Chapter 94: Zhao Army Deploys (Part 2)

  The greatest achievement of our battle was not the number of Qin troops killed, but the beheading of the main general Huan Yi and the occupation of the strategic point of Jingxing.

  Jingxing is located in the northern part of the Taihang Mountains, known as "the fifth pass of the eight passes of Taihang and the sixth pass of the nine passes of the world". The terrain is steep and easy to defend but difficult to attack. It has always been a strategic location for the Hebei-Shanxi region, a place that military strategists have fought over for generations. After 25 years, General Han Xin arrayed his troops by the waters of Mianchi and defeated the Zhao army in the famous Battle of Jingxing.

  At this time, the territory of Zhao still had seven counties, roughly in a "7" shape. From north to south, from west to east, they were Yunzhong County, Yimen County, Dai County, Shanggu County, then turning southward and becoming longitudinal: Julu County, Dongyang County, Handan. Among them, the four counties of Yunzhong, Yimen, Dai, and Shanggu were all newly opened up lands after Zhao Wuling Wang's reforms in horseback riding and archery, with vast land and sparse population, and underdeveloped economy and culture. Only the three southern counties were the main financial pillars of the current Zhao state.

  Jiexiu is located between Dai Prefecture and Dongyang Prefecture, exactly at the turning point of the "7" character, which is equivalent to the center point of Zhao State. Therefore, as long as Jiexiu is not lost, the Qin army will not be able to cross the Taihang Mountains from the north to attack Handan. But once Jiexiu falls, the Qin army can ***, and Zhao State will be cut in half by Qin State, and it will not be far from the fall of the country.

  If the Qin army wants to attack Zhao from the north, it must capture Jinyang. Li Mu's garrison in Jinyang is also defending the core of Zhao's territory, protecting Handan to the south and blocking Dai Prefecture to the north, keeping Zhao's homeland intact. Even if the Qin army crosses the Zhang River from the south and Handan falls, they can still ensure that the northern part of Zhao, including Yunzhong Prefecture, Yanmen Prefecture, Dai Prefecture, and Shanggu Prefecture, remains safe with plenty of room to maneuver.

  Moreover, Li Mu also put in a lot of thought into the deployment of his troops. Although this time he launched an attack on Pingcheng with 400,000 soldiers, Li Mu did not concentrate all his forces at Pingcheng. Instead, he divided his army into three parts and led only half of them to garrison Pingcheng. He hoped to use the strategic location of Pingcheng and the defensive fortifications built there over time to offset the Qin army's advantage in numbers, while also alleviating the pressure on his own logistics supply chain, which was currently Li Mu's weakest link.

  The remaining half of the troops were divided into two parts, stationed in Fanwu and Quyang. This way, not only was there enough force to protect their own rear and prevent the Qin army from advancing separately, but also a considerable portion of fresh troops were preserved. In peacetime, when defending against the Qin army, they could be used for rotation, and once they needed to engage in an all-out battle with the Qin army, they could instantly double their forces.

  After learning about Li Mu's deployment, Gao Yuan couldn't help but admire him. A famous general is indeed a famous general, considering everything thoroughly and being able to see the whole situation from the battlefield. Because war has never been just about that one piece of the battlefield, it's a comprehensive factor that also includes economic, political and other aspects. A true famous general is one who can comprehensively consider multiple factors to develop the most suitable plan for himself.

  However, Li Mu's plan still had an almost insurmountable weakness, which was that it could not withstand long-term consumption. Although Li Mu's deployment had reduced his own consumption to the lowest point possible, Dai Prefecture was originally not an economically developed area. If it weren't for the highlands contributing over 3,000 taels of gold, and taking away all of Guo Kai's family wealth, and also getting great support from merchants, it would have been impossible to supply nearly 300,000 troops.

  But even so, Dai Prefecture would find it difficult to support a war of this scale for long. However, in the short term, there wouldn't be a problem, if like the Battle of Changping, it took three years, Dai Prefecture would definitely not be able to afford it, unless they could get full support from Handan.

  Li Muo knew that he couldn't pin his hopes on Handan, so it was best to end this war within a year. Either the Qin army would exhaust itself and retreat voluntarily, or they would make a mistake and give the Zhao army an opportunity to strike back and defeat them. In the past, this would have been almost impossible, as the Qin state's current national strength, despite being much more consumptive than the Zhao army, could still sustain a longer period of time. The Zhao army simply didn't have the capital to engage in a war of attrition with the Qin army, and the Qin general Wang Jian was also a famous general of the Warring States period, known for his stable and solid tactics. It was almost impossible to expect him to make mistakes. Moreover, there were four other great generals assisting him, so even if Wang Jian made a mistake, others could remind him.

  However, with the existence of Zhao's highland and his newly trained cavalry, the situation is greatly different. The Zhao army can use its main force to defend the Jinyong Pass, and fully utilize this branch of cavalry, which was trained on the highlands, to divide into small teams to attack and raid the Qin army's supply lines, harass the rear of the Qin army, and it is not impossible to force the Qin state to retreat. Even defeating the Qin army. This is also where Li Mu's confidence lies.

  What Li Muo did not expect was that as soon as he arrived at the Great Village of Jingxing, after understanding the situation of the Qin army, Gao Yuan proposed to take the initiative to attack and launch a surprise attack on the Qin army.

  Although the tactic of defending mainly and waiting for an opportunity to attack has been adopted, the Qin army is currently stationed in Aiyou, waiting for the gathering of the main force, and accumulating supplies in Aiyou as a supply point for the Qin army on the front line, and has not yet arrived at Jingxing. Aiyou is about 150 miles away from Jingxing. If the Zhao army crosses such a long distance to attack the Qin army, it would be exactly what the Qin army wants.

  Not to mention Li Mu, even other generals such as Chen Zuo, Yao Jin, Ji Sunhou, Zhao Bing and Huang Tian all thought that Gao Yuan's plan was difficult to implement. But Gao Yuan shook his head and said: "General-in-Chief, gentlemen, if even you think we shouldn't attack the Qin army at this time, then the Qin army will be even less likely to expect it. Isn't this a good opportunity?"

  Li Mu was taken aback for a moment, his eyebrows slightly raised, and said: "Alright, tell me how you plan to advance the army."

  Gao Yuan Dao: "From our current intelligence, the Qin army's main force has not yet fully assembled. Currently, there are only over a million troops in Chouyu, but the city is small and cannot accommodate so many soldiers. Therefore, the Qin army can only be stationed outside the city. Moreover, the Qin army has just arrived at Chouyu and is temporarily stationed there, so they will not establish a solid camp. We don't need to mobilize our main force, just a few thousand cavalrymen, with each person having two horses. In just one day and night, we can secretly arrive at Chouyu and choose a place where the Qin army's defense is weak to launch a surprise attack, catching them off guard. After succeeding, we will immediately retreat. If the Qin army pursues us, we can take advantage of the situation and set up an ambush on the way, launching another surprise attack and further weakening the Qin army. Although this battle may not result in a crushing defeat for the Qin army or determine the outcome, it can still greatly dampen their morale and boost our Zhao army's spirits."

  Actually, it wasn't until the Tang and Song dynasties that sending a crack cavalry unit to make a surprise attack on an enemy hundreds or even thousands of miles away was not unheard of. However, during this era, cavalry had just begun to take the stage in history, and both experience and concepts for using cavalry were still sorely lacking. Therefore, even making a surprise attack after advancing over a hundred miles would have been extremely rare. Despite Li Mu being a famous general of this era, he did not possess such tactical ideas.

  However, a famous general is still a famous general. After Li Mu thought about it seriously for a moment, he finally nodded and said: "How many cavalry do you plan to bring?"

  Gaoyuan Road: "Soldiers are valuable for their quality, not quantity. I only need to bring three thousand cavalry, and among them, new-style cavalry only needs one thousand people. One person with two horses, now set off immediately, rush through the night, and before dawn tomorrow, we can arrive at Chou You. At that time, it's just when the sky is about to brighten up, which is also the weakest moment of general defense. The chance of a successful strike is at least 80%. Even if Qin army's defense is tight, and we have no opportunity to attack, at most, we can just retreat back, and there won't be much loss for us."

  Now the plateau is also self-led by a regiment in Zhao's army, commanding 9,000 soldiers, including 3,000 new-style cavalry and 6,000 infantry who have formed a Mandarin duck formation, which is Li Mu's central army. However, there are only 2,000 cavalry and 4,000 infantry at the present time in Jinyang Dazhai, and the remaining 3,000 soldiers temporarily stay in Fanwu Dabing to prepare for future rotation.

  Li Mu looked at the map again and said, "Alright, I will dispatch 5,000 infantrymen to meet you halfway. If there are Qin troops pursuing you, you can choose a place to set up an ambush along the way."

  Gao Yuan also heard and immediately said: "Good, then don't delay things, I will go to select the troops right away and set off today."

  Li Yinghong said on one side: "I'll go with you."

  Two men walked out of Li Mu's central army account, at this time other generals also surrounded them, Chen Zixiang said: "General, is it too dangerous to do so? Jingong is more than 150 miles away from the enemy, and they are isolated and deep in the enemy's territory. If they are discovered by the Qin army, it will be too dangerous."

  "This time, the expedition is indeed very dangerous, but since it's a battle, there's no such thing as safety. Can we wait until the Qin army attacks us at Jieying before engaging in battle and still be safe? The Art of War says: 'Use the normal to govern, use the extraordinary to win.' This time, our forces are not equal to those of the Qin army, nor is our support. We must defeat the Qin army within a year. If we follow the usual way of fighting, we will never be able to defeat the Qin army. Only by using unconventional tactics can we achieve our goal. Let's let Gao Yuan try his hand this time. If he wins and returns, it means that his cavalry tactics are effective, and we'll have a chance to win this battle."

  The generals all listened and also thought that Li Mu's words were reasonable. Chen Zuo then said, "General-in-Chief, let me lead the troops to respond to them."