme than similar scenes he had seen in later generations.
Because there are few people in this era and the land is vast, except for the winding road in the middle for people to pass through, the surrounding area has not been developed at all. It is a real wilderness, with tall reeds, dense water plants, and you can even see
Tracking of crocodiles.
"This is truly a dangerous situation. Meng Tian was not unjustly defeated!"
Zhao Tuo rode his horse in a circle on the reed path that was as tall as a person on both sides. He immediately reined in the horse and retreated. He also directed the army to retreat to an open area several miles away, set up camp, make a defensive posture, and at the same time send out troops in all directions.
Sentinel alert.
As Zhao Tuo set up camp, held high the Qin flag, and gathered the defeated troops, Zhao Tuo also saw Meng Tian who looked embarrassed.
Although Meng Tian was ambushed by the Chu army and suffered a heavy defeat, after all, the Qin army had as many as 10,000 people, and the Chu army could not have too many people ambush in the reed swamp. Therefore, he was given a chance to escape and fight to the death with the help of his trusted followers.
He finally fought his way back home.
This tall general of the Qin State now has a desolate face, his armor and stomach are covered with mud, and there are broken water plants stuck in the gaps between his armor and shoes. He looks miserable. It is not the first time for Zhao Tuo to pay his respects.
At that time, I saw the appearance of the mighty general.
"The defeated general Meng Tian has met General Zhao."
Meng Tian gritted his teeth and knelt down to Zhao Tuo in the tent to salute. His eyes had lost their sparkle.
The first battle in which he personally led the troops as the commander-in-chief ended in such an ending, which was a huge blow to Meng Tian. He could no longer maintain his pride in front of Zhao Tuo.
Seeing Meng Tian kneeling down, his expression was miserable.
Zhao Tuo immediately stepped forward to help him and said: "Mengjun, please rise. I have thought carefully about this defeat. It is not the fault of the captain. Mengjun, please don't blame yourself."
Meng Tian was surprised that Zhao Tuo was so kind. You must know that he had said hello to Zhao Tuo many times before, but he was unwilling to pay attention to him because of his face. There was a gap between the two. Meng Tian originally thought that after this defeat, Zhao Tuo
Even if he didn't humiliate him, he would still be indifferent to him, but he would actually comfort him with gentle words and call him "Meng Jun". His attitude was very good.
Meng Tian felt warm in his heart, but thinking of his disastrous defeat, he lamented: "This battle was all due to Meng Tian's mistakes. He was accidentally ambushed by the Chu people, which resulted in the loss of troops. If General Zhao came to lead the troops, with the general's wisdom,
I will definitely not fall into the Chu people’s tricks. How can I, Qin, suffer the humiliation of being defeated by this army!”
Zhao Tuo was stunned for a moment, then shook his head quickly and said: "Mengjun is too praised. If Zhao Tuo comes to lead the army and faces such a situation, I am afraid he will end up like Mengjun."
Meng Tian's heart became warmer and warmer.
Although he was not convinced by Zhao Tuo, he believed that he would never lose to Zhao Tuo on the battlefield.
But in fact, Meng Tian often paid attention to Zhao Tuo's deeds and studied many of his achievements. Knowing that although Zhao Tuo was young, he was a brave and resourceful general, he actually admired him in his heart.
Now that I think about it, Zhao Tuo was able to win the two battles of Surabaya and Zhencheng. Faced with the situation of Shandao this time, he will definitely not be easily defeated. The reason why he said that just now is probably to comfort himself.
"The generals often say that Zhao Tuo is a good man, but now that I see it, it is true. This man does not hold grudges or bully the defeated generals, but instead demeans himself to comfort me. Such behavior can be described as gentle and humble, and he should be a friend."
"In the past, I was too proud."
Just when Meng Tian felt ashamed and ashamed.
Zhao Tuo faced the reed path in front of him, but felt his head hurt.
What he just said was not a lie, nor was he belittling himself to comfort Meng Tian, but there was really nothing he could do about the reed road in front of him. If he had led the Xing army, he would probably have been attacked and severely damaged by the Chu army.
"This should be the Hongze Lake area in later generations, right?"
Zhao Tuo made some calculations in his mind and estimated that Shandao City in front of him should be near Xuyi in later generations.
Then these swampy depressions in front of us should be the predecessors of Hongze Lake in later generations.
When the Yellow River changes course in the future and flows back into the Huaihe River, these large and small swampy depressions will be connected together and become Hongze Lake, the fourth largest Danshui lake in Kyushu.
From this point of view, the nearby swampy depression must be very large and continuous, making it difficult to get around.
If the Qin army wanted to go to Shandao and go all the way to Huaiyin, they could only take the path in front of them that was caught in the reeds.
Moving forward on such a narrow road, no matter how large the army is, they cannot form a formation and can only advance in a long snake formation with a few people in a row.
Such a formation happens to be the most vulnerable to enemy ambushes and attacks. No matter whether the enemy attacks the head, body or tail, soldiers and horses in other places cannot rescue them, but it makes it easier for the army to collapse.
"This is the so-called ruined land. The Chu army chose this place to fight our army. It is exactly what is said in the art of war. "Those who make good use of soldiers can make the enemy incompatible with each other.
To rescue, the superiors and the subordinates do not cooperate with each other, the soldiers are separated but not gathered together, and the troops are united but not unified."
"Compared with the embarrassment of our army, the Chu army can rely on the cover of reeds and swamps to attack our army invisibly."
"Chu was born between the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers and is good at water warfare. Now it is in their own country and has a complete geographical advantage. However, most of our Qin army are northerners and are not used to water warfare. The environment here is simply perfect for our army. The enemy's army
The commander-in-chief must be Xiang Yan. He chose to fight our army in a place like this. He is really vicious and cunning."
Thinking of this, Zhao Tuo couldn't help but look at Meng Tian with pity.
This Meng Jun was also very unlucky. For the first time he led an army and met a famous general like Xiang Yan who was almost at full level.
The other party not only bullied the small ones with its big one, but also had an absolute geographical advantage. How could Meng Tian remain undefeated in this situation?
As for Zhao Tuo, even if he was quite resourceful, he was at his wits' end when faced with such a ruined and desperate situation, and could not even think of a way out.
"General, what should we do now?"
All the generals in the tent looked at Zhao Tuo expectantly.
Even Meng Tian looked over.
He wanted to know what solution this well-known General Zhao would have when faced with such a situation.
General Zhao, you must have some high opinions, right?
When asked by everyone, Zhao Tuo said calmly: "My opinion is just one word."
"wait."
"Now that the Chu army is in a favorable location and has just won a great victory, its morale must have been greatly improved. They are waiting for us to dive into their ambush. If we advance the army in a hurry, we will fall into a trap. So for this plan, our army
For the sake of caution, we should camp here for defense and wait for the arrival of the general with his army. The general will make the decision at that time."
As he said this, Zhao Tuo couldn't help but laugh.
That Xiang Yan relied on his elders to bully the younger ones, seizing the advantage of the land to defeat them.
Then why did Zhao Tuo insist on confronting Xiang Yan head-on?
If I can't beat you, I'll call Wang Jian.
Wait until Wang Jian arrives with his army, and then I will compete with you, Xiang Yan.
Zhao Tuo is also looking forward to it. Faced with such a desperate opponent of the Reed Road, what method does Wang Jian have to defeat the enemy?