Chapter 91: The Qin State Court Meeting (Part 2)

  "The King of Qin said: 'Now the State of Zhao has not yet formally decreed, acknowledging Li Mu's autonomy in Dai Prefecture. Once my great Qin army presses the border, Zhao will be forced by pressure and may not be able to fully support Li Mu to resist me.'"

  Li Si also stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I think it won't work. The State of Zhao acknowledged Li Mu's autonomy in Dai Prefecture out of necessity, because Li Mu had a great reputation in the state of Zhao and was also in command of a large army. He was autonomous in Dai Prefecture, and the court of Zhao could do nothing about him. However, the court of Zhao must have been very wary of Li Mu, otherwise they should have summoned him back to Handan and appointed him as the Prime Minister. But now the State of Zhao only acknowledged Li Mu's autonomy in Dai Prefecture, which also shows that the state of Zhao did not trust Li Mu. Therefore, if we make some more efforts, we can definitely prevent Handan from supporting Li Mu."

  King Zheng of Qin nodded, playing the trick of sowing discord, which had always been a specialty of the State of Qin. Now that Li Mu and Zhao were already at odds, it would not be difficult to widen the rift by following the trend. Then King Zheng asked, "So how is our preparation in Qin now? Last year, there was a drought in Longxi and Beidi counties. How has the disaster been handled? Will this expedition have an impact?"

  At this time, the prime minister Wang Yun stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty can rest assured that the disaster situation in Longxi and Beidi counties has been brought under control. The victims have also been comforted. Those who fled to other places have either settled down or returned home. The recent heavy snowfall has also greatly alleviated the drought, so after the beginning of the year, the fields in Longxi and Beidi can be cultivated. I have already made plans to distribute seeds and oxen to the disaster-stricken areas, enabling them to start farming immediately. As long as no soldiers are recruited from Longxi and Beidi counties, there should be no impact. Furthermore, please reduce or exempt the taxes of Longxi and Beidi counties, and everything will be fine."

  The King of Qin thought for a moment and said, "Good, this year the taxes on the two counties of Longxi and Beidi will be reduced by half."

  Wang Wan hastily said: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  The current Qin state court is filled with talented officials, including Li Si, Wei Liao, Dun Weak, Mao Jiao, Yao Jia, and Feng Jie in the literary field, and Wang Jian, Wang Ben, Meng Wu, Meng Tian, Li Xin, Qiang Yuan, and Xin Sheng in the military field. Among them, Chancellor Wang Wan is not particularly prominent, and compared to previous chancellors of Qin such as Shang Yang, Zhang Yi, Fan Sui, and Lü Buwei, who were known for their innovative policies, diplomatic prowess, or territorial expansion, Wang Wan's achievements seem even more unimpressive. However, Wang Wan's strengths lie in his diligence, dedication, and ability to get things done, as seen in the way he handled this disaster, where despite relying on the mighty power of Qin, his work played a crucial role.

  The King of Qin said: "General, this time when we attack Zhao, is it possible to do so without drafting soldiers from the two counties of Longxi and Beidi?"

  Wei Liao and Li Si briefly discussed a few words, Wei Liao stepped forward and said: "Report to the Great King, if we don't recruit soldiers from Longxi and Beidi two counties, our Qin state can also recruit 600,000 soldiers, which is enough to attack Zhao. It's just that during this period of time, there have been continuous heavy snowfalls, making it difficult for troops to gather and grain to be collected, all of which will be later than expected, possibly delayed until February before we can set out."

  King Zheng of Qin smiled and said, "It's the will of heaven, not something that can be changed by human power. Let it be February then." After a pause, King Zheng continued, "Now that Korea has been destroyed, one of the six states in Shandong is gone. However, Zhao has always been a strong enemy of Qin. For decades, it's the only state that has been able to defeat our army with its own forces. If we can destroy Zhao in one move, the remaining four states will not be a concern. But now Li Mu is still there, and he has already defeated our great Qin twice. So how should we proceed with this invasion of Zhao?"

  "Report to the Great King, I have discussed with General Wang the strategy for attacking Zhao. In the past, when Qin has attacked Zhao, we have always divided our forces into two routes: one route uses Taiyuan Commandery as its base and advances east through Jinyang before turning south; the other route uses Henan as its base and advances north across the Zhang River to attack Handan directly. Although these two routes can form a pincer movement against Zhao, they also disperse our military strength, and if one route suffers a defeat, the other route will also be forced to retreat. Moreover, Zhao has the advantage of terrain, so it can concentrate its forces and only needs to attack one of our routes with all its might in order to win. This is how Li Mu defeated our army twice before. Furthermore, Zhao has built a long wall on the north bank of the Zhang River, and Handan City has high walls that are easy to defend but difficult to attack. Last year, when our great Qin attacked Zhao, General Sima was able to hold off 100,000 of our soldiers with just 30,000 men at the north of the Zhang River, and Li Mu was able to concentrate the main force of the Zhao army and defend against our northern route, which led to the defeat of General Huan. Therefore, this time we absolutely cannot adopt such tactics again."

  King Qin Zheng nodded and smiled: "So, you two ministers discuss, this time attacking Zhao, how should we deploy our troops?"

  At this time, Wei Liao demonstrated to King Qing with his eyes. King Qing immediately understood and stepped forward, saying: "Return to the Great King, I and the national commander have discussed it, thinking that this time we attack Zhao, our Qin state will only use a small amount of troops on the southern line as a decoy force, holding back the troops in Handan, then concentrate the troops of Qin state, go out of Pingcheng, and fight a decisive battle with the main force of the Zhao army. As long as we defeat the main force of the Zhao army, Handan can also be taken without a fight."

  Qin Wang Zheng smiled and said: "Going east from Jingxing Pass, that means you want to fight a decisive battle with Li Mu. Wang Qing, are you confident of defeating Li Mu?"

  Wang Jian straightened his back and said, "There is."

  The King of Qin laughed loudly: "Good, you're indeed talking big, how do you plan to defeat Li Mu?"

  Wang Jian said: "Li Mu's military strategy has always been clever and cunning, unpredictable and mysterious. I am inferior to him in this regard, but I have one advantage that Li Mu does not."

  "What advantages."

  "Even if our Great Qin's national strength and military power far surpass those of Zhao, I will still take a defensive stance in my battle with Li Mu. I won't engage with his small troops who dare to challenge us. We'll strictly guard all the mountain passes and exhaust the Zhao army. When their military strength is exhausted and they've run out of food, we'll launch a large-scale attack on Li Mu. If he launches a pre-emptive attack, we can set up an ambush, retreat, and lure the Zhao army into pursuing us. Then, we'll send out surprise troops to cut off their retreat route, surround them, and annihilate them, defeating the Zhao army in one battle. If Li Mu continues to hold on stubbornly, we'll advance step by step, layer by layer, gradually consuming the Zhao army's strength until they're completely exhausted."

  King Zheng nodded in satisfaction with Wang Jian's answer, and Wang Jian's plan was to rely on the powerful national strength of Qin to consume Li Mu step by step, which was actually a replica of the Battle of Changping.

  In the later period of the Changping War, Zhao Guo replaced Lian Po with Zhao Shi as the general, although it was widely believed to be the biggest defeat of Zhao's defeat, but also had a certain bitter intention. At that time, the two armies of Qin and Zhao added up to nearly one million people, holding each other for three years, just in the country's strength, consumption, looking at who can't hold on first. The national strength of Zhao Guo was not as good as that of Qin Guo, and King Xiaowen of Zhao felt that he could not support it, so he appointed Zhao Shi, who advocated for the attack, to replace Lian Po, who advocated for defense. As a result, Zhao Shi immediately fell into Bai Qi's ambush after launching an attack, surrounding the Zhao army and causing more than 400,000 Zhao soldiers to be annihilated.

  Actually, the situation in Qin at that time was not much better than Zhao, because the battlefield was close to Zhao and far from Qin, so Qin's consumption was much greater than Zhao. Later, Qin incorporated all males between 15 and 50 years old in Hedong into the army, and even King Zhao of Qin personally went to Henan to direct the war, which can be seen that Qin's national strength had also reached its limit. And after the Battle of Changping, the Qin army attacked Handan three times, all of which ended in defeat, and almost all the land east of Hangu Pass was lost, showing that after the Battle of Changping, Zhao still had some strength left. If Zhao could have held on a little longer at that time, it would be hard to say who would win or lose in the Battle of Changping.

  However, during the Changping War, it was also the time when Zhao's national strength was at its peak, so they could exhaust Qin for three years. But now Zhao's national strength has greatly declined, and Li Mu is autonomous in Dai Prefecture. On the other hand, due to the opening of Zhengguo Canal, the entire Guanzhong region has become a fertile land, and Qin's national strength is stronger than before. Under this situation of one side weakening and the other strengthening, if both sides engage in another war of attrition, Li Mu will definitely be unable to exhaust Qin. This is also Qin's best tactic.

  Wang Jian said, "However, this battle will surely be a long and fierce one. The Qin army may even suffer some minor defeats in the process. Therefore, I beg Your Majesty not to have an impatient heart for victory, nor can you change tactics because of temporary small setbacks."

  King Qin Zheng sank into thought for a moment before saying: "Wang Qing, if we follow your tactics, how many troops will you need? And how much time will it take to defeat the Zhao army?"

  The king said: "I need 400,000 troops? It will take at least a year."

  King Zheng of Qin slammed his palm on the desk and said, "Alright, I'll appoint you as the commander-in-chief to conquer Zhao. You have one year's time. Let's see if our great Qin warriors can still defeat Zhao this time." He turned around and said, "Guangwu, Tingwei."

  Wei Liao and Li Si stepped forward together, hastily saying: "Your servant is here."

  The King of Qin ordered: "Both of you, immediately mobilize 400,000 troops within the country, and have Wang Yi lead them to attack Zhao. All supplies, equipment, and manpower must be accurately provided."

  "We respectfully obey your orders."

  "Yang Duanhe."

  Yang Duanhe also stepped forward and said: "Your minister is here."

  "Lead 50,000 troops along the south bank of the Zhang River to form an array, as a decoy force, making a false show of strength and tying down the forces of Handan."

  Yang Duan said: "I obey the king's order."

  Qin Wang Zheng also said: "Meng Wu, Li Xin, Xin Sheng, Qiang Yuan."

  The four men also hastened to line up and said in unison: "Your subjects are here."

  The King of Qin ordered: "You four follow Wang Yi and lead troops to attack Zhao, assist Wang Yi in defeating Zhao."

  The four men said in unison: "We obey the king's order."

  After the four returned to their seats, other civil and military officials were also secretly shocked. These six people are all the main generals of Qin State, and anyone can be in charge alone. For the sake of attacking Zhao State, it can even be said that for the sake of dealing with one Li Mu, these six great generals actually need to take action together, which shows how much King Zheng of Qin attaches importance to this expedition against Zhao.

  But that's not all, King Qin Zheng continued: "Wang Ben, Meng Tian."

  Wang Ben and Meng Tian also stepped forward and said: "Your subjects are here."

  King Qin Zheng said: "You two ministers are in charge of transportation and escort, and you must ensure that grain, grass, equipment, and labor for the army are constantly supplied and transported to the front lines. The civilian labor required for conscription should be discussed with Ting Wei and Guo Wei, and it is not allowed to delay the military situation at the forefront."

  "We also obey the king's order."

  It wasn't until then that the many ministers realized, adding these two people would bring together eight senior generals. It can be said that almost all of Qin's usable senior generals were dispatched this time.

  Qin Wang Zheng said: "Yao Jia, Dun Ruo."

  The two also stepped forward and said: "Your subject is here."

  King Qin ordered: "Yao, take charge of the affairs in Handan, so that Zhao cannot get support from Li Mu. You immediately go on a diplomatic mission to Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi, persuade their countries, so that other countries cannot provide aid to Zhao."

  Yao Jia and Dun Ruo hastily replied: "Your subjects obey your orders."

  As King Zheng of Qin issued order after order, the plan to conquer Zhao was also fully formed. King Zheng laughed and said: "If this time we can destroy Zhao in one battle, I will personally go to Handan to celebrate with you all."