Chapter Ninety-Five Ambush

  The sky is slightly bright, with a grayish-white hue and twinkling starlight still visible. The surroundings can be vaguely made out.

  Zhao Jun's three thousand cavalry had been galloping all night, and they were now only fifteen miles away from Chou Yu. At this moment, they were hiding behind a small hill in a small forest to rest.

  The scouts who had gone ahead to gather information also rushed back to report to Gao Yuan that about ten miles ahead, there was a large Qin army camp. Judging from the scale, it was estimated that there were more than 20,000 Qin soldiers stationed there. Moreover, no formal barracks had been set up, only simple protective barriers made of war chariots and wooden horses, which did not completely enclose the area, leaving gaps in many places, and the defense was indeed relatively empty.

  Gao Yuan immediately ordered all soldiers to change their war horses and launch a surprise attack on the Qin army's camp.

  Because there were war horses to ride, Zhao's soldiers hadn't consumed too much physical strength despite a day and night of marching, they just felt a bit dizzy all the way, their hands and feet were a bit numb. After just a short rest, drinking some water, some people even ate some dry food, relaxing their limbs after that, they basically recovered. However, the war horses did not remove their harnesses and saddles.

  After hearing Gao Yuan's order, the soldiers immediately mounted their horses and prepared their weapons. Within just over ten minutes, they had all reassembled. Gao Yuan rode his horse to the front of the troops, raised the long spear in his hand, and said: "Brothers, the Qin army is within a distance of ten miles ahead. Let's go kill them with a swift and decisive victory."

  The soldiers also raised their long guns and shouted in unison: "Kill, kill the Qin army."

  Gao Yuan nodded and said, "Let's go." With that, he spurred his horse on and galloped towards the Qin army camp. Li Yinghong also rode closely behind him, followed by Wu Zhankui, Zhong Sunqi, Wu Honglian and others. The other soldiers also urged their war horses forward one after another, following them as they rushed off.

  Within a distance of over ten li, under the full-speed gallop of war horses, it only took a few minutes to arrive. At this time, the sky also brightened up a bit, so it was possible to see clearly that in front of them appeared the Qin army's camp. Indeed, it was very simple and crude, without even a fence, but just a row of war chariots and rectangular wooden barriers forming a simple barrier. There were about a hundred or more Qin soldiers on guard, among whom some people were now dozing off.

  Gao Yuan immediately raised his crossbow, the bowstring had already been pulled open, and the bolt was already loaded, aiming at the Qin army's camp. The other Zhao army cavalry also took out their crossbows one after another. The front row of soldiers held their crossbows horizontally, while the back row of soldiers used bows and arrows, pointing diagonally towards the sky, preparing to launch a barrage. The dense sound of horseshoes quickly broke through the stillness before dawn, announcing the arrival of war.

  The Qin army arrived in batches at Juyong, because even if it was an army of 400,000 or 100,000, it would not have been possible to set out together. Instead, they had to be divided into several routes, either advancing simultaneously or successively, and then gathering at a certain destination. Moreover, the majority of Qin soldiers were recruited from the civilian population in various regions. Those stationed in Xianyang and nearby areas naturally gathered there, but those stationed on the border with Zhao did not need to return to Xianyang; instead, they rushed ahead to Juyong to prepare for the arrival of the main force. Therefore, Wang Jian also sent two men, Meng Wu and Xin Sheng, to rush to Juyong in advance to take charge of the situation.

  Meng Wu was the son of Meng Mao, a great general of the State of Qin. He also served as a deputy general in the campaign against Zhao. In his early years, Meng Wu often followed his father on military expeditions and made significant contributions to the state of Qin. He was a seasoned veteran with a calm and thoughtful demeanor. Alongside Xue Wen, who was brave and skilled in battle, these two men were reliable leaders under the command of Ju Yue.

  At this time, the Qin army had gathered about 1.2 million troops in Chouyu, including more than 12,000 cavalry and over 1,500 war chariots. However, the city of Chouyu was not large, and it also needed to store food and supplies for the large army, so Meng Wu only stationed 30,000 soldiers in the city, while the rest of the troops were stationed outside the city. This camp was garrisoned by more than 20,000 Qin soldiers, who had arrived at Chouyu two days ago from the Qin army, led by General Dong Yi.

  At this time, the soldiers on duty in the Qin army also discovered Zhao's surprise attack, and suddenly there was a great chaos. This is not because the military discipline of the Qin army was lax, but at that time, a distance of over 150 miles was absolutely a safe distance. It's not that the enemy can't cross over 150 miles to attack, but according to the marching speed of this era, the maximum daily marching distance for a large army is only two stages (one stage is 30 miles), and the limit is three stages. A journey of 150 miles would take at least two or three days, and the tracks of a large army are obvious, so the Qin army should have been able to receive advance warning and make preparations for battle.

  But Zhao's raid was far beyond the military theory of this era, mainly because in this era, cavalry could not fight independently, and no one would have thought that Zhao would send a cavalry to raid, just overnight, rushing 150 miles, like a heavenly soldier, killing to the front of the Qin army camp, as said in "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu: swift as thunder.

  The Qin army was not prepared for this, and at this time the sky had not fully brightened, most of the soldiers had not yet woken up. Although some soldiers had gotten up, they were still drowsy, and many were bare-chested, washing their faces and rinsing their mouths. Only a very small number of soldiers wore helmets and armor, fully armed.

  Dozens of soldiers on duty also hastily raised their weapons, drew bows and arrows, and aimed at the charging Zhao army cavalry. There were also a few people who ran into the camp, shouting: "The Zhao army is killing, the Zhao army is killing!"

  Just then, a "whooshing" sound was heard as dense arrows broke through the air, and the Zhao army launched an attack first.

  The first wave of hundreds of arrows, either flat or thrown, fell on the Qin army. Although the Qin army's guards also opened fire with arrows to counterattack, they were too few in number and could not pose much threat to Zhao's cavalry. Under the first wave of attacks by the Zhao army, the Qin army's guards had already suffered more than half casualties. With the second round of arrow shooting by the Zhao army, the Qin army's guards had already collapsed.

  At this time, the Qin army's reinforcements had not yet arrived, but the Zhao army had already reached the edge of the Qin army's camp. Because the Qin army used war chariots and horses to form a simple barrier, there were many gaps in it, so the Zhao army didn't need to exert much effort and could easily enter the Qin army's camp.

  Gao Yuan charged forward on horseback, bursting through a gap and striking down a Qin soldier who had rushed over to reinforce with his long spear. The spear then struck out in quick succession, felling three or four more Qin soldiers. Behind Gao Yuan, the other Zhao troops also poured into the Qin camp, stabbing and shooting arrows, cutting down the Qin soldiers left and right. After they all entered the main camp, they immediately dispersed into small teams of a hundred men each, advancing deep into the Qin army's rear, galloping back and forth, and killing in all directions.

  At this time, the Qin army's camp suddenly fell into chaos. The majority of the Qin soldiers had just been awakened from their sleep and were still searching for their armor and weapons when the Zhao cavalry arrived, shooting arrows, stabbing with spears, trampling with horses, and many Qin soldiers did not even have time to resist before being killed by the iron hooves of the Zhao army.

  After the Qin army was in great disorder, many Zhao soldiers lit torches and set fires everywhere in the Qin army's camp, burning tents, vehicles and so on. In a short while, there were hundreds of fires in the Qin army's camp, with thick smoke billowing up. Some Qin soldiers were still fighting back desperately, but as the entire camp was ablaze, their last bit of will to resist was completely extinguished, and they fled in all directions.

  But just then, Zhao Jun's horn sounded, which was the signal to retreat. And Zhao Jun's cavalrymen heard it, although they were all somewhat reluctant, but still turned their horses' heads and withdrew from the Qin army's camp.

  Originally, although Gao Yuan was the first to charge into the Qin army's camp, after the battle unfolded, he did not focus his main energy on fighting, but instead shifted to commanding the Zhao army while also paying attention to the overall situation on the battlefield. He also sent out scouts to probe around the Qin army's camp and gather intelligence on the movements of their reinforcements.

  The Qin army, although stationed separately, was not far apart, so reinforcements arrived quickly. The entire battle took less than an hour, and reinforcements arrived. After Gao Yuan received the scout's report, he did not dare to continue fighting, and the purpose of this battle had already been achieved, so Gao Yuan ordered a withdrawal.

  As expected, just as Zhao Jun had just withdrawn from the Qin army's camp, the Qin army's reinforcements arrived, but because the Zhao army was a full cavalry, their withdrawal speed was also extremely fast, and the Qin army simply couldn't catch up, they could only watch helplessly as the Zhao army calmly withdrew right under their noses.

  When the two main generals of the Qin army, Meng Wu and Xin Sheng, rushed to the scene, the Zhao army had already disappeared. The Qin soldiers who were chasing the Zhao army all retreated back, while the Qin soldiers in the camp were busy putting out fires, collecting the bodies of their dead comrades, treating wounded soldiers, and so on.

  In fact, the casualties of the Qin army in this battle were not large, with only over 500 people killed and 600-700 wounded, but there were not many seriously injured personnel. In addition, more than 200 tents, 60-70 war chariots, and some other materials were burned. Overall, the loss to the Qin army was actually very small.

  But this time the Qin army came out with a vengeance, seeking to avenge their two previous defeats at the hands of Li Mu. With overwhelming military superiority, they aimed to destroy Zhao once and for all. Before departing, almost every Qin soldier was confident of victory, believing that this war would be won without a doubt. However, before the main force of the Qin army even arrived at Changping, the Zhao army had already marched over 150 miles, launching a surprise attack on the Qin army, breaking through their camp and inflicting heavy casualties, before calmly retreating. This was a severe blow to the Qin army's morale, which had been filled with confidence in victory.