Chapter Thirty-Four: Scheming Against Yi Que

  When the news of the defeat of the Qin army arrived in Ye Wang, the whole city was jubilant. However, for the three-day siege, the people of Ye Wang felt like they had been through three years. Every minute and every second were a torture to them. At the most critical moment, all households that could move gathered at the city gate. Everyone knew the consequences of the city being breached. Fortunately, the invincible Qin army was finally defeated in Ye Wang.

  Everything was like a dream, the invincible Qin army disappeared just like that. The powerful fighting force of the Zhao army deeply stimulated the people of Ye Wang, with such reinforcements, what were they afraid of?

  With the first ray of sunlight at dawn, the 100,000-strong Han and Wei coalition army arrived on the battlefield. Baoxuan had done his best to contact the main general of the Wei army, Jin Bi, and agreed on a gathering place, with all sorts of things going awry. After spending less than a day, the two armies marched sixty miles and arrived at Ye Wang.

  At this speed, it was a bit faster than the normal march, after all, the front was the elite Qin army. The undefeated prestige made the Wei and Han armies extremely cautious, and as soon as night fell, they set up camp immediately, afraid of repeating the mistakes of the previous army.

  "Crown Prince!" Bao Yan exclaimed excitedly.

  "General Bao has arrived!" The crown prince hastily walked a few steps forward and welcomed General Bao.

  "Yes, yes!" Baoying looked up and down at Prince Ran, afraid that he had been injured somewhere.

  The crown prince smiled wryly and said, "No need to look, General Bao. I'm fine."

  "Qin army! Where is the Qin army?" Baoying looked at the Zhao soldiers cleaning up the battlefield in surprise.

  "General Fierce! You've come too late. The Qin army has been completely annihilated by our Great Zhao Iron Cavalry." A clear and bright voice rang out from behind the Crown Prince.

  "General Lian!" Pao Ying looked at Lian Po in surprise as he walked up. Although she had already known that Lian Po was the commander-in-chief of this Zhao army, wasn't it just a few days ago that she heard he was going to be dismissed due to discord with his lord? How did he arrive so quickly?

  Facing Bao Pi's doubts, Lian Po explained the details one by one. Bao Pi only then realized that Zhao's army had used the Golden Cicada Shell Escape tactic and exclaimed how treacherous it was!

  "General Bao, didn't you see the envoy I sent out?" The crown prince asked curiously, noticing General Bao's surprise at the arrival of the Zhao army.

  "Report to the Crown Prince, yesterday morning I received news of Zheng Wen's defeat and immediately dispatched an envoy to Wēn Dì, while mobilizing the main army to march north and join forces with the Wei army. It is estimated that the messenger rushed straight to Chéng Gāo, but took a wrong route!"

  "Look at me, I'm so confused. I was busy talking to the prince and forgot to introduce you. Prince, this is General Jin Ping of Wei's army. General Jin, this is the Crown Prince of Korea, and this is General Lian Po of Zhao's army."

  "I've met the prince, I've met General Lian." Jin Bi nodded slightly.

  The Crown Prince Ran and Lian Po also hastily went to ask about the situation. Especially the Crown Prince Ran, the Wei army "came from afar" to support Han Guo, the Crown Prince Ran could not lose the courtesy of the host, so he thanked the Wei army for a while.

  Thus, the allied forces of Zhao, Wei and Han gathered under the walls of Ye Wang City, with an army of 180,000 men blocking out the sky and sun, a truly magnificent sight.

  Inside the Wild King's Castle, Prince Yan hosted a banquet to welcome the arrival of Zhao and Wei armies. Taking advantage of this great victory, Lian Po, Jin Bi, Bao Ying, Prince Yan and other military commanders gathered together, clinking cups and exchanging toasts, with a very harmonious atmosphere.

  The Wei army recaptured Wendi, the Han army repelled the Qin army, and the Zhao army tested the combat effectiveness of the Qin army, striking down their arrogant momentum in advancing eastward. All three parties were greatly delighted.

  At the third round of wine, the crown prince finally spoke up.

  "Everyone present is a pillar of the three Jin states. The Qin state is unjust, attacking and subjugating other states, causing everyone to suffer under the cruel rule of Qin. Now that the three Jin states have formed an alliance, we will destroy the 100,000-strong army of Qin and greatly boost the prestige of the three Jin states. I and all of you gentlemen should raise our cups in a grand toast."

  "Everyone, please!"

  "Long live the Crown Prince!"

  After drinking too much, Prince Yan suddenly covered his face and wept. Everyone was extremely shocked, and the straightforward Lian Po asked first: "Today is a day of great joy, why is the prince so sad?"

  The crown prince rubbed his eyes and said, "Nothing else, just thinking of the tragic death of many generals. Today is a victory, but it's hard to guarantee that the Qin army won't be enraged. Now Bai Qi's 100,000-strong army will arrive soon, what to do then?"

  Lian Po furrowed his brow and replied, "Your Highness needn't worry, when the enemy comes we'll just defend against them; if water comes we'll dam it, if earth comes we'll cover it."

  Jin Bi thought for a moment, and also spoke out: "Bai Qi's army is only about one million, we have nearly two million. With more defeating less, even if we can't win, it's hard to lose."

  Just thinking about Bai Qi's military achievements, people are still dizzy. He is the undefeated war god! Even a big country like Chu was defeated by Bai Qi with just a few hundred thousand soldiers, and its capital was captured.

  The allied forces had the upper hand in terms of military strength, but Zhao and Wei's armies were not selfless enough to sacrifice themselves for the sake of protecting Ye Wang. The crown prince's words changed the atmosphere of the entire banquet, and everyone lost their appetite.

  Looking at the attitudes of the Zhao and Wei armies, Prince Yan knew that once a crisis arose, the two countries would not stand idly by and preserve their strength. This further solidified Prince Yan's determination to take advantage of this excellent opportunity and use these two free pawns, as it would be a waste not to do so.

  The crown prince continued to pretend to be sad and said: "General Lian, I don't know if last night's bet is still valid?"

  Lian Po was taken aback and subconsciously replied: "Of course it's effective."

  "That's good! The reason why the Qin army attacked our Ye Wang is because Ye Wang is facing Hangu Pass, blocking the Qin army from advancing into the Central Plains. Rather than waiting for the Qin army to invade our territory, it's better to take the initiative and launch a counterattack, bringing the flames of war to the borders of Qin." The prince's words were astonishing.

  "What? Attack the Qin army? This is also too crazy." The generals at the banquet discussed it, and under the current situation, isn't attracting Bai Qi's main force to a decisive battle below Wangcheng the best choice? The Han army uses this to consume the Qin army's sharp energy, while the Zhao and Wei armies respond from the side, waiting for the Qin army to become exhausted, and then defeat them in one battle.

  Lian Po's eyebrows furrowed even deeper, but he didn't say a word. Jin Bi was the same, not making a sound, waiting for the Crown Prince to speak first.

  The crown prince ignored the voices of others and said: "Everyone, look at it. Yique is only 130 miles away from Ye Wang. If the cavalry is lightly loaded, they can arrive in one day. The Qin army is now under the city of Ye Wang, as long as we block the news, I don't think the defenders of Yique will know that the Qin army has been defeated. As long as we have a few thousand elite troops disguised as defeated soldiers, blasting open the city gate, 10,000 iron cavalry will enter in an instant, and Yique City will be broken!

  "Gentlemen, do not forget that Qin army has only occupied Izumo for barely twenty years, and there are still many remnants of our Great Han in the city. If we can capture Izumo, we can take the strategic town of Yiyang within a hundred miles, and threaten the Hangu Pass in the distance. The Qin army will not give up Izumo easily, as long as Izumo is not taken, the Qin army cannot march east with peace of mind!"

  Lian Po thought for a moment and had to admit that this was not a bad idea. The terrain of Yiguan is treacherous, located south of Luoyang, and is the only way for Qin to enter the Central Plains from the east. The Yi River (a tributary of the Nan Luo River) flows north into Yiguan, and in the past, Da Yu diverted the water from this mountain to make it passable. Two mountains face each other, looking like a gate tower from afar, with the Yi River flowing through the middle, flowing northward, hence the name Yiguan.

  To the west of Yique, there are mountains such as Xian and Han. To the southwest lies Yiyang. In the north is the strategic location of the Yellow River. It's easy to defend but hard to attack. Is it possible that the Crown Prince doesn't know this? Wouldn't this make Yique a thorn in the side of the Qin army? The closest city of Han to Yique is Gong County, but it's still over 100 miles away!

  Seeing that the prince did not react, Lian Po secretly sighed and said, "The prince's plan is excellent. I will follow your orders with my 10,000 troops. However, let me make one thing clear: after three days, these 10,000 troops will no longer be under your command."

  Since the Han army insisted, Lian Po also agreed. With the Han army occupying the narrow pass of Ique to block the elite troops of Qin, the pressure on Zhao would naturally be reduced a bit.

  He looked at the prince with great excitement, as a Korean, he knew more than anyone else how important the Yique was to Korea. The Battle of Yique made Bai Qi's military achievements brilliant, but it also took away the last veil of shame for Korea. In this battle, 140,000 elite soldiers of the Korean army were annihilated, and Korea was forced to cede two hundred miles of land in Wusui, including the iron-smelting centers of Wan City and Deng City.

  After the war, Korea thoroughly lost its capital to compete with Qin. Faced with the Qin army, Korea lost its pride. It can be said that Yique is a permanent pain in the heart of Korea. Now, seeing Yique has the opportunity to return to Korea, how can Bao Yuan not be excited?

  "It won't take three days! General, just wait for good news." The crown prince put away his "sadness" and spoke seriously.

  It was just past the hour of Si, and the three Jin armies divided their troops into several routes. One route rushed straight to Yique, one route sealed off the surrounding twenty miles of Ye Wang, and one route reinforced the defenses of Ye Wang City, preparing for battle. A new bloody battle is about to begin.