Chapter 17 In the first quarter, an army of 600,000 overwhelmed Hangu Pass

At the end of July at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, soldiers began to march day and night in the vast field beyond the river. Cavalry, chariots, and heavy armored infantry marched forward in square formations from the fields that had just been harvested, and ox carts loaded with supplies and supplies creaked over all the official avenues and field paths, countless But the scout ranger shuttles like a meteor among the color patches in the wilderness.The smoke and dust filled the air, the flags were flying, the war horses neighed, and the horns echoed. The ground with a radius of four to five hundred miles was rumbling and thundering day and night, and there was a choking earthy smell day and night.Within ten days, military camps of various colors were set up in succession on the Sanchuan field.This military camp is unprecedentedly vast. From Mianchi Fortress in the west to Hulao Pass in the east, from Dahe in the north to Rushui in the south, it is more than three hundred miles from east to west and four hundred miles from north to south. Large areas of military camps are stationed in places where military strategists must contend for, such as fortresses with mountains and rivers.

As soon as I left Hangu Pass, I saw layers of banners and tents all over the field, and it was difficult for ordinary military horses to fly even with wings. It's unbelievable to say that the Six Kingdoms of Shandong were so neat and tidy this time.It turned out to be only one summer from the beginning of contact with the Qi State to the gathering of the army.What's more different is that this time, not only are all countries equipped with elite soldiers, but the number is much larger than the first time: the main force of Qi State, 100,000 cavalry, 200,000 infantry, a total of 300,000 troops, including ox carts The number of veterans and militiamen is about 500,000 at least; the state of Chu has 100,000, more than 20,000 people in two hundred chariots, 20,000 cavalry, 60,000 infantry, and 150,000 to 150,000 people with oxen and carts; The three kingdoms of Wei, Zhao, and Han each had 80,000 elite soldiers, all of whom were divided into half and half on foot and half on horseback. Together with the transport of luggage, the number was about 400,000.The only exception was Yan State, which sent out 20,000 infantry soldiers, but they still brought their own rations and did not have ox carts.As a result, the total number of soldiers from the six countries was more than one million, and the combat strength alone was 660,000.

The reason why all countries have convoys of convoys is based on the lessons learned from the first coalition attack on Qin. The Wei State rejected the method of paying grain and grass in advance and repaying it after the war. Not only did it not send grain from Ao Cang, but it also refused The proposed method for countries to withdraw money to buy grain from Ao Cang.King Wei Xiang frowned at Meng Changjun: "When the battle was defeated and Ao Cang was destroyed, who would pay me back my grain? I can't pay first! I can't buy grain! Once there is a grain shortage, can those gold cakes be eaten and drunk? Yes. If there is no food and grass, there will be wars, and if there is no food and grass, I don’t want to make such a calculation as soon as possible." In this way, there are hundreds of thousands of ox carts in this country, and the momentum is really amazing.

The most fundamental reason why it is so neat to bring your own food and grass is that all countries agree that this time the attack on Qin is an excellent time.Not to mention the turmoil in the court, such as the fact that the ruler of Qin is less suspicious, foreign ministers and relatives are in power, Gan Mao has left, and veteran officials have withered. In terms of war, Qin has only 200,000 new troops, and Sima Cuo, a famous general with elusive tactics, was forced to leave. Zhang Yi, who tossed the six kingdoms like a ghost, was also forced to retire. Without famous generals, how could Qin's 200,000 troops count?Such an opportunity is really once in a lifetime!Even if Qin cannot be destroyed and divided up, as long as this country of tigers and wolves is driven back to the grasslands of the valleys and valleys in the west, only the two counties of Guanzhong Woye, Qianli Hexi and Shangyu will be divided. Who doesn't think it is the biggest profit market in the world?

As a result, the attack on Qin was extremely smooth, and they were competing to camp at the fortress closest to Hangu Pass, trying to be the main force of the enemy, but Tian Zhen, the leader of the Allied Army, spent a lot of time thinking.According to the plan of Tian Zhen together with Lord Mengchang and Lord Chunshen, this time the armies of the six countries will still use Hulao Pass as the base camp to assemble on all sides. Although it is more than 300 miles away from Hangu Pass, it is beneficial for the army to advance.But when I spoke with the generals of various countries, none of them agreed. They all said that the formation is too far behind, which is not the momentum of a decisive battle.In particular, Xin Yuanyan, a general of Wei State, and Shen Chai, a general of South Korea, were the most fierce. They insisted on advancing directly to camp outside Hangu Pass, "Destroy Qin's aspirations and promote our army's prestige!" Generals, if you don’t advance now, when will you wait? If you shrink back, our army of Zhao will enter Mianchi!”

In a scene full of passion and generosity, Lord Mengchang and Lord Chunshen were also helpless, so Tian Zhen and the generals of the Three Kingdoms of Wei, Zhao, and Han, who had no opinions at all, re-assigned the stationing sequence amidst the quarrel: Zhao's 80,000 troops were the former troops, stationed in Mianchi, It is only more than 30 miles away from Hangu Pass; the 160,000 troops of Wei and Han served as the rear army, stationed at Yique Mountain Pass in the outskirts of Luoyang, a hundred miles away from the front army; Serving as the main force of the Chinese army, he was stationed in the wilderness on the north bank of Luoshui River outside Yiyang City, more than 30 miles away from the front army and less than 50 miles from the rear army.

Judging from the situation of the army, this distribution undoubtedly formed a three-sided encirclement of Hangu Pass: the Zhao army faced the enemy head-on, and the Qi and Chu main forces deployed in the southeast, which happened to tightly cover the Qin army's exit from Xiaoshan Mountain. Just to the west, it was actually the main force of the second wave of onslaught and outflanking Qin army.Because the road from Yique to Hangu Pass is almost flat, the Wei and Han armies are familiar with the terrain, and they have the main cavalry participating in the battle, so they can go straight to the Mianchi battlefield with a single charge.However, the Yiyang garrison of the Qi and Chu armies was a mountain plain, and the cavalry slowed down when galloping, but it seemed to be close but far away.This is also the actual reason why the Wei and Han armies are willing to be the rear army.

As the main force to destroy Qin, the Qi and Chu armies were originally the Chinese army.The so-called central army is the backbone of the frontal battle, and the station should also be in the middle to facilitate support.But this time it was unusual. Qi Chuyan's three armies had a total of 420,000 main forces of the Chinese army, but they were stationed in Yiyang, which was the last place.It turned out that Lord Mengchang and Lord Chunshen had a different idea: to start a war with the Qin army, you must not underestimate the enemy and rush forward, you must fight steadily, use a strong and solid defense to consume its vigor first, and then encircle and wipe them out!After the two armies met, Lord Mengchang expressed his worries: "Mr. Chunshen, when the coalition forces are fighting, the most fearful thing is that all the armies will not move forward. If you attack Qin for the first time, if you are as brave as the son of Yan Guozhi, how can you be completely defeated? This time, I will learn from Zhang Yi and lead the army myself." Chunshen Jun laughed loudly: "Oh Brother Tian, ​​even if Tian Zhen listens to you, I can't let you, the prime minister, shout Let's kill and charge. I can't say, I, Huang Xie, invited the former army." Meng Changjun smiled and said: "Your hundreds of old chariots are worthy of the Qin army's cavalry for a round?" Chunshen Jun said with a serious face: " I want to learn from Brother Qu Yuan, this time a strong man breaks his wrist!" He said generously but then sighed, "Left and right, this is only one general, I can't let these generals laugh at me!"

Unexpectedly, all the generals would be eager to be the front army. Unexpectedly, Lord Mengchang and Lord Chunshen felt relieved, and naturally no longer insisted on the two armies of Qi and Chu as the front army, but they only wanted to He was able to accommodate the fierce attack ideas of the generals of the armies, and he reluctantly agreed with them to go out of Mianchi and Yique, and put the burden of stabilizing the overall situation on the Qi and Chu armies. The order was determined, and the armies quickly moved into the garrison.The military camps of various countries were full of murderous spirits, but with drills, there were passionate cries of "kill the tyrant Qin! Revenge and seize the land!" resounded across the field.The soldiers have fighting spirit, and the generals have the heart to fight. For the first time, the Allied Forces of the Six Nations appeared the scene where the upper and lower sides wanted to fight together.In particular, more than 20 generals from Zhao, Wei and Han went to the central army's tent five times in ten days to ask for a battle. They wanted to attack Hangu Pass immediately and destroy the imperial food!

Not to mention the stunned people of Luoyang who had never seen such a battle before, even the people of Wei and South Korea, who were accustomed to the battle of the army, were also surprised.Just as the autumn harvest was just over, farmers living in the countryside gathered in groups on the hills and hills to watch the army's drills and were amazed by the sun.The merchants in the three major cities of Daliang, Xinzheng, and Luoyang were even more excited, and immediately dispatched ox cart teams to transport all kinds of things needed by the soldiers to the barracks and sell them at low prices. One made a profit, and the other lost. A good name for selling labor.The morale of the coalition forces was high, and the generals were overjoyed by the merchants' labor bazaars, so they naturally lenient the control of the military camps, and licensed the soldiers to go out and trade in the camps.The generals and soldiers were the happiest. They not only bought back the silk scarves and jade pendants that they wanted to give to their beloved women on the day of the triumphant class at a low price, but also sold the looted items that were difficult to sell at a high price. The merchants were full of smiles, The soldiers shouted and shouted again and again, which made everyone extremely happy.The sound of passionate killing filled the barracks in the wilderness, which merged with the laughter and laughter of this big trading city to form a unique military barracks landscape.

People say that this is an ancient war, and that Tyranny is doomed this time. Since the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, who has seen such a forceful use of troops?The armies of Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties were at war, and it was difficult for ordinary people to find a place to watch the excitement.Because the combined armies of both sides did not exceed two hundred thousand at most, but any fortress pass or the outskirts of the capital city was a battlefield for both sides.King Wu of Zhou's Muye War to destroy Shang was the largest military battle in the three generations. The Zhou army had 300 chariots, 3,000 tigers and 45,000 infantry, and the army of Yin and Zhou was only 170,000. It was only in the early 200,000s.Entering the Spring and Autumn War, the biggest battle of Chengpu, the Jin army only had more than 1,000 vehicles and 50,000 to 60,000 people, and the Chu army only had more than 2,000 vehicles and 100,000 people.Entering the Warring States Period, the biggest use of troops was the coalition attack on Qin after the first alliance between Su and Qin. At that time, there were more than 400,000 troops, which had reached a level that people had never heard of.Now, this endless barracks stretching hundreds of miles away is even more imposing than last time. People rushed to tell each other in fear and excitement: "The armies of the six countries are at least one million, and the destruction of Qin is a certainty!" This kind of tone followed the exclamation of farmers, the flow of tongues from business travelers running around the world, and the scouting of fast horses. The Meteor Express penetrated into the palaces, cities, and rural villages, causing the world to be shocked for a while.