Once the plan is in place, the next step is to attack.

The next day, the feast before the departure of the army, rewarding the army, eating good wine and food, let the soldiers relax and relax.

On the second day, the army set out from the three Xiongguan passes, divided into eight routes, and entered the Qin capital.

Xiao Rui drove the expedition in person and followed Han Xin to the middle road. That is, from the Atrium Pass directly to the Qin capital, passing through six counties, the distance is nearly 1,500 miles, which is the closest distance. Like Chen Qingzhi and Yue Fei, they need to attack from a farther place, and they need to make a detour first, and the distance is even farther. However, they marched a bit faster, so they took about the same amount of time regardless of the battle.

On this expedition, Gongsun Ye also accompanied him, relying on his eagle falcon to deliver news, in order to grasp the situation of the other Seven Route armies as soon as possible.

Xiao Rui drove the expedition in person, naturally he didn't need to lead the troops to kill the enemy, he sat in the rear, Han Xin led the troops in the front, and he could tell Xiao Rui when he encountered the war, and Han Xinquan was also responsible for how to fight the enemy.

This time to kill the Qin capital, Xiao Rui's middle lane army needs to pass through six counties, from east to west are Shanxi County, Balcony County, Shannan County, Fenglin County, Heishui County, and Xianyang County.

Now out of the Zhongting Pass, it is the Shanxi County of the Qin State, but in the past, the Zhongting Pass was controlled by the Yan State, and the soldiers of the Yan State often went out of the customs and entered the territory of the Qin State to spread joy when they were fine, so there were no Qin people living in the territory of the hundred miles outside the pass, and they were afraid of being murdered by the soldiers of the Yan State.

Therefore, in the first three days, the army did not encounter any enemy in its march and slowly began to penetrate deep into Shanxi County.

Before leaving, it had been discussed, in order to deal with the soldiers and horses of Great Xia, the Qin State set up three lines of defense, and for the army in the middle of the road, these three lines of defense were set up in Shanxi County, Balcony County, and Fenglin County.

However, from a conventional point of view, the middle route army is Xiao Rui's personal expedition, with a strength of 400,000, which is of great significance, so the strength of the Qin State to block the middle route army is not a few, and each of these three lines of defense will not be less than 300,000 troops.

Although it is impossible to find out the specific strength of the Qin State, the commander of the Qin State who faced the army in the middle can investigate it.

The commander of the first line of defense is named Liu Shuai, although he is not the Bai family and the Meng family, but he is the son-in-law of the Bai family and Bai Meng's uncle, but this person does not rely on the Bai family to ascend to the throne, he does have the ability, he is a veteran who leads the troops well and governs the army strictly. Meng Tian let him garrison Shanxi County, becoming the first barrier against the army in the middle of the road, and he saw his skills and his means.

The commander of the second line of defense is named Zhang Chao, who has nothing to do with the Bai family and the Meng family, and he has risen little by little by relying on military merits and has outstanding ability, so he should not be underestimated.

As for the commander of the third line of defense, it is none other than Meng Tian himself.

As for the generals of the Qin State who blocked the other seven-way soldiers and horses, they were all good generals of the Qin State, and this time in order to deal with the soldiers and horses of Great Xia, the Qin State took out the strength of the family.

On the fifth day of the march, the army on the middle road encountered a city in Shanxi County, called Miaoshan Mansion, which blocked the way, and naturally wanted to take it, and this city was smaller, with a population of less than 100,000, how could it be the opponent of the 400,000 army, and now the army was pressing, and there was no attack at all, so it took here.

In fact, as early as after the news spread that Great Xia was going to attack the Qin State, the people in the eastern counties of the Qin State fled as they could, and those who could not flee guarded their homes.

The Qin State also did not have troops to garrison in the provinces, so it had to abandon and concentrate its forces to protect important positions.

For example, Liu Shuai sat in the first line of defense in Shanxi County, and he relied on the county seat of Shanxi County, and formed a defense line with the two prefectures next to the county town, becoming a roadblock for the army in the middle road.

If Xiao Rui's soldiers and horses want to continue to advance westward, they must annihilate the other party.

Therefore, taking Miaoshan City is not a victory, this is the city that Qin State has abandoned. As for the abandoned people in the city, Xiao Rui did not embarrass them, but only arrested and executed the main officials in the city, even if they swore to take refuge in Great Xia, they would not show mercy. Without officials, the people would not take the initiative to make trouble, which would also ensure stability in the rear.

The army then continued its march and took two more cities on the way, with little effort, as there were no troops to defend it. And the strategy after taking it is the same, to appease the Qin people, kill the officials, there is pacification and deterrence, as long as the people are not stupid, they will basically be honest.

After these two prefectures, there are still more than 100 miles left from the county seat of Shanxi County, and the next thing is the real beginning of the war.

At this time, Shanxi County guarded, and the veteran Liu Shuai led an army of 300,000 and had been waiting here for a long time. In the two prefectures next to it, there are also 50,000 troops each, a total of 400,000 troops, to face the Xia Kingdom!

Liu Shuai didn't know the situation of the other defense lines, and he didn't care, because he understood that even if the other defense lines fought fiercely, they didn't have the key here, because he was facing the emperor of the Xia Kingdom. The emperor of the enemy country will drive the expedition in person, and the opponent's soldiers and horses will inevitably be brave and good at fighting, and relying on the city to block the other party will be a tragic battle.

If he can stop the other party and repel the other party, it will definitely boost the morale of the Qin State and boost the floating people's hearts. If you can kill the Emperor of the Xia Kingdom, then

Liu Shuai didn't dare to fantasize about it.

But if you fail, it's really worse.

"Are the scouts back? Where did Xia Jun go? Liu Shuai asked anxiously.

According to the distance, after the other party took the vine city, the army should be in the city today, why is it so late now, could it be that the other party's 400,000 army has encountered trouble?

It's impossible, Fujijo has a smooth way to the county town, and it's time to come. The delay in the future makes the hearts of the soldiers under him never let go, and the longer it drags on, the easier it is for uneasy feelings to breed.

Soon the scout came to report: "Returning to the general, the soldiers and horses of the Xia Kingdom are fifty miles away, and the marching speed of the opponent's soldiers and horses is slow, as if the emperor of the Xia Kingdom is on a tour!" ”

According to the usual practice, the emperor drove the expedition in person, and the troops in front of the county had arrived in front of the county early.

Liu Shuai frowned suddenly, and couldn't help but scold: "What the hell is the Emperor of Xia Guo!" It's really their home when the Qin State is their home! ”

"That's it, it's that we've waited so long in the cold wind!" The lieutenants beside him also cursed.

"That's right! On such a cold day, isn't it cold for the Emperor of Xia? Chill it colder, it's better to freeze them to death! If you dare to offend our Qin State, you will freeze to death. A young lieutenant cursed.

Liu Shuai's face changed, he looked at the deputy general beside him, Rong Jia was wearing thick clothes, and if it was colder, they would have fur to keep warm. But what about the soldiers under their own command? Their clothes are too thin.

If the weather was colder, would it be the soldiers of the Xia State who froze to death first, or the soldiers of the Qin State?

When Liu Shuai came here, Meng Tian told him that the soldiers of the Xia Kingdom were wearing cotton clothes made of cotton. At that time, Liu Shuai didn't think so, but when Meng Tian handed over the cotton clothes made of cotton to Liu Shuai, Liu Shuai was shocked.

At this moment, Liu Shuai knew the reason why the soldiers and horses of the Xia State were moving slowly, they were waiting for the cold weather, and the weather was cold, although it would restrict the movement of the soldiers of the Xia State and it would not be easy to attack the city, but it would be a disaster for the soldiers of the Qin State.

Fortunately, the soldiers of the Xia State are not cold, they can hold the swords and guns, the soldiers of the Qin State are shivering from the cold, if they can't even hold the swords and guns steadily, wouldn't it be slaughtered by others?

Liu Shuai felt frightened, but he didn't dare to say these words, not even the deputy general beside him. If it is said and let the soldiers know, the morale of the army will be even more discouraged.

During this time, rumors have been spreading, and rumors can no longer be allowed to affect the morale of the army and the people.

Now Liu Shuai, I can't wait for Xia Guo to attack quickly, he is not afraid of fighting to the death, what he is afraid of is to be sent to death with grievances.

"It seems that the other road armies of the Xia Kingdom are also this conspiracy!" Liu Shuai sighed and secretly thought about it.

That's right, Liu Shuai guessed right.

The other seven-way soldiers and horses in Great Xia did not march fast, and the fastest were Chen Qingzhi and Yue Fei's soldiers and horses.

Chen Qingzhi and Gan Ning left the pass from the south, each leading 150,000 troops, from Jiuquan County, south of Shanxi County, to the west, and attacked the Qin capital in a roundabout way, while Qi Jiguang and Yue Fei went out of the pass from the Beishu Pass, and also led 150,000 troops each, and attacked the Qin capital from Zichuan County north of Shanxi County.

Needless to say, Xiao Rui's middle route army, Li Cunxiao, Yang Youji and Dian Wei also led 150,000 troops each, and they went out of the middle court pass, they took the two wings of the middle route army, not going straight, and the route was also curved.

Therefore, the marching speed of the Seven Route Army is fast or slow, but if you draw a meridian line from north to south, their positions are basically on this meridian, but they are at different latitudes.

Although there are pros and cons to dividing the troops into eight routes, the disadvantage is naturally that the forces are too scattered and easy to be contained by the Qin State. But the benefits are also obvious, because once you win, it will bloom everywhere, and you can get the Qin State as quickly as possible.

Obviously, whether it is Xiao Rui or Han Xin, or Zhang Liang and Xiao He, they are full of confidence in the Great Xia soldiers and are not afraid of being contained, thinking that the Qin State no longer has the ability to contain and block Great Xia.

At this time, when there were still sixty or seventy miles away from Shanxi County, the Eagle Falcon sent the situation of the other seven roads over, and what Xiao Rui didn't expect was that it was not their middle road army that fought with the soldiers and horses of the Qin State first, but Li Cunxiao's soldiers and horses.

Li Cunxiao's 150,000 soldiers and horses traveled through the area bordering Shanxi and Jiuquan counties, and after taking two innocuous prefectures, they continued their march and encountered the Qin army.

This Qin army had 130,000 regular Qin troops and 70,000 forcibly conscripted civilians, so there were 200,000 troops, and they set up a pocket formation between the two mountains. Once Li Cunxiao's soldiers and horses pass through the two mountains, they may be outflanked and in a predicament.

The general at the head is named Bai Lin, naturally a disciple of the Bai family, and he is full of confidence that he can annihilate this enemy army in Great Xia.

It's just that he was so happy and proud that he ignored that since the army was divided into eight roads in Great Xia, Li Cunxiao chose this road, would he not know that there were two mountains here, and it was a good place to ambush?

Knowingly doing partiality, in addition to arrogance, there is another possibility, that is, it is expected.