It wasn't until the horizon was completely brightened that Sima Jin could fully see the surrounding topography: the so-called valley mouth in front of him only led to a slightly wider valley, which was still sandwiched between two mountains, only two or three miles apart, and about twenty miles long; Out of the east entrance of the canyon, you really enter an open flat land, this plain is dotted with pastoral and clustered villages, and it is still surrounded by mountains, which is a small basin; There is a large city about ten miles to the south.

The fighting that took place since yesterday had affected the area, and the people around the city could be seen carrying food and goods into the city. Sima Jin had no choice but to come up with the idea of an empty city plan and ordered the whole army to prepare for a siege.

The two public attendants inspected the terrain with Sima Jin, and they led more than 100 people until they were two or three miles away from the city before stopping. Their presence caused great panic in the city, and drums sounded in the four cities, and the gates were closed. To the surprise of Sima Jin and the public passengers, there were also drums behind them. They looked west, and seven or eight miles to the west there was a city about the size of the city in front of them. This castle is hidden behind the mountain, and no one has noticed it just now, so you have to turn the mountain to see it.

They climbed the mountain behind them, and found that a river meandered to the south of the mountain, and there was also a valley leading to the depths of the mountain. And by the Taniguchi River, a big city is in sight. Looking in the direction of the river, the river in the south turned north on the side of the mountain, merging with the river I walked out of, and hugging the basin in its entirety. The high mountains they climbed in Huyang are in the middle of the basin, overlooking the whole basin, one south and one north, and the high mountains constitute the north and south boundaries of the basin; To the east, a high mountain barrier stood in front of it, blocking the view of peeking east.

The three cities are on the north bank of the south water, and the high mountain at the foot echoes each other and guards the basin. Sima Jin didn't know how many people were guarding each city, and whether it was strong or not, but he knew that the key now was to act quickly and force the other party to take a defensive posture instead of knowing his own movements. If the other party has insight into the truth and the truth, he will have no power to fight back.

He pointed to the easternmost city and asked the two princes, "How can one of them be between two cities and the other in the east of the city, and besiege it?" ”

A public passenger pointed to the dense granges and cities under the mountain and said: "These three towns, about tens of thousands of households, are close to Handan, if they come out and surround them, the reinforcements are great, what can I do?" ”

Sima Jin said: "When we first arrived, people and land were sparse, and there was no way to enter, and it was difficult to retreat. I heard it in the township guide, and it went out to the east, that is, Handan. However, facing the high mountain barrier, the exit is difficult to find. Now the group of enemies is fed, and we are not allowed to wait for a slow sentry, and if we seek a way forward, we will also make a quick decision, and attack them in all directions, forcing the enemy to hold out, but we can find a way forward. There is a slight difference, Handan closed the crossing with heavy troops, and we have nothing to do. ”

A public attendant said: "The words of the five doctors are yes, and I don't have to follow it, but I am a false momentum, and I am looking for a way." But in three or five days, it is okay to take the road out. ”

A public attendant said: "If Dan takes the road and goes out, but surrounds it on three sides, and forces him to abandon it, he will have to calculate." Besieged on all sides, or the enemy comes to help, and the enemy is on the belly and back, it is bound to be embarrassed. ”

Sima Jin said: "The words of the public passenger are yes, but it is the best policy to surround three sides, queo its west, and force it to abandon the city!" ”

A public attendant said: "Two valleys, the land is wide and the people are numerous, and there are many murderers, if there are no soldiers to suppress them, I am afraid that they will change!" ”

Sima Jin said: "It is enough for each of the two departments to leave a battalion to guard. The two grains are strong and strong, and they are difficult to do. The 10,000 troops in the middle and greater army are coming tomorrow, but the town is temporary, and there is no need to worry. ”

While they were deliberating, they suddenly saw the flags of the city unfurled, and about 500 people rushed out of the city, as if to expel them. Sima Jin smiled slightly and led people down the mountain.

They returned to the camp, where the battalions had finished their breakfast and were lining up outside the camp. Sima Jin and the two public passengers hurriedly drank porridge on the one hand, and assigned the combat area and combat strategy on the other. At the same time, the front public servants called all the officers and doctors of each battalion and assigned combat tasks. After the formation was completed, a drum sounded, and the five battalions in the front stepped forward in turn, penetrating straight from between the two cities, and surrounded the south gate of the eastern city. Seeing this, Zhongcheng opened the city gate and sent a civilian army of tens of thousands to come to the rescue. Halfway through, I suddenly saw another Qin army at the foot of the mountain, and the army looked neat; Zhongcheng was afraid of being ambushed, and hurriedly Mingjin withdrew his troops. This Qin army did not pursue either, and only surrounded the northern wall of the eastern city. The two armies, one in front of the other, surrounded the eastern city, leaving only the western gate; He was not in a hurry to attack, but first built a fort and defended it, and also collected materials and manpower from the surrounding towns, prepared siege equipment, and dug trenches.

Sima Jin led his own battalion of 1,000 people, stationed outside the east gate, mainly to prevent the enemy from escaping, especially in the deep ditch and high fortress. Secretly he asked the villagers and inquired about the exit of the basin.

Seeing that the Qin army entered the city to forcibly take it, the people in the city couldn't bear it anymore, and found that Sima Jin had a small number of people, so he quietly opened the city gate, and rushed towards the camp with a shout. The people who built a fortress in front of Sima Jin's camp saw Zhao Jun coming, and they all fled in a hurry.

Although it was only a shallow ditch half a man deep in front of the barracks, it also slowed down the speed of the army in the city, and a bell rang behind the barracks, and crossbow arrows were fired in volleys, and screams came and went. By the time the city army crossed the shallow ditch and rushed to the barracks, the edge of the ditch was already red with blood. At this time, drums sounded on both sides, and one army from each of the northern and southern Qin military camps came out. The soldiers, who had not yet crossed the ditch, panicked when they saw Deng, and began to retreat; This also affected the soldiers who had crossed the ditch, and they were about to rush into the camp when they saw the rear army retreating, and they also panicked, and some of them rushed forward, and some of them retreated, and all those who rushed forward were stabbed in front of the camp fence, which provoked more people to retreat. Seeing that the situation was not good, the city also began to collect its troops, and when they heard the bell of the city, the soldiers began to run back desperately, and the retreat turned into a rout, and they swarmed towards the city gate. Sima Jin's pro-battalion followed closely and actually killed under the city gate, and the city lord panicked and desperately shouted "close the city", but the city gate was already occupied by the routed soldiers who swarmed into the city, and others could not approach it at all. When the people in the city saw the Qin army rushing into the city, the city gate could not be closed, and they fled in a hurry. There was chaos in the city. The city lord had no choice but to open the west gate and abandon the city and flee. Sima Jin's pro-battalion rushed into the city, quickly occupied the four gates almost without resistance, opened the city gates, and the Qin army rushed in, saw the Zhao people, indiscriminately, and raised their hands to stab; The city army all flocked to the west gate, blocking it and making it difficult to get out, and there were not a few who were trampled and died.

The city in the middle seemed to have noticed that something was wrong here, and sent a force to meet it. Sima Jin saw him on the western city wall and ordered the troops still outside the city, led by a prince, to pursue the rout troops leaving the city. The troops in Zhongcheng began to be neatly armed, but after encountering the rout, the formation was suddenly crushed, and the pursuing Qin army followed one after another. The Qin army pursued three miles and came to the city, only those who ran slowly were harvested, and the others were put into the city, and the city gates were closed. The Qin army unhurriedly cleaned up the battlefield outside the city, harvested the heads, and then retreated to the eastern city.

Sima Jin sent someone to report back to Hu Yang, telling him that he had captured a city on the outskirts of Handan and controlled a valley. However, at present, the direct face of the enemy army amounted to tens of thousands, and Handan's reinforcements were about to arrive soon, requiring Hu Yang to speed up the march in order to quickly rush out of Handan.

The news of the siege of Yanhe had long been known to Handan.

It was originally a small remote town, which was originally Korean, but South Korea was unwilling to invest too much strength there, and was taken advantage of by Zhao and taken it for himself. It is no secret that the Qin army and the Han and Wei armies allied nearly 100,000 troops, passing through Luoyang and crossing the Yellow River from Mengjin to the north. The destination is also very clear, that is, the old Korean land.

It is said that Qin informed Han and Wei that he was deceived by Zhao, so he was willing to take a Zhao Yi for Han Wei, one to consolidate goodwill, and the other to avenge revenge. Originally, Wei was robbed by Zhao State with the most cities and good places, while Korea was relatively few; However, Wei did not want to offend Zhao, so he was silent, and Korea had to go head, say a remote city, and ask the Qin army to help seize it. This kind of labor expedition usually brings disaster to the country and the people, and it is difficult to say that South Korea has good intentions. But the Qin State seemed to be confused, and as soon as he agreed, he actually raised 30,000 troops from Xianyang, asking Han and Wei to also send the same forces to occupy Yanhe.

Because South Korea is its own business, there is no reason to shirk it, and it also raised 30,000 troops. Wei put on a posture that it was not his business, and only sent thousands of heavy troops. So these 60,000 or 70,000 people, known as 100,000, ran away thousands of miles away. Not to mention anything else, the grain consumed by these 60,000 or 70,000 people along the way was nearly 10,000 stone a day, and it was 6,700,000 stone for two or three months back and forth, far exceeding the grain output of Yan He in a year. If you calculate the economic accounts, the expedition will definitely outweigh the losses! But for Qin, being bullied by Zhao was unbearable; For Han, it would not hurt to be able to seize a city with Qin's strength, but Wei also promised to give half of the six or seven hundred thousand stone grain. Of course, the reason that can't be said is that the State of Qin cannot be offended, and the State of Zhao cannot be offended! It is such a place where neither party can be offended.

When Qin and Han Wei joined forces and spread the news of the war to Handan, King Zhao discussed with the generals, and everyone's opinion was that the distance between Qin and Yan was far away, and the road was not easy to walk, so there was no need to go to the rescue, and it could not be saved, so it was better to fend for itself. What is not said is that if necessary, when the coalition forces have retreated, we will send troops to occupy it - South Korea must not maintain a large army all the time! Only Zhao Hao expressed a different attitude: Yan He is indeed far away from Handan Road and it is not easy to walk, but Qin Jundao is farther and even more difficult to walk; So whoever can hold on can win!