Chapter 48 Li Mu, the famous general of Zhao State

Yingzheng's next target is Zhao Guo. It is also God's will. In 230 BC, a major earthquake occurred in Daidi of Zhao State.According to the "Historical Records", "from the west of Lexu to the north to Pingyin, the walls of the terraces and houses are too damaged, and the ground is demolished for a hundred and thirty steps." The damage caused can be imagined. In 229 BC, there was another severe drought in Zhao State, and there was no harvest in the crops.There is a folk song sung: "Zhao Guo cries, Qin Guo laughs, whoever doesn't believe it, just see if grass grows on the ground."

Qin Guo naturally would not let go of such an opportunity, and sent troops to attack Zhao again. The Qin army was divided into two groups, one led by Wang Jian, sent troops out of Shangdang, and went straight to Jingxing (now Jingxing, Hebei Province); the other led by Yang Duanhe, sent troops out of Hanoi and entered Handan. Zhao Guo sent Li Mu and Sima Shang to lead the army to resist. In ancient China, there was a "Thousand Character Essay", which was a common enlightenment book for children and teenagers. There was a sentence in it: "It's quite a herdsman to start a sword, and the best to use an army."

The so-called Qi Jian Po Mu refers to Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Lian Po, and Li Mu.Because of these eight characters, some people in later generations called the four "Four Famous Generals of the Warring States Period". This statement is somewhat one-sided.Talented people came forth in large numbers during the Warring States period, and there were not a few strategists who could stand shoulder to shoulder with these four. Wu Qi, Le Yang, Sun Bin, Pang Juan, Chu Liji, Gan Mao and others are all remarkable.Therefore, it may be more appropriate to change "Four Famous Generals of the Warring States Period" to "Four Famous Generals of the Late Warring States Period".

Wang Jian is a native of Guanzhong. He studied the art of war since he was a child, joined the army when he was young, and gradually reached the rank of general through accumulating military merits.According to historical records, the first time Wang Jian was alone was when he attacked the State of Zhao in 237 BC, taking Yanyu, Liaoyang and other places, and made great contributions to the capture of the Zhangshui Basin by the State of Qin.Among the many generals of the Qin State, Wang Jian is famous for his stability and is known as the "undefeated general". Li Mu, who also had no defeat in battle, was from Boren Zhao (now Xingtai, Hebei Province). He originally guarded Daidi and Yanmen to prevent the Huns from attacking.

The Xiongnu were the Rong and Di people in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the Hu people in the Warring States Period. They were the most powerful branch of the northern nomadic peoples at that time.They live by water and grass, are good at riding and shooting, and often invade the northern borders of Qin, Zhao, Yan and other countries. Wherever they go, they massacre civilians, burn houses, destroy cities, and plunder properties, causing great troubles to these countries. Because the Huns were brave and good at fighting, they came and went like the wind, and they were hard to guard against. All countries could not come up with effective ways to deal with them, so they could only build the Great Wall quickly, trying to rely on the city wall to keep the Huns out.

Even so, the Huns were still able to break through the weak links of the Great Wall and grab the cattle, sheep, food and prisoners they needed. However, when they met Li Mu, they found that they had encountered the most difficult enemy to deal with. Li Mu also adopted a defensive strategy.But what is different from others is that he built many beacon towers outside Yanmen Pass, and sent a large number of cavalry to reconnaissance. Therefore, every time the Huns invaded, he could get the information in advance and send troops, people, livestock, All the food was withdrawn into the city and stood firm, resolutely not to fight.

The Huns were not good at attacking cities or fighting protracted wars, and they couldn't grab food to supplement their army, so they had to yell and curse outside the city and return empty-handed. As soon as the Huns left, Li Mu became active again, and pulled his troops outside the pass to practice riding and shooting.The soldiers had never confronted the Huns head-on, so they had no military merits. He would promote them based on their usual training results, and as long as he thought it was suitable, they would be assigned to the corresponding positions.There are frequent transactions on the Yanmen border, and the government can often receive a large amount of taxes in the market.Li Mu cut off all these taxes and used them to improve the lives and treatment of the troops.He rewarded the soldiers by killing a few cows almost every day, and from time to time he asked people to buy good wine to drink with the soldiers.It is no exaggeration to say that the Yanmen garrison is the most well-paid army in the entire Zhao Kingdom—no, it should be the best in the world.The soldiers ate beef and drank wine. After a long day, they felt embarrassed and asked to fight.

Li Mu was originally smiling and friendly, but when he heard that someone was going to fight, he immediately put on a straight face and ordered: "Once the Huns invade, all the soldiers will immediately retreat into the castle and never fight. Go out and behead for public display!" In this way, he stayed in Yanmen for several years, Zhao Jun did not suffer any losses, and the Huns did not take any advantage.Every time the Huns rushed outside the Yanmen Pass, facing the thick city walls, they had no choice but to insult Li Mu as much as possible, mocking Li Mu as a coward. Some soldiers in the city also secretly said: "Our general is indeed a coward!"

When Li Mu heard it, he just smiled and didn't take it seriously.After the Huns withdrew, he went out to train soldiers as before, repeating the cycle. At that time, King Zhao Huiwen was still in power. King Zhao Huiwen has a good reputation in history, but he has a shortcoming, that is, he can't hold his breath.He heard that Li Mu had been secluded and did not fight, and he also thought it was a sign of cowardice, so he sent people to reprimand Li Mu many times.But the blame belongs to the blame, Li Mu is still going his own way, willing to be a coward.Later, King Zhao Huiwen simply asked Li Mu to come back and sent others to garrison Yanmen.

As soon as the new guard arrived at Yanmen, he faithfully carried out the orders of King Zhao Huiwen.Every time the Huns invaded, the Zhao army fought tit-for-tat and took the initiative to attack. As a result, they were defeated several times in a row, the troops suffered heavy casualties, and the agricultural and animal husbandry production in the border areas suffered a devastating blow. King Zhao Huiwen had no choice but to ask Li Mu to come out of the mountain with the cheek again. Li Mu closed the door of his house and said that he was sick.But King Zhao Huiwen still invited each other again and again.Li Mu said: "If you must use me, then allow me to use my way and stop interfering."

After receiving the assurance from King Zhao Huiwen, Li Mu returned to Yanmen.As soon as he arrived at the army, he resumed his original practice and defended Yanmen like an iron bucket.For several years, the Huns got nothing, and they said, half lost, half contemptuous: "The coward is back again." Just when the Huns were bored, Li Mu started to act. He selected 1,300 chariots, 13,000 cavalry, 50,000 armored warriors, and 100,000 archers to form a powerful attack force.Then let the people go out to graze, so that the mountains and plains are full of cattle and sheep. When the Huns got the information, they were very cautious at first, and sent a small group of troops to test it out, and the result was a lot of gains.Shan Yu (the title of the leader of the Xiongnu) couldn't help being overjoyed when he saw the thousands of cattle and sheep that had been plundered, and personally led an army to attack Yanmen. Those who greeted them were the troops of Zhao Jun who were like iron walls. Shan Yu was a little surprised when he saw this formation, but he didn't have time to think about it, because Zhao Jun suddenly opened the gate, with 1,300 chariots in front, followed by 50,000 archers, and rushed towards the Xiongnu army. Straight up. Fighting on the plains, chariots are far more powerful than cavalry, but less flexible.The Huns already had an effective way to deal with Zhao Jun's chariot formation.With Shan Yu's order, the Xiongnu cavalry moved to both sides, out of the way, and prepared to outflank from both wings. Zhao Jun obviously expected this move.Only the sound of drums from the Chinese army was heard, and 1,300 chariots slowed down and formed a ring of more than ten chariots.In this way, the chariot became a temporary fortress, and the archers hid in the chariot formation, shooting and killing the Hun cavalry who dared to attack the chariot formation with strong bows and crossbows. The Xiongnu army rushed several times, but could not break through Zhao Jun's circular chariot formation.At this time, Zhao Jun's infantry also lined up in a dense formation, with long halberds in front, short soldiers behind, and bows and crossbows pressing down on the formation, like a forest.Li Mu's tactics made it impossible for the Huns to take advantage of the cavalry.Shan Yu saw that the momentum was wrong, and quickly ordered the whole army to retreat. But it was too late.Li Mu's 13,000 cavalry surrounded them from the left and right flanks, like two iron tongs, firmly sealing off the Huns' retreat. The advantage of the Huns' cavalry lies in their mobility and the innate ability of nomads to ride and archery.If you lose your mobility and fight with the well-equipped and well-trained Central Plains troops, it is basically courting death. As a result of this battle, more than 100,000 Xiongnu troops died in battle, and Shan Yu escaped with his life by chance. Since then, he has not dared to approach the border of Zhao State for more than ten years. Li Mu became famous because of this, known as "Northern Good General", and after Lian Po left, he became the main general supporting the overall situation of Zhao State. In the war between Qin State and Zhao State, as long as Li Mu goes out, Zhao State must win in the end.Of course, so far, Li Mu and Wang Jian have not confronted each other head-on. Who is the number one military strategist in the world? In the upcoming decisive battle between Qin and Zhao, the answer seems to be revealed soon.