For Qin's troops, Wang Chong had long anticipated it. The Qin State has always had the idea of going east, fighting with the Jin State back then, later fighting with the Wei State and South Korea, and now fighting with the Huai State.

This time, Zhao was recruited as an ally, and Huai attacked Zhao, which was a good opportunity for Qin to send troops to seize Hangu Pass or Nanyang Basin.

The Qin State occupies the mountains and rivers passes, which are easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is difficult for the Huai State to attack, and it is difficult for the Qin State to come out.

The army of Qin went out of Wuguan, but outside the Wuguan is the Qinling Mountain Road, and the Huai army arranged a beacon tower, and when the army of Qin was dispatched, it immediately lit the beacon fire. After Huai Guo got the news, the Nanyang Army immediately dispatched to block the Qin army in the Qin Mountains.

The Huai army attacked Shangdang, and Lian Po led the army to defend. The terrain of Shangdang is complex, with mountainous roads and difficult roads. After coming here, Xu Chao also had a headache about the terrain here. Fortunately, many of the soldiers in the army were soldiers he brought from Hanzhong, who were proficient in mountain warfare.

Although the Zhao army defended according to the danger, it was not as good as the Huai State in terms of morale, weapons, and numbers. Huaiguo prepared a large number of small catapults, and more than a dozen catapults were lined up, throwing seven or eight fist-sized stones at about 100 paces. A dozen catapults can throw hundreds of stones at a time.

The Zhao army on the city wall was hit by these stones and couldn't raise his head, even if he used wooden planks and shields to block, with the impact of the stones, the planks and shields were quickly smashed. In addition to the catapults, the Huai army also took the opportunity to dispatch.

The first to the camp was a person who committed a great crime in the Huai Kingdom and was punished into the camp. King Huai's edict stated that as long as he made meritorious contributions, he would be exempted from crime, and then he would be promoted normally and rewarded for his meritorious service. Therefore, although the casualties of the first battalion were not small, the morale of the battalion was high.

According to the Huai military system, the first person to enter the city is a great achievement, and even the capital crime can be exempted. Of course, in addition to these, even if they did not make much merit, after they died in the first camp, their families would be commuted or exonerated, so many prisoners were willing to go to the first camp to fight to the death.

The first time the Zhao army fought with the Huai army, he had a lot of contempt for the Huai army, and after a battle, he was pressed and beaten by the Huai army. Huai Guo first ascended the camp and was not afraid of death, and was wearing heavy armor, these Zhao soldiers did not even wear armor, and they were quickly defeated by the Huai army.

The Huai army broke several cities in a row, and the momentum was like a bamboo. The Zhao army was defeated in successive battles, in order to resist the Huai army, the Zhao army also wanted to send cavalry to harass the Huai army, but Shangdang County was not suitable for cavalry combat, the effect was not good, and was even blocked by the Huai cavalry, and then killed thousands with crossbow arrows, and without the cover of the cavalry, the Zhao army was defeated again. Fortunately, Lian Po commanded effectively, stabilized the army, and led the army to retreat.

Xu Chao was not chaotic because of the defeat of the Zhao army, and the surrounding mountains were continuous, and it was very easy to set up an ambush, so there was no army to pursue.

Lian Po also took this opportunity to shrink his troops, and after successive defeats, he knew that the Huai army was powerful and no longer fought with the Huai army. Instead, they set up camps in dangerous places, with flags as the signal during the day and beacon fire as the signal at night, and set up a large number of camps to use each other as horns to resist the Huai army. The army was stationed in Changping, relying on the Great Wall here to resist the Huai army.

Although the Zhao army is not as elite as the Huai army, and the equipment is much worse, it is difficult for the Huai army to overcome it by relying on the dangerous terrain defense. And at this moment, Bai Qi led the Qin army to cross the river from Hedong, wanting to cut off the retreat of the Huai army.

Xu Chao was in a dilemma for a while, if he retreated, this attack on Zhao State to seize Shangdang would be a tiger's tail, but if he didn't retreat, he would need to break Shangdang in a short time. However, the Zhao army could not retreat, and the camps they set up were all dangerous places, which could not be broken in a short time, and if they were cut off from retreating, the army would be at risk of being surrounded and annihilated. In the end, Xu Chao still decided to withdraw from Shangdang County first, and decided to solve Bai Qi first and then attack Shangdang County.

Xu Chao led his army to retreat, and Lian Po immediately led his army to reoccupy those cities, and at the same time, he and Qin general Bai Qi cooperated with each other against Xu Chao. The combined number of Qin and Zhao troops has exceeded 500,000, and Bai Qi and Lian Po are both famous generals that are rare in a century. Xu Chao commanded the army to fight with the two, even if the Huai army was strong, it was also a loss for the other.

Lian Po commanded the Zhao army and the Huai army in a big battle, while Bai Qi led the Qin army to seize the weaknesses exposed by the Huai army and attack continuously. For a time, the Huai army suffered successive defeats under the attack of the Qin army and the Zhao army, and Xu Chao had to lead the army to retreat, and set up a camp to go on defense with the help of the mountainous terrain.

Xu Chao looked at the sand table in front of him, Zhao and Qin occupied the northwest and confronted Huai, and the battle lines were like dogs' teeth. On the whole, Huaiguo does not have the slightest advantage, and even shows a slight momentum.

If it is Lian Po alone or Bai Qi, Xu Chao is confident that he can win. But now after the union, Xu Chao can only defend. As for wanting to discover Bai Qi or Lian Po's weaknesses, attack from them, and then defeat the two, nine times out of ten is to fall into the trap of the two of them. Although there are not many fights, Xu Chao has already learned the power of the two.

These two people are masters of the art of war, the art of war is strategic, and the arrangement of troops is all excellent, and if there is a flaw, the only possibility is to lure the enemy again. The command skills of these two people are not inferior to Xiangguo Leyi.

Xu Chao now thinks that there are two ways to win, one is to recruit the army again, and then march step by step and forcibly advance, and the other is to fight for consumption and logistics. With a land area of 3,000 miles and a population of 10 million, there is enough food and population to fight with Qin and Zhao, and the national strength of Huai can completely consume the two countries alive.

The Huai army guarded the camp, and the scouts in the camp were all released by Xu Chao, always paying attention to the movements of the Qin and Zhao armies. Bai Qi and Lian Po were also unable to defeat the Huai army in this situation. So Bai Qi and Lian Po began to constantly fight, using various ways to find Xu Chao's weaknesses. It's a pity that in the face of opponents at the same level as them, under the single-minded defense, there is no way to start, so they can only fight hard.

Huaiguo, Jinling.

Wang Chong frowned when he saw the information in his hand. With Zhao and Qin joining forces, and Yan supporting them in the back, the war has reached a stalemate, and it is difficult to win.

Immediately, Wang Chong ordered someone to call the crown prince Luo.

"Father." Prince Luo bowed his hand.

Wang Chong waved his hand to excuse him, and then said: "General Xu led the army to attack Zhao, and Qin Guobai rose to the rescue, this person is a master of the art of war." Now the war is at a stalemate. The widow is ready to send you to help General Xu defeat the Three Kingdoms of Qin, Zhao and Yan. ”

"Father, can I lead the troops into battle?" Prince Luo said excitedly.

Wang Chong nodded: "Yes, this time you will command five thousand imperial forest troops to go north, and the widow will go to the ancestor and ask him to give him a few Heavenly Mandate artifacts to help my Huai Kingdom defeat Qin and Zhao!" ”

Hearing this, Prince Luo was overjoyed in his heart, he had known the power of the Mandate of Heaven Artifact since he was a child, but he had never seen it, and this time he could actually master and use it.

"Don't do it, it's best not to use it, the Mandate of Heaven artifact is huge, so it is jealous of the heavens, and we mortals need to pay a price for using it." Seeing Prince Luo's expression, Wang Chong hurriedly reminded.

The crown prince Luo nodded again and again: "Father, the son understands that he will not use it easily until he is in a critical moment. ”

"It's good if you understand, back then, the ancestor Huan Gongyue used the Mandate of Heaven artifact to break the enemy in a battle, defeat the Jin State, and establish the position of the overlord of my Huai Kingdom, and I have my Huai Kingdom today, but then Huan Gong died of illness three years later, so don't be reckless."

"The retainers obey!" Prince Luo's heart was awe-inspiring.

(End of chapter)