At that time, Zhao Guojiu could not be attacked, and he also lost his troops and generals, and the news reached Handan, and King Zhao was very angry, and he issued an order to remove the generals from their posts and investigate them. and sent the famous general Zhao Hao to go, requiring Zhao Hao to conquer Maiqiu within a month, otherwise the military law will be engaged!

This order made Zhao Hao feel a great responsibility, not only wanting to make great achievements through the conquest, but also fearing that King Zhao would turn his face ruthlessly and use military law to deal with himself.

So he immediately gave the order to intensify the attack, but at this time, a man stepped forward to stop him. Tell him that such a rash attack would only increase casualties and that he should do it in a different way.

This person was none other than Zhao Hao's son Zhao Kuo, who told Zhao Hao that it was impossible to capture Maiqiu within a month by storming, and the art of war was cloudy......

[The upper one scheming, the middle one slashing the handover, the lower one slashing the soldiers, and the lower one slashing the city. 】

The general outline is to remind the military users that the best way to conquer the enemy is to use strategy and diplomacy. Attacking the city is the best policy, especially the city, because under the primitive conditions like in ancient times, the defending side will have a great advantage by relying on the deep pool of the fortified city.

Because of the brutal siege warfare in ancient times, there were often heavy casualties. The besieging side usually has to gather more troops than the defending side, and the number of casualties is much higher than that of the defending side, so the siege battle is not a good deal for the attacking side.

The essence of Zhao Kuo's proposal is selected from Sun Tzu's Art of War: "The method of using soldiers, the whole country is the first, and the country is second. The whole army is the first, and the broken army is second; The whole brigade is the first, and the broken brigade is second. The whole pawn is the first, the broken pawn is second, the whole army is the first, and the broken army is second. Therefore, a hundred battles are won, the good is not good, and the soldiers who surrender without a fight. Therefore, the good and the good also went up to the army to plot, then to attack the enemy, then to attack the army, and then to attack the city. The method of siege is a last resort."

Therefore, attacking is a reluctant choice made out of necessity, not a first choice.

Zhao Kuo believes that if you want to capture Maiqiu in a short time, you can only outwit it, not attack it.

He also suggested that the offensive should be suspended, and the idea should be found out first to find out the reality in McHill City, and then formulate specific countermeasures.

Because Zhao Kuo judged that there were already signs of food shortage in the city based on his observations on the battlefield: he observed the defenders of Qi on the battlefield, and some soldiers at the head of the city had yellow faces and thin muscles, and when they pulled their bows and arrows and pushed the rolling wood and stones, they all had physical exhaustion and slow movements.

Zhao Kuo talked about the principles of the art of war, Zhao Hao naturally knows, and any general who is familiar with the art of war will understand it. And Zhao Kuo's signs of lack of food in the city, Zhao Hao could not be accurately proven, so Zhao Hao ostensibly agreed with his son's words, but in terms of implementation strategy, he still followed his own set and ordered a strong attack.

As a result, the Zhao army launched another wave of attacks, and the Qi army in the city resisted desperately, and the corpses of the Zhao army were almost piled up under the city. The fortifications reinforced by the Qi army have been destroyed, and the fierce battle has destroyed half of the city walls.

However, after many battles, the Qi army was already familiar with the siege routines of the Zhao State, and each attack was successfully defended by the defenders. In addition to throwing nearly 10,000 corpses under the city, Zhao Guo still couldn't take Maiqiu.

In the face of heavy losses, Zhao Kuo couldn't help but persuade Zhao Hao again: said that the defenders in this city have disciples of the Mo family, they are defenders who are proficient in defense, and after these battles, they have long been familiar with the siege methods of the Zhao army, and the strategy of responding to the enemy can be described as a move to suppress, and it will be useless to fight again.

The king has changed generals, just hoping that his father can win by surprise, otherwise we are no different from the previous unchanged commanders.

Zhao Hao also sighed at this time, what Zhao Kuo said did make sense. In this way, it is impossible to conquer McChu with less than a month left.

Zhao Kuo, as the son of Zhao Hao, went out with his father to fight on the battlefield, in the eyes of the time, his father was strong, and his son was mostly a genius. Therefore, Zhao Kuo's status in the army is higher than that of ordinary generals, and his exhortation is much more effective.

When the soldiers of Zhao Jun heard this, they also admired Zhao Kuo very much, not only admiring him for daring to speak out and admonish, but also for his unique vision. If this battle can be won according to Zhao Kuo's plan, not only will Zhao Hao become famous, but Zhao Kuo will also become famous in one battle.

Zhao Kuo immediately began reverse osmosis, also trying to buy people's hearts......

After all, at this stage of the war, the defenders of Qi seemed to have figured out the monotonous tactics of Zhao and knew Zhao

The army could not capture the city, and even rebelled, taking advantage of the night to go out of the city to attack the Zhao army.

The disciples of the Mo family also organized manpower to constantly harass the Zhao army outside the city, so that they could not concentrate on fighting while they were tired, and even wanted to sneak attack the Zhao army's grain route.

So Zhao Kuo also targeted spies outside the city, planning to infiltrate Wheat Hill City. Sure enough, not long after, the small force of Qi that was harassing and fighting outside the city was defeated, and the Zhao army also captured several Qi soldiers.

But at this moment, the military spirit of the defenders of Qi State is still relatively stable, so these captives are unanimously silent, and no matter how Zhao Hao interrogates him, he can't make a speech.

Zhao Kuo saw the problem, so he no longer interrogated, but treated them politely and "attack the heart": give them good food and drink every day, never beat and scold, and soon release them home, and before leaving, he also gave them grain and grass, and asked them to share them with their families after returning to the city.

This kind of "heart-attacking warfare" quickly paid off, and the captives were not monolithic, and some people were moved by Zhao Kuo's generous approach, and quietly told Zhao Kuo before leaving:

There was not much food in the city, and the people were looted by the defenders, and the people were hungry to catch rats and eat them.

Zhao Kuo was overjoyed, and asked how long the Qi army could hold according to this situation?

The captives replied that although the hearts of the people in the city were fluctuating, they were afraid of the retaliation of the Zhao army after the city was broken because they had been besieged for many days, so they resisted desperately, and the defenders could still hold for two or three months.

The situation in the city is really as Zhao Kuo expected, if it is attacked, it will only arouse the anger of the people, so that the army and the people in the city are unanimous, and there will be no hope of breaking the city within a month. So Zhao Hao ordered the attack to be stopped, and asked Zhao Kuo what else he had to do.

Zhao Kuo took the opportunity to offer another plan: the so-called military strategy is to win the hearts of the people, such as today's war, most of the princes are unrighteous soldiers, do not care about the life or death of the people, only care about the battle for the city, the people in the city only want to have something to eat, do not care who the city belongs to.

Therefore, in the battle of defending the city, although the fortifications are important, it is more important to protect the hearts and minds of the people. What a city is most afraid of is internal turmoil, the people in the city are unstable, and collude with foreign enemies, then the day when the city will be broken is not far away.

Therefore, he suggested that the captives should be released back to spread the benevolence of the Zhao army, and the next step was to throw food into the city.