Chapter 204 The human heart is sinister
When people in later generations talk about the Great Wall in the pre-Qin period, they mostly think of the northern Great Wall that stretches for thousands of miles to defend against nomadic peoples. But in fact, in this era, there were not only the northern Great Walls of Qin, Zhao and Yan, but also the internal Great Walls of Zhao, Chu, Qi and Yan.

Take the State of Yan as an example. In addition to building the Great Wall on the northern border, in order to defend against the State of Zhao and protect the Yan capital Wuyang, the State of Yan also built a Great Wall on the southern border, which was the border with the State of Zhao. This Great Wall started in the southwest of Yi County, HEB Province, and went southeast. Taking advantage of the power of the Yishui River, they formed a defense system of more than 500 miles long to resist the attack of the State of Zhao.

For the State of Yan, the defense of the Southern Great Wall is more important than that of the Northern Great Wall. After all, the Northern Great Wall is for defending against the wolf tribe, while the Southern Great Wall is for defending against the State of Zhao. In this era, although the wolf tribe is fierce, they are not as fierce as the Seven Kingdoms. Any of the Seven Kingdoms in the world is enough to defeat the wolf tribe. The same is true for the State of Yan. Otherwise, there would not have been the feat of Qin to expand the Liaodong territory by thousands of miles.

But it was different for Zhao. Although Yan could defeat the wolf tribe in Liaodong, Zhao could defeat Yan in the same way Yan defeated the wolf tribe. When Yan's army of hundreds of thousands attacked Zhao, which was extremely weak after the Battle of Changping, they were defeated by the Zhao army, which consisted of only the old, weak and sick. Since then, the strong army that Yan had worked so hard to build during the reign of King Zhao had completely collapsed.

Moreover, the economic center of Yan State was also south of Yanshan Mountain. The population and money and grain were all in this area north of Yishui River and south of Yanshan Mountain. There were granaries like Dukang and the peak of Yan State's technology like Wudu. There were too many things that Yan State could not discard.

Due to various factors, the result is that the State of Yan has reinforced the Southern Great Wall a lot over the years. Correspondingly, the defenders of the Southern Great Wall have also become much lax over the years.

On an ordinary morning, the defenders of the Southern Great Wall woke up from their sleep as usual, and then, to the sound of drums, they slowly gathered towards the parade ground.

At this moment, amid the drumbeats of the Yan army, a horn sounded. It was the horn of attack, not the horn of the Yan army.

What happened? After a moment of confusion, the Yan army realized that it was an enemy attack.

And who else could have attacked from the south except the Zhao army?

In the spring of that year, 100,000 Zhao troops launched an attack on the southern Great Wall of Yan State.

Handan, the palace of King Zhao.

"Good, good. You are worthy of being my old general. You broke the Great Wall of Yan in one battle and then fought in Liyang. As long as we capture this city, Wudu will be within our grasp. Then, the most elite part of Yan will belong to us. We can even take Jicheng in one go and drive Yan to Liaodong. At that time, with the manpower and material resources of Yan, the strength of our Zhao will be further enhanced. We will no longer be afraid of Qin when competing on the battlefield." King Yan of Zhao laughed. He was in a good mood at this moment.

In the past two years, King Yan of Zhao felt that he was in the luckiest moment of his life. First, the emergence of Yang Chong gave him the possibility of splitting Qi. Later, the envoys of Qin came to Handan, and he exchanged five cities for the promise of Qin. Then there was the war against Yan this year. The Southern Great Wall of Yan was broken in one battle, and the Zhao army immediately crossed the Yishui River. As long as Liyang was captured, Wudu, the most important lower capital of Yan besides Jicheng, would be in the hands of Zhao.

At that time, he could combine the strength of Yan State and use it for the benefit of Zhao State. If Yang Chong could give more help, he could also cut a large piece of fat from Qi State and make Qi a vassal of Zhao State. At that time, Zhao State would have Zhao State's elite troops and the strength of Qi and Yan. He, King Yan of Zhao, would unify the north of the Yellow River, combine the strength of the three countries, and would no longer be afraid of Qin State.

Thinking of the beauty of it, King Zhao Yan could no longer suppress the smile.

In just five years, in just five years, I will be able to recapture Taiyuan and will no longer fear the Qin State. The great cause that the previous kings of Zhao State could not accomplish will be realized in my hands. King Yan of Zhao was already very excited at this time.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Such a great victory on the front line is all thanks to your strategic planning!" Guo Kai, the prime minister, echoed.

“My planning is very important, but the fighting of the soldiers on the front line is the most important. Of course, if we can capture the land south of Yanshan Mountain from Yan State, you will also have made a great contribution. If it were not for you, Prime Minister, who played a role in eliminating the threat from Qin to our Zhao rear, how could I have devoted all my strength to attack Yan State?” King Yan of Zhao seemed to know how to be humble, but in his humility, not only did he not sound humble, but instead, one could feel his pride and complacency.

"I dare not take credit for it." Guo Kai hurriedly said with a smile. He didn't care whether it was a credit or not. He was already the prime minister. Could he go one step further? He only cared about money, and money could be accumulated infinitely.

Thinking of the reward promised by the Qin envoy and the further cooperation with Qin in the future, Guo Kai could not help but smile.

As the king and his ministers celebrated, the Zhao army, led by Pang Nuan, continued to attack Liyang City. Victory seemed to be in sight, while the Yan state was trembling in fear.

Xianyang.

"King Zheng of Qin is treacherous. Qin must have reached some deal with King Zhao. Otherwise, King Yan of Zhao would not dare to use military force against Yan on such a large scale." Yan Dan, who received the news in the hostage palace, cursed angrily.

He has been in Qin for some time. Why would he, as the crown prince of a country, travel thousands of miles to Qin and live as a hostage? Isn't it just to maintain the relationship between Yan and Qin?
Being a neighbor of Zhao, Yan State felt a lot of pressure. Although Zhao State had been repeatedly defeated by Qin State in the past twenty years, in fact, Zhao State was very powerful. Among the seven countries today, only Qin State could bully Zhao State. In the eyes of Yan State, there was actually no difference between Zhao State and Qin State in the eyes of Zhao State.

Therefore, in order to fight against Zhao State, Yan State has been very close to Qin State for many years, and Yan State's geographical location is also very consistent with Qin State's diplomatic strategy of making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones for many years.

This also determined that the relationship between Yan and Qin had been good for so many years. Otherwise, he would not have become friends with Ying Zheng when he was a child in Handan.

But now, Qin was condoning Zhao's attack on Yan while he was still a hostage in Xianyang.

"No, I can't just sit there and wait for death. I want to meet King Zheng of Qin and ask him why he betrayed the State of Yan." Yan Dan suppressed his anger and made a quick choice.

As a childhood friend of King Zheng of Qin, Yan Dan still had some privileges in Xianyang, so after leaving the hostage house, he went directly to the Xianyang Palace, and soon met King Zheng of Qin in the Xianyang Palace.

"We were also surprised that the Zhao army attacked the Yan State, but don't worry, Prince. The Yan State is our Qin State's ally, and our Qin State will never sit idly by and watch the Zhao army wreak havoc on the land of the Yan State." Facing Yan Dan's questioning, Xiong Qi, the Lord of Changping who recently replaced Lu Buwei as the Prime Minister of Qin, took the initiative to explain to Yan Dan on behalf of Qin Wang Zheng. "Did Zhao Wang Yan dare to do this? Didn't he really get some promise from Qin?" Facing Xiong Qi's explanation, Yan Dan was also a little hesitant. Could it be that he guessed wrong?

Thinking so, Yan Dan looked towards Qin Shi Huangdi who was in power. Unfortunately, Qin Shi Huangdi's crown blocked his face, so he couldn't see Qin Shi Huangdi's expression at the moment.

"King Yan of Zhao has received my promise." King Zheng of Qin looked down at his childhood friend, but he was too lazy to even hide his feelings.

"Your Majesty, why are you doing this? Isn't Yan an ally of Qin?" Yan Dan's face froze. Only then did he realize that he had made a complete mistake by coming to the Xianyang Palace.

What could he do by coming to Xianyang Palace at this time? Apart from tearing off the last layer of fig leaf, what else could it accomplish?
Just like now, Qin Wangzheng has admitted it, but what can he do? He can question Changping Jun, but if he is asked to confront Qin Wangzheng directly... he can't stand it.

"So Yan should help Qin to conquer Zhao." said King Zheng of Qin.

Suddenly, Yan Dan understood that all this was planned by King Zheng of Qin behind the scenes.

He didn't know what King Zheng of Qin had done to allow that idiot King Yan of Zhao to ignore the threat from Qin and attack the State of Yan, but he knew that Zhao was in danger this time.

If Qin attacked Zhao at this time, the elite Zhao troops trapped in Yan would have no time to return to support, and Zhao would then only face a great defeat, or even a disastrous defeat.

This plan was very clever and it really screwed the State of Zhao. Yan Dan had to admit that King Zheng of Qin's plan was very powerful, but in this plan, what did King Zheng of Qin regard the State of Yan as?
Faced with Qin Shi Huang's frankness, Yan Dan not only did not feel Qin Shi Huang's honesty towards him, but instead felt that Qin Shi Huang was indifferent to him and the State of Yan.

The explanation given by King Zheng of Qin just now was telling him bluntly: Even if I have schemed against the State of Yan, so what?
Yan Dan was also a proud man, and his pride was even greater than his ability. Such people are often sensitive, so he was angry, but he was also a person who was good at forbearance. He knew that although Qin would definitely send troops to deal with Zhao, the timing of Qin's troops' dispatch was very uncertain. If Qin sent troops one day later, Yan would have to endure one more day of attack from Zhao.

If Yan wanted to suffer less losses, the only way was to ask Qin to send troops as soon as possible.

Therefore, although Yan Dan was frustrated, he had to lower his head and affirm that King Zheng of Qin would send troops as soon as possible.

Rao An.

"The Qin army is finally going to take action, great!" In the county magistrate's mansion of Raoan City, Yang Chong, who had always focused his attention on Qin, got the intelligence about Qin for the first time.

The information of this battle had already emerged in Yang Chong's mind: Generals Wang Jian, Huan Xi, and Yang Duanhe attacked Zhao, Wang Jian attacked Yanyu and Qiyang, and Huan Xi took Ye and Anyang.

"Is the opportunity you've been waiting for finally coming?" Seeing that Yang Chong, who had been at ease for a long time, was regaining his spirits, Zi Nu was sincerely happy for Yang Chong. They gave up everything in Han and came from Zhao State. They gave money and were humble, and worked hard for more than a year. Wasn't it just for the present?
Fortunately, everything went as Yang Chong expected. All the efforts over the past year have not been in vain, and they are finally heading to the real battlefield.

"Here they come. This time, not to mention that the main force of the Zhao army is not in Handan, even if it is in Handan, they will not be able to withstand Wang Jian, Huan Xi and Yang Duanhe." Yang Chong said.

The lineup of the Qin army this time was very powerful. Wang Jian was a great general, needless to say, and Huan Qi was also a rare general. In the original historical weirdness, if he had not met Li Mu, his fame would have been even greater. After all, since Meng Ao, for a long time, the title of Qin's first general did not belong to Wang Jian, but to him.

Combining his past memories with the intelligence he had gathered now, Yang Chong knew that Wang Jian and Huan Xi were now almost on the same level. As the older generation of Qin generals such as Meng Ao grew older, they had become the leading figures in the Qin army.

Moreover, it can be seen from the arrangements made by King Zheng of Qin that in his heart he was actually closer to Huan Ji. In this war, King Zheng of Qin arranged Wang Jian in the direction of Yanyu, but arranged Huan Ji in the direction of Yecheng. Although the two men led the same troops and had the same military positions, there was a huge difference between them.

The place of Yanyu is located in a mountainous area, easy to defend but difficult to attack. In the past, the Qin army was defeated by the Zhao army here and suffered heavy casualties. It was also because of this war that Zhao She became famous and became a famous general. But as the saying goes, everything goes around in circles. In the future, Zhao She's son Zhao Kuo was defeated by the Qin army in Changping, which almost led to the demise of the Zhao State.

Yanyu is a very magical place. It can be said that without Yanyu, Zhao She might not have been able to rise to power. And if Zhao She had not risen to power, Zhao Kuo probably would not have become a staff general who was only good at talking about military affairs on paper.

Of course, none of this matters now. What matters is that it is not easy to make achievements in a place like Yanyu, but it is different in Yecheng and Anyang. The nine cities in Ye are located to the north of the river and to the south of the Zhang River. They are located on a plain and are easy to attack but difficult to defend. Moreover, Anyang once belonged to Qi State, and Yecheng was ceded to Qin State by Wei State not long ago. Zhao State's rule over these places is not stable. When the Qin army attacks at this time, there are even more variables.

In Yang Chong's guess, Wang Jian and Huan Hei were both generals in this war, but in the next few years, Huan Hei became the general of Qin and led Qin to fight against the Zhao army. He was invincible along the way and became famous for a while. Until he met Li Mu, he used his years of accumulation to become Li Mu's Wu'an Jun. It was also during that time that Wang Jian came to power and Huan Hei retreated to the second line.

"It is precisely because of this that you will have more room to display your abilities." Zi Nu said. She could feel Yang Chong's eagerness to try.

"That's right, but this time I may have to help that old guy Wang Jian. I don't know whether his early promotion is a good thing or a bad thing." Yang Chong murmured.

A person like Wang Jian, working together with the Qin army, is simply an unstoppable existence. It may not be difficult to remain undefeated, but even Li Mu cannot win the battle.

(End of this chapter)