After returning to the palace of the capital, Zhao Xie took Li Zuoche to the study, and both of them looked solemn.

In the letter passed by Xu Chong, it was written that Xiang Yu ordered the army to march north the day before yesterday, which was the news from the territory of Chu State.

In the study, Zhao Xie walked back and forth.

Li Zuodao: "King, the rumors spread in the Chu army are very likely to be done by Liu Bang, it was Zhang Liang or Chen Ping who offered advice to Liu Bang, they succeeded, and greatly reduced Liu Bang's positive pressure, let Xiang Yu fight with us, and reap the benefits of the fisherman." ”

Zhao Xie felt that Chen Ping was good at intrigue and trickery, and he was originally under Xiang Yu's tent and knew some of the generals of the Zhao army. In history, Fan Zeng was divided, and it was the rumors spread by Chen Ping who bought the generals of the Chu army, and this time the rumors in Xiang Yu's army were eighty percent likely to be Chen Ping's ghost.

He sighed: "Xiang Yu is coming, unexpectedly, the original plan is going to be adjusted. ”

In the stage of the struggle for hegemony between Chu and Han, who Zhao fell into plays a key role in the victory or defeat, and Xiang Yu and Liu Bang can seize Zhao State and will be able to take the initiative. But if one side takes the initiative to attack Zhao State first, and does not take it quickly, it will not consume strength after a long battle, and in turn it will cheapen the other side.

In the historical Battle of Jingcheng, Han Xin created a miracle and quickly eliminated the main force of the Zhao army led by Chen Yu, which was faster than Xiang Yu expected, and captured the Zhao State before he had time to send troops.

Li Zuodao: "The soldiers will block the water and cover the earth, and the ministers are willing to lead the troops to fight." In addition, Qi has a deep hatred with Xiang Yu, and if Zhao is lost, it will be difficult for Qi to preserve. You can send someone to envoy Qi and ask him to send troops from the east to flank the Chu army. ”

Zhao Xie asked: "Li Aiqing, the Chu army is strong, and Xiang Yu personally leads an army of 100,000, what are your chances of winning?" ”

This is his primary concern.

Li Zuoche said with a firm expression: "Our army still needs to send troops to stay in various places to guard against Han Xin's surprise attack. You can let Jing Cheng send 10,000 soldiers over, plus 20,000 soldiers and horses, and then lead 40,000 soldiers and horses in the capital to the south. 70,000 against 100,000, although the troops are slightly inferior, as long as the command is appropriate, there is at least a fifty or sixty percent chance of victory. ”

The all-out victory was only fifty percent, and Zhao Xie suddenly felt a lot of pressure.

Although Xiang Yu is not good at politics and strategy, his military ability is quite good. Liu Bang was strategically far-sighted because of Xiao He, who was good at internal affairs, Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, who were good at strategy, and Han Xin, who was good at strategy, and only after a period of time did he have a strong advantage and a favorable strategic situation before he had a final decisive battle with Xiang Yu.

If Han Xin and Xiang Yu each led 100,000 troops to fight a decisive battle, Han Xin might not be able to defeat Xiang Yu, and the two belonged to different types of military talents. In modern times, some people divide the generals into the brave fighting faction and the fighting faction, Xiang Yu and Han Xin, each of whom is one of the most representative figures of the brave fighting faction and the fighting faction.

Xiang Yu is good at frontal combat, fighting in front of the battle, and being brave; Han Xin is good at training troops and rich in military strategy, if his strength is inferior and the chance of victory is not large, he will avoid a decisive battle first, and can expand his strength from the general trend of the world, create a military situation favorable to himself, and then fight a decisive battle with his opponent.

Since Xiang Yu is coming, he can only fight with all his might.

Zhao Xie immediately sent someone to send an order, asking Du Zhen, who was stationed in Jingcheng, to quickly dispatch 10,000 soldiers to come.

The Ministry of Military Affairs is responsible for military management, and does not have the power to issue military orders or command troops in combat, and the power of management and command of troops cannot be gathered in one person. After Li Zuoche set out on the expedition, Zhao Xie was temporarily in charge of the military department.

Afterwards, the two looked at the map, pondered, and talked, exchanging their views on how to face Zhao Jun.

To the south of Xiangguo is Handan, a distance of about 60 kilometers. A few dozen kilometers further south of Handan is the border, and on the border line, there is the Great Wall of Zhao.

During the Spring and Autumn Period of the Zhao Kingdom, many vassal states built the Great Wall in order to defend against foreign enemies. During the Zhao period, there were two Great Walls.

The first is the Great Wall of Yunzhong, Yanmen, and Daijun built by King Wuling of Zhao to prevent northern nomads.

The second was located south of Handan, and was called the "Zhangfu Great Wall" at that time to protect against the Wei state. The Great Wall is located on the north bank of Zhangshui, west of the Taihang Mountains, with a total length of more than 400 miles, currently garrisoned by soldiers led by Xu Chong, always guarding against the Chu army.

As long as the city wall is guarded, the Chu army should not break through, and the weak link is the southeast. The Great Wall did not cover the entire southern border of Zhao.

At the eastern end of the Great Wall, the Zhangshui River flows northward, and the Chu army may avoid the Great Wall, detour to the southeast, and cross the Zhangshui River directly into the Zhao State.

Li Zuoche will send cavalry to patrol day and night, strengthen precautions, and receive all the boats of the Zhangshui River to the north bank, but the Zhangshui River is not as wide as the Yellow River, and the winter belongs to the dry period, and the time required to cross the river will not be too long, and it is very difficult to prevent it, so Li Zuoche can only do his best.

Among the countermeasures studied by the two men, including how to prevent the Chu army from crossing the river, how to meet the Chu army after crossing the river, and various other possible scenarios. Overall, the situation is not very rosy.

"The minister went out this time, swore to fight Xiang Yu to the end, if he couldn't defeat Xiang Yu, the minister would repay my king with death!"

Li Zuoche made an oath, which not only has an indomitable heroism, but also implies tragedy.

Zhao Xie patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly: "Li Aiqing, the widow doesn't want you to repay the country with death, what I want is victory!" The widow is waiting for your triumphant return in Xiangguo. ”

Come to this era, join the ranks of the battle for supremacy, there is only one winner in the end, and you must go all out, either succeed or die.

At noon, the two hurriedly eaten, and then came to the west of Xiangguo City, Zhao Xie wanted to point troops after the competition, notify the whole army of the Chu army's attack, and announce the expedition.

In the morning, the Zhao army competed for the top ten infantry soldiers and crossbowmen, and in the afternoon there was a cavalry competition.

——————

The Great Wall of Zhangfu, more than 400 miles from east to west, is guarded by 20,000 Zhao soldiers.

The Great Wall here is similar to the Great Wall in the north, with strong and continuous long walls, and beacon towers at intervals.

The biggest difference is that the mountain on which the Great Wall was built is not as steep as the Great Wall in the north, and the walls of the Great Wall are slightly lower. Still, good fortifications.

To the north of the middle of the Great Wall, there is a Zhao military camp, and Xu Chong, who commanded the defenders of the Great Wall, lived here. Of the 20,000 soldiers of the Zhao army, more than 10,000 were distributed throughout the Great Wall, and thousands of others were stationed in the camp as a mobile force.

Two days ago, the people from the military department came here in person and distributed the money to every general.

In the past, it was first issued to the general, and then it was issued by the general. Since the reform, the salary has been issued directly by the Ministry of War, and no longer handles other officers.

Soon after, when they heard that the Chu army was coming, the soldiers were not afraid, and the defenders were highly motivated and wanted to defend the motherland to the death.

"Report ......"

The fast horse entered the camp, and the soldiers came to Xu Chong.

"Report to General Xu, the Chu army has been mobilized!"

Xu Chong didn't dare to make a mistake, so he immediately wrote another letter and sent someone to rush to Xiangguo, more than 200 miles away, to report the military situation to King Zhao.

He again summoned all the lieutenants and commanders under his jurisdiction to announce the latest situation and make everyone ready for battle.