The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 120 Lian Po is known among the princes for his courage. He attacks first and fights to the death without retreating!

All the Zhao generals gathered in the tent, and most of them were shocked when they heard the words.

All the generals wanted to refute, but due to Lian Po's authority, no one spoke for a while.

After a while, Pang Nuan, a veteran general who was even older than Lian Po, stood up and said in a deep voice:

"Yan has 600,000 men, with 400,000 men led by Li Fu to attack Zhao, and 200,000 men led by Qing Qin to attack Dai.

“We only have 130,000 men. Not to mention our strength compared to their main force, we are not even as strong as Qing Qin’s weak army.

"The general said that he wanted to divide the troops. I want to know how to divide them? How to divide them?"

Lian Po looked at the expressions of the generals, hit the map heavily with his thick fingertips, and his white beard fluttered as he spoke.

"Many of you have followed me to attack Qi and resist Qin. Have you forgotten my rules?

"We are discussing matters before the battle. You can say whatever you want. I am not blocking your mouths with a bird! Just fart if you want to!"

The generals laughed, their tense expressions eased a lot, and they spoke freely.

"How can we divide our troops? Thirteen thousand soldiers still have some fighting power. Let's think of a way to swallow Qing Qin in one go! Then we can use our Zhao State to fight a protracted war with Li Fu."

"That's right. The battlefield is in our Zhao State. We are fighting on our home ground, so we have local supplies of food and fodder. Yan State has come from afar, and it's winter now. It's already a lot for Yan State to be able to store five out of ten of its food and fodder. Let's just delay!"

"General, are you trying to tie them up in two routes? Let them transport their food and fodder separately, which will waste their manpower? I agree with dividing the troops. Tie them up in two routes will tie them up even more!"

"..."

Lian Po listened to the opinions of the generals one by one, absorbed them fully, and perfected the tactics in his mind.

Until the end, there was endless quarreling in the tent, and everyone was red in the face and ready to fight.

"Enough!" Lian Po slammed his fist on the table: "Le Cheng!"

Deputy General Le Cheng clasped his fists with a solemn expression.

"Ride on!"

Not only Le Cheng, but all the generals were in awe.

This is the time to call the shots, and the general has already made his decision.

When Lian Po led the army, in addition to the rule of being able to speak freely in the tent before the battle, there was another rule.

Once a military order is issued, it must be executed without compromise!

"You lead 50,000 men to Dai." Lian Po pointed at the word "Dai" on the map and said, "I don't want you to destroy Qin, I just want you to defend it! If Dai is destroyed before I arrive, you will jump down from the city!"

Le Cheng nodded solemnly and clasped his fists.

"I will obey your orders!"

Defending a city is much easier than fighting.

He fought against the unknown general Qing Qin who led 200,000 men and defended Dai County.

Le Cheng felt that food was the only factor that limited the time he could defend the city. As long as there was no food shortage, he and his 50,000 men could defend the city until the end of time.

"The rest of you, follow me." Lian Po traced the map with his finger and found the character "鄗": "Let's go and kill the main force of Yan State!"

The generals looked at each other.

Although Zhao was a country that was good at fighting, they were all capable and skilled fighters who had experienced dozens of battles, big and small.

But how can 80,000 fight against 400,000 in a field battle? This is not defending a city.

The generals were doubtful, so when Lian Po gave the order, few responded.

Lian Po, whose hair and beard were all gray, glanced at the generals and laughed:
"What? Are you scared?

"I am 77 years old and I am not afraid, so why should you be afraid? Then I will charge forward!

“You don’t even think about who is leading the army.

"Li Fu, has anyone heard of this bird name? Does he think he is Le Yi?
"An unknown person, who has just come to the war, dares to command 400,000 troops. Can he command them? Has he memorized the flag signals?
"The Yan State has lost its mind! It is courting death!"

When the generals heard this, most of them became more courageous.

The general is right.

A thousand troops are easy to get, but a general is hard to find.

An incompetent general who has never been on a battlefield will be scared away when a real fight breaks out.

"Yes!" came the loud response.

The big tent was opened, and the generals received their orders and left, each to attend to their own affairs.

Only Le Cheng, who was going to lead an army alone, stayed behind.

Lian Po looked up.

"Anything else?"

Le Cheng lifted the curtain, observed that no one was eavesdropping outside, then walked back quickly and whispered in the general's ear:
"General, Hao is Wei Wuji's territory, so you may as well let it pass.

"Let the Yan army occupy the land of Hao first, and then you can choose another place to fight.

"When you defeat Li Fu and take back the land of Hao, it will be the territory of our Zhao State. Wei Wuji will not have the face to ask for it back.

"Your Majesty has long wanted to take back Zhao, but he has never had an excuse. This is a good opportunity to take advantage of the attack from Yan State."

Lian Po listened attentively.

During the process, his fingertips tapped the map on the table again and again, making a rhythmic "tap tap" sound.

Even after hearing this, the veteran stood up suddenly without any warning.

He grabbed Le Cheng's hair and pulled it down hard, causing Le Cheng's head to come into close contact with the map, and with a "duang" sound, it hit the character "鄗".

Le Cheng's forehead was constantly pressed, causing him severe pain. He dared not resist and said with a forced smile:
"General, what did you say wrong?"

The veteran was like an angry lion, his hair standing up like a mane.

"Tell me, birdman, how to kill Li Fu!

"Eighty thousand against four hundred thousand, if you are so confident, you can fight! I will lead fifty thousand to defend Dai!
"The country is about to be destroyed, yet they are still scheming against each other.

"It was because of people like you that the State of Zhao lost Changping! You can also be called a human being? You really bring shame to Le Yi!

"Once we pass through Hao, it will be Handan!
"If the Yan army really reaches Handan, you fucking think Qin, Wei, and the Xiongnu are all dead! Don't you know how Qi was destroyed?
"If the battle of Handan happens again, can you defend the city like Naigong, or ask for help like Pingyuan Jun?"

The old general grabbed Le Cheng's long hair and threw him out, pointing at the big curtain and cursing without even turning his head:
“Go to Shoudai!
"You are here when the land is here, and you will die when the land is gone!"

Le Cheng endured the severe pain in his scalp and forehead and responded with a "Yes".

[I am kind enough to tell you the king's intentions and give you a chance to make a contribution.]
[Did I say I could kill Li Fu? Didn’t you say that yourself? You can’t beat me, so what’s wrong with your boasting!]
[You old fool! Just wait! I wonder how many more years you can fight!]
Le Cheng quietly opened the curtain, very respectfully, and left with hatred.

Lian Po was still not satisfied after Le Cheng left, and spat on the ground.

"Birdman! No matter how good he is at fighting, he is still a dog-bird!"

After cursing a few words, the old general collected his thoughts, frowned, and looked carefully at the map in front of him.

It was completely different from the relaxed attitude he showed in front of the generals.

He drew a line with his finger between Zhao's Zhao and Yan's Ji, and said to himself:
"Li Fu is from Qi.

"The Prime Minister of Yan State, has assisted the King of Yan for many years.

"Yan's attack on Qi and defeat of Donghu were all the result of his behind-the-scenes planning.

"In just two months, they deployed troops in winter and were able to reach the land of Zhao. The commander is definitely not an ordinary general.

"This man is very fierce in using troops..."

In front of other generals, slandering the enemy commander Li Fu was to give them confidence.

In private, Lian Po did not look down on Li Fu, but instead took him very seriously.

He carefully studied Li Fu's tactics over the past two months and his past experiences, and the tactics against Li Fu were completely formed in his mind today.

Fifty miles away from Zhao, Li Fu learned that the Zhao army had divided its forces and immediately burst out laughing.

He held his big belly, smiled and said to those around him:

“I divided the troops into two groups, which was carefully planned.

“The 600,000 were divided into 400,000 and 200,000. The problem of too many people being difficult to command was solved.

"The Zhao army only has 130,000 soldiers. I have more troops than the Zhao army in every direction. The Zhao army can control me but not Qing Qin. Their weakness of having fewer soldiers and not being able to split the army into two directions is fully exposed.

“I didn’t expect Lian Po would actually dare to divide his troops.

"The 130,000 Zhao troops are far too weak to fight against any of our armies.

"Split into two groups, how thoughtful! He didn't want either me or Qing Qin to miss out on the merit of defeating the Zhao army. "Defeat the Zhao army one by one, so that Qing Qin and I can both get the merit of defeating the Zhao army. Lian Po is really a good man."

Next to him, Yan Jiangju Xin Jianyan said:

"General, you must not be careless. Lian Po is famous among the princes for his courage. You must be careful."

When he was young, Ju Xin traveled around the countries and entered the government in Zhao State. He served as a general under King Wuling of Zhao and became friends with many famous generals of Zhao State.

After King Wuling of Zhao died, he left Zhao and went to Yan, and then served under King Zhao of Yan, and has been a general of Yan until now.

Li Fu said nonchalantly:

"What courage? It's just that when I was young, I followed Yue Yi to attack Qi, fought a favorable battle, and won many military merits.

“In my opinion, Lian Po is good at defense.

"Changping, he held on.

“He also defended Handan.

"If he arrives in Hao County ahead of time to defend the city, I will have a headache.

"He divided his troops and wanted to fight me. He is really courting death!"

Ju Xi laughed hard, clasped his fists, and said no more.

Li Fu chuckled and said to Ju Xin:

"Your Majesty, send an envoy to the Xiongnu and ask them to contain the Zhao army in the north and prevent it from advancing south.

"These soldiers are all teenagers, and some of them may not even reach the height of the wheels. Bai Qi will not kill them.

"What are you afraid of with such an army?"

Two days later, they were thirty miles north of Zhao.

The vanguard army of Yan met the army of Zhao.

Li Fu did not attack rashly, he used his troops very prudently.

Keep the vanguard army and the central army close to each other and support each other.

After the vanguard scouts learned the movements of the Zhao army, the 50,000-strong vanguard army stopped and waited for the main force of the central army.

Sitting in the big tent, Li Fu smiled slightly and said in a mature and dignified manner:

"Our army has an absolute numerical advantage. There is no need to take any risks. Let's fight when we have all the men together!"

A day later, the main force of the Yan army arrived, and the whole field was filled with Yan troops.

Two hundred and fifty thousand lightly armed troops were assembled on the plain, and two thousand chariots were in line.

The remaining 150,000 rear troops who were escorting food and siege equipment, and tens of thousands of civilian laborers also came slowly.

Five miles away.

The 80,000 Zhao troops led by Lian Po appeared.

The veteran went out to visit in person.

Looking at the dark and chaotic Yan army that had just gathered together, he narrowed his eyes.

He originally wanted to launch an attack before the Yan army's vanguard and central army joined forces and attack the Yan army's vanguard first.

But the Yan army ignored his provocation and remained in place.

Now, Yan's 50,000 vanguard troops have become 250,000 vanguard troops plus the central army.

And the Zhao army he had was still only 80,000...

In the Yan army tent, Li Fu issued a military order.

The Art of War says: Attack when there are five.

Now the number of people was not five times as much, so Li Fu attacked, but not completely.

He ordered several teams of a thousand men to harass and contain the Zhao army, waiting for the arrival of 400,000 troops before launching an attack.

He said he looked down on Lian Po, but his actions did not show any contempt at all.

This tactic can be said to be very stable and completely in accordance with the art of war. It is completely different from Li Fu who had previously attacked vigorously and captured several cities in February.

Ju Xin, who had once served in the same palace with Lian Po, looked anxious.

"General, why didn't you attack with all your might before the vanguard and the central army joined forces?"

Li Fu is old and calm.

"No hurry, our battle formation is not ready yet, wait for the 150,000 troops in the rear.

"Lian Po is good at defense but not at attack. He will definitely set up a defense line to confront us like he did in the Battle of Changping."

Ju Xin was dumbfounded.

"The reason why the battle formation was not well-arranged was that the vanguard army and the central army merged, and the two armies became one and scattered. The generals of the two armies came to see the general and were unable to give timely command.

"If the army wasn't united, how could the battle formation not be arranged? We should have attacked from both sides!

"General, Lian Po doesn't know how to defend!
"If he wanted to defend, he would have just gone straight into Yao County!
"My Yan army is not the Qin army, and it does not have such a strong deterrent power.

"Lian Po will never wait for all of us to arrive before starting the battle. Please send all the generals back quickly and lead the battle!"

All the Yan generals laughed out loud, thinking that Xin was overthinking the joke.

Eighty thousand counterattacked 250,000, with a small number of people fighting against a large number of people. What kind of military strategy is this?

How dare Lian Po, a veteran with the earth buried up to his neck, fight like this?
Lian Po dared.

When the horn sounded, the 80,000 Zhao troops were divided into eight square formations and pressed towards the Yan army together.

The Yan army hastily beat drums to respond to the challenge.

The first two rows of shield troops began to advance, followed by the last three rows of archers, while the cavalry on both wings provided scouting and cover.

At this time, the Central Plains cavalry, except for the Zhao border troops, could not shoot arrows because they had no stirrups.

They can only shoot with a small crossbow, or swing a long spear bravely.

The war drums sounded, and the Yan army of 20,000 people advanced towards the Zhao army with high spirits and determination, following the rhythm of the war drums.

The two sides fired at each other with powerful crossbows, each killing dozens of enemy soldiers, and the Yan army retreated.

This was still Li Fu's order.

The purpose of the Yan prime minister who became a general was to delay time, slow down the attack of the Zhao army, and wait for the rear army to arrive before starting the battle.

With an army of 400,000, we can kill 80,000 of them alive no matter how we fight!

But the Yan army retreated, and the Zhao army did not retreat, so Lian Po ordered an attack!
Li Fu was very angry when he saw that the Zhao army had no intention of retreating. He wanted to seek death, right?

At his command, the Yan army finally formed up for battle after more than a thousand of the 20,000 soldiers in the front were killed or wounded.

There were six large square formations, each with 20,000 people, and several small square formations inside.

The phalanx was composed of both infantry and cavalry.

This is the characteristic of the Yan army. They have a large number of cavalry, and the tactics combining cavalry and infantry swept across the Donghu.

The Yan army's attack this time was composed of the elite among the main forces.

Li Fu’s idea was very simple.

If you can kill the Zhao army directly, then kill them directly. If you can’t, there are still 90,000 troops behind them ready to go.

Anyway, the Zhao army only has 80,000 soldiers and no reinforcements.

The Yan army marched in orderly steps, with dust rolling and chariots rumbling forward.

Among the eight battle formations of the Zhao army, veteran general Lian Po observed and commanded, and sent out flag signals.

The eight phalanxes immediately changed their formation, with an arrow-shaped cone at the front, with the most elite veterans acting as the arrowhead.

Veteran general Lian Po knew these 80,000 Zhao troops very well and knew which ones were the brave warriors who were ready to die.

The spearheads of the eight teams were all such warriors, and the other child soldiers followed closely behind them in a long dragon formation.

Eight long dragons attacked the Yan army like awls.

Before the battle, veteran general Lian Po gave the Zhao army a good meal and ate all the meat in the rations at once.

Whatever they couldn't eat was left there, and no food was taken with them.

Every one of the 80,000 Zhao troops knew that if they failed in this battle they would die.

If you lose, you die, there is no way out!
(End of this chapter)