si-mexico Chapter 390 Zhao Kuo set out with 4 troops
Chapter 390 Zhao Kuo set out with 4 troops
Zhao Biao clasped his hands and said,
"Your Majesty, we absolutely cannot allow the enemy to reach the vicinity of Xingqing Prefecture now.
The Yinchuan Plain is the most important grain-producing area in our country. If it is trampled by the enemy, then there will be no harvest in the autumn. Even if we win the battle, what will we eat?
Our country has little food to begin with, and even less after the war, so we must delay the enemy, at least until after the autumn harvest, by which time the Yan army will surely have arrived.
My White Horse Army can rely on its speed advantage to continuously harass and ambush the Qi Army, thus slowing down its march.
As for the Qin army in the south, Your Majesty is requested to send out the 400,000 strong army to stop the Qin army.
We don't have much food. If we send those people out to resist the enemy, more of them will die and there will be less food to eat.
It can also effectively slow down the Qin army's marching speed.
We in Xingqing Prefecture should just leave those 100,000 elite soldiers to defend the city!"
Hearing this, Emperor Liang fell into deep thought.
The guest was furious and pointed at Zhao Biao and shouted,
"Zhao Biao, you are a man of wolfish ambition and heartless heart. You keep saying that you care about the lives of our Daliang soldiers, but now you want to send 400,000 people to die. Are you trying to destroy Daliang?"
Zhao Biao snorted coldly,
"In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken. Those able-bodied men defending the city are of little use, and they consume a lot of food and fodder. If the enemy army doesn't come, do we have to keep them around forever?
Now the Yinchuan Plain is of utmost importance and must not be lost. If the Qin army tramples on the Yinchuan Plain, there will be even less food and they will still starve to death.
We will all starve to death.
Rather than starve to death, it is better to send them out to stop the enemy.
Once we get there, we can fortify our defenses and clear the fields, and also plunder some food.
And whether they have the fighting power depends on who is in command.
Your Majesty, I can nominate someone to serve as the commander-in-chief. He will definitely be able to resist the Qin army. Even if he takes action, it is not impossible to defeat the Qin army."
Hearing this, the Liang Emperor chuckled and said
"Oh? What kind of handsome man is he that you have such a high opinion of him?"
Zhao Biao stepped forward, waved his sleeves, and said in a deep voice,
"It's none other than our Daliang's genius and master of military strategy—Zhao Kuo!"
"Zhao Kuo?"
Liang Huang frowned slightly and said,
"Of course I know Zhao Kuozhen. He is indeed a very talented person. Two years ago, when he was only eighteen years old, he debated and deduced with you and other veterans in this court. No one could match him.
There was no war at the time, and he was still young, so I allowed him to go back and continue studying military books."
Zhao Biao nodded and said,
"Yes, Your Majesty, Zhao Kuo has been studying and practicing sand table simulations at home every day for the past two years. He and I are from the same family, and I often discuss things with him, which has benefited me a lot.
Zhao Kuo is now more powerful than he was two years ago.
Ten years ago, I was his teacher, and now, he is my teacher.
Your Majesty, we can have Zhao Kuo lead 400,000 troops to Changping, Guyuan County, to defend against the Qin army's northward advance. Zhao Kuo will surely be able to successfully stop them by leveraging the favorable terrain!"
"You are right. How could I have forgotten this young hero? Changping is indeed suitable for defense.
Come, quickly call Zhao Kuo!"
The guards immediately rode out on horseback and went straight to Zhao Kuo's mansion. They woke up Zhao Kuo, who was sleeping soundly, and asked him to put on his clothes and hurry into the palace to meet the emperor.
Zhao Kuo panicked and quickly stuffed silver into the guard's hand. On the way, he asked what had happened, and the guard briefly explained.
After hearing this, Zhao Kuo's eyes lit up and he praised his distant uncle Zhao Biao in his heart.
After waiting for so long, I finally waited until today. After waiting for so long, my dream finally came true...
He, Zhao Kuo, finally waited for the day when he could lead his troops to fight, and it was an army of 400,000!
He, Zhao Kuo, will definitely become famous in one battle.
After quickly arriving at the court, Zhao Kuo saluted.
"Your Majesty, I, Zhao Kuo, pay my respects to you!"
"No gift!"
Emperor Liang did not want to delay and said directly,
"Zhao Kuo, Zhao Biao recommended you to me, saying that you can be the commander of the army and go to meet the Qin army and stop the enemy.
He suggested that I lead an army of 400,000 to Changping. What do you think?
Zhao Kuo's heart was pounding, and he forced himself to suppress his excitement. He knew that if he agreed and made promises now, he would be considered frivolous, unstable, and boastful.
If you say you are not capable, you will be accused of lacking confidence and having no talent for commanding troops.
After thinking about it, he answered seriously,
"Your Majesty, the mountainous Changping area in the south of our country is indeed suitable for defense and blocking the enemy. General Zhao is right.
If I were to lead an army of 400,000 men.
I will station an army of 100,000 at Qianniu Ridge as the vanguard to stop the enemy.
Thirty thousand troops were stationed at Huanghualing on the east side, and another thirty thousand troops were stationed at Laohushan on the right side to form a pincer attack with Qianniuling.
After completing the first round of blocking at Qianniuling, the army retreated to the two mountains and attacked the flank of the Qin army.
In addition, further north, I will station 100,000 troops at Taohua Mountain and Qumen Mountain to block the enemy at every level.
However, in the above cases, we did not engage in a head-on confrontation with the Qin army. Instead, we took advantage of the geographical location, attacked and injured the Qin army from a high position, and preserved our strength.
Afterwards, the army in front withdrew and ambushed at Jinshan Cape and Yinshan Cape respectively. I personally led the army to ambush at Zhaohu Mountain.
When the enemy entered the valleys of Jinshanjiao and Yinshanjiao, our army rushed out and surrounded the enemy, allowing us to trap them and fight them.
If they are trapped, all we need to do is cut off the enemy's food supply. The enemy will starve to death without food.
If we fight, our army can also throw boulders from a high position to wear down the enemy. When half of the enemy are killed or wounded, our army will charge out and destroy them.
Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials in the court were extremely shocked.
The Emperor Liang stood up in surprise and said,
"Zhao Kuo, do you know the names of all the mountains in Changping?"
Zhao Kuo smiled confidently and said,
“Your Majesty, I know all the mountains, cities, valleys, and passes within our country.
I even went to Changping in person to survey the terrain, so that if the Qin army attacks one day, I can prepare in advance and know how to fight.
I even know a lot about the terrain and troop distribution of other neighboring countries.
My lord, always be ready for battle!"
"Hahahahaha..."
The Emperor of Liang laughed heartily, pointed at Zhao Kuo and said excitedly,
"Look, this is what a talented general is. This is a talented general. Among all the civil and military officials in the court, who can personally travel all over the country to understand the terrain like him?
I should have used his earlier!"
The ministers also said,
"Your Majesty is wise, Zhao Kuo can be the commander-in-chief!"
"Okay! Zhao Kuo, listen to my orders!"
Zhao Kuo knelt down excitedly.
"I order you to lead the Southern Expedition Army, commanding a force of 400,000 men. You will depart tomorrow to Changping to intercept the Qin army. You must not make any mistakes.
If you return victorious, I will reward you handsomely!"